Here is a picture of Dan sitting on our lovechair, talking to grandma. The kid was definitely given the gift of gab.
Finally, here is our Thanksgiving dinner, which Jane prepared. We had chicken (there is no turkey around here), candied sweet potatoes, steamed carrots and corn on the cob. It was very nice, first to get away from the rice and vegetables that we usually have, and second, to sit as a family and enjoy the meal together.
Dinner from a different angle, showing off the flower that I bought at a local flowershop. Flower is hua ("hwa"), which I learned after the fact. The word for 'this' is zhe (pronounced "jugga"; (I don't get it either)). How I communicate at a store is point to something and say, "Zhe, wo yao iga," which means "This thing, I want one." I also know how to ask "duo tsiao xien" (pronounced dwo schi-ow chi-en," which means "how much is it". If they answer slowly enough, I can almost always understand the price.
One thing that we were very thankful for at dinner was that Evelyn was healthy again. About 5 days prior, she threw up one morning, out of the blue. She then continued to throw up for the next three days. She couldn't keep down a drip of water, and she was heaving even when there was nothing in her stomach (something new for our kids). This concerned us, so we decided to take her to the hospital. There are no independent doctor's clinics around here, you go to the hospital for everything. I will try to tell of the hospital experience, but it will be secondhand, as Jane was the one who took her:
Jane first met with a doctor. They were concerned that Evelyn may have had a blockage in her intestines, so they wanted to do an ultrasound. If that was clear, they then wanted to put Evelyn on an IV for fluids. I say "they wanted to" because it is totally up to the patient as far as what gets done. Jane wanted the ultrasound, so it was ordered. Before the ultrasound took place, Jane paid for it in cash. They then did the ultrasound, which showed nothing unusual. Jane then decided to do the IV drip, so she paid for it and it was given. Jane said it was very matter of fact, like going to a store to buy your medical needs. The emergency visit, with ultrasound, IV drip and take-home medication cost about $28, paid in full. Evelyn did great the entire time, barely letting out a whimper when she was stuck with the IV. Here she is, getting her drip.
As you can see, she was not doing very well. The bruise on her forehead was from the day before she started throwing up. She was taking her coat off, but she could not get her arms out of her sleeves. As a result, her coat actually acted like handcuffs behind her back. She then tripped and fell flat on her face. I was certainly hoping that the fall was not the cause of everything.
Happy to report that she simply had some sort of bug, we think. After her first night in the hospital, she came back looking better. The next day, though, she was throwing up again. Jane then went back to the hospital that night (she says the hospital was a bit more of a madhouse that time). After that night, though, she woke up and was feeling and looking better. She has not thrown up since, and she is now back to her normal self. (It was a hard couple of nights, not only because she was sick, but also because we were breaking her of her pacifier. Now all of the kids are pacifier-free).
Here is a picture of the main lobby of the hospital, where everybody gets their drips. From what I understand, it is simply a huge room full of chairs and beds, with tons of sick people hooked up to IVs. No patient confidentiality here.
The weather is getting a bit colder, so we have not been able to go out as often as we usually would. As a result, there are less pictures on the camera. We decided to take a few picture of some of the food that we buy. I will describe the foods after the picture so you can try to guess what it is:
This one is not too hard, it is kiwi juice (I have not tried it). You have to get juices from foreign stores. There is a German store, an Australian store and a Wal-Mart. Chinese juices taste like flavored sodas. The orange juice that you can get cheaply at a Chinese store tastes like Tang, which they do still sell here.
This food is one of my favorites, seaweed covered peanuts. I could easily eat this entire bag in one night. Peanuts are a very popular snack item here.
As you can see, she was not doing very well. The bruise on her forehead was from the day before she started throwing up. She was taking her coat off, but she could not get her arms out of her sleeves. As a result, her coat actually acted like handcuffs behind her back. She then tripped and fell flat on her face. I was certainly hoping that the fall was not the cause of everything.
Happy to report that she simply had some sort of bug, we think. After her first night in the hospital, she came back looking better. The next day, though, she was throwing up again. Jane then went back to the hospital that night (she says the hospital was a bit more of a madhouse that time). After that night, though, she woke up and was feeling and looking better. She has not thrown up since, and she is now back to her normal self. (It was a hard couple of nights, not only because she was sick, but also because we were breaking her of her pacifier. Now all of the kids are pacifier-free).Here is a picture of the main lobby of the hospital, where everybody gets their drips. From what I understand, it is simply a huge room full of chairs and beds, with tons of sick people hooked up to IVs. No patient confidentiality here.
The weather is getting a bit colder, so we have not been able to go out as often as we usually would. As a result, there are less pictures on the camera. We decided to take a few picture of some of the food that we buy. I will describe the foods after the picture so you can try to guess what it is:
This is thinly-sliced lamb meat. The only beef that I have had here has been in a McDonald hamburger. There just are not that many Chinese cows hanging out around these parts. Lamb is common, especially in Muslim restaurants. Otherwise, pork is the standard meat. I was told that if you don't know what it is, assume it is pork. Chicken is also pretty easy to find, but boneless chicken is very rare. Today in our school cafeteria they told us that we were eating duck, which was very good (though I am not sure it actually was duck, it may have been lamb). If you ever get a piece of meat by itself (which is rare), it will always come with a lot of fat that needs to be trimmed away. Ground pork, which we sometimes get, comes in different grades regarding the fat content. I think in the U.S. we use to get 97% fat free. Here, the healthiest pork is probably 60% fat free, at the most. We used ground pork tonight to make hamburgers, vegetables and french fries. It was a great break from the traditional Chinese food that we usually have.
This one is not too hard, it is kiwi juice (I have not tried it). You have to get juices from foreign stores. There is a German store, an Australian store and a Wal-Mart. Chinese juices taste like flavored sodas. The orange juice that you can get cheaply at a Chinese store tastes like Tang, which they do still sell here. 
This food is one of my favorites, seaweed covered peanuts. I could easily eat this entire bag in one night. Peanuts are a very popular snack item here.
Oddly, our computer is working pretty well right now, when I don't have much to talk about. So, I will describe what I eat in a normal day (feel free to stop reading now, I will not be offended). I try to get to school in time to eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Every morning they have fried eggs, rice porridge and hard boiled eggs. They also mix in boudzas and joudzas, which were described in a previous blog. Often there will be buns and cakes, usually angel food cake. It often seems like breakfast is nothing but eggs and carbohydrates.
Lunch, again usually at the cafeteria, consists of white rice, a vegetable and usually a stir-fry type dish. Different things are mixed in each day. Today we had duck meat (supposedly), eggs with tomatoes, and corn-potato fritters. Often there will be shrimp, chicken legs, chicken and potato curry, octopus and squid (both very chewy and not very good), clams and egg custard (which is inedible). They also often have Korean dishes, such as kimchi, which I usually do not like. Despite the tone of the paragraph, though, it is often pretty good.
Dinners out almost always consist of noodles or a rice dish. Sometimes we go to hot-pot, where you can get plenty of vegetables in a soup. Dinners have been pretty simple, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sausage (like polish sausage) and potatoes, grilled cheese, egg sandwiches, etc. We recently found a place that sells bags of boneless chicken breasts, so we will begin having that more often.
I would guess that I have 6-10 eggs a day, though I try usually not to eat the yolks. I am just now realizing that I have already written about a lot of this, so I am going to quit.
I would guess that I have 6-10 eggs a day, though I try usually not to eat the yolks. I am just now realizing that I have already written about a lot of this, so I am going to quit.
In the next post, I will try to talk abut our apartment, as we will have pictures of it decorated for Christmas.
Wan'an (Goodnight).
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