“Oh, That’s Just Yak Butter”--Tracy

Not only did I not expect to hear, “Oh, that’s just yak butter,” but I really did not expect to have it all over my hands when I started my day.

Let me back up and fill you in on the details.  I was invited to go on a tour with a group of ladies from the US Embassy to a Tibetan furniture and carpet warehouse, (this is their website if you would like to check it out,   http://lftibetanart.en.alibaba.com/aboutus.html,) and after reading about the Tibetan family that runs the place I was really looking forward to the trip, and it was a good excuse to get out of the city.  The weather has really been heating up, about 98 degrees with 100% humidity, and a trip to the country side sounded refreshing.  Well, it turned out that it was NOT refreshing; rather, it was just hot in a different part of China!

I had checked out the website and knew what I wanted to get and also made sure to bring along the cash, in RMB, of course, for my purchases.  Most places do not take credit cards yet, so we have to adjust to a cash only society while we are here.   It is really odd to be carrying so much money around.  But as we were advised by our friends at church, never leave home without at least 1000 RMB (~$160) on us for emergencies.  

In total, there were eight women in two cars.  My car was driven by an active duty Air Force lady working at the embassy (sorry I did not get her rank—they wear civilian clothes) and boy, she could drive! She did not let anyone cut in front of her, which is very common and expected. The rule seems to that he who has the right-of-way is the one who keeps shoving his car in between yours and the person in front of you.  It does not matter if the car is merging onto YOUR road.  When on the freeway and when traffic can move at a good pace (very rare), about 30mph, it is best to close your eyes (if you are not driving) and just go to a happy place. I usually think of the Olympic Mountains in the winter time with NO people.

Their warehouse was more of a combination of a warehouse/museum.  The warehouse really consisted of a series of smallish rooms stuffed with furniture.  The rooms would twist and turn and some would dead-end and some would just work you back to the beginning.  We got turned around a few times and had I the thought of what would we do if there was a fire?  That question was answered when we exited the building and ran across the fire station along with its bucket brigade that looked like it was straight out of Andy Griffith’s Mayberry RFD.

The museum part was really fascinating with a great display of saddles (they must be the teeniest people,) clothing and other personal items. But, unfortunately, the furniture that we came to see was really not constructed well; lids would not close properly, latches would not latch and everything had a sticky residue on it.  Now, that last part is common in China, because most items like this are coated with lacquer, and that was what we thought it was.  I did not end up getting anything, but two ladies that were heading back to the states got a nice silk rug.  The rug selection was nice but the owner would not bargain, and I have time to wait and get a better deal somewhere else.  But if you’re heading back home, they know they got you! 

Once we all had reassembled back at the entrance, my friend, Mary, asked the owner what all this sticky stuff was on the furniture?  By now we all had it all over our hands and were trying to wipe it off.  He just shrugged and said, matter of factly, “Oh, that’s just yak butter.”  To see the looks on all our faces was priceless!  No one said a word.  We all just looked down at our hands and had looks of horror!  Eyes wide, mouths pulled back in the “eew” gross position.  Remaining unruffled, Mary slowly pulled out her had sanitizer, and we all gathered around for a heaping dose.   We regained our composures (not wanting to offend our host,) until we got back to the car. Not being able to hold it in any longer, we all had a really good laugh at the whole thing.  There was many a reference to, “Oh that’s just yak butter,” the rest of the afternoon.

That brings me back to what to expect in China is the unexpected, and I think it is best just to go with it, and to really try to not let my feathers get ruffled.  It’s interesting that we are now six months into our sojourn here, and I’m coming to this realization, right when everyone said the transition would start to ease!

July 4th in China -- Mike

So, I've worked for a lot of years, but this might be the first year where I've worked on the Fourth of July! It turns out, and I know that this may come as a shock to many of you, that they don't celebrate the Fourth over here. No, it's true! :-)

So, hence the picture. I just wanted to show everyone how boring and quiet the night sky is above Beijing--quite a different story from the Spring Festival in January, and from what your Fourth looks like. Happy Birthday, America!

Serendipity, In The Form of House Guests---Tracy

ser•en•dip•i•ty (srn-dp-t)
n. pl. ser•en•dip•i•ties
1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery

     That definition fits perfectly with my first two weeks back to China. Two days after Mike and I got back to China, we had to pleasure of hosting our first guests.  Two of them had made their plans before the “accident,” and the other two we found out about a week before their arrival. I must admit that when I first heard about everyone’s plans I was a bit over whelmed and did not see how I could entertain, or even if I had the energy to visit with friends.  But this is where the serendipity part comes in.



Kyle, Me and Theresa heading down to the Guomao 
 subway station.



Cyndi at the Great Wall

     Our first guests were Cyndi Harding, and her daughter Kimber, from Utah, (who I actually never met, but I am VERY good friends with Cyndi’s sister Connie and any sister of Connie’s is a friend of mine!) who were to arrive at 10am on the Beijing train (that was a ZOO!).  Then that evening our lifelong friends, Theresa Merrill, and her son Kyle, were to arrive by plane at 5pm and are staying until the 19th of June.  

Kimber making a looooooong distance call.

     Since we only have one guest room we had to do some finagling with sleeping quarters. Since Cyndi and Kimber were here for just the one night (they were already in country for a wedding and just popped up to Beijing for a quick tour), they stayed here. And I had Theresa and Kyle stay at a dear friend from church, apartment for that first night.  Then we moved them over to our place the next night.

   

Temple of Heaven and the
Beijing Zoo Panda



      As they arrived, and me wanting to be the good hostess, I forced myself to get up and get moving. I did end up spending most of my days sightseeing, which consists mostly of walking, walking and more walking; Silk Market, Zoo (saw a panda!), and the Temple of Heaven.

     I was also pleasantly surprised that I had not forgotten my shopping mandarin, and was able to bargain for my friends as we were shopping.   Which for the first time I found pleasant (that might be too strong of a word, more like I could do it without wilting and giving in to the shop owners first or second price quote), and was actually flabbergasted that I did know how to use the subway, (which Mike usually uses), and how to communicate with the taxi driver (my preferred mode of transportation), in mandarin. It appears that in my previous five months here I have actually absorbed some of the culture. 

     We all really had such a great time together shopping, eating Peking duck, and just enjoying being together.  

 

     My discovery could be called serendipity, chance, fate, or whatever you want, but I know that is was a blessing to have these good friends come and stay with us.  I really believe that Heavenly Father had this all planed out before my fall.  I know that He placed Theresa, Kyle, Cyndi, and Kimber in my life at this time and place to help me feel safe in China, and be able to see that the world is still a place that I can enjoy.   I am still not over my fears of life here, but I am further along because of their visit. Had my friends canceled their trip, I would not have had the opportunity or desire to progress in my physical or mental therapy, and I am sure I would have just lain around waiting for the time to pass until my next flight back to Seattle.

This is my favorite place to buy silk scarves.
It is behind the Pearl Market





Shoulder Closed Ahead---Tracy

"Warning" ---If you are squeamish about broken bones do not view.

On April 20th at about 9:30pm while walking home from "The Place" (restaurants and shops across the street from our complex) in pelting rain, and I was crossing the street and tripped on a bump in the middle of the road (it was dark). I fell forward with my left arm out to catch me, but it also slipped in the rain and went over my head, and with all my weight I landed on the underside of my left shoulder, with it taking the brunt of the force.

I immediately knew something was wrong, simply because of the searing pain, and the inability to move my left arm from the shoulder at all. I righted myself to a sitting position, grabbed my shoulder, and thought, “I must have dislocated it!”  While I was sitting there in the driving rain, still in the cross walk, two people stopped to help get me up and out of the road.  Once on the sidewalk, I sat back down so I would not pass out from the pain.

I tried to call Mike, but he was not answering, so I called a girl friend who lived in the same complex, but she was home alone with the baby and could not come.  I tried Mike a few more times, but no answer (many evil thoughts were running through my mind about how he was going to pay for this. Because I thought he surely left his phone somewhere that he could not hear it ON PURPOSE!) .

Then, I had the thought, “There is nothing wrong with your legs; get up!”  I did, and started to walk to my apartment building, but first I had to put my arm in my pocket, because as I  walked it would swing and hurt more.  I was not able to move it on its own, and much like Harry Potter when all his bones were removed from his arm, I had to reach around with my right hand and grab my left hand and try to shove it into my coat pocket. Once set, I headed off for home thinking, "Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together . . ."  

I remember seeing people eating in the cafes, or walking and visiting, and the thought ran through my mind, “How odd.”  They were just going about doing normal things of life, and how I no longer felt a part of it.  It was as if I was an observer.  I am not sure if I am explaining the thoughts and feelings I had of being separate from life coherently, but there it is. 

About the time I got to my lobby (5 minutes), my friend that I called called back to say she was on the way!   I turned to her apartment building and could see her running really fast toward me, but I had to keep moving, and so I got in the elevator and pushed the button for the 30^th floor. Boy, was that a looooong ride! 

The door was unlocked (thank goodness!), and when I got inside that is when I could not keep it together any more.  I called for Mike and he came a-running!  About this time my friend caught up to me and they both were very comforting, but I knew we were in for a long night. 

My friend’s husband drove Mike and me to the hospital (a western hospital, not Chinese), and after two x-rays, an I.V. and pain medication, it was discovered that I had broken off my humeral tuberosity, (part of the head of the arm bone), and also fractured the anatomical neck of the humerus in two places.   Surgery would be required! Specifically, an ORIF (open reduction internal fixation) would be needed. You can Google it to learn more. 

The next morning, we called another friend who knew surgeons in China and she put us in contact with Dr. Li.  She is a Chinese surgeon that had spent 10 years at the Mayo Clinic in the U.S., and was an arm specialist.  Dr. Li also called a shoulder specialist, and after meeting with them I decided to have the surgery there instead of flying home. So, Monday morning I headed to Oasis hospital. It was a really nice place, and had only been open for three months.  The odd thing about it was that I was the only patient; really was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  But the staff really doted on me!

Unfortunately, this was also the week of Mike’s big project at work, so Mike had worked all weekend, and also had to work on Monday. However, the plan was that he would be at the hospital before I went into surgery at 7:00 pm.  Well, he did not make it (yes I am still bitter about that!) since they moved the surgery up by two hours, and I was taken from my room by complete strangers speaking a language I did not know to a have my arm cut open.  I must have looked worried because Dr. Li kept saying, "do not worry, relax, relax," as she would wipe the tears off my face.

Three and a half hours later I am now the proud owner of a titanium plate with 12 screws fixed to my humerus that says, "Made in China."  Yes, it’s okay to laugh about it; I finally can now.    

 The drain tub was not fun!

Mikes bed in the hospital

Mike and I have both been have difficulty adjusting to life here.  Our friends here tell us that you either hate it or love it.  Well, we were settling on the later one, but I hope China does not think it has the last word! Picture me with fist raised, clinched jaw, (like Scarlett O'Hara in the last scene of Gone With The Wind), saying, "Tomorrow is another day!" 

After fighting a high fever and really bad heart burn (that they thought was a heart attack) for the next five days, and many visits from friends from our church, I was released from the hospital on Friday, April 27, at 11:30am, and Mike and I were on a plane heading for Seattle by 2:30pm.

Three weeks post-op.

I am now in physical therapy three days a week learning to use my arm again.   I’m “slumming” it at the beach house, our daughter, Jasmine (the RN) is taking really good care of me! And I plan on heading back to China May 28th.  

China Women's University---Tracy

For reasons unknown to me, I was asked to be a guest lecturer at the China Women’s University for their cultural department.  Crazy, I KNOW!  I guess that’s what happens when you are friends with two of the professors, (a married couple from Australia), Rae and Rob. Rae wanted to share with the Chinese students some of the cultural similarities and differences between eastern and western cultures, and since I was able to attend college at (how can I say this without wanting to cry . . . ) an “old” age, they thought my story would be interesting to them. 

         

                                              

So, I prepared a brief PowerPoint presentation of my life; family, kids, grand babies, hobbies, Gig Harbor, etc., and another on forensic anthropology. When Rae introduced me to the class, she said that she hoped that they would not have any problem with my accent. I looked at her and said, “It’s you who has the accent!” We both laughed, but the girls did not understand any of it.     

                                           

They really seemed to enjoy the pictures, and there were many oohs and aahs when they saw the grand babies, and many had good questions about my major. Some questions were funny; “Why do you like to dig bones?” and, “Are you cold?” (I had worn a short- sleeved shirt that day, and they could not understand why), and, “How do you look so young?” I always tell people that I got my good skin from my Mother.  

                                           

It was really fun, and looking over the pictures, I see that I use my hands A LOT when I speak. Maybe I should work on that.  Room for growth! 



Me (American), Rae (Australian), Sally (Chinese,TA)



                                          

Fabric, Fabric, Everywhere! ---Tracy

Like I have said before, China does nothing in small quantities, and that goes for fabric markets, too. At the cotton market in the Muxiyuan area (it’s about 40 minutes north of Beijing) that I visited with my friends Mary and Terry, we found everything you could ever need for sewing; all kinds of fabric, silks, buttons, zippers, frogs (Chinese buttons), buckles, snaps, pelts of furs, and other sew notions I could not identify, and all in the same sprawling market.  There must have been billions of buttons alone! I am still seeing rows and rows of fabric in my dreams a week later.  It really was a visual overload, but they were the most beautiful silk fabrics I have ever seen. 

The first store that we entered was wall to wall, floor to ceiling, bolts of silk fabric. The store could not have been more than 10’ x 10’ in size, but every inch of space was filled with this exquisite fabric.  We literally just stood there trying to take it all in.  No one said a word; we just stared.  Now that I think about it, we must have looked silly.  I just started snapping pictures because no one was going to believe this.  And, there were about 50 more silk stores just like this one right after the other.

One funny side note; since we were a good distance out of town, and with this being a place that doesn’t get many westerners, we were the main attraction for the locals.  Pictures were taken of us, and one Chinese man actually wanted a picture of him and me.  It was apparently funny to see westerners eat, because when I ordered dumplings from a street vendor, they gathered around to watch.  There was a lot of smiling and laughing going on.  My friend Mary, who speaks mandarin, said they were just curious to see if I liked their food.  I ordered the vegetable and NOT the meat one (you know why), and yes, they were delicious! 

All in all we had a nice time and each of us came away with some beautiful silk (ya know, we just could not help it—we HAD to), and now I just need to figure out what to do with my four yards of Chinese silk fabric.     

Flowers and Food---Tracy

Today I went with my friend Mary, to the Flower Market next to the US Embassy, and what a treat it was!  Mary, her husband Kyle, and Mike and I were invited to have dinner at Anka’s and Eldor’s (no last names please) house tonight, and we needed some flowers to bring to Anka.  She was planning to treat us to a real German meal, and I was sooo looking forward to it!

When I first entered the doors at the market, I was hit with a wave of humidity that my skin immediately sucked up, (much like a sponge, it is so dry here), and also succulent floral smells that made me flash on images of Hawaii.  We proceeded down rows and rows of venders selling all kinds of flowers looking for just the right combination for our hostess tonight.  Since it is “Women’s Day” (Yes, it’s a thing!) there was a lot of men buying huge bouquets of flowers—nothing is done small in Beijing.  Most of the bouquets were really too outlandish for our needs, so we decided on a nice simple grouping of sunflowers and eucalyptus wrapped in newspaper. It had a nice old world charm that we thought our German hostess would appreciate.     

The dinner tonight was one I will not soon forget; it was fabulous!  In the center of the table was what Anka called a “raclette.” The name raclette (pronounced ruck-lett in English or rah-klett in its native French) refers to a meal, and to a type of cheese with the same name.

--I feel a history lesson coming on so I will try to refrain and just provide a link for the background of it. –

http://www.raclette.com.au/raclette_info/what_is_raclette.html

Suffice it to say it involves potatoes, cheese, vegetables, and other meats that we either grill on top of the contraption or slide inside on our own personal trays.   When I first saw the assortment of food, I thought there was NO WAY my stomach (IBS) was going to tolerate this.  But I think it was the best meal I have had in a long time!

All in all it, was another great day in China experiencing the many variety of cultures and customs that are now an everyday occurrence for us. 

Our Apartment--Tracy

Hot chocolate, chicken pot pie and carrot cake. 
Our first meal in our new place.

Its official we now are in our apartment!  We are in the Chaoyang District, in the Central park complex, Tower 9, Floor 30.  We still don’t have our furniture shipment yet and won’t until the visa stuff is all worked out, but I am starting to buy some small thing to make the furnished apartment feel like home.  We did dash off to a type of "Costco" store, called Metro, to get some basic kitchen items.  But our first meal was still kind of like camping.  We also have a guest room with two beds about the size of a full bed.  So, there is room for guests!!!

This complex has 23 towers and is mostly occupied by international people.  When I am out and about I can hear, French, Russian, Spanish, and I think the other day I heard Swedish, or something close to it. The towers are in a circular shape with a park, walking paths and places for people to sit and visit.  When we are meeting someone we always use the yellow horse sign as a marker.

The ground floor of all the towers have various small shops;  grocery, cleaner’s, beauty shops, cafés, restaurants, two gyms, bakeries and others that I have yet to check out.  It is still really cold here and not a good time to be just wandering about.  I only dash out to grab what I need, or try to get a taxi if I need to go a long distance.  The subway entrance is about a five minute walk, but once you're there, it's all underground and warm!  With the way it is connected to underground malls, and if you plan your day out right, you really don’t have to go back above ground until you get back home.   



One of the small shops around my complex.



Trying to get a taxi to understand where you want to go is difficult sometimes.  Of course, I have the address in Chinese and a map, but they don’t use maps here and it just confuses them. They also don’t know where all the places are because of the amount of growth and development here.  It can be very frustrating!  I usually just call one of my friends from church who speaks Mandarin and have her tell the driver where to go (before I do).  



Night view from our apartment.



My friends have advised me to take my time because everything here is difficult.  And if I am able to accomplish one thing in a day, celebrate!  So, today I am heading out to the silk market to get a picture of the Hong Kong Temple framed and I think I will walk.  It is only a 20 minute walk according to Google, but with the traffic that I have to traverse and the people that I have to wind my way through, I am thinking it will be more like 45 minutes.  We shall see! 



Subways, Planes, and Taxis, Oh My!--Mike

Hmmm . . . okay, let’s pull up the ole blog here to see when my last entry was . . . uh huh . . . right . . . click there . . . okay, here we are. WHAT? Holy crap! It’s been since February 5^th?

Well, like you, Tracy and I have been extremely busy. It seems no matter where we go in this world, there is so much going on that we cannot catch our breath! In the past month, I’ve traveled to Yantai, in Shandong province, Jingzhou, in Hubei province, and Amsterdam, in North Holland province. J I’ve had too many dinners and too many great meals, yet my pants fit much better now than they did before. Weird.

But also in the past month, we’ve received some really great news and some really terrible news from those we love. Our heart rejoices for those who are expecting, and our heart mourns for those who are going through a terrible trial. We are praying for you, Kris—you’re always with us.

I’ve been learning Chinese slowly, and finding it impressive how much easier it is to deal with when you can say even a few small phrases. For example, I can now tell a taxi driver to turn right or left, or to wait a minute. In a town where Google maps don’t seem to mean much to drivers when you show them, these phrases are huge. Unfortunately, I still need to learn the phrase for go straight, slow down, stop here, and how to say an actual address. My fear is that once I know how to say these things, the drivers will want more information, since they always seem to ask clarifying questions in every conversation I’ve observed, but one step at a time, I guess.

I’ve been working on a sales deal for a big customer that has literally consumed me for the past two weeks. The boss has called me round the clock, and part of our travels was to visit them and come to an agreement. The numbers sold will be small this year, but these guys buy a lot every year, so next year may be much better if we can close the deal.

Tracy is settling in to working with the young women at church very nicely. She has been invited back to Hong Kong to speak to a large (300-ish?) group of them at the end of April, so she’s working on changing her trip home from the end of April to perhaps in time for Alyvia’s birthday? I say “back” to Hong Kong, because we went there last weekend to meet our 30-day visa requirement, and while the place itself wasn’t so bad, and the weather and temple were great, we had a bit of drama coming and going, and she vowed never to go back.  Never say never, I guess.

The drama was this—I unknowingly dropped my BlackBerry on the Airport Express Subway in the middle of working this big deal. My boss had just chewed me out that morning, and now here I am on my way to Hong Kong with no contact. I haven’t been that nervous for a long, long time! But some Good Samaritan picked it up and called my office to let them know that they had it, and my office folks met them to get it back. Whew! And then, Tracy left her purse in the taxi when it dropped us off at the airport! No ID, no credit cards . . . and, you guessed it—no passport! Let me tell ya—if you’ve never been in a foreign country with a plane to catch in less than two hours with a lost passport, then you are very, very lucky to not know how it feels! We dashed downstairs to try to catch him picking up a fare, but missed him. We then spent the next half hour in the police station filing the report. And then, with me being the chivalrous son of a gun that I am, I gave her my credit card . . . and left to catch my flight. (Well, in my defense, I was flying to Amsterdam the next morning . . .) Anyway, after a couple of nervous hours (try to imagine that feeling), she got escorted downtown to identify her purse. Whew! Though we had to pay for a new plane ticket, it was still worth it to have her back with me. (And I don’t think she’s still mad at me . . . OWW! Stop hitting me!  J)

Amsterdam was fun (not that kind of fun!), but a bit quick.  But, after the past two weeks with very little time with Tracy, I am ready to be back home for a sort-of long weekend to unwind and recharge the batteries.

I hope March is calmer than February was, but based on the last two weeks, I’m not counting on it!

Trip to Hong Kong--Tracy

I had the opportunity to attend the ASIA Area Women’s Conference this year.  It was a conference of mostly LDS women, but a few of other Christian women also attended. It was a wonderful opportunity to recharge my batteries!  We had 10 great speakers, 176 women, from 12 different countries; USA, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, more but I can’t remember the places.
 

We also worked on a service project making bandages for a leprosy colony in India during our breaks from the classes.   The bandages need to be made out of yarn and crocheted, so the people can wash them and use them again.  The gauze, kind of bandages do not hold up to washing and the people sometimes just use old dirty ones again. 

We did also have some time for sight seeing and were able to stop by a local market.  The smells in market were awesome, but the sites were less than appealing.   

I did see a really narrow trolley that looked a lot like the night bus in Harry Potter.

Mike and I also had a plan to meet up in Hong Kong on Friday, and attend the Temple with all the other women at the conference. He had already been gone for a week and still needed to leave the country for his “30 day visa thing”. But, on his way to the airport in Beijing, he lost his phone on the subway and had no way to contact me and arrange where to meet, although we were scheduled to stay in the same hotel.  Not knowing about the phone issue, I found a computer at our hotel to check my emails, and lo and behold there was an email from Angela at Mike's work, telling me that someone found his phone, called his work, and now she was on her way to pick it up.  Crazy!!!   

So, there was no way for me to tell Mike where we were and how to get to the Temple, or the news about his phone.   I spent the rest of the day fretting about meeting up with Mike and just how that would all work out.  That night my group of ladies, all five of us, hopped into a small cab and headed over to the Temple.  I was feeling a bit down that I would not get to see Mike for several more hours and just as we were rounding the corner to the Temple courtyard, there he was!  He never looked as handsome to me as he did right then!   He was in his best dark blue suit, with my favorite red tie and two suit cases, and one big smile!   I ran over to him and everyone in our group let out a collective, "Aw!" 

Not the end of the story…..

The next morning as we were getting out the taxi to head back to Beijing, I grabbed my coat, paid the guy, Mike got the bags out of the trunk, and just as the taxi drove off I realized I left my purse in the taxi!

Horror! I am in a foreign country with nothing!  No passport!  No ID! No credit cards or money!  Here in China you can’t do anything without a passport.  No hotel! No flight!

A very long story short that involved numerous taxi companies, hours in a Chinese police station, (a first for me in any country), a missed flight, watching my husband get on his flight, calls to the US consulate office, and finally, because of the dedication of one very young police sergeant, my purse was found!

I was on the phone with the consulate office when I saw the sergeant answer his phone, write something down, stand up, put his hat on and say, “let’s go get your belongings!”   Never have I hugged a Chinese man as tight as I did him!  He was a bit uncomfortable about it but I did not care, I got my purse and passport back, and now I could go home!    It still was four more hours before I was able to get it at another police station clear over in Kowloon (look it up), then make my way back, book another flight and head home.  That was a very expensive mistake on my part. And that's all I have to say about that!