babble...

Here's a new video of Eden...six and a half months old!
She can say "dada" now, but we're not quite sure she knows the meaning of it yet! :)
and of course her usual after dinner special at the end!

A Shot in the Arm

Last week we took a few days to head up to the capital for Eden's next round of vaccinations (I told you we weren't total hippies) and to enjoy some American food! We've found that after a few months being back in our city we can always use a little dose of America, whether its in the form of food, other white faces, speaking english, or shopping for cereal. And this time around, we got to do every one of those!

Here's Eden decked out and ready for the big trip. She LOVES getting out and going places!

We met this little baby at the train station and Eden thought she was pretty cool...

The family sitting next to us on the train loved Eden. She steals the show wherever she goes.

Within a block radius of the hotel that we stayed in is:

1. Starbucks

2. Peter's (more to come on that later)

3. Annie's (an awesome italian place)

4. the International Hospital where Eden got her shots

5. Jenny Lou's (the best grocery import store ever)

6. Tom's (every movie imaginable...bootleg of course)

7. and last but not least Sunny Gold's (they've got all your shopping needs...if your shopping needs include knock off North Face, Burberry, Crocs, etc...)

It's like our own little America right in down town Chiner. It's the perfect place to go when we're needing a little "American Pick-me-up."

ok. about Peter's. It's a little Tex-Mex cafe with seriously one of the best bacon cheeseburgers I've ever eaten. I believe it's owned by a local, but I have no idea who taught that boy how to cook the way he does because it for real tastes just like the Tex-Mex served up back in the real Texas. The food by far is the best part of the joint, but the atmosphere totally helps. See...

Now if that doesn't look like your little mom and pop joint in downtown (insert your own hometown) Texas, then I don't know what does. We got a kick out of the Texas flag behind me in this picture with the word "home" written below it. hmmm...ironic.

Before leaving though we made one more stop to my favorite place to shop in Chiner, the Silk Market. They've got the coolest stuff. Now see...if you had come and visited us I would have taken you there! It's a place where the prices start out at about 5 times what you should actually pay (and most foreigners go for that) but if you can speak Chinese like us...then you can get an awesome handmade quilt for about $30 (price started at $150...hooray for bargaining skills!)

Eden also got her very own "chop." The Chinese word for this escapes me, but basically it's a stamp of her Chinese name, "Chen Yue En." We both have one and wanted her to have one too. And at the Silk Market they make it right there in front of you. A man engraved it into the stone that we picked out for her.

We had a great time...errrr Brandon and I did. Turns out Eden was getting her first tooth in the same day that she got her shots. Yeah. Rough day for the kiddo.
So she got her dose of HepB & dTap...and we got our dose of America.
I say that...but as soon as we got back last week I was dealt a shocking blow. My favorite all time band, The Counting Crows, came out with a new cd about 2 weeks ago without me being the wiser. Had no clue. Even when we feel like we're "staying in the loop" on all things American...there's just some stuff that still passes us by. I guess that comes with the territory of living 12,000 miles away!

In other news...we have a scheduled departure date! May 22nd Texas here we come!

6 Months!

Eden is 6 months old today! WOW! And she's trying so many new things and really beginning to "scoot" around! She's been eating rice cereal for a couple weeks now which she totally loves. She gobbles it up quick! And she's loving sweet potatoes too. She's not like her momma though...she hated the avocados! We'll try those again in about a month! And of course, she LOVES banana now.
She had her first taste of carrots yesterday:

And this is what she thought of them:

haha! I looooove that picture!!!

and this is how she looks after meals!

strange...I think her hair looks a little red tinted in those pictures but it doesn't look red at all in person. She's definitely a blondie for now!

I'm too lazy to post this video on the actual blog so I'm just going to paste the link. Check it out if you want to! :) It's of Eden's new scootin' around.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LW6q7UHumf0

Here's a few more recent pics...

Who is Shakira?

As I walked in the door I was greeted by 40 students who stood to their feet in applause. They cheered for me like I'd just cured cancer. I couldn't believe the reaction I was getting for just walking through the door! Little did I know, that I'd be bombarded by giddy 20 year old girls (who could have passed for 13) who wanted to be in a picture with a Lao Wai (foreigner), and cell phones that took pictures throughout the entire class.
That was the ridiculous part. The rest of the 50 minute class was pretty cool.

This week I visited two classes of students learning english so that they can move abroad and be tour guides. It's a little far-fetched if you ask me. Most likely they'll end up being tour guides for English speakers across China...if that. But even still, their ambition was amazing.
Two girls wanted to sing a song for me...voluntarily and individually. That would never happen in America. However, the "I'm too cool" complex is not an issue here. And they were both great!
I spoke of family and friends back in Texas. Hobbies. My favorite Chinese food (something they ALWAYS ask). American Weddings. All the usual questions we get asked when doing this sort of thing.
And then they pulled out a few random ones:

Student: "Can you describe Rock and Roll music?"
Me: "ummm, like how do you mean?"
Student: "Well, can you sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow?"
Me: (trying to stifle a laugh) "Well, I can...but that's not really Rock and Roll."

Another student: "Have you been to the White House?"
Me: "I've seen it from the outside."
Student: "Can you describe it?"
Me: "welllllllll, it's a big, white house!"

A boy in the back of the class: "Can you tell me your opinion of the China/Taiwan relations?"
Me: (oh so tactfully evading the question) Many Americans don't know much about Chinese customs...for instance (and I totally pulled out something that I can't remember and didn't have to discuss that topic any longer!)

And then a girl asked me to explain the differences between American babies and Chinese babies (which I'm not real sure what she was wanting me to say) but it totally gave me a door to inform them that the rest of the world (at least none of it that I've seen) doesn't use split pants. and a huge gasp overtook the room...

Besides the silly and political questions, I got to discuss some pretty neat stuff. But it's tough doing this sort of thing because it's likely that I was the first foreigner for any of them to see, much less speak to. So it's a lot of pressure to "deflate" this American idea they have built up in their head....that we all dress like Britney Spears. Or sing like American Idol. or obsess over the latest season of LOST (well, ok most of us do). Or eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. you get the idea. For them to hear that I hadn't heard the most recent album of Shakira was a total shocker.
As far removed as they are from American culture, being 12,000 miles away, even still they seem to be swept up in it...or at least want to be. But I hope it was encouraging for them to hear that America is a lot more than McDonalds and shopping malls. And it's not always something to be swept up in.

They were eager to hear about America, but much to my surprise, they were more interested in hearing about my adjustment to their culture. Which was great to talk about. It was helpful for me to speak with them about it because I could only focus on the positives (it's not like I can criticize their culture in front of them) which forced me to really think about how far I've come in the last 2 years as far as handling Chinese culture is concerned.

And then of course after all of our serious discussion and the progress I felt I'd made, a girl asked, "Where does Paris Hilton live?" ahhhhh well. I guess we can't escape it completely!

Anniversary, Parks, & Trains

We celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 11th! It's been such a great 3 years so far...we're looking forward to many many more years! Interesting marriage fact: we've been married longer in China than in the states!
We ate a funfetti cake to celebrate!

The weather has been getting warmer lately. So we've taken advantage of it and gone to the park several times in the past week. Eden loves getting out in her fantastic Bjorn carrier...and all the people LOVE looking at her!

These ladies were super sweet. We couldn't communicate with them very well because they were pretty old. They didn't speak "the common language" but we were able to catch a few words here and there to understand they thought we weren't wearing enough clothes. (something just about everyone tells us...they'll wear long underwear underneath their long sleeves and pants until it reaches 80 degrees F)

While we were out I thought I'd take some pictures so you all can see what goes on in the parks here....
People do random exercises. Like pushups on a park bench:

People bring their brooms and dust pans out to the park to help clean up. No they aren't paid...the must just enjoy cleaning up the park! There were several ladies out there sweeping stuff up.

People take naps on the park benches. This is the most common activity in the parks. In this one area alone, every park bench had a person taking a nap on it. They aren't homeless. In fact, they are probably all just taking a break from their jobs....and they choose to spend their break in deep slumber at the public park. :)

The park benches that aren't taken by napsters are usually covered up with couples making out. I spared you those pictures.
Rarely do people walk on the grass or gather and throw frisbees...the sites at parks here are pretty different from those in the states. None the less, the park is a fun place to go on a nice day!

This weekend Eden took her first train ride in China. Trains around these parts are a little different from those elsewhere in the country. We have "bullet trains" that travel about 200 km/h. They are so convenient...in fact, we prefer them to taxis or airplanes! They are super cheap and as you can see in the picture, really nice! We always take "First Class" because it's about a dollar more, a lot more spacious, and usually less crowded because Chinese people pinch and save cash where they can!

Eden's first train ride...and a little of the country side:

Her Contagious Laugh

Eden had the hiccups, and she thought Brandon mocking her was pretty funny.

I love it when she gets a little delirious in the evenings!

Of Dumplings and Expiration Dates

Dumplings are not my favorite Chinese dish. In fact, they may be my least favorite. And it would be my luck that they are the most popular dish in our city. Dumplings are served at every holiday, every family get together, & are usually the dish that families serve us when we're invited to visit their home.

So this past week it was no surprise that we were served heaping mounds of dumplings when our neighbors invited us over for dinner! They are such a sweet family. We couldn't have asked for nicer neighbors (except for that one time), so we really do enjoy spending time with them. It's just always a struggle for me to choke down a whole plate of dumplings...especially when they are shrimp and tofu filled. :) I've discovered the key is to eat slow, talk a lot, & put some of mine onto Brandon's plate (because he, after all, is nicknamed the Dumpling King) But none the less, our time with them was great and Wife Neighbor's dumplings were just as good as any I've ever eaten.

Me, Eden, Wife Neighbor, & Daughter Neighbor:

And on a completely unrelated note...

I've always been one of those people who is completely leery about drinking day old milk. I'm usually pretty good about checking expiration dates. But this past week we've noticed that two of our coveted "American items" have surpassed their expiration dates. And maybe surpassed is stating it mildly... The baking soda that I've been using ever since we arrived here expired in August of 2006. ummmm yeah. That means it expired the month that we arrived in China. And Brandon's bottle of Bayer Back & Body expired in June of 2007. woops. But I'm still cooking yummy baked items and Brandon's back & body are still getting the relief that specially labeled aspirin can bring. I'm thinking the manufacturers of both items could be a little more liberal with their dating system since we're both still alive and kickin' after consuming so many "expired" things. I have no idea what is in baking soda that can go bad, but seriously Arm & Hammer, stop fooling us with your labels and just tell us straight up, "Will not kill you if you eat after 2 years expired."
Will we stop using either one? No. It's funny what living in a foreign country can do to you.