I believe in America!

Today was tough, especially after 3 pm our time.  That is when we found out our next president would be Donald Trump. Who would have thought he would be our next president?  I didn't and neither did the teachers here at DAIS.  I walked into my classroom that I shared with another teacher and she was crying uncontrollably trying to figure out why he is the president and not Hillary. I didn't have an answer for her but I gave her a hug as we stood there speechless with tears in our eyes. it is numbing to think that this is the first president that I have NOTHING in common with.  We don't stand for anything (that I know of, because frankly, he doesn't say clearly what he stands for) and he does not represent me as a woman, as an educator or as an American. Yes, in the past,  I have voted for presidents that  didn't win, but at least I respected the president that did win and the oval office. I can't say the same for Mr. Trump. 

throughout this last month, I have been asking my students how does the government work in China?  Some of my students had no idea, some said money talks (corruption) and then some mentioned the people have no say, it is decided for them.  They said this was easier than going through what America is going through, democracy. so what is really the difference between China and America? How do the two superpowers compare?  Well, here is what I know.  China values stability more, while the US values individual freedom. of course, we all know that America is grown on democracy (federal government of the republic of 50 states) and China is grown on communist, one party state. if you were to compare the two superpowers you would see a discrepancy with law and order, the economy (US is in serious debt, where China is in a surplus), and the way of living.  There are pluses and minuses between the two countries but I still choose United States of America.  Why, you say?  Because I believe.

I still believe in the American people, I still believe in democracy. I love my country and I still believe that America is great (it never was any less than that). What makes a country are the people. The people make the country not our leaders.  We have the power to choose our leaders and we have the power to make a difference. We the people!  Not Trump, not Hillary, not 'Sponge Bob' (a little humor-ahem) but us!!!  I will not be moving to Canada, but I will stay and fight for the American ideals "...that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness" (Bill of Rights, 1776)

Does Trump represent me?  No, but that doesn't mean America doesn't represent me, because it does.  I am a true American that live and breath American ideals.  A man doesn't represent me, I DO!

“A place is only as good as the people you know in it. It's the people that make the place.”- Pittacus Lore

It has been over a month since the last time I wrote. A lot has been going on but what I want to write about today is the people that we have been in contact with.  The people that we have interacted with has been detrimental living here.  These people have made a difference to our lives and made our transition a bit easier here in China.

Every time we go to the market we interact with the vendors. They remember us and we remember them from Mushroom gal to the apple guy.  If we are having a difficult time with the language, we have these amazing staff members that can speak for us, order things for us on line both professional as well as personal (we got our Halloween costumes china online shopping site) and if we are homesick or need a break and need to nourish our mental health, our mentors, Mich and Joseph as well as other teachers, come to the rescue. And then there are these amazing students of ours who thirst for knowledge and work hard for their education which makes us better teachers. We are truly pleased where we are mentally, socially, physically and  emotionally.  This could not be possible without the "people, that make this place".

Enjoying a weekend break up on "skybar'

Our mentors!

Liz's 7th grade Health class making Salsa

Our Head School Director, Terry

Love the peanuts at the market

Go Seahawks!!!

Getting ready for the Polar Plunge

Beer Tasting at Sams Club!

Having a great time in Dangdong

chestnuts being roasted by the great wall, Beijing

The great wall, Dangdong

Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas. Johnny Carson

When it came to our packages, they didn't lose them they held them and not just one week or two weeks but for 50 days!!!  That's 7 weeks and one day! There were times where I thought we would have to mail them back home but we persevered. So let me start at the beginning of this very long story.

Nancy at Customs

 We started with 15 boxes that we mailed to ourselves back in July.  When we arrived August 1st, six of the 15 boxes got delivered to the school.  Where were the other nine?  Why were they held at the post office? What do we need to do now? That was the start of our nightmare.  Luckily for us, we had the school support and an agent named Nancy.

Nancy worked tirelessly to get our boxes to us but she kept on getting road blocks. She wanted to do it all legal which she did but it was not easy.  Every time she felt she was moving forward, another issue came up.  So what was the issue? What was the problem? It came to our forms that we filled out, randy's calculators, my spices and soaps.  Let me explain to the best of MY ability.

On the form Randy wrote down what the calculators would cost if he had to replace them instead of what they were worth. because of this one mistake, the customs agent didn't believe Nancy it was a mistake and wanted to see me (since the packages were addressed to me).  So at the end of August, I went to the Customs agent ready to pay taxes around $1,200.  They still didn't believe her and refused for me to talk to them and they refused to talk to me. So I would tell Nancy in private about the cost of the calculators.  I showed her a picture of what the calculators look like.  Still they wouldn't budge. Also the price for the release of the boxes went up in price about triple. Nancy said no and she will figure out the next move.

Customs Office, Take a number

Throughout all this, the school staff and especially Nancy kept on assuring us we will get our boxes. She didn't want us to pay this exorbitant amount of money. finally we got the word that the customs office sent a message to the post office they can release the packages.  We would be getting our packages delivered to the school and be ready at 5. We were ecstatic!  We were finally getting our packages. At 5:05 we got word that the packages were not coming.  They had to look through them and make sure all the packages matched what was on the form.  On box four, we wrote soaps which we were told by the US post office that would count for all soaps, shampoos, etc.  NOPE. Since it was not bar soap there was a discrepancy and wouldn't release ANY of the boxes. They also wanted to see the actual person that the boxes were addressed to. Nancy was stumped.  She needed two more days to figure out her next move. one week later, on September 5th, I take a personal day (which I only get one per year) and this time, the head secretary of the school went with me as my interpreter.

We met Nancy at the post office in Dalian (about an hour away from DAIS). The boxes were cleared and we were on our way to pack up the boxes into the car.  But wait, the computer crashed and they needed a 'receipt' to release them at 1:30. it was 11:00! They sent Nancy to go to the customs agent (across town) to get a receipt, pay the taxes then they would release them.   At this point I am a bit frustrated but kept my cool. What else could I do?  They can see I am a real person.  The items in the boxes did match the forms and we were willing to pay the taxes for the 'spices' (30%), the calculators (40%), and the soaps (30%) plus the 'holding fee'.  Total price $1,300.  I KNOW it was more than that, but Nancy refused me to pay her any more.  I don't know if she paid them under the table or what.  I just know it was a lot more.  Eileen tried to explain to me that it was the holding fee.  If I understood her right, it cost $15 per box for 50 days times 9. that would equal $6,750!!!! Holy $%@!!!  I don't know what she did but she refused for us to pay anything more than $1,300.

So close!

 After interpreting that soap is soap and paying the money (by the way, you go through the banks for all transactions with any government business like the post office. When Nancy went to pay for it, they were closed and she had to go again, across town to pay at a different bank-wowza), we finally loaded up the boxes at 3:00 and arrived back on campus at 4:00.  Every box was looked through but not one single thing was missing and nothing was broken.  It was a happy day indeed.  We gave Nancy a pound of Starbucks coffee (that was in our boxes) and we ordered flowers for her (which she declined).  Without her, I am pretty sure our boxes would have been sent home.

 

Now that we have all of our boxes, I have my passport back and we have a local bank account, I feel more at ease than before.  Patience and trust was the key component through all this.  I cannot say enough how much we appreciated Nancy and DAIS.

Shopping at any level is a bit of therapy for my medulla oblongata. Theophilus London

I don't know who Theophilus London is but I think he has shopped in a Chinese market before. There is a click, a zen a feeling I get when I go down various rows of produce, meat, fish, nick-nack and other items I have not a clue what it might be.  One in particular we enjoy.  It looks like a mini tomatillos but when I peel back the wrapper, I get a yellow fruit that is sweet.  Perfect in a fruit salad with mangosteen and bananas with a sprinkling of cinnamon (which I had to borrow because my spices are in customs-another post later about that). I have had the fortune of tagging along with someone that has been here for 3 years and is a foodie like myself.

What are these tasty treats? 

Michellena goes shopping every Saturday at the market at 7 am.  with bags in hand.  Let me explain to you that shopping is not a quick trip to Safeway or a jaunt down to the local farmers market.  The 'compound' is about 30 minutes away from the JinTiTan farmers market.  You can take the Chinway (light-rail), the school hired bus or you get a taxi.  Michellena prefers the taxi and here is why.  You have a lot of bags to carry around and with the personal taxi, they will wait for you, take your bags and away you go to the next part of the market.  Its really like hiring a limo service! It is a bit more pricey but it is all relative.  It costs me about 30-40 Yen (about $4-$6 for the whole DAY!) compared to the Chinway (1 Yen) or the bus (free).

Shopping for groceries and other incidentals is an all day event! We start at 7 a.m. for produce, meat, and spices.  We get back to our apartment around 8:30 a.m.  Then we are off again around 10 a.m. to the larger town, Kaifaqu where we go to the local mall, the Korean butcher shop and to Sunny's, an import store for things like peanut butter, etc. We get back around 3:30 p.m. If you prefer to go into Dalian, the free bus goes there only on Saturdays for a trip to IKEA, Metro (similar to Fred Meyer) or Sams Club. If you do that trip, you will get back around 4:30 p.m.

outside IKEA

We have been to IKEA, Metro, Korean butcher, the market twice so far.  I am pretty shopped out at IKEA and Metro but I will never be shopped out for the market or the butcher shop.  That is when I know I am not in the United States. I am in China. The meat is cut right in front of you on a butcher block that I believe hasn't been washed since 1990. (I might be exaggerating a bit, maybe)  It is not for the faint of heart, I'm sure of that.  The pictures will speak for themselves.

Seriously, went around the corner and this was there!

Chickens and little chicks

Need any spices or anything pickled?

I don't buy my seafood at the market. 

Because there are no regulations really to speak of, I make sure our food that I have purchased at the market are cleaned and properly prepared.  I wash my lettuce in a vinegar bath, pat dry and wrap it in paper towels then seal them in a ziplock and put it into the refrigerator.  When I am ready to use the lettuce for a salad, I cut it up and I nook it in the microwave for about 30 second.  Now it is ready for a salad. (I also stir-fry any vegetables I want to put into the salad, including the cucumbers)  It is a process but our health is very important to us.  So far, we are doing well.

Dinner time. Flank steak, salad and sweet potatoes

Until next time,
Liz

DMV meets the Dept. Of Health

The Chinese, every year gets a physical. As expats, we get one too but only once, thank goodness. Just like the DMV, we get a number and a personal sheet with our information. Then it gets weird. It's like a medical scavenger hunt. We go to these specific rooms, do the activities in these rooms, get our paper stamped and we move on to the next room. Each room had a specific task to do on you and there was no time to be modest. One room was the X-ray room where you literally stood and hugged a metal X-ray  box and waited until they said, finished (the only English word spoken). They drew blood, three test tubes full, in another room (yes, they had clean needles). The EKG room where I was flat on my back with my dress pulled up to my bra and clamps were put on my arms and legs and my chest. Glad I was wearing underwear. Another place where my dress was pulled up was for an ultrasound. Apparently they needed to make sure I had all my organs? Then the best room was the urine sample. So I pee in a cup about the size of a coffee scoop in a traditional Chinese toilet ( let's just say I missed a couple of times), I go to the attendant where she hands me a test tube where she motions me to the garbage can and instructs me to pour the pee into the test tube and throw the rest away. Luckily I was prepared with my hand sanitizer. I got through it. And there was snacks at the finish line. Snickers, apple and water! 

"I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane..."

We do know when we will be back again, next June.  We love each and everyone one of you.  In a couple of hours we will be heading off to SeaTac.  A new adventure awaits for us on the other side of the world (literally).  "All (our) bags are packed (and) we're ready to go..."
Until next time,
 '我们爱你' 
(we love you)
Liz and Randy

“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox

We love our families.  We love how they support us, encourage us, redirect us, and hold us to a standard that makes us who we are.  For the last month, we have been focusing on our families.  Trying to spend as much time as we can with each other.  ziplining, moped riding, hikes, camping, visiting, etc.  They mean everything to us!

Shipley family Reunion, 2016

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