Life with the Clarks

Sweet Reunion

March 28, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

We have been so excited to reconnect with some of our old friends back in China. One reunion we were particularly anxious for was with Pumpkin’s art teacher. We met him one day while we were shopping and stumbled on his art studio. He seemed really friendly and engaging and evidently genuinely enjoyed children. I asked if he would consider giving Pumpkin, who has always been artistically inclined, some art lessons. He agreed, and every week came to our home to give Pumpkin (and sometimes Sweetpea) instruction in art, and everyone a workout for our Mandarin! We had to learn a whole new set of vocabulary–for art supplies and techniques–and we made a wonderful friend.

art teacher

Once or twice we skipped art lessons altogether and went for dinner at a local restaurant. Another time, we went to the beach together–ostensibly for an art lesson outdoors–but we enjoyed our picnic and our outing just as much. He became a friend of the whole family.

On Tuesday, we went to visit him at his art studio. I wasn’t prepared for how emotional the reunion would be. He was very excited to see Pumpkin and asked for the girls, who had decided that the previous days’ outing was enough and wanted to stay home with JavaMan.

I brought along friends, who each purchased one of his beautiful paintings, and when we returned to pick them up, we found him looking at pictures of our family from two years ago and telling his friend about us.

He also gave Pumpkin this painting AND offered to help us with this week’s Hold the MSG video. If you watch, you’ll see him pronouncing the phrase for “What’s your name?” in Mandarin.

Gift Painting

Good friends. Another reason we’re glad to be home!

- Carey Clark

A New Rhythm

March 26, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

Note: Two new reviews for After the Snow Falls came out this week: Mom in Love with Fiction and B00K R3ViEWS. I’d be delighted if you’d check them out.

It has been good to work our way back to the normal rhythm of life here. I must confess getting back in the groove of cooking and cleaning and market-going on top of the language and cultural challenges hasn’t been completely smooth. For example, buying butter and cheese and other “Western” foods has to be done at a specific warehouse store quite a distance from our home.

When we lived here before, it was convenient to use the in-store ATM to take out the money to pay for purchases there. However, we discovered yesterday that doing so wasn’t that easy. They’ve apparently replaced their machine with a different bank’s machine, and our Canadian debit card didn’t want to talk to it yesterday. We walked to the nearest bank that would work and discovered that the machine there was broken. At least an hour later, we were on our way again.

JavaMan and I usually handle this kind of experience with a shrug of the shoulders and a philosophical, “We’re in China. What can you do?” But Pumpkin had had enough.

Nevertheless, we’re still basking in the glow of all the wonderful things about being back here again, and feeling immensely thankful. And still counting to 1000 Gifts along with Multitudes on Mondays at Ann Voskamp’s blog:

190. Our kids have made new friends! It really is a case of being completely blown away by blessing. We’d prayed for friends for them, but could never have imagined they’d find friends so quickly. And Pumpkin has even found a friend who is as enthusiastic about Star Wars Lego as he is.
191. Our new duvet. I’d promise this will be the last time I’ll mention it, but I’m sure it’s not. I had no idea how much the cold was affecting my sleep until our new custom-made cotton-filled duvet came into our lives. A friend helped me order it on Friday, and that evening we were sleeping under it. It’s glorious! Warm and soft and cushy, and under it, I had the best night’s sleep I’ve had since we arrived. In the morning, I was full of vim and vigour, ready to take on the day.
192. Our apartment is starting to look like a home! Even without our furniture (which will arrive sometime in the next month or so), we are starting to have that moved-in organized feeling. I’ve sorted some of my clothes and they are sitting neatly on a shelf in our closet, the kids each have a bin of their own clothes, and we assembled some shelves and a coat rack we had in our old (furnished) apartment, and things are starting to take shape and feel like home. We’re still eating around a collection of empty bins with a tablecloth slung overtop, but it’s cozy and we’re together. I’m learning that counts for a whole lot.
193. Memory. More and more Chinese is coming back to me. The other day, one of the kids saw something that reminded them of the shape of a deer, and I actually remembered how to say “deer” in Chinese to explain to our Chinese friend. The brain is a wonderful, mysterious thing. Just where was I storing that tidbit of information over the last couple of years when I didn’t need it?
194. Flexibility. Our kids had pretty long faces at the airport, leaving Grandma and Grandpa, and while they certainly haven’t forgotten about life in Canada or the people there, they are happy to be reunited with some of their long-lost possessions and busy playing with some of their almost-forgotten toys.
195. Reunions. We continue to meet up with old friends. I’m looking forward to a particular meeting today. We’re going to see Brandon’s former art teacher. We are taking him some art supplies from Canada, since he can’t always find the quality of supplies here that he would like.
196. The itch to get back to homeschooling. I am trying to be realistic about what we can accomplish here while it’s still very cold and the furniture is yet to arrive, but as we put our homeschool books away last week, the itch to begin again is definitely there. I think regardless of temperature we’ll move one of the heaters upstairs next week and begin afresh.
197. My view. There are no curtains on my windows right now–something we do plan to address, but when I wake up in the morning, I look out at a mountain–a small mountain, but a mountain nonetheless. We’re looking forward to climbing it, and plan to do that next week when JavaMan has to be out of town for a few days. He’s already been up it on one of his runs, and says the view is spectacular. Pictures to follow.
198. My new camera. Finally bought an SD card for my new camera. I’m looking forward to being able to take my own pictures for this blog. Up until now, I’ve had to borrow from my husband or my son. Again, pictures to follow :)
199. Language learning tools. Maybe a strange thing to be thankful for, but the urge to learn more Chinese is always there as we attempt to communicate. I do very well for having had no formal instruction, but I long to be completely fluent. I’m thankful we’ve found resources that really work to help learn the language. (For more on the resources we use, check out Hold the MSG.com.)

Multitudes on Monday

- Carey Clark

Five Minute Friday: Loud

March 23, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

I’m joining The Gypsy Mama again this week for Five Minute Friday. From her site:

Around here we write for five minutes flat on Fridays. We finger paint with words. We try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

Sounds great to me. This week the theme is “Loud.”

There is a crack and a bang. Cats run away, children scream–my children–no one else seems to notice.

Fireworks just went off a block away. I look out the window, see the tail of a cat streaking in the opposite direction and hear my children laugh. I see against the clear sky the faint lights of fireworks exploding.

It’s the middle of the day. It’s not a national holiday or a special occasion the rest of the world knows about.

Maybe it’s someone’s wedding. Or could be a new business just opened up. There doesn’t have to be a particularly spcial reason. It’s not like Canada, with permits and special days. there are demons to be scared off for just about any old reason. Or the sheer joy of it.

Later, my daughter recalls how she played with a bunch of children once who had firecrackers and were letting them off. “It’s fun,” she says, and I give her the standard lecture about firecrackers and safety and peers and their influence, but I know it’s part of life here.

It’s part of living in China.

And when the fireworks go off the next time, I barely flinch.

STOP

- Carey Clark

What’s in YOUR Carry-On?

March 13, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

The big day has come and gone. If you’re reading this shortly after it posts, we are already in the air, making our way toward our new home. The packing is done. What made it in the final round made it. The rest is sitting in a drawer awaiting the next trip this way over the ocean or a compassionate friend who feels like carrying a little extra luggage when they visit.

In the end, we left what went into our kids’ carry-ons mostly up to them. It was our way of limiting the toys they brought along, and giving them some control over the process. Whatever fit in the carry-on was fair game. The only stipulation, aside from those placed by the airlines, was that I wanted a little room in the front pocket to stuff some of the surprises I like to give them for the trip.

We’ll be in the air for 15 hours, and then have a 12-hour layover in the Hong Kong airport before journey’s end. Some friends in Hong Kong may take us out for a few hours, so that should help with the boredom factor, but we’re hoping some of the items in our personal luggage will keep us busy as well.

So here are the contents of our carry-ons.

This is Pumpkin’s:

Pumpkin's Carry-on

And here are the things I snuck in the front pocket:

Here is Sweetpea’s carry-on (only essential items, of course):

Here’s what I snuck in:

Sprout’s case started out the lightest when we moved into Grandma’s a few weeks ago. Somehow over the last few weeks, we’ve managed to discover more items that just had to be crammed in:

And here’s what I’ve stashed away for her:

So what’s in Mommy’s carry-on?

Some games; crayons; vitamins for the kids; my knitting (dolly underwear) on bamboo circular needles, which I’m assured won’t be confiscated for their potential deadly properties; a homeopathic for jetlag and my neck pillow. I’ll tuck my eReader and some books into my laptop case, and the remaining room in the carry-on may have to be reserved for Sprout’s shrink-wrapped quilt, which I almost forgot had to be packed!

No surprises for me. I’m just hoping to stay on top of things for the flight and layover. Can’t wait to see JavaMan Wednesday night!

- Carey Clark

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