10 Things I Forgot About China...and surely more to come

It has occurred to me in the last few weeks...I suppose almost 4 now...that our return to China has resurfaced many forgotten memories, and I have even learned a few things I never knew! It has been almost 7 years since we lived here, and then we were newlyweds without children. (Aren't we still newlyweds, honey?) So the memory grows rusty over time, and I have had some fun and not-so-fun awakenings.

10. I forgot about the air quality. Before we left, we bought the new Lonely Planet China guide, updated May 2007. One comment says "the air quality in major cities is like smoking 70 cigarettes a day." I read this before we came and I thought "surely, they are joking." No, they were not. Today as we were walking outside, Kathryn asked me, "Mommy, what is that ball in the sky?" "That's the sun, honey." The haze had so obscured the rays that you couldn't even tell it was the sun. Which leads me to...

9. I forgot about cloud-seeding. I used to think this is a myth. Then I believed it but I was critical. Now I'm just so grateful that some farmer out in the nearby countryside shoots who-knows-what kind of chemicals up into the clouds to make it rain and clear the air for a day or two!

8. So I also forgot about the joy of seeing a sunset in this place. The simple pleasure of a pinkish-purply sky as the sun goes down goes a long way.

7. I didn't know that IKEA isn't standard in all countries. Can I buy some stock in this store? This business does gang-busters in every Asian location I have ever seen. But IKEA in China doesn't carry the same stuff as the IKEA in Singapore or Dallas. That has advantages and disadvantages. You can get a nice sofa for $200 US, but you might not find much if you are trying to match what you bought in Singapore! (But if you bought something to hang on the wall and pay for them to install it, then be sure you don't forget to buy your nails too, because they won't have any when the arrive)!

6. I forgot about washing fruits and veggies. My roommate and I several years ago used a purple solution of potassium permanganate (KMNO3, if I remember right) to wash our fruits and veggies. I never knew what it did exactly, but it seems most here use a little bleach or just soapy water. Why the need for this? Broccoli friends. A week ago I cooked spaghetti and broccoli, and I was adamant about eating the broccoli because it had been days without produce. K & I ate a healthy helping, and Ellie, as usual, sat with her pouty face staring at the task before her. As I was helping her put a piece on her fork, I looked closer and noticed a tiny little worm. Then I looked down at the rest of her helping, and I saw all of his buddies. Then I looked in the pot, and there was his entire extended family and their friends too. Ellie got a "get out of jail free" card, I wisked the broccoli away, and served ice cream instead!

5. Drop your to-do list: I forgot how long it takes to accomplish things here. You may think "Go buy groceries, run over to the phone place to connect the internet, call the fix-it man to install the light fixtures...maybe fit in a trip to the meat market after naptime..." Scratch that, write it again. "Buy groceries." That is enough for one day. Slowing down isn't always such a bad thing.

4. I didn't know that although VISA boasts 200,000 user-friendly locations world-wide, almost all of our local stores aren't among them. You can get cash from a decent amount of ATM's, though, but be sure you alert VISA before you travel, or they may consider your transaction of "suspicious activity"and shut down your account. Better not have this happen on a Saturday or it will be Mon am US time before you can get more money!

3. I forgot that logic is geographically defined. Two examples. #1: I bought a new bathtub for our bathroom. It was to be delivered the next day. The delivery guy calls from downstairs and says "Your tub is here." "Great, bring it up", I say. "No, we don't deliver to your door. Just to your building. If you want it to be delivered to your door, that will be another fee." Did you know that the fee to send it up the elevator is the same fee you pay to bring it all the way from the store to your building?? Baffling. #2: At the bakery, my friend asked the lady, "Is this coconut bread?" "Yes, it is." She bought a loaf and we all began sampling it. It was sweet, but... no coconut. My friend walked back in and said "You said this is coconut bread, but there's no coconut in it...?" The lady responded, "But it's so cheap!"

2. I forgot what it was like to care for children here. Wait-- this is my first time! No wonder I'm so tired! Living in China single, and then married without kids, was much, much different. But sometimes their reminders are exactly what I need...

1. I sometimes even forget that God lives in China. Well, I suppose I just never thought of it quite like that. Kathryn came up to me relating a conversation she'd had with a new friend Alathia. She said "Mommy, God lives in China, doesn't he? I know He lives in Singapore, because he was with us there. And now that we moved to China, he lives here too, doesn't He?" A pretty significant 4-year-old application of "I will be with you wherever you go", don't you think? Out of the mouths of babes.