Made in the USA

Several weeks before our trip back to the U.S., I started that oh-so-important "what to bring back" list. There are so many items that we have not been able to find in Shenyang. Lots we have learned to live without. Others we've found suitable replacements. Many items I feel sure exist somewhere in this city of 8 million, but the language barrier makes finding them a lengthy process. I certainly can't pick up a phone book and call around. Hmmm...I'm not sure they even have phone books in China. That would be a pre-tty hef-ty book!

Anyway, I placed a magnetic notepad on the side of the refrigerator so that I could add items as they came to mind or others mentioned them. After the third time Morgan asked "Do we have any colored construction paper?", I added it to the list. I searched every six-story shopping center I could find for athletic socks for Christian. Apparently, the boys here don't mind flowers and hearts on their socks. I can embrace some parts of the culture, but that's just not one that I'm ready for. Socks for Christian added. My teaching assistant for next year told me that early childhood teaching tools that we typically use in America can not be found in China. That style of teaching is foreign in Chinese schools. So, on the list went pocket charts, hands-on learning tools, and bulletin board supplies. I've always wanted to decorate my walls with meaningful quotes and sayings, and I couldn't wait to get back to buy some of the do-it-yourself vinyl lettering for our blank apartment walls. I wrote that on the list in tiny letters so no one...ahem...my husband...ahem...would notice and question the necessity. We still haven't found suitable replacements for several personal care items, so I wanted to be sure to bring a few of those back. And, of course, a few food items made the cut.

Now that the kids are with grandparents in Georgia, I've had some time to pick up a few of those things we want to take back. I've created quite a pile in the corner of my brother's old bedroom. A moment ago, I decided to go through that pile to see how much of it was made in China. A running joke in my family has been that we have to come all the way to America to get the made-in-China items we love so much. In fact, just before Easter, my mom spent $100 to send us a package that included water dispensers, plastic eggs, and egg dye. All with prominent MADE IN CHINA stamps on them.

I haven't purchase many food products yet, but I would guess that they are not imported from overseas factories. Much of the clothing was made in Indonesia or Mexico. I was pleased to see that all of our personal products (lotions, hair products, etc.) are Made In the U.S.A. However, those elegant vinyl wall quotes...Made In China. Gift bags and tissue paper...Made In China. Socks? Made In China. Those uniquely-American teaching tools?...Made in China. Even the baseball and glove we bought for our driver's little boy had a Made in China stamp. Really?! Can you get more American than baseball?

How ironic that I'll be struggling to stuff suitcases to capacity, flying them all the way across the Pacific Ocean, attempting to inconspicuously pass them under the hit and miss customs' radar, only to return these goods right back to their place of origin. If only I could find the facility that manufactures these must-haves. That could save us a lot of trouble!

I would love to say that I've been inspired by this revelation to purchase strictly American-made goods, but I'm not quite there. Seems that if I try shop strictly American-made, I'll be just as empty-handed as I was in China! And, you don't want my son to grow up wearing pink heart socks do you? :-) I'll pray about it, though. We'll see...

Quick Hits

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've blogged. It's not that I haven't had much to share, but it seemed there was never a good time to sit at the computer and type it. If I'm truly honest, though, I just haven't made the time, finding one excuse or another...Is this really interesting? I'm not quite sure how to word it. I need better pictures. This is taking too long!

Well, now here I am sitting in the Seoul/Incheon International Airport awaiting a plane to take me back to the U.S. What?! Back to the States already? Even with the many challenges we faced and lifestyle adjustments we had to make, it still feels as though the time since we arrived in Shenyang flew by. This five-hour layover in Seoul has given me lots of time to think about all that has happened in the last five months. So much of it I have not taken the time to document. Therefore, I've decided to take a slightly different approach to my blog posts. I realize that documenting and sharing as much of this journey as possible is more important to me than making sure that every post meets my perfectionist seal of approval. That means that in addition to my very detailed, wordy (and terribly time-consuming) posts, I'm going to periodically post Great Scott! Quick Hits. These quick hits will have just enough detail to capture the experience. I'll try not to ponder so much on whether it's interesting material or if the wording and pictures are just right. My goal will be to simply document experiences that are memorable to me and my family and give others a quick glimpse of everyday life for us in China.

Here's my first Great Scott! Quick Hit:

Farell took a two week business trip to France in May. That left me alone in Shenyang to figure things out, and I must say I rose to the challenge. During that time I had our washing machine repaired, figured out how to call a taxi, and got our daughter through a visit to the local hospital. These may not seem like significant tasks, but remember...we're in China and I don't speak Chinese.

With hand motions, a little bit of broken English, and a good bit of broken Chinese, the landlord and I were able to work through the washer issue. Apparently, excess water needed to be dumped from a small tank at the bottom of the machine. I was back to laundry by mid-day.

We've always made an effort to give our driver at least one full day off each week. Each time he assures us that he doesn't need the time off and encourages us to give him a call. He has never asked for a day off...until last weekend. No problem, except that we had two events to attend that day. Decision point: We could simply not go or we could figure out how to get a taxi. I chose taxi. Because taxis don't regularly pass through the section of town where we live, I called a bilingual friend to help me through calling the taxi service. That was easy! The next step was getting back home. All day I rehearsed the phrase necessary to tell a taxi driver where we needed to go. It took a couple of tries and one or two puzzled looks, but we were able to get home successfully.

Finally, Morgan is fine. She fell hard while playing soccer at school and couldn't move her arm. The call came at 3:30. Our regular doctor's office with English-speaking nurses and American doctors would be closing in 30 minutes. It would take us 45 minutes to get there. I called our contacts at Michelin to find out where we should go. They sent us to local Hospital #2. I paid a small fee for translation service, and we were able to quickly move through the examination process. Nothing broken, only soft tissue damage. Whew! It took her about a week to regain full range of motion.

“Yay me!” for being resourceful and maintaining a level head through it all!