Casey and Alicia

Finally, a picture of Casey and I.  See, we did move here together!  Here we are at the Halloween party at Tiande.  We were dressed as a couple from Michigan!  :). 

A Chinese Wedding

It is custom in China, that on your wedding day you decorate your car.  Look at how the flowers on the vehicle match the stage.  This wedding took place at our complex and it took them about two days to set it all up.  It was a very beautiful, outdoor wedding.  

Stanley, welcome to China!

It is with great pleasure that I welcome "Flat Stanley" to China.  It was a little difficult to get him here and he ended up coming via e-mail, but he made it safely and is now out exploring China.  Thanks to my nephew Vaughn, I have my first visitor to show around.  Here he is.......and be sure to check back to see what he is up to!

Pumpkin Time!

Thanks to Joe and Karen, we got to "decorate" pumpkins this year.  They found them at one of the grocery stores we go to.  Unfortunately we could not carve these pumpkins because they were too small, but we sure had fun coloring on them!  

Sharks!

Yes, these are real live sharks!  There is a bar in Tiande where these fellas live.  It was crazy!

Japanese Steakhouse

This place was amazing!  We went there on Saturday night (Sweetest Day).  It was pay one price and you could eat and drink all you wanted.  You could order separately, but we all went for eating everything we could!  Kids are free too, so that was nice!  It is located in a area called Tiandi.  This area has recently been developed by someone from Hong Kong, so it is very modern compared to other parts of China.  Casey and I actually looked at one of the apartments here, but it is a much longer commute for him to work.  The apartments are amazing though and there are some other Ford families and expats that live there.

A beautiful Friday night on the patio!

It was a beautiful week in Chongqing, so we ended the week by eating dinner outside on the patio.  We could even see the moon!  It may have been a first!

Pizza and Volleyball!

Who would have known that we could have Papa John's while in China!  I thought Pizza Hut what was good, but this was even better.  I think Casey was still talking about how good it was three days later.  They even had breadsticks.  Yum-o!  Of course we went with the Mullen's and then after pizza we headed to YCIS for some volleyball.  Well, at least Karen, Joe and I attempted it.  They were a little more serious than we prefer, but I think I will go back...at least for some exercise!   Plus, I have to work off all the pizza I am eating!

Meet the Mullen's!

So, who are the Mullen's...they are Joe, Karen and most importantly....Bear!  Joe, Karen, and Bear are from Michigan and Joe works with Casey at Ford.  Karen, Bear, Ellen and I get to spend our days together while the guys are at work!  They live in Palm Springs with us, so it is very nice!  It so nice to have met such wonderful people and their pets!   

Chopsticks

In an effort to avoid being brought a fork at every Chinese restaurant we go to,  we decided we need to start practicing using our chopsticks at home.  We found a "training" pair for Ellen, although she seems to have this process down better than me.  Maybe I should be using the training ones!  

Broken glass and Takila!

Please note how I spelled Takila.  So, the broken glass has nothing to do with shots!  Actually, Takila is another girl we have met and she came to hang out with us one day.  We met her on the pre-trip.  She was with us when I passed out giving blood!  Takila even brought Ellen a stuffed panda bear and Snow White DVD.  After hanging out at home, we had Jacky pick us up and take us out to dinner.  We went to a place called "Vito's", which has really good Italian food and Chinese food.  It is also located inside the outlet mall and is open to the floors below.  So we sat on the edge so we could see people walking around the mall below us.  Casey and I got Chinese food and Ellen and Takila got pizza.  We also ordered Ellen a milk, which came in a huge glass.  Needless to say, the glass eventually went over the side and crashed to the floor below us.  Luckily no one was below us at the time and/or got hurt.  The worst part was when the waitress came over and made us pay for the glass.  It wasn't cheap either.  It cost us 52 RMB which is like $9.00.  Now that hurt!

Warning...please follow the rules!

This is an actual sign that is located outside of our gym in the club house.  

#3. Anyone who is heavily drunk will not be allowed to enter the gym for visit or exercise.  So, I guess it is ok if you are just a "little" drunk.  

#5.  Smoking, spitting, littering, hubbub, running and playing, and all the illegal activities....first of all it is funny that they have to include spitting, but spitting is very common in China.  Men and woman do it and they do it wherever they are.  So far, I have witnessed it on the streets and even in the pool while at the hotel.  They may need to include throwing up, because that is what I feel like doing when I witness this!  And what is hubbub?  I googled it, you should too!

 

Peking Duck

Peking Duck is the name of the restaurant we went to at Red Cliff Caves (hong yan dong - this is the Chinese translation) which is in a traditional Chinese building with traditional Chinese shops and restaurants.  There is also some western restaurants and shops starting to go in.  It is a very busy and popular place.  

Ellen and I went with Maria (left), Sue (right) and both their husbands who work with Casey at Ford. On the table on the white dish is duck tongue.  And no, I didn't try it!  I did however eat what you see in the other two pictures.  The dish in front of Sue was a mushroom and vegetable dish on an egg.  It was delicious.  Ellen even ate this one...especially the egg part.  The other picture is duck.  They brought it to our table and carved it in front of us.  They served the duck with a special soy sauce, green onions and then you wrapped it in a warm shell to eat.      Some of the other dishes we ate were white fish, a spicy chicken and how could I forget the soup.  It is common to begin each meal with soup in China.  At this restaurant it was a clear broth with different mushrooms.   It was all delicious and I have decided.....if you come to visit us, you will be eating here!

The real "Palm Springs"!

No, I am not talking about California, but the beautiful complex we now call home.  We took about an hour and a half walk around the entire thing the other day.  This is a view from the water looking back at the buildings we live in.  The closest roofs you see are to some of the townhouses and then the ones on the other side of the water are villas, which are amazing...and then we are in the row of buildings right behind the villas.  Then there are even taller buildings behind us.  This place truly is amazing!

After teasing Ellen at the grocery store...we actually took her to the zoo!

Since Ellen was beginning to think the grocery stores are also zoos, we thought we better set things straight and take her to the actual zoo in Chongqing.  We have been to several zoos before but this one was way different.  Maybe it was because the people in China feed the animals popcorn.  It is different than what we consider popcorn, but it is what they call it.  The animals were very active searching for food.  Be sure to read the yellow sign...I think it is more for the animals to be aware of the people.  The people there may have tried to take more pictures of Ellen too....I still say she was the most popular animal there.

A new way to entertain your kids in the car!

You may have a hard time finding this in America, but not in China.  We see people driving down the road with chickens on the back on their mopeds and then Ellen wants us to chase them.  Yes, this guy just drove up in between us at a stop light.  Driving in China is very different.  So, if you want to entertain your child in the car.....move to China!

No this is not the zoo, but a grocery store!

Notice the turtle...he is trying to jump out of the tank.  I think he knows what is in store for him!

I am so glad Ellen didn't realize that these animals were eventually going to be someone's dinner.  Yes, we are in a local grocery store in China.  Casey and I have Jacky trying to help us get a few things and Ellen wants to keep going to see the animals.  I tried telling her we were not at a zoo!

Some of the things we are getting used too!

The top picture is obviously of milk!  It looks a little different than the gallons of milk we buy in America.  Milk here does not usually come cold and it comes in box containers and can typically last up to six months!  Luckily Ellen has had no problems adjusting to it.  We have tried a few different kinds and she still drinks it like crazy!  The picture on the bottom is of my washing/drying machine knob.  This is what I had to have Joy translate for me so I can use it.  What I didn't show you is the yellow sticky note I have posted to the right with the translation.  This is just one unit that I use for both washing and drying our clothes.  The writing in blue is the dryer functions.  My other dryer function is hanging my clothes to dry.  It is very common in China.  While driving around, you will always see people's clothes hanging on their patio drying.  Notice I said patio....because my washer/dryer is outside my kitchen.  It is covered, but it has open air vents, so it is very different than what I am used to!