7 March 2011: The thaw is still a long way off!

7 March 2011

Greeting all!

I feel like I've been a slacker lately when it comes to writing updates...just over come by events I guess!  Thanks to everyone for continuing to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  We've been here almost a year now..my, how time flies when you're having fun...or at least really busy!

Rod and I are doing OK.  You may remember from last note that I had my passport stolen in Thailand when we were on vacation. Well, I finally have my new US passport in hand and am going tomorrow to get my new work visa application and I should be good for another year!

Today, it's 39F and sunny and will get down in the 20's tonight...Spring is on the way, but it's still a ways off!   Still some lingering ice on the ground and we're all still wearing leather coats..not like the weather in SC right now..no 70's for us yet!

Rod and I went out to my work construction site..things are starting to unthaw there too!

Storm water retention pond at the new plant site...not started yet!

Rod & Sarah at the entrance to the new site

this is the storm water retention pond at the new plant site. Notice the ice is still here!   Off in the far distance in orange steel is the beginnings of our plant.

This will be a big manufacturing plant when it's all said and done!  1st class Michelin tires for our Chinese market!

After kicking the dirt, we drove around a little and then stopped at a flea market..always interesting!

 Here are our pictures from the flea markets!

Cardboard recycling Chinese style

Sarah and her old Chinese basket

A Shenyang flea market...lots of people!

Cardboard recycling...pedal power!

Junk man...recycling for a living...The junk men walk up and down the streets hitting a pan on the handlebars to make noise and yell out

(sounds like a wolf call to me!) These guys have hard way to go...glad they do it, but not for me!  At the flea market, it's always interesting...always.  This time, I bought another old basket..OK, I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it, but I liked it...for those of you counting...this makes number 2...by the way, lots of people commented on my basket walking through the rest of the market...not sure it was because  they really liked it, or as a foreigner, I just looked so strange...either way, didn't matter...I got my basket!

So that's about all for today.  My travel schedule is pretty heaving starting mid March until Mid May...so updates may be a mixed bag over the next 2 months!

Take care yawl and keep those emails coming!

Sarah & Rod

28 Nov 2010: Fleamarket shopping and a trip to the flower market

28 Nov 2010

Greetings all from Cold and snowy Shenyang!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!  We shared a lovely Thanksgiving buffet with 2 other American couples, 2 French couples and 1 German couple...a very international day of Thanks!  We were and continue to be truly blessed!  We do have much for which to be grateful!  We hope that all of you enjoyed your time with family and friends...and that you didn't get too full!  It's kind of slim pickin's today for my update...it's turned winter here…more snow today, and cold!  Right now, outside, it's "light snow and 15F"…tomorrow the high will be 28F.  The long silk underwear I bought at LL Bean before coming here came out of the package yesterday, and it felt good!  Rod and I did manage to go to the market yesterday with some American friends…we all braved the cold and came back to the hotel and had a hot hamburger in the restaurant!  At the market today, I found a strange decorative item...it's probably the first "antique", I've bought in China.  My eye was first drawn to the shape of the basket, then to the things in it.  We thought they were some type of marshal art baton, but someone told us they were use to clean clothes in the river, then someone else told us they were used to beat out wrinkles in the sheets...neither function will they ever be used for in our house, but bought them, just as they were, basset, batons and all!

old basket and washing/ironing batons from the flea market

Chinese Bamboo/wicker basket with washing/ironing batons...cold day at the market!  You can also see the cabbage pots in the background...they were part of my 50th birthday present this year!

The other highlight of the trip was stopping at the flower market...this place was wonderful..1st floor was many cut flower shops, 2^nd floor was all house plants and orchids...the smell was wonderful walking in the door!  I wish I would have had my camera, and I thought I would go back up today to get a picture, but I just couldn't pry myself out of this warm apartment...maybe next week!  Anyway, Rod bought me a unique little flower arrangement…gotta love that guy!

Sarah with the heart box of flowers from the flower market

Sarah Miller just getting in from outside Shenyang with a fresh box of roses!  What a man I'm married to!!

This week, we're going to Shanghai on Tuesday.  I have a 3 day meeting, and Rod will go to meet some friends of friends.  I doubt we'll have a lot of time to sight-see...the meeting starts on Wednesday and is over on Friday, then we'll be flying back...hopefully I'll have enough time to at least go to the pearl market one night!!

Take care everyone and enjoy all the Pre-Christmas parties and keep those emails coming!!

Sarah & Rod

20 June 2010: Hair cut, buys at the dirt market and our new friend Daisy

20 June 2010 China Update

It's sunny, warm and very pleasant here today.  Since having a mid-week holiday, and knowing that I'll be flying out tomorrow evening to go to France, we didn't want to do anything big, so we have rested and relaxed!  

Yesterday, my big deal was going to get my hair cut.  One of the tough things about moving is you have to get new hair care, new doctors, new dentists...all of the personal care items.  So far, I haven't needed the Doctor, and I still plan on using a US dentist on trips back...but I had to get a new hair dresser.  Around the corner from the hotel, there is a hair place, so I decided to go..with Rod's prodding!  I went in, they greeted me, told me the price (68 Yuan...about $10.00) for a wash, cut and style.  I said OK, and this young man (looked like he couldn't have been over 14 to me!) took me back to was my hair.  The room was filled full of recliner spa type chairs with hair bowls attached.  I laid back, and he got my hair wet, shampooed it and gave me about a 15 minute scalp and neck message..I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  I came out of my trance and went to get my hair cut by another older man.  I'm guessing the young guy is an apprentice because he watched the entire time as the other man cut my hair.  Neither one spoke english...so I had to show how much I wanted off with my fingers...I'm not exactly thrilled with the look, but, one thing about hair...it will grow out!  Not really great...but here's a picture anyway!

Today, we went to the flea market and looked around and ended up buying several decorative items to put in the apartment.  Rod made friends a few weeks ago with a young girl who speaks english and he bought a nice piece of petrified wood from her...there is a forest of petrified wood in her home town and she brings it to Shenyang to sell at the flea market.    We also bought from another guy a bronze cloisonné bowl and a "singing bowl".  The cloisonne bowl looks old, but I'm not sure it is...I really don't trust anything to be authentic...I'm sure they see the foreigners coming from a mile away and see $$ in their pockets.  It's amazing how much they will start off asking..and how much you can actually buy for.  The singing bowl is common here..you hit it and it reverberates like a bell, then you rub it on the edge with a wooden stick and it will really reverberate and get a lot of harmonics going to "sing".  

"Daisy" (her english name) and her mother in front of their flea market store with a few pieces of petrified wood on the table in the background

Bronze cloisonne bowl with dragon handles, a piece of petrified wood and the singing bowl.

A ceramic figurine of a baby human riding a baby dragon, and a cloisonné pot.  This pot is not old, but I liked it!

I'm not sure any of this stuff will end up in my decorating scheme in the US when we return..but I figure we'll be here for awhile, so we might as well have something interesting in our apartment!

I"m not sure what I'll do for updates for the next month and a half...it's possible, nothing...it's possible something.  It depends on whether or not I'll take my computer.  For those of you on FB, I'll see you there for sure...for those not on FB...it could be mid August before my next note.  

Thank you all for your emails...keep us in your prayers as we travel.

Sarah

11 April 2010: Dirt Market and the Tomb of the Qing Dynasty Emporor

11 April 2010

Hello again,

I realize I just sent out an update, but thought I would go ahead and send one out today while it's fresh on my mind!

This morning, Rod and I went to the dirt market together with another American lady. She lives here in the hotel and is a real God Send for us! I ended up getting a personalized  "chop" which is a stamp that has what ever message you want or your name.  Since I just got my business cards (1 side in English, 1 side in Chinese), I had my Chinese name in characters, so I had the guy carve one out with my name in Chinese characters.  The chop is about 4 inches tall piece of jade with a little dragon carved on the top, then my name carved into the bottom in relief so that when you press the chop into the red ink (the red ink has the consistency of creamy makeup rouge...but is much more permanent!).  Here's some of pictures of the guy carving my name and then a picture of the finished product!

Miller, Sarah in Chinese characters.

After the dirt market, we had lunch at a nice little restaurant behind the hotel, then we went to Beiling Park.  This park is where one of the emperors of China is buried in a huge tomb.  This emperor died in 1647 and his tomb is still preserved and intact an is not open to anyone.  The grounds around the park were opened to the public in 1927.  The tomb itself is underground and is covered by a large dome with a lone elm tree planted on top. There is a large circular wall around the tomb and a large walkway with several intermediate building leading to it.  The emperor was very protected even in his death.  Today, it's a beautiful park with kites flying, people walking and just enjoying the hint of spring!  We were asked to have our picture taken with some Chinese girls...I'm sure WE were their tourist attraction!

The tomb of the Emperor with the entrance to the tomb down on the lower level.  Legend has it that there are holes in the door that can lead to the door being opened, however, if you have the wrong combination, a poison dart will come out and kill you...consequently, not many have dared to open the tomb, and thus, it is still preserved.  Sounds like Indiana Jones to me...maybe that's where they got the storyline!

Some pictures of the Tomb area:

 The tomb itself is under this big dome-shaped mound...never to be opened for human eyes.

 Some pictures of Rod & Sarah visiting the tomb area

Sarah & Rodney Miller at Beiling Park in Shenyang, China, 11 April 2010.

Inside the Tomb area were many lovely traditional Chinese roofs.  I took some detailed pictures below:

No visit to a tourist area would be complete without a trip to the Gift shop!  In this case, I bought a little bobble and the lady painted my name inside the thing with a 1 hair paint brush..amazing to watch her work!

I was born in the Chinese year of the rat (OK, I prefer mouse!), so I bought a bobble for the year of the rat and had my name put inside!

So, we've had a busy weekend!  Tomorrow, back to work and hopefully we'll get our residence permits and get a little better oriented!

That's it for now...more to come with the Adventures of Rod & Sarah Miller in China!

3 April 2010: Tomb Sweeping day and the Dirt Market

3 April 2010

Greetings all,

Happy Easter!  This year a Chinese holiday "Tomb Sweeping Day" falls on the same day as  Easter Monday.  Tomb sweeping day (Not the same tomb as Easter for Christians) is when Chinese people go to the graves of their ancestors and clean the grave and leave them an offering of fruit.  It's kind of like Memorial day in the US, but in China, many people worship their ancestors.  Monday the 5th of April is Tomb Sweeping day, so it's a legal holiday here!

Well, I've survived my first week in Shenyang.  Rod comes tomorrow (oh happy day!) It has been a busy, but somewhat overwhelming week!  I have a driver to take me to work..but he doesn't speak any english...not one word...and my Chinese isn't good enough to effectively communicate...so while I like having a driver, (because you couldn't pay me to driver here!), it's frustrating not being able to just say where you want to go...but that will come with time!  I understand that there is also a pretty strong accent here in Shenyang that doesn't sound like anything I heard from my Chinese teacher in the US...so we get by with sign language, queue cards and trial and error!  One evening this week, I wanted to go to a grocery store to just have some snack food in the hotel room...I arrived there, but I wasn't at all sure that I was going to where I hoped I was going...but I finally arrived.  I've mastered to tell him what time to pick me up and come get me...but much past that...I'm digging out of the phrase book and hoping he understands...most of the time he doesn't and he spins something out that I have no idea what he said...and just try again.  

Enough about that (you can tell I'm preoccupied with this!)

At work, It's going OK, although, somewhat disorganized since I wasn't supposed to officially get here until the 4th of April, so I'm "in training", but that is mixed with my orientation to the city and my personal need.   I've got work to do that's been scheduled for awhile so I feel like I'm drinking from the fire hose...that will improve as I learn my way around the site and know who does what, but for the moment, it's a kind of scavenger hunt.  Many people speak english, so at least I can understand most of what they are telling me!  Thank God for small milestones!

Tuesday of this week, I went to the immigration center to apply for my residence permit.  They have my passport, so I couldn't go anywhere if I wanted to!  They tell me I should be able to get the residence permit by the end of the coming week which means that I'll get my passport back and can make multiple entries into China and apply for a business credit card.  I'll be so glad when all of these details that happen when you move are settled so that I can have my personal life stable.  Right now, nothing is stable...living out of a suitcase, new job etc...I'll be glad when we get our permanent apartment and at least our personal life is stable again..with time...with time!

Today at the fitness center (yes, I'm working-out...it was a promise I made myself when we accepted to come to China!)  I met another American lady who invited me to go to the "dirt market".  I said I was game, so at noon, 4 of us crammed into a taxi and they spoke to the taxi driver (and after he didn't understand them either, they gave him a card with written Chinese characters with the destination written on it!...I felt silently content that even when they spoke what sounded like fluent chinese, the driver couldn't understand them either!!)  So, we went to this flea market..what a bazar!  You can see the photo below..a million people milling around looking, sellers looking to sell etc.  New, old, old made to look like new..all there.  The other ladies bought some things, I just looked and observed.  One lady showed me a cricket box..yes crickets...but not just any crickets...these are huge bugs! (probably 3 inch body + legs!)  They have ornate little boxes (much like miniature bird cages) where they keep crickets as pet's/ security.  It seems that crickets chirp when they are in familiar surroundings, specifically smell.  When someone enters the room that has a different smell, they go silent, letting you know that a stranger is in the room.  Some people keep their cricket's with them...they clip them on their pants or shirts.  I thought the cages were cute, but I didn't want to spend 200 RMB (about $30.00 ) for a cage that I'd never be putting a cricket in!  The seller of the cages also had the crickets!

When I got back from the dirt  market, I went down to the downtown pedestrian street..another street with a lot of people walking around and shopping (see picture).  There were lots of familiar names (Mc Donalds, Starbucks, KFC, Cartier, Bulgari etc) and many I had no idea what they sell.  There is a nice Japanese multi-story department store.  I understand there is a complete underground shopping area as well (it's gets cold here in the winter, so there is an underground pedestrian shopping street)..I haven't gone there yet.

Overall, it's been a busy week..I think I'm about over the jet lag and am sleeping through the night OK and have not been sick since leaving Shanghai!

Shenyang "dirt market" on a Saturday afternoon 3 April 2010.  Old, new and a combination of all the above.  

Shenyang pedestrian street on a Saturday afternoon 3 April 2010.

So, that's about it for this week.  I'll write again after Rod arrives safe and sound.  This coming week, we are to do the official orientation and take a city tour and go apartment hunting. 

More to come!!