Monday, September 22, 2014
It's Simple
Many people ask why we chose to live in Lujiazui, instead of the expat community closer to the kids' school. It's pretty simple, really. One of the best days we had so far was being able to walk to daddy's office for lunch.
Allergies Abroad
When Alayna was just 15 months,
I had one of the biggest scares of my life... Her first allergic reaction to
peanuts. [Stories shared here and here.]
Over the years we've gotten really great at knowing what she can and can't have. She always asks for the wrapper to be read before trying anything new, and Halloween is always a tricky time as she yearns for all the great candy that every other child receives. But, we've adapted. We carry Epi-Pens along with us, and thank the Lord, have never been required to use them. She is tested with blood work and a skin graph every two years to measure the depth of her allergy and prior to every visit we pray that the numbers are slowly decreasing. I think it's fair to say that we've gotten pretty comfortable living with a peanut allergy.
Five years later, we are in a whole different ball game. Living abroad, the food choices are different and our safe "go-to's" aren't avidly available on the store shelves. Restaurants are tough because we don't know what oils they cook with, and many don't speak fluent English to converse about this in depth before ordering. That which we do purchase from the market, is brought home and reviewed by our Ayi, who helps us translate the labels. And now, I carry along a small card that reads:
The biggest hurdle has been the lack of awareness here. Unfortunately, it's such a huge epidemic in the states that schools know what to do, have strict rules for avoidance, snack policies are in place, clearly printed ingredients are bolded on packages, etc. Here in China, even though we are at an American school, it's just not a common issue.
Over the years we've gotten really great at knowing what she can and can't have. She always asks for the wrapper to be read before trying anything new, and Halloween is always a tricky time as she yearns for all the great candy that every other child receives. But, we've adapted. We carry Epi-Pens along with us, and thank the Lord, have never been required to use them. She is tested with blood work and a skin graph every two years to measure the depth of her allergy and prior to every visit we pray that the numbers are slowly decreasing. I think it's fair to say that we've gotten pretty comfortable living with a peanut allergy.
Five years later, we are in a whole different ball game. Living abroad, the food choices are different and our safe "go-to's" aren't avidly available on the store shelves. Restaurants are tough because we don't know what oils they cook with, and many don't speak fluent English to converse about this in depth before ordering. That which we do purchase from the market, is brought home and reviewed by our Ayi, who helps us translate the labels. And now, I carry along a small card that reads:
It means, "No peanuts. I am allergic to peanuts."没有花生Méiyǒu huāshēng我对花生过敏Wǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn
The biggest hurdle has been the lack of awareness here. Unfortunately, it's such a huge epidemic in the states that schools know what to do, have strict rules for avoidance, snack policies are in place, clearly printed ingredients are bolded on packages, etc. Here in China, even though we are at an American school, it's just not a common issue.
Last week,
Alayna began a six-week co-curricular group titled, No-Bake Cooking. After week
one, I found out that they would be using peanut butter during week 4 and
during week 2 they were using cookies that they were "unsure whether or
not contained peanuts." WHAT?!?! How do you not know? Of course, I turned
into crazy-mom-out-to-save-the-day and began trying to fix this issue. At first
I thought I could just "Amazon China" some sunbutter (because ours is
still on the boat making its way around the world), but holy-good-God! It was
going to cost me $71.63 (without shipping!) for a 16 oz jar that I typically
get for about $6!
After I came to
my senses that that was asinine, I contacted the teachers and coordinators who
have been wonderful. I'm working with them on alternatives for Miss Aly,
instead of having to miss out on 1/3 of the classes, and they are changing the
menu for all upcoming co-curricular cooking classes to eliminate peanut butter
all together! Ah, a step in the right direction for all other kids coming
behind Alayna, dragging along this annoying headache known as allergies.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Travel to Beijing
One of the perks of coming to Shanghai was having the ability to travel Asia. We've started small, with places near our home, and have been fortunate enough to have a few visitors already come who've made the exploring that much more enjoyable. Recently, friends from Minneapolis flew in for a few days of touring. Not sure I've laughed this hard in a long time! Love those Hovick's!
The first few days were around Shanghai with fake markets, YuYuan Garden, and a night out on the town...none of which really worked out in our favor. To say the least, we made good stories with every outing we took!
The fake market ended with difficulty in getting a cab home -- go figure!! This time it was because of a 6' canvas painting that I bought (which was very well worth it, but wouldn't fit into ANY car in China!) With Jarin at the office that day, Jared somehow flagged down a van with taxi written on the side. Come to find out it was a delivery truck, and we had a make "a stop" before he could take us home! I sat in the front, following our path on my GPS, realizing we were not heading in the right direction. But, with no common language between me and the driver, we were stuck at his mercy. So much for getting us to the school to pick up my daughter in time! I quickly typed "fast" into my iTranslate app, and learned that "kuai" made him get some fire under his ass. Still, poor Alayna sat in the office until we made it there to get her. In the meantime, Paisley was holding on tight to Brooke and Jared in the rear of this shady ol' get-up.
Being the great tour guides that we are, Jarin and I arranged our ayi to watch the little bambinos one night while we led our buds to a favorite spot on top of the Bund for pre-dinner drinks. The view from New Heights was so great that we spent too much time there, and had trouble finding a restaurant nearby that served food past 9 p.m. Well, we did find one, but the menu looked awful... we ended up walking out on them after being seated and then called down to our fall-back, New York Pizza, for a late night delivery. (Hey, Jared and Brooke... glad you could come around the world for NY pizza!)
We spent one day in Zhujiajiao, an ancient water town created during the Ming and Qing dynasties. What a blast! We didn't even indulge in the tourist museum traps they had set up, but instead had more fun walking the cobblestone streets, riding in the gondola, and of course trying our fashion and flavor in some traditional Chinese.
As you can presumably guess, we were the center of attention in this town! Between our boys who acted as though they were kids again, to our adorable Miss P, who caught the eye of every local, we had a few crowds around us most of the time. Oh, and did I mention there was a 90 min bus ride to get there, where our four seats somehow were elevated, facing the rear of the bus. It was at that point that our little one managed to pull down the emergency hammer creating a screaming buzzer for everyone to stare even harder... talk about embarrassing!
The majority of our time with Jared and Brooke was devoted to Beijing. We did so much in the few days that we had, I don't know how B did it being 7 months pregnant! First came the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square, where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch at a small Oasis Cafe. Oddly enough, this area was also where Alayna reached one of her biggest accomplishments yet in China. She used a squatter!! She was a little embarrassed, but daddy was proud!
It wouldn't be Beijing without the Great Wall of China! We took the cable car to the top of the Mutianyu section (made famous from Michelle Obama's visit) and hiked about 8 towers. Even with the pollution at 224 on the day we went, it was still beautiful!
As you can tell, everyone enjoyed the climbs! Paisley was a trooper and independent as usual. Jarin was quite the daredevil and encouraged Cade and Layna to walk the walls of the wall on numerous occasions. I tried to capture lots of pictures, but most of the time I was praying that no one would die. On the way down, us smart ones took the cable car back for a quiet ride and rested at the country store for a cold beer and ice cream. Those other three crazies decided the toboggan ride down would be best. Apparently, this was ultimately the best part of the whole trip.
The first few days were around Shanghai with fake markets, YuYuan Garden, and a night out on the town...none of which really worked out in our favor. To say the least, we made good stories with every outing we took!
The fake market ended with difficulty in getting a cab home -- go figure!! This time it was because of a 6' canvas painting that I bought (which was very well worth it, but wouldn't fit into ANY car in China!) With Jarin at the office that day, Jared somehow flagged down a van with taxi written on the side. Come to find out it was a delivery truck, and we had a make "a stop" before he could take us home! I sat in the front, following our path on my GPS, realizing we were not heading in the right direction. But, with no common language between me and the driver, we were stuck at his mercy. So much for getting us to the school to pick up my daughter in time! I quickly typed "fast" into my iTranslate app, and learned that "kuai" made him get some fire under his ass. Still, poor Alayna sat in the office until we made it there to get her. In the meantime, Paisley was holding on tight to Brooke and Jared in the rear of this shady ol' get-up.
Being the great tour guides that we are, Jarin and I arranged our ayi to watch the little bambinos one night while we led our buds to a favorite spot on top of the Bund for pre-dinner drinks. The view from New Heights was so great that we spent too much time there, and had trouble finding a restaurant nearby that served food past 9 p.m. Well, we did find one, but the menu looked awful... we ended up walking out on them after being seated and then called down to our fall-back, New York Pizza, for a late night delivery. (Hey, Jared and Brooke... glad you could come around the world for NY pizza!)
We spent one day in Zhujiajiao, an ancient water town created during the Ming and Qing dynasties. What a blast! We didn't even indulge in the tourist museum traps they had set up, but instead had more fun walking the cobblestone streets, riding in the gondola, and of course trying our fashion and flavor in some traditional Chinese.
The majority of our time with Jared and Brooke was devoted to Beijing. We did so much in the few days that we had, I don't know how B did it being 7 months pregnant! First came the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square, where we enjoyed a fantastic lunch at a small Oasis Cafe. Oddly enough, this area was also where Alayna reached one of her biggest accomplishments yet in China. She used a squatter!! She was a little embarrassed, but daddy was proud!
With Jared as our tour guide (ah-hum) we did make it into the gates of
this massive structure known as Forbidden City, where for about 500
years it was home to many emperors. It spans about 180 acres and holds
some very impressive architecture which took over 14 years to build.
It wouldn't be Beijing without the Great Wall of China! We took the cable car to the top of the Mutianyu section (made famous from Michelle Obama's visit) and hiked about 8 towers. Even with the pollution at 224 on the day we went, it was still beautiful!
As you can tell, everyone enjoyed the climbs! Paisley was a trooper and independent as usual. Jarin was quite the daredevil and encouraged Cade and Layna to walk the walls of the wall on numerous occasions. I tried to capture lots of pictures, but most of the time I was praying that no one would die. On the way down, us smart ones took the cable car back for a quiet ride and rested at the country store for a cold beer and ice cream. Those other three crazies decided the toboggan ride down would be best. Apparently, this was ultimately the best part of the whole trip.
Finally, in Beijing, we bellied up to the table for the infamous Peking Duck -- a delicacy in this part of the world. I was rather sure I'd be foregoing dinner this night, but one had to be in awe of the presentation. The chef wheeled out the duck and butchered it before our eyes. (You could still see the duck's eye!) It was served with pancakes and loads of toppings and tasty sides. We all enjoyed the fest, and Cade was even pretty surprised that he ate 5 pancakes full of duck!
As you can gather, with this slim selection from the hundreds of photos I've taken, our travel is something of envy. I feel so fortunate to have these experiences, and more so that we are providing them for our children. Here's to the many more trips, explorations, and journeys we are about to endeavor.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
International Medicine
Before Jarin left the country for 2 weeks (yes, you have my permission to gasp!), I had a few to-do's on my list that had to be taken care of. Unlike America, there is no 911 number here. There is a 120, 119, and a 110 but you must understand what number is for what need, and pray to God that they speak English. Oh, and if it really is an emergency, count your lucky stars that an ambulance gets to you in time. Here in China, no one moves out of your way, not even if you are an ambulance driver.
Instead, they recommend hailing a cabby.
For anyone who has talked to me in the past month, you'll know how much I hate cabs. As in, I truly despise having to wait... then translate on my phone where I'm going... then put all my trust and courage that God ever gave me into the sheer hope that they are taking me to the right place... then corral the 17 month old from crawling on the floor, licking the seat, opening the door, being killed because she is seatbelt-less (you get the picture). I've been stuck for over 40 minutes with three children, all starving, and one screaming, trying to get a cab to no avail. Today, I happened to read a post from another Shanghai mom who asked if others with strollers get passed up by taxi drivers. Glad to know it's not just me who they have it out for. There may or may not have even been times that I've cussed as we've pounded our feet down the sidewalk, watching taxi-jerks drive right past, while we are sweating our pa-toots off. And the kids have looked at me and questioned, "what'd you just say, mom?" Blatantly, my response was a repeat of, "oh, nothing, I just don't understand why these douche bags don't stop."
So, back to my point: I can only imagine getting a taxi for an emergency. And to think the ambulance is worse....
Awesome.
Gives you a pretty clear outlook of the medical services here, huh? Well, if it's true that I need to be prepared to hail a cab while caring for a child with emergency needs (albeit broken arm, poked out eye, bleeding from [any body part], etc.), then I best know the what's and how's of getting to the hospital.
And so, last Friday, Jarin and I took a field trip. We cabbed it to the closest emergency hospital: Shanghai East. This is what I found...
Sweet. Just where I'd want to go for "intestinal" or "fever disease". Creeped out, I nearly left. I would honestly fly around the world before getting care here.
But, we continued on until we found the main entrance. That's where we experienced every part of favored discrimination.
We were met in the front lobby -- near the Starbucks, none the less, because of course this hospital looks like it would have a multi-billion dollar coffee house embedded in it. We were escorted to elevator #7 (the international elevator), and when it was found to be under repair, they budged us to the front of the line for elevator #5 (the local elevator). Mind you, we were on a tour. There was no medical attention needed for our family. And yet, more than 20 locals were shoved behind to wait for us first.
When we got to the 12th floor, we found Shanghai East International Hospital. A whole new world. Clean, orderly, English-speaking, large and roomy, comfortable, quiet. A private pharmacy and billing lines, acceptance of insurance guarantees, and no hub-bub of what was just a few floors below, staged like an airport:
No, it was nothing like this. Can you believe this is what it really looked like inside?
Talk about an entirely different experience. They even showed us the private maternity rooms with whirlpools and room for the entire family to stay. Jarin was quick to inform our tour guide that those would not be needed for our family. :)
It was a strange serenity of feelings that afternoon. Feeling compelled to never step foot into the hospital again, and then being treated like royalty, humbled by being foreigners, and feeling overwhelmingly pampered by the services that we would receive compared to the locals. I'm sure proud of my heritage, the emphasis that us American's put on healthcare, the safety standards and seriousness that we proclaim in the medical field, and the respect that we hold for all those needing attention.
On that note, the kids' well-checks are still scheduled with our favorite Dr. Halverson during each visit back to the states. But, if anything were to come up, I will know what to do and where to go!
Tonight Cade asked: "Mom, if you were one of those poor people here, would you pee on your hands to wash them?"
My response: "uh, no."
Cade's logical thinking kicks in: "I would if they were really dirty. But then they would probably stink."
Nice, kid, nice.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
#imagineconcordia
Last fall, when we were deciding whether or not to begin this endeavor, many family, friends and colleagues tried convincing me that we'd be providing our children with this [insert oober-dramatic-emphasized voice here] amazing opportunity by bringing them to China. I understood that ... to an extent. I knew that there would be a new culture, a new language, new people, a new perspective. But after just being in Shanghai for one month, and after digging through all the muck and crap that we have dealt with, I can see the benefits far outweigh the setbacks. One of the pieces of our life that will be forever changed after having this experience is education.
I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am about the kids' school. I whole-heartedly believe that we hand-picked the #1 international school in the world. At first glance, we saw test scores, standards and curriculum and thought, "hey, this will be a good fit." And now, I'm diving into some of the best parts of the school. There is a community here that I never could have created in my wildest dreams. Each day after school kids and parents gather on the playground to socialize, share experiences and stories, swap recommendations and tackle the "slushie place" together for a cold treat. I've also attended new parent meetings, elementary school parent meetings, back to school meetings and more.
Yesterday I participated in the best meeting yet. It was a general parent support organization (PSO) meeting to kick off the year. I was so moved that by the end I signed up to be room parents for both Cade and Layna's classrooms! I figured, hell, if I screw up too bad, I can always just blame it on being the newbie, right? :)
Anyway, the head of school said a few words at this meeting, and then he shared a story about how things work at Concordia. He said, "it's not about numbers, it's about stories." To prove that, he explained that at the beginning of the year they randomly divide all the 1300 student names amongst the school staff (giving each staff person roughly 9 names). Then at each meeting throughout the year, they go around the room and each staff person reads one name aloud from their list. As a group they then ask for God's prayers for that one child.
Can you imagine hearing that power? Those children's names read one after another around the room, as they jointly ask for a blessing? How fascinating!
It doesn't stop there.
The community of parents, staff, teachers, and volunteers help you find the best place to buy meat and produce (an enormous feat here in Shanghai!), how to get a cell phone (more to come on my experience soon!), and even where to get your hair did. They understand that if those necessities don't come easy, your wholeday week can be thrown for a loop. And the teachers and administrators want you there all day, every day. They beg for parent involvement and then thank you endlessly for supporting their children.
Isn't that what I should be saying to them?
This school puts on pep rally's and cheers on their volleyball teams every Friday night with popcorn and hotdogs. They send communication from the head of school every other week to let you know what they are doing in classes. The teachers update their websites and send electronic newsletters weekly with pictures of our own children laughing and learning around their desks, and with their new friends. They truly believe and instill that "we are a small community of 24 million."
During the first week, I received personal notes from each teacher letting me know how the kids were doing since they were new. All the things I worried about as a parent were put to rest without asking. Alayna's teacher from South Africa wrote: "This week has been filled with laughter and sparkling eyes as we have spent time getting to know each other. Our classroom has been a hive of activity and I have had the amazing privilege of spending time with your child."
To some, this may be fluff, but for me, it means a lot to see the time and energy spent on saying just the right thing to feel comforted. Let me tell you, Concordia rocks!! And on top of how awesome this community of school friends is, the babes are even kicking butt in math, reading, Mandarin, and religion during the day, as well as co-curricular activities at night.
We are busy here in Shanghai, and that's a good thing, because we miss y'all!
I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am about the kids' school. I whole-heartedly believe that we hand-picked the #1 international school in the world. At first glance, we saw test scores, standards and curriculum and thought, "hey, this will be a good fit." And now, I'm diving into some of the best parts of the school. There is a community here that I never could have created in my wildest dreams. Each day after school kids and parents gather on the playground to socialize, share experiences and stories, swap recommendations and tackle the "slushie place" together for a cold treat. I've also attended new parent meetings, elementary school parent meetings, back to school meetings and more.
Yesterday I participated in the best meeting yet. It was a general parent support organization (PSO) meeting to kick off the year. I was so moved that by the end I signed up to be room parents for both Cade and Layna's classrooms! I figured, hell, if I screw up too bad, I can always just blame it on being the newbie, right? :)
Anyway, the head of school said a few words at this meeting, and then he shared a story about how things work at Concordia. He said, "it's not about numbers, it's about stories." To prove that, he explained that at the beginning of the year they randomly divide all the 1300 student names amongst the school staff (giving each staff person roughly 9 names). Then at each meeting throughout the year, they go around the room and each staff person reads one name aloud from their list. As a group they then ask for God's prayers for that one child.
Can you imagine hearing that power? Those children's names read one after another around the room, as they jointly ask for a blessing? How fascinating!
It doesn't stop there.
The community of parents, staff, teachers, and volunteers help you find the best place to buy meat and produce (an enormous feat here in Shanghai!), how to get a cell phone (more to come on my experience soon!), and even where to get your hair did. They understand that if those necessities don't come easy, your whole
Isn't that what I should be saying to them?
This school puts on pep rally's and cheers on their volleyball teams every Friday night with popcorn and hotdogs. They send communication from the head of school every other week to let you know what they are doing in classes. The teachers update their websites and send electronic newsletters weekly with pictures of our own children laughing and learning around their desks, and with their new friends. They truly believe and instill that "we are a small community of 24 million."
During the first week, I received personal notes from each teacher letting me know how the kids were doing since they were new. All the things I worried about as a parent were put to rest without asking. Alayna's teacher from South Africa wrote: "This week has been filled with laughter and sparkling eyes as we have spent time getting to know each other. Our classroom has been a hive of activity and I have had the amazing privilege of spending time with your child."
To some, this may be fluff, but for me, it means a lot to see the time and energy spent on saying just the right thing to feel comforted. Let me tell you, Concordia rocks!! And on top of how awesome this community of school friends is, the babes are even kicking butt in math, reading, Mandarin, and religion during the day, as well as co-curricular activities at night.
We are busy here in Shanghai, and that's a good thing, because we miss y'all!
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