Bao Jiaozi

Another lovely Sunday

This week was busy, especially since to recuperate we had lots of early bedtimes.

Our weekend was busy too.

Yesterday we had soccer for both little girls. We lunched with our friends from France (Amercians dining with French @ a German restaurant in China.) We hadn't seen them for AGES! We met their beautiful baby girl birthed in France and now thriving in China. Mr. Johnson played tennis with European buddies. (He claims he played miserably). Last evening we joined fellow expats, old and new at the annual September BBQ. Meeting new friends. Celebrating old friends. Reinforcing our satisfaction of choosing, for now, a life abroad.

Ayi is here. Making dumplings. We told her not to come in Monday when Mr. Johnson and I both felt under-the-weather. So... to make up for her day off she insisted on coming in over the weekend. "Saturday or Sunday?" she asked. "Neither." we replied. "Saturday or Sunday?" she repeated. "The weekend is your family time," we rebutted. "My husband works Sunday... my son won't be home." "Then its time for YOU! Read a book, cross stitch, watch TV." "Those are winter things." SHE IS TENACIOUS. "I will come Sunday and make jiaozi." It's Sunday. She's here making jiao zi. The girls are giving it a go as well.

As I type Mr. Johnson has pulled out his guitar. A long over due undertaking. He thinks he'd like to take lessons again. We'll see.

MGJ has her hao pengyou (good friend) from Chile over for a play date. There is lots of girly talk and giggles.

Before dinner we'll run Millie's friend home. We'll take a seaside stroll. We'll enjoy the blue, blue, blue September skies. We'll come home to steaming bowls of jiao zi.

Another lovely Sunday.

09.09.09

Yesterday's date was the 9th of September. 09.09.09. Nine is a very auspicious number in China. (And auspicious is a word I've only every heard in context of being Chinese!)

Yesterday over 8,000 Shanghaiers were married on this auspicious date. More than 14,000 in Beijing. In Qingdao we know of at least two. Mr. Johnson's young, star engineer and his new bride! He texted Mr. Johnson yesterday a.m. and told him he was taking a personal day.

(Mr. J's more senior engineers confided they had over heard a phone conversation on 09.08.09 about the possibility of making 09.09.09 their wedding date. Ever the engineer, the young groom-to-be said, "we'll talk about it when I get home.")

They took the plunge! After all, 09.09.09 only rolls around once a century. Is anything more auspicious than that?

Sick Day

This Monday morning Mr. Johnson and I put three perfectly healthy girlies on the bus, and then nestled on the couch in our living room to convalesce in our self-imposed quarantine. We kept the Kleenex close by, and big mugs of our favorite hot beverages (Starbucks being mine, loose green LaoShan cha is Mr. Johnson's.) We waited dutifully for 9:00 a.m. and then called for a joint appointment at the Korean Clinic the moment they opened.

Later this a.m., when we walked through the door, the nurses smirked that we were childless. For the first year we were here, they only called me "Beatrice's mother." So here was her mother (and father) sans any one of the kids they usually see! Our appointment was scheduled directly after Monday morning immunizations, so a chorus of cute Korean kiddos were sobbing about their jabs. Giving their parents betrayed looks. Casting daggers at Dr. Kim.

The presence of Good Family Hospital in Qingdao, and the fact that they set up shop roughly the same time we arrived here in 2006, has been a life-saver for us. (Not perhaps, technically life saving for us personally, but as parents we certainly have let out a collective sigh of relief more than once that friendly Dr. Kim and his colleague Dr. Kim who rotates in for a month now and then have been on hand.)

The clinic is open Monday to Saturdays 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. When the kids start playing some dangerous game, like... let's-see-if-we-can-jump-from-the-couch-to-the-ottoman (across our marble floors) or Bei Bei decides to play Nancy Drew and slide down the curtains like her favorite teen sleuth, all it takes to get them to resume reasonable behavior is to cast a disapproving look offer a stern query, "Do you think Dr. Kim is in his office right now?" My Korean friends say they threaten their kids in the same way.

I love Dr. Kim. I love that he always offers a reassuring smile. I love the antibiotics he dispenses. Mr. Johnson had acute tonsillitis. And here's something else I love about our dr. He called me over to take a peek. He used his stainless steel tongue depressor, shone the flashlight and invited me to be part of my husband's diagnosis. Ahh... I said knowingly. He smiled, nodded his head and ordered an antibiotic. I was there for a recheck of my sinus infection. More meds for me too, and then we went happily on our way.

We felt like we were playing hookie as we lunched @ the Sushi joint with the little conveyor belt that tempts us with sashimi and sushi and little rice balls. We then hit the supermarket, piling our grocery cart with fresh fruit, milk and cereal. We'd had a weekend of take away food and Tai Tai Johnson's cupboards were bare!

Then we headed home. Perched on our respective computers. Knocked out respective work assignments. And then Mr. Johnson went to greet the girls on their afternoon bus.

A sick day, but a good day. And now, on our way to feeling well!

Qingdao Dian Shi Ta (QD TV Tower)

At night it glows in bright neon colors from its perch on Taiping Hill. During the day it sits in all its modern glory juxtaposed to the colonial buildings left over from the Germans' days in Tsingtau.

On a clear day last week, Bei Bei and I ventured to the top. We bought tickets inclusive of a meal in the rotating restaurant, and zoomed to the top of the 348 meter tower. The meal was mediocre, but the views were stellar! We saw Buddhist Temple complex, Fushan Mountain, the Central Business District, the Olympic Venue, Fushan Bay, all the beaches, the zoo (Bei Bei was disappointed to not be able to spot any lao hus -- tigers--but we were able to make out their enclosures), Little Qingdao island and Zhanqiao pier. We glimpsed Huangdao across the waters, saw Taidong and the famed Tsingtau brewery. As we continuing our panoramic view, we looked north, and I was astounded again, just how many apartments fill our city. They stretched as far as the eye could see.

Stuff I wish I'd Written

Google "Ikea in Beijing", and you'll get a variety of articles, most notably one by a reporter in LA. I wish I had written this story first, and to be fair, I actually had it tucked away in my mind as a blog post.

My first trip to an IKEA in China was to the Beijing Store. There it stood like a Scandinavian beacon, off one Beijing's utilitarian rings roads. And it made sense that a no-nonsense, lets see how we can live-in-the-smallest place possible and have fun and a sense of style at the same time kind of shop would set up in a place where people actually live in tiny spaces, albeit often without iconic IKEA style.

But, what was overwhelming to me was how many people just came to hang out. Babies asleep in the cribs, parents sitting beside them. Lovers cuddling on the Ektorps. Grandmas playing cards in the comfy chairs in the cafe. They came to make a day of it. The next time I took pictures!

(I especially like how the cafe is making an attempt to break into the Asian market. Along side Sweedish classics like baked salmon and Sweedish meatballs, comes Preserved Vegetables. Only the sign indicates "Pre-served", preserved or served in advance I don't want any!)

The 800 pound gorilla in the Room

Yesterday Mr. Johnson received a sad e-mail. One that had circled the globe... gone company wide... but that hit us profoundly as the implication is more local. Three Chinese colleagues were killed when the commuter bus (provided by the company) collided with a large truck. There were other severe injuries in addition to the fatalities. It was not in our city, but it was nearby.

In a practice that is left-over from the iron rice bowl days, many companies provide their employees with their noon meal and transportation to and from their work place. Its a practical solution and common practice. Yesterday's tragedy was reminder of what we are often reluctant to discuss openly here. The roads in this country are treacherous.

In 2004 it was estimated there were 300 traffic fatalities a day in China (China Daily 12 April 2004). More recent estimates put that number at 600. According to the website: chinaurbantransport.com, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in China for the 15 - 45 year old age bracket.

Its not the first time we've known of auto accidents in China. Not the first time such accidents have touched close to home or our hearts. Not the first, and probably not the last. It was just there again, the 800 pound gorilla breathing silently in the corner reminding us to buckle up, drive slowly, and take a train or plane whenever possible. And for a day or two anyway, people will talk about it.