Our house

Our guest bathroom. I love purple and green together.

The living room

The icon stand

The kitchen and the ikea cabinets -- finally installed!

Michaela's room

Our room with the fancy furniture that David bought. It is imported from europe and ate up most of our furniture budget, but it is beautiful!
Our beautiful bed. Notice the bars in the background though. I know it looks awful ut we are very high up in an apartment building and we would not want any curious little girl to try to pretend she is tinkerbell and jump out.

Our beautiful bed. Notice the bars over the window in the background though. I know it looks awful ut we are very high up in an apartment building and we would not want any curious little girl to try to pretend she is Tinkerbell and jump out.

Our bathroom. We have mini heater in there because one of the worst feelings in life is to go potty in the freezing cold.

Vince in jail

Yes, I’ve mentioned this before. I won’t tell you why he is in jail because I really feel badly about sharing such private information. However, what I will tell you is jail in China is nothing like jail in America. Vince was arrested in November and placed in a holding cell. Yes, that is right; he has been there in holding for almost 4 months now – so far no trial has occurred. He has not seen a judge. He is just there waiting to present his side of things. And the waiting is not fun. His cell is open air (windows are not sealed, just bars) and shared with many others. They took his glasses and heart medication away. They told us they gave both back to him, but a recently released prisoner who was in holding with him, came and told his wife that this was actually a lie. So he can’t see and he hasn’t taken his medication in months (he’s had several open heart surgeries). He also suffers from gout so I’m sure he is miserable. The prisoners get one cup of rice and one cup of vegetables at every meal. Anything else they might want, they need to buy. As a result of this, Lily, his wife, is sending him 2,000 RMB per month (about $250) to supplement his meals. There is no entertainment and he has not been given any books although he requested his Bible. They told us they gave him his bible, but the man who went to see Lily also said that was a lie. He gets one letter per month from family and he can write one letter per month to family (only one page long though). All of the correspondence is screened. We have been told that the trial will take place in April, but of course we have no guarantee of that. I actually think Vince deserves some punishment for what he did, but the Chinese system is really harsh and has made me feel quite sorry for him. If you think of it, do pray for Vince. He made a mistake, but he should get the chance to go before a judge and get a fair hearing.

Waitng is over

Here we go. They finally found a place for me at the hospital and my Dr. quickly decided it is best to induce me now. My BP was also high, but it was a change of tune from what she said before about how much better it is to wait for natural labor to start. In any case, we are glad to have the worrying and waiting part over since it has been a long and stressful final month.

We will put pictures up as soon as baby Kruse arrives.

Orthodox parish in Shenzhen

Natasha holding Michalea

Father Dionisy

Church inside

Church inside

Church inside

I finally had a chance to go to the Russian Orthodox parish in Shenzhen. There was one other service since we’ve been back, but we missed it due to going to Hong Kong for some tests. The services are held on odd days and at odd times because the priest, Father Dioneszy, has a parish in Hong Kong that he serves at on Sundays and church holidays. So the services for us are sometimes on a Monday morning or a Friday evening. Father Dioneszy also serves liturgy in Guangzhou and even sometimes in Beijing. He is truly a busy man. He is also a wonderful priest – gentle, caring, but also firm and directive. This combination of both soft and firm is something I find in most Orthodox priests.

It was a wonderful service. I went with Michaela and there were two other people there. Then there was Father Dionisy and Natasha who lives at the small apartment that doubles as a church. She also does all the singing and greeting and candle lighting. It is a small parish. Most times we go we are the only attendees there. Feasts are busier of course. It is mostly in Russian, but when we are there he does quite a few prayers in English.

Father Dionisy is quite well known for his efforts in China as well as his success in translating many Orthodox materials into Mandarin. I really did not know about all of Father’s effort or how well-known he was until I read an article in a journal called Road to Emmaus (order this issue at http://www.roadtoemmaus.net/backissues2005.htm Fall issue). It really is a wonderful article. You would get this impression from the article that Father lives this exciting and rewarding life journeying into China to conduct Orthodox services. I know from experience though that most of the time Father is conducting services with few to sometimes no attendees in small dingy apartments that double as churches. This to me is the beauty and inspiration that was missing in the article. Father Dionisy has been faithful in the small things. He just keeps conducting services even though there isn’t much growth in the parishes he leads. I see this as how most saints’ lives probably were. Being faithful in the moment rarely feels exciting which is why it is easy to give up or be drawn astray. This is what makes some people’s lives extraordinary. In spite of progress or excitement or reward, people like Father Dionisy do what is good; what is right even when it isn’t exciting or doesn’t seem successful by the world’s standards. Natasha is amazing also. She doesn’t speak English or Chinese and she lives in China in a small church/apartment in order to keep the church working and worshiping even though most of the time no one goes to the services.

Michaela goes to school

Entering the school -- you can't see it in this picture, but it is shaped like a castle.

Warm welcome and greetings from the principal.

Michaela went to her first day of school. I felt she was too young, but she really wanted to go and David really wanted her to go. I also knew that living here in Longgang was really boring for her and the only way for her to make friends is to go to some sort of school. The only problem is that there is only one option here – preschool. They are pretty much all the same. Kids start at two and a half. Almost all Chinese kids go to school at this age. The day starts at 8:00 am and ends at 5:30. They eat breakfast and lunch at school. Some kids go home for lunch and rest hour which is 12:00-2:00. I am not crazy enough to agree that my not-yet-three-year-old daughter go to school for the entire day. The only other option is to not even a regular choice, but something we requested – a half day. She goes from 8:00-11:45 which I still think is a really long time for someone of her age.

Beginning of the day, group sing time

Very, very loud!

I was nervous the first day and stuck around the whole time. Michaela did really well though and seemed to enjoy it. All they do is play—inside then outside then inside again. The only structured activity I saw was singing time. Other kids cried, but not her. She mostly played by herself, but she had fun. Since then she looks forward to school and never complains or cries even though I don’t stay anymore. I’m still not really crazy about the idea, but it doesn’t seem to be as traumatic as I thought it would be. She seems to be a pretty independent girl.

Inside play

Outside play

Outside play area

Having a Chinese helper

Zhou Jie from Sichuan province

I hesitate to write this because it will sound so ungrateful to some people, but having a helper is not as wonderful as it sounds. What I mean by this is that having hired help in China is not comparable to having a housekeeper or a nanny in America. Hiring a Chinese helper or bao mu as they are called is hiring someone from the countryside to come work as a housekeeper. We’ve had two since we came here. They have both been really nice wonderful people. However, they are not always the best housekeepers. My current helper is Zhou Jie and she is about the nicest person I’ve ever met. No matter how hard I try to get her to separate the colors when she does laundry, use cleaning solutions for cleaning (only organic ones of course) or dry dishes before putting them away or store meat in the fridge and keep raw meat separate from other vegetables it really is no use. She comes from a village where there was no electricity most of her life and her house has never had a fridge. All food was kept out and uncovered. I don’t even know if these things are that important, but I find myself cleaning after she cleans, redoing laundry, covering and storing meat properly, etc. She basically uses one wet rag to wipe the whole house down and the other day I saw her cleaning the toilet with my dish towel. Which I’m sure has happened many times before.

Cleaning with her wet rag

The one thing she does that is truly helpful to me is she cooks. I have nothing to say about the cooking as she makes Chinese food and I have no experience in that area. The food is greasy, but tasty. She buys the produce and meat every day so it is fresh. So two meals a day, I just sit down and eat. Now that is a luxury I admit.

Another trip to the Chinese hospital

I was actually very happy with my first trip to the Chinese hospital. The doctor there seemed caring and competent. She knew about my situation, knew what test needed to be done and gave me good advice. I really would feel comfortable if she were my OG/GYN. I wouldn’t want to deliver at that facility, but I would trust her as my doctor. However, the next time we went there, we saw a different doctor. The way the place works is that you stand in a line to see the doctor on duty at the time. There is no personal doctor that oversees your case. Well, this doctor was the complete opposite. She was unconcerned and very much incompetent. She ordered the wrong test for me. Then when we got the right test, she saw the results and said “mei wenti” (no problem). I knew she was wrong at the time. Everything was sent to my Hong Kong doctor who was very concerned of course. I guess that just highlights the problem with the Chinese hospital. I see it as something like the teaching profession in America. It draws a lot of really intelligent and dynamic people who are passionate about teaching and don’t care that the salary is low. On the other hand, the freedom involved in teaching (very little oversight) and some of the benefits (summers off) also draws a lot of lazy people looking to collect a paycheck with as little effort as possible.

Potty Training

I was very disappointed when Michaela was not potty trained by the age of 2. In China, most kids stop wearing diapers after a couple of months of age. This concept has become popular in the US now -- they call it EC or elimination communication. I’ve seen these websites and they often reference China as an example of how children can be potty trained by 6-9 months. What they do not know is that just because Chinese kids stop wearing diapers does not mean that they are potty trained. In reality, Chinese people are just more comfortable with kids having accidents all the time. They think diapers are harmful to kids and prefer lots of accidents to the harm of diapers. I still think that in general Chinese kids are trained earlier than American kids. However, I did work at a Chinese kindergarten for a year and my experience was that even 2-2.5 yr olds had accident once or twice a day. I still felt embarrassed having Michaela in diapers around other Chinese children who haven’t worn them for two years.

So when we were in America for six months, I tried to train her several times, but without success. My mom kept telling me not to push it and to wait until we got back to China (which I did not want to do because I was embarrassed). But she was right. It was just about timing for us. When we got back to China, it really went easily. It took about a week and it was stress free for the most part. China, due to the reasons listed above, is a much easier place to potty train children. First of all, Chinese people expect kids to have accidents so it is much les stressful when you go out. Also, it is acceptable to let kids pee just about anywhere – in the grass, on the street, over the garbage can. Kids can’t wait; they think and therefore must go wherever they need to go. So if you are at the park, let them pee in the grass. If you are at the store, let them go in a garbage can if you can’t make it to a rest room. If you are in the car, pull over and pee on the street. The whole process was so easy once we did not have to think about waiting to find for a bathroom all of the time. The only really bad part is if you do need to use an actual bathroom because they are usually disgustingly dirty and almost always a squatty potty.

Hospital in Longgang

So I was having some other symptoms (headache, pain in my upper right-hand side) and we decided that going to Hong Kong was not a good way to determine whether these things were serious or not. So we decided to go to our local Chinese hospital. This is not the first time we've been to a Chinese hospital, but it is always quite an experience. Here is how it goes.

First you have to register at the hospital. You pay a fee and get a green medical book.

Then, go to the cashier lady and pay some fees.

Once you have gotten your registration book and then paid some fees, you go to see the Dr. which basically means you stand in a line (like the "line" seen above until you can muscle your way to the front and get some face time with the Dr. in the room. Lots of pushing involved. The Dr. evaluates you and orders some more tests which you need to pay for so back to the cashier lady.

Yes, we are familiar with her by now. The good news is that an ultrasound is only 57 RMB (about 7 dollars). Later the Dr. ordered more tests --ultrasound of the liver, kidneys, and lots of blood tests which came to a whopping total of 250 RMB (about 30 dollars). Good thing is we can get reimbursed from our insurance company. Whew!

So then we walk around to all the different rooms for the different tests and each room has a "line" just like to one in the previous picture. I don't know if you can see clearly enough, but yes, he is smoking in the hospital. Everywhere we went in the hospital, people were smoking (including Doctors). I don't think that was ever allowed in my lifetime in the States.

So then we were done. What an experience. I think the best word for it is a ton of rigmarole. But then it is better then making the haul all the way to Hong Kong. And I got to get out of the house for a little while.

Good news is, everything looks fine so I think I might be able to wait it out a little longer on bed rest.

Bed rest

I have been put on bed rest. My blood pressure was high and so my Dr. Insisted we rush to Hong Kong to get some tests done. What a night. They had to fight to get me to be seen in the hospital because I do not have a booked room for delivery, but in the end it was fine. All the other tests came back normal and she sent me home on bed rest in hopes to wait one or two more weeks before inducing me. I also think they are waiting because there is currently no bed for me (this factor in the decision making process worries me). She really wanted me to rent a hotel in Hong Kong for a week or two so I could be closer to the hospital (at 100 US dollars a night, we aren’t about to do that). She actually suggested the Shangri-la (about 200 US a night!). Hong Kong people are way too uppity for me.

Bed rest is pretty boring. My body actually hurts from doing nothing all day. But, the good thing is it seems to be keeping my blood pressure under control which is great.

Congrats to Lily and Vince

Vince and Lily had a baby (that’s right the Vince who is in jail, more details to follow). James Harold Edwards born in Longgang city center hospital. He was 8lbs 4 oz. Lily, his wife, had her grandmother and her sister there, but of course no Vince. He might know about the baby by now, but I’m not sure since there isn’t much communication between the inmates and family. It really is a horrible situation, but we are all thankful for little James.

Lily trying to recover. The Dr.'s told her the 8 lb. baby was too big to push out and she needed a C-section. This is a common hospital scam in China, they tell all the women this because the C-section is much more expensive than natural birth. The article listed below suggests a 50-60%C-section rate in China. http://www.china.org.cn/english/health/199658.htm

Hospital room inLonggang. How many people can you fit in one room? And the amazing thing is all those people you see are not just visiting (except us). They stay with the mom in the hospital the whole time -- 5 days. Lily had her sister, her sister's son and her grandmother all staying with her in the room (and sharing the bed).

Katie and Michaela saying hello to James.

Guangzhou and Ikea

We went to Guangzhou a couple of weekends back (about a two and a half hour drive). We mostly wanted to check out some hospitals there that some people had recommended. Overall, we were impressed with both hospitals and I could see myself delivering there. The only drawback was getting there – it was really hard for David to find both places. We couldn’t find the one place by driving so we parked and took the subway, which was also difficult, but we did eventually find it. We got really lost on the way home and got back at two in the morning. In the end, I think we are going to stick with Hong Kong. It takes us as long to get there, but we know where the hospital is, we can freely communicate with the staff in English and we know the medical care is equal to that of the US.

Guangzhou crowds

What was amazing about Guangzhou was the amount of people there. We were there on a Saturday, but it was ren shan ren hai as the Chinese say (or literally people mountain, people ocean which means people in every direction). It was pretty much like walking around at the Taste of Chicago everywhere you went – inside outside, it didn’t matter, everywhere was one long stream of people in both directions. Really, I have lived in China, the most populated country in the world for a long time. I am used to people being everywhere, but this was something exceptional.

After the hospital visits we went to Ikea. Yes, there is Ikea in China. There will soon be one in Shenzhen, but it hasn’t opened just yet. I was so very excited since I knew that this was one place where I could get a lot of the things I never see anywhere else. You can buy with an international credit card also which is truly a wonderful convenience (and not common in China). We got to eat there too which was great – Swedish meatballs, YUM. So things were wonderful until we experienced Ikea service. We ordered lots of things and we paid to have them delivered and then assembled at out house. What a nightmare. They delivered three days later, but a separate guy has to do the assembling and he didn’t come until three days after that and when he did come it was 10PM which meant he didn’t have time to finish. And he told us, putting the wall cabinets on the wall was not included in the fee. A different guy came three days after that and did agree to put the cabinets on the wall, but he said not to put too many things in them because they could fall. This is all in addition to the fact that what we ordered was not what we got. We pointed to a display piece in the store, but all we got was the skeleton. Apparently, the drawers, doors, and legs were extra and were not ordered. It really was a mistake on the seller’s part because we would have paid more for the extra parts had we been told they were extra money and not included in the order. Really, a frustrating experience. Meatballs were excellent though.

Good Meatballs

Disappointing cabinets.

Correction about mass of people at train station

I think I said there were about 80,000 people at the Guangzhou train station several weeks back. Well, I was way off, it was more like 800,000. Yikes! Here is a link to a good article about the situation:

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10650768