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!