The Carmans - Blog

Moving this blog - Take note

2010-03-22T08:40:00.004+08:00

Living where we do, we often encounter websites that are blocked. Although we usually figure out ways around it, it makes communication difficult. When we first arrived over 6 years ago, blogspot (and other google apps) were working just fine. Blogspot was the first to be blocked, then youtube, and docs. Our fingers are crossed that gmail will not be blocked.

Anyway, in an attempt to be out from under the blockage, I have moved this blog to a new location. All of this blog’s posts have been exported to our new blog.

If you are following via RSS feed, be sure to update the information.

The new address is: http://blog.jalopyhead.com

Happy Birthday, A-Mae

2010-03-15T06:05:00.012+08:00

Anna Mae is now 4 years old! What an exciting time in all of our lives. Anna is so full of life and happiness. She's also developing in her memory and emotions. The other day she saved a cookie from school for mommy to eat (a feat in itself to get it home in one piece). Mommy didn't immediately eat the cookie, and the next day Anna reminded mommy of it by asking, "Did you eat the cookie yet?" When mommy said no, Anna said as she visibly became emotional about it, "But I saved it for you!"

Anna got to have 3 birthday parties!

Her Chinese school threw her a birthday party.

She celebrated alone with mom and dad.

And then we threw her a party with her friends at the house.

Oh, and Jacquelyn made a cake that was simply out of control!

Sea Apple

2010-03-01T21:51:00.010+08:00

We recently bought what we thought was a coral for our salt water fish tank. However, it turns out it is not only not a coral, but that it is a poisonous sea cucumber called a Sea Apple. The fish store owner apparently didn't know too much about what she was selling. I asked her before I bought if it needed any special care, or if it could co-habit a tank with fish. She said no special care was needed and that being with fish was no problem. Right...

Video of the Sea Apple eating.
(Anna is jumping around in the background.)

When we got home we plopped it in the tank, got on the computer and started googling this awesome colorful "coral". That was when we discovered it's true poisonous nature. In addition, only experts are supposed to attempt raising these things. I am not an expert.

Nonetheless, it is the coolest thing that we've seen so far in the saltwater world and I wanted to share some pictures and video.

Closed

Opening up

Mouth is open

Insert food here

*Don't worry, it's only poisonous to the fish in the tank.

Don’t buy this, okay?

2010-02-27T22:00:00.005+08:00

I was reminded of the…um…“quality” of certain things about China. B&Q was my first shopping experience since coming back from a 2 month holiday in the States. For those of you that don’t know, B&Q is an English DIY store that has things like storage boxes, wood for building. It’s very similar to a Home Depot or Lowes. However, as most things in China, the stuff they sell is basically dog crap molded into sellable items. But everyone knows that no matter how many times you wash crap it still stinks. (I’m a bit frustrated because our crap - that has been molded into cabinets – keeps falling apart.)

The out of stock display items didn’t bother me too much. Nor did the broken down storage containers bother me. The motivation for this post comes from the last part of our frustrating experience at B&Q – the cash register. We headed to the front at 8:25 – 5 minutes before closing. One of the things we wished to purchase didn’t have a price tag on it, so the cashier says, “Do you still want this? Don’t buy this, okay?” When we politely said yes, she shouted for a price check. As the price checker was walking back, she said, “Hurry up, I want to go home!”
I don’t know much, but I do know you’re not supposed to do that in front of a customer.

Safe on an Airplane

2010-02-27T21:40:00.005+08:00

I no longer feel safe on a airplane. I accidentally carried on board an international flight a 10" Cutco knife. Jacquelyn came to and asked, "Have you seen the cutco knife that we packed?"Since we had a delayed and damaged suit case, I immediately assumed it had fallen out of that bag. But then she said, I had put it in your computer case. I said, "Well, there's no way it's in there. Otherwise we would have security questioning us on why we were trying to bring a 10" knife on board". Plus, I have been using my case all week with no inclination that there was a knife in the bag. So, we took out all the stuff and low and behold, there it was, wedged at the very bottom of a side pocket. Hmmm....

Tea Time

2009-12-31T10:14:00.000+08:00

This past birthday & Christmas I got a new camera! I am so excited to learn how to use it. In the past 4 days I have taken almost 700 photos trying to get a good picture. This picture is not going to win any photography awards but I thought it was adorable. We are sitting enjoying a tea party here at Grandma Nainai's house.

Some Observations about the Party Scene

2009-12-20T19:21:00.006+08:00

For JK’s birthday I thought I’d take her out on the town. There was a band in town called Immaculate Machine. (I forgot the name, though, and kept telling people we were going to see the Immaculate Conception.) The band was from Canada. What they were doing in China, I have no idea. Their music was quite good. I always wonder what motivation rock bands have to go out on tour. This band didn’t seem to be in it for the party scene, or money, or hookin’ up. They seemed genuinely interested in the music…which is nice. Overall it was a good night. We had a fun time together.

While talking together, we made the following observations:
-Neither one of us have really experienced the party scene before
-Neither one of us particularly like it
-Both of us think it is quite smoky
-We both enjoyed the music
-We’re usually in bed by the time the headline band hits the stage
-I think we’ll do it again, sometime

Immaculate Machine's website:
www.immaculatemachine.com

What I Want for Christmas - An Anna Mae Deluxe...

2009-12-12T10:30:00.006+08:00

Things are winding down for us here in Qingdao. In just a couple of weeks we’ll be headed back to the States to spend our first Christmas with the Carman family since we were married. Although we’ve enjoyed the last 5 Christmases in China with our friends, we’re really looking forward to being able to spend it with family this time

Recently we were able to get a remote control car! (Awesomely named, "Land Despot" or "Overlord") But, as with most toys that 3 year-olds get, Anna enjoys playing with the box much more than with the car itself.

Trying to Make Lucas Laugh

2009-11-24T20:00:00.003+08:00

Below is a video of us trying to make Lucas laugh. He has the coolest "Heh Heh" laugh in the world, but it hasn't been easy trying to get him to do it.

Bring On The Rolls

2009-10-29T21:25:00.004+08:00

My son was born at a healthy weight of 6lbs 15oz but quickly began to lose weight, as do most babies right after they are born. Unfortunately with Lucas he continued to lose weight and at 16 days Lucas weighed in at 5lbs 14oz. Doctors recommend that babies should be back to their birth weight by 10 days! As you can see by the picture on the left Lucas was very skinny and dehydrated. It was a very difficult few weeks nursing constantly, carefully keeping track of feedings, wet & poopie diapers and weighing him every night to see if we were making any progress.

Today Lucas is 3 months old and looks very healthy (picture on right). Today he weighed in at 12lbs 14oz!! Way to go Lucas, you even have a double chin!!

Lucas Raymond Morton Carman

2009-08-25T22:00:00.003+08:00

Lucas Raymond Morton Carman was born on July 29, 2009 at 10:20am in Beijing, China. At birth he was 3.15 kg (6lbs 15oz) and 50 cm (19.7 in)! He was born at American Sino OB/GYN hospital by natural birth.

With her friend, Ruth, Jacquelyn headed up to Beijing on a train on Monday, the 27th of July. That night, perhaps caused by the traveling, her water broke. Though her water broke, she was not yet in labor. This wasn't a bad thing though, since I needed to get up to Beijing to be with them.

The night that JK's water broke, she called me at 4am to tell me to get on the earliest plane available. I was a little out of it, but managed to get online and purchase my ticket. Since I was able to catch the earliest flight, the cost wasn't very high. I arrived and we immediately went to the hospital. At the hospital the doctors decided to admit JK, even though she wasn't technically in labor yet.

Jacqueyln eventually did go into labor. However, 33 hours after her water broke, the doctors decided to induce. Lucas was born shortly after.

Below are some pictures.

Apologies for not Blogging

2009-08-25T21:58:00.003+08:00

Apologies for not blogging lately. Busyness, laziness, having a new child and blogger being blocked in China have all contributed to us not blogging lately. I hope to add some blogs soon.

My Beautiful Daughter

2009-07-26T13:28:00.002+08:00

I took these shots while Anna was reading a book Sunday afternoon after lunch.

~Jeremy

I’m working on it. I’m working on it…

2009-07-22T22:02:00.000+08:00

The other day we were at a restaurant ordering food and Anna Mae repeatedly asked me if she could have some juice. She said, “Daddy, I want juice,” in her ever-so-cute way. After the 4th time she asked me, though, I impatiently said, “I’m working on it, I’m working on it.”

A few minutes later, she turned to mommy and said, “Mommy, I want some juice”. Mommy, who didn’t hear me say earlier that she could have some juice, said, “No, babe, I think we’re just going to drink water tonight.”

Tears welled up in Anna’s eyes and she said, “But Daddy said I could. He said, ‘I’m working on it, I’m working on it.’”

I had to laugh at the way Anna took my impatient words to heart.

Wax Berry?

2009-06-30T15:54:00.000+08:00

I have seen this fruit many times when I would go to the market and buy my fruits and vegetables. But being a unadventurous person I have never had the courage to buy it. I showed it to my friend the other day and asked if she knew what it was. She said she didn't and I thought that was that. The next day when I was over her house she had bought some! She told me I had to try one and I instantly fell in love. This weird berry thing tastes a bit like a cherry. It looks and fells like a hard ball. There is a small cherry pit like seed in the middle.

My friend did some research on the Internet and found that they don't have an English name but is most commonly called a Chinese wax berry. So whatever this fruit is it has made my top 5 most loved fruit!

With June comes . . .

2009-06-29T15:09:00.001+08:00

During the month of June the roses begin to bloom; trees are blossoming and these fruit (pictures on right) are ripe and ready to eat. The first city that we lived in here in China, Lechee would practically grow wild. We could just pick them off the the trees ourselves and eat them. That is where I first fell in love with this refreshing fruit. The outside is a hard spiky shell that you peel off to reveal a white fleshy "meat" inside. You bite into this sweet but not strong refreshing flavor. The inside has a good side pit.

I would eat soo much of them and our Chinese friends would worn me and say that a person should only eat 10 of them a day or it would cause the body to have too much riqi (pounced houqi here in QingDao). I didn't care - I would eat as many as I could.

Lechee is famous for growing in the south but is only in season for the month of June. The emporer way back when also had a love for these fruit and would have them brought up over the rough roads of the day to be delivered to him.

After two years of eating them while living in Dongguan I was delighted to see them in Beijing while we lived there. When I went to purchase them I was shocked at how pricey they were, but I knew how much I loved them and it was worth the price. I was greatly disappointed when I got home and they were not very good. Because lechee only grows in the slow this fruit was imported making it so expensive & not very fresh.

Since moving to Qingdao I saw my favorite fruit out this past June but was very hesitant buying it since my horrible experience in Beijing. I don't know what changed my mind but I decided to give it a try and boy was I glad I did. These lechee were very delicious! I have been reminded how much I love this fruit . . . . I think I might go and finish the few we have left.

Which is better? McD's or KFC?

2009-04-06T10:12:00.003+08:00

The other day Anna and Mommy went to the doctor for a checkup. Afterwords, they headed to KFC for lunch. Anna now seems to have associated KFC with the doctor and pregnancy. We thought it was pretty funny.

Alphabet Song & Downhill Ride

2009-04-06T10:10:00.001+08:00

Anna Mae has been learning her alphabet. Although she doesn't quite get it in this video, she's usually able to sing through the whole song.

At the end of the clip Anna and I are headed down a hill on a little car-thing in the park next to our house.

Jeremy, The Police & The News

2009-04-04T16:17:00.003+08:00

The other day some friends and I were invited to hear the local police explain how they can help us foreigners in case of a dispute. A local news crew was there ready with their cameras. We all sat down at the table while the police woman explained that if we have a dispute we can call the police and have a "sit-down" with the other party to resolve the problem. It is actually quite nice knowing that we can do that. After I volunteered to translate for English-speaking foreigners, the news team asked me why I volunteered.

Now, I've never been interviewed by the news before. I had no idea who to look at. To make things more confusing, it wasn't the reporter that asked me the question, it was the cameraman. Should I look at the camera, the reporter, or the cameraman? In the end I looked at the cameraman. Is there a standard protocol when being interviewed?

3 years have past

2009-03-21T16:46:00.003+08:00

My baby is no longer a baby. A day does not go by with one of us saying "You're/I'm not a baby any more, you're/I'm a big girl!" She has changed a lot these past 3 years.

Here are some things she has accomplished since turning 3:

Potty Trained (yeah! no more diapers!!)
English language: she is able to express herself using words but still struggles with distinguishing when to use his/hers & when speaking about time she always uses yesterday
Can be polite when she wants to be: "Excuse me mommy" my favorite is when she spontaneously at the table says "Thank you mommy for making dinner, thanks daddy for making the bread"
Can sit through a whole movie (as long as it interests her
Writes both a capital and lower case "A"
Draws a face
Colors in the lines (most of the time)
Loves to dance
I think she is a little lonely, she gets upset when I'm not in the mood to talk back to her. She looks at me as says "Mommy, talk! Use words."
She is very excited about mommy having a baby - she talks about it everyday, for awhile there I think she really thought she was pregnant to

It has been a great adventure raising a 3 year old, many tears, laughs, exiting times & dull times. I am so thankful for all those times. I look forward to many more years!! I love you Anna May, Happy Birthday!!

The Daddy Book

2009-03-06T23:15:00.002+08:00

During Anna's bedtime routine, one of the things that we do is read, "The Daddy Book". First I will read it, then Anna will take her turn. It's one of her favorite books, which always makes daddy happy. How can I resist when she asks, "Daddy, can we read the daddy book?" Of course we can!!!, I always say.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T13:40:00.002+08:00

We all had a great Christmas this year. Check out the cute video of Anna playing with some of her new toys.

Tribute to Granny Carman

2008-12-22T15:48:00.007+08:00

My cousin put together a great video with pictures of the whole Carman-side family. Most of the pictures are from the reunion that we were not able to attend. The video centers around my "Granny" who passed away in August of '07.

Obama nothin', I can make the front page too!

2008-11-25T20:38:00.003+08:00

A couple of weeks ago Obama made the the front page here in China when he won the election. Well, it turns out that it's not that hard to do! (For those of you who have kept up with us, you'll remember that I made the newspaper another time as well.)

I recently took the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi - Chinese Proficiency Test). It is nick-named the "Chinese TOEFL". Over 600 students took the test at Qingdao University. In my particular class I was the only "Western-looking" student, as everyone else was *Korean. In fact, on my way to and from the test I didn't see a single "Western-looking" person!

The HSK test is quite difficult as it is only in Chinese characters. There were quite a few questions that I just had to guess at. I have to wait 50 days before I find out the results. If you don't see me blog about the results within 2 months, that means I probably didn't do very well on the test and am ashamed to tell anyone about it :)

PHOTO CAPTION: Overseas students take the "Chinese TOEFL"

*The Korean population is Qingdao is huge!

Baby Fever

2008-11-17T18:08:00.007+08:00

Someone in our house has baby fever and her name is . . .

Anna Mae! Recently Anna has been very into playing "babies." She actually takes care of her babies very well, feeding them, changing them, putting them to bed. Sometimes they are even potty training.

Last Monday we had study at our house. There are several new babies and Anna was was right there observing, learning how to be a mommy.

A New Rug

2008-11-10T19:58:00.003+08:00

One of the things that we've been meaning to buy, but just haven't gotten around to buying it, was a rug. The other day at Home Depot...and, yes, we do have a Home Depot here...the perfect rug was waiting for us. We picked it up and brought it home.

Not only does the rug really tie in all the colors of the room well, but it is also good for make believe fun. In addition to acting as a boat that saves us from sharks, it is also a swimming pool that you can jump in to...

Ready.

Set

Go!

Oh, and we can't forget about the practical purposes of it...

Obama In China

2008-11-06T20:37:00.004+08:00

Translation: OBAMA: AMERICA'S NEW HEAD
47-year-old Obama was elected the *56th American President, becomes the first black president in American history.
奥巴马 (Obama - pronounced: "Au-ba-ma" in Chinese) made the front page of our local city's newspaper. Not only did he get the front page, but he also got a section-A, 4-page spread.

At the corner store today, I showed the fruit-seller-guy the newspaper and asked if he thought Obama would be better than Bush (**Most Mainland Chinese people don't like Bush). He said, "There's no way to tell. He's not president yet". Although people in both parties are making their predictions of Obama's future grand success or utter failure, this Chinese guy has voiced what is probably the most honest, non-partisan remark possible. In other words, "We'll have to wait and see."

Here are a few of the other headlines (These are my own translation...could be a bit off):
-Black horse puts on White house
-Obama: I have a dream
-Black man rules the roost, but the "white" in White house remains
-From "little poor baby" to big president
-Kenya takes holiday to congratulate Obama

*Notice the misprint on the front page. It says Obama is our 56th president. The last I counted, he's actually only the 44th. Hmm, not sure if the local papers can be trusted...

**One of the first things Chinese people ask you is, "Where are you from?" Of course my reply is always, "America". More often than not, the next thing out of their mouth is, "布什不好" (Bu shi Bu hao), meaning, "Bush is Bad".

Halloween Update

2008-11-01T21:04:00.001+08:00

We're not sure if anybody still reads this blog or not, but we just wanted to let you know that we're alive and well. We had a party over at our house to celebrate the day after Halloween. We carved and painted pumpkins, ate home-made chili and hung out with our friends.

Video! Anna Mae Painting, Driving & Singing

2008-10-03T23:56:00.002+08:00

Check out these video clips of Anna Mae while we were on vacation in Vietnam. The last clip is back home in Qingdao, China.

Don't cry over spilt milk...just drink it.

2008-09-20T20:35:00.002+08:00

Although we like to parade around in 5-Star hotels like the one we stayed at in Vietnam, we readily admit that we are cheapskates at heart. In addition to avoiding the bellboy for fear of needing to give a tip, we rarely took any taxis while in Vietnam.

Further evidence of our cheapskate-ness can be seen in the picture below…

Korea & Vietnam

2008-09-16T22:14:00.010+08:00

We've been on holiday for just over a week now. We started out in Korea and made our way over to the beautiful city of Hoi An.

We had lots of fun in Korea. We spent the whole time with JK's "Korean Sister" and her family. They really overdid themselves in hosting us and treating us to the touristy things in and around their city of Suwon. After spending several days with them, we took a four hour flight for Hanoi. The next day we arrived in Hoi An.

Hoi An is a beach town in the middle of Vietnam. Many resorts line the beach. The one we picked is called the Golden Beach Resort. It has a massive pool (I mean huge) and it's own beach front. We spend our time rotating back and forth between the beach and the pool. Downtown is only a few km away and it is a bustling tourist town. I don't think I've ever really experienced anything quite like it.

JK has been uploading a bunch of pictures to her facebook. Go over and check 'em out:
Korea: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40334&l=04a89&id=678302798
Vietnam: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=40984&l=ec7ed&id=678302798

出入卡 Chu Ru Ka (Exit/Entry Card)

2008-08-08T08:14:00.000+08:00

The night before the Olympics started my husband, daughter & I had gone out to visit from friends and were returning home after dark. Since returning from the States the street that leads to our house has been closed with police waiting to stop any cars from going in. But up until now we have never had any problems just walking in. Well, we were walking past the guard and he asked for our ChuRuKa (exit/entry card). We said that we didn't have one but that we lived right there down the road. The guard answered back saying that we couldn't get in without an entry card. My husband & I looked at each other not knowing what to do. The police asked us a bunch of questions like how long we have lived here and what not. He then asked for identification. That night I had left the house without my purse. My husband had his wallet which only had his USA drivers license. He gave it to the police who laughed and said "Kan bu dong" (I can't read this). Finally he let us go through with a promise that we would get a churuka the next day.
I was a little nervous because I was going to have to do this all myself since my husband had to work. I gathered what I thought was the necessary paper work and asked my helper to come along to help me. She took me to the police station and brought me to the correct desk. I showed her my paperwork and she said "where is your HongDanZi" (literally trans. red card). Not really sure what that was I said that we didn't have one. She then told me that I had to have one of those first and pointed me to the back office where I could get one. I figured that "HongDanZi" meant registration card and called Jeremy to see where ours ways. Thinking it was as school I asked him to have someone bring it to me that afternoon. The police said that they would put me in the system to get a card but I had to bring my registration card (hong dan zi) back to show them.
As I was waiting for the woman who was supposedly bringing me our registration card I found out that we didn't have one at all but that she was going right then to get them for us! When she returned with our registration cards I headed straight to the police department (bringing a couple of others with me to help them through the process). After arriving I discovered that they didn't need to see my registration at all, but I was able to help the people I brought with me. The police told me to come back between 5 & 6 that night to pick up my card.
Even though it was a crazy day of running around I had fun. I ended up going back & forth from the police station 4 times (and once I had to run the whole way) by the end of the day. I enjoyed helping others out with the process and felt like I accomplished a lot by the end of the day.

Beijing Olympics 2008

2008-08-01T13:53:00.001+08:00

Next Saturday & Sunday Jeremy & I will head to Beijing to watch the USA woman's basketball team play. We will also see some qualifying rounds of women's gymnastics (unfortunately, it's not the USA team). Go USA!

Olympic Torch in Qingdao

2008-07-28T20:54:00.002+08:00

The excitement is growing here in Qingdao as the Olympics are getting closer. This past Monday there was an Olympic torch relay through Qingdao. It started at the sailing center and turned down the main road that passes in front of our apartment complex. It continued down and around Qingdao and ended up at beach #1 where it went on a sail boat across the way back to the sailing center.

As you can see in most of my pictures we couldn't see very much because everyone was waving flags, but just to be there was so exciting. It is interesting to be here as the Olympics come. I think that the local government did not want the crowd to be too large, so they told most people to stay inside while the torch relay was going on. They bused almost all the spectators in from around town. That is why they are all dressed alike.
There were actually suppose to be two other torch relays in the nearby area but for some reason or another they were canceled. So what happened is all the relayers came to Qingdao and were going to "run" in this one. All together there were 259 people that carried the torch. So instead of running 2 km they each ran 50 m (about 130 feet). So each relayer did not actually do much running.

Where we were standing we got to see the fire pass from one relayer to the next. Unfortunately, all the flags & cameras were in our way so I can't say I saw that actually happen. But after watching it, Jeremy & I were both very excited to see the Olympics, so I think the purpose of the relay did it's job.

Counting, Dancing & Recognizing

2008-06-28T00:31:00.001+08:00

This video shows some fun things that Anna Mae likes to do at our house. If what she does doesn't bring a smile to your face, you might just have something wrong with you...

When bad things happen to good people, but then work out just fine

2008-06-26T17:03:00.002+08:00

Today, I was trying to set up my laptop on the desk and I bumped the the pen-holder- cup-thing so that it fell off. I was like, "Craaaap! That's gonna be a big mess!" As it turned out, it fell in just the perfect position so that it was still upright on the ground...everything still inside. How cool is that?

My wife is cool

2008-06-22T00:34:00.011+08:00

Jacquelyn recently went to the earthquake area in Sichuan to volunteer her time. I'm super proud of her.

Here's a couple of pics from her experience. For the complete photo album of the trip, click on these links:
-Earthquake
-Daybreak camp

Annual Goodbyes

2008-06-22T00:10:00.002+08:00

If any of you have lived overseas before, you know saying "goodbye" to friends is an annual occurrence. This year is especially rough for us as some of our closest friends are headed back to their home countries or new assignments. Although we're extremely happy for our friends who are turning a new page in their lives, we're a little offended they didn't consider our feelings...

To all of our friends who are leaving, we're super excited for you. You will always be remembered by the Carmans. Thanks for all the good times we had together.

Sleepless Nights

2008-05-29T01:00:00.002+08:00

For the past two nights I have had serious trouble going to sleep. Last night I couldn’t stop thinking about what I would do if an earthquake happened here. Obviously, the earthquake that happened in Sichuan a couple weeks ago is the reason for these thoughts. The worst image that I have came from a person’s description of a newspaper article that he read. He said they found smothered-to-death small children under the ruble with their fingernails gone – a result of scratching at the ruble to try to free themselves. Even further in my own thought process as I unsuccessfully tried to sleep was imagining my little Anna in that situation. It brings tears to my eyes just imagining it. To actually have that happen to her, or Jacquelyn, or anyone else that I know, would just be devastating.

It is interesting the barriers that we create for ourselves. I have built a wall just high enough to shield myself from thinking too hard about the awful effects of the earthquake, but, yet, I have kept the wall just low enough that I can see over it. It truly sucks what happened to those people. To think about it in the slightest truly breaks my heart. I don’t want to think about it. But last night, I couldn’t stop.

In the days following the earthquake I heard many people pray that God would use this event to bring people to Him. This is also my prayer. However, in the back of my head I really struggle with all the suffering that happened…and continues to happen to those people. Of course God is just and whatever He uses to demonstrate His power…or whatever He’s doing…is certainly up to Him.

80,000 people are expected to have died as a result of the earthquake…women, children, men…it makes no difference. Wow. Why are people saying, “Lord, Your will be done.”? Because there is nothing else to say. With a broken heart I also cry out, Lord, Your will be done…

Are Democrats the Christian's Antithesis?

2008-05-18T14:37:00.002+08:00

As a conservative Christian, I find myself trapped when it comes to politics. Conservative Christians typically vote republican. In my opinion, it mainly comes down to two reasons – abortion and same-sex marriage rights. Once a conservative Christian finds where a candidate stands on these two issues, it’s all over. There’s no need to hear the rest of the candidate’s platform. Guns, foreign policy, economy, Iraq – they are all moot points. This frustrates me to no end.

Now, before you go reading into what I’m saying, please know this, pro-life and anti-same-sex marriage are indeed huge issues. There’s no way around it. I cannot, in good conscience and as a Christian, support someone who favors those things. I just can’t. The Bible speaks pretty clearly to these two issues and to vote someone in who supports them seems, as one person put it, the antithesis to what Christians are about. And I agree.

Despite this, though, I would love to be able to objectively and critically evaluate the other issues. Do we criticize and bash anything and everything a democratic president or candidate does simply because of where s/he stands on the above mentioned issues? For example, would conservative Christians be so adamant about the right to bear arms if all things else were equal*? Would conservative Christians support or oppose certain immigration policies, assuming all candidates were pro-life and anti-gay marriage? Would former president Clinton be seen as the evil villain of American conservative Christianity? Could conservative Christians finally be able to admit that Mr. Clinton actually did some good for America?

Are we settling for what we can get? Are we simply limited by our choices? Have we thrown the baby out with the bathwater? Maybe, just maybe, not everything a democrat stands for is a Christian’s antithesis.

As I see it, most conservative Christians will be forced to vote for McCain simply because he is more pro-life and more anti-gay marriage than his counterparts. As a conservative Christian, do I really have any other choice?

Honest questions. I welcome your comments.

*I am speaking of the general population of conservative Christians. Obviously, conservative Christian NRA members will undoubtedly feel adamant about it regardless.

Earthquake

2008-05-14T10:58:00.001+08:00

Thanks so much to everyone who was concerned about us with the recent earthquake. We are about 1,000 miles north-east of where the earthquake took place and did not feel any tremors. People as far away as Beijing, about 800 miles away, felt it though, so it certainly was a big one.

One of our company’s schools is located very near where the earthquake happened and was very fortunate to report there were no injuries or damage to the school building.

Our school is looking to somehow get involved with the rescue efforts – perhaps by monetary donation…

Thanks again for you concerns

1, 2, 3 . . .

2008-04-11T23:56:00.000+08:00

The Storm

2008-04-08T19:04:00.015+08:00

by Jacquelyn Carman

As we were taking our evening walk the wind was blowing pretty strong causing rather large waves to crash up against the rocks. As I watched I was thinking, this is exactly how I have felt the past few days. Waves tossing me this way and that . . . how can I with stand all the turmoil. Then words from the song "Beautiful Lord" by Leeland came to my mind.

When the storm is raging all around me
You are the peace that calms
My troubled sea
And the cares of this world
Darken my day
You are the light that shines
And shows me the way
Oh, the beauty of Your majesty
On the cross You showed Your love for me!

Beautiful Lord
Awesome and mighty
I’m captured by this love I see
Beautiful Lord
Tender and holy
Your mercy brings me to my knees
It’s Your mercy that has made me free
Beautiful Lord

When my sin is all that I can see
Your grace remains the shelter that I seek
And when my weakness is all I can give
Your gentle Spirit gives me strength again
And oh, the beauty of Your majesty
On the cross You showed Your love for me

And I am lifted by Your love to sing!
It’s Your mercy that has made me free!

You’re beautiful, my Lord
You’re beautiful, my Lord

Spring is coming . . .

2008-04-02T20:10:00.001+08:00

The weather is turning from cold to warm and sunny. Last weekend it was cold enough that we had to wear our winter hats, coats and gloves. It was cold, wet and damp. I was getting depressed fearing that the warm weather would never come. Today, to my great pleasure, it was warm enough I didn't even need a coat. The wind is still blowing pretty strong but it is not bitter cold any more. Anna & I went to beach today and were able to enjoying the shinning sun and the blue sky. Soon the flowers will begin to bloom!!

Anna Mae Getting Ready for Night Night

2008-03-11T16:26:00.002+08:00

Anna is talking more and more. She especially likes to repeat us.
The video shows part of Anna's bedtime routine. We think the way she says "Lotion" is hilarious.

Anna's Birthday Party

2008-03-08T19:52:00.002+08:00

I had planned a birthday party for Anna on her birthday and a bunch of her friends were going to come. Unfortunately we had to cancel it right before because we had a meeting we had to go to at the school. I had mixed feelings about this . . . part of me didn't really care because she is only two and doesn't really know and probably won't even enjoy a party. When ever she gets together with other kids she just hangs around us and doesn't even interact with the other kids. The other part of me really felt that I should make some deal about her birthday, try and make her feel special and she would probably remember and might enjoy it even if she hung around my side the whole time.

There were not too many kids that could come due to sickness or such short notice but we had a good time with just four other kids. It turned out all right but was not really a big happen'en party. I made cupcakes for the kids and we all sang "Happy Birthday" and Anna did a good job blowing the candles out. I think it was a good first birthday party experience. I think Anna's favorite part was the Dora Explorer table cloth.

Joy Like A Child

2008-03-06T18:56:00.003+08:00

When was the last time that you got up on some one's feet and "flew"? Or just went outside and started laughing at a dog or a bird? How about finding the joy in sliding down a slide or racing someone? It probably has been a long time for most of us. (probably because we are too big to be able to do any of those things)

Sometimes we can be dragged down by all the things in our lives . . . bills, appointments, sickness . . . . The Book tells us to have fth like a child, why not find joy like a child. "Rejoice in Him always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" It also says to find joy in every circumstance as you face trails of many kinds.

As many things seem to go wrong in my life I look at this happy face and listen to her sweet silly laugh and I say . . . "I want that." I can have that, we all can have that. Find the joy in small silly things, enjoy the beautiful creation, laugh and smile together. Be like a child and have great joy!
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drys up the bones."

On Having a Terrible Two

2008-03-05T20:30:00.003+08:00

I can't believe that two years ago right now I was having our little girl. It feels like yesterday and yet it feels so long ago. I'm remembering the car ride with our boss GV trying to distract me from the pain by telling stories (but really all he was accomplishing was distracting Jeremy from helping me breath through the contractions). Looking back I laugh realizing how close we were to having Anna right there in the van - boy am I thankful that didn't happen.

Now we have a beautiful 2 year old daughter who has brought us so much joy and laughter. She is such a delight. But I can really tell that she is two now. It kinda feels like it happened over night but we really do have a 2 year old.

There are many things about a 2 year old that can give me a headache . . . like the tantrums, wanting to do everything by herself, the tantrums, getting into everything, the tantrums, learning how to stall going to bed and trying to get her own way (I think that is another way of saying . . . tantrums).

But there are many good things about having a 2 year old . . . she can tell me stories, she responds when talked to, her attention span has increased so we can do things for a longer period of time, her smiles, her laughs (oh they just melt my heart), being silly, make up talk and songs (I could listen to her for hours) and oh so many more things. She is really more of her own person now than ever before.

Now that she interacts with me more it makes our days a lot more interesting.
Yes having a two year old can be a headache but it is soo worth every pain I have felt just to see that beautiful smile!

~Happy Birthday Anna Mae~

Speaking of Clams...A Crab!

2008-03-01T19:07:00.001+08:00

Take a look at what we found the last time we had clams! -A crab. How cool is that?

Wo ai ni!

2008-03-01T10:17:00.001+08:00

Anna wanted to thank her grandmothers for all the wonderful things they bought her. She is sending you both a message from across the world . . . "wo AI NI!!" (pronounced "whoa I knee") . . . like her shirt says "I love you!!"
We miss you all!!!

I finally got my snow!

2008-02-25T10:06:00.000+08:00

Monday morning I wake up to the beautiful sight of snow falling from the sky!! I thought what a beautiful way to start the week. Mondays can be so hard to get out of bed but not this Monday. I was so excited I could not get outside fast enough.

Anna really seemed to enjoy our time outside except for being cold.

Anna got to do her first snow angel. She really enjoyed doing it until she tried to get up by herself and kept getting snow in her face from her gloves. It was really funny because the more she tried to wipe it off the more she kept putting on because it was stuck to her glove. (Am I a terrible mother for thinking my daughters agony was funny?) Anna's favorite part of playing in the snow was playing with another little girls sand toys. She loved filling up the bucket with snow, dumping it out and then "cutting" it with a shovel.

This next section is inappropriate for children, please turn your eyes . . .

People wonder how bad the smoking is in China - see even the snowmen smoke

REALLY Snow @ the Beach

2008-02-25T09:51:00.000+08:00

Now I can say that I have really seen snow on the beach. Anna looked at it and really wanted to go down and play. I thought that cold wet sandy snow did not sound like fun at all. So instead we splashed in the slushy puddles and just looked at the snowy beach.

Olympics coming to Qingdao

2008-02-18T09:05:00.000+08:00

The day we arrived home from our trip to the states our helper told us that the Olympic center was open to the public. So after Anna laid down for a nap we took a nice walk along the beach and saw where the Olympic sailing will be held this summer. It is very simple but pretty. It has a very nice view of Qingdao's skyline. Walking around I could only imagine what it is going to be like this summer, very crowded with no where to move except into the ocean.

We were not too sure what these buildings are for but we each had our guess. We are guessing that the one in the air is for judges or cameramen. The one on the ground I think is like a lobby for the contestants. But whatever they are for I thought they looked pretty cool. Jeremy thinks they look old and retro and should have come up with a better design.

But it is kinda cool that we live so close (about a 5 minute walk). In the following blog I took some pictures of where our house is compared to the sailing center.

Our Home by the Olympics

2008-02-18T08:30:00.000+08:00

In these two pictures I am standing at the Olympic center where the sailing will occur here in Qingdao. In the top picture you can see a building on the left that Jeremy and I guessed would be for the judges. If you look far to the right you see a bunch of apartment buildings with red roofs. That is the complex where most of our staff lives. We don't live there but we live literally right behind those buildings. (There buildings are taller than ours so you can't see them =( )

You can see now how close we are to where the Olympics will be held.

Kid's Kingdom

2008-02-02T00:20:00.000+08:00

Every Thursday my mother & father babysit for my brother's three children. This past Thursday my sister from PA was also in town to visit, so we had 6 kids running around the house. To give the kids something to do other than drive the adults crazy and tear down the house, we took them to a near by play yard.

The place was really pretty nice (but coming from China I think that I would think anything America has is pretty nice). The kids enjoyed jumping into the ball pits (yes, there was more than one).

Being the most mischievous and adventuresome, my sister's son was willing to do anything and everything. I think he was trying to find the one thing that he was not supposed to be doing.

The moms weren't too sure about a sandbox inside, but all the kids enjoyed it for awhile.

All the kids really enjoyed themselves and did not want to leave. But of all the kids, can you guess who had the most fun? My one-year-old nephew!

Princess Belle

2008-01-28T06:18:00.000+08:00

We arrived in America and started right away reuniting with cousins. Can you guess who was more excited to see the other? It surely wasn't Anna.

Anna's cousins were so excited to have someone new to play with. However, Anna was a little unsure about her new playmates who did not have any concept of personal space.

The cousins wanted to shared their favorite game, dress up. They picked out the Belle outfit for Anna. After a little bit of convincing, Anna put the dress on and then the other girls picked out their own dresses.

The older cousin said she wanted to be like Anna and be Princess Belle. The younger asked me help her put her "Stinker Bell" outfit on. I said that I would help as long as she didn't stink as well.

Snow @ the Beach

2008-01-21T00:10:00.000+08:00

It snowed the Friday before Anna & I left for America. I was so excited to have my daughter play in the snow. Unfortunately, the ground was not cold enough for the snow to accumulate. I was sad that the snow did not stick but it looked really beautiful all day as it was snowing. I was a little bit jealous to find out that our friends who live 45 minutes inland had 3 inches of snow and were able to build a snowman. Oh well, we had fun on our little walk in the snow. I'm hoping it will snow while we are in the States!

Clammy Hands

2008-01-02T16:12:00.000+08:00

Question: (Jeremy...rhetorically) "What child likes clams?"

Answer: (Our Chinese helper...unimpressed) "Any child who grows up in Qingdao"...duh.

Jeremy B-day '07

2007-12-26T16:24:00.000+08:00

Annual Birthday-Bowling-Bash!!!

Not only did I (Jeremy) lose to everyone (except the 10 year-old girl), but I had the single worst night in my extensive once-a-year bowling career.

Question: Why do I choose to bowl on my birthday? I suck at it.

Answer: There's nothing better than lowering my self-esteem as I gain 1 more number to my age, and, yet again, lose the battle with the receding hairline.

*Note the tall guy mercifully covering my score.

Jacquelyn B-day '07

2007-12-17T15:11:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, Jacquelyn!!!

For Jacquelyn's birthday, we had a small get together (only 20 people) to celebrate.

Below are the pictures from the party.

Lame, lame, lame

2007-12-16T23:10:00.000+08:00

Last week I kept getting a message all in Chinese as I would try to access web pages. Randomly this message would pop-up when I tried to get to google.com, yahoo, or whatever. It would automatically redirect to the Chinese message just for a few seconds before again redirecting to the desired website. The first few times I just ignored it and because it only flashed for a few seconds I really didn’t have time to do anything about it. I saw that it was from our web provider (Here in China there is only one company who can give web service, by the way.), so I wasn't really worried about it being a virus. I finally got the bright idea to quickly copy and paste the message the next time I saw it. Now, remember, there was seemingly no method to the pop-up randomness…so I brushed up on my shortcuts (ctrl+a = “Select All” & ctrl+c = “Copy”) and did my normal web surfing. Finally, the message popped up again.

Well, I was able to copy the message. I did my best to understand the message…it had a lot of words I’m not too familiar with like “modem”, “router”, and the such. After my choppy translating work I came to the conclusion that I was way off because what I thought it said couldn’t be true. So the next day I went to work and had a Chinese person translate it for me. It turns out I was right! The message said something to the effect that I was breaking the service agreement by plugging into a router and using multiple computers on my internet connection. Again, let me emphasize the “my” in that last sentence. The message continued by saying that if I continued to “violate” the service agreement they would shut it off completely. What??? I can’t use multiple computers on my own internet connection? What’s up with that?

This creates a serious problem for us. For one, we really love having wireless connection in our house. Secondly, we do have multiple computers – desktop, laptop, work-issued laptop and most importantly, our new Skype phone that we paid way too much for. (Yes, the Skype phone does count as a computer according to the Internet company.) Thirdly, it’s just the plain principle that someone is telling me how I can and can’t use my own internet service that I pay for monthly.

Wait…it gets worse.

I had the previously mentioned Chinese person call the company to get details about the “service agreement”. It turns out that we can pay more to allow use of the router – RMB 30 PER COMPUTER!!! That’s just ridiculous. By the time we paid for all the computers we would have doubled our monthly fee. I’m willing to pay a bit more…but double??? Again, I reiterate…that’s just ridiculous.

I’m not sure how this one is going to turn out. I’ll have to let you know. No matter how it turns out, though…this is just lame, lame, lame.

Who does Anna Look Like?

2007-12-16T21:10:00.000+08:00

I put this on our other website not long after Anna was born, but thought it would be fun to post it here so people can comment on it.

Look Familiar???

Anna Mae

Jeremy

Jacquelyn

Who do you think Anna looks most like? You be the judge.

BJ Small Group

2007-10-24T14:25:00.000+08:00

The past two years we were in a small group that meet every other Monday. This group was very supportive through our pregnancy and the birth of Anna. We grew spiritually because of this group. When we first started out we were studying the fruits of the spirit, we then moved through the book "Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them" by John Ortberg. Our last meeting with them they planned to study the book of Revelation.

Each week we began with a delicious meal, not forgetting dessert of course. This was usually Jeremy's and my time to enjoy home cooked western food. Recently we started singing with the kids then send them upstairs to watch a movie or just go wild while we got down to "business."

Through this group we made some really good friends that we have really been missing since in Qingdao. We did not get to know all the people in our small group very well, when you have 20 people in your "small" group it can be hard. But we really miss meeting with them and fellowship that we had. The people in our group really helped us get through some rough times - we love you guys!!

Smells like Korean food . . .

2007-10-24T13:27:00.000+08:00

The other day Jeremy & I wanted to go out for cheap Chinese food so we asked were a good "whole in the wall" restaurant was. Some friends told us and so we decided to walk there. It took us a little while to find the right street because we still don't know the area very well. After we found the right street and looked for the restaurant and thought we found it. We walked in and I said "Hey, this smells like Korean food." We sat down and looked at menu and Jeremy said "They have Korean food here." The waitress said, "Of course, this is a Korean restaurant."

We had never eaten Korean food before so we did not know what to order. The waitress helped us and we ended up with a great meal. It was pretty cheap and very good. Not exactly what we were going out for but we ended up liking it and got plenty full.

Underwater World

2007-10-22T19:49:00.001+08:00

We have been trying to get around Qingdao and enjoy the sites while the weather is still nice. So on Saturday we went to the Underwater World. It was pretty neat. It started off with a museum (which we didn't learn too much since everything was in Chinese), then had a large part devoted to salt water life and ended with a small section for fresh water life.

They had a large aquarium that you went under while riding on a people mover that was not more impressive then any other aquarium that we have been to.

My favorite part was there huge cylinder shape aquarium that was surrounded by smaller aquariums (pictured above with Jeremy's silhouette). Anna was not as scared as she was when we went to Polar world, she got up to the glass and enjoyed looking at the fish.

The creature that fascinated me the most was the spider crab. This thing was huge! But I didn't get to observe it as long as I might have liked since Anna was ready to be done and go home.

QingDao, A Beautiful City

2007-10-22T19:30:00.000+08:00

Yup, this is where we live!! Aren't you jealous? I am and I already live here. For the first few weeks as we would be on a walk I would turn to Jeremy and say, "Can you believe we live by the beach, I mean we live right here on the ocean!!" Qingdao really is a beautiful city. We are waiting for you all to come and visit us.

Anna & her doll

2007-10-17T13:33:00.000+08:00

Anna has always loved books and recently she has discovered a new love for dolls. So now Anna thinks that dolls need to have books read to them. Here is a short clip of Anna reading to her doll. Listen closely at the end and you will hear Anna speak Chinese!

Anna Has Hair

2007-10-13T13:31:00.000+08:00

The other day I realized that Anna has enough hair that I can actually put it up in pigtails. I think it is adorable but she does not like that much. She likes the idea of having her hair made up but she usually only keeps it in for 15 minutes. I love to put it up because it helps everybody know that she is a girl and not a boy.

Qingdao Polar World

2007-10-12T13:49:00.000+08:00

Our first sightseeing in Qingdao was to Polar World. We were very excited to take Anna, I don't think she shared the same excitement. I really enjoyed taking her around to the different "cages" and pointing out the different animals. We would find the animal's eyes, nose, and mouth. She was a bit scared when the walruses swam by. Being a little kid you don't know that the glass will keep you safe. All she knows is that this huge animal is swimming right past her and could probably eat her up in one swallow.

We did not know when the dolphin shows were so we got to Polar World right after the last showing in the morning started. So we walked around the place first (a couple times) then eat lunch and then waited a little while longer for the first afternoon showing. Anna was getting a little bit cranky because it was about her nap time. But it was definitely worth the wait. Anna loved every minute of the show! Jeremy & I also thought the show was very good, the best we have seen here in China. The park itself was not that impressive. I thought it was a little bit over priced for what they had but the show was very good and worth seeing.

Anna's New Friend

2007-10-06T20:27:00.001+08:00

Anna is adjusting to the new city pretty well. She is making lots of friends and her mom is trying to make some connections too. It takes a little bit longer for me than her. The other day we spend almost the whole day with another little girl who is about 9 months older than Anna. We went to a play club where they have lots of toys.

The girls had a blast rocking away!! Anna learned to play the guitar from her mother, although her dad would love to tell you it was him - but we all know better.

They had a little grocery store set up there as well. The best, or worst part (depending on how you want to look at it) of the play date was learning/teaching to share. But over all they girls did great!

That night we had Anna's new friend (and her mommy and baby sister) over for dinner. Anna actually liked sharing her daddy's lap . . . as long as he was reading a book.

QingDao Retreat

2007-10-02T15:06:00.000+08:00

This past weekend all the staff and their families from our school went to LaoShan (a mountain) and stayed at a very nice hotel from Saturday - Tuesday. It was a time to spend with each other and to get some relaxation. Those of us with small children, however, didn't get too much relaxing done, but we really had a great time.

Saturday, we had a little meeting and a "get to know each other" game. We gathered together in groups with the same month birthdays and then learned a little bit about each other. Here is the best group - December birthdays.

Sunday, Jeremy & I lead the singing for our meeting. In the afternoon we went hiking on LaoShan. That was my favorite part of the whole weekend. I carried Anna on my back as we hiked. It was a little scary as we had to climb up and down (and sometimes jump) huge boulders. Everybody was very helpful and made sure that we were safe.

Sunday night, Jeremy & I were in charge of the nursery. We lucked out with that because it happened to be movie night, so the kids were really taken in by the movie (Curious George). Also, half of the kids weren't there b/c their parents put them to bed.

Monday, we enjoyed going to another seminar and then pretty much relaxed for the rest of the day. The three of us took naps b/c we were really tired from not napping on Sunday, and not sleeping too well at night since we were sharing a room with Anna. She spent the first night calling out to us wanting us to pick her up.

Monday night, we watched "Amazing Grace." It was fun watching it on the big screen like we were in the theater (uhmm, not that we condone theaters). We got to have popcorn and hot chocolate while we watched.

The retreat was a lot of fun, but we are glad to be home so we can catch up on our sleep!

Scenes From Our Beach

2007-09-23T21:20:00.001+08:00

Here are some pictures from our beach. Enjoy!

Qing Dizzle Baby!!!

2007-09-15T22:35:00.000+08:00

Well, we've made it through our first two weeks of living in Qingdao! We apologize for taking so long to make a post about it, but it's been pretty crazy with the whole moving in-unpacking-starting a new job-working on my MBA-going shopping, and of course going to the beach like everyday!

Jacquelyn has loved her newfound freedom of being able to walk to the beach and major shopping places.

My new job is going great! For those of you who don't know, I am the admissions director for Qingdao MTI International School (QMIS). I have a lot to learn, but I think it is going to work out well. I've been working very closely with the previous admissions director for these past two weeks.

Check this out...I get to hire a secretary! Isn't that awesome? No more getting my own coffee! Obviously I'm just kidding about the coffee, but it is pretty exciting about getting a secretary. QMIS is in the midst of renovating a new campus and we're already busting at the seams. I'll be moving into my new office by the week's end.

The first picture posted in this post is the view from our apartment...kinda. You really need to stick your head out of the window to see the ocean, but hey, we aren't complaining! In the second picture you can see Anna throwing rocks into the ocean. She absolutely loves it. It's like having a giant sandbox in your backyard.

Well, that's all for now. Please do come see us! We'd love to show you around.

Goodbye to Friends

2007-09-15T22:19:00.001+08:00

The hardest part about leaving Beijing was saying goodbye to our friends. We certainly were blessed to have the friends that we did. In the days leading up to our departure from Beijing, we got to take some of our closest friends to Papa John's. (Yes, that's right, even Papa John's has made its way over to China.)

To all our friends in Beijing, we miss you terribly! Please come see us in Qingdao...You'll love it here.

Reflecting on Beijing

2007-08-30T21:39:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow we will be moving from the life that we have made for ourselves for the last two years. In fact, Jacquelyn and I finished packing the many boxes and bags of stuff that we have accumulated over the years and let the movers take 'em down to Qingdao. Jacquelyn made the observation that the apartment that we just moved out of has been our longest consecutive home as a married couple. In 4 years, we have moved 7 times...not a huge number, but still a lot for us. We're also eating a lot of dinners and spending time with our friends. The friendships that we have made here is going to be the most difficult part about leaving.

While we have certainly enjoyed our time in Beijing, it hasn't been easy. There have been some serious ups and downs for us. Here are some observations that we have made after living here for a little while.

BJ is expensive
BJ is super excited about the Olympics - CHINA is excited about the Olympics
BJ might just get ready for the Olympics in time
BJ is dirty
BJ is huge
BJ's tourist spots get boring after the 6th time visiting them
BJ traffic is horrendous (especially Jingshun Lu)
BJ has tons of western food (yay, Jenny Lou's & Peter's Tex Mex!!)
BJ's garbled "R" accent is...well...interesting

We are hoping that Qingdao will be a "step up" for us. We've already had many conversations with our new office and feel that they are going to help us make this transition go as smoothly as possible. Our new apartment is getting set up and we can almost smell the ocean breeze. The air is much cleaner than BJ, so we might actually feel safe to breath. Have I mentioned that we will literally be a 2 minute walk from the seaside!?!

Running into Stereotypes

2007-07-25T13:23:00.000+08:00

Right now I am rubbing my head in pain and laughing at the same time. As I was coming out of the kitchen in the office today I was holding a cup of coffee which diverted my attention away from the short door frame. I forgot to bend down ever so slightly to avoid hitting my head. Coffee went flying - burning my hand and arm - and stars suddenly appeared in my vision. I didn't fall over, but enough people saw my little accident that I certainly turned a few shades of red. I ran smack into the stereotype of things not being tall or big enough for Westerners in Asia.

You'd think that after 3 years of living here I'd learn to duck. I guess it could be worse, though. A tall friend of mine got his head stuck in the subway doors!

~Jeremy

2007-06-27T20:42:00.001+08:00

The Last Day of School

2007-06-01T20:04:00.000+08:00

It’s official – we are finished home schooling Matt & Alicia. Today, June 1st, was our last day of school. To celebrate we took the kids on a field trip to a nearby water park. Jeremy, Anna, Francis (our Chinese teacher), Alicia, our neighbor friend's two grandchildren, visiting from America, and myself all went together. (Due to an eye infection Matt was unable to go – sorry Matt, we missed you!!) It was very nice, clean and loads of fun. Most of the park is inside, so even though today was cold and overcast we were still able to have a nice time. The park has a number of different things to do. There was a castle with lots of slides and “toys” to play with while it “rained” on you. They had a lazy river with row boats, a couple different pools, hot springs and at least 4 different huge water slides. My favorite was the “Flying Boat” where you sit in a boat with a partner, fall down a drop that is only a little under 90°, fly up a wall that is also a little over 90° and then over a bridge (pictures shown below). The other favorite was the Space bowl (AKA the Latrine) featured in the next blog.
Although there was not a lot geared towards Anna’s age, she had a blast. I have never seen her so excited. The first part of the day she was acting like she was on a sugar rush, running around with a huge smile on her face squealing with delight. The second half she still had a good time but she was a bit worn out without a nap and from all the excitement earlier.
We made it through the day with fun stories, 8 worn out people and only one bruised elbow (mine). What a great way to end the school year!

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The Latrine

2007-06-01T18:05:00.000+08:00

You remember the first time you thought about flushing your brother or sister (nephew in my case) down the toilet? You wondered: where they would end up? would it be a fun trip down? And what a big splash it would make as you reached the end of the tunnel. Today I actually got to experience it (except without all the human waste). At the water park that we went to there was a water slide we nick-named "The Toilet Bowl." You start at the top going through a tunnel slide then shoot out of a tunnel and into the toilet bowl. After spinning around the bowl a few times you would be flushed out into a swimming pool. (click on image to see larger view) It was a lot of fun - except for when I banged my elbow on the side because I wasn't lying properly.

The Bubble

2007-05-27T09:47:00.000+08:00

Going to like minded schools people say that you are living in a bubble, shielded from the world. I won't argue that point at this time but, I can tell you about playing in a bubble. Saturday, May 26, Anna & I, with some friends, went to the Goose & Duck Ranch. There they had these bubbles that you got in and walked on water. It was fun but extremely tiring! They say that living in a bubble shields you from the rest of the world but, even while in the bubble I could still here Anna screaming for mommy.

Let's go for a ride

2007-05-27T09:34:00.000+08:00

The weather is perfect for bike riding! Jeremy came home one day from a 3 hour bike ride with a friend and said that we had to come out to see the present he got for Anna. It was a baby seat. Anna loves to ride in it, when she wants to. We are getting more and more mobile. Now all we need is to get Mommy a bike!

10 New Things I Love About You!

2007-05-24T18:49:00.000+08:00

Here are 10 NEW things that Anna can do:

10. Splashes in Puddles
9. Throws a Ball
8. Stacks blocks and then knocks them down
7. Likes to sniff everything! (Her favorite book is a scratch and sniff book.)
6. Runs around the house for no reason
5. Tries to copy what you are doing
4. "Sings" (does the motions while I sing) "The Duck Song"
3. Says "UP"
2. Understands "Give me a kiss." (and most of the time will do it)
1. When I hold out my arms she runs to me and gives me the biggest hug!

Chengdu 成都

2007-05-21T21:32:00.000+08:00

This past weekend I "surprised" Jeremy with a weekend away to Chengdu, which he has said he wanted to visit for over 2 years now, to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. Our anniversary isn't till June 28 but this was the only weekend that Jeremy didn't have assignments due for his MBA and before he starts his new job (which he won't be able to take time off). I arranged for our friends Lee & Becky to take Anna as we flew to Sichuan province Friday night returning Sunday afternoon. It was our first time to be away from Anna over night but we all did really well. I think Anna didn't even miss us! Unfortunately I had some problems purchasing the tickets so Jeremy knew we were going but it was that thought - right?!

Chengdu is famous for being the home of the Giant Panda, tea capital of the world and having the best food in China. I found that the people were the friendliest there. Our Chinese teacher, Francis, said that is because Chengdu is self sufficient and therefore very relaxed. Chengdu is in the valley of mountains and supplies their own food . . .etc. . . so they are good all on their own.

The trip was short and not without some kinks but we still really enjoyed ourselves. I wanted to make sure we experienced the food, we walked around city, went hiking, drove through the country side, saw rice fields being flooded, visited the pandas and enjoyed each others company. We both really enjoyed walking around the city because we live out in the middle of no where and don't get to experience China night life like we did in Dongguan.

The next few blogs I will go into more detail of what we did. Please enjoy!

Le Shan Park 乐山大佛

2007-05-21T21:05:00.000+08:00

On Saturday we went to see 乐山大佛 (Le Shan Giant Buddha). It almost was a disaster. After driving for 2 hours the driver asked if we wanted to take the boat (50 yuan) or walk the mountain (100 yuan). Of course we wanted to save money so we said the boat. We bought the tickets and got in line for two hours before we boarded the boat. Once we were on the boat we were excited to see the world's largest buddha. After 1 minute on the boat we speed past the buddha then turned around. We looked at each other and said "That's it?! All the time for that!" The boat slowed down so people could get pictures with it but still - that was it! We got off the boat and went to the drive and complained. He just smiled and asked if we were ready to go. We got in the car and headed back. We looked at each other and I said "No, we did not just waist 4 hours for 3 minutes just to drive back for another 2 hours. We are getting out and making the most of this trip!" So we decided to climb the mountain. It ended up being a lot of fun and in the end I'm glad we did it the way we did. If we hadn't taken the boat we might not have seen the buddha. There is also a line that was probably 4 hours to walk down to see the buddha.

We really enjoyed hiking up the mountain and down. There were lots of places on the mountain to visit along with quiet peaceful places to sit and just look. Jeremy said that this was probably the most beautiful peaceful place he has been in China.
There was a second mountain next to Le Shan that we hiked up (it was much steeper than the other) where the monks live. Every time we visit a place like this I feel so bad for the people because they really truly believe that what they are worshipping is going to help them.

Turn Up The Heat!

2007-05-21T20:55:00.000+08:00

It is said that SiChuan (四川）has the best food in China, it also has the spiciest food! Jeremy and I wanted to make sure we experienced this world famous food while we were there so for every meal we asked the waitress/waiter to give us SiChuan speciality food.

For breakfast Jeremy had boazi (包子）(top right hand pic.). It is basically a roll that has meat stuffed inside. They steam it in wooden baskets (seen in top left hand picture). We have actually had these before, they are a popular breakfast/snack food all over China. I ordered beef noodles （牛面）. I have to say those where the spiciest things I have ever eat! They made my lips burn for 15 minutes after I was done eating. I loved them! (mmmm they sound good right about now.) The bottom left hand picture is strips of potatoes wrapped with a thin layer of fried bread. It was greasy but delicious!

Here we had a tofu soup, spicy chicken (bottom right) and fish (bottom left). I couldn't eat the chicken plain, it was too spicy. I had to eat each bite with a bite of rice to soak up the spice. For both of us our favorite dish at this meal was the spicy chicken.
This meal brings back bad memories because we made a rookie mistake. When ever you are going to buy anything you ALWAYS ask the price. Often times Chinese will see your pretty white face and think to themselves "Ooo, they have money and don't know any better, I can raise the price." But after living in China we DO know better and we DON'T have money so we can usually get the "normal" price for things (what a Chinese person would pay). We could not believe that for a 3 dish meal they charged us 240 yuan! That is more than what we pay to eat western food! But because of our easy going natures we looked at each other, shocked and appalled, paid the bill and walked out. The meal was good but it was not worth what we paid for it.

Hot Pot! Hot pot is probably my favorite meal in China (click here to see when we did hotpot in our home). With hot pot you order dishes, then they bring them out and you cook them in your pot of water which has seasoning in it. As the dishes cook it soaks up all the flavor of the spices and makes the meat/vegetables taste delicious. SiChuan's hot pot's spices are suppose to be the spiciest in China. While eating it we both had to blow our noses and wipe our eyes a few times. (It was very spicy but I didn't think it was intolerable - my breakfast noodles were spicier!) We got the pot that is split into two, one for spicy and one for not. That way if it was too spicy for us to handle we could cook our food in the non-spicy side. Again we asked the waiter what was popular and he helped up order. The majority of the things he said Jeremy understood except one. When it came we figured out what it was - lamb stomach! (bottom right) I didn't mind it but Jeremy couldn't eat it. We also got regular lamb meat, mushrooms, veg eatables, blue birds eggs and noodles. We also order yindubobing （印度博冰）Indian bread (that is the direct translation). This was one of our favorite things to order in Dongguan but haven't had it here in Beijing. As we cooked each thing it soaked up all that spice and tasted so good and cleared out my sinuses at the same time. Over all this was my favorite meal!

Yummy Lamb Stomach!

We really enjoyed Sichuan cuisine and I am ready to go back for more.
Yeah Sichuan Food ~ Bring on the Heat~

Pandas

2007-05-21T20:01:00.000+08:00

Sunday Morning Jeremy and I finished our Chengdu trip with visiting the pandas. We got there early so we could see them up and about feeding before it got to hot. We visited the baby pandas and there was a guy playing with them. I really enjoyed watching the movie about them and going through the museum. If we had paid 1000 Yuan ($130) we could have held a baby panda - but we didn't.

"Good Bye"

2007-05-17T22:36:00.000+08:00

Thursday, May 17, our company had a surprise goodbye picnic for us. Unfortunately it was extremely windy so we were unable to have our picnic outside. We still enjoyed eating hot dogs (I actually didn't eat any of those because they don't sit well in my stomach), potato salad, fruit salad, chips and delicious chocolate cake inside. The company gave us a beautiful tray as a going away gift. We are excited to move on with what He has next for us in our lives but we will everyone in our company. We will miss Matt & Alicia the most since they have been such a big part of our lives these past 2 years.

TaoRanTing Park

2007-05-05T10:33:00.000+08:00

Our last day of holiday we took Anna to a park downtown that had a children's play area. It was like a big tree house/fort area. Anna is still a little to small to do most of the things they had but she absolutely loved the slides and stairs. She could spend hours just going up and down stairs if her mother did not get bored of them. She also loves to go down slides and can do it all by herself! It took her a little while to get used to sliding down wearing a dress but she quickly figured out to lean back and pull her feet up so she could go fast.

Minorities Park

2007-05-01T23:59:00.000+08:00

     Happy May 1st! (China's Labor day) Today, since it is a national holiday the Carmans and our friends had the day off. We all took a trip together to the minorities park here in BJ. There are 56 minorities in China and this park shows how they live(d) and some of their customs. It is a huge park, we spent about 4 hours there and did not even see 1/3 of it! (granted we had two kids, two strollers & lots of stairs, diapers to change, kids/adults to feed - but still)
     I can't say that I really learned anything about the minorities but the park is absolutely beautiful and we had really beautiful weather to enjoy it (along with great company)!
     We saw model homes that the people would live in and we had fun picking the ones we would like to live in. There were also people dressed up in their minorities traditional clothes and saw some rituals and dances.

Summer Palace

2007-04-30T21:27:00.000+08:00

Our May holiday has officially begun! Our friends from Wuhan (The Clays) came up to show their friend from the States Beijing. We took them to the Summer Palace. This is where the Emperor of China would live . . . you guessed it . . . in the summer. (How Brilliant!) My favorite story of this place is the life of the Empress Dowager CiXi. She was a despotic leader consumed with a desire for power. To do that she bannished the rightful heir to the thrown (her 27 year old nephew) to a small Palace-island in the the middle of Beijing. (It's actually not a very nice story huh?!)

The weather was nice and cool but very smoggy (typical for Beijing). But my favorite part of the day was watching the Clay's two month old son while they went to climb up the mountain. I pretended that I was a mother of two for those 20 minutes. It was fun but nice that I could give him back when things got rough.

Happy Day!

2007-04-30T21:09:00.000+08:00

Morning Star (aka ChenXing) is a Chinese school down the road from where we live that Jeremy & I taught at last year. Because our schedule is a bit busy this year we do not have time to teach there this year. The Bassetts and Vosslers are still very involved there, however. On Monday, April 30, the school put on a festival called "Happy Day". There was a lot going on there. The kids put on performances for their parents, there were activities, games and food for all. People were selling things. (I believe all the proceeds went to the school.) Matt & Alicia headed up some games for the kids and I just got to enjoy everything! I love watching the kids - they are so adorable - as long as I'm not responsible for them (hehe)!

Beijing Blue Zoo

2007-04-28T22:15:00.000+08:00

We took Anna to the Beijing Blue Zoo which is a small aquarium. It was a lot of fun because it was the first time that Anna was old enough to enjoy it. She was actually quite afraid of the fish at first. She would point at the fish and want to see them but when we brought her closer to them she we squeeze us tight. Once she put her hand in the water to touch the star fish she was not scared anymore. They also had a people mover through a tunnel where we saw lots more fish as well as mermaids!

This aquarium is not anything compared to the BJ aquarium but it was small enough that by the time we finished Anna was too.

Future in China

2007-04-24T12:52:00.000+08:00

We have finally made a decision about our fate here in China. Our motto for the past few months has been “Find a Job or Go Home.” For those of you who we have had direct contact with, you know the emotional ups and downs that we have been facing for the past few months in looking for a job. Finding a job is never fun. And interviewing, for me is even less enjoyable. I have pursued job lead after job lead, and interview after interview. Finding a job in China is relatively easy…for someone who wants to teach English. Therein lies the problem…I am no longer willing to teach, and that has made searching for a job difficult. Finally though, something has come up…at least for now. I have accepted the position of Volunteers Coordinator with a Chinese foster care organization called China Care. China Care’s goal is to:

“give Chinese orphans the opportunity for a life of love and American families the means to provide it. And, in the process, to positively affect the lives of those who help as well as those who are helped, compelling all involved to pass the feeling on to others.”

You can visit their site for more information. www.chinacare.org .

The only problem now is that the job is only for the summer, which means “Find a Job or Go Home” is still going to be a recurring phrase in our household. There is a definite possibility that I could stay on with China Care after the summer is over in a different capacity. We are looking at this summer position like an internship that could possibly turn into a permanent job.

Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about us concerning our job situation. Please continue to do so in the coming weeks and months as I start the job and seek to make a good impression.

Beijing Botanical Gardens

2007-04-21T10:07:00.000+08:00

Spring Is Finally Here!

Friday, April 20, the Carman family went on an outing to the Beijing Botanical Gardens. We had a lovely time! There were so many tulips out and blooming. It reminded me of the many trips to Pella, Iowa for the Tulip Festival that my family used to go to - good times! The cherry blossoms where out as well - I really liked the dark pink ones. But I think my favorite thing was walking through the lilac garden. It smelled so wonderful! We also visited the conservatory which is the tropical greenhouse. There, they had orchids (Anna's Chinese name), cacti and other beautiful plants that I don't know the names of. I encourage you all to get outside and enjoy the beauties of spring!

Anna Mae's 1st Year

2007-04-15T22:45:00.000+08:00

A Year In Review

My Pooy Baby!

2007-04-11T21:01:00.000+08:00

Yesterday (April 10), after we came home from our walk, I was putting Anna's stroller away when I heard that blood curdling scream that every parent dreads. I went to see what had happened and realized that Anna had gone to our water machine and turned on the hot (boiling hot) water. It ran down her arm and burned it. I felt awful, my nightmare had come true. We have talked about how dangerous having a toddler and hot water in her reach but never did anything to prevent it (except the occasional "no! that's dangerous!" and a spank).

You can imagine the pain Anna was in if you have ever burned your self. Well, she had boiling water poured down her right arm! She was screaming and I was trying to remember what to do. I finally came to my senses and took off her clothes and placed her arm in the sink and ran cool water over it. I called Jeremy in to take over so I could make some phone calls. After talking with Sue Bassett and a Doctor and seeing a few blisters appear (and the big one popped just from the water running over it) we decided to take her to the hospital.

We knew the burn must not have been too bad when Anna was pretty well behaved on the 15 minute car ride to the hospital. However, she wouldn't let us touch her arm and would scream if anything touched it (which can be expected). Once at the hospital (we went to a local Chinese hospital) the doctor took a look at the burn. He confirmed our thoughts that it was not that bad of a burn but was concerned about it getting infected. (The water that comes from our tap is VERY dirty and since the blister popped while in the water it obviously got some of that contamination in the wound.)

After the doctor prescribed medication he took us upstairs where they were going to administer the treatment. We walked into the IV room/nurses station. This room was full of parents holding their babies who where all hooked up to IVs. Since that room was all full they took us to their private room (which costs extra). The ironic thing was that we SHARED our more expensive "private" room!

The nurses took some blood and gave Anna a test to see if she needed an IV of antibiotics. Next, they cleaned her burn and then popped the other two blisters. Then they set us up in front of an electromagnetic lamp where I had to hold down Anna's arm for 10 minutes while she fought and screamed! Finally, they put some smelly brown cream on her arm and wrapped it up with gauze.

You would think that the torture was over, but it had only began. Next, they took us to the nurses station where they laid Anna down, wrapped her arms like a mummy and made me help hold her down while the nurse put on IV in her forehead! (Fortunately, I was prepared for this since when I first walking into the "IV room" I saw many babies set up just like this.) I was then able to take her in my arms, go back to our "private" room and distract her from pulling out the IV.

There is not much left to the story. We waited for the IV to finish and then went home. We had to go back today for the second dose of antibiotics and a clean dressing (which Anna did not cry as much for). Anna is pretty much back to her fun, busy self. We are all glad that it is over and have turned off the hot water so it won't happen again.

I took a picture of Anna with her IV (the bandage is there to keep it in place) and you can see her arm (right) bandaged up. The Chinese woman is our helper who comes and takes care of Anna in the morning and cooks lunch for us.

This picture is her wound 24 hours after the incident. It looks 100% better then even this morning, but is still not a pleasant sight.

Happy Resurrection Day!

2007-04-09T13:00:00.000+08:00

Today we had a lovely service at our fellowship celebrating resurrection Sunday. We sang great songs, saw the kids do a stick dance to "Arise My Love", and had refreshments. At 4 we had an Easter dinner party with our small group. The kids went on an Easter egg hunt while the adults ate yummy artichoke dip! For dinner we had ham (which is a rarity here), sweet potato casserole, and many other delicious dishes. We had plenty of dessert consisting of two cakes, peanut butter pie and I made cherry berries on a cloud. It felt more like Thanksgiving with all the eating we did. It was a wonderful, reverent day!

Anna would like to thank Grandma Carman for the beautiful Easter dress. She enjoyed wearing both the dress and the chocolate she got from the Easter egg hunt!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-07T09:44:00.000+08:00

This Friday at school we had an egg decorating activity. It was a lot of fun to just sit with the kids and talk about anything (other than school work of course). We learned that Alicia's favorite Veggie Tales character is Jr. Asparagus and Matt likes to destroy things. (He kept saying he wanted to throw the eggs off the roof.) Alicia left one egg in the yellow for so long that the shell got eaten away by the vinegar.

At the end of the day we had a contest in two categories: creativity and best color. Jeremy won in the most creative egg category with his egg named "Asylum" (the pink faced egg). Matt won the best color with his half blue-green & pink egg. The prize was a handful of black jelly beans. Since Jeremy doesn't like black jelly beans, I (Jacquelyn) ate his. Anna didn't get to color any eggs but she did enjoy holding them up and dropping them. She also really likes eating them.

Sad Good Bye's!

2007-03-27T13:32:00.000+08:00

After 7 weeks we had to say good bye to our new friends the Clays. Lisa Clay came and lived in the vacant apartment at the beginning of February to wait for her baby's arrival. After a week alone her husband Aaron was able to join her. We really enjoyed their company. We had a lot of fun together watching Heroes, eating, playing games and talking.

March 14 handsome Ethan Ezra Clay was born. We were glad to finally meet him, although it meant that our friend's stay would be quickly coming to an end. A week and a half after Ethan was born the Clays returned to their home in Wuhan, China (it is about a 2 1/2 hour flight away - 1052km/654miles).

The Plummers

2007-03-26T13:00:00.000+08:00

These are are friends Lee & Becky Plummer! Since in China Jeremy & I have become friends with Lee & Becky (pictured here). (Lee is wearing Anna's hat.) We have had some great times with them and they have been very encouraging!