Exorcising the Demons

Below is my last picture of Thailand in the airport.  It's of a huge, ornately detailed demon.  There were probably a dozen or so in the check-in area.  They are apparently from classic Thai literature, this one had his story on a placard at his feet.

Apparently they were located deeper in the airport and the store owners complained they were bringing bad "luck" (i.e. business).  So they moved them outside for us to be intimidated by right after check-in.  I'm not a superstitious man, but if I were, I would be bothered by why, of all places, you would choose the departure section of an airport to show off your demon statues.  I guess arrivals would be no better.

The Salt Mines

Below are a few pictures of the salt fields in Thailand where they pump in sea water and let the wonderful process of evaporation do its work.  You can see there are piles of salt everywhere.  We could have used some of that in China a few weeks ago, although they said this was really for industrial use only…

Spirit Houses 101

After I first noticed the odd little house on someone’s patio, I found myself playing a weird version of “Where’s Waldo – Spirit House Edition” for most of the trip.  I’m fascinated by them because of how ornate they are and how much care is obviously put into their upkeep.  You’ll see in the pictures below that daily offerings are made to the spirits who have made their home there.  It was explained to me that there are three types of dwellings typically found.

Shrines – these are the largest structures and have a statue of the god inside.  The largest of the houses are typically made for an angel, which helps bring good fortune, protection, etc.  The smaller houses are for the minor natural spirits who are already on the property.  It’s a good idea to give them a home so that they do not try to live in your house.  They are not evil, but may be sometimes mischievous.  In the country, some of the spirit houses were nicer than the ramshackle homes they shared a lot with.

The truly amazing part of it all was where the houses could be found:  homes, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, parking garages, manufacturing plants and shopping malls.  We even saw them in empty lots both in the city and in the country.

Bizzare Food Update – King Prawn Edition

That’s what’s in the picture below; a ten inch behemoth.  You’re probably thinking “what’s so strange about eating the missing link between shrimp and lobster”?  Not much at first, then they told me that there is no “sauce” added in the recipe…

Spiritual Thailand

I’m finally able to put some thoughts down on the very short trip I took last week to Thailand.  My initial thoughts that I shared last week were largely overshadowed by the visible spiritaulism everywhere.  In the U.S. you occasionally see a cross or billboard on the side of the road, but mainly religion is reserved for inside the four walls of the church.  A few individual topics will get their own entry (I found the spirit house concept facinating), but below are a few of the pictures of a temple that we stopped at; note how amazingly detailed the carved three headed elephant is.

Showing respect or giving merit is another common theme derived from Hinduism.  I did think it was very cool how much homage was paid to the royal family through the many pictures of the king and queen all over.  You could find them on the roadside, in the hotel and I even noticed some in people’s houses as we drove by.  It appeared as though a bit of the national pride was tied up in the family.

Royal family photos were abundant around town, this was just a random intersection.

Wardrobe Malfunction

By that I mean bad purchase, hopefully none of you skipped to the pictures.  In Thailand color is abundant for many reasons I'm sure, one of which is that it's worked into the zodiac.  Wikipedia can explain it better than I can, but basically there is a color assigned to each day of the week.  It's fashionable to buy shirts with your color, or the king's color (yellow).  So, my color being green (Wed.), I set off in search of something that would set me apart.  I think I accomplished my goal.  The good news is that when I ordered a Maitai at dinner, the snicker from the waiter and waitress was more like "you're an idiot and a caricature of a human being, but I get what you're trying to do", rather than not saying anything which to me would indicate that they got my tongue in cheek homage to tourism.

Initial Impressions of Thailand

I arrived in Thailand Monday and when I walked out of the airport I immediately began sweating.  It's like a perpetual sauna here.  I did finally get used to it by Thursday, and by "it" I'm referring to sweating all the time.  Anyway, it's been in the low 70's in Suzhou with low humidity so this was a bit of a climate change for me. 

My other immediate impressions were that Bangkok had a lot of flora for a city of it's size, and the sky line wasn't one big neon sign like most of the big cities I've visited in China.  The roads were a lot less "planned" like where we live in Suzhou is, so there were no scooter lanes and the sidewalks were in various states of disrepair.  On the whole though, an impressive place to be.  I couldn't get it out of my head how much it reminded me of some parts of Mexico throughout the trip, probably because of all of the color around me (more on that later). 

No, I'm not changing religions and joining a Ronald McDonald cult.  In the picture below I'm doing my best to show the gesture that accompanies the phrase "Sawasdee".  It's similar to bowing in Japan.  One thing mentioned to me was that it's often more of a salute and that people of higher stations in life are not really expected to return it to those of lower station (although foreigners can do what they want since the expectations of us getting anything right is pretty low worldwide).

Cool food update

Some would consider the below food bizarre, but the men in the McLain family were all fascinated and delighted by it.  It's a 100 year old egg!  Ok, so it's not really 100 years old but when you look at the pictures I think you'll have to admit it's a bit daunting on sight.  It's basically a cured egg that a coworker gave us after visiting their hometown.  The egg is cooked and then cured somehow by caking the shell with an interesting mixture that looks like dirt.  Upon opening, you'll see below how translucent the egg was.  Everyone wanted to touch it and I was afraid for a minute that it would get bounced on the floor just to see what would happen.  Upon slicing it, we all agreed it tasted like egg (although the texture was maybe a tad more rubbery).  It was very mild and took on the flavor of the sauce we dipped it in.

Ads from the weekly circular

I was in Thailand this week and I'm still putting my thoughts together.  So, instead I thought I would catch everyone up on what's for sale...

Christmas for Mom and Dad.

Decontamination?  Not for the casual kitchen cleaner.

Yes, that's the whole bird, head is on the right side.

Maybe mangos offered at less than 90 cents per pound isn't reason enough to move to China, but you have to admit there are some perks...

Down on the Farm

This Sunday, we spent a very special day with our landlords, their family and a few of their friends on a farm in Suzhou.  On the farm they had dogs for breeding (from Tibetan Mastiff s to Huskies, extremely well kept), goats, chickens, ducks, a fishing pond and vegetable gardens.  Reid just wanted to play his DS, but I’m pretty sure Riley wanted us to leave him there.  Rowan delighted all of the ladies by letting them open peanuts and bananas for him.

They said the food grown there was just for their consumption.  I thought it interesting that it was surrounded by a 12 foot concrete wall, with a large gate and a guard post.  We were pretty sure that none of the owners of the farm actually lived there; only maybe the guard and a farmer or two.

We had an excellent lunch there as well.  I’ll digress for a bizarre food sideline:  most of the dishes served were very straight forward fish, pork and vegetables.  The one that really bothers me is the dish referred to as “fish seed”, which is in season now according to the group.  I’m going to pretend its fish eggs, although I have a sneaking suspicion it was “harvested” from the male of the species.  Let’s move on and never speak of this again.  I’m closer to getting someone to give me a few pointers on how to cook real Chinese food.  Our landlords’ daughter speaks fluent English and she mentioned that her mother is a great cook!  

Below are some of the shots taken with a few comments.

Headed out to the kennels.

A crowd favorite.

In the chicken coop.

Reid in front of the living / cooking / dining quarters.

The range has an entire entrance to the back (left in picture) where fire wood is loaded.

Around Town

This weekend was prime for bike riding as the weather was hovering around 70 deg. F (and we don’t have a car).  Also, Friday night and into Saturday the wind picked up.  This meant that Saturday was an extremely clear day for Suzhou.  We were marveling at how bright everything looked without the smog.  Attached are a few pictures of Jinji Lake.  We have yet to go on the Ferris wheel shown; although I’m sure the pressure will just keep increasing until we cave into the childrens’ demands.  Sculptures similar to the butterflies below are all over the city, it's amazing how much money must have been spent on artwork here.

Riley insisted on taking the Hotwheels scooter that his uncle (and family) got him last Christmas, rather than the more efficient bicycle.  He probably rode it about 6 or 7 miles total on the weekend.  I finally broke him Sunday by taking him on a 4 mile ride with Reid.  He was a champ though and made it the whole way, but recognized that it was probably too far for scooting.

Oh, one other cultural note:  the drink in Riley’s hand is a sweet herbal tea that our family has grown quite fond of.  I used to keep it refrigerated, so Rowan refers to it as “cold tea” even though we go through it so fast that I don’t bother putting it in the fridge anymore.  Funny thing was that Friday, someone offered me one and I asked him what was in it (since I can’t read the label).  Basically, it’s made of tea, sugar and herbs.  He said the herbs were good for a hot day since they were ones that helped cool you (internally).  So in the end, we had it named right all along!

Quiz Night at Dulwich

Parent’s night out!  We attended a team quiz night at the boy’s school Friday.  It was extremely difficult since it was mostly international entertainment trivia.  Tough.  My only real contributions were being able to name Tone Loc as the artist behind “Funky Cold Medina” (I named it after about 5 seconds of the intro, thank you karaoke!) and also naming an audio clip of the announcer from the movie “Major League”.  My mom must be so proud.  Ultimately we got crushed, finishing somewhere in the bottom third (but not last) of the 18 team challenge.  Next year maybe our team of six shouldn’t ALL be “thirty somethings” from America.

Psycological Service

We joined a psychological service at work, which I actually think provides a vital role when you need it, no matter what country you call home.  Ours was chosen very carefully and overall I think they will do a solid job when called upon.  They not only offer typical counseling, but we can also do on site sessions for things like interpersonal work relationships, teamwork, etc.  Good stuff.

That being said, the training was in Mandarin so I did mine by reading through the pamphlet handed out.  I will occasionally drop some of these in the blog to help you with your overall mental health (no need to thank me, I really do care).  I'll start with one of my favorites, note that I am copying it directly from the document...


Seven Year Itch
After seven years, the passion of marriage is gone; seven years, a former lover has no passion; seven years, all illusion for the marriage was attributed to the reality.  Helpless seven years, our marriage has been completely dead.  Maybe I need to find a new life?  Even if I want to protect marriage, then what about he?
Seven year itch, every couple will encounter.  Your feelings are completely correct, truly, everything is no longer the old passion, only simple life with us.  However, when you complain the death of your marriage, have you gave it some miracle.  Will you also give him a surprise?  Will you spend the romantic weekend with him?  Will you talk about feelings with him?  EAP will scratch the itch for your seven years marriage.

The Great (Fire)Wall of China

Apparently it’s been updated and we’re experiencing difficulties getting around it with our home VPN.  I’ve read other blogspot blogs with the same issue.  Anyway, time will tell on if we’re able to continue with the blog, hopefully so.  I think I’ve got it figured out; but it took me awhile, which is why the silence for the past week.  Below are a few of the happenings to catch up on.

Taxi!!!

So the novelty of the taxi ride has worn off slightly.  We do have a system down, though.  Dad flags the taxi, the big boys pile in the back first, followed by Mommy and Rowan, while Dad gets in the front.  Next, we go through multiple variations of “Jin Shui Wan” which is how you say our neighborhood in Chinese.  Apparently our Chinese isn’t great (surprise, surprise), and with the different tones for each Chinese word, how you say it is important.  Once we get the location secured, most of my time is spent repeating a litany of the following phrases…”no you can’t sit up front with Daddy”, “stop pushing on your brother”, “turn around”, “sit on your bottom”,  “get your feet off the seat”, “STOP TOUCHING EVERYTHING”!  I really should just get a recording.  Occasionally we get a really crazy taxi driver who is clearly more concerned with speed than safety.  For those times, I’m happy to be in the back with the boys, rather than up front where the action is up close and personal.  Given these weekly forays into city living, it should come as no surprise that the boys have invented a new game around it…enter Rowan’s new plasma car.  Granted, it’s red, not yellow or blue like the taxis here, but it has become our in-house taxi.  One of the boys will get on and drive around the living room until he is flagged down by one of his brothers.  The brother gets on the back and tells the driver where he wants to go.  According to Reid, you get extra points if you can say it in Chinese.  I have to say, hearing Rowan say “Jin Shui Wan” is absolutely hysterical!  They can also go to Wal-Mart, church, or Times Square (which is another shopping area).  Once they reach their destination, the driver and passenger switch, and the fun starts all over again.  As in real life, at times the plasma taxi has a crazy driver.  Fortunately no one’s life is in danger, though, just your ankles.

Massage Update

These must be getting old, but I need to relay that I’ve finally worked through the last thing on the menu, “finger pressing”.  I thought it was going to be some sort of hand reflexology, but apparently that is the literal translation for massage.  Weird that all other places on the menu, the word massage is used but for this item they "press you with their fingers".  Anyway, it was different in that it was an oil free massage, so you had to don a pair of pajamas.  Apparently I’m slightly larger than their average patron, although my stubby legs were just right.

Freedom!

The arrival of our household goods brought our bicycles and a little new found freedom from taxis and driver schedules.  The boys and I decided that we needed to run some errands earlier this week.  Given how dangerous the drivers are here, we agreed it would be best to toss them in the bike trailer.  I need not have worried about the traffic.  People definitely cut a wide berth around us as they smiled, hung their heads out of car windows to say hi, elbowed their boyfriends while giggling, took pictures and videos (while driving), etc.  I also took Rowan out a few days later with similar results.  Looking at the pictures below, I can't say I really blame them.

Ads from the Weekly Circular

 Finally!!!

 Handy for lunches.

 Can't find this in the U.S. - jealous?

 Just call it what it is.

I'm speechless on this one.

Suzhou Ocean? Aquarium

Monday we headed off to the aquarium, which is on the other side of Suzhou from us (about an hour from our house).  Honestly we had high expectations from trips to the Virginia Aquarium, which I had been to regularly for most of my life.  Overall, it was OK.  It was a little small for the money and there was a very cheesy 3D movie about a sea horse that turned into a dragon in order to save everyone from a sea monster.  It shot fire balls out of its mouth, which I thought was a little over the top.  Also, the first half of the tanks were all freshwater fish and we were located on a freshwater lake, so for about 45 minutes I was wondering where the "Ocean" part came into play.  Later there were several salt water tanks and dolphins, so I guess it lived up to its name.  Some little funny things were that the nameplates were in English, but none of the descriptions below were.  The names also didn't match the contents on several of the tanks.

There was a dolphin show that we were about an 1 1/2 hours early for, but didn't feel like there was enough there for us to stick around that long.  The aquarium was right on Taihu Lake (one of the largest inland lakes in China), which was beautiful.  We figured we would come back to hang out for the day at the lake and then catch the show.  Below are a few pictures, note that the two alligators with their heads off of the ground (Riley took the picture) were stuffed ones...

Man Time

Saturday I had to go into work in the morning to clean up a few things.  Upon returning home, we thought it would be a good idea to take the boys out for a man time.  Riley was pretty excited and he reminded me that we’d only had one man time since arriving in China.  I’d seen online that there was a Lego Creative Workshop of some kind in town and I figured this would be a good opportunity to check it out.  Below is a shot of ReRi out front.  It ended up being fairly lame as I think we probably have more Legos in our house that what we saw there.

We also ran to Walmart, where the boys drooled over the Plants vs. Zombies cake that I saw a week ago.  There are also stuffed animals available in the mall kiosks.  I decided that next time I’m in the U.S. I should find out if this is a big deal there or not.

In order to assuage my growing disappointment at the Lego lameness, I agreed to accompany Rebecca on a massage outing.  I’ll pause here to discuss that the foot massages we get focus on pressure points in your foot that correspond to other parts of your body.  If you experience pain during the massage, it can point to issues elsewhere.  The foot massage was brutal and I’m not sure if it’s because there was still some residual swelling due to the flight, or if there really is a problem with my ovaries.  I sure hope it’s from the plane!

America The Beautiful

This week I had to return to the States for work.  The only available flights out of Shanghai were all through Tokyo since people had booked up all of the direct flights trying to avoid it.  Tokyo is normally a pretty dead airport I’ve found and this time was no exception.  I picked up a few items, but decided to avoid the snacks in the pictures below (small crabs and octopus).  I’m not sure yet how that’s actually a snack; maybe after a few years here I’ll get it.  Also, I picked up some origami books for the kids and snapped a few shots of the origami scenes set up in the gift shop which were pretty impressive.

My initial impression of the States upon reentry is that I’m no longer the hulking giant at 5’9” that I am in China.  It’s quite disappointing after getting used to people barely coming up to your eyes to all of a sudden have the roles reversed.  Also, I’m pale.  In China, I’ve been complemented on it, which is kind of funny.  Since my first stop was Virginia Beach to see my parents and conduct some personal business, the paleness of my fair complexion stood out against the fake-baked leather faces around me.  Finally, the last thing that was underlined for me was that public urinal privacy is a luxury not considered in Asia.  Often there isn’t as much metal separating the squat toilets as there is separating U.S. urinals; be thankful for what you have.

Since I was only going to be in the office for only 2 days, I figured I would try some different things in order to stave off my body’s attempts to adjust to the new time zone.  Thinking I would just get up whenever I awoke, I found that between flying out Sunday morning and leaving Thursday morning, I tallied about 16 hours of sleep for the week.  This was not necessarily good for decision making, but I did find I slept about 7 or 8 hours on the plane back, so maybe it paid off.  The short trips are brutal.

Finally, I leave you with “tax fun fact”; don’t expect a lot of these.  America is one of the few countries that make its citizens pay taxes even while living abroad.  The company does true it up in some way for me personally and there are some credits that apply.  Here’s the fun part:  I can only be in the States for 35 days (travel days count) in a rolling year or the credits are lost; which basically means double the taxes.  So, this little 3 day trip ended up costing 6 days against that allowance.  Isn’t tax accounting fun?