I heard it through the grapevine...

Last visit we made to Huzhou to search for apartments we were fortunate enough to meet a new friend so, on this trip - after we found the aparment we had been searching for all this time, he invited us to his best friends' vineyard.

Yes, our first trip to a vineyard, in China at that!  I was suprised to know that the northwestern countryside surrounding Huzhou is made up of lots of grapes! It was a fun day with lots of new friends that led to a great dinner with homemade grape wines and special grape cuisines.

Seems like our new city will be a delicious one!

See more photos here

Our Next Move... Huzhou, China

Yes, we have decided to stay in China and also to move to a new city. Andrew has upgraded his job from kindergarten to highschool, which should prove to be much more rewarding for him.

Huzhou is a third tier city whereas Nanjing is a second tier city. This means that Huzhou has only 3 million people against Nanjing's 8 million  - yes, they commonly refer to it as a "small town".

We are super excited. To us this means more of a transition into the Chinese culture, a bigger push to further our language skills and understanding. Sure, Huzhou still has a DQ and Louis Vuitton but, it will definitely take us out of the Western comfort zone that we have enjoyed in Nanjing. This is because there are considerably less foreigners there and even less foreign families.We leave Nanjing at the end of August.

The adventure continues...

License to Drive (in China)

Yes, today we got our Chinese drivers license. I wish I had more pictures but prepping the papers took more work than expected (thanks to our neighborhood police station and their supreme typing skills) so my head was elsewhere and I left my camera behind.

We hired a "translator" who ended up spending alot of time with us over the weekend. Prior to meeting us, she completed some other documents we needed, including translating our names into Chinese. I am now officially and legally (in China) 金伯莉（jin bo li) and Andrew is known as 安德鲁（an de lu). 

Our experience actually getting the license though was great. Of course the "DMV" workers were a little grumpy - just like home - but the efficiency of the process was impressive.

SImilar to when we got our medical screenings when arriving here, we went station to station to complete each step. You would think in such a big city(8 million people+) the wait would be harrowing but I have to say, I would chose this over any DMV experience I have ever had back home, and that includes GA, VA, & MD.

Living In China: Month Three

Pantyhose + Shorts = Pants: Fashion, Fashion, Fashion! It is all about the 80’s here in China. They ladies love their rabbit furs and pantyhose! Also, tights = pants (as long as they are worn with a sweater that atleast covers your butt).

Energy Efficient: our gas use for the last three months is equivalent to less than $5. We have a small washing machine and no dryer. Yes! – we hang dry everything (80’s!) in our special “drying room” which is a lot like a sun room for our clothes.

 Chit Chat: Reach out and touch someone – or atleast the tv or computer screen. We have weekly calls with our family, it’s free and super easy to stay in touch – maybe too easy. The only difficulties for us is the 12 hour time difference – but not too difficult.

 Satellite Service: from Phillipines, censored HBO – The Hangover is just not the same without Galifanakis pretending to jerk off the baby, am I right?

 VPN Service: This allows me to post to our blog, access facebook and any other non- Chinese sites not available through the Chinese Internet – actually using these services, we can access any country’s internet. Pretty handy.

 Loreal & Maybelline: Here these are high priced, department store counter cosmetics. Yes, the $10 base and $2 blush that most American high school girls experiment with are located next to Estee Lauder and some other fancy French cosmetic I have never heard of.
Light as a feather: the joy of eating Chinese food, no bloating. And really, I’m not hungry two hours later. We eat great here. Cabbage, rice, tofu, broccoli – tons of veggies actually, some traditional mixture of egg and tomato (yummy) with just garnishes of meats. Eating this way – and walking everywhere- has really changed the way we feel throughout the day.