Month: February 2013

Laundry day

/ edebock / 7 Comments

In the corner of our bathroom, which measures 45 inches by 68 inches, stands the tiniest washing machine I have ever seen. As shown in the photo, it’s shorter than the pedestal sink that stands next to it! It might be small but it does the job. I did our first load of laundry this morning and everything came out clean.

Though considerably smaller, the machine is almost exactly like the one we had in Japan so it was easy to figure out how to use it. I just have to remember to place the end of the hose into the floor drain before I start it or there will be water everywhere! It even plays a little tune to tell me when its job is done.

The clothes dryer is a rack attached to the building just outside our bedroom window! I’ll use that for bedding, towels and larger items of clothing. As I hung the towels today, I feared that I might drop them into the alley below but fortunately that didn’t happen. I’m not going to take a chance on losing our more delicate items to a gust of wind so they hang in the multi-purpose computer/guest room. If you come to visit, however, I’ll make sure there’s nothing hanging over your bed while you’re here!

Since some of our dress clothes will need to be ironed, I brought our dual voltage travel iron with us and yesterday we purchased a little table top ironing board much like the one we carry in the travel trailer at home. We also bought a bag of Tide laundry detergent; the same brand we use at home. Though many things are very different here, others are surprisingly familiar!

The penthouse

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I love the fact that, after reading my last post, one of our friends dubbed our upper storey apartment "the penthouse". In spite of the 67 stairs that we have to climb to get here, I love our location. We’re on the very end of a long narrow building so we have windows on three sides which let in lots of light and allow us to look out in several directions.

The apartment is approximately 390 square feet and is made up of three rooms plus the bathroom. Take a close look at the picture of the kitchen. Can you see the stove? Sure you can! It’s right behind the electric kettle. That’s right! It’s a one burner hot plate! Though you can’t see them in the photo, we also have a microwave, a toaster, a rice cooker and a crock pot so cooking is possible. So far, though, we’ve been eating most of our meals out. Why not when there are lots of eating establishments within a few minutes walk and food is unbelievably cheap? For example, supper tonight cost less than $6 for the two of us!

The kitchen also has a small refrigerator and a water dispenser. Bottled water is essential here as the tap water isn’t safe to drink. I was delighted to learn that we could have an 18.9 L jug of water delivered to the door for $2! All we have to do is tell our school secretary when we need a new one and she takes care of ordering it for us.

Our main source of heat is a small hot water radiator in each room which is adequate to take the chill off but we’re thankful that the bed/sitting room also has a wall unit that provides both heat and air conditioning depending on the season. If you take another look at the picture of the kitchen, you’ll notice that the cupboard door below the kettle has been left open. That’s because the radiator is inside the cupboard! I’m assuming that the cupboard unit must be a more recent addition to the penthouse.

The third room is our computer/guest room. That’s right, though it can’t be seen in the photo, the computer room is also furnished with a double bed. If you’ve ever wanted to visit China, now’s your chance! The love seat in the bed/sitting room also folds out into a single bed so we can easily sleep three of you at once. Just let us know you’re coming because we’ll have to find some bedding for your beds!

Did you notice that in addition to being fully furnished, the apartment even came with plants? They were pretty dried out when we got here but with a bit of water and pruning, they’re looking much better now. My favourite is the Christmas cactus blooming on the kitchen window sill. They’re one of my favourite plants and I’ve often thought about buying one. I just didn’t realize that I would come all the way to China to get it!

Where do we live?

/ edebock / 10 Comments

Our mailing address sounds pretty fancy:

Room 305,
EIE, School of Continuing Education
Liaoning Normal University,
850 Huanghe Road,
Dalian, Liaoning, China 116029

but that’s just where we work. Where do we actually live?

We were given a sheet of paper with our apartment address written in both Chinese and English that we could show to a taxi driver if needed. It says that our apartment address is: the little street of Liaoning Normal University, Lan Xiu Street, Huanghe Road, Shahekou District, The Red Building!

We went for lunch with one of our fellow teachers today. When he asked where we live, we described our location just off the edge of the university campus. “Oh, is yours the building where it looks like you’re entering a crack house?” he asked. Yes, I think that would be us!

We enter through a broken door and climb the narrow cement staircase to our apartment on the top floor. Many of the landings between floors are piled high with stuff. I’m not sure if it’s things that people have discarded or if the landings are just being used as extra storage space. I must admit that as we hauled our suitcases up the 67 stairs to the fifth floor the night we arrived here, I really wondered what we’d find at the top. In comparison to the stairwell, our apartment really isn’t bad at all but I’ll save that for another post.

In the meantime, let me tell you what’s going on right now. At the moment, it literally sounds like we’re living in the middle of a war zone. Today is the final day of the Chinese New Year holiday. There have been fireworks going off all around us ever since we arrived but we’re assuming that that must be coming to an end tonight because now they’re literally exploding non stop all over the neighbourhood! This started well before dark. I knew that fireworks were a big deal in China but I never imagined anything like this! I hope it comes to an end before we go to bed tonight or there won’t be any sleeping happening. I’m not holding my breath though. The first ones started going off at 6 o’clock this morning just as the sun began to come up. There are also bonfires burning on several street corners below us tonight.

I wonder how many more surprises this strange place we’ve chosen to live has in store for us?

Wursday, blursday

/ edebock / 9 Comments

We crossed the International Date Line and lost a day this week. The day we did have, which I’m calling Wursday, started when the alarm went off in our Leduc hotel room on Wednesday morning at 5:15 a.m. and ended about 29 hours later when we climbed into bed in our Dalian apartment. It was already after one o’clock Friday morning here. Thursday had disappeared in a blur of airports and flying.

Other than being an exceptionally long and tiring day, the trip went very well with absolutely no problems or delays. We made our way through security at the Edmonton, Vancouver and Shanghai airports without incident in spite of the fact that Richard’s knee brace always sets off alarms. Passing through immigration in Shanghai was a simple matter and we were waved through customs without having to answer a single question! To top it off, none of our luggage was lost, delayed or damaged. We travelled all the way with China Eastern Airline and couldn’t have asked for better service.

The best part of the trip was, without question, our stopover in Vancouver where we enjoyed a visit with daughter-in-law, Robin, and grandsons, Sam and Nate! The Vancouver airport houses an impressive collection of Northwest Coast native art. We met in the international departures area beside the "Spirit of Haida Gwaii" by well known Haida artist, Bill Reid. After checking out every detail of the giant sculpture we headed upstairs to the observation area where we were able to see planes coming and going and watch one of them being unloaded.

Before long it was time to say good bye and continue on our way. We took with us a special bag of goodies that the boys had helped their mom put together for us. Because China starts with C, everything in our bag began with that letter… carrot sticks, celery, cookies, cupcakes, clementines and even candy canes!

The stopover in Shanghai was longer but much less entertaining. By the time we got there, we’d been up for over 20 hours and I much of it trying to catch a few winks.

Now we’re nearing the end of our second day here. We’re unpacked and settled in and have already walked many miles exploring our new neighbourhood. We’re soaking up the sights, sounds and tastes of our new surroundings but we’re still suffering the effects of jet lag and trying to readjust our body clocks. It will probably be another day or two before I’m clearheaded enough to adequately describe our first impressions. To whet your appetite, he’s a couple of views from our apartment.

More family drama

/ edebock / 6 Comments

There’s nothing like a late night phone call to get your heart racing and the adrenaline pumping! I had just crawled into bed at about 11:45 last night when the phone on my bedside table rang. It was our son, Matt, calling to tell us that Dad’s high rise apartment building had been evacuated a couple of hours earlier and Dad’s whereabouts were unknown!

apartment

photo credit: Vancouver Sun

While conducting a search warrant for drugs on the 11th floor of the 29 storey building, Burnaby RCMP officers found more than they were looking for… 10 sticks of dynamite and several small bombs! As soon as Matt heard the news on Twitter, he headed over to Grandpa’s to make sure that he was okay.

Dad is a distinctive looking man. Though slightly stooped by age, he once stood 6 feet 6 inches tall and only weighs about 170 pounds (yes, that’s definitely where I got my skinny genes!). He’s fairly frail and walks with a cane. The officer that Matthew spoke with knew immediately who he was looking for and told him that he had seen Dad waiting in the lobby earlier. He assumed that he had had gone to the nearby community centre that had been opened as an evacuation centre and directed Matthew there. Dad wasn’t there nor was he at the care facility where Mom lives. Unable to find him, Matt headed home and called me.

I assumed that Dad might have called someone from his church and that they had picked him up but I had no way of knowing for sure. I called my sister who agreed that that was a likely scenario but neither of us had a name or a phone number to call. We discussed the fact that Dad is of sound mind and wouldn’t just wander away into the night. We agreed not to panic and I crawled back into bed.

That’s when the phone rang a second time! It was Matt’s wife, Robin. The evacuation centre had called. Dad was there and Matt was on his way back to pick him up. Their plan was to bring him back to their place for the night but when Matt got there, he was told that the order was about to be lifted. He waited with Dad then took him back to the apartment. All was well!

It wasn’t until this morning that I learned that when Matt went over the first time, Dad was actually sitting in a warm bus outside the building waiting to see what was going to happen. He sat there for an hour and a half before being taken to the evacuation centre.

Dad doesn’t carry a cell phone and he probably wouldn’t have called anyone if he did. He knew he was okay and had no idea that anyone was worrying about him. As my niece pointed out, he doesn’t understand how fast news travels these days. We’re just relieved to know that he was in a safe, warm place where he was able to sit and wait in relative comfort! We’re also very grateful that something of this nature didn’t happen while Mom was still living at home. That would have been a much greater ordeal.

I think I’m going to escape all this family drama and go to China! We leave later this afternoon!

Packing 105: To fold or to roll, that is the question

/ edebock / 14 Comments

Though some people roll their clothing to pack it in a suitcase claiming that it takes up less space and doesn’t wrinkle as much, I prefer to fold most of ours.

I learned to fold and pack from a master. When I was a child my father spent several years commuting between Powell River and Vancouver almost every week. Every week my mother did his laundry, starched and pressed his dress shirts and repacked his suitcase. I remember watching her with fascination. She could fold a shirt so that it looked like it had just come out of it’s original package.

Every summer, our family of six would pile into the big blue and white International Travelall and set off on a camping adventure that often lasted several weeks. Mom would pack everything we needed into the back of the vehicle. There was no such thing as a nylon tent in those days but she could fit the bulky canvas tent, six sleeping bags, foam sleeping mats, the Coleman stove, dishes, food, clothes, life jackets and fishing gear and a multitude of other things into the space behind the back seat.

Travelall_2

One summer we chartered a float plane and flew into Garibaldi Lake nestled high in the coastal mountains. Mom had to weigh every single item that went on that trip to make sure that we didn’t exceed the plane’s weight limit. Yes, she was definitely a packing wizard!

Float plane_2

But I digress! Though I fold the majority of our clothing, I often roll things like pyjamas to fit into small unused spaces between other items. On our upcoming trip to China, I’m also going to try a packing technique that I’ve never used before. By packing bulky items in ziploc bags and squeezing the air out before sealing them, they’ll take up much less room in a suitcase. Richard’s navy blue fleece hoodie is two sizes larger than my red one but look at how much less space it needs.

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And before I bring this packing series to an end, here’s one last tip: It’s amazing how much you can pack inside the shoes that go into your suitcase. Stuff them full of socks, underwear, pantyhose, pill bottles, anything that will fit!

Do you fold or roll?

No more mountain!

/ edebock / 4 Comments

We have our visas!

After the panic that I was thrown into three weeks ago when we learned that we had to have complete medicals done before we could apply for our work visas, our trip to the Chinese visa application centre was quite anticlimactic. We drove to Calgary on Monday, going directly to the centre when we arrived in the city. Though there were nine spaces at the counter for serving customers, we were the only ones there. After carefully checking all of our documents, the representative took our passports and told us to return on Thursday. It was that simple.

When we went back this morning, there were a few people there but we didn’t have to wait. Within minutes, we had our passports with the visas in them. We checked them carefully, paid the required fees and were on our way. The mountain had moved!

In spite of the unexpected stress involved in getting our visas, there’s also been a bit of humour involved. Carefully following the instructions provided by our employer in China, when we completed our visa application forms we entered “employment” as my main reason for going to China but “to accompany my wife” as Richard’s! His is also a work visa but apparently it was faster for them to acquire a single invitation letter and work permit for the two of us than it would have been to treat us as two entirely separate entities.

With the exception of the Mosuo tribe, a small ethnic group living in Yunnan province, China is not a matriarchal society. The only reason we can think of that I appear as the head of the family on our documents is that I’m the one who has done most of the communicating with our employer. Whatever the reason, I’ve definitely had fun calling Richard my consort and teasing him that he’s only going along as my companion!

No more mountain! Thank you for your prayers!

No more mountain! Thank you for your prayers!

Packing 104: What else will I pack?

/ edebock / 4 Comments

Packing, especially for a long stay, isn’t only about clothes. As I mentioned in my first packing post, we’ve been advised to bring a sufficient supply of medications and other essentials to last for the duration of our stay. There are also all sorts of random things that will be tucked into our luggage when we leave for China.

Depending on where you’re going, packing a towel might be a good idea. If you stay in 4 or 5 star resorts you certainly won’t need one but if you frequent $12/night guest houses like the one we stayed in in Cambodia, you’d better take one with you! Our apartment in China will be fully furnished. Dishes and bedding are provided but we’ve been told that towels are not. We can buy them there, of course, but after travelling and hanging around airports for over 24 hours, we’ll probably want to shower and fall into bed when we arrive! I think I’ll pack a couple of towels.

If necessary, laundry can be done almost anywhere. I always pack a small container of powdered laundry soap for those occasions when something needs to be washed out by hand. I learned a valuable lesson on our last international trip, however. ALWAYS pack that container in a ziploc bag! Airline baggage handlers are not kind to luggage and it’s amazing where powdered soap can end up when it’s released from it’s container and allowed to wander freely. Fortunately, the container was in an outside pocket of our suitcase but I was brushing soap from between the pages of my Bible for a long time afterward and I just recently found some hiding inside the case that holds my spare pair of glasses!

If you have eyesight like ours, an extra pair of glasses should always travel with you and it’s a good idea to take a copy of your current prescription as well. Add a pair of sunglasses and you’re ready to go.

Believe it or not, when I shop for clothes, I almost always think about how well an item will pack. How much space will it take up in a suitcase? How badly will it wrinkle? The second question is less important this time as I’ll also be packing our dual voltage travel iron which usually resides in our travel trailer. It’s not something that I’d bother packing for a shorter vacation trip but there won’t be an iron in our apartment in China so it will be essential. We’ll also take an adapter plug that will allow us to plug it in as outlets in China are different from those in Canada.

Voltage also varies from country to country. Here in Canada, we use 120 volts but China uses 220. Fortunately, our laptop computer, which will travel as a carry-on, has its own power converter. A camera is absolutely essential, of course, and at least a couple of memory cards. That, too, will travel in our carry-on luggage.

Wherever we go, we love to walk and hike. Since I’m always curious to know how far I’ve gone, I’ll be sure to pack my pedometer. A compass doesn’t take up much space and can be very handy so we’ll take one of those too. If we planned on geocaching, we’d also take our handheld GPS unit but caching hasn’t really caught on in China yet and I’ve also read that it’s illegal to use a GPS there without a permit! I’m not sure if that’s true or not but since there will be so many other things to see and do, we’ll leave that pastime until we get home again.

A travel alarm clock and a tiny flashlight will also be tucked into our suitcases. Though July and August are Dalian’s rainiest months, it’s on the coast and we’ll definitely need umbrellas. I’m sure we could buy them there but we have several folding ones so we’ll pack a couple of them including a tiny one that fits into my purse.

China is officially an atheist country but we are allowed to take a Bible with us for our personal use. We don’t travel anywhere without one so our compact ultra thin edition will go with us. Our Lonely Planet guidebook is bigger but it will definitely go too. I’m also hoping to fit a few paperback books into our baggage that we can leave behind when we finish reading. We probably should have invested in an e-reader by now as we’re both avid readers but I still like the feel of a book in my hands. It would be handy when we travel though, especially when we spend lengthy periods of time in countries where English is difficult to find.

Reminders of home are important if you’re away for an extended amount of time. A few family photos will definitely go to China with us. Our orientation handbook also suggests that we bring items that show the culture and history of our country to share with our students but I haven’t figured out what those ought to be. Any suggestions?

Maybe I should also pack a few twist ties. That’s the one thing we had a hard time finding in Japan!

Packing 103: Carry-on

/ edebock / 3 Comments

My sister flew from Edmonton to Vancouver a couple of weeks ago but her suitcase went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! If you’ve ever had a suitcase go astray, you know how important the contents of your carry-on can be.

I once carried a kabocha in my carry-on but I’m usually a little more sensible than that! Our suitcases have failed to keep up with us three times over the years but each time, we’ve been fortunate to be on our way home. Last year, however, we were stranded overnight in Houston with only our carry-on baggage but fortunately we were prepared.

So what are the essentials that should go into your carry-on luggage?

  • Passports and travel documents, of course. These should be stowed in a safe but easy to access location. 
  • A change of clothes or at least fresh undergarments. You can probably get away with wearing the same pair of jeans for several days but underwear, no!
  • Something that you can sleep in comfortably (unless you prefer to sleep in the nude).
  • If you’re on your way to a tropical destination, I’d suggest a swimsuit. It doesn’t take up much space and who wants to hang out on the beach in their travel clothes while they wait for a suitcase to be delivered? Of course, this could be just the excuse you need to buy a new one!
  • Medications; at least enough to last for a few days.
  • Basic toiletry items. Don’t forget that airline safety regulations restrict liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on baggage to a maximum of 100 mL each and that all such items must be carried in a clear, resealable plastic bag that is no larger than one litre. There’s also limit of one bag per person. I always add my toothbrush to this bag.
  • Something to keep you occupied during a long flight or lengthy airport layover. This might be a book, magazine or e-reader or if there are two of you, a deck of cards.
  • Any valuables that couldn’t easily be replaced if your suitcase went missing permanently.

What else do you pack in your carry-on?

Most airlines allow two pieces of carry-on baggage per person; one larger than the other. A small purse can be carried on-board as well but a larger one will usually count as one of the allotted carry-ons. Mine is neither small nor overly large but I’m not interested in trying to keep track of three items anyway.

Our most interesting and innovative piece of luggage is the two piece Mountain Equipment Coop backpack that Richard received from his school staff as a retirement gift. Attached together, the two multi-pocketed bags are big enough that they have to fly as checked baggage but when separated, the larger wheeled pack and the smaller detachable day pack can travel as carry-ons. The wheels are great for traversing airports like the ones in Vancouver and Shanghai where we’ll change planes on the way to Dalian and the combo will be perfect for weekend or overnight trips while we’re living there.

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this + this

= this

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Packing 102: Mix, match and layer

/ edebock / 9 Comments

How many outfits do you really need to take on any trip? After all, you can only wear one at a time!

Since we’ll be teaching during our upcoming stay in China, I’ll need a working wardrobe as well as casual clothes but I won’t pack a top that can’t be dressed up with dress pants or a skirt or down with jeans or capris. In addition, nothing will go into the suitcase unless it can coordinate with several other items so that just a few pieces produce many different looks.

Unlike in Japan where Richard was required to wear a dress shirt and tie to school every day, we’ve been told to dress for the classroom the same as we did in Canada. Our orientation booklet does say that we should dress conservatively, however, so I’ll stick with neutral colours for dress pants and skirts. A pop of colour can always be added with a brighter top or a scarf.

Layering is also key to travelling light. Whether you’re packing for a destination with warm days and cooler nights or expecting a seasonal change such as we’ll experience in China, layers are the way to go. A sleeveless top over a cami and worn with a cardigan will keep me warm in late February when Dalian’s average temperature is around 0°C (32° F). I’ll wear the same top on its own when daytime highs reach the mid twenties in May and June.

IMG_0718  IMG_0719

Without question, the most versatile piece in my suitcase will be my Jockey Person to Person black modal cardigan.I have yet to figure out all the different ways that it can be worn! Click here to watch a short video that shows just a few of them. And here are a couple of my favourite looks.

IMG_0720  IMG_0717

So, what will I pack for approximately 4 and a half months in China? The list will probably be refined a bit between now and packing day but here’s what it looks like right now:

  • 3 pairs of dress pants
  • 2 pairs of jeans
  • 2 pairs of capris
  • 2 or 3 skirts
  • 2 camis
  • 2 button up shirts
  • 1 long sleeved tunic top
  • 3 long sleeved tees
  • 2 short sleeved tees
  • 3 or 4 sleeveless tops
  • 2 cardigans
  • 1 fleece hoodie
  • 1 pashmina

Throw in socks, underwear, pjs, and a couple of belts and scarves, as well as assorted accessories and I’m almost ready to go. I never travel anywhere without a swimsuit and, of course, I’ll need shoes! I’m seriously thinking about only taking three pairs; a good pair of walking/hiking shoes that I’ll wear on the plane, a pair of black flats and a fairly dressy pair of sandals that are also comfortable to walk in. I’d love to take more and I will if there’s space but I survived childhood with only one pair of shoes at a time so really, anything more than that is luxury, isn’t it?

I’ll also be packing a light spring jacket; one that works well in wind or rain since we’ll be living on the coast. I’ll wear a wool coat on the flight over but when we return in July, I’ll have to try to squash that into one of our suitcases. I’d look a little funny wearing it in the height of summer!

In the meantime, before I start the big packing job, there’s one more trip we must make. Our mountain has moved! Richard picked up our completed medical forms this morning and on Monday we’ll be heading for Calgary to apply for our visas. When we drive, all my careful packing tips go out the window and we usually end up taking way more than we need. This time, I must remember to pack our skates as we’ve promised to take our grandchildren, Drew and Jami-Lee, skating in Bowness Park if the weather cooperates.