Mexico!

On my way to the states to meet up with the family, I had a short business stop to make on the way in.  On the last night in Suzhou, unthinkingly, I thought it would be a good idea to try a new Mexican restaturant that just opened close to the house.  As I rode the scooter back after a truly horrible taco (good margueritas though), I was again struck by what an idiot I was because the next morning I was off to Guadalajara and truly good Mexican food!

Anyway, the travel time was about 32 hours (more like 35 when you count rides to and from the airports), during which I achieved platinum status and was upgraded twice, but not on the long leg of the journey.  I just got an email saying that I've been upgraded on both flights into the U.S. tomorrow too.  Not too shabby.

Back to the food.  A colleague from the plant took us to dinner last night to an avante guard restaurant serving what is probably classed as "nuevo cuisine".  Awesome food.  For appetizers we had ceviche and quesedillas with rose petals and a sauce from raspberries (think the same flavor combinations as brie and a fruit compote, only better because it was Mexican).  Below is a picture of the main event, which was a poblano pepper stuffed with meat, fruit and nuts, topped off with a walnut cream sauce and pomogranite.  Note the colors of green, white and red correspond to the Mexican flag (as did the drinks we had, tequila with sides of lime juice and a tomato based drink similar to bloody mary mix).

The Pet/food market

The other day I went to the "pet" market with a few friends.  Below are some of the pictures of this overwhelming experience.  It was quite large with everything from alligators and chipmunks to cats and dogs being sold...

Pigeon - it's what's for dinner.  Cages on the left, pile of plucked feathers on the right.  Price for Laowei - 300 RMB, price for Suzhou local - 60 RMB.

Looking down the row of cages.  The conditions are very sad to say the least.

A massive turtle - probably 20 lbs.

Fighting crickets, the noise was almost deafening.

This one is for Riley - chipmunks!

It's a small world after all

On my recent trip to Thailand, I stopped by Burger King (terrible, I know) for breakfast.  Funny side note is that they have no breakfast menu.  Anyway, I order my burger in disappointment and an American voice behind me says "Sometimes you just need a taste of home, huh?"  I turned to acknowledge him, noting he was a pilot, and we started up the below conversation while waiting on our food:

Pilot:  So where in the U.S. are you from?
Me:  Virginia
Pilot:  Really, me too.  What part?
Me:  Virginia Beach.
Pilot:  No way!  I'm from the Beach too, where did you go to high school?
Me:  Cox , and you?
Pilot:  This is freaking me out, I'm the class of '90.

OK, so it wasn't perfect as I was the class of '94, but still you have to admit that having a conversation at the Shanghai airport Burger King with an alumni of your same high school is pretty cool.

My new friend

I was in Shanghai last week for a trade show, after which I decided I would take the high speed train back to Suzhou.  While waiting in the train station, a little boy kept alternately looking over my shoulder and staring at my face.  After smiling a few times and with his sister cajoling him, he started to open a conversation.  At first he asked things like "where are you from?" and "how old are you?".  By the time I had to leave, I had showed him pictures of the kids on the laptop and answered such interesting questions as "do you have a gun?".  Funny stuff.

He asked to take my picture with his sister's cell phone.  After looking at pictures of ReRiRo, he showed me the one she took of us.  Curious, I slide my finger across the phone and low and behold, there was a picture of him posing with his face next to mine while I obliviously read a book!  Anyway, below is his picture.

In the end the whole trip took over 2 1/2 hours (Shanghai metro to train station (wait for 1 hour), train to Suzhou (30 minutes), bus from train station to neighborhood (1 hour)).  Not really a time savings as the drive is about 1.5 hours, but I did save to company money by spending only 96 RMB (under $15) total!  Net, I probably saved the company about $20 in gas, tolls and driver overtime; but I had a memorable experience for sure!

America the Beautiful

Ah, it's good to be back stateside!  As me and the boys were walking through the Detroit Metro Airport Terminal (trying to complete the near-impossible task of deplaning two tired, but awake children and one sleeping one, going through customs, unloading our baggage, rechecking it, going through security, and walking to the other side of the airport in about 45 minutes before our flight to Virginia boarded), Reid said, "Mom, my heart just leapt with joy when I realized that we are in America."  Mine too, son, mine too!  

Since being here, we've discovered several more things that have made our hearts leap with joy.  While driving down the road the other day Riley said, "Ah, it's so nice to see Taco Bell again."  I guess some things you don't know you miss until you see them again!  We've made a pact to only eat things that we can't get in China (except for Starbucks), not eat any Asian food, and do all our favorite things here.   Here's a list of what we've been indulging in: blueberries and nectarines, real corn on the cob, beef hot dogs in real hot dog buns, Trader Joe's yogurt, frozen waffles, swirled cheese sticks, bagels, ice cream, bread that doesn't mold in three days (though I know the quick-mold bread is better for us!), all-natural deli turkey meat, big slices of colby-jack cheese for our sandwiches, real Dunkin Donuts doughnuts (not the not-really-sweet and mung bean/green tea topped ones they sell at DD in China), Chick-fil-a, Moe's, the movie theater, TARGET!, the beach, the pool, a baseball game, Barnes and Noble, the library, etc., etc.  

I asked the boys the other day what their favorite part of being in America was, and they said it was getting to be with their (extended) family - sweet boys.  I would have to agree, but would add (1) being able to drive myself anywhere and everywhere I want, (2) seeing the blue sky pretty much every day, not a smoggy one, and actually being able to see the moon and stars at night (Riley kind of freaked out one night when he saw the moon again), (3) not having to try so hard at everything - it's nice to know exactly where I am, where to go, how to get there, and how to communicate to everyone around me, and (4) not being stared at or watched.  

A little lower on the list would be things like (a) toilets that actually flush toilet paper and have seats, (b) the ability to drink water from the tap, (c) the DVR, and (d) not having to worry about our nasty China-street shoes.  It's funny the things that become important to you!  Bottom line is, it's nice to blend in again...it's good to be back in our American home.

A few items at the local market

Fresh from my Thailand visit I set out the other day to find the ingredients to make Thai Iced Tea.  You may be wondering why I didn't just get them in Thailand, and sufficed to say it was more difficult than I expected.  It's basically a black tea base (brewed extra strong) with different spices (anise, cardamon, etc.), sugar and condensed milk.  Served cold, it's one of my favorite ways to enjoy tea.  After my experiment was complete, I ended up with something that tasted like pretty good Iced Chai, so I missed it by one letter (ouch, sorry for that).  Anyway, it's going to take some experimenting, but I'm committed to my quest.

Below are some shots at the market while I was milling around pointlessly (gotten worse since Rebecca left).

A pig's heart that actually looks like a Valentine's heart; a steal at less than $1...

Black chicken.  Yes, the flesh is black / purple as well.  Quite odd in appearance but like everything else, it tastes like chicken.

Bizarre Foods - WalMart Beer Edition

Yes, I had to try it (more than once).  It was awesome, if you like sweet, light, pineapple flavored, WalMart branded beer.  Good for mowing the yard, which I don't have to do anymore.  Thankfully you break into a sweat just walking to the store from the car, so really there are plenty of opportunities to be satisfied by this fine refreshment.