Dwimble.com

Kiki came for the last time this morning and we got some cute photos. She has been watching the news and Beijing is having serious crackdown at the airport. Two weeks ago a woman got on a flight in Beijing (bound for some other Chinese city) with a bottle full of gasoline and tried to light it on the flight. So they are very serious about security now. She said that on the news this morning they said that any liquid medicines for you or your baby must be given to the flight attendant and if you need it during the flight they can help you get a dose. So Kiki wrote us a note in Chinese for the security line that basically says, “This is liquid pain medicine for our baby who is growing a new tooth. We will give it to the flight attendant to hold during the flight.” Then we will be hoping for the best for Nadia in case she decides to crank out another molar while we travel 🙂

This afternoon we went over to a giant bookstore to look for some Chinese learning books. Mike’s teacher gave him her 20% discount card and we got some great stuff for great prices. The prices are already better than America, so the discount card just sweetened the deal. I was also able to finally find some Olympic stuff for VBS this summer. Every other Olympic store has been sold out of the items that Kaye was looking for.

Nadia was being super-cute in the bookstore, so I had to whip out the camera. Click on the first photo to see the whole set.

We went to Wal-mart and picked up a cheap carry-on bag to bring all our goodies home. We also picked up a couple more pairs of shoes for the cute girl. I can’t get over how inexpensive the kids shoes are here. Now Nadia should have enough to carry her through the summer and fall, at least. It just depends on how much she grows. The trip is winding down and I am going to start packing us up tomorrow. We will have to leave for the airport fairly early because it’s at least an hour away and because of all the added security issues.

P.S. As great as the trip has been (and it has) we are ready to be home. I am dying for a fresh salad with all the fixin’s and some chicken enchiladas from Pappasitos. My list could be much larger, so I will just say I am missing all things Fort Worth today.

Today Kiki took me on a field trip to the Silk Market. I really wanted to go and Mike thought I might have a good time with Kiki, so I asked her if we could go shopping instead of our traditional tutoring. CTG had warned me that the place was overwhelming. The guide books said it was best to go during the week early in the morning to avoid the crowds. The place was madness, mania, overwhelming….whatever word you would like to use. Everywhere we went people screamed, “Lady! You want to buy children’s clothes?” or “Lady! You want to buy a jacket for your husband?” Just fill in the blank for what they were selling in their stall.

I was on a mission to find specific gifts and I was ready to bargain. Having Kiki there as a reference point for pricing and to help with the bargaining was also great. She told me that several shop keepers told her in Chinese when the transactions were over that I was a very good bargainer. The transactions were all very fun and some of the conversations were more entertaining than others. Most of the people there understand enough English to be following your conversation. Our last stop was at a clothing stall near the exit and I saw a really cute skirt, so we stopped. Here is the conversation that followed. SG = Salesgirl. All numbers in yuan. And I would like you to know that all of this occurred with me wearing a big smile on my face. It’s not good if you are mean or angry about it.

L: I like that skirt. Do you have my size?

SG: Please step in here and I will measure you…..yes I have your size.

L: How much?

SG: grabs calculator and punches in 450.

L: Foreigner PRICE!

SG: Okay because you have pretty Chinese friend I give you Chinese friend price. 390.

L: (In Chinese I say) That’s too much.

SG: What’s your highest possible price? (hands me calculator)

L: 110.

SG: (all drama now) No….that’s not enough.

L: Okay. Xie Xie. (thank you – and I start to walk away)

SG: Wait! (then she puts her arms around me and whispers) I’ll give you secret friend price 190.

L: No, 110.

SG: Oh please 180.

L: No, 110.

SG: Okay super secret price 150.

L: No. 110. (at this point I am ready to start laughing at all the girls facial expressions and antics!)

SG: Okay 110.

Now while all this is going on Kiki is behind me working a deal on a skirt for herself. We get all done and she asks me what I paid and told me I did good against the girl. Then she told me they asked her to please not tell me that she was getting hers for 90. HA HA!! So I didn’t feel bad at all about standing firm with the girl. There were a couple of things that I wanted and knew the price was inflated, so Kiki had me totally low-ball it and in many cases they agreed after much DRAMA and banging into the calculator trying to get me to change my mind.

One stall that had little girl clothes had the cutest Polo dress that I knew was a knock off and they girl gave me the starting price and I said no. Then she said, “Polo. Good brand.” I said, “Knock off!!!” She took 10 yuan off the price, so I sorta stuck my head out into the aisle as if to say, “I see this dress in 4 other stalls right here.” The girl started laughing and gave it to me at the price I asked. Only one guy seemed to get annoyed by my bargaining and I knew that he could understand me so I said, “You didn’t have to take the price I asked for.” And Kiki told him not to be angry and then he told her I was a good bargainer and to come back in 10 minutes for my item 🙂

All in all, Kiki and I had a great time and I feel that I did very well with the prices and got some really cool stuff. I had a little pearl bracelet made for Nadia at a stall the flight attendant recommended. I got myself a few things and quite a few more gifts for people back home. Kiki acted really impressed with my bargaining skills and laughed multiple times at how I held my ground.

Then in the afternoon I had my last Chinese Painting class and Jenny taught me how to do the traditional fish. Mike and Nadia came up to the school with me and everyone just loved her. Mike’s teacher got to meet her and gave her a little stuffed animal mirror thing. They wanted to get some photos of our family up at the school before we left this weekend. Once we were through she said that I did good and all the times she has taught this she has never had a student paint a fish that looked like a fish the first time. She said animals are harder than flowers because they must have some life to them. I felt very proud of such a compliment. Here we are after class.

Nadia kept us up most of last night after breaking in her 1st molar. She was so miserable that it was heartbreaking. I was glad we have baby meds and teething tablets for her, but she had a terrible night of sleep. This morning while Mike was at school she sat on my lap or snuggled up next to me on the couch for almost the 2 hours. That is totally unlike her and I knew she felt bad….if she is awake, she is usually MOVING! She was asleep at 6:30 tonight, but that’s cool because we are trying to get to sleep earlier. I am saying a prayer that another tooth doesn’t come out during our long day of travel on Saturday.

Yesterday we just relaxed a bit and then headed out to do some more shopping. Nadia only lasted about 2 hours and of course by that night we knew why. I took some photos from the cab ride. This one cracks me up! “Rude Tobacco” looses something in the translation.

Today Mike had school and once Nadia was up from her nap we headed back over to the New York House for one last “best burger ever” before we go home.

We went to the Lotus for a last round of groceries too and then came right back home. The wind was blowing like crazy. I did get a photo of the magnetic escalators for the ones who were asking. I got some weird looks and Mike was correct in saying I must have looked weird taking a photo of something that the Chinese see in their day to day life. We hear classical music every morning from the school next to our building and I snapped a photo of the kids doing their morning exercises.

And here is a photo of what I am calling “The Mini Food of China.” The Ritz cracker is there as a frame of reference for the size of the ice cream drumstick. These are Disney and marketed to kids and I can eat 4 at once 🙂 We found the Kiddie Cheese at Wal-mart in the very small section for cheese (cheese isn’t popular here). It comes in these tiny little cups that are supposed to be a serving size for one child. We bought strawberry, but Nadia didn’t like it by itself. I thought it tasted like flavored Philly Cream Cheese (just not as sweet as in America) and so I put it on a roll and she liked it much better. The little spoon in the cup came with it, and that is common…tons of foods here in China come with them. I wonder if that’s how they stay so skinny? Kids still get snacks, but they are small. Oh and I forgot to tell you that I found another flavor of Ritz last week: Milk! Milk is a popular flavor here and we had already tried some cookies that were milk flavored, but not the Ritz. They are tasty like the others, but nothing beats the Orange ones.

And yes Nadia “needed” more clippys when we were out shopping Sunday 🙂

Silly girl playing around.