repatriating...transitions

Trivia: Our 1 yr anniversary in Australia is the same as what notorius event?

2011-07-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

We didn't celebrate. We didn't even realize it had passed until we started hearing about another famous 1 year anniversary. Yes we share our 1 year anniversary in Australia almost to the day with the Kevin Rudd's knife in the back and Julia Gillard's ascendancy to.. well something.
Thanks to my husband I understand a bit more about Australian politics than even a few Australians. Their politics are as confusing as the game of cricket so the chances of me ever really comprehending the system are pretty slim.
Seems like there will more than a few late nights spent studying for my citizenship test when the time comes. I apparently will have to know a bit about cricket, aussie rules football, politics and finally actual Australian history. Knowing is different than understanding, thank goodness.
So I thought in quiet celebration I would write down some of the things we have achieved this year.
1. A house, oy two people who have lived in a tiny apartment in China for 12 years should probably not have a house with a garden and a yard to look after. Which has reminded me I still haven't watered the plants tonight, ugh!
2. A dog, yeah refer to number one. Our dog is spoiled. Beyond spoiled. He is also not helping with our ability to take care of the yard that came with #1 achievement this year. In addition he has chewed up two patio chairs. Plastic wicker and puppies don't mix.
3. Pumpkins which have also not been helped by the dog. My beautiful miniature pumpkins, I almost had one and the dog decided it was a chew toy. Mmm yeah he better not do that again!
So ok there are a few more. We achieved job stuff once everyone adjusted to the fact I am American and my English is sprinkled with Chinese I did alright and Darren is going great guns. I taught Eli's class a song in Chinese which they sang at assembly.
Really though, no matter how much we have or do accomplish I have a feeling God brought the dog into our lives to keep us humble.
Soon I hope to have two more accomplishments under our belt.
Darren and the boys will soon have their very first father/sons campout. The dog will be keeping me company so he will hopefully be helpful this time.

Finally, we have friends visiting from China for the first time.
Wait til they meet the dog!
A year later and we are still learning new things about living in Australia. We are half way through our 2 year transition plan.
Things are becoming more routine now.
We expect the holes in the lawn where the dog tried to bury his bone, his teddy bear and anything else he can get his paws on.
We expect to need a few plastic bags every weekend to clean up after the dog.
We know that when a Great Dane walks by the dog will go absolutley crazy and need to be yelled at. He has small dog syndrome.
We know that the dog will try to eat the coffee grounds I have lovingly sprinkled on my veggies.
The boys know to ask for us to chain the dog up when they are playing with small toys and balls or they will not have small toys and balls anymore.
The dog knows that when he is ready he can stand outside the study window and he will, eventually, get a good play from Darren which means the rest of us know that Darrens spoils the dog more than anyone else.

Really though we all know that whether we are tired, stressed, anxious or sad there is a little creature waiting in the garage to be cuddled. He will take the tears of harsh parental punishment away and gives mom and dad release from a day full of adult cares. I am not sure I have forgiven him for the pumpkins yet though.

Hidden home

2011-05-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Eight months in and while many people who meet me might think that the adjustment is pretty much over I think I have just figured out that the iceberg might lay pretty far below the surface.
I had a conversation with someone at fellowship the other day and we were discussing this and that. My this and that happens to have a lot of China in it. She said something to that effect and was it because I missed China so much. Yes I do because of course I would and it would be silly to think any different however the reality of my chit chat is we lived there for 12 years.
The conversation really made me think for awhile. It made me think about exactly what China was to me.
It is the place where I live for all but the last 8 or 9 months of my adult life.
It is my frame of reference for everything from book clubs to boy scouts. I read Les Miserable there and became a mother. I gave birth in a Chinese hospital and had my first Japanese food in Shenyang. I got my first credit card because I was going to be living there. I coloured my hair for the first time in China.
The conversation also made me think about how I still feel a little release of pressure when I speak Chinese and feel more at home when I am around any Asians but especially Chinese. One thought led to another and I started thinking about how when living overseas Americans gravitate toward each other, Australians gravitate toward each other, and so on... So here I am and I don't know any Americans but I find myself wanting to speak Chinese and be around Chinese people.
I added all these things up and realized that to me China is home. Home is not something that you transition away from I don't think. I think home is something you carry with you where ever you go.
BUT, (I love that word), missing home doesn't mean I can't very much be loving and enjoying a new place and new people. Even if they are crazy healthy people and I don't understand how any junk food restaurant turns a profit here. New bizarre thing I saw today was a car commercial which showed people exercising and the car. This was apparently because if you buy this car fun will come before work. Hee Hee only in Aussie land.

Is it possible to be tired of your accent?

2011-04-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

When I was in China the thing that made me different was on display for everyone. Didn't bother me to be different because so many people around me were different. Everyone could spot me "not being Chinese" about a bazillion miles away and that was ok cause no one expects to blend in China when they are so pale their skin could potentially blind people. 10 months of winter will do that to you.
Unfortunately I seem to blend in in Australia on first observation. And then... I speak. The one thing that makes me so different is instantly on audio display for the whole world.And it really feels like stereo surround sound without the cool graphics at the theatre because in the end all you get is... a Yank.
Phone sales people start entire conversations with me about my accent. In shopping centres the people stare and ask and away we go. Meeting other mothers at school is always a matter of jumping through the hoops of my accent and what on earth I am doing here. Which is a realllllly long story. I have no 5 second answer to that question yet. Imagine everywhere you go looking like almost everyone else and then opening your mouth and it's like your entire appearance miraculously changes. And now I really feel like I am whining because my husband stands out where ever he goes no matter what he does and there remains some little hope that someday my accent will tune into the Aussie radio station I know is buried inside me somewhere there is little hope his height is going to lessen in any significant way. I am sure of it!
Americans are not, I think we all know, extremely well loved in the rest of the world and it would help if I could disguised my unsameness somehow. It would be inevitable though that my fake Australian accent always comes out sounding like Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Dolittle.
I think I could handle all of this but after the first few months being able to predict what most people are going to ask 2 minutes after you say hello is bound to just make you tired of not being a little more like everyone else. I am not annoyed at them. Not at all. I quite happily agree that my muddled accent, came from China, can't pick a place to say I am from is probably confusing for the average Aussie considering it's confusing for me.
If I could sound just a bit more American it might help. I have always thought it was obvious that I was a Yank and I will still stick to my American guns and say that most Aussies are just being polite and trying not to hurt a potential Canadian's feelings when they ask if I am from the other North American country instead of asking if I am from...The United States of America. Very important to say the whole country's proper name because a lot of people do that here as well. I promise The States is perfectly ok.
Anyway I thought they were just being nice until a women married to a Canadian was 100% sure I was Canadian so maybe next time I should yes. They are more mysterious, nicer, and they have national health care. Not a bad place to be from if you can't pick a place anyway.
So overall I would just ask that sooner or later I either sound more American or at least begin to manage a decent Aus. Please don't rain on my parade. I don't want to be 70 years old and be the cute little Yank married to that big bloke down the street.

Baby Steps

2011-02-27T04:54:00.000-08:00

Why is it that even though I had expected for it to take two years for Darren and I to truly feel adjusted I am still disappointed with where we are in the scheme of things?
There are two ways to look at things. One, it's only been seven months and we have jobs, a house, school, after-school activities, family, and some great friends. Two, oy it's been seven months and there is still so much that feels unsettled. We would like to be more involved in fellowship and we have yet to add the dog to the household.
This is not to mention the cat that according to the kids should come quickly after. Eli was also nice enough to point out today that we have yet to plant the vegetables. As kids often do he pointed out something I had yet to guilt myself over and I quickly started judging myself for not starting this "very important" task earlier.
It reminds so much of that Bill Murray movie I didn't even like. And anyone who knows me knows I am not one to take baby steps to do anything. Running leaps into mud puddles without galoshes is more the way I like to live my life.
I sometimes get in the car and feel as though I have conquered TRANSITION. I have arrived! Ha! This is when I quickly take two steps backward to make up for that one step forward. I find out about the two steps backward the minute I get to where ever I was going and I have forgotten one important piece of information or missed a cultural clue.
Usually it's when I think I have mastered the whole being mother of two boys in Australia thing until I find out that I have missed something and have about a thousand things to learn until I master this part of living life in a new place.
Thankfully transition has so many moments when it is just plain silly.
I answer the phone all the time at work but not one Australian that I have answered the phone for has gotten my name right. The other day I went back and forth with a lady quite a few times.
"Good afternoon this is Christa speaking."
"Hello I am speaking to Christina?"
"Christa"
"Kristen?"
"Christa"
"Chrissie?"
'Uh...Yeah sure"
Someone tell me why this is cause I don't understand it, but I am thinking maybe being Christa is not so important. So... to Australia I say, " If you would like me to be Chris, Kristen, Chrissie, Christina, then that's fine but I will never learn to say Adidas correctly cause I think it's adIdas and you think it's adEHdas. I will never be able to say Puma the way you do because I think it's P oooo ma and you all think it's P eww ma. I will be "The Yank" if you consent to allow me to say "You All" once in a while. I will buy my own cream for my coffee and not purchase coffee that is watered down espresso made with skim milk if you ignore the fact that it occasionally takes me a few seconds to figure out how to pull out of a parking space because I like the other side of the road. I will put up with the fact my Television shows run a month late and I am watching the Christmas episodes on Valentines' Day if you will allow me to speak to my children in Chinese, eat Jiao Zi, make fried rice, travel Perth endlessly looking for Northern Chinese food and desperately want to hear loud bangs around mid-February every year."
Perhaps this is the funniest thing that has happened to us this month. Our children asked me tonight, " Are we having real jiao zi or that fake kind?" For fake kind please read ravioli. I told them that we were having both because tonight was leftovers night. They both promptly informed me they do not care for the fake kind and could they please just have real jiao zi. Sorry to all the Italians they just insulted out there.

And everthing I see becomes Shenyang to me!

2011-02-14T00:19:00.000-08:00

Ok so those of you who were around for Tootsie Rolls iconic song know what I mean and those of you who weren't, are just too young. Kidding of course, although when someone I work with says they were born the year I graduated from high school it does freak me out a little. I then remember that they are probably just really young. Don't enlightened me, when I am older and don't do the math the thought that they are just really young will still make me feel better.
This month I have ridden the bus with Chinese people, chatted with my friends at the Chinese grocery store, chatted with friends at the Chinese newsagents, gone to a Chinese New's Year's party at my fellowship and held a Chinese New Year's housewarming.Best of all my kids thought ravoli was Jiao Zi, and I have wanted to cry for missing a place and laugh at the silliness all at the same time.
I would speak Chinese all the time now if you let me now. I was watching a TV show last night where they were interviewing a Chinese lady and I translated, so did Darren, and realized the translater wasn't doing that great of a job.
I even watched the Chinese news on SBS, it was from CCTV 4, one day while Ethan was home sick!
When someone asked about all the Chinese decorations in our house and whether they were for Chinese New Year or for all the time I said, " The decorations made things feel more like home."
It was only later I realized how confused I really am when I use the word home to describe China. What word would I use to decribe the U.S. for heaven's sake? What word do I use to describe Australia?
If, " Where are you from?", was a confusing word before it has taken on all new epic proportions of crazy confusion now. I honestly just don't know the answer.
Would you like to know Where I was born?, or Where I grew up?, or Where my parents live?, or Where I was before I moved to Australia?, or Why I have an accent?, or Which place I have spent a third of my life in? or Which school the kids were in before they were in this school?.
Please pick one and then I will answer accordingly, otherwise this conversation could take awhile and I am just not sure even I have the patience it would take to explain, " Where I Am From".
If it's hard for me I shudder to think what the kid's will be like when asked that question. We used to coach them that they were from America and Australia but now that's just not relavent. We have to add that their birthplace was Shenyang or that before they were here they went to a school they loved called Shenyang International School and in that school were so many different nationalities that are all a part of their current cultural make up.
Is it easier to put on the persona of the place that people will be most comfortable with?
I think we all do that. I am wife to all my husband's friends' wives, or someone who worked overseas, or an miss. ( look out for the m word there, loaded word if ever there was one) to those who understand that best, or former teacher, or mother, or...
And maybe it's easiest, but it certainly doesn't really make up all of who I am. It doesn't explain why, for the moment, I am more comfortable in Chinese than English sometimes. Why I enjoy southern iced tea and fried jiao zi at the same time and would like Tim Tams for dessert please. This, by the way, being my idea of what food in heaven will be like. Hopefully we eat cause the southern American, and Chinese person inside me is just absolutely in love with all the possibilities of food in heaven.
Please excuse the irreverence.
Anyway I haven't worked out this transistion thing yet. The books are right but experiance puts the heart into the knowledge. I will let you know when I have it all figured out. Don't hold your breath.

Are Roller Coasters Fun?

2010-12-28T17:28:00.001-08:00

So 6 months in and the typical low has hit. The interesting part of adjustment is that many of the ties that hold you in place from day to day are stretched thin and become more long term rather than day to day relationships. You had things to do and people to do them for. You had friends to see who you knew and could predict what would offend them or amuse them. You were loved and your company was wanted.
Starting a life in a new place or returning to a place means letting go of the day to day ease of those relationships which were comfortable and comforting.
Not to mention not having people to do things for. We held a status in whatever place and community we have become a part of and it takes quite awhile to establish a different status or place. Perhaps it's more difficult in a place where people aren't prepared for people to move in and out every year. The best thing expats do is make a real effort to include and involve new team members. Making new friends and establishing close relationships happens more quickly, I think, overseas because people expect to say goodbye and hello very frequently.
Practically our situation is very good and we are blessed. The kids have a school, we have jobs, a car, we are preparing to move into a new house. The kids have adjusted pretty well and have made friends and will make more.
Emotionally Darren and I have hit the 6 month dip. Things were flying high we had our hands in the air screaming, and life was a giggle even if there were frightening times. Now the reality our limited connections in the social context has hit and the part where we just have to wait and be patient is upon us.
Approaching every conversation with hope and effort. Hoping that this will build into a friendship which could continue and offer a place for us to encourage someone, to minister. Sitting in a pew rather than working in the fellowship, trying to find a place to take part and to be part.
Darren and I are experiencing challenges that are different as well as similar in that while he has some ties that he is able to renew and he knows who people are talking about when they mention someone in conversation, he is also a different person than he was when he left and we didn't have the opportunity to keep a lot of connections here, outside family, so many people are experiencing him for the first time. My challenge is that I am a new element completely so there are few ties for me to go back to and reestablish. The funny thing is both these experiences lead to the same problems. In social contexts it is difficult to tell if a person has been offended or has found me strange, or overwhelming. Walking away from conversations constantly unsure of what effect I have had on the other person has finally led to that place where I start to feel drained. Not to mention the lack of internal peace and joy from knowing I have been of some comfort to a person today. That I offered emotional hospitality to those in my community.
The cherry on top is that I face the challenge of not being able to explain any of this to those around me since I am in a unique position right now. It is difficult to explain to those who have had a place their whole lives in the community where they now live, how hard it is to find your own place. Having always had a reputation and status it is difficult for them to understand the oppressiveness of having neither of those things in a new community.
So, here at this point what do I remind myself of?
1. Those that wait upon the L.... Darren and I were pretty aware that it would take two years for us to feel "at home", and here is where we need to keep that in mind.
2. I am loved as a child of G. and I have my "place" in him.
3. That even if people here aren't used to saying hello and goodbye in relationships as frequently as we are, they do have strong life long ties and one day we will have those types of ties as well.
4. That we have a circle of family and friends who have welcomed us home and are sympathetic to our challenges, they have put a lot of effort into our adjustment, they are awesome, and we are thankful for that.

Spiders and Bouncy Castles...New Christmas Traditions

2010-12-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

So sitting in fellowship last Sunday morning watching the kids in their Christmas play, The Wombat Divine, I finally read the notice asking parents to have kids, who in the play, at the oval by 6:45pm. Now, the oval is outside and I started to realize that perhaps Carols by Candlelight was not the same in Aussieland as I had previously been familiar with. Startled I turned to my mother-in-law and said, "Carols by Candlelight is outside?", and she looked at me like well where else would it be and said, " Yes". I said, " Well yeah we wouldn't usually want to do it outside in the States cause you would freeze but..." and trailed off cause what else do you say. That night I was treated to a Carols by Candlelight unlike any I have ever experienced. There were bouncy castles and huge plastic chess and checkers sets for kids to play on, as well as sausages, and soda and a petting zoo. About 6 pm a band came on with spunky music to pep us all up for the carols and then at 6:45 pm the carols started and we all sat down on picnic blankets and turned on our electric candles and the kids put on their glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces and we sang Christmas carols.
If I thought this was startling to my particular vision of what the Christmas season means it was nothing to what happened to me this weekend. The spiders came out in full force. And then the entire spider population of Aussie land seemed to be out to get me. Which was ok, I think, until they started showing up in unexpected places and ways.
I met my first jumping spider yesterday. I was on my way to the toilet and saw a bit of black fuzz hop into the air and come down quickly much closer to me. I stepped a bit closer to pick up the fuzz and throw it into the trash. The fuzz again hopped up into the air and came down quickly again even closer to me. This is when I realized that this was not fuzz but a rather talented breed of spider. Not knowing where the spray was I was happy to allow this spider to go it's merry way. I actually backed away from the spider with the intention of just giving it a few seconds to get out of my way before I headed to the toilet. The spider, of course, had other ideas. It decided that it would like to go to the toilet as well. OY! As it hopped it's way closer and closer to the toilet I tried to figure out a way to kill it without getting close enough to it for it to jump on me. I finally grabbed the broom and tried to just kill it very quickly. Thankfully I succeeded.
This was not, however, the end to my spider experiences. Late last night I stumbled into the toilet and turned on the light. I sat down and reached out to grab the end of the toilet paper. My eyes blurry and confused registered that the underside of the toilet paper looked somehow unusual. What was on the bottom of the toilet paper? I couldn't figure it out in that state of consciousness but just thought I would grab it and throw that piece away. I reached out a bit farther to just get it and throw it away when the end of the toilet paper floated up in a breeze from the fan... and I let out a huge YELP! There was a very large specimen of Daddy Long Legs which had attached itself to the underside of the end of the toilet paper and was sitting there quite happily, not looking to move or relocate any time soon. Now I was in a very vulnerable position and in need of the product on which the spider was resting comfortably, probably due to it's double quilted softness. I did some quick thinking, ( not a position you call for help in), and managed to kill the spider and proceed without too much incident or panic.
I have gotten too much sympathy for these incidents from the Aussies around me as they correctly pointed out that I am just lucky it wasn't one of the varieties which are poiseness and I should be more observant in the future. I definitely will be.
I was prepared to add to my holiday season 110 degree F heat or 40 degree C heat, and pools, and the beach, outside Christmas parties, and cold Christmas dinners. Spiders and bouncy castles was not something I had even though to add to my existing schema of Christmas traditions. Are there more surprises in store? If it's something like festive bouncy castles I might be able to handle it, but if it is similar to spiders resting on my toilet paper then I am not sure I should be held accountable for my response.

9 Years of Legally Binding

2010-12-04T04:32:00.000-08:00

On November 28th Darren and I celebrated 9 years of legally binding marriage. For those who are from China or lived there before then you probably know what this means. It's one of the functions of the life Darren and I chose, naively ,when we were in our twenties.
"Why don't we get married in China?"
"Sure, that sounds great!"
And away we went. For those who haven't heard the story it involves 10 taxis, a patient Chinese friend translating, a humilating physical exam that determined we were ok to breed, and a patridge in a pear tree.
How did we, given all that, choose to give birth in Shenyang about a year and a half after that experiance? I do not know. That experiance however, has been good for some laughs as well.
What all of this means is that in addition to carry around an American and Australian passport for both boys, we also carry a Chinese birth certificate, and an American consular report of birth abroad.
This doesn't get us started on our marriage. At the end of the 10 taxis etc... we had to wait four weeks for a telephone call to Darren that said our marriage paperwork had come through the system. Darren turn to me,( I was cooking and he had been mashing potatoes for the big Thanksgiving Dinner in Shenyang), and said, " Our marriage paperwork has come through."
I didn't really react. I was in the middle of a project and I was happy but what did this mean anyway. We still had the wedding ceremony exactly a month away so...
Then Darren says, " So now we are legally married, you know if we got cold feet now and didn't go through with it we would actually have to get a divorce."
Ok, so I admit that got through. That was a bit more shocking. That was serious.
Consequently after our wedding ceremony Darren asked which anniversary we should celebrate. I didn't care as long as it was one of them and it didn't have to be the same one each year. Darren has never failed to remember both every year.
The rest of the story is that we have two marriage certificates. Both in Chinese, and one of which lists me as Chinese. In addition we have the official translation and in addition to that we have the official translation which was recently registered at a court house in Colorado.
This is the paperwork we carry with us every time we travel as a family.
Airport officials love us.

The Sunflower by My Bank

2010-10-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

I was working in my office. I had been at it for awhile so my colleague did have to repeat herself a few times before I believed that what I had heard her say was what she had actually said. There was a large sunflower outside the bank our business uses. Thank goodness I didn't have to make any deposits that day.

It was not the first though. A month earlier I had priviledged to encounter cows in the city on the way to my bus stop after getting off the train. Apparently Aussies have a thing for marketing schemes that involve large flora and fauna. Just in case you are wondering the cows was actually a campaign which in my mind qualifies as marketing. Additionally, I hadn't had my coffee yet so the cows did throw me off a bit. It took me until the second day to actually get a picture and because I hadn't had my coffee first thing the second day either I still didn't get a picture right away.

It's fun. It's quarky. Quite frankly both events made my day cause anything this big and furry is bound to cause you to want to stop and stare. Accounts, spreadsheets, databases, and airline tickets can get very boring. No one can really say men in cow and sunflower suits is boring.

By Cindy

2010-10-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

“Transition” is a complicated word. I personally think that “transition” is a euphemism that gives a really nice label to a basically unpleasant or challenging experience. After all, the worst part of labor is gently described as “transition”. How ironic.

When a woman in labor undergoes “transition” there is a quiet understanding that she may yell, disown her husband, throw things or in general act a bit crazy. People going through a life “transition” often come across equally stressed C though hopefully they restrain from throwing things.

No doubt, transition marks a difficult season where irritability, uncertainty and stress run higher than normal. But, what makes transition so challenging? Mainly the difficulty lies with going from what is known to what is not known. Particularly when a family moves to a new city / country, individuals go from being well-known to being a stranger. Before the transition, roles and routines are established. In the new location, others are not yet aware of the many gifts and skills that the new individuals bring.

Additionally, developing meaningful friendships takes time. It’s easy to be discouraged as one compares the depth of the relationships left behind to the new, entry-level relationships. However, the new relationships will certainly over time deepen and become as meaningful, if not more than the ones left behind.

One of the keys to weathering the transition experience is to remember that it is indeed a season. Over time, routines are established, and individuals find their place in the community. Over time, the individual / family realizes that they belong to the new location, just as they belonged in the former location. At this point, the new location takes on the feeling of home.

Reminding oneself that the transition will not last forever will hopefully minimize the stress experienced. It can be helpful to look back on other life transitions and recall how those situations eventually became normal and enjoyable.

I would suggest two other reminders that can help ease the discomfort of transition. First, remember the key reasons that the Lord led you to the transition in the first place. Unless the transition was initiated by some unplanned trauma, there were likely many positive factors that led to the decision to make a life change. Remembering, or even journaling those factors can help reignite the excitement and energy needed for the transition period. Even if excitement does not follow, you can rest with the knowledge that you are taking a step of faith that the Lord has initiated in your life.

Finally, the most comforting reminder is focusing on the Lord’s faithfulness throughout your life. In Scripture there are several occasions where the Lord recommends that the Israelites build an altar, or gather “stones of remembrance”. These stones not only represent worship of the Lord, but also they provide key reminders of times when the Lord proved faithful. Sometimes in the midst of trials, we can’t immediately feel the Lord’s closeness. We may be able to intellectually ascent to His “faithfulness”, but our hearts may not be ready to agree. Going back over significant times of the Lord’s faithfulness can calm our hearts, and re-focus our minds. Often tracing God’s past faithfulness highlights some of the key Spiritual themes that He is teaching during this time of transition.

Transition isn’t always a fun word. But, I believe it is a tool that God richly uses to shape and strengthen our faith. He loosens our grasp on the familiar and certain. As a result we grip desperately to His hand and become more fully dependent on Him. We have to walk through some murky and churning waters (Joshua 3-4), but in the end we carry out of the experience another stone to add to the altar of our lives C where we tangibly see His faithfulness.

- Cindy Post

The good, the bad and the mmmmmm???

2010-10-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Well, what to say? It's been awhile and not because there hasn't been anything to talk about but more because I have been so busy working at a full time job that I love but that also wears me the heck out. I reach the end of the day and just really want to sit in front of the T.V. like a zombie.
I spent the first month at my job feeling completely underwater and the next one freaking out because now I was on my own and now today feeling mmmm???, well...better. This is is probably exactly what everyone was trying to tell me would happen but which I wasn't sure actually would.
Today was walk to work day so what did I do? Tick tock tick tock tick tock... Times up! I drove and thanked my stars and the Australian obsession with living a healthy lifestyle that I got to work in 45 minutes. HA! Suckers who fell for a "Walk to Work Day".
Well ok that may not say very much about me but first of all I am American and therefore have no obsession with living a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore it would take me an entire day to walk to work.
What I did not realize and what was pointed out to me by the lovely announcers on my radio station, ( yes when you drive 45 minutes each way everyday to work and back you quickly pick a radio station whether you only been here 3 months or not), I could have walked to the train station. Oops!
So I went for an hour long walk at lunch and made up for my slothfulness. And while I walked I looked at these palatial houses and thought,"I bet there are people in these houses that are unhappy and can't even appreciate that they come down every night to these beautiful houses in the old brick neighborhood with their beautiful flowers and lawns". Then I realized that this very same country produces the people who buy into a walk to work day. They also let people in before them, even in a traffic jam where they have been stuck for an hour. They have a government that is seriously considering a carbon tax and the current gov. leadership is actually saying they will do this.
Then I thought about how my Chinese friends would react these houses and neighborhoods where you don't see anyone for 15 or 20 minutes at a time and where only two people live in a house that is really more than adequate for 20. I think about the chatty taxi drivers in China, the way people would fight over the bill with their friends, and the delicious food. Ok, maybe the food was beside the point.
So in the end I think if I could successfully mix together the Chinese, American, Native American, and Australian cultural strengths and make one culture with all those then that would be pretty good and maybe I should really try to do that.
Probably that was what God meant for the world to be like only with all the different strengths of all the different cultures.
All that makes me think mmmmm????... I have now walked too far and it's going to, by accident, take me far longer to walk back all the way I came. Hence the hour long walk. See you thought I was purposely healthy there for awhile.

2010-09-06T04:52:00.000-07:00

Lost my keys in a post office today.
How many times have I lost my keys in the last week? Well maybe I won't say because it might be too embarassing.
Moving on to the other moments that are teaching me how to be adaptable to the "new" factor.
"What is a Learning Journey?", mmmmm and the teacher's answer is, " A journey of learning for parents", and what for it, " It was in the newsletter." Hee Hee Uh???
For those who are wondering what a Learning Journey is it's an Open House and we needed to subscribe to the newsletter which comes automatically to your email. That is, of course, if you have subscribed to it. I am beginning to understand what it means to be the new parents in town.
Can you imagine a place where the teacher's completley rearrange thier schedules so that all kids can go to 45 minute swim lessons everyday for two weeks?
Not only that but the kids walk to the classes. The Americans out there will understand my complete amazment at this. Seriously there days where I feel like Dorothy in Oz but no one gave me Ruby Slippers.
When did I start driving to work everyday and isn't it funny how so many of the people around me take this simple action for granted?
I can buy donuts EVERYDAY!
There is a DISHWASHER in the kitchen!
I can buy fresh pizza bases at the supermarket WHENEVER and they cost the same as if I made them from scratch. MMMmmm
Highlight of the week was the Wanneroo Markets which is like a little Wu Ai Jie with stuff and produce. It is even full of chinese people. Made me feel like maybe I found little Ruby Flip-Flops instead which were quite nice.

2010-08-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

More important than the 30 second answer to, "How was China?", is the 30 second answer to,"How are you adjusting to _____?". I know we asked people that all the time when they moved to China and the thing is they seemed to have the answer but I fumble around for a minute trying to figure out what to say. So how about it, those who have done this before, what is the answer to that question when you move back?
My answer is usually the thing I just accomplished that was on my to do list for things I needed to do to settle in. Well...I got my license. Well... I have a job. As long as they don't ask what the job is we are doing well because it is equally hard to explain. Well...all our boxes have arrived. The thing is I am not sure that answers the question of how we, as a family, are adjusting to life in a strange new land.

Wow Life Goes On

2010-08-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

Starting week 6 days ago and I have 4 weeks to learn everything. I liked it so much better being the person who knew how things were supposed to go than being the person asking for help all the time. I remember how dependent I was on people when I first moved to China but going through it all again is always harder than you can really imagine.
It's amazing though how having something to focus your attention so completley helps you to get into a pace that makes life feel more normalized. In some ways the adjustments are passing me by too quickly as I forget to cherish the freakish moments that still happen. For instance, yesterday I walked down the street to the new's agents,(for non-aussies this is a place that sells mainly newspapers and magazines),and heard Chinese being spoken by the two ladies who work in the shop. I quickly jumped in and we talked for a bit. I discovered that they speak Chinese but are from Malaysia and am still very happy that if I choose I can just walk down the street to practice my Chinese.
I said, "Dui Bu Qi", to a random man I bumped into getting off the train on my way to work. Turns out some situations wake up my Chinese language instincts more than others and large crowds bumping into eachother is one of those situations...naturally.
My co-worker who is also Japanese told me this morning that she had eaten a mooncake and I rejoiced for whose knows what reason because I never ate mooncake in China. But there I am paying attention to the directions and seriously considering going to buy one. By the way my new boss also spent time in China. It makes me feel like a little less of a freak when I go to get my hot water in the afternoon.

Envelopes

2010-08-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

I was able to use my Chinese to help out today at my job. This was fortunate because yesterday I couldn't figure how to close these new envelopes that basically close themselves.

Who Knew?

2010-07-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

Who knew that the word "cheers" could be used to say thank you instead of toast with drinks? And,who knew that the sound "Ta" could also mean thank you. More to come but I will have to get used to these things and use them if I mean to blend in. I will be at a wedding in Canada for a week. I will also get to see my parents in the States. In this context I should probably not use "cheers" or "ta". Life can be complicated sometimes.

Good news!

2010-07-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Great news, I have been in contact with some Member Care people in the community who have given permission to add links to the websites on this blog. Other good news is I might be able to get involved in Member Care in some way right here in Perth. Expect those links soon.
It is amazing how quickly the urge to have the things of western life strikes. We are quite comfortable right where we are in terms of living but we are both antsy to get a house and another,(small and used), car. Of course the latter is dependent on me getting a license and, of course, a job. After all right now I have no place that I urgently need to be. This of course leads to the fact that I am also antsy to get to work. Watching Darren get up everyday and start work makes me incredibly anxious to get on with having a schedule everyday and a list of goals I can accomplish. The kids are occupying themselves amazingly well while waiting for school to start so this means they are not as needful of my presence as we might have thought they would be.
It's my Birthday today and I have been asking God for patience and a career really. The funny thing is I realize that there is a possibility that the two might not go together as this is a good time for me to exercise patience in a new way. He has given all good things to us up to this point so I am in constant prayer that I will be mindful of that fact and not rush forward, forgetting to savor the moments I have right now.

My first triumph 2 cell phone calls later

2010-07-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

Ta Da!
1. I took the train and buses home today. It took one train line change and a switch to the bus route, oh also two cell calls in order to figure out what to do but I got home by myself ok well sort of hee hee some independence is mine.
2. Ok so this is a funny thought, I was thinking to myself today wouldn't it be nice if I was Asian because then I would be able to just walk up to people and ask them if they were Chinese without seeming quite so odd. I just miss Chinese people and Koreans so much and I thought that would be so nice.
3. How many of us Americans pronounce caramel carrmell? Because Australians actually say Ca Ra Mel. Haa Ha I got a kick out of my moment today when I confused the man at the coffee shop by saying I wanted a carrmel iced coffee. He wasn't quite sure what I wanted.
4. To explain the bus and train situation it may take me 6 months of driving on L or learner's permit plates in order to get a license.Terribly embarassing at my age/experiance and inconveniant. I will have to keep a good sense of humour as my husband sits in the passenger seat and trys not to freak out while I log my driving hours.

At least the reason's still the same

2010-07-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

Ha Haa as I look at the previous post I realize there is one way in which I still feel at home, people still blame my odd behavior on the fact I am American.

The bus ,the English

2010-07-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

Well I have forgotten what my accent sounds like and wonder now what I will think when I get to Canada in a week.
1. I have learned that large crowds of English speakers stress me out. Turns out I have learned how to zone out Chinese in large amounts but I have lost the ability to do this in English and find myself unable to carry on comprehensible conversations when there is such a richness of English all around me. People must not know what to think as they watch me bounce my eyes around the room not being able to keep my mind on the questions they have just asked me.
2. Ohhh the bus. I went down to the bus stop today and waited patiently for the right bus. It drove up and I got on. I asked the driver how much to my stop. He told me the amount and I looked around confused, then I asked,"Where do I put the money?" He responded by sticking out his hand. He also advised me that in future I had better wave down the bus I needed because several would go by. At the end of all this I got off the bus at the wrong stop because I thought two stops couldn't possibly be so close to each other. Well at least he can blame it on me being American.
3. Lastly my son's Sunday school teacher thought he was from New Zealand because of his muddled accent. I know, however, he will get the hang of it.

More funny times

2010-07-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

Today's Oops
1."Oh I bumped into you!", "Oops and you!"..."Ohhhhhhh I am on the wrong side of the walkway in the middle of the mall. I should be on the left side!!!"Apparently each country, without knowing, walks on the same side of a path that they would take if they were driving down the street. To make this worse I didn't even realize I had bumped into people until they looked at me with disgruntled eyes.
2. I still stare at foreigners, shush don't tell. By the way define foreigners as Western Europeans, although I stare at Asians too cause I am so happy to see them.
3. I "tapped" my phone very aggressively today. Don't worry it's ok and it's learned how far it can push me.
4. One way I have adjusted was I was trying to search for my parent's State's side zip code today and kept on typing in postal code.Before you know I am saying nappy for diaper and it's all downhill from there.
5. I backed away from someone when I was thought perhaps I was standing too close to them today and then they looked at me and I thought, "Uh Oh now they think I think they smell bad or something." No way to win on this one.

Funny Moments so far

2010-07-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

I hope to add more of these but if you know us you will recognize a lot of our silliness in these moments. Enjoy!
1. A lady called me on the phone for an interview. I understood practically none of what she said. I heard her say the place, and the time. So I showed up and decided to be flexible. How did she learn to talk so fast?
2. I found out about myself the other day that a new side to my personality is I am reluctant to ask questions now that I am in Australia. Why? I am unwilling to stand out. What? Standing out, shouldn't I be used to that by now?
3. Darren and I found out that we are extremely clumsy when eating Chinese food in Australia. What's more surprising is it isn't the chopsticks that are the problem... it's the spoons. We couldn't serve ourselves with serving spoons since we are used to using our chopsticks. You should have seen us trying to hold chopsticks and go for the food only to hold back at the last minute and grab the spoon and proceed to drop the chopsticks and food all over the table.
4.Cheese is GOLD! People it is GOLD! Would you stop putting it on everything cause you are giving me a heart attack.
5. I have had a hard time getting used to my super fancy touch-screen phone that...wait for it... came with the standard package deal. Thing flips from horizontal screen to vertical screen all the time which makes me dizzy. It also makes me want to hit it. By the way... where are the numbers? Ahhh took me awhile.
6. I forgot a huge batch of muffins in the oven because the oven was too quiet. Hard as rocks. For those from my fellowship in China, coffee was not the problem this time. True story.
7.I am reluctant to buy more than a day or two's worth of groceries. I actually wanted to stop my husband from buying a cereal for Saturday today because we won't need that for five days. And, of course, cereal is like GOLD people GOLD, would you stop eating it all the time!
8. I am inherently suspicious of bagged fruits and veggies. If it's pre-bagged in China then it's either out of season and therefore astronomically expensive or has one or two bad pieces in it. Mm mm and what is up with veggies that are pre-bagged just right in order to make Master Chef recipes? Will I adjust?
9. How excited did I get when the box showed up with a few precious coffee mugs from China in it? Way too excited to get over coffee cups. I used one right away with a huge grin all over my face. Could have been due to the amount of caffeine I already had in my system. Turns out coffee is GOLD but I can get used to drinking a lot more of it anyway.

From China to Australia

2010-07-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

Our family moved from China, (where we lived for 11 years), back/to Australia in June 2010. It depends on which member of our family you are whether you moved to or back to Australia. My husband is Australia and so of course Perth, where we live now, is his hometown. I am American and although I have visited Australia fairly frequently, it's still obviously a huge change for me.
I moved to Shenyang, China in 1999 and started work for an awesome school. Ask me about it! I loved it so much I stayed at that school for the next 11 years. My husband moved to China from Australia in 1998 and started work for a university teaching business subjects and business English. We eventually met and got married, in Shenyang, 6 months later. We are both very decisive people and we both love Shenyang.
My husband quickly realized how awesome the school I was working for was and decided to work for them. Shortly after I got pregnant. Very shortly after, about 6 months after we got married I got pregnant. After a lot of though we decided to give birth to our firstborn in a Chinese hospital. Our child was to be delivered by an terrific foreign Dr. we know. It went very well and so we decided to have our second child there as well.
So Shenyang was our home in a lot of ways. As a child who moved a lot, it was the longest I lived in any one place. It was time for us to leave though and so the transitions had to begin. We have now landed firmly in Australia, thanks to our family and friends. This blog is hopefully a chance to record our experiences in transition for ourselves, for our family, and for others who might find it useful as they get ready to make their own transitions. I hope to add resources and hints and posts from friends who have good information as I get it and hope if you read this and have tips and thoughts you will add them or send them to me.