Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!

At the end of November we set up our tree, put up some decorations, and set up our nativity set. (So glad we brought it - has been a great tool for sharing about Christmas.) A few days later we actually got to put decorations on the tree - had forgotten our lights broke last year, so we had to buy new ones!

In December we had baking parties and later Christmas parties the week leading up to Christmas. By the time Christmas came, we were pretty tired, so we took Friday off of school. (No Christmas break here.) Eric had lunch with some guys, and I ran errands. That night we got dressed up and went out to a nice restaurant.

They were having a Christmas buffet, and the place was packed! Good thing we made reservations. The funny thing though was that we were maybe the only foreigners there. I guess Christmas is a nice excuse for the city's upper echelon to go out for a showy meal. The meal was worth the money though. We had at least 10 kinds of meat and seafood along with many other dishes. Eric's favorite (not really) was the hairy crab. A regional specialty. (And yes, they give you plastic gloves so you don't get your hands dirty!)

After dinner we went home, sang some carols, and opened gifts. Oh, and we watched The Office.

On Saturday I made blueberry coffee cake for breakfast, and Eric went out and bought me roasted chestnuts! We spent some time on Skype, and just hung out. In the evening we made homemade pizza and watched a couple movies.

On Sunday we spent a lot of time Skyping with family. My cool brother who is hanging out in Quatar called first to wake us up. Then we got to talk to my parents and sister Shana in Minnesota. Next was my sister Melissa in California for like five minutes before she headed out the door. Finally we got to talk to Eric's mom and brother in Iowa. We're still hoping to talk to the rest of Eric's family in California and Iowa tomorrow morning before we head back to school. What a blessing Skype is!

We have three weeks left of class, and then about a week of finals. At the end of January we head to Thailand where we plan to have our baby at the end of February. We have friends who just arrived there, and they say it's awesome. Can't wait!

Christmas Party

We've had some Christmas parties this week. One of the biggest hits was a present game. You wrap a gift in many layers. Everyone rolls a dice, and whenever they get a six, they get to go try to unwrap it. But... first they have to put on the hat and gloves. Once the next person gets a six, they take the hat off the other person, and it's their turn to try. It was pretty funny!

Harry the Turtle

Meet Harry.

Friends of ours went back to the US for Christmas, so we get to watch their family's pet turtle. He came from another friend who bought him on a whim, kept him in a bucket with a little water, and occasionally would feed him rice - when she remembered.

Now though he lives in a deep tank with a filter and heater where he can swim freely or crawl up on his rock to meditate and practice yoga. Check out that balance.

Or he can just scratch himself on the filter.

Gestational Diabetes

Nope, I don't have it, but we had the test for it yesterday. I got to mix a little bag of white powder with 200 mls of water at 7:30 am, gulp it down, head to the clinic, and at 8:30 get my blood drawn.

The results were fine. Then it was up to the doctor's office for a lot of waiting. Eric had to wait outside while a friend came with me into the office where about 10 other women were also waiting.

The nurse measured me and listened to the heart beat. Then we put my little medical book at the bottom of the pile and sat for about 30 minutes. Finally it was my turn. The doctor looked over everything, said I'm fine, answered a couple of my questions, and sent me on my way. We found Eric out in the waiting room making a new friend who wanted help with English and headed home!

The only bad thing was after we got home I threw up. Yeah for 28 weeks!

Cultural Baby Differences

There are lots of differences in how people here view pregnancy. On one hand they have a million pieces of advice on what you should and shouldn't eat, should and shouldn't do, etc.

• Do eat eggs, fish, apples, pigeon soup, and eat often - never be hungry
• Don't eat spicy food or drink coffee or cold water
• Do rest, walk, and rest
• Don't paint your nails, wear make-up, watch tv, use your cell phone, use your computer, use the microwave, or shower for a month after giving birth

This gets old. But on the other hand pregnant women are spoiled! They are told to take it easy, rest, relax. They always get a seat on the bus, don't have to carry heavy things, aren't expected to do as much work, and are really quite pampered. (Eric is constantly being asked if he helps more at home, makes me dinner, helps buy groceries, etc.)

Now after you have the baby, a common bathing option is baby bathing rooms usually located upstairs in a baby store. For about $1-$2 a time, you get hot water, a warm room, shampoo, body wash, and a large sink all to wash your baby. We went with a friend today to bathe her son. Interesting. It does make sense here though when some homes don't have hot water, homes in the south don't have central heating, and after the bath, there is no mess to clean up. Some even offer larger sinks where your baby can "go swimming"! Here's a picture outside the steamy room where we went today. (note the floaties on the wall)

A package in the store downstairs.

Women and Children's Hospital II

Back in October I posted a few pictures of the clinic (connected to the hospital) where we have our prenatal appointments. Here are a few more.

When you come into the hospital you have to "register" or basically pay to see the doctor. Today we payed 18 Y ~ $2.50. In the morning the whole area is usually full, and you have to wait a while. Today we went in the afternoon. Much better.

Then we went upstairs to see the specialist that I'll see for the rest of the pregnancy. Eric had to wait outside while the nurse weighed me, took my blood pressure, and then listened to the heart beat.

Today was the day for the detailed ultrasound, so she wrote me a "prescription." We went and paid for it. 280 Y ~ $43.00. Usually it's only about $20, but this one was special, so it was more.

Again Eric had to wait outside while they spent about 10-15 minutes looking at the baby's head, body, and organs such as the heart, liver, etc. They also confirmed that he IS a boy. I got to see a few pictures that really didn't look like much, but they assured me everything looked good. They then printed one picture for me to take back to the doctor.

We went back to the doctor who looked at the ultrasound picture. She said everything looked fine. He's still a little small, but now it's only by about one week.

After that we went and bought the sugar that I'll mix with water and drink for my glucose test next month. 12 Y ~ $1.75. Here's a picture of where they do the urine and blood tests. You wait at one window for a cup to pee in or another to have blood drawn.

Then it was time to head home thankful that everything went well (meaning no running around or mafan) and that our little baby boy is healthy!

Differences...

The longer we're here, the more normal things become. A few things that now seem normal are:

Buildings are lit up all around the city with colorful lights - year round.

Cup lids are often sealed onto the cup.

This meal was unusual because it included raw vegetables - here they are almost always cooked.

Sidewalks and paths are swept with brooms made of branches.

Scaffolding and ladders are made of bamboo.

A Little Washing

We are blessed with a great washing machine in a little room just off the kitchen. It's new, has some English on it, and has never given us any problems. This morning I threw in a really small load, added less soap than usual, and set it for a quick cycle. What I didn't take into consideration was that soap sloshing around in a big almost empty washer makes a lot of suds. A lot. I ended up having to add a rinse cycle and still had suds left. So much for of a quick cycle! At least the clothes are really clean, right?

Bus Ride Home

Last night a great and wonderful thing happened: I was given a seat on the busy bus for the first time because I'm pregnant! A friend and I were on our way back from the grocery store on a bus with standing room only. Two girls next to us started whispering and then asked my friend if I was pregnant. When she said yes, the girl who was sitting quickly got up and insisted I take her seat. I did a little polite resisting but then gladly accepted. What a blessing. The two girls ended up getting off at the same stop as me, so I asked if we could take a photo together.

I really appreciate how they give up seats to people here. When I think about how hard people work and how much physical labor and walking they do daily, a seat on public transportation is a precious thing. Yet if you're elderly, pregnant, or have a small child with you they quickly stand up and insist you take their seat. It's really cool.

A Question of Colors

Today in writing class we were learning colors. (Ya, ya, we know our colors, but writing the characters can be another story.) Anyway, our teacher said that here they often say, "Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Black, Brown." (Leaving out green.) Or they say all of them in the order of the rainbow. Eric and I seem to disagree about how it is in English. So my question is, if you're listing off basic colors really fast, what order would you say them in? We need some outside opinions.

a spread of jam between two rotten slices of bread

I know a lot of what we put on here is about the crazy or the fun things we get to do here. This is more the not-so-fun part of living here. Sigh.

tonight I was planning on meeting a couple girls to study together at their school. ok. fine. wasn't super excited to be honest, but I was gonna do it. I left the house quickly so I'd have time to wait for the bus. as I'm getting close to the bus stop, I turn to see the bus 24 coming up behind me. oh, and then not one, but two of the same bus. so I start to run. now, I'm pregnant, it's dark, and it's starting to rain. I really want to catch this bus though because if I don't - and especially since there were two of them - it would probably mean at least a 20 minute wait for the next one. and I don't have 20 minutes. I got so close! did it wait for me? nope. did either bus wait for me? nope. almost start to cry because I'm so frustrated. fine. I'll take a taxi. surprisingly (because of the rain), I soon found one. only to get in and realize the driver was smoking. yeah. his window was open. and mine actually worked, so I survived. as we pull up I see that not two, but three bus 24s are at the stop. seriously?

got to school, and everything was great. only one girl, but she's awesome and we had a great time studying together.

time to go home. she walked me to the stop to take the bus home. no running this time. instead we get to wait for the bus. for at least 30 minutes. in the rain. with one umbrella that started to leak. thank our good father that I really enjoy being with this girl. bus comes. i take a seat someone was trying to save for their friend after smiling and half asking if it was ok. (she did smile back and say oh!) Eric meets me at our stop with an umbrella. we walk home. my book and papers in my bag are now wet. I am so unhappy. we look at some cute baby clothes that came from our online order and settle in to watch The Biggest Loser. sigh. truly thankful I enjoy time with those girls. I will go again next week.

Women and Children's Hospital

This week I went to pick up my blood test results from the doctor. I thought it might be interesting to see some pictures of what that's like here.

When I arrived I took my receipt from the last appointment and went to this machine to scan the barcode and get my test results.

For some reason it wasn't working, so I went and found my favorite nurse to help. She is always great at getting us to where we need to be and got my results for me from the nurse's station next to her.

After that I went upstairs to the fourth floor to show the results to the doctor that we've see for the first half of my pregnancy.

Dr. Li so kind and always tries to find ways to explain things to us. This time I still wasn't sure what she was saying, so I called a friend to translate for me. She told us the results indicate a low risk of problems such as down syndrome but it's not a 100% thing. (She usually smiles.)

Then it was time to go home until our next appointment at the beginning of November when they'll do an overall check along with a detailed ultrasound. At this point we'll also start seeing a specialist who we'll see through the end of the pregnancy.

How to Tie a Tie and Other Bus Adventures

So the other day in the back of the bus Eric got asked by a guy if he knew how to tie ties. Apparently since Eric is a "westerner", he would know? Well, he does, so right there on the bus he put the guy's tie on himself, tied it, loosened it, and then handed it back. Eric thinks maybe he was a college graduate from another city out trying to find a job since he didn't seem to know the bus route either.

Today my bus driver kept getting out of his seat at stop lights to watch the TV mounted behind him. They were highlighting a big sporting event that's being held in our city, and he appeared to want to catch the replay of the beautiful opening ceremony.

Later I was waiting to catch another bus and a cute little girl (3?) and her grandfather came up. She obviously had to go to the bathroom, so her grandfather told her to go. (It's normal here.) She pulled down her pants and squatted on the road right in front of me. When she was done, she had a big smile on her face, pulled up her pants, and was ready to go!

Daily Life Photos

Here are some photos from around our school.

You can see the freshmen students in their compulsory two-week military training. It's actually a lot more like team building and respect, but it's interesting to watch.

I wondered if students try to get out of it just like p.e. class and pretend to be sick.

The students live 6-8 students to a room and dry their clothes on the balcony.

Every morning you can see the workers out around campus sweeping the roads. We were sad they didn't find Eric's glasses in their sweeping.

Hudson Taylor

A couple weeks ago we got to visit Hudson Taylor's memorial in a nearby city where he was buried. If you don't know who he is, go look it up. He was influential in his time here, and it was a great experience to be able to see this place.

National Day

Yesterday was National Day. It was also our one-year anniversary of arriving in country. And we have a seven-day holiday with no school, so we decided to have a party! The cake didn't quite come out of the pan right, but it was well loved. We had about 10 people over for snacks and to watch The Bucket List. If you haven't seen it, the language is terrible, but it's funny and has some great topics for discussion. Unfortunately, we didn't realize some campus gates still closed early on the weekends, and not everyone could stay until the end. Those that could though hung out for a while afterwards while we talked about life purpose and happiness. Pretty cool.