When we say "bath tub" we really mean "bath TUB"

So we got here and got settled and found a good solution for Catherine's tub since our new apartment only has a shower.

Here is a view from our apartment at night of the neighboring apartment buildings.  A reminder of the vastness of the population.

And yes, there were gas masks in our last hotel room.  Complimentary, I think.  And why were we in a hotel in the first place?  We returned from a short visit to Beijing (a short 3 night visit that ended up meaning 2 different hotels and 3 different hotel rooms)  on Thursday to find the elevator at our building not working.  The security guards then informed us because of the construction the water and electricity would be off for a couple days.  So I (Jill) carried Catherine up 18 flights of stairs while James carried our 2 suitcases up.  We let Catherine take a nap in her own bed before making the decision to check in to yet another hotel.  Gratefully, it was the nicest and best value we had stayed in yet.

Using Hemp has been really useful here

You never know when a little hemp will come in handy.  We had replaced a faucet in our apartment so that we could hook it up to the washing machine.  Last time I was here I would have had a local friend call a plumber, but this time our American friend said he could do it himself.  However, after he replaced it it had a leak.  So I tried my hand at it.  I added even more plumber's tape, but to no avail.  I tried several times, but each time it leaked.

So he and I went to a local "hardware store" and asked if they had anything else that would work.  I knew plumbers in America used some kind of glue or paste.  The lady said she didn't have anything like that, but she said all the old plumbers used to use hemp.

We replaced it wrapping it in hemp, and sure enough... no leak!

We are here

So Jill has given me permission to use her blog a little bit on the condition that I put my name at the bottom of any post I do so that everyone will know the poor grammar is me and not her.  You've been warned.

So it seems like I have lived half a lifetime in the last few weeks.  We have packed up our house, sold a lot of things, moved everything else to NM to my parents place, repacked everything, and moved my family to Asia.

The trip wasn't bad all things considered.  In order to save a little money we took a flight with a long layover in San Francisco.  This wouldn't have been a problem except when we got to the airport they told us that we would have to take our bags in San Francisco and recheck in the next day.  So with my wife, 1 year old daughter, 6 checked bags, 2 carry on bags with wheels, 1 diaper bag, 1 computer bag, and a stroller we checked in a total of 3 times.  That means three times shuffling all those suitcases around.  Three times going through security.  Ugh.

Each time we checked in I had to restack the bags.  I'm not bragging, but when we landed in the capital and pushed our cart past the asian bag-stackers they said mine was "hen bang"  Meaning really good.  (They might not have been so impressed if they had followed me around the corner and seen them all fall over.)

I will say the nicest TSA agents were in Amarillo, TX.  God was good to us along the way.  Many a time the airport let us go in special lines to make it easier for us with a kid.

Catherine did great, or as great as a 1 year old can do when traveling on a 12 hour plane ride.  She slept in our laps and learned to be a pretty good traveler.  Once we got here she has been a trooper.  She adjusted to jet lag pretty quickly.  By the second or third night her sleep schedule was back to normal.  However, it took her tummy longer to get over jet lag.  The 3rd night I was up throwing up all night and each time I got up to throw up she would want a bottle.  She would drink it and just fall back to sleep.

She has also been greatly admired by the people here. She draws a crowd wherever she goes.  Mostly she enjoys the attention and has been a willing participant in the "pass the baby" game.  They all are very curious about her and enjoy playing with.  They do all comment that we should give her more food because she is too skinny.

She has also taken to sucking on her toe to put herself to sleep.  When she starts reaching for a toe we know it is time to put her down.

-James