It is winter here, which means cold weather, a little rain and a lot of bad air quality! We are staying inside a lot which can be difficult when the kids are off for three weeks from school and Blake asks to see his friends or go outside and ride bikes everyday! Today we had a fun activity, we planned to go bowling with some of the kids friends from school. A new bowling place opened, Uptown Alley, it is an American chain that is similar to Lucky Strike or D&B with games, food, drinks and bowling. The kids had a really fun time today there are shorter lanes and ramps for the kids to put the balls on. They don't have bumpers available but the kids still had a great time. We had 7 kids, i asked for 7 games, i got 4 full games and then 3 half games because they thought we wanted to split the games to save money???? I don't understand this, I have 7 kids, i have 7 pairs of shoes, I want 7 kids to bowl 10 frames....why would i want to save money? What a strange concept this is but they also weren't really sure why i wanted to pay for each kid to have their own game.....and at 20rmb or $3 per kid, of course someone would want to save money, right? That's China for you.....
Walking around the grocery store there is always something interesting to be seen, this time I took photos of these fun Frappuccino boxes that come with free bottle toppers...Christmasy! I don't know what anyone would do without a festive bottle topper. You can win a prize if you tell me what the vegetable in the bottom corner was, it was in the place where i usually find potatoes....which i never found ....so not happy about that. The last is Tyson chicken, from my conversation from the butcher who stopped me when i picked up only one package....if you buy three packages you will get a free bowl....if you are like me and only want one package you get a red envelope with a coupon inside :)
A little more fun at the grocery stores....some of the world's longest green beans...they are fresh and taste great but i only need to buy one per person and cut them up they are so BIG! The lovely chicken feet i have to look at every time i go to the store (note: this is in Metro where the meat is packaged, other stores it wouldn't be packaged), A free pitcher with your orange juice......and 'tis the season for toilet seat covers! haha.....everyone has these in China.....even the school and grocery stores. Christmas is here and so are the Coca-Cola bears.....along with fresh corn in a vacuum sealed bag!
Some fun on taobao (note: I have not purchased all of these items) Christmas decorations for the bathroom...who doesn't want to sit on an elf? A hand warmer for your mouse when working on the computer...this is necessary when working outside when it is snowing...lol A USB cup warmer for your desk.....and a hand warmer too. These come in all different sizes, shapes and characters :) The bottom left is the crabs that are very popular in China, they are tied up but you can still see them moving in the stores.
Our elves brought the kids some aprons for a gift one day.....and they must have been shopping in China because they also came with sleeve protectors to match!
This was a first for me, outside of the fruit shop was an older man sitting there with a bucket of water, a brush and some metal and he was sharpening knives for people. He was very quiet and was working hard to get these knives sharpened even as I stood there and watched him for a few minutes, he didn't talk to me, just smiled and went back to his work.
These are some fun photos I have tried to capture, most are from when I am riding in the car so they aren't so clear but you can get an idea of the transportation we see while living here in China. From the transportation for deliveries, to the e-bikes and bicycles with 2, 3,4 people on them and little kids and babies being held in their arms while cruising down the street. There is a mass flood during rush hours of e-bikes when the lights change, like nothing you have ever seen before. The is a tuk-tuk like the blue one in the bottom right corner, you can get these rides cheaper than a taxi but no a/c or heat in there and hang on, it might be a little bumpy!!!
Well, we are trying to stay dry and warm here, the Hanukkah/Christmas weekend is upon us and we plan to celebrate with some friends here in Changzhou and off to Shanghai for New Years.....wishing you all a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
See you in 2017!
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