We are surviving!!

Ni hao!!! Hope this finds all of you well. Most of you should be fast asleep while I type this update.

After saying "so long" to my parents (one of the hardest things I have done), we boarded our plane for our long flight! The kids did an AMAZING job for 14 hours! (Zipper did great too!) Each seat on the plane has their own Tv screen with on demand . They had movies, TV shows and games to play. The boys never even really played their DS's. It was nice that we all could watch our own shows. Patrick curled up with his doggy around 11 and slept for about six hours. Nick slept only a couple of hours. Natalie slept but across Greg and I as that was the only way she could get comfortable. So that meant very little sleep for the two of us. I really am impressed at how well they did!!

Our first day was spent unpacking and hanging out. Around 4 we turned the TV on and we all ended up falling asleep in our bed. The jet lag caught up with us! We had the hardest time waking the kids for dinner and we were back in bed for the night all of us around 8 pm.

Yesterday the 3rd, we went into town for some lunch and then we went to some shops. It was like the mall the day before Christmas, but Greg says it is that way all the time! You pretty much can get anything you want here. You pay more for the imported stuff, but they also have a Chinese version of most things. Greg had many things in the cupboards for us...many comfort foods such as Oreos and Cheetos. We opened the Cheetos last night and they were not regular looking Cheetos (bright orange). They were pale in color and just gross looking. Well I tried one and apparently they are turkey flavored...YUM.....not!

While we were out we got a lot of stares. We were told that many Chinese (especially the elder ) will be fascinated by Americans. They see them on TV but never in real life. Natalie was "petted" a few times. She handled it very well. I had one little old lady talking to me a mile a minute and smiling. Have NO clue what she said!

Today I had to go for my physical for my residency permit. In 45 minutes, I had blood taken, an EKG, a chest Xray, an ultrasound, an eye exam, blood pressure taken and filled out paperwork. It was very interesting! I felt a bit like cattle as they moved you from room to room in a very organized fashion.

Greg went back to work today. He has been wonderful trying to take care of us and our needs and still do his job after being gone for almost three weeks. The launch has hit many bumps and he is being pulled in many different directions, but he is a handling it. He is a rock and I am really proud of him.

The kids and I went to their school to get their uniforms . The school was quiet as they do not start until the 9th. The boys looked around a bit and they were excited with what they saw. They had a huge map display of the world and then pictures of all the kids that attend SCIS and where they are from. My kids will be going to school with kids from all over the world! I think that is just amazing!

Well I guess that is it for now. Our AYI starts tomorrow. This will be the person that helps with housework and eventually will also act as a nanny. I am a bit nervous about having a woman in the house who speaks very little English. Not sure how we will communicate. I guess a lot of hand gestures and pointing!!