Embassy House BBQ

The weather started out poorly on Saturday. AF and I went to her volleyball practice at school. The taxi driver went a long way so we were late. That was not good because that caused all the girls to do extra running. This taxi stuff is a little frustrating because you don't know what kind of a driver you are going to get. The practice went for a couple of hours. We found a taxi inside the school compound. This driver knew all the short cuts, yeah!!

AF and I attended an annual summer BBQ for the Embassy house residents from 6 till late. We met a lot of interesting people. Most people who speak English are Europeans, Australians. I met a couple of Americans, but it appears that most Americans live out in Shunyi where there is housing similar to California communities. Europeans are much more comfortable living in the city.

The food and drink was good. They roasted a calf on a spit and had sausages, salads, etc. AF asked what would happen if she ordered a Bailey's from the bar. I told her they would serve her but her Dad needed to approve. She had one.............. She talked with a couple of girls in college in China from Tonga. There is a whole floor of people from Tonga above us. One of them is the Ambassador to China.

People explained to me why it is hard to get a taxi to recognize directions to our building. The building is only 4 years old with little advertising for a reason and many people have drivers and cars. So now I ask for the Pizza Hut on Dongzhimenwai and they know where to go, so far.

I mentioned to one resident that I needed to get back to the room so we could get up to go to church in the morning. He asked where I went. It turns out he is Catholic and told me about the British Embassy Church. Earlier in the week I was told that it did not exist anymore. It turns out they had moved it to the Kerry Center office on the 21st floor.

AF and I got up for church today and tried to go to mass at the new location I discovered. We found it after going up the wrong office tower. We got there early so we had time to find it. It is in the Visa section of the British Embassy. We met the priest and he said there was a procedure that they needed to follow to be legal. You have to register and show passports to show you are a foreign citizen. There is still a political riff between Vatican and China that hopefully will close one day. This church is actually a roman catholic church "Our Lady of China" as opposed to the other church we went to.

The mass was said in a waiting room for people to get visas processed. The seating was made of metal benches which hold about 150+ people. The alter was a table set in front of the glass windows for administrators to process visas. Off the side were what looked like confessional doors but were long skinny doors to interview rooms. The mass did not have any music so it was short.

As we left the mass another mass was to start at 11:00. So there were people leaving and people waiting in the elevator bank. There were probably 125+ at the 10am mass today. AF and I decided it was best to catch a taxi from the Kerry Hotel.

I met co-workers at the Grand Hyatt for a brunch at the Noble Court. It was a nice meal and nice to see SL who just arrived this weekend. It took over 3 hours for the brunch which was a little much. I'm glad AF did not join us as she would not have enjoyed that. I went back to my apartment while CB decided to rent a bike and tour the city. He even came out to my apartment where I took a picture of him on his bike. What a sight>

A Good Friday

Today the movers delivered our personal belongings from the US. There were about 17 boxes in all mostly clothing. We have had to check our electonics a little closer before we plug them in. Many can handle 110-240V but we have found out the hard way that there are a lot of small appliances that cannot like AF's clock radio and pencil sharpener. We shipped 3 more electronic dvices that will require a transformer since China operates on 220V. I spent a good part of the morning unpacking our belongings. It was weird opening the boxes with BF's clothes and no BF until the first week of Sept.

Today was also AF's first volleyball game, if that is what you call it. The game was not on the calendar because it was a scrimmage with a top university team, Beijing Jiaotong University. The girsl were huge, not just tall. There was one girl that just towered over everyone. It was interesting to watch and awas a good lesson for the girls. It can only get better from here. We had to also stay after to watch the boy's game. That was also interesting to watch. The University team had some powerful men on the team that could really put away the ball with some powere and speed. They could really get up over the net.

We were lucky and one of the vans were available to go out to the school and back. The last time we took a taxi out to the school but was not sure how to get one coming back. I thought we were lucky when a taxi came by outside of the gates of the school. So I sent an email to a school administrator to find out what the best way was to get a taxi back to the city. She said that taxis were regularly scheduled to be on campus and we were taking a risk by taking an unauthorized "black" taxi outside the school property.

Here is AF in her volleyball jersey she had to wear to school today.

Family Life so far....

Well so far this has been far from a normal family life for AF and me. We are so much looking forward to BF coming out here with us. She is an important ingredient that we are missing. But she is very busy back in the US finishing up business like: getting EF off to her freshman year in college and then getting MF ready for his Junior year in college, selling a car, getting LP and her family situated in our US house for the next two years (thank God for LP).

AF goes to school at 7:00 on a bus with only 3 other kids on it. She made the varsity volleyball team of 12 players. But that means she comes home around 7pm at least 3 nights a week. We think, her first game is Friday after school (not sure if it is a home game or not). The team will be traveling to Shanghai and will participate in a tournament in Manila. Then she is holed up in her room doing homeework, college application and her Ewood.

I go to work at 8:00 but it is a skeleton crew at work in our island within JPM offices. I usually get a coffee in the apartment building deli but it more like espresso. They have a free paper called the China Daily (highly censored). I usually ride with RW to work in a taxi or a van, if it is available.

We are not eating real good dinners but we are getting by (rigatonni, mac/cheese, sandwiches from deli, fishsticks, no dinner, whatever).

We have bought a few DVDs at 15 RMB ($1.88) but have not had real opportunity to watch. I think the TV blew up again so need to talk to facilities.

The house cleaning service is great. They are making beds, providing new towels, washing dishes, the floors, the bathrooms, etc. It is amazing how dirty wood floors get with just 2 people.

We have been working out in the health facility which is really nice. Not lots of people using the gym but I think there are a lot of people on vacations that have yet to come back (I hope because it is pretty quiet around here). There is a resident BBQ this Saturday so maybe we will meet some more people. I even used the sauna, steam room, hot tub and pool for the first time. It is nice.....

Well time to go to bed, maybe I will watch a little US Tivo via slingbox on the laptop. I'm keeping up with my shows like Deadwood, Entourage, Weed, Lucky Louie, Rescue Me, etc.

Lots of Recognizable Brands

There are lots of brands here, ones which are clearly Chinese and I do not understand in their chinese letters. But there are lots of other very recognizable brands like Starbucks, Starbucks and more Starbucks. It is so odd because tea is a big thing here and the drinks are very expensive for the average person.

Construction Galore

This city has so many cranes on the horizon. There is building next to our apartment, next to the new office, everywhere you can see. Along with the building are lots of migrant workers who have come in from the rural areas looking for opportunities. So you see all these prefabbed temporary three story dormitories by the job sites to house the workers.