Our great adventure begins....

Finally, I am sitting at the computer, ready to write my first post from China...

It has been 18 days since our arrival in the land of the dumpling! A shock to the system would be an understatement. Lesson number one, keep expectations low and then be pleasantly surprised.

We arrived on a cold, drizzling morning, with two amazingly happy kids despite the overnight (with one stopover in Singapore) flight. We made a mad dash for our connecting flight because our first leg was running 30 mins late and it was only a 1 hour 10 min stopover. We had to race from one end of Singapore Airport to the other. If anyone is familiar with this airport you will understand the 'mad dash' and that was with the connecting shuttle trains!

We were picked up by 'Jack' our new agent. He is our lifeline and guide to all things Chinese. He is actually the property manager but his job also entails looking after us, from translating for us and fixing the leaking shower, washing machine etc. So far we have needed him for numerous home repairs and lots of taxi translations, thankfully he is never more than a phone call away. A taxi fare is usually around 10RMB, which equates to less than $2. The bus is around 2-3RMB but we haven't been brave enough to get on one of those as yet!

Our apartment was exactly as promised, however when you take all of the furnishings we have gathered over the course of 7 years out of the home, it doesn't feel like home. This is difficult to get used to as it is also very cold (temperature). I am looking forward to finding some cosy rugs and maybe some pictures for the walls to make it feel more like 'home'.

We spent the first weekend shopping for food. We have found a hypermarket called Auschan (a French company I believe) that is crazy to navigate through but it has everything, so we brave it. It is bigger than anything I have ever seen and stocks more than you can imagine from electric bikes to kitchen tongs, linen to every food product, fresh, cooked, frozen, canned etc than you can imagine. It is a little difficult deciding on a product though as all of the labels are in Chinese! Thank goodness for pictures! The alternative is buying our food from many separate stores which, without a car or transport other than a cab is so time consuming it's not really worth it. We cause quite a stir when we arrive though, with our blonde haired babes, the Chinese know nothing about personal space, often touching or patting the kids heads. We have even gone indoors to discourage the paparazzi!

The kids are settling in well, Jaden has started school. He is in Nursery the first year of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. He is still a little teary but today I surprised him with a midday visit which he (and I) loved. Tara is happy all the time, she has such a capacity for change, she just rolls with it. An amazing quality for such a young girl. She is desperate to be at school with Jaden and after school comprises of hours of giggling and playing as the two reconnect at the end of their busy day.

The kids have already made some friends, Jaden at school and Tara with one of my colleagues' daughters. She is a little older however they get on well. Together they have even gone to ballet class. Tara has been desperate to start however she is still a little young for the classes here. They let her have a trial lesson (1&1/2hours for a 5-6 year old class) she loved it but she was happy to go home at the end. Not understanding the instructions and the length of the lesson, were difficult however she did remarkably well from just watching and copying the teacher and students. It was nothing like our baby ballet classes though, no flitting like fairies, everything was on the same spot and repeated over and over. I bought her some ballet shoes however to flit like a fairy in the apartment!

Aaron has cooked dinner several times now and seems to be getting the hang of it. He even made a much loved home cooked specialty, Pasta Lenticchia, it felt like home and the kids gobbled it down. Today they (he and Tara) found imported Australian sausages, actually Tara, I am told spotted them and wanted them for dinner. They are a bit of a specialty here, 10 pork sausages for 75RMB compared to 500grams of breast chicken (absolutely no fat) for 9RMB. Needless to say chicken will be on the menu often.

Aaron is busy during the day, sourcing products for export to Australia, he has purchased his first product sample! Jaden loves it too but I won't give too much away, you'll have to buy 'it' when 'it' arrives, just look out for the AZABOB label!! He is looking forward to working as sourcing food, cleaning and cooking is apparently not how he was expecting his days would pan out. I am looking forward to it too, so I can lash out on an ayi (Chinese for Aunty) but essentially means someone to do the housework!

The weather is freezing, I can't wait for it to warm up, although I am told, the summer is unbearable with heat, high humidity and mosquitoes. The mid seasons, Autumn and Spring apparently, while short lived, are the best seasons for a visit. (Note to self for all of those intending to visit us!) So far though I would love more sunshine so the kids can run and play and I can thaw out. They are surprisingly happy despite the restrictions on outdoor play.

School is busy, I have a very full timetable, more teaching than ever! (Wasn't expecting that one) the students are good but the cultural differences are tiring especially with a subject like mine that requires extroverts in the classroom. I am exhausted at the end of the day from trying to motivate and encourage some of the kids to get up and have a go. I do have a lot of non-Asian students though and they are all great but no different from Australia really. (If any of my ex-students are reading this, I miss you heaps and you are fabulous!)

We are doing a lot of things we would never have done in Australia. One Friday night we went out for pizza...in the pouring rain we walked to Singa Plaza, about 1 kilometre from Landmark (our apartment compound) to eat an Asian version of western pizza, we were all rugged up and freezing but nonetheless we made the journey. The change of scenery however did us good and the kids love these small adventures.

Last Sunday (yesterday) we went on a school organised excursion to 'Embroidery Street' (another, never in Australia). We first visited an embroiderers home and watched her work. The work is intricate and her fingers very nimble. The stitches skillfully made with the smallest of needles and the finest of silk threads. The designs were traditional Chinese as well as floral and animal designs, I didn't make any purchases but I now have an appreciation for this type of work. The street was about 1 kilometre long and along both sides of the street are shop after shop of exactly the same thing, the embroiderer changes but not much else. It was almost amusing to see so many of the same thing and difficult to image that there is a demand for so much of the same thing. Apparently it is all set up for westerner's excursions just like ours.

There is an amazing amount of construction happening over here at the moment, new shopping centres, new apartment compounds and freeways are being built everywhere. The air is thick with construction dust. Everything is built big here too. The apartments stretch into the sky and the shopping centres are massive, imagine Castle Towers at least twice over for each of the shopping complexes. They are not bustling like you would imagine though, maybe they are expecting a baby boom!

So much has happened in such a short period of time and yet it feels like I have been here forever. Only 18 days...

I am sure there are many unanswered questions so feel free to leave a comment and I will endeavour to answer it for you. No doubt it will help me to recall a moment I may have lost otherwise.

(You don't need a gmail account to register and make a comment, just use whatever email address you are currently using to register, I would love to hear from you)

I will try and keep these post regular however you will have to bear with me while I settle into this foreign city.

Until the next time I write, enjoy the sunshine and go for a run through lush green grass!

Almost Time

Time has a habit of slippping away quietly, not much left now....

These days I am sure I will look back fondly on and laugh about the obstacles and 'stuffs ups' we have had to endure to get to our overseas adventure.

We have rehomed Reuben now and despite this bringing a huge comfort it is also more sad than I could ever have imagined. Like I have given up a child, a feeling I am sure only a pet owner could imagine because even as I write the words, it sounds illogical. I never want to feel this again. I hope the tears stop flowing soon.

I'm listening to quiet sounds now...or maybe not so quiet but rather the sounds of a sleeping house. It sounds peacful but the rumble in my belly and the emotional dam that has burst feels far from restful.

Most of our things are packed, our wordly possessions stored in a room... a few things scattered. Piles and piles given away and some sold, just essentials kept. No doubt I will wonder where something is only to remember that it is not mine anymore. Also a strange feeling. Our possessions collected over the years, given to us as gifts, memories attached just gone, final, absolute. The most devastating, the toys and possessions of my children, even those that are not needed but never again can I look through them, hold them in my hands to evoke a memory, remember a time when they were so small. It is an unsettling feeling knowing that all of my things are being eyed by others, things I have chosen to keep, not disgard just yet, packed in a space, not my space. Memories I have packaged together, not together anymore. Deciding for the kids what they might like to have as they grow older but possibly disgarding their most treasured possession. Unbearable at the moment, I wish sleep did not ellude me...unthinking is so much better.

We still have the impossible ahead of us, no doubt this anxiety/fear steming from all the stuff we intend to get on a plane in the following day. Looking at all the clothes, books, shoes, accessories, toiletries, ectera is too overwhelming at the moment but time is slipping and the avoided can no longer be avoided.

Spaces still not cleared, a strange comfort, total emptiness possibly more difficult. What to do first?? A magic fairy that knows exactly what I am feeling and knows exactly what I want and need would be helpful.

I could never have imagined the emotions that would overcome me today, a month ago. I didn't think that this journey would be so wrought with sad, as a chapter in our lives closes, I had only anticipated the next chapter. The excitement my kids are telling me about eludes me at the moment, I am too busy grieving for what is already gone.

We are leaving, the chapter has almost closed, time is rushing us by...

Three weeks and counting....

I have started back at work now and I am feeling it! Leaving my students will be difficult especially my Year 12 Drama class, those girls have been a pleasure to teach and have many special qualities that I will miss. I've hit the ground running with hand over and tying up loose ends...

The house is getting sparser...still lots of stuff to shift though, amazing how much one accumulates, I recommend a garage sale to anyone that thinks they are running out of space! We hoard so much stuff we don't need...I'm hoping I am learning some good lessons here.

Kids are hiding things (e.g. comforters), just in case I sell them in the garage sale...too cute. Jaden requested I sell his shorts, apparently they were becoming too restrictive...fair call since they are a size 2 and he is 4 years old! They sure do grow fast. Tara is officially into 'pretty dresses' (for sometime actually) but now has taken to dressing up! She keeps informing me about her new ballet classes that she WILL be taking in Suzhou...of course to my absolute pleasure. Jaden on the other hand straight into whatever martial art is the specialty of the region. What is it with little boys and 'fighting'??

Three weeks to go now...getting a little close for comfort! What will the next few weeks bring? Hopefully catching up with friends and family before we head on our adventure!

An impromptu evening with best friends!

Our passports arrived today and Jaden quickly set about making passports for his best friends Jack and Carissa. He then had to call them to tell them all about his good work. The house was a mess but nevertheless we invited our friends to play....eat dinner...sing...dance and be merry!

It was a great night had by all and surprisingly so as I wasn't planning on having company. Dinner was good old Aussie fair, pie, mash and peas and seconds were a plenty, prepared with love, by all.

Kids enjoyed watermelon, scribblers and chocolate crackles and playing in the sand pit until well into the evening. Followed by the fasted crash into slumber ever.

Mums and Dads enjoyed pie, beer, wine and the conversation that comes from a friendship bound by love and life experience. We watched fondly (and maybe with a tear) as the kids laughed and danced together and I wondered what life might be like this time in 12 months from now.

Fond memories etched in minds (and cameras and video cameras just in case!)

Trial

Here's my first trial blog! I am hoping to keep everyone up to date with the Gambrill adventures as we embark on our first overseas experience. For those who don't know we are heading to Suzhou, China in a little less than 5 weeks. We're packing up the kids and taking off!

We have just left Reuben for a sleepover. It is eerily quiet in the backyard, I didn't think I would miss the random barks at possums and birds in the trees. I also made him dinner and then realised he wasn't there...yes feeling a bit sad now. He seems to be settling well, I however am not feeling settled at all.

It is fast becoming reality after garage sale, car selling (hopeful) and dog re-homing (was hopeful, not necessary anymore, just sad; I guess it's a bit like a child that no longer 'needs' you as they set off on their own adventures).

The kids are desperate to leave; although the reality is far from what they can understand at the moment. I'm not looking forward to the realisation when it does set in. Jaden cried all the way home after we dropped off Reuben.

This post is the beginning of the next chapter for the Gambrill's. I'm looking forward to what the future will bring for us!