I have to do WHAT? Adventures in doing laundry in Beijing...

I’ve officially had my “stupid American” moment.  I am beginning to see that the creature comforts I’ve grown accustomed to in the States are not only luxury items here, they just aren’t a part of everyday life for most Beijingers.  I was in for a rude awakening:

We are unfortunately still in our hotel for another couple of weeks before our apartment is ready for move-in.  As we enter into our 11th day in Beijing, you can imagine that 4 people have accumulated quite an amount of dirty laundry.  

Plan A: We decided to ask the front desk of our hotel if they have a laundry service.  Much to our chagrin, laundering/dry-cleaning for one shirt costs 26 RMB, which is about 4 bucks a shirt.  Well, that’s not going to work for the 44 shirts, 22 pants, 88 socks…you get the picture.  We're not about to pay over a hundred bucks for laundry.

Plan B:  We then asked our fellow FAO’s in Beijing if they knew of a laundromat in town.  No one had recalled seeing one, and for these folks who have lived here for a year by now, rest assured that there really aren’t any laundromats in Beijing, not ONE!

Plan C:  My language barrier with the hotel staff required me to have my husband inquire further about this dilemma of ours, which in hindsight probably made me look like an even more spoiled, ignorant, and aloof American.   We asked the concierge again what he recommends we do about finding a place to do laundry.  He answered my husband's question, but gestured to me….I knew where he was going with this.  In english he finally said “you have a bathtub and a sink, do your washing there”. 

Plan D:  Panic!  I wasn’t raised in the 1930’s!  On one hand, I’d consider myself a good cook, and I know my way around domestic household items like a vacuum, dishwasher, washing machine.  But I’ll be the first to admit that I have ZERO hand-washing skills when it comes to clothes.  And believe me, I did try.  I filled the bathtub with only the bare essential clothing that NEEDED washing, added the laundry soap that I had packed in our suitcases, and started scrubbing.  My husband thought this was hilarious, so unfortunately I actually have a picture to share as evidence of my efforts.  See!

Plan D was an epic fail.  I attempted washing our wool socks, and after a couple of days drying on the line, they REEKED!  They were still slightly damp, and probably smelled worse than when they were thrown in the dirty clothes pile.  

Plan E:  FORTUNATELY, some of our FAO friends offered up their washers and dryers if we needed it.   Well we need it.  So I have found time to post this blog while waiting for my second load of laundry to finish washing, thanking my lucky stars for friends in western-friendly, luxurious housing well-equipped with a washer and dryer. 

So to our FAO replacements coming in a few months, here’s my offer now in case I forget when you get here.  You are MORE THAN welcome to our washer and dryer at our place while you’re getting settled in Beijing!  Paying it forward is the least I can do. 

*Another travel note to others about to embark on similar moves like us:  I bought the Method brand laundry soap from Target. 

It’s SUPER concentrated, so I can wash 25 loads with a 10 ounce bottle.  And our clothes are coming out SUPER clean.  You will definitely want to pack some kind of detergent, and I highly recommend this brand.  Not the cheapest but definitely a competitive price and VERY convenient for packing a few with you!

So lesson learned for my great laundry adventure:  Don't assume...ever!  And I  really have to work on hiding my face of shock.  When that concierge told me to just hand wash all our clothes in the bathtub, I distinctly remember my jaw dropping to the floor.  There is plenty of shock value around this city, but it doesn't mean I have to wear my reaction on my face.  I'll have to keep working on this.

Just wondering why we're here?

Da jia Hao! Hello everyone and greetings from Beijing. If you were wondering, Ao Fu Ran is my Chinese name. It was given to me by my teachers back in the States while studying Chinese. This is my first of many blogs but probably not as many as my other half. She'll likely be the main contributor. I've received questions from time to time from friends and family asking what it is I'm doing. So I thought it appropriate to finally post something to give everyone a basic idea of exactly why we're here in the first place.

I'm currently a Marine Corps higher education and training program known as the Foreign Area Officer (FAO) program. The basic purpose is to give an officer a Master's level education, language training, and then in-country language immersion and cultural training in a specific region and designate the officer a specialist in their respective region. A FAO's knowlegde not only includes culture and language but also economic, political, and military aspects of a country or region. The officer can later be assigned to positions that require regional specialists such as regional combatant commands, expeditionary units deployed to the FAOs respective region and assistant defense attache' positions at American Embassies across the globe.

So this is basically the third phase of my education. As you may know I was in Monterey the last 2 and a half years earning an MA in East Asian Security Affairs (phase I) and then attending a language institute for Basic Mandarin (phase II). The main purpose of this final year in the program here in China is to immerse myself in the language and culture. This will be accomplished through my regular attendance at a language institute in Beijing and through regional travel. Most of my travel will be in China visiting the various provinces. However, during the year we plan to do quite a bit of international travel in order to experience other areas within the Asia-Pacific region. Singapore and Vietnam are just a couple of the other countries we plan to visit.

That's it in a nutshell. Now of course we decided to put this blog together to keep friends and family updated but the other important purpose of this blog is to help out our fellow FAO friends and their families who will soon be taking our place. We want to provide as much information and as many lessons learned as we can in order to make their transition as smooth as possible. AND for those friends and family who may plan to travel to China someday hopefully there are a few tips that are useful for you as well. We'll keep you updated. Zai Jian! See you later!

First Week in Beijing

We’ve officially spent our first week in Beijing, and what a jam-packed schedule it’s been!  Our goal the first week was to get the kids acclimated to the time change, select an apartment to live in, and begin to get familiar with our new city.  This week has been so productive, and we’re on our way to getting to know what Beijing is really all about.

The minute we stepped off the plane we knew we were in a massive city.  The Beijing International Airport is HUGE!  You can definitely tell Beijing went all out to prepare for the ’08 Olympic Games, and the airport is an impressive reminder.  The other thing we noticed immediately was the air quality.  For the first two days, there was so much smoke in the air that it was noticeably harder to breathe, and our clothes smelled like we had all been smoking all day.  Thank goodness we had some rain and wind to send that pollution on its way on our third day here, and ever since it’s been very pleasant and warm outside. 

Our hotel has been such a nice escape from the exploring we’ve done during the day.  Between the free breakfast and happy hour buffets, the swimming pool, friendly staff (who speak English), and wonderful maid service that supply us with extra bottled water, juice, towels, whatever, we’ve been able to transition VERY comfortably.  We’re finally getting adjusted to the time change, which suddenly shifted 15 hours only 7 days ago.  Unfortunately this has meant some very odd sleeping patterns the last few days.  Our kids were waking up at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 am.  Only today did they go to bed and wake up at their usual times.  My only advise to others travelling internationally with kids is to keep them busy and engaged while they are awake that they are worn out and ready for bed by the end of the day.  We’ve tried to get out an about as much as possible and we’ve been able to shift their inner clocks about an hour or two each day. 

Jacob zonked out during a midday nap

The area of Beijing we’ve been able to explore the most in is called the Chaoyang District.  This includes the central business district, and it’s also where Sonny’s school, the embassies, and our prospective apartments are located.  What’s so interesting to me about this area is that there are the massive, architecturally innovative, and modern structures you’d expect to find in a globally significant  metropolis, but if you walk a block or two off the modern streets, you see layers of old Beijing still a very prominent cornerstone of the pulse of this city.  Hutongs, for example, are alive and well in Beijing, where families live in compartments of large, very old buildings, and share common areas for washing, cleaning, going to the bathroom, etc.  (Going to the bathroom, by the way, has taken on new meaning.  I definitely remember to “go” before leaving our hotel, because the best I can expect in a public bathroom is a hole in the ground that is at best enclosed with a privacy stall…Note: Bring your own toilet paper!) 

A glimpse of Beijijng's CCTV Tower

The tallest building in Beijing, Guomao

A quick visit to the flower market

Beijing Lady's Street Market (couldn't find out why it has that name)

A cleaner view of a typical toilet...to be found in public park, restaurants, less "western-style" homes

The older, less affluent areas of the city are definitely a far cry from the apartments we have seen in our house-hunting, which have modern amenities like western style toilets, granite countertops, wood floors, open layouts, flat screen tv’s.  Beijing is very much “A Tale of Two Cities”.  While it possesses the most modern features to accommodate those that can afford the highest level of luxury, it also is a city of several million hardworking families who live far below that lifestyle.  It is eye-opening, and I have noticed that everywhere we’ve been so far, the wealthy and not-so-wealthy areas, the people we’ve meet have ALL been friendly and hospitable.  Every time we’ve been on the subway, at least one person gets up and gives up their seat so Isabelle can have a rest  as she’s been walking almost as much as Sonny and I.  We’ve tried different restaurants, taken taxis across town, and shopped in several local markets, and we’ve not yet had a negative experience with the patrons we’ve met.  If anything, it seems that people go out of their way to help us, which I attribute to the fact that we have kids.  People seem to be very aware of and also very approachable to our kids.  It’s not as typical for us in America to see our kids interacting this much with complete strangers.  Part of this is I know we look like westerners, and I was warned before we got here to expect a little more attention while out in public.  Our kids are just eating that attention up.  We went to Chaoyang Park, Bejing’s equivalent to Central Park in New York City, only Chaoyang also has an amusement park that the kids LOVED!   While we were here, the kids were approached by several other groups of Chinese kids and adults just wanting to take their pictures with them.  I could have predicted that Isabelle was going to love being the center of attention, and she would join them in flashing her smile and a peace sign for the camera. As long as my kids don’t mind the attention, I guess I don’t either.

Beautiful Monument in Chaoyang Park

Isabelle and Jacob are rolling around in Chaoyang Park

It was a beautiful day for flying a kite at Chaoyang Park.  Isabelle picked the mermaid kite of course!

Kids working on their teamwork

Jacob is always trying to "help"

The kids were stopped by some kids for a photo-op

Jacob met a new friend to blow bubbles with

One of our few opportunities to use the jumbo stroller

Not only have we been able to visit some of Beijing’s many parks such as Chaoyang and Tuanjiehu Park, but we’ve explored some of the local produce and meat markets, flower markets, shopping malls, restaurants, the Olympic Village (including the Water Cube and Bird’s Nest).  We’ve watched the senior citizens of the community gather to perform exercise routines, vendors selling and bargaining in the outdoor markets, people in mass getting on and off the subway, and rush hour traffic (which includes just as many pedestrians and bicyclists as there are cars).   I feel like this has been such a productive first week, considering the fact that we’re also adjusting to getting around the city with the kids.  We have a double jogging stroller, which in the U.S. I considered my go-to piece of equipment for lugging the kids around town.  There isn’t a lot of accommodation for people with strollers, so unless we knew we were headed to a park, we really haven’t used it.  Rather, Sonny’s been carrying Jacob in the baby backpack we brought, and Isabelle has come to get used to doing A LOT of walking.  I’m so proud of how well she is transitioning.  The kids have enjoyed trying new foods, which came as a shock to me.  MY picky eaters actually love the noodles, tender beef and pork, and vegetables like grean beans, bok choy, cabbage, and leeks.  CRAZY!  And we've found that the more local the restaurant, the cheaper the bill.  In the restaurants pictured below we spent around 70 RMB for our meals, which is about 10 bucks.  That includes beer! 

The Birds Nest

Dig In!

Isabelle in front of the Water Cube

Exploring the Olympic Village

Inside the Bird's Nest.  The top floor has a great museum exhibit with artifacts from the opening ceremonies.  For you engineers out there, there's also a pictorial progression of the construction phases, complete with CADD drawings showing the buildings' load distributions.

Jacob with his first Chinese souvenier

Learning our way around the subway on a very quiet day

Stopping for a rest at another great Chinese restaurant

Bon Apetite!  Pork Ribs, Kale soup, a dried green bean dish, and a bowl of pork noodle soup.  Isabelle and Jacob tried everything!

For those of you curious about our house-hunting progress, we have definitely selected our favorite apartment.  We have to finalize our contract and make sure everything we want is included in our lease before we officially have a home.  So far we’re very happy with the place we’ve decided on.  I’ll definitely be posting more on this soon as our selection is finalized and we get to move in.  During our exploring of prospective apartments around town, we’ve been able to track down western-friendly grocery stores that surprisingly carry things like Pampers, baby wipes, common western brand toiletries, and familiar foods that down the road will be a welcome break from Chinese food.   This is a huge relief to me to know that key necessities I’m accustomed to and the creature comforts of home are readily available…for the most part.

All in all, we’ve had such a great experience this first week in Beijing.  We’ve tried a lot of new things and gotten around town to discover all the wonderful things this city has to offer.  This week really could not have gone better with the kiddos, and I’m really confident they are going to feel at home very soon!  Thanks for following us guys, and stay tuned for updates on our new apartment.  Also, we will be heading to some of Beijing’s most well-known historical sites very soon, so keep an eye out for our blog on that.

PS.  The Easter Bunny came to Beijing!  Happy Easter everyone!

We Made It!

Ni Hao from Beijing!  We're still a bit jet-lagged and worse for wear after the last couple of long days spent exporing the city, but our experience here so far has been incredible. 
As soon as we boarded our flight from San Francisco, I knew we were in for a culture shock.  Most of the passengers on the flight with us were Chinese, and the conversations carrying on around us were for the most part unfamiliar to me.  The kids did suprisingly very well on the flight, which was one major obstacle I had been stressing over for weeks.   I should have relaxed a little on that note, as our kids have ALWAYS been very good travelers.  United Airlines didn't help us one bit on this front, however.   I must say that with all my power I will avoid and advise others to avoid ANY United Airlines flight...EVER. 
Let's put it this way, there was one flight...ONE FLIGHT...leaving the Monterey Airport that morning...the flight which was to take us to our international connecting flight in San Francisco a whopping 2 and a half hours early.  Well, the 20 passengers and their luggage on our flight must have been too much for the United staff and crew to handle, because we missed our wheels-up clearance and had to sit in the airplane, on the runway, just long enough that we arrived in San Francisco after our Beijing flight had already left.  United Airlines' idea of customer service is the automated kiosks at the terminals which electronically rebook your flight and don't allow you to speak to an actual human being anywhere along the way. 
Nevertheless, we were rebooked on another flight, this time with Air China.  But the flight was full, and we were nervously waiting at the gate when an attendant finally told us that we would all be able to make it on the plane, but not sitting together.  Are you kidding?  My husband and I and our two kids are all supposed to sit apart.  The poor souls that will be sitting next to our unattended children!  Luckily we met some very friendly and understanding folks who were willing to switch around so that we could sit together and at least get the kids in a spot where they could sprawl out a little. 
When we finally landed in Beijing, we were so happy top be done with that day of travelling.  It could always be worse, but the unanticipated delay definitely left me a little frayed at the edges and upset.  But we made it, and ever since we've been too busy house-hunting, getting our bearings in and around the Chaoyang District of Beijing, and of course catching up on sleep and resuming a new schedule with the kids. 

This is us, BEFORE the flight fiasco

For those of you reading this blog who may be doing some international travel soon with kids, just want to pass along a few things that really saved us:
1.  Our new toy, the iPad.  Hands down the greatest thing for our 5-year old.  She didn't even break into her backpack stuffedf with toys and books.  When she wasn't watching movies, she slept.  And thanks to the rental option on iTunes we were able to stock up on never before seen (to her at least)  movies, songs, and books on iBook.
2.  Think your packing too many snacks?  Think again.  With the unexpected delay, the apocalypse I apparently had planned for really paid off when we were stuck in San Francisco for an extra 5 hours I hadn't planned for.  If your kids are still in Diapers, also plan to pack at least a couple of days worth of diapers.  If you're stuck on a layover or experience delays that take you into a second day, this worst case scenario planning may be KEY!
3.  Hydrate!  My kids really don't like drinking water.  Not that I blame them,  water doesn't hold a candle to the sweet sugary apple juice in a kid's mind, but starting about a week before our flight left, I was forcing liquids of all types on the kids.  I've always done that trick where I give the kids fruit juice where the glass is half juice, half water.  We haven't had any dehydration problems at all since we've arrived.  This is key for folks going to Beijing, as the air was really dry and the air pollution was obvious immediately after landing. 
4.  Wash hands, sanitize, use wipes, oh MY!  I also thought we were going a bit overboard with the number of antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, and soap we had packed, but boy am I glad we did!  And the clean-freak awareness didn't stop when we left the airport.  I noticed right away after adventuring out of our hotel just how dirty everything seems compared to what we're used to.  The combination of the air pollution and common public hygeine habits has left us almost contantly walking into smells that only the most neglected port-a-potties call home.  I feel better when we're armed with all this cleansing goodness!
5.  Try packing some new toys your kids have never seen before.  We won't be receiving our shipment of household goods for another month or so.  That means that what we've packed in our suitcase is what our kids will be entertaining themselves with anytime we have some down time.  Packing a couple of "presents" escpecially for the trip will help these toys keep their newness and hopefully the kids will hold interest in them longer.

Like I had said before, we have ALREADY done and seen so much in Beijing!  So I think I'll leave this post strictly to the trip getting here.  I'll be reposting again soon though.  My husband has posted picture of us on facebook from our flight and our first few days here both in our hotel and around town (look at tagged photos of me if you're not his "friend", and you should find them).  Look out for another post VERY soon!  For now, it's only 7:50 pm, and after a TsingDao, my biological clock says it's time for bed.  I can count on my 20 month old son to be bright eyed and bushy tailed at about 3:00 am, so I'd better get going.

Mailing Address

Hey Everyone!  We've had alot of folks ask for our mailing address to send care packages to.  I've added it below in case you'd like to send anything:

Unit 7300 Box 0400
DPO AP 96521-0405

Thanks in advance to our awesome family and friends!  I appreciatively accept all forms of chocolate, in case you didn't already know;)

The Countdown Begins

...and here it begins!  I've finally started that blog I have been promising family and friends now for months.  Thanks for your patience everyone.  I now have no excuse not to let you all know what we're up to on our  travels throughout Asia!

We're less than a week from leaving the Monterey for Beijing, China, and boy has it taken some crazy coordinating skills!  In fact, our time living out of a suitcase started a few months ago when we decided to pack up our house early and spend our last few months in the US visiting family.  We've also been busy doing so much research, planning, paperwork, and preparation.  I think the four of us are all ready to finally get there and settle in to our new home, and I have to be honest, I'm a little anxious about getting adjusted to a completely new culture.  But I've been telling myself for a while that I MUST keep an open mind and make sure I learn something new as each day comes. 

That's not to say that there won't be challenges along the way.  As most of you know, my husband has been studying Mandarin for the last year.  While he is fluent in the language, the kids and I have only picked up a handful of words through his training.  So my number one goal for the next year is to pick up as much Chinese as I can and be fearless in practicing and improving whenever we travel.  I also want to make sure that the kids come to appreciate firsthand an appreciation for other cultures and remember as much as possible from their experience here as possible.  That's the most important reason I wanted to start a blog...years from now I'll want to flip through our photos and read our blog together to remember our time in China.  And our kids may someday realize what a unique opportunity we had to have this time together.

We invite you guys to join in our journey by following our blog and letting us also know what you all are up to over the next year.  Also, any travel tips you may have, or specific information on destinations of interest in China would be greatly appreciated.  Talk to you again on the other side of the world!