The Johnson's Repatriate: 8/1/10

30 August 2010

All in a Fortnight

A fortnight ago… The girls and I were still in Canada. Drinking in the beauty of Vancouver. Relishing final moments with friends. Picking BC berries...

Two weeks ago I… Dreaded (in the back of my mind) my return to China. Hugged friends necks... the very necks I don't know when I'll see next. Stepped onto an airplane with three kids and 8 bags (EIGHT BAGS!!) in the cargo hold. Listened to my five year old chant that she "NEVER WANTS TO BE ON AN AIRPLANE AGAIN." (Not cry, yell or scream, simply chant this mantra for the final three hours of flight.) Arrived in Beijing. Waited in Beijing for our connection. Popped the US SIM card out of my iphone with my earing, and then popped my China SIM in with the grace and dexterity of a hit man or drug runner (the likes of which also need to switch SIMs and ditch phones). Waited some more in BJ when our flight was delayed. FINALLY boarded our flight to Qingdao, two hours past schedule and with three serious jet-lagged kids.

I returned home and … Discovered my new kitchen counter. And a new toliet and shower. Found myself pleasantly surprised by both. Got the kids ready for school. Sent them to school. (Found out school started the day before.) Unpacked bags. Washed laundry. Wondered what the loud noise was coming from the washer. Wondered where the black spots on the clothes came from. Realized the washer was broken. Called a repair man who confirmed it. Watched as the washing machine left for repair. (ETA for repair one week.) Counted up school uniforms to see how far they would stretch before the washer was fixed. Did the same for underwear. Discovered we could go months without a washer and still be good in the unmentionables department.

I took…

Taxis.

I took the Bus.

I took time to get back into the groove.

I Went … To fellowship. To PTO. Out to lunch with friends. Out for coffee. To the grocery store (about every other day). Went on long seaside walks with the dog. To the bus stop to pick up The Three. And two Saturday nights in a row, went on hot dates Mr Johnson. I went to the tailor. To “Pet Street”. To “Kitchen Street”. To the flower shop (where I came out with armfuls of lilies for a fist full of kuai.)

I Realized… That’s what my life in China is like. Realized how much I’d missed it. Realized how much I’ll always miss the people who’ve left, but at the same time that they were part of what made being here fun. Realized two more years will be good. (As long as we take it one day at a time).

23 August 2010

Too Cool for School

All summer long, while the girls and I were galavanting around North America (and Mr Johnson was slaving away at his desk job in an un-airconditioned office in Qingdao or traveling on a crowded train to remote parts of the Orient visiting suppliers) I had in my mind that the first day of school was Thursday, the 19th of August.

Our return tickets where scheduled for the 18th, meaning I knew The Three would most likely miss the first day of school due to jet-lag and our late arrival the night before into Qingdao. I held strongly to this belief... my created first day of school ... even as I reluctantly allowed MGJ to go to school (albeit late) on what I continued to believe was the first day.

But guess what? School started on the 18th. Which can only mean one thing. These girlies are way too cool for school. They subscribe to the "casually late" camp. They didn't make it to the first day. And on the second day... we called a PJ day (except for my eldest... who likes to keep up appearances.)

So, in this belated fashion, here are some pics from the 'first-ish' day of school for the Johnson girlies.

A side note:

I'll give you a topic: School Uniforms

Discuss...

I have a love/hate relationship with them. They make for easy mornings (no hassle finding or arguing about clothes), but let's be honest... they kind of lack spunk. (And if you think these are bad... you should check out their Winter Uniform Kits!)

Of course, as goes for most things in life (from Crocs to school uniforms) they are exponentially cuter in the smallest sizes.)

MGJ has just graduated to secondary school which in terms of school uniform attire = the culotte. When I googled the culotte, I found that this divided skirt was at the height of fashion in the 1960s, and then reappeared again in the 1990s. Which of course offers little consolation to my tweenager who is required to wear the divided skirt aka skort aka culotte for the duration of her tenure in secondary school in this decade.