February 28 and Xi'an

Today is the last day of February (as leap year was last year). I now have sufficient time on the computer, so this is a most appropriate time to introduce you to the Xi'an we have been in for two years, six months, and twenty days.

Two years and almost seven months - 935 days - 22,400 hours - 1,346,400 minutes - 80,784,000 seconds. When you put it in seconds, the time actually seems shorter. You know, seconds are so short and 100 seconds doesn't take long to count up to, and I counted a thousand seconds once and it wasn't long either (I waste my time doing useless stuff like that). Of course, you can't count 80,784,000 seconds (you would die of dehydration or boredom by the time you reach 604,800 - that's a week), and I do not suggest you try, but when you think about a second, it's but a sliver of the tiniest sliver of cake divided by ten and cut in half again that can be eaten without being chewed (the cake is a junky representation of a year). A second is not that much, so when you put two years, six months, and twenty days in seconds, it seems like that time could just fly by because a second is usually perceived as being a very fast unit of time.

MOVING ON (because you are not here to learn about math and cake), those two and a half-ish years hold many experiences and memories and changes in a person's life. I mean, really, nothing happening to you in two and a half-ish years is an obvious sign that you either don't have a life or you are a potato. Even if you're cooped up in your house all day, there will be experiences and memories and changes. But, I'm getting off subject (a common occurrence for me).

There is far too much to mention in this one post, so I will limit myself to our apartment complex, which I will prefer to as AC in this post because I am lazy. Please do not mistake those two letters as abbreviation for air-conditioner. Mentioning air-conditioning in the winter is stupid.

Look, I've put pictures for you. Cherish this day. This may be the one time I put more than one picture by my own decision because, my friend, I never put pictures. I am a word-person. However, these pictures are worth a little more than three thousand words here, which saves me two hours of writing.

This is an outside view of our apartments - we're the ones in the back, the brick-red ones, not the pink ones. See the grey-white sky? HUMIDITY. This joy greeted us. And this is not a nice welcome for a family who has been living in Southern California for the seven years (2003-2010). In fact, it was so hot I think I put my hair up in a ponytail eventually. And I hate wearing one ponytail.

This is out the parent's window. NOTE: This is our first apartment on the fifth floor. We now live in another building in the same AC on the sixteenth floor. [END NOTE] I believe those white things back there are for the gas...

Fifth floor: This is out the living room window. Te house to the left is now a preschool. It has a neighbor to the right, but you can't see it. Past the trees you might be able to see the playground... Expand the photo and look for a little blue speck - that's the top of the big toy.

This is the sidewalk out one of our gates. The restaurant to the right used to be a favorite of ours when first arrived. FAVORITE, as in we went at least three times a week. We had some waitress friends there, all whom are now replaced. The sign is also different, today.




We've made a few Chinese friends who work in convenient stores all around our AC, namely the "front store people". We haven't got their names, which is a bit embarrassing, but they don't know ours, either, so it's all cool. (Of course, they know Matthew's name, though - ma tai.) Each time I go on, I say "hi" and as I leave I say "bye", so I think that's a pretty darn good relationship right there. Our biggest purchase from them are big bottles of water, as Mother does not care for the free filtered water in our apartment. Emma and Baba also always go down for drinks and instant soup.

There is also a neighboring vegetable store near the "front store place", excellent for last minute shopping for fresh produce. That's at the gate nearest us, as we have two. The vegetable shop I believe has had three different owners, but stayed relatively the same. I do not share a similar relationship with them as I do the front store people. I do say "thank you", though.

The second gate of the AC, farther back, we have/had "breakfast people" who had a cart they sold hard-boiled eggs on, these odd sandwiches, and meat buns. They've been on break for Chinese New Year for three weeks, and the parents and Jen are beginning to wonder whether or not they're returning...

If you read the Xi'an Q&A, you know I go out mainly to walk about the courtyard. As such, I am very familiar with the AC. I am also very familiar with the apartment, our next subject.

Here are some pictures of our old apartment...

The bathroom...

The [tiny] kitchen....

The living room...

The living room during a black-out...

And one picture of our present apartment (I couldn't find anything more)

The living room, the only one that REALLY matters, right?

The doorway in the back: Go straight, you find the front door. Go right, you find the kitchen (which is MUCH bigger than our last.) I think Jen's at the kitchen table (behind the couch), but I can't tell well from black-and-white photos. Expand for better image. 

There are probably more pictures in our intimidating, unorganized Pictures folder, but I am not going through a  hundred folders to look for the specific pictures I want. Perhaps in a -

~Abby

*******************************************
FROM THE EDITOR OF THIS POST
WARNING!
WARNING!

A view from the 16th floor
apartment posted by the Editor
in hopes you can forgive him/her
for the interruption.

Dear Reader, this post exceeds the maximum length that I (the Editor) have set for today. We apologize for the abrupt ending and hope that the writer (Abby Lindner) would kindly stop wasting her words for the drivel seen in many of her writings, such as paragraph one, two, and four. We sincerely hope that this does not stop you from visiting this blog. Thank you and have a good day ~The Editor

The Last Day of Spring Festival... I think

Well, the Spring Festival ended today. Or it ended yesterday. Maybe it ends tomorrow? In normal circumstances, I would skip over this puzzlement with a simple "Oh, who cares?" However, this is a situation in which it does matter. This is the difference between, for example, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and December 26th, where it is extremely embarrassing when you pat your friend on the back and say, "Merry Christmas Day, buddy!" only to have your friend reply, "Guy, it's Christmas Eve, not day." (Not that any fool could mess that up, he he.... um.... right?) Many internet sources say it ended on the 15th (meaning I am VERY late in wishing you a happy end-of-Spring-Festival), others say it lasts fifteen days (meaning it should be tomorrow), while others say it's today. So, yes, I am a bit mixed up. Assuming I am correct, that the end is indeed today, I say I hope you've had a jolly good Spring Festival and that your family and health is blessed and all those lovely wishes that people usually hear during this holiday. I believe I heard somewhere that kids usually get 100 yuan in a red envelope for this event. Well, let me say that I never saw so much as the envelope, let alone that big red bill. Oh, well, who cares? I got a purple 5 yuan bill and am content. It's probably better for me. I wouldn't know what to do with 100 yuan, apart from stuff it in my wallet never to be seen again, which certainly isn't a proper way to use perfectly good money.

As a side note, that was a much longer paragraph than I would have liked it to be, but I'm too lazy right now to separate it out (gasp! Abby doesn't want to repair a grammatical problem! Gasp!).

Quite a show of fireworks outside our window tonight. Literally, right outside the window of the parents' room. REAL ones, not the little crackers that Baba likes popping out our front window or the small variety of fireworks that sort of sizzle and pop four, five times. These short off from the ground and exploded into bright lights that headed for the road once again. As I write this, those sort of fireworks are blasting out our living room window now (the one Baba throws poppers from). The best part: no huge smoke cloud left behind! Hooray! No[t as much] pollution!

Currently, Baba and Jenna are out enjoying the beauty (and noise, eek) of the fireworks and snapping pictures of both the fireworks and the full moon Baba foretold we would have. I love when the moon is full. It makes everything look more, I don't know, pretty (maybe?). Bedes, all the interesting events in books and movies occur when the moon is full or new, like love and first kisses and epic battle scenes).

For anyone who cares, the 20th was Emma and my 100th day of school! Yay! (I'm going to pretend that there are hundreds of people clapping so this being here doesn't seem totally stupid and random.)

Moving on, the 22nd and 23rd were the most beautiful days - the best of my whole, entire life [in Xi'an]. It wasn't warm - more like cold with little dashes of warmth scattered about. I was thinking of making a separate post for this news, but I decided not to. Who really wants to read a 500-word post about the weather? Seriously, Abby, give me a break!

I'm currently listening to (apart from the fireworks) Karyn Henley's Playsongs, and they are beginning to drive me CRAZY. But, hey, it puts Matthew to sleep, so I have to appreciate them to some extent. I would give you more information on them, but I don't feel like looking up her website. Like I said, I'm feeling lazy. Besides, I researched the last day of Spring Festival for you. :]

~ Abby

UPDATED   I feel bad about not telling you enough about Playsongs. So, here, I pulled up a website, just like I said I wouldn't. Click here.

Very Large Veggies!

Take a look at 2 of the biggest carrot's I have seen. I am not joking when I tell you that just one of these carrot's feed our whole family. It must be the good fertilizer they use here in China (if you only knew).

~Rick

Xi'an Q&A

We decided to form a simple Q&A about China, more specifically geared towards the city of Xi’an, for our family. Here’s what we think.

China Q&A:

Name/age (optional)?

Rick

Cheryl, old enough to have 5 kiddos-ages 2-25

I’m Abby, a thirteen-year-old girl.

Jenna Elizabeth, 22 1/2

Emma G. Lindner, 13

Maffew, 2

Describe China in 3 words…

R:  Beautiful, Big, Amazing.

C:  Interesting, Historic, Modern

A:  In one sentence: A foreign home.In three adjectives: …I can’t think of anything. Sorry. Maybe old and different, but that’s no fun.

J:  Many faceted nation.

E:  Nice, Ancient, Modern

M:  1, China, subway

Favorite means of transportation?

R:  Bike.

C:  Bicycle, although cars/buses/taxis come so close I’m usually “white-knuckling” the handlebars.

  A:  I prefer walking above all. Taxis make me sick. Subways are too noisy. Buses get too crowded.

J:  I like braving the bike.

E:  Taxi

M:  Subway!!!

Favorite take-out food?

R:  Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken.

C:  Hot Noodles, provided to go in a plastic bag. 

A:  My favorite take-out is kung pao chicken, as long as it’s not squishy. I’m picky about textures.

J:  In the summer, dumplings; winter, a dish called SaoZi noodles (noodles in a spicy broth)

E:  Indian food, the restaurant has a name, I can’t remember it, it starts with a K I think.

M:  A yoodles (translated – noodles)

What will you miss most upon departure?

R:  Everything.

Mom with her noodles

C:  The Chinese people. The people I’ve met, interacted with, and the people that I have become friends with.  And also the noodles – so delicious and only cost $1.

A:  I’ll probably miss the convenience of everything the most – the convenience of transportation, shopping, et cetera.

J:  The people. I have met such delightful people here. The smiles. For example, I was on a bike ride the other day with my dad and we were downtown crossing a huge round a bout and there was a woman crossing guard/officer who gave us the largest most genuine smile as we rode. Unforgettable. Oh and the prices are something worth pining over as well.

E:  Real Chinese food.

Least favorite thing about living in China?

R:  Least favorite, I guess the amount of smoking everywhere.

C:  Smoking, spitting, and riding an overcrowded bus (overcrowded meaning about 50 over maximum capacity).  The bus is only full when the door won’t close, seriously?!

A:  My least favorite attribute of China has to be the pollution. And “pollution” isn’t just reserved to the air, but the streets and such too. Which is fun. :\ I hate not being able to see the buildings farther than our complex. It seems like a bubble. And the complex isn’t all that fun to look at from a sixteen-floor height. But, hey, this is the city. It could be worse, right? I’m not complaining… that much…

J:  The amount of times I have had the stomach flu creep up on me. Granted, I probably brought half of the occurrences on by my own gamy eating habits, but still, no one should have to experience the mess that this ‘China flu’ entails.

E:  Let me see, seeing spit on the ground everywhere I go. That’s disturbing.

Favorite place to visit in Xi’an on your free time/ favorite place in China?

R:  In Xi’an, QuJiang district and exploring the city villages. In China, my favorite place has been Shanghai.

Shanghai

C:  Walking around QuJiang, a neighboring district home to a beautiful lake, clean streets, and a quiet atmosphere. If it’s a nice sunny day, I enjoy going up on the city wall and riding a bike. In all of China, I’ve liked all of the places I’ve been for different reasons. The Summer Palace in Beijing was really nice. In Shanghai, the architecture, in Chengdu I loved the Pandas and the food.  Meixian, although a very small town, was fun because we stayed with the family of our friend Lili.  We visited beautiful TaiBai Mountain while we were there.

Our apartment complex

A: I don’t go out much, so during free time I don’t usually go outside. However, when I do, I stay within the apartment complex neighborhood, which is kind of lame. Not that the complex itself is lame… Okay, it might be a little plain, but it’s not lame.

Now, China… I’m not sure. I stink at making decisions, and everyone can justify that fact.

Jen's "fairly desolate location"

J:  In Xi’an I have two favorites, one being this Chinese gazebo thing surrounded by water, it is beautiful and there is never anybody there when I go. Another place my friend and I discovered this past summer, also a fairly desolate location filled with beauty and silence. It’s my first time living in a city, so I tend to like places where I can escape to silence. And I have loved every other place that I’ve visited in China; AnKang, BaoJi, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou…

E:  I enjoy walking around my neighborhood.

Weirdest Most unusual sighting?

R:  Wow, there are lots of those.  In the middle of downtown there was a man in a pajama outfit, slippers included, selling puppies.

C:  The Chinese version of Elvis I saw on the bus one day. I knew it was impolite to stare, but it was impossible not to.

A:  On the same day/week that we arrived, we went to an outdoor market (that is now gone). Here, I got my first sense of what Xi’an was like – I saw a mother with her son leaning over a newspaper. Fill in the rest yourself. It’s awkward to write it out in words.

J:  Hard to pin down just one. I think that things I once thought out of the ordinary have now become scenes of normalcy. There are still some sights that reduce me to out loud laughter and usually followed by me saying, “Only in China…”

E:  Candied tomatoes.

Favorite Chinese phrase to use?

R:  A yaa – Oh man; shoot; dang.

C:  Aaa, shi zhe yang – Oh, I see, which is better than staring blankly when I don’t have a clue what someone just said to me.ß

A:  Ni hao. – Hello. Hi. [That’s about as lame as me staying inside the complex.]

J：百里挑一 bai li tiao yi  - One in a hundred (when I first learned this idiom I thought it was like the ‘one in a million’ quote from Dumb & Dumber meaning no chance; I now know that it means out of a hundred you are the chosen one. It is used as a compliment to tell someone they are outstanding, glad I got that sorted out)

E:  Ni you mei you…? - Do you have…?

M:  Yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu, shi, and “jia you”. – 1 to 10… add oil (Go! Cheer on!)

Some love, a hug, and a wedding ❤

For starters, happy [belated] Valentine's Day (although considering the time change, you might be reading this right on the 14th)! The origin of Valentine's Day comes from many sources, and I'd been happy to do some research and inform you of my results, but that is not what this blog is about (unfortunately for me). This blog is about us, China, and us in China, on China, with China. This blog has no room for four-page essays on Valentine's Day. As a family, we did absolutely nothing special for this holiday. However, Matthew did make a Valentine's Day card today, which is, you know, pretty special. Red with messy pink hearts and jagged letters that form his name below that. He may have put too much glue (I cut the pieces out and he used a glue stick to stick them on randomly) but who really cares?  He's only two. (Make yourself known if you do care.)

SIDE NOTE: The Chinese have a Valentine's Day too! In August!


Baba, Mom, and Jenna went to walk James and Nathaniel back to the foster home today. Emma and I watched Matthew for two hours. Two hours, one-sixths that was taken to make Matthew's very-special card. Before the two left, Matthew actually hugged Nathaniel. Granted, Nathaniel was screaming for me to pick him up during the event, but still. Mom has been saying all day "How much quieter it's going to be with just Matthew" or "How different it'll feel with two less boys in the house". So far, I see no different, and it's been a whole hour of their absence. Sixty minutes. And it's not because I didn't do anything with them or acknowledge them. I'm just really bad at recognizing minor details like that (is the absence of two boys considered minor?).

Five days after Chinese New Year, the fireworks are still going, although the amount has been greatly reduced. Matthew is still bothered, but he doesn't freak out like he did in the beginning. He mentions it every time, though. Not one firework, or "boom boom", gets by him, no matter what he's doing. Whether he's laughing, whining, pouting, or sitting about doing nothing at all (ha! we wish that could be the situation every now and again), Matthew perks up at that distinct sound of a cracker and tells the whole world that there's a boom boom outside. For those interested, the total of fireworks today is... one, two, three... Oh, never mind. No one really cares the number, and no one is keeping track of it for anybody. Let's just see there wasn't much. The main firework show today was small and for a wedding outside our apartment gate, not for Chinese New Year. (For this wedding being part of the title, not much is said about it. Sorry.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sleep well!

Have fun!

Enjoy life!

Stay human!

[enter all other nice compliments and hopeful wishes you can give someone]!

Like (as opposed to LOVE),

Abby

Basketball Day!

Tomorrow is my basketball day with my Zhongguo pengyou (Chinese friends). I have made many friends and man do they like to push me around on the court.  The funny thing is, it took them about a month to invite me to play. I would show up and stand on the side waiting to get a chance to play, but they would never ask me. So I bought a basketball and brought it with me and stood there bouncing my ball waiting for an invite to play and finally they did and now we have been playing together for a little over a year. I may be a little taller than them, but they are really good. They all have a very odd shooting technique they have all mastered it - every one of them uses the backboard to score. When they shoot from any area in the court, the ball goes in the hoop. Their ages vary from 18 to 88. The way they play, I really thought that some of the 70-year olds were no older than 40 - crazy. The big building in the background with all the Chinese letters on top is Xi'an's professional soccer stadium. It is so awesome for me to be playing with these guys in China. I would have never dreamed of it.

~Rick

A SIDE NOTE FROM ABBY: Basketball has been around since 1891, invented by Canadian James Naismith, who wanted a sport where the ball was big, lowering the risk of injury by not being able to see the ball, sudden movements, et cetera.

James and Nathaniel

You would think that when you have two small, smiling, super-cute boys in your house for six days - 144 hours - 8,640 minutes - 518,400 seconds - someone would decide that, hey, we should mention them a little more in the blog posts. However, this is our blog, which is a pretty good reason if you know us or about our previous blog[s] (Jenna's old blog and our old blog). We forget about our blog every now and again and we often neglect some big details worthy of incorporating in a post. Sorry. We'll [try to] do better on that.

Anywho, the point. You, friend or stranger or extraterrestrial alien, deserve to know about the WHOs, WHATs, and HOWs of these two random boys we've been mentioning in the past few posts. Of course, if you bothered to read the Children tab of this blog, you might know something about James and Nathaniel (the boys we've been watching for the caretakers at the foster home where they've from over Chinese New Year). However, you know only the basics. We have not told you anything about their progress here (that will probably be lost when they return to the foster home but, hey, still, progress anywhere is pretty awesome). Yes, sir, ma'am, whatever, you have only the basics.

Let's start from the very beginniiiing, a very good place to staaart. When you read you begin with A-B-C, when you learn about... these boys... you begin with... the... You know what, I give up trying to make this into a rendered version of Do-Re-Mi. I stink at music.

Where to start...?
James is attached to Jenna. When I say "attached", I mean he's stuck to her with a bunch of flexible, stretchable, bendable, twistable rope that no amount of scissors and knives and chainsaws could cut. Every once and awhile, that rope will stretch farther than usual, but it will always spring right back and James will go crashing into Jenna and not let go.

Nathaniel, one year old, doesn't really cry. He scrunches up his face and makes little whimpering noises, but he doesn't usually get far enough to cry, because by that time whoever he's pleading with has given in to his irresistible adorableness and lovable skills of captivating. The one moment when he's sure to cry for real is when he's put to bed. At first, Nathaniel went to bed peacefully. Now, the moment head touches pillow, the tears explode. Mom and Jen suspect it's due to the excess attention we give him - he's loving it and doesn't want it to stop.
Unlike James, Nathaniel isn't especially attached to a single member of our family - he attracts all and connects to all.

Nathaniel's skills in the art of walking are improving tons. He walks with his hands out to his sides and a little upwards and he moves in a sort of robotic motions. When he walks towards someone, he starts to squeal, "Ma-ma. Ma-ma." Everyone minus Emma refers to him as being Italian in this way, but I've yet to know why. :\ James, although older than Nathaniel, only crawls, mainly due to the way his feet grow. (He can walk with assistance, though.)

The biggest success: EATING! Their diet has gone from mush to, well... not-mush (that was the lamest thing I have ever written) in 48 hours. Nathaniel more than James.

As a random note, despite what the caretakers at the foster home said, neither of the boys "love" watching television. They glance at it for a few moments, then crawl/toddle (< love this word, don't know why) away.

For the first three days, Matthew shared with the boys, was careful with the boys, played with the boys. But, hey, three's a charm, and that fourth day came and he was throwing blocks, screaming when they tried to participate in any game he was playing, or grabbing/pushing. This was the case with a girl Matthew's age, who we fostered until her forever family came for her.





WELL!
That is all I have to say on this subject.
Have a good day.
Or afternoon.
Or night.
Oh, never mind.

~Abby

Pictures to be added by Jenna.

The Fireworks

Last night was seriously not as noisy as I expected it to be. Then again, I didn't stay awake until midnight to hear the firework finale like everyone else did. One and a half hours - 10:30pm - that's how close I was to midnight. However, I could not and did not want to stay awake that long, and neither did Emma. A victory over fireworks for Emma, may I say. The past couple years, the fireworks kept her up all night and all early morning, but this year, that was not the outcome. She, as I did, slept right through the chaos. Baba and Jenna went out at midnight to see the finale at the top of our apartment building. At first, Emma and I were planning to join them, but, like I said, I realized the time I would have to stay up, and denied. 

Happily, we discovered that fireworks did not phase James and Nathaniel. For them, it was like the previous nights with them - James wouldn't leave Jen alone and Nathaniel wanted to be held. Matthew wasn't bawling the way he did last year, but he was scared. We had squishy grey earplugs for him, but he repeatedly took them out, so that solution was out. I wasn't awake for this, but Mom said that he was especially frightened during the grand celebration at midnight. He didn't wear the earplugs, but he did squeeze them so tight that they mushed together and became on single, big noise-muffler that I misinterpreted as a weird Mento when I first saw them on Mom's nightstand this morning.

This morning, I looked out the window and saw... nothing. All the smoke from fireworks, fog, and maybe some Xi'an pollution had filled the atmosphere overnight, so you couldn't see past them courtyard below. It actually looked super, I don't know, pretty (is that a weird term to use?). It was a mixture of pretty and thin with thick and ugly. A little counteracting, but, hey, that's what I thought. However, like our two-inch snow, that beautiful ugliness vanished by the afternoon, save for a thick layer far off, shrouding the buildings off our apartment complex. Then again, Xi'an's always like that - it's nothing extraordinary. 

As I was not in the midst of the fireworks or awake long enough to hear the most clamorous of the show, I do not feel qualified to relate to you the situation as it had been. Baba [Rick], however, does have first-hand experience. Hopefully he'll be able to reveal the situation to you. :)

~ Abby 

This video shows a little of what it looks like at midnight on Chinese New Year. We were on top of our building - the 19th floor - trying to film this. The quality isn't the best, but you should get the idea. Also, a couple pictures to see how close we were and where we could buy fireworks. ~ Rick

Sorry about the length, but no matter how hard I [Abby, who was editing the video] tried, I couldn't shorten how long this video was. It's 18-something minutes - sorry. If you have the time, watch the whole thing. If you don't have the time or don't want to (which is understandable), 14:57 is a good spot to start from. 

THE SITUATION OF THE LINDNERS DURING THE FIREWORKS
Rick was awake watching them.
Cheryl was comforting a freaked-out Matthew.
Jenna was with Rick.
Emma was asleep/in bed.
Abby was definitely asleep.
Matthew was scared (wish I could find a better word).
James was asleep/awake but quiet in bed.
Nathaniel was asleep.
Brodie (poodle)... I really don't know.