Add This To My List

You know, it's not just my in-laws who annoy me here. Other expats can, well, kind of suck. Let's not forget this cow at church. There's plenty more where she came from too. Like this sellout. Urgh.

As we get closer to moving, I put up an ad on one of the email groups for Qingdao. I listed a bunch of crap we're getting rid of along with prices and my contact information. There was a frenzy for our coffee maker and grinder, which I wound up selling to a woman I've known here for a while. I don't see her often but she's genuinely lovely. She was also the 2nd person to email me about being interested in purchasing those items. The first person was only interested if the coffee maker brewed more than 6 cups (it didn't).

Beyond that though, I had some inquiries about some toys. One of my friends will buy some of our toys and my small dumbbells. Another asked for photos but discovered the toys were not suitable for her older boys.

That's all fine and good. But the kicker was one woman who messaged me that she was VERY interested in any children's books we had for sale. It was hard for me to round up all the children's books we won't be taking because Raelynn would come right along and steal them away. I finally managed to do it when the trolls had taken her to their home. After a dinner out on Friday night, Jeremy let Raelynn stay at their house of gross. Let's not get into that. It did wind up being useful for rounding up books and toys from her room unobstructed though.

Anyway, I take photos of some of the books and send them to her. She tells me which ones she wants and I tell her the prices. "Keep them coming!" she tells me. Because we live far, I offered my purchasers the chance to meet me downtown at the Crowne Plaza hotel at noon on Sunday, when church would be finished. My friend buying the coffee maker and grinder arranged to have another mutual friend come pick it up as she was unable to and a nice Russian lady asked if she could meet me there to buy some books from me. Another one asked us to leave a book with a friend of ours and get the money from her.

The lady who wanted the children's books also asked to meet up with us at the hotel.

Then last night, I got a text message from her. She asked if it was possible to meet us before church services because they usually eat and then nap around noon. She said she was available from 6am to 11am. I chuckled a bit. Who the fuck makes plans at 6am? I explained to her that we'd be meeting some other people there to give them the items they wanted to purchase. I told her that if she wanted to meet us before we went in, we could send her a text message when we were on our way. She said that she would do it this way then. And that was the end of that.

Or so I thought.

On Sunday morning, I got another message from her. She told me they decided to go to the beach that morning. Not just any beach but one that was especially far. Even from where we were headed. "Do you live near Shi Lao Ren?" she asks me. Um, no. That is even further from where we live, hence why I offered to meet at Crowne Plaza since that's close to where all the other foreigners live except me of course. Then she hits me with the. "I am going to really try. If not I will come to you this week for sure."

Try? TRY? Are you for real? I am not having my husband lug a big bag of books down to our car in the chance that you drag your butt off the beach to meet me like you ASKED to meet me. We're not a delivery service. You want the books? Come pick them up then. Let's see if you're serious about coming here "for sure."

I'm now severely enraged and so I send her a curt message. Some excerpts:
"Ok please let me know before noon if you can make it. I have 2 small children of my own and can't wait around forever."

After relaying this to Jeremy, I then send this:
"My husband doesn't want to lug the other children's books up and down our stairs if you might not come for them. You are obviously busy today so I will hold the books you requested for you and you can check out what's left later this week or on the weekend."

She wrote back later with an apology and asked if she could come during the week to get the books. Fine. She tells me she has an ayi during the week so it makes it easier for her. An ayi is a nanny, if you were wondering. Anyway, I tell her she'll have to come around 4:30pm. Now she says her husband will come. I should mention she's told me she has a Chinese husband too. Interesting. So will he come? I'm not holding my breath. But at least I don't have to stand around a hotel lobby, wondering if she'll show up while I hold a bag of books and two screaming children.

Why do people suck so much? You want this stuff? Come and get it!

Oh, and if you're wondering, no, we cannot leave the in-laws in charge of this stuff. They would totally mess it up. They'd probably sell the books we're taking with us because they're just that base.

Anyway, here's hoping we can clear out some of our stuff before we move and that the other people we'll deal with won't be so flaky.

My Marvelous Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of my mommy readers out there! I hope you had a wonderful day! For me, I'm still getting used to the fact that I am a mom. This was my first Mother's Day as a mom of 2 kids though. Last year, I was very pregnant with Seoul as we went out for lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. Click here if you'd like to read what I wrote for last Mother's Day. It's got some great old photos!

Anyway, in regards to this Mother's Day, I just want to say that this is, so far, the best Mother's Day I've ever had. Feel free to outdo yourselves next year, Jeremy, Raelynn and Seoul!

What did they do to make me feel so special? Well, let me just tell you that they perfectly figured out what would make me happy.

It all started the night before when Jeremy declared he'd give Raelynn a bath and send her off to bed. And then he picked up the awesomeness again in the morning with Seoul waking at about 5:30am. She does this now, which is rather annoying since, during the work week, I don't need to be up until 5:55am. But she's just so cute. She can't help that she rises with the early-rising sun. So when she woke up, Jeremy took her to Raelynn's room so I could get some more sleep. 30 minutes later though, she was wailing for me. So everyone came back into our room and we had a lovely family snuggle. I really love those precious moments when Jeremy and I can cuddle up with our kids. We laugh and play and soon, Seoul is sleepy and ready for her morning nap. So I put her down for the nap and Seoul gives me her gifts - she falls right asleep and she STAYS asleep. For 2 whole blissful hours. And I get to nap right along with her. And Jeremy keeps Raelynn quiet and busy that entire time so I don't hear a peep. In fact, I sleep so soundly that I am astonished when Seoul wakes and I see how much time has elapsed. I'm amazed.

As if that wasn't a wonderful start to my day, my husband, I discover, is making me breakfast. He made some sort of eggy-crepe-like thing and stuffed it with homemade hash browns. Holy fuck was it delicious! Way to go, Jeremy!

On Sundays, we usually go to church but Jeremy wanted me to relax and not worry about rushing around. So I took my time getting ready to be taken out to lunch. I rummaged through my closet for something I didn't hate, did my hair and makeup and then dressed both my daughters in adorable clothes. We killed some time watching The Take Home Chef on TV and while we did, I had 2 glasses of wine without anyone pestering me. Ahhhhh. Bliss!

For lunch, my sweethearts took me to The Diner. It's a Western restaurant with several locations. Usually we go to the one in May 4th Square but fearing it would be crowded, we chose the location in the Taigu area, near The Canvas, just in case it too was crowded. That way, we'd have plenty of other choices within walking distance. I have always liked The Diner, but I also like The Canvas too. Jeremy has never liked The Canvas though and wasn't up for trying it unless The Diner was a zoo.

But it wasn't. The downstairs was packed but upstairs, there were plenty of open tables. As we sat down, I noticed on a board of specials "Artichoke Pizza." I took it as a sign. We were meant to be there. This was the right choice. See, one of my most favorite things ever in this world are artichokes. Of course, it makes sense that I would also adore it on pizza. So we ordered an artichoke pizza, an appetizer of beef nachos and a burger. Drinks were also buy one, get one. So I got mojitos.

When our nachos came, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven - there was guacamole on them. REAL guacamole! Probably tied with artichokes on my list of favorite things is avocados and guacamole. It was perfect. Soon our pizza and burger came out, and those too were so beyond amazingly delicious. We'd never been disappointed with The Diner on any visit ever, but on this visit, I swear it was the best it's ever been.

Seoul had been happily distracted with a crazy straw. But with food on the table, she wanted a taste too. She's still breastfeeding but we're of course giving her bits of this and that to taste and try. She's had bread and pizza crusts before. I shared some of that with her this time too but she seemed curious about the burger. None of her teeth have poked through yet so I thought the soft burger meat would be perfect. I'm happy to say Seoul is my little American girl. She gobbled up the burger. And potato wedges too!

After all this food, I was stuffed. But Jeremy insisted on ordering the chocolate lava cake for us with 3 spoons. And to make it even sweeter? He took Seoul and held her so I could enjoy the dessert without incident. God was it good!

At dinner time, I was still stuffed from lunch. Jeremy made us a light dinner and did all the dishes too. Yes, the whole day was just one fantastic thing after the next. Probably because my husband knows very well "happy wife, happy life." Thank you, Jeremy! Raelynn and Seoul too! You made me feel relaxed, refreshed, appreciated and so unbelievably happy. I love you all so much!

The New Nastiest Bathroom In Qingdao

What's your biggest fear? Sharks? Plane crashes? My MIL and her cooking? How about having to go to the bathroom while you're out and about? And no, I don't mean #1.

Have you ever been walking around somewhere and suddenly, your stomach decides with an evil cackle of glee that it's going to drop and you realize that you HAVE TO go to the bathroom NOW? Hear me now, dear friends for I swear to you all that I will NEVER EVER EVER complain about any public bathroom in the US again. My worst fear right now is having to take a dump while out somewhere in China. There is a HUGE difference, believe me.

We went out to Taidong today to do some shopping for Raelynn's upcoming birthday. We went to the Babies, Women's and Children's store which has hundreds of vendors and lots of good deals. We'd noticed last weekend that Raelynn had outgrown her nice dress shoes so we thought buying her a new pretty pair would cheer her up. As we walked around through the different stores, I felt my stomach pitch. Crap, I thought. I'll try to hold it. But I realized that was going to be impossible. I turn to the guy manning the shop we were in and ask him where the bathroom is. He kindly points as he tells me to go left and then straight.

As it turns out, I could have found it based on smell alone. Chinese public bathrooms smell like death warmed over, rotten urine and low tide at the pier, and that's on a good day. Jeremy urges me to wait. "I can't," I tell him. I know I'm not going to walk into the Ritz or anything. I know it's not going to be pretty. I know it's going to be like one of these nasty bathrooms I've seen before. But honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be even worse than the worst ones I've seen.

I feel like I'm going to explode as I round the corner, Seoul curiously staring up at me from the carrier. "Sorry, girl," I tell her as we further immerse ourselves into the stench that had wafted into the corridor to welcome us to the bathroom. And suddenly, I stop short. There's a woman standing and waiting and as I line up behind her, I see the most horrifying thing a gal who needs to take a shit could possibly see in a public bathroom...NO DOORS ON THE STALLS. Not on any of them!

I found this photo here, from someone who apparently had a similar reaction to finding a bathroom like this. I didn't have my camera with me and even if I did, I had more pressing issues like trying to poop without being watched.

In the bathroom I encountered, the stalls were taller at least but there were no doors. If it were a matter of having to pee, I'd have held it. It was either poop here or poop in my pants. I scurried to the last stall because there was no stall across from it. A shred more privacy than the others, I thought. But as I hurried to do what I'd come to do, some of the others doing their business had spotted me and my darling baby come through and I could hear their commentary. Oh what a pretty baby! Look at that baby! All the while, I'm thinking, NO! DON'T look over here! I'm trying to poop in peace! Yeesh! GO AWAY! 

I guess I should be grateful that there were stalls at all. A friend of mine here had once told me about how she and her husband had been on a bus in a rural part of China and when the bus made a pit stop, she desperately needed to pee. She followed the other women to the bathroom and discovered the bathroom was no more than a room with holes in the ground. The other women all crouched down and pooped, talking to each other as they did. THAT would be the only thing more disturbing than what I experienced today.

To top the whole crappy (pun intended) experience off, there was no sink in the bathroom. NO SINK. Fortunately for me, it's not my first day in China so I am never without hand sanitizer. And because I have 2 kids I always have wet wipes. Still, the whole thing left me with a disgusted feeling. I'm not sure what was the worst part - having to poop like that while out, having to poop like that in a bathroom like that, having to poop like that in a bathroom like that while other people are actively talking about me and how pretty my baby is, getting ready to pull up my pants when some woman and her young son come to wait for the stall I am using and then start talking about me and how pretty my baby is, the lack of a sink...yes, I think ALL of this put together makes me say with certainty this is THE nastiest bathroom in all of Qingdao.

Mean Moms Of Qingdao

 This movie will be soooooo fetch!

I have to admit it...I am TOTALLY a Mean Girls fan. Who isn't, right? So naturally, when I heard they were making a Mean Moms, I jumped for joy. Brilliant. Marketing at it's finest, targeting those of us who lived and breathed Mean Girls a decade later with the idea of being mean moms. Because that's definitely a thing. Unlike "fetch," it's happening.

Every mom has had a run-in with a mean mom. And Qingdao seems to be teeming with them. I was talking to two of my gal pals here and like me, they had also lived in Seoul prior to living here. We all have had the same experience regarding making friends. In Seoul, expats were SO much more united and friendly. But here? You could be out at a supermarket or walking around downtown and in a sea of Chinese faces, you see another foreigner! You smile and say hello politely as you pass only to be thrown an icy stare and complete silence.

Making friends here has been very difficult indeed so I treasure the select few that have made the cut. Because there are definitely more mean people here than I can believe. And I come from Miami! That should tell you something!

Let me tell you about a run-in I had a few weeks ago with a mean mom here. It happened at church services, the place where you expect people to have good manners and be kind. Or maybe we're weird for expecting those things. Anyway, let's just call this mean mom Sally Snottypants. Perfect.

Jeremy and I arrived for church while they were still making the weekly announcements before services. He led us into an empty row right in front of Sally Snottypants and her family. Jeremy sat down, as did Raelynn who was eager to go to her little Sunday school class which would start right after the announcements. I started into the row when Sally Snottypants' daughter (who is the same age as Raelynn) began coughing all over the back of my husband's head. Appalled, I ask Sally Snottypants if her daughter was contagious or had measles or anything I should be concerned about.

I should clarify here that this was before Seoul turned 8 months old. In China, they give the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shot at 8 months. When we'd gone for Seoul's 7 month vaccination, the nurse warned us to stay away from crowded places because there had been an outbreak of measles. I reported this to the mom friends I have at the church so they could help pass that information around to the other moms. Apparently, this was either the first Sally Snottypants had heard of it or she is even more of a jerk than I previously supposed.

She gives me a major scowl and says, "It's just a cough." Just a cough? Um, hello?!? First of all, I have a small baby with me. Surely you remember when YOUR kids were babies. I bet you didn't want people coughing all over them. Secondly, why bring your kids to church when they're ill? Stay home! And thirdly, your child coughed all over my husband. Are you unable to apologize for that?

When Raelynn was still 2, I taught her to cover her mouth when she coughed and sneezed. She almost always remembers. And you better believe that in the odd chance she forgot and coughed on someone, I would be apologizing to them AND having her say sorry as well. "It's just a cough" is not an acceptable answer.

Shortly after, the children were dismissed to their groups. I walked Raelynn out to the lobby to meet her group leader. Sally Snottypants brought her coughy daughter out after us, yet she put her in line in front of us. I was too stunned to say anything to her, so I loudly warned my daughter not to get close to anyone that was sick. "And keep your hands clean. People have germs," I caution and Raelynn nods solemnly.

I told Jeremy what happened when I returned to my seat. "What a rude lady," he comments. The next week at church, we happened to show up as the children were being led away for their groups so we quickly put Raelynn on the line for her age group. We waved goodbye and as we started walking into the auditorium for services, who should be ahead of us but Sally Snottypants? Jeremy and I loudly teehee like teenagers and he says, "Oh look! It's Rude Lady!" I bet, given the chance, he might give her a stamp or two like he did to the rude lady at the Shangri-La.

Sally Snottypants isn't the only one, unfortunately. Like the ones that are nice to my face and then refuse my friend requests on social media. And still others are just rather unfriendly. But they do serve a purpose...they remind me that I'm lucky to have the friends I have back home and just as lucky to have made some of the few wonderful friends I have here. Quality over quantity has never been more true!

New & Improved!

After the last depressing post, I moped around for a bit. And then I decided after another email from my dad that sitting around feeling sad wasn't going to change anything. It wouldn't suddenly make Daddy better. And it surely wouldn't make him feel any better either. He and Mom are unable to make the trip and now the best thing I can do from here is focus on coming home in the summer, and having fun with my kids. Because seeing photos of us having fun will make Daddy feel good and happy. Much happier than seeing us sad, that's for sure.

So Daddy, this one's for you!

Yesterday, before I'd gotten the lousy news that my father had to cancel on his trip to China for the Chinese New Year, I'd been having a marvelous day. A long day, but a lovely one indeed. I'd been selected for a hot mom makeover. It will be in the next issue so when that comes out, I'll be sure to post a link so you can see all the professional photos involving the before and after, as well as the in-progress shots.

My appointment was at 10am. Jeremy drove me before heading off to work so I was about 30 minutes early. From the moment I arrived at Raphael Perrier, I was treated like a celebrity. Flavored water. REAL coffee. Everyone kept checking on me as I waited for the Chinese editor of the magazine and the photographer.

Just chillaxin', waiting for Christina and Kelly, who oddly and very coincidentally, share the English names of 2 of my Korean coworkers at school!

Some of you are aware of how much I despise my hair in its' natural state. If not, now you know. I HATE IT. As a native Floridian, I looked at my wavy curly locks as a curse. My hair ALWAYS frizzed. Once I moved to Seoul, my hair was a lot more tame when it was cold outside because of the lack of humidity. But in summer, I faced the same hair problems as I did in Florida. Frizzy hell. In Korea, many women get a hair treatment called Magic Straight. I fell in love with it. I loved my hair after that.

Until it grew out. And ever since, once the frizz was too much to handle, I'd beg my husband to take me to the salon to get it fixed. 

In the next photo, you are about to see my hair as it looks without being flat-ironed after blowing it dry when there is no chemical straightener left in my hair except at the very ends. To me, it looks like hair diarrhea. You be the judge.

 Gross, right? Gah! I hate it! It made me feel like I was 100 years old. Barf!

My stylist is a handsome Chinese man with the English name of Jimmy, even though he speaks very little English. With the help of Christina and Kelly, I explain to him why I hate my hair and that I am open to a new look. I want to look younger. I do not want frizzy ugly hair. Yes, you can cut my hair but not too short and no bangs. We discuss the strategy and then, for the next 7 hours, I am fussed over.

As Jimmy and his team worked their magic on me, I was treated to more delicious coffee, little tea cookies, and McDonald's when it came time for lunch and we were still deep in the process of fixing my hair.

When I first saw my hair, I couldn't believe it. Can I just tell you that I love it? LOVE IT. Seriously. I should have done this AGES ago. I feel pretty! Also, I had my make-up done but I am pretty good at doing it myself so you can't much tell the difference in that. It was just fun to feel spoiled for a day. I didn't even have my make-up done at my wedding ceremony.

So, I bet you want to see what I look like now, don't you? Of course you do! Drum roll please...presenting the new and improved me!

 Jimmy straightened that frizz on out of there. Then, after combating that, he colored my hair a lighter brown with highlights. I love flipping my hair in the sunlight...you can see all the different shades of browns and some blond in there too. When he'd asked me if I'd let him color my hair, I said that would be awesome. But when he asked me to choose a color, I had no idea what to pick. So I told him whatever would make me look younger. I left it in his hands. Jimmy, you totally rule! Thank you!

Traveling Engrish

There's so much I've got to write about Guangzhou and I'm thinking I'll have to do it in segments. So for now, you can enjoy this little post about the Engrish we saw during our trip until I get around to writing about vomiting giraffes, Guangzhou cuisine (yummy!), the embassy and more.

This first photo was taken as we waited to board our flight to Guangzhou in the Qingdao airport. If you are at the Qingdao airport and are hungry, please come eat at the "restauran." Or maybe someone was so hungry, they ate that second "t." They got it right in Korean at least.

Also spotted in the Qingdao airport on a TV in one of the waiting areas. Avoid collision. Yes, because everyone I know has a lifelong dream of intentionally smashing into TVs that are so large they are hard to miss.

 We found "Plant Viagra" in the menu of a nice Guangzhou-style cuisine restaurant we went to. It was on the up and up. Ha! Ok, lame puns aside, the food there was awesome. I'll write about it in another post.

 This came to us from our airplane snack package. It makes me think of one of my favorite people ever - my friend Kary Drake - because the Spice Girls will always be her favorite. This is an additional seasoning packet should you wish for your in-flight noodles to make you cry.

 There is nothing Engrish about this subway sign but I just loved the photos. These kill me. I love the stick figure person laying down on the seats. Even more so, I love the people swinging from the bars and hand grips. I love that people are so primitive in our world that subway cars need to put things like this up so people know how to behave.

 There's nothing too Engrish about this one either except that the holy panda triplets at the zoo recommend this dish. I laughed so hard at this. Brilliant marketing.

And finally, the best for last. I heart this. We saw this at the zoo on the way to the Safari on Wheels portion. Which I will most definitely tell you about in another post. I want this on a t-shirt. You know you do too.

Just Stop.

I still can't even since the other day, and now, there is this funness...

 You can still see the first hole they dug on the sidewalk further in the background behind this giant pit they've dug that I surmise can only lead straight to hell. If you are a regular reader of my posts, then you have probably already guessed that this is not the first time they've excavated a huge hole here. But! It is the first time that they have made one THIS big. At least since we've been living here. Oooooh.

Remember, here is what it looked like the other day:

Why they keep doing this, I will never know. Because, were it me with this project, I would have fiddled with the shit underneath the concrete and bricks BEFORE laying down the new bricks but what the fuck do I know about construction? Not much but I will tell you this...I have never seen so much fuckery in my whole life and I come from South Florida where they are constantly building new condos and kicking the shit out of the natural habitat. I've seen all kinds of weird shit back in my native Florida, but not anything quite like this. What, did they do all this work and then some chode comes in and goes, "Oh yeah! Oopsie Daisy! We forgot to put pipes down there. Tear it up again, boys!"

I know I'm often apologizing for my half-assed photos on here and this one is no exception. Sorry. Seriously. I suck. But I'm not a completely inept photographer. I was just trying to snap this quickly as Raelynn and I ran to Hao Shufu's awaiting taxi. We were already running late because someone *coughcoughRaelynncough* eats slower than a turtle. Unfortunately, because I was moving as I was taking this photo, you can't see what made this even more amusing...someone had thrown a whole cabbage down there. No idea if it was accidental or intentional but it made me wonder.

When will this shit end?!? At least it's not interfering with my sleep but damn! Just stop already!

Keeping Up With The Konstruction

Remember the other day when I said this? Well, that didn't take long for them to destroy it again, now did it?

This is right in front of my building, which Raelynn and I are walking away from as we head off to school. OF COURSE they are already digging up the sidewalk they just rebuilt. OF COURSE!

Here is a close-up of the hole they've dug into the sidewalk. Lord knows what the reasoning behind this is. Perhaps people here like to dig holes. Whatever the case, there are several more of them down the street. I bet it's for some wiring or plumbing or something like that. Which begs the question: why not do that BEFORE laying down the new sidewalk so you don't have to, you know, dig it up and redo it again?!? That's what always bugs me here - common sense does not exist. At all.

I Do What I Want

Yesterday, when I posted about the people of China blatantly ignoring signage in their native language - such rebels - I totally forgot to include another photo my husband took of more rule-breakers. Forgiveness please.

 So, what did these people do?

I'm not sure you can tell from this photo but the car in front of ours, as well as the ones in the adjacent lane, has the right of way. See, the light is green. It's our turn to go. But we can't. Because the city buses as well as regular people driving their cars have blocked the intersection. Thanks assholes. This is such a common sight over here. In the US, those blocking the intersection would be ticketed. But over here? No one does shit. I always get so nervous when shit like this happens because I fear we'll be stuck in some epic traffic jam. Like that one that lasted 2 weeks in Beijing a few years ago. No, I'm not even joking. Seriously. Click here to read about that (or here to see a bunch of images of that insanity). It terrifies me to think of an emergency vehicle trying to get through.

People here just do what they want and that, coupled with a lack of enforcement of these laws, is what causes this to be, as Jeremy so adorably coined it, "a fall-behind country." He also uses "disorder" to describe things here quite a bit. It's rather fitting.

Fortunately for us, the buses and cars that were blocking the way finally moved up and, to our great relief, the vehicles behind them stayed put at their red light so we could take our turn on the green light. It's stuff like this that I will think about when we move to the US and we're sitting in traffic. I won't complain ever again about traffic in the US, even if it is rush hour in Miami. That is infinitely less atrocious than the chaotic disordered state of being that the roads of Qingdao so often exhibit.

And On It Goes

It absolutely amazes me the way they conduct construction projects around here. I swear these people do the same things over and over and over again in the same places to ensure everyone has a job. That is the only logical explanation for their piecemeal, haphazard way of constructing anything. Like our street, which I posted about recently.

And on and on and on it goes, though I think it has finally come to an end. Here are the latest photos of our third world street:

They had done this overnight and my husband had forgotten about it when he'd parked elsewhere. When Raelynn and I came downstairs to find our driver, this is what we saw. We had to walk all the way to the end of the street and try to find Hao Shufu there. Jeremy (who, incidentally, took these photos before he went to work) called him to help me explain where we'd be but of all days Hao Shufu forgot his phone, it was of course on this day. His wife had answered and she was standing outside the gas station near our home, waiting for her husband so she could give him his phone. Jeremy told me to walk to the gas station and that's where we found her. Several moments later, Hao Shufu found us. He had apparently gone to the other side of the barricades you see in that last photo and was trying to yell to us. I never thought he would be on that side of the barricades because a couple days prior, there was a gigantic hole the size of a crater in the center of the street. Lord only knows what they were doing with that one. It rendered the street impossible to drive on and damn near made it impossible for pedestrians to pass through as well.

Anyway, they smoothed the road out from what you see above and it looks normal once more, or as normal as things look around here at least. The cars are parked on the sides again and now we wait and wonder when they will tear this shit up for another round of bullshit construction. Hopefully, they will wait until after we move away.

The Crazy Construction Continues!

I'm so behind on my blog posts. Sorry guys! But here's one to tide you over, chock full of more insane construction photos from my street.

A giant hole. What's most surprising to me about this is they actually put something up around it so no one would fall in. Times, they are a'changin'.

Sorry for the crappiness of these photos, but we were in the car when I took them. Here's another make-shift gate to prevent people from falling into the holes. Or pooping into them. Not sure which.

 As we're driving down the street, a steamroller is passing us.

I will just caption this with my husband's favorite exclamation:
JEJUS!

It's what Koreans call Jesus. Because in Korean language, there is no "z." It's one of those Korean language things that has stuck with him ever since moving away from there.

 I wish this photo had come out better. They've already laid the new sidewalk but for some reason, are jackhammering this part. There's a guy with a wheelbarrow pushing the debris and he's gone and ruined my photo by pushing it in front of the guy with the jackhammer.

 We park and of course I notice that someone (or something) has already ruined the new sidewalk with poo. It looks like it probably came from one of those yippy small dogs though. Still, that's just wrong. I think the sidewalk maybe stayed feces and urine free for about 1 hour, tops. That's my official ruling anyway.

And for Lord knows what reason, they tore this part up after putting it down. If I were the owner of that car there, I'd be piiiiiiiiiiiiiissed.

For now, that concludes my construction craziness photo series. If there's more wackiness to document, you'll find it first here.

Even Crazier Chinese Road Construction

In July, I posted about some nutsy road construction they were doing on our street. You've seriously got to check it out. Go here for that. Well now, just a few months later, we have more insane road construction happening on our street. Check it out...

 If our building were in this photo, it would be to the left. I think I see a sliver of it behind that tree on the left side. Look at this busted-up road! It adds to the dumpy ambiance of this crappy neighborhood, the one my friend Andrea had dubbed "the part of Qingdao that time forgot." Seriously. When I look up and down our street, I KNOW I am in a third world country.

Anyway, to the right, in orange, you can see a worker laying bricks. Because they also tore up the whole sidewalk. Just because. Photos of that in a moment, but first...

 Here's more of the view down the street to the right of our building.

 Now I'm turning back toward our building. I'll just let these next few photos speak for themselves...

 They poked these holes into the asphalt. I am soooooooo happy our windows don't face this way. I shudder to think how noisy that would have been.

 The sidewalk as we're walking to our building. Or rather what was the sidewalk. Now it just looks like a war zone. They are laying the bricks you see from the giant stacks down right now. I think they are working around the clock on this. No kidding...they were at it when I woke up and looked out the window at 5:45am.

 Taken right in front of our building while my back is to our building.

A close-up of the rubble.

I shit you not, this is about the 10th time they've destroyed our street like this since I've been living here. I moved here in November of 2010. So yeah. They are ALWAYS doing this. Just when you think it's peaceful again, they start demolishing something else. And through traffic can just forget about it. The honking is enough to drive any person over the edge.

They also have these big piles of sand that they're using with the bricks and they have thoughtfully lined the side with the smashed up road bits with it so that it is nearly impossible for 2 cars to pass each other, making a drive down our street a total nightmare.

People that like living here don't live in our neighborhood. Maybe I'd like Qingdao if I didn't live in this neighborhood too. Or have in-laws like mine. Then again, maybe I should look at it positively...perhaps the construction crews were simply digging me a hole from China to the US. Oh how I wish. If only it were that simple!

The Good Stuff

I always liked Chinese food growing up. When we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant, which was a place right around the corner called Jade Garden, I was always delighted. I loved the shrimp with lobster sauce. If you ask my brother and my dad, they'll have slightly less found memories because I didn't want to share my shrimp with anyone. If they tried to take a shrimp from my plate, I cried. Sounds like Raelynn, huh? Anyway, I still get teased about this. Except when they come visit me IN China because at least here in Qingdao, there is no shrimp with lobster sauce.

Yes, Chinese food in America is quite Americanized. But that doesn't mean that all of it is made up to pander to our American palates.

You might think based on my Someone Made Me Eat This posts that I dislike authentic Chinese food. True that I grow weary of it if I have to eat it daily, I truly like Chinese food. When it's prepared properly. And we've seen how MIL prepares it. Jeremy laughs every time I tell him his mother makes me hate Chinese food. And he also smiles big when I tell him he makes me fall back in love with it.

My husband knows a thing or two about flavors. Plus he's lived abroad in Korea before and he's eaten food from other countries. So when he cooks, he really makes things taste good. I wish he'd show his mom how to cook.

Sure, she makes some things good. Her dumplings are pretty good, especially the ones she makes with leeks and pork. But I hate that she uses the flour that she uses. It makes everything taste very gummy and glutenousy. Jeremy once didn't understand my complaint about the flour. Why couldn't I use it to make pie crust or bread or all the other stuff I wanted to make with it? Why did he need to buy more flour when we had a giant sack of it? Now he knows better. But she still doesn't. She insists the flour she buys is the best. Of course she does.

On weekends, we like to go out for a meal. We're mostly saving our money for America, but we can afford to eat out somewhere at least once a week. Places that serve Western food are usually much more expensive so unless it's a special occasion or I'm dying for something I can't make at home, we usually go out for Chinese food.

Even though MIL cooks for us 4 days a week, I really don't mind going out for Chinese on a Sunday afternoon. Because we always go somewhere good. Like the Sichuan place.

That's what I call it. There are tons of Sichuan restaurants here. This one is close to Minjiang Road. It's always got gobs of people in it. My friend Jon and his wife introduced it to us and we keep going back because it's really quite good. They've got lots of spicy things, which is why we're thinking of taking my parents there when they visit in February, if it's still open during the Chinese New Year that is. If I want to eat there, I just tell my husband "The Sichuan Place" and he knows what I want.

Sometimes, I simply request barbecue. Chinese barbecue is so popular in Qingdao. There are lots of good places. I just let Jeremy use his expertise as most of them can be dirty. And by that, I don't mean the floors (most places in China have dirty floors) but the food. My husband says that many barbecue places will use rotting meat or lie about where the meat came from. He looks for places where you can see the kitchen and where it's very crowded. We're currently trying to decide which place will be open during the Chinese New Year because squid on a stick and beer will make my dad the happiest daddy ever.

But my favorite of the casual Chinese places in Qingdao is without a doubt the one I call "Ugly But Delicious." This place rules.

Excuse the craptacular photo. I was sitting in the car with the children while my husband ran in to get an order of dumplings on our way home from church the other day. I'll get to those in a moment.

This place is called Jiaozi Guan, which Jeremy says basically means "House of Dumplings." It has other stuff too. It's a hole in the wall, as my folks would call it, but if we have a chance, we'd love to take them here. The decor is blah and the floors are often scary but the food is served up by a chef that's quite famous in Qingdao. I admit, the first time my husband took us here, I was very skeptical. Then I took a bite of the food. Since then, I often request we eat at this place.

They have pepper steak, which you'll find in Chinese restaurants in America and it is SO good. The Sichuan Place I mentioned before also has that dish but this place does it much better, much cheaper and gives you a larger portion too.

Because of MIL, I feel kind of blah about dumplings now. Unless we get them from here. Especially if they are filled with cucumber and egg. I know, I know. That sounds barfy but let me just tell you how fanfreakingtastic those are. I am entirely serious when I say they are the best dumplings I've ever had.

Unlike MIL, they use a good flour and they focus on the filling, not the wrapping. When Jeremy told his mother how wonderful these dumplings are and how we like that the casing is so light and not too thick she told him that they were being cheap for not using enough flour. I'm not joking. I laughed so hard I cried. Even Jeremy laughed. God, she's hilarious, right? Yes, that's it. Because flour is so expensive. NOT! MIL flies through flour and oil like the world is coming to an end and she needs to use it all in one night.

Anyway, if you're in Qingdao and reading this, Jiaozi Guan is on Jiangxi Road. Take a Chinese person with you if you cannot read or speak Chinese as the menu is completely in Chinese with no photos. It's worth it though, I promise. Amazing food, and great prices too.

Oh, there is one more thing I've found to love about food here in China. And that's these little snack sandwiches. We had them at a barbecue place not too long ago and I fell in love with them. While out shopping in Taidong the other day, Jeremy saw a place selling them and picked us up some to try. He watched as they were prepared, mentally taking notes so he could try to make them for us at home. The ones he bought us were really delicious. That night, Jeremy made us some more.

 Here's Jeremy's Chinese sandwich after a few bites. Very tasty!

 My husband, the sandwich model.

Mmm...mmm...mmm! That's one tasty sandwich! It's slow-cooked pork chopped up with onions and peppers. Only we didn't have onions and peppers so he left that out this time. It was still good though, but I am looking forward to his next batch. Thanks for helping me enjoy Chinese food again, Honey! I love you!