Shrugging My Shoulders: travel

Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

2017/09/24

Ann and Mom in Thailand

Well, when you find yourself in Thailand under less than ideal circumstances, you still try to make the most of the fact that YOU'RE IN THAILAND!

There is no way to get from our city to Thailand in one day unless one you leave here in the middle of the night, or arrive there in the middle of the night. When one passenger is four years old, we chose to have overnights stays along the way, mostly as a courtesy to our fellow passengers. :) Because we had an overnight in Guangdong, we made a two hour drive to see some dear friends, but little Ann just couldn't make it back to the hotel before she was DONE.

Our guest house accommodations.

The tests the doctors performed included a blood test, which thankfully, they waited until the very end to do. It was traumatic. After the blood test, I still had to pay the bill. There were a few people in line in front of me and Ann chose to pass the time by screaming at the top of her lungs. I was prepared. I had candy. and a new toy. and something I bought her in the gift shop downstairs. Nothing was making her feel any better. At this point, all the other folks waiting are starting to stare and assume I'm the worst mom on the planet. I finally asked Ann, "Honey, is something still hurting you?" She answered, "YES! MY BLOOD!!!"

Bangkok Children's Discovery Museum was a fun distraction from the medical stuff.

Nothing says "mom" like having to carry your child's urine and stool around town to take them back to the hospital.

Ann chose these dresses as a gift to take home to her sisters.

What her rash looked like almost everyday before we got treatment.

One of the best surprises of our trip was that the homestay student from Turkey who lived with James and I in 2010 was also in Bangkok! It was so fun to meet up with her. The picture above Ann took for us :)

The zoo was our last "fun" thing before we made our journey home.

Paddle boats were fun until.....

a giant snake in the water was a little too close for mom to feel ok about the paddle boat experience.

2016/10/24

differences in delivering in China

I found this old post saved in my drafts. Here are some pictures I saved of things that made me giggle about some of the differences of delivering a baby in China versus the United States.

These stickers were on the ceiling of our room.

I never delivered in a hospital in America so I can't make any true comparisons of taste or quality, but my guess is that US hospital food is a little different that this, right? Also, they supplied 3 meals a day for James and 5 meals a day for me. 2 were like snacks and not necessarily things I liked.

The view from our hospital room.

Our "free" gifts included in our hospital package: toiletries, 2 sets of baby clothes, one baby blanket, towels, and an elastic waistband thingy to wear after birth. (Asian sized, mind you).

a set of pajamas for me. even the XL was too small :(

Again, I've never had a baby in a US hospital, but I have had other things done there and I remember having to verify my information countless times. Here, no verification. Thus, the spelling of my name on my hospital bracelet.

And one more thing: There is apparently no use of a peri bottle here. I had actually remembered to take mine to Chengdu with us (and I'm glad I did) but when a nurse helping me clean up after saw me use it, I knew by the look on her face I was doing something very non-standard.

PS We continue to be so thankful for http://samaritanministries.org/! They helped cover the cost of our birth even though it was in China. Ask us if you have questions about how it works!

2016/09/24

August Grassland Wedding and UNESCO World Heritage Site

Wedding location

Abigail and the mother of the groom

It's official: I'm licensed to drive and have have now exercised that privilege

Ann and Catherine were flower girls for the wedding. We found this out.....the morning of the wedding. We were 7ish hours from home and hadn't really packed anything appropriate for that. Then it rained so the only dresses we brought with us were too chilly for them to wear.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site