Yes.... so I am back to the " expat" socialisation here. We got to known by names , husband' names or nationality, by our living area or face features ( X the one with glasses, L the one that lives in PPP compound, K that married to the Japanese and so on)... but I think... now I will be known by Sandra the one that homeshooled her girl. ^_^
I see it as a positive sign. I knew that sometimes I am known by : S the Indonesian lady, S that married to the chef or to the Italian, or S that lives in bla bla bla..... and I just add one more title to my self. And I think I like it ! ;)
So far, the reactions I got is turning to be positive. Some will asked me what is the schedule or where do I get the curriculum from, and some said that is great because we can have vacation any time we want, no need to be fixed by the school holidays.
Some will be concern about the socialisation. But I said, in general case, HS kids won't have social problem, as they are easily adapted to any situation and pretty easy to mix with children from different background and school. And also most of the HS kids will be more mature in the socialization because they spent more time with adults .
Indy is still at the very early stage, but so far, I've got a lot of compliments from people about her. Mostly are for her manners and independence, but also for her friendlines towards other kids. Her Mandarin tutor mentioned that she is very friendly and fun to be with and is a fast learner too. And she can concentrate during lesson compared to other kids ( that need to be reprimand every now and then to sit on the table to finish the workbook)
Even Maya got some compliments too because she behave good during Church service and during lunch :P
Adios for now
Monday, January 25, 2010
Copy cat vs Inspired
What I'v been thinking recently is there any line that seperate inspired and copy cat?
What 's seperate them? Or is " inspired " is the new word for "copy cat?" And where does our intregity, our individual uniqueness go to?
If someone said that they are inspired by someone or something and do exactly the same like the person he or she is inspired with? If I said I am inspired by a mom who homeshooled 5 children, does it mean I need to have 5 kids of my own?
Inspire is to affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence..
Influence..... yes we will receive many of influence in our life. But that doesn't mean to copy 100 % ( erhm or 75%) of what other have done. If one person sells bread in front of the school main gate and I am inspired by tha and also sell bread in front of the side gate, would you consider that as inspired?
But when you are being copied , somehow you know that you have made IT! Meaning that you've done something impressing and make others people want to do the same too.
See all the FAKE designer bags? That means the designer has MADE it... it is a form of "compliment"
"oooh I've been copied means my designs are cool."
Fake bags or the "Replica" is suppose to mean to look like the real one, but it doenst have the same quality like the Real Deal.
Have you spot the so called " desinger inspired bags" ? These kind of bag will not copy the real deal 100%. If you look at it carefully it might spelled "PLADA" instead of PRADA. Or GUSSI instead of GUCCI. Or maybe there stars on the logo got one less point?
Fake or not fake or real or not real , you decide!beside it is just a bag....!!!
But do you want to be a fake person too? Now that is the real question....
oh I must go now.... with my LV bag,,,,, real or fake? You can be the judge... :)
but me as person? I am the real deal :)
Have a great week a head!!
What 's seperate them? Or is " inspired " is the new word for "copy cat?" And where does our intregity, our individual uniqueness go to?
If someone said that they are inspired by someone or something and do exactly the same like the person he or she is inspired with? If I said I am inspired by a mom who homeshooled 5 children, does it mean I need to have 5 kids of my own?
Inspire is to affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence..
Influence..... yes we will receive many of influence in our life. But that doesn't mean to copy 100 % ( erhm or 75%) of what other have done. If one person sells bread in front of the school main gate and I am inspired by tha and also sell bread in front of the side gate, would you consider that as inspired?
But when you are being copied , somehow you know that you have made IT! Meaning that you've done something impressing and make others people want to do the same too.
See all the FAKE designer bags? That means the designer has MADE it... it is a form of "compliment"
"oooh I've been copied means my designs are cool."
Fake bags or the "Replica" is suppose to mean to look like the real one, but it doenst have the same quality like the Real Deal.
Have you spot the so called " desinger inspired bags" ? These kind of bag will not copy the real deal 100%. If you look at it carefully it might spelled "PLADA" instead of PRADA. Or GUSSI instead of GUCCI. Or maybe there stars on the logo got one less point?
Fake or not fake or real or not real , you decide!beside it is just a bag....!!!
But do you want to be a fake person too? Now that is the real question....
oh I must go now.... with my LV bag,,,,, real or fake? You can be the judge... :)
but me as person? I am the real deal :)
Have a great week a head!!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Homeschooling life
I just started for 2 weeks. So I am the bean sprout ( Tao Ge so and not Tao Ke so) , so tiny, weak, blur, not sure where to go, what to do..... and yet I enjoy it ( at least until now haha) . I think with HS my life and Indy's life will be more " interesting" and unusual. And I still want to have my social life going on. So I will need to work on that.
I m not the most social person here, but I would love to meet a friend or two at least once a week over coffee or lunch, or do my nails ( oh I think I saw one nail saloon in my neighborhood so yipee to that)
Yesterday was the first HS meeting for my area of the town . There are 3 HS supporting group here. 2 on the other side of the city ( one is for younger kids and one is for older one) and there is one on my side of the city. They are mostly Americans with one or 2 British families and one from New Zealand and Canada too.
They've been very welcoming and supporting . And I am sure I will have tons of questions to them. Some are " veteran" in HS. They homeschooled since forever. And one mom homeschooled 5 kids ! YUP 5!!...
So that is inspiring to me . Very inspiring indeed! I was like a lazy potatoes comparing to them. They are the true super moms. I need to send Maya to pre school, so I can concentrate to HS Indy peacefully. But the good thing is that , well, I think they don't judge me for that. There are other moms too with same situation with me, and need to send the youngest one to pre school. I've been very honest to them and told them that two kids at home is too much for me at the moment, with the changes of everything and HS thing. I just couldn't handle that much at the moment, so the best solution is to send Maya to preschool. And they said if that best for me than I should do that.No preaching.
The group meeting is once a month.2 hours. The first our is the parents section while the children will enjoy an hour of sport with a coach. Then the next hour is for the kids' activities. Mainly they will have some theme . Like this time was "show and tell" where the children show an item or two, can be anything. Some show a new digital camera, their lego, buggy board, t-shirt, Indy show her telescope. The next meeting will be for Chinese New Year theme I guess.
The group main purpose is to give encouragement and support to HS parents . And also to share about where to buy things like books, art supplies, and also do co op for buying bulk for books, and find contact and information about where to find certain activities ( piano lesson, mandarin class, art n craft etc). They will arrange field trips in Spring , parties, and other activities. I think it is great, to not to feel left out of social life just because they are homeschooled.
Oh and don't think that the HS moms have no life, They are still active in bible study, going to gym , doing grocerries and looking great. I wonder how will I do that ? hmm.......
And for Indy's age group, soon there will organize a weekly meeting based, to do some science project as group, or just outdoor activities, or even art and craft sessions. And all are based on parents contributions and ideas. We still need to talk and plan for this one. And Im thinking if I can find on how to make stimulation of Volcano's erruption from used paper over the internet, that would be fun !! :)
Right now , we are a bit too late to join any class . But in March Indy would love to join some sport's group ( she got Trampoline and Multisports or Gymastic in her mind) , I offered her to join ballet class but she refused. I also asked her if she 'd like to join Fine Art class or Design and Technology class, to my surprise she choose the design and tech over fine art! This will also start in March ( due to the CNY holiday and we were late to register so better to wait) . The class sound very interesting , they will make 2 projects on each term ( 8 weeks) and they will make Plane( that can fly I think) and Castle ( with tiny details like lights,crane, well etc) so actually it is Science based but in a fun way ! Sounds pretty fun to me!
Right now im still finding our way to do HS that will work best for me and Indy. Balancing time for fun ( and blogging and facebooking too) .
wis me lak
I m not the most social person here, but I would love to meet a friend or two at least once a week over coffee or lunch, or do my nails ( oh I think I saw one nail saloon in my neighborhood so yipee to that)
Yesterday was the first HS meeting for my area of the town . There are 3 HS supporting group here. 2 on the other side of the city ( one is for younger kids and one is for older one) and there is one on my side of the city. They are mostly Americans with one or 2 British families and one from New Zealand and Canada too.
They've been very welcoming and supporting . And I am sure I will have tons of questions to them. Some are " veteran" in HS. They homeschooled since forever. And one mom homeschooled 5 kids ! YUP 5!!...
So that is inspiring to me . Very inspiring indeed! I was like a lazy potatoes comparing to them. They are the true super moms. I need to send Maya to pre school, so I can concentrate to HS Indy peacefully. But the good thing is that , well, I think they don't judge me for that. There are other moms too with same situation with me, and need to send the youngest one to pre school. I've been very honest to them and told them that two kids at home is too much for me at the moment, with the changes of everything and HS thing. I just couldn't handle that much at the moment, so the best solution is to send Maya to preschool. And they said if that best for me than I should do that.No preaching.
The group meeting is once a month.2 hours. The first our is the parents section while the children will enjoy an hour of sport with a coach. Then the next hour is for the kids' activities. Mainly they will have some theme . Like this time was "show and tell" where the children show an item or two, can be anything. Some show a new digital camera, their lego, buggy board, t-shirt, Indy show her telescope. The next meeting will be for Chinese New Year theme I guess.
The group main purpose is to give encouragement and support to HS parents . And also to share about where to buy things like books, art supplies, and also do co op for buying bulk for books, and find contact and information about where to find certain activities ( piano lesson, mandarin class, art n craft etc). They will arrange field trips in Spring , parties, and other activities. I think it is great, to not to feel left out of social life just because they are homeschooled.
Oh and don't think that the HS moms have no life, They are still active in bible study, going to gym , doing grocerries and looking great. I wonder how will I do that ? hmm.......
And for Indy's age group, soon there will organize a weekly meeting based, to do some science project as group, or just outdoor activities, or even art and craft sessions. And all are based on parents contributions and ideas. We still need to talk and plan for this one. And Im thinking if I can find on how to make stimulation of Volcano's erruption from used paper over the internet, that would be fun !! :)
Right now , we are a bit too late to join any class . But in March Indy would love to join some sport's group ( she got Trampoline and Multisports or Gymastic in her mind) , I offered her to join ballet class but she refused. I also asked her if she 'd like to join Fine Art class or Design and Technology class, to my surprise she choose the design and tech over fine art! This will also start in March ( due to the CNY holiday and we were late to register so better to wait) . The class sound very interesting , they will make 2 projects on each term ( 8 weeks) and they will make Plane( that can fly I think) and Castle ( with tiny details like lights,crane, well etc) so actually it is Science based but in a fun way ! Sounds pretty fun to me!
Right now im still finding our way to do HS that will work best for me and Indy. Balancing time for fun ( and blogging and facebooking too) .
wis me lak
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Friendship
Happiness keep you sweet
Trials keep you strong
Sorrows keep you human
Failures keep you humble
Success keeps you glowing
But Only Friends will keep you GOING!!
I think this is great reminder for us. No matter how great , how beautiful , how great, how strong, how popular, how successful and how rich we are... It means nothing without friendship. Share our life, our sorrow, our failures, our views, our success , our heart with friends.
Teach your children to be a good friend, let them explore , they might meet somebody that is not right or somebody that is not perfect sometimes. But from their experience to make friends ( either the failure or the success ) they will be a better friend in life. Let them see beyond the boundaries, don't let race, religion, social status be barriers.
We all been here, happy, sad, sorrow, failures,success.... but when all of these happen to you, it will be more meaningful if you share it with friends. Share your success and happiness with friends will even make it sweeter, share your sorrows and failures with friends will make it lighter.
But friendship needs to be" nourished" , if you just let it alone, it might fade someday. Keep in touch personally is not that hard . Say hi with a chat over the internet, sms or email. It is just a click away ! :)
Have you contact or call one of your friend today? you might brighten up somebody's else day and it will make your day too!!
Cheers!
Trials keep you strong
Sorrows keep you human
Failures keep you humble
Success keeps you glowing
But Only Friends will keep you GOING!!
I think this is great reminder for us. No matter how great , how beautiful , how great, how strong, how popular, how successful and how rich we are... It means nothing without friendship. Share our life, our sorrow, our failures, our views, our success , our heart with friends.
Teach your children to be a good friend, let them explore , they might meet somebody that is not right or somebody that is not perfect sometimes. But from their experience to make friends ( either the failure or the success ) they will be a better friend in life. Let them see beyond the boundaries, don't let race, religion, social status be barriers.
We all been here, happy, sad, sorrow, failures,success.... but when all of these happen to you, it will be more meaningful if you share it with friends. Share your success and happiness with friends will even make it sweeter, share your sorrows and failures with friends will make it lighter.
But friendship needs to be" nourished" , if you just let it alone, it might fade someday. Keep in touch personally is not that hard . Say hi with a chat over the internet, sms or email. It is just a click away ! :)
Have you contact or call one of your friend today? you might brighten up somebody's else day and it will make your day too!!
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Just to share....
Enough with our updates for the moment . My blog will be more than our updates. :0) later you all will be bored with our updates :)
Well I also want to share about what I see in life and beyond who knows it might be useful for others.Right now I am in the middle of changes. I will not say it is a big change. But a medium one.When I first came to Shanghai back in 2001, it was much harder. I didn't speak or read or write and I didn't know a single soul.
This time, at least , I can speak, and read a bit. And it helps A LOT! I also know more or less about the city.And I still have friends here, and thanks to facebook and online chat we are still in a good contact with each other.
Some times we always try to fit in to the society. Try to be liked by most of the people. We create our " image" for others to see. Our ego is taking control.
I never try to fit in to any society. Since I was young I know what I want, and I never be the followers. I mean if I like it I willl follow, But I will not choose or doing something I was not sure about just to FIT IN.
In College years, almost all of my friends are smokers. I could be one too. But I know clearly what I want, and I did not try to be accepted in their group by being a smoker. Untill this day I never smoke and happy with it but I got no problem with those who does.
Since I was young , I know my limitation and expectation quite clearly. I know I can't work sit in the offfice from 9 to 5 or do "paper"job. I like job that allows me to meet people, interact with people and allows me to travel. That is why I choose to study in Hotel and Restaurant Management. I knew excatly what kind of man I would marry one day. I can't have a 'static" life, where my husband will just sit in front of TV during his off or holiday or just take me to malls and malls. I just couldn't. I know I want someone exciting, some one adventurous, spontanious,some one that can challange me, some one that can say no to me instead of yes all the time.And I also know, when I want to do something, I will do it if I have the passion for it.
Right now , most of people we know here are stunned with our decisions to home schooled Indy. And I got plenty of "blank faces" responds :). It is less travelled road we've choosen, so the reactions are "normal". Just like when I started to Cloth Diapered Maya or breastfeed my girls until they were over 2 years old .But then again, I am not always a crowd follower, so I am used to this reaction.
Most of the time, I try to concentrate of what I am doing . Like when I run my online store, I know enough about other online stores, but I m not " obssesed" to the details or what they are up to, or what is the latest " blog wars" etc. I do what I need to do .And let others to comment what they like, it is their rights to do so.
" A thoroughbred horse never looks at the other horses. It just concentrates on running the fastest race it can"
I never think if I have more or less than others in life. I am content whith what I have.
And I never allow my self to have a big ego , because big ego never bring you any where but downhill. Never think you are a big fish in a small pond, because when you think like that, you will drown and lost once you move to the ocean and see the real big fish there. We will never learn anything positive if we keep thinking that we are better than other people.
Changes is not always easy but if we are sure about ourselves and know what we want in life , I am sure we can handle it gracefuly.Trying to fit in is not always needed. Love yourself, be your self and don't care too much with what other think.
Well I also want to share about what I see in life and beyond who knows it might be useful for others.Right now I am in the middle of changes. I will not say it is a big change. But a medium one.When I first came to Shanghai back in 2001, it was much harder. I didn't speak or read or write and I didn't know a single soul.
This time, at least , I can speak, and read a bit. And it helps A LOT! I also know more or less about the city.And I still have friends here, and thanks to facebook and online chat we are still in a good contact with each other.
Some times we always try to fit in to the society. Try to be liked by most of the people. We create our " image" for others to see. Our ego is taking control.
I never try to fit in to any society. Since I was young I know what I want, and I never be the followers. I mean if I like it I willl follow, But I will not choose or doing something I was not sure about just to FIT IN.
In College years, almost all of my friends are smokers. I could be one too. But I know clearly what I want, and I did not try to be accepted in their group by being a smoker. Untill this day I never smoke and happy with it but I got no problem with those who does.
Since I was young , I know my limitation and expectation quite clearly. I know I can't work sit in the offfice from 9 to 5 or do "paper"job. I like job that allows me to meet people, interact with people and allows me to travel. That is why I choose to study in Hotel and Restaurant Management. I knew excatly what kind of man I would marry one day. I can't have a 'static" life, where my husband will just sit in front of TV during his off or holiday or just take me to malls and malls. I just couldn't. I know I want someone exciting, some one adventurous, spontanious,some one that can challange me, some one that can say no to me instead of yes all the time.And I also know, when I want to do something, I will do it if I have the passion for it.
Right now , most of people we know here are stunned with our decisions to home schooled Indy. And I got plenty of "blank faces" responds :). It is less travelled road we've choosen, so the reactions are "normal". Just like when I started to Cloth Diapered Maya or breastfeed my girls until they were over 2 years old .But then again, I am not always a crowd follower, so I am used to this reaction.
Most of the time, I try to concentrate of what I am doing . Like when I run my online store, I know enough about other online stores, but I m not " obssesed" to the details or what they are up to, or what is the latest " blog wars" etc. I do what I need to do .And let others to comment what they like, it is their rights to do so.
" A thoroughbred horse never looks at the other horses. It just concentrates on running the fastest race it can"
I never think if I have more or less than others in life. I am content whith what I have.
And I never allow my self to have a big ego , because big ego never bring you any where but downhill. Never think you are a big fish in a small pond, because when you think like that, you will drown and lost once you move to the ocean and see the real big fish there. We will never learn anything positive if we keep thinking that we are better than other people.
Changes is not always easy but if we are sure about ourselves and know what we want in life , I am sure we can handle it gracefuly.Trying to fit in is not always needed. Love yourself, be your self and don't care too much with what other think.
Image is what people think we are but Integriy is what we really are
I choose Integrity over Image, how about you?
Monday, January 4, 2010
To learn is to change
We are finally in the new house, but our container is still in KK. The house is great, has plenty of storage and since this is a duplex unit, it has 2 floors, we are on the top floor of the building , the 11th floor, and the compound has about 25-30 towers.
It is not in the donwtown , can be considered as the suburb, some said to live in this are like not living in China at all, because we are in the new area. The house still feel " foreign " to me, as I always need my old stuffs to make me feel at home. Right now we are using new bedsheet, new plates, new glasses, new this and that. I will need my old bedsheet, old pillowcases, old plates, my old coffee cups ( that hosted many tea time in our home at KK and some of you drank many times from that cups!! :P )
Anyway... we are on "trial" day today, I started the first day of homeschooled Indy. I can't say It runs perfectly today. With new routine, new maid, new house, new place, plus Maya is home..
Everything is different.
But to learn is to change.. and I m willing to change my routine, and change my schedule. Maybe this is the opportunity for me to re discover something about my self that I didn't know before.I am not sure what I will achieve or when. But it is not only the mountain we will need to conquer but ourselves.
Part of that, I also found the school for Maya today. But will only start after Chinese New Year, it will be in Mandarin and no English. :) I am not sure how she will cope, but I have faith in that wild spirited girl . :)
We have met some old friends, get in touch by phone. And maybe we will meet one of the Shanghai homeschooler family this week . The girls had their first playdate here, and saw snow for the first time too.
Some how they still miss KK so very much , specially Maya, she still cry when she remember her Kakak Helen in KK. Poor girl and poor woman. They both cried so loud on the phone the other night. Their bonding is very tight and special, and I feel blessed to be able to witness such a great love from 2 strangers at the begining . It is great to know such a great love does exist!!And I will be forever grateful to my maid in KK for her amount of loves she give to my kids. And I will keep in touch with her no matter what.
In this foreign land some how people are more welcoming , at least in the beginning compare to the first time when we just arrived in KK. No one cares, the company didn't even care or welcoming us. The only family that made me feel welcome is Indy's best friend family from Burma. They helped and guide me from choosing school and hospital, where to buy some stuffs and all.But of course once I got to know more friends ( like you) I feel like at home and got some great tips about the city or where to shop!! :)
My husband colleagues are nice enough to hosted a small but nice Christmas party to welcome us to Shanghai.
The thought it self is very heart warming.
That's it for today... I will try to upload photos for next update. Right now I am using my netbook and it is so slow....
Take care and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010
LOVE from all of us!!
It is not in the donwtown , can be considered as the suburb, some said to live in this are like not living in China at all, because we are in the new area. The house still feel " foreign " to me, as I always need my old stuffs to make me feel at home. Right now we are using new bedsheet, new plates, new glasses, new this and that. I will need my old bedsheet, old pillowcases, old plates, my old coffee cups ( that hosted many tea time in our home at KK and some of you drank many times from that cups!! :P )
Anyway... we are on "trial" day today, I started the first day of homeschooled Indy. I can't say It runs perfectly today. With new routine, new maid, new house, new place, plus Maya is home..
Everything is different.
But to learn is to change.. and I m willing to change my routine, and change my schedule. Maybe this is the opportunity for me to re discover something about my self that I didn't know before.I am not sure what I will achieve or when. But it is not only the mountain we will need to conquer but ourselves.
Part of that, I also found the school for Maya today. But will only start after Chinese New Year, it will be in Mandarin and no English. :) I am not sure how she will cope, but I have faith in that wild spirited girl . :)
We have met some old friends, get in touch by phone. And maybe we will meet one of the Shanghai homeschooler family this week . The girls had their first playdate here, and saw snow for the first time too.
Some how they still miss KK so very much , specially Maya, she still cry when she remember her Kakak Helen in KK. Poor girl and poor woman. They both cried so loud on the phone the other night. Their bonding is very tight and special, and I feel blessed to be able to witness such a great love from 2 strangers at the begining . It is great to know such a great love does exist!!And I will be forever grateful to my maid in KK for her amount of loves she give to my kids. And I will keep in touch with her no matter what.
In this foreign land some how people are more welcoming , at least in the beginning compare to the first time when we just arrived in KK. No one cares, the company didn't even care or welcoming us. The only family that made me feel welcome is Indy's best friend family from Burma. They helped and guide me from choosing school and hospital, where to buy some stuffs and all.But of course once I got to know more friends ( like you) I feel like at home and got some great tips about the city or where to shop!! :)
My husband colleagues are nice enough to hosted a small but nice Christmas party to welcome us to Shanghai.
The thought it self is very heart warming.
That's it for today... I will try to upload photos for next update. Right now I am using my netbook and it is so slow....
Take care and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010
LOVE from all of us!!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Our updates
So we left KK on Saturday the 19th December 2009, that was my dad's birthday. To think of it, life is funny and full of surprises. Exactly 5 years ago on the same date, we were in Shanghai for a short holiday, celebrating my dad's and my niece b'day in Shanghai ( my niece Abby's b'day is on the 20th of December) . And we just moved to Guangzhou on October that year , but we visited Shanghai for a short trip with my dad and my eldest sis and her family,
And yet , here we are again 5 years later , we are going back to the same city on the same date.
The trip was smooth sailing. There was an hour delay from KK to KL . But overall all were good. The departure from KK is heart breaking , specially to see Indiana's friends started to cry. This is the first time that actually people are crying for us. It made us feel weird, and guilty and bad all together. Indy told me on the way to the airport, after she shed a bit of tears that she feel sorry that she made her friends sad. And when I asked her : are you sad? She said a bit but she is more worry that she will forget them . I told her, no she won't forget them because we will still be in touch and think about them. And that made calmed her down.
As for Maya it is sad to watched her cried to say good bye to her kakak, our maid. Our maid cried and cried and it was a heart breaking thing to see.
We stayed one night in Concorde KLIA. Thank goodness makcik Taty picked us with her beloved husband and my anak angkat , :). We chatted and talked and laughed. And of course cursing each other as usual. I am glad she stayed with me in the hotel, and early next day, her dh picked us again and send us to the airport. No tears here, all were good. Planned are made,.. we will see each other in Shanghai. :). And hopefully" the beq and the tet "will conquer the Great wall of china together!!
Back to us,at first I was more worry for Indy , but it looks like she is doing very fine. She adjusting like a pro ( she is a pro after all, this is her 3 moves ) But for Maya it is hard for her to understand as this is her first move , for her KK is her home, KK is her town, and she is still thinking that we are on holiday and we gonna move back to KK soon. :( I told her we are not going back, she is insist : I want to go to KK! I said we will but not that soon
Every thing is big and fast in Shanghai. As for me, I don't need any adjustment ( except for the weather wise, when we arrived it was minus 3 ) I lived here before, love the city and still loving it, but every thing has it pro and con, so right now I m trying to focus on the pro rather than the con. But I miss my Astro and E! channel badly though.
And to my own surprise my mandarin level is not as bad as I thought either! Hah! that is something really good at least. I can manage daily conversation and needs.
The unfortunate thing is when we arrived my dh was sick for 3 days, with high fever , I almost never see him this sick before. And I m worry we might get it as well. Finger cross....every one looks ok until today.
Due to his sickness we must delay our medical check up for the Residence permit to the next week.
I managed to see some apartments, and by now I just signed the leasing contract. We found a good place for us, will post the pick when we move in soon. But we need to wait more than one month to get our container, so no unpacking will need to be done soon.
Speaking of unpacking.. today I got a maid, she looks ok, and the kids like her too. And that is important.
I interview a few by phone and even met some of them. No one sounds or appear "suitable". And most of them asking for about rmb 2500 so that is about RM 1250 to 1500. That is a high salary, but that is the market price. Our maid now just arrive from her hometown , but she worked in Shanghai before, there fore her pay is slightly lower that the normal market price.
Oh and everything is much much cheaper here. And guess what, I bought a sweater in ROXY warisan square, on 50% disc. I thought I scored a good deal ( rm 100) yeah right! When I went to Carrefour herehere, I saw the identical sweater for half price! GRRRR.... and of course without the brand and all but it is the same thing. Welcome to China!
The girls spent their Christmas here . We still stay in our friend's house. So Santa is not visiting this year. But they got 2 presents from us. For Indy she got her long waited Telescope. She wants to learn more about stars and moon and planet. And I bought her the virtual dog game too .
As for Maya she got one remote control shovel machine ( she likes to see when people building the houses and building in KK) and she got a 3 wheels scooter to replace her old scooter that we left in KK .
And I got my suede with inner fleece boots that I've been eyeing for months. It is super comfy , super warm and the sole has a great grip . Love it.
Oh the girls have no problem with the cold, Maya often walk bare footed inside the house's freezing floor. I keep yelling at her to put her home shoes. They still taking bath twice a day. But when we go out, I make sure they are well dressed. 3 top and for bottom they must put a long socks and long pants.
So far so good. The lowest temperature is -5 so far, and when the wind blows it feels like someone slapping your cheek.
Overall we are doing good here. By next week we will move to our new house. Not yet a home until we will get our belongings from the cargo. And no Wifi yet in the new house, so I must use modem ( banging my head for not packing the router in my luggage)
I will not post the photo here. I m running out of time, But you can see some photos on my FB's badge on the right side :)
Merry Christmas everyone and have a Great Year a head!!!
And yet , here we are again 5 years later , we are going back to the same city on the same date.
The trip was smooth sailing. There was an hour delay from KK to KL . But overall all were good. The departure from KK is heart breaking , specially to see Indiana's friends started to cry. This is the first time that actually people are crying for us. It made us feel weird, and guilty and bad all together. Indy told me on the way to the airport, after she shed a bit of tears that she feel sorry that she made her friends sad. And when I asked her : are you sad? She said a bit but she is more worry that she will forget them . I told her, no she won't forget them because we will still be in touch and think about them. And that made calmed her down.
As for Maya it is sad to watched her cried to say good bye to her kakak, our maid. Our maid cried and cried and it was a heart breaking thing to see.
We stayed one night in Concorde KLIA. Thank goodness makcik Taty picked us with her beloved husband and my anak angkat , :). We chatted and talked and laughed. And of course cursing each other as usual. I am glad she stayed with me in the hotel, and early next day, her dh picked us again and send us to the airport. No tears here, all were good. Planned are made,.. we will see each other in Shanghai. :). And hopefully" the beq and the tet "will conquer the Great wall of china together!!
Back to us,at first I was more worry for Indy , but it looks like she is doing very fine. She adjusting like a pro ( she is a pro after all, this is her 3 moves ) But for Maya it is hard for her to understand as this is her first move , for her KK is her home, KK is her town, and she is still thinking that we are on holiday and we gonna move back to KK soon. :( I told her we are not going back, she is insist : I want to go to KK! I said we will but not that soon
Every thing is big and fast in Shanghai. As for me, I don't need any adjustment ( except for the weather wise, when we arrived it was minus 3 ) I lived here before, love the city and still loving it, but every thing has it pro and con, so right now I m trying to focus on the pro rather than the con. But I miss my Astro and E! channel badly though.
And to my own surprise my mandarin level is not as bad as I thought either! Hah! that is something really good at least. I can manage daily conversation and needs.
The unfortunate thing is when we arrived my dh was sick for 3 days, with high fever , I almost never see him this sick before. And I m worry we might get it as well. Finger cross....every one looks ok until today.
Due to his sickness we must delay our medical check up for the Residence permit to the next week.
I managed to see some apartments, and by now I just signed the leasing contract. We found a good place for us, will post the pick when we move in soon. But we need to wait more than one month to get our container, so no unpacking will need to be done soon.
Speaking of unpacking.. today I got a maid, she looks ok, and the kids like her too. And that is important.
I interview a few by phone and even met some of them. No one sounds or appear "suitable". And most of them asking for about rmb 2500 so that is about RM 1250 to 1500. That is a high salary, but that is the market price. Our maid now just arrive from her hometown , but she worked in Shanghai before, there fore her pay is slightly lower that the normal market price.
Oh and everything is much much cheaper here. And guess what, I bought a sweater in ROXY warisan square, on 50% disc. I thought I scored a good deal ( rm 100) yeah right! When I went to Carrefour herehere, I saw the identical sweater for half price! GRRRR.... and of course without the brand and all but it is the same thing. Welcome to China!
The girls spent their Christmas here . We still stay in our friend's house. So Santa is not visiting this year. But they got 2 presents from us. For Indy she got her long waited Telescope. She wants to learn more about stars and moon and planet. And I bought her the virtual dog game too .
As for Maya she got one remote control shovel machine ( she likes to see when people building the houses and building in KK) and she got a 3 wheels scooter to replace her old scooter that we left in KK .
And I got my suede with inner fleece boots that I've been eyeing for months. It is super comfy , super warm and the sole has a great grip . Love it.
Oh the girls have no problem with the cold, Maya often walk bare footed inside the house's freezing floor. I keep yelling at her to put her home shoes. They still taking bath twice a day. But when we go out, I make sure they are well dressed. 3 top and for bottom they must put a long socks and long pants.
So far so good. The lowest temperature is -5 so far, and when the wind blows it feels like someone slapping your cheek.
Overall we are doing good here. By next week we will move to our new house. Not yet a home until we will get our belongings from the cargo. And no Wifi yet in the new house, so I must use modem ( banging my head for not packing the router in my luggage)
I will not post the photo here. I m running out of time, But you can see some photos on my FB's badge on the right side :)
Merry Christmas everyone and have a Great Year a head!!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
No Boundaries
So the times has come. We will leave the country soon. This is the last post from Malaysia using my PC at home :) . Next post hopefully will be soon ( mobile blogging ). After we arrive in Shanghai, it will be depends on how fast I can get my new China Mobile numbers and if I can use the GPRS or 3G service soon.
The makciks being so kind to arrange pot luck lunch for me. I think it suppose to be some kind of surprise, but , I kind of know it. :P So sorry if I was not that surprise ... got six sense mah. :) But I didn't expect any gift at all. So I really appreciate for all the effort and time ( I know it is hard to make it happen as you all are busy moms )
So all are packed by now. Our dogs will be adopted with a same person, so they will stay together. That is a relieve for us, and the new owner , a friend , will also update us with their pics. That is what my girls want to know.
The heartbreaking part for them ( specially Maya) is to say good bye to our maid. For her , she is like a closed grandma figure , old and kind. And I know, my maid will cry a lot too. sigh.....
But again, love , family and friendship has no boundaries !
Thank you to you all and to this city ,who and which is already being a part of my children's childhood memories, being our friends,and being a place that my children will remember the most.
Until we meet again..... sure will visit back ! ^_^
Ta daa......
The makciks being so kind to arrange pot luck lunch for me. I think it suppose to be some kind of surprise, but , I kind of know it. :P So sorry if I was not that surprise ... got six sense mah. :) But I didn't expect any gift at all. So I really appreciate for all the effort and time ( I know it is hard to make it happen as you all are busy moms )
So all are packed by now. Our dogs will be adopted with a same person, so they will stay together. That is a relieve for us, and the new owner , a friend , will also update us with their pics. That is what my girls want to know.
The heartbreaking part for them ( specially Maya) is to say good bye to our maid. For her , she is like a closed grandma figure , old and kind. And I know, my maid will cry a lot too. sigh.....
But again, love , family and friendship has no boundaries !
Thank you to you all and to this city ,who and which is already being a part of my children's childhood memories, being our friends,and being a place that my children will remember the most.
Until we meet again..... sure will visit back ! ^_^
Ta daa......
You can go higher
You can go deeper
There are no boundaries
Above and beneath you
Break every rules , coz there are nothing between you and your dreams
Jumped every bridge, I've run every line
I risk being safe, I always knew why
So here I am still holding on
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