What It Takes

If I had known what it would take to get a dog back to the States a year ago, we would have told the kids, "We're waiting till the U.S. to get a dog."

But here we are with a dog we don't want to leave behind because really, could you resist this kind of cuteness?

No, no one could unless they were blind, or heartless, or a robot. So we press on. When all is said and done, this is what we know (at this point, but I am fully prepared for there to be more rigamarole, or at least more money) will have to happen to get her there:

1. My friend Laura takes a collection of Scout's things (bed, food, toys, treats) back to the U.S. with her in early August to give to my parents

2. A health check at one particular clinic in town within 7 days prior to departure where they will unnecessarily microchip our dog (see previous blog post).

3. We take the results of the health check to another clinic in town where they give us some official certificate that proves our dog is healthy. And microchipped. There is a 100% likelihood that this will involve a red stamp of some kind because that's how China rolls.

4. August 30th, 3 days before our departure, we take Scout to the airport nine hours before her 4:10 pm flight so that she can go through customs. It's unclear why it takes this long. Honestly, I'm not at all sure it isn't a scam to grab a few more of our hard earned kuai before we leave. United in the U.S. was completely unaware that this is required on this end. They are also unaware that this process cannot happen on a Sunday, which is why she's flying earlier than us. This would have been SUPER helpful information when we bought our tickets for a Sunday flight.

5. 4:25 pm she lands in Chicago, where my FABULOUS brother and sister-in-law have graciously agreed to come from Milwaukee meet her. The other option was to have her fly all the way to Minneapolis, which would have required a 6 hour layover in Chicago and then a midnight landing. Then my poor parents would have had to pick her up and drive her home. 

6. Scout tries to get over her traumatic experience with the help of said items from #1, adjust to a 13 hour time change, learn what life is like on the 1st floor where, "outside" is just on the other side of a door and not 12 floors down, and wonder where her people are for 3 days.

7. The next day my brother drives Scout halfway to Rochester while my parents bring his dog whom he left with them two days before (because we all thought it might be a bit much for my brother and his wife to have both dogs, especially since their dog would probably freak our dog out or our dog will be doing enough freaking out as it is) and they do a dog swap in the Dells. Scout continues to wonder who these kind people are, and where are HER people?!?  

8. Oh and did I mention at this point this will run is about $1,300 USD? Thank God she only cost $9 in the first place.

How Much Is That Doggie on the Airplane?

From the second we said we were leaving, we had offers from people who wanted to take Scout off our hands. Aside from the fact that it would devastate our kids to leave her behind, I'm not about to go through all the work of a puppy and then hand her over to someone else to enjoy her for the rest of her life. No way - we've earned this dog.

Thankfully, it's a fairly simple procedure to take her back to the States - get a health check and certificate here in China, put her on the plane in an approved crate, then pick her up on the other hand and take her home scott free (albeit it severely traumatized from 16 hours stuck in a box without food or people).

But while it is simple, it is expensive. I just got off the phone with a woman at United who didn't seem too enthusiastic about helping me. Maybe because it was midnight for her. Let's give her credit for that. That might have also contributed to the fact that initially she tried to tell me the fee for shipping Scout in yen. (it's 24,000 in case you're interested). I guess Beijing is now in Japan.

After that confusion, I was informed that she will cost $783 to ship. In addition to that, we need to buy a regulation crate which has to be a size bigger than normal. Since she's a long dog, we have to get the 32" crate. In the States this would probably cost about $80, but we have to buy it here, where it is $120 on Tao Bao. And then there are some incidentals - $10 for a metal water bowl that attaches to the inside of the crate, and I suspect some fee for the health check and certificate.

It's a good thing she only cost $9 in the first place.

A familiar fog

I am in a familiar fog. It's the "I just spent the last three days madly buying last minute items and packing them, then 14 hours being hurdled across the ocean in a pressurized metal tube during which I could not sleep so I watched my personal viewing screen until I killed off a sufficient number of brain cells, then I slept 6 hours in my bed which sounds decent except I went to sleep at 8:30, and now I have not one ounce of adrenaline so I'm capable of nothing and our kids are running wild for lack of supervision" fog. This one has a few added bonuses like doing the 24 hours before leaving the States without Erik, who left ahead of us, and trying to do jet lag with a dog (who thought it was cool to get up at 2:30, and then decided that 3:45 was an awesome time to go outside).

I feel like this fog has actually been worse the last couple times. When we landed in Minnesota, by the end of my first full day I was debating which would happen first - I would vomit, or my head would explode from pain, or I would collapse from exhaustion. Answer: option 3, at 6:40 pm. I thought once the kids were older, jet lag would be easier. Unfortunately I forget the corresponding truth, which is that I am also now older.

But on the up side, I only have to do this one more time (because no, I never ever plan to travel ever again). At least I only have plans to do it once more. This is one part of the expat life I will not miss.

Trying to Think Strategically

So here's what I'm trying to think through this morning:

How do I pack for a 3 1/2 week trip that includes mid-60's weather for all of us, mid-80's weather for Erik and I, plus a wedding? How do I also consider what we need to take back to the States with us now because it needs to be in Minnesota when we get there in September and can't be shipped directly to Orlando? We can only take 6 bags with us when we leave in September, so we have to be strategic. And what gifts and fun stuff can I bring back for my family and friends? And when on earth am I going to buy those? Furthermore, what should I send with Erik to Orlando when he goes in June?

While we're in the States, I'll get to work through what we will need to bring back (if anything) to get us through the summer, and how much space do we really have to bring back stuff for other people? (the requests are piling up!).

Such is the thought life of the traveling expat. 

Pre-flight Turbulence

Friends, when your normally positive, "we'll make it happen," "it'll all work out," hakuna matata husband says to you, "From now until we leave for the States in a week, I'm going to be VERY busy. Oh and I have go to Hong Kong," you can translate it as, "You're not going to see me until we get on the plane."

So how will we manage from now until then? Well, my inner planner/future thinker self will go into high gear and plan out pretty much every hour between now and then, because that's how I roll. I don't do procrastination because it's just too stressful. I already have two bags packed. I have to tackle making our daughter's 10th birthday special (despite the fact that all her gifts are waiting in America), do some last minute shopping, have a night out with friends, teach a speech class, host our Friday night group, and have a sleepover with friends, on top of all our regular activities. Oy.

Buckle up kids. There might be some turbulence.

Think Positive Thoughts

“Think positive thoughts.” These are the encouraging words of advice from our travel agent when we leave Hua Hin (is encouraging the right word?) as we venture to the train station for our overnight trip to south Thailand.

We aren’t alone – our friends and their three kids accompany us. The kids are already on edge as it’s past their bedtime (heck, it’s past mine!). We thought we’d put ourselves at a disadvantage from the start to make it more interesting.

After a half hour drive, we arrive at the train station and find some friends of ours who should have left an hour before us. Think positive thoughts. Turns out they booked their tickets for the right day but the wrong month. They end up on a hard seat train that arrives soon after we do. We debate which is worse – a ticket snafu that means you have to pay through the nose to take a different flight to Thailand or one that forces you to sit upright for 12 hours through the night? It’s a toss up.

Train hopper

We’re immediately told that our train is delayed 20 minutes. That doesn’t sound so bad, until 20 minutes after the original departure time and there’s still no train. A worker tells us it will be another 20 minutes. When another 20 minutes passes, a bell rings and we gleefully assume this means the train will arrive soon so we move down the track to where we predict our car will be. After another 10 minutes sans train, the same worker comes down to talk to us. I decide that if he tells us it will be another 20 minutes, I am going to push him onto the tracks. (wait, no, think positive thoughts). We can’t really make heads or tails of what he says – something about not the other track – except that he predicts another 10 minutes. Congratulations my friend, you get to live.

The “other track” comment is regarding the slow moving train that arrives on the other track within minutes. It’s a hard seat train. We’re happy to wait for ours, which arrives about an hour after originally scheduled.

A house near a train station

Finally on board, we climb into our beds that are flush against the windows. I can’t say I sleep well, because as I’ve mentioned before I am genetically predisposed to not sleeping well anywhere other than prone in a dark, quiet, comfortable room. The lights, noise, and rocking of the train jolt me many times but I’m happy to say I feel rested in the morning.

I know it’s morning because the people in the next berth loudly disassemble their beds and open their windows. I had no idea that was possible so I’m glad to see it. For the next 5 hours we watch the Thai countryside pass by and stop in various small towns to let people off. At one stop I take a picture of a woman crossing the tracks and then realize she just hopped the train.

When we arrive in Trang, our driver is a little anxious. He’s supposed to pick someone up at our hotel at 3:30. It’s 12 already and it’s a 3 hour drive without stops. He and his companion inform us we can eat at the 7/11. We inform them that we would really rather stop and eat substantially. The two of them chatter in Thai. It sounds nice, but we imagine they are a little annoyed with us. Think positive thoughts.

By the time we find a place to stop, Ethan is green in the gills from our driver trying to make up lost time in the winding hills of south Thailand. The driver keeps trying to offer him food, seeing that he’s not eating. The extent of my Thai is, “hello”, “thank you” and “money” so I can’t find the vocabulary to say, “Your crazy driving has made all food unpalatable to my poor son” which is maybe just as well. I point to my stomach and say “no good.”

Back in the car the driver manages to make more of us sick and not just a little frightened. We debate which is worse – him trying to cross double yellow lines around a curve to pass people, or driving close enough to the people in front of us that we could actually jump into their cars? Think positive thoughts that don’t involve dying on the back roads of Thailand.

Erik buying our lunch

After two short ferry rides which we traverse sitting in the van, and one final terrifying drive through the jungle we arrive at our destination, Koh Lanta, alive and ready to enjoy the tropics. See, that wasn’t so bad! It must have been all those positive thoughts.

The value of sanity

Debate of the moment: is saving myself nearly three hours of walking and riding the subway with my kids to get to a friend's house worth $20 in a taxi for one hour instead?

Answer: today, yes. Not every week, but Erik is gone so I'm giving myself this freedom. Sorry, honey, it's the price of sanity for the week. Maybe we can reimburse it as a business expense.

The Art of International Travel

When we flew to Vermont, we got the customary looks for our kids, the looks that say, "Oh, aren't they cute? I wonder if they're flying for the first time? I hope they behave themselves."

If they only knew.

If I could count the number of times we've flown, I could tell you the number of times we've packed. But if I figured that out, I might start thinking about how many hours of my life I've spent packing and that would be depressing. So let's just say we've packed a lot. And I've decided there are certain laws which apply to international packing. Here they are:

1. In the weeks preceding our departure, I will waver between "we are never going to fit all this in our eight suitcases!" and "we've got plenty of room - let's go buy more!" eventually landing squarely in "Yeah, we have way too much stuff."

2. I will be able to do the first 80% of the packing, after which seeing one item lying around not in a suitcase will cause me to feel violently ill. This is when Erik takes over and does the remaining 20%. It's a good system.

3. U-haul boxes are a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Erik has become an expert at cutting them down from the bottom so they are just within the 62" size limit, and at reinforcing the handles with paint stirring sticks to keep them from ripping. We generally take four of these boxes back with us. This time we're taking 5.

4. Just when you think you have packed most of the stuff in the house, there will be approximately a suitcase worth of last minute items - toiletries, shoes, the clothes you wore yesterday. Prepare for this.

5. Somehow, each time, it will all manage to get in just under the 50lb limit for each bag. (it's amazing to think that we used to be able to take 70lb - we have diminished our load by 160lb!).

Erik hit gold status on United this year, which means we get an extra bag. This adds a new law:

6. Your stuff will expand to fill the amount of space you give it.

For those in Asia - watch for us on Thursday afternoon. We'll be the ones with the obnoxious number of bags.

Smugg's

Do you like to ski? I don't particularly like to ski. My history with skiing is jaded. The first time I went I was 13, and I learned the "church youth group outing" way which means you drove to a nearby ski hill in a bus with 20 other kids, slapped on some skis, someone told you, "Just make a V with your skis" and you fumbled your way down the hill.

The second time was also the "church youth group outing" variety, but I threw in the discovery partway through the day that I had the chicken pox, just to make it more interesting.

Fast forward ten years to when Erik took me on my first real skiing trip to a real resort: Smuggler's Notch, Vermont. Now, I realize I have nothing to compare to other than Welch Village tainted with chicken pox, but I have to say that we hit the jackpot. Smuggler's Notch is fantastic! And this from someone who doesn't like to ski.

But don't take my word for it - Ski magazine has rated Smugg's the #1 family resort in the US 11 out of the last 12 years. That means it was great when we were a young couple, but it's even better now that we have kids! Last year and this we put the kids into all day ski/snowboard camps while we were free to frolic around on one of three mountains (or in my case last year, free to hurl myself down Rum Runner's and nearly break my leg). This year I took a ski lesson. I can't imagine how my history with skiing might be different if I'd had that from the beginning. (wouldn't have eliminated the chicken pox though).

Smuggler's Notch has a lot of challenging hills (or so I'm told by my ex-ski patrol husband) but for the less vertically inclined, there's cross country skiing, snow shoeing, hikes, ice skating, even dog sledding. We like to finish the day in one of the pools (open to those who are staying in the resort)or at the Fun Zone. Seriously, this place has everything!

If you're looking for a place to do a family ski vacation, you HAVE to go to Smuggler's Notch. Tell them Gina sent you. That will mean nothing to them, but it would be fun to know that you did. Fun for me. A little awkward for you, maybe.

Do you have any other form of identification?

Biggest oops of this trip - I left my Minnesota driver's license in China. This has proven problematic when making returns at Old Navy and Target, but I discovered yesterday that The Department of Homeland Security really doesn't like it. They didn't care if it had my photo ID and passport number in it - they couldn't read the rest of it. I don't blame them for not liking it.

In my defense, I didn't plan to use it. I thought Erik had brought the passports for our trip to Vermont. Thankfully, we had been routed, along with a handful of other luck travelers, to a little used security line because the others were so overflowing. This definitely made the process easier as we were pulled aside, had to wait for them to call security, then ask me a series of identification questions, and we were the only people waiting there. It would have been very stressful if we'd been crammed in one of the crowded lines.

The security guys were very friendly and patient, and didn't give us even a hint of that "you idiots" attitude we got that time when we accidentally tried to bring a carry on that contained a Leatherman tool and my scrapbook tools. I hope the Burlington security people are as gracious, because we're going to have the same issue on the way back.

Surprise!

I love surprises. To me, they communicate that someone took the time to think of me, and I'm all about quality time. Thankfully my parents like surprises too, because I gave them a big one last night by showing up three days early.

Here's the story - about a month ago, my uncle passed away unexpectedly. My mom's sister passed away last summer (2008) and her other sister also passed away a few years ago this time of year. So this year marks the first without anyone with my mom's side of the family coming for Thanksgiving, which we celebrate on the weekend.

When all this happened I thought, "Our tickets were free (paid for by the company and frequent flier miles). Why don't I spend a little and change my ticket so I can be back with them for Thanksgiving?" So I got my brother to come pick me up at the airport and we were set.

It was hard not to mention it to my mom, especially when she said on the phone last week, "Maybe we should just wait until you guys get back to celebrate."
"No, no you shouldn't. You should do it on Sunday," was my response.

The flight from China is SO much nicer than coming all the way from Singapore. I got on at 5:30 p.m., so after dinner it was almost time to sleep. I normally don't sleep much on the flight because we used to leave at 6 a.m. from Singapore, but I think I got in about 4 hours. I went through customs in Chicago, which was slick. There was no line! And I always enjoy when the customs worker says to me, "Welcome home." It's honesty one of the only times in my life when I am very conscious of being American.

I had a great drive home with my brother and enjoyed the excitement my parents and sister had at seeing me. It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota and I'm glad I can spend it with my family!

Every man for himself

As a family we recently ventured up to the north part of town where many of our friends live. We opted for the subway because it's a pricey taxi ride there, and the western most subway stop is a few blocks from our house. Since it's the first stop, it's almost a guarantee you'll get a seat, which is good because as you continue on, the subway can start resembling a "how many clowns can you fit in a Volkswagon" joke.

Ethan, being our anxious one, started preparing to disembark about two stops ahead of time. He started saying to me, "Mom, shouldn't we get ready to get off?" as he was eyeing the sheer number of people between him and the door. I told him we could wait. It was all I could do to keep him in his seat until we got to our stop. Then he bolted.

I told him to relax, saying, "Ethan, don't worry. You're going to get off the train."

To which he replied, "Yeah, I'M going to get off the train." Implication: I don't know about you people.

Hong Kong Disney, take 2

Erik had to bolt early in the morning to pick up our visas (oh yeah, that's why we're in Hong Kong) so the kids and I spent part of the morning watching - what else - the Disney channel. We tried to hit the pool but got rained out within 10 minutes, so we decided to brave the park on our own. Megan decided to give me a mild cardiac arrest by getting to the gate and announcing that she couldn't find the ticket I gave her back at the bus (never, ever, give your children control of their tickets early). Thankfully we found it in a little puddle, wet, but still intact.

I convinced Megan that she really DID want to go on Space Mountain again with me. She said once a day is enough. The kids figured out soon afterward that the Disney employees offer free stickers of all the characters if you ask. Megan proved more motivated and brave in this task, finishing the day with over 30 different stickers. We met up with Erik at Mickey's Philharmagic show, which is in 3D. It was amusing to see the kids keep reaching out, trying to grab what was coming out of the screen. What was more amusing was seeing the Chinese woman on the other side of me do the same thing. I discovered that my good eye can't compensate for my bad one when I'm wearing 3D glasses, so it was a bit of a blurry show for me, but entertaining nonetheless.

What Disney trip would be complete without pictures with the characters? We nabbed Pluto (Megan's favorite) and Mickey before Ethan said "enough" and we headed for It's a Small World. You what's great about that ride at Hong Kong Disney? It was obviously made recently. Not that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the one at Orlando, but I'm pretty sure those are the same dolls I saw when I was 6. They've also thrown in other Disney characters at this one, which is fun. There was a western family in front of us who told us all the primary schools in Hong Kong were cancelled that day because of swine flu, and Disney was giving discount tickets. There was an article in the paper the next day about how the government got upset over that. I can see their point, because it's like saying, "don't go congregate in school - come to Disney and pass potential germs to an international community!" But in Disney's defense, their sanitation practices are pretty good.

We did several rides again - Megan loved the Cinderella carousel, and while the kids liked trying to improve their scores on Buzz's Astroblasters ride (you shoot aliens to get points) I think Erik enjoyed it the most. We watched The Golden Mickeys again because they were just so much fun (and because Erik admitted that he slept through it the first time), ate dinner, and went back to the hotel to watch an encore of the fireworks from the night before.

So what's our assessment of Hong Kong Disney? Well, I'd say if you had little ones, say Megan's age and younger, this is about as much Disney as you need. It's easy to navigate because it's smaller, the rides are better suited for them, and the lines are SO much shorter (our longest wait was 20 minutes). I will say that if you have already been to Disneyworld, this isn't nearly as exciting. On the other hand, if you take them here first, Disneyworld will seem FANTASTIC.

Hong Kong Disney

We left our hostel behind in the questionable part of town and upped our standard of living by moving to the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel on our third day. This was partly because one night there got you a "two days for one" deal at Disney. We were told you could do Disney in a day, which is true, but we planned to spend both mornings either traveling or doing other things, so this was perfect.

Hey, so how many of you have seen Lilo and Stitch? If you haven't, you'd better watch it before you go to Hong Kong Disney. I didn't really realize it was a Disney movie but apparently Stitch is filling in for Mickey at HK Disneyland. When you walk down Main Street into that center circle and look up at the Sleeping Beauty Castle (or in the case of Hong Kong Disney, just forward and slightly up. It's not a very big castle), right in front of you is a big sand like statue of Lilo and Stitch. And then there's Stitch in Tomorrowland, which makes sense cause he's an alien and that's where they put those. But then there he is in Adventureland, and Fantasyland, and on the t-shirts in the gift shop, and there are big pictures of his head all over the Disney map. All day I wondered about this. I just can't say that Stitch falls on my list of beloved Disney characters. To be honest, I think he's kind of obnoxious.

But we still had fun, despite the prevalence of Stitch. Hong Kong Disney is a scaled down version of Disney World. It has the same layout but fewer rides. In fact, the only one that really has a thrill factor was Space Mountain. Megan LOVED this last year in Orlando so we headed there first. We walked straight on. Erik and I loved it and were all prepared to go again, but the kids said it was "loud" and "creepy." Whatever.

Since it was a bit rainy, we stayed inside to watch the Lion King show and the "Golden Mickeys" which was a bunch of the songs from Disney movies with live dancing and singing. It's a little weird seeing most of these characters played by Asians, and particularly to hear them speaking Cantonese (especially Ariel, who was actually white but speaking Cantonese). But for the most part they have replicated Disney quite well. Megan and I got front row seats (on the ground) for the High School Musical show in front of the castle. She got pulled up at the end to learn a few steps to one of the songs. Normally that kind of thing would freak her out, but she was a great sport and did pretty well. We'll get that inner performer out of her yet!

We had the added bonus of getting a park view room in our hotel from which we could watch the 8 pm fireworks display. There's even a channel on the TV devoted only to playing the music that goes with it, so it was a great way to end the day.

Adventures in Hong Kong, day 2

The first morning when we went out foraging for food, Erik made the mistake of asking me, in front of a restaurant owner, what I wanted for breakfast. It was a mistake, because my honest answer was, "Probably nothing I can find on the street here" which was just rude to say next to the man offering us his set breakfast for $20HK. I just gave Erik a look and we moved on. I'll admit I'm not an adventurous eater, though I'm willing to be flexible at times. Those times do not include my breakfasts however. I'm an oatmeal girl. If I can't have oatmeal, I'll take cold cereal. Beyond that, things might get dicey.

So it was with great joy that I went into the lobby of our hostel yesterday morning (I use the word lobby quite loosely here. It's a room about 10 ft sq) and saw that the desk held cereal, milk, and fruit for our family. What a great start to the second day!

Our plan for the day was Ocean Park, supposedly one of the highest rated theme parks in the world. I didn't see this information personally. I only heard it from a nine year old, so it's iffy. But I have to say that for the price, Ocean Park is a good deal. There are two main sections divided by a hill which you navigate by cable car. It's a combination of amusement park rides and animal habitats like the "sea jelly spectacular" which really was spectacular. Especially the dark mirror lined room full of cylindrical tanks that was a crazy maker - which way is out? I don't know but look at these jellyfish! I can't tell you how many people walked into the walls in that room. One little kid full on ran into one.

The only hiccup in our plan was that our little Megan was not tall enough to ride the best rollercoasters, which led to some tears. Oh yeah, that and the fact that someone took my sunglasses. When Ethan and I rode The Dragon (big rollercoaster), we were invited to put our personal belongings on shelves next to the ride so we wouldn't lose them. Ah, the irony. I want to believe that someone accidentally took my glasses because there was a pair left behind (which the ride operator wouldn't let me take even though someone took mine. I thought that was a perfectly fair proposal). But my glasses were nowhere near the pair that was left behind. Thank God for gift shops with decently priced replacement glasses, because it was a sunny and muggy day. That's the other thing about Ocean Park - not for those unwilling to walk a great deal up and down hills, especially in this weather. It's situated on a hillside overlooking the ocean. Beautiful view but man, a lot of hiking and sweating!

In the afternoon we found some rides that satisfied Megan's height and interest, so all were pleased. This morning it's off to Disneyland!

Adventures in Hong Kong, day 1

I'm not a luxury girl. Sure, I appreciate a nicer stay, but I'm pretty ok with the average one. That's a good thing, because the path we've chosen to take in life could be characterized as "economy." I don't mind this because it means we end up living closer to local in most places, and I find it much more interesting. So in choosing a place to stay for our time in Hong Kong, we opted for a downtown hostel as opposed to a southern hotel, since it was half the price.

I began to question that choice when, as we approached the hostel, we found ourselves in a part of Hong Kong that I have only seen in movies like Mission Impossible and 007. Minus the motorcycle chases with crazy stunts that have been disproven as impossible by Mythbusters. The part of Hong Kong where the neon lights are so bright that it feels like daytime all night long, and the other hotels are pay by the hour.

Fortunately, our place is on the 9th floor, and while it's not exactly 5 star (or even warranting stars) it's new, clean, quiet, and the manager is a sweet and helpful woman with impeccable English. Sure, I have to sit sideways on the toilet because the bathroom is smaller than a closet, but sitting forward is so overrated. It has air con, and internet access, and we're the only ones staying here it seems, so we're ok. And we're only here three nights before we move over to one of the Disney resorts. We're just staying here to make that seem even MORE fantastic.

The purpose of our visit to Hong Kong is to obtain visas. We have letters of invitation from our company to get business visas. We came here with some trepidation as we were told by a few sources that this kind of visa must be obtained in your "country of origin" which for us means Singapore. So we came here knowing that it was quite possible we'd be boarding a plane back there if this didn't pan out.

But, armed with our Jedi mind tricks ("You don't need to go back to your country of origin for these visas. Move along"), and prepared for at least a 2 hour wait, we hopped the MTR (subway) to the embassy. 23 minutes later we were back on streets having submitted said visas without a hitch, and we weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves. Finally we took the Peak Tram up Victoria Peak where we saw a beautiful view for about 5 minutes before we were swallowed by clouds and enjoyed a nice rainstorm. We probably should have quit there and gone back to our little hostel, but took a taxi across the island to Stanley Market. We'd heard good things about it, but when we got there, we realized we had no money, the exchange rate was terrible, and let's face it - living in Asia 10 years means we've seen our share of markets. Taking a double decker bus back downtown afforded a beautiful view of the coast, then we joined the evening commute (read "thousands of Hong Kong residents") back to Mong Kok.

There are several things which I've observed about Hong Kong: first, I didn't realize they spoke so much English here. Really, this should never surprise me about a former British colony. Those British leave their mark. I am also surprised by how many people can speak Mandarin, since this is a Cantonese speaking area. This means many people here are trilingual and I am supremely jealous. I only know one phrase in Cantonese which is "Where is the McDonald's?" This is an important phrase in any country because it will get you food you recognize and decent bathrooms. Second, I've never seen so many tall buildings in one place. They've certainly made good use of their limited real estate. Third, mango tic tacs and Mentos gum - very fun! Fourth, while parts of Hong Kong are offensively urban, others are amazingly beautiful. Finally, the public transportation system here is quite similar to Singapore's, and boy do a lot of people use it. I've never seen so many people use the subway at once.

Day 1 in Hong Kong complete.

You Know You're In China When . . .

All eyes are unabashedly on you.

Taxi drivers consistently pull over to pick you up while you are out on a run. Do they not notice the difference between someone in a hurry and someone who is exercising? What makes this more strange is the fact that there are many people exercising in street clothes and dress shoes. They must really get hit on.

Cotton blossoms float in the air like giant snowflakes that can't land. Note to self: keep your mouth shut while you walk.

There is a huge urn in the middle of the new apartment you're trying to rent, and the landlady insists that it is good to have it because the winters are dry, and this could be filled with water.

You can stare directly at the sun through the haze.

You head toward a group of people in a park because they are white people, only to realize they are not YOUR white people.

People videotape you and your friends at your picnic just because you are foreigners.

You eat out with nine other people and the divided bill comes to $3 a person.

You figure out that when the land lady said the water damage on the wall of your apartment was from a dog, it didn't come from his mouth.

You eat kung pao chicken five times in three days.

You throw random Chinese words into conversation with other foreigners and it doesn't phase them.

You can't make your room colder because the hotel isn't going to turn the air conditioners on until April 15th no matter how hot it is.

Stop him! He has scissors and hand cream!

On my way to China I witnessed a man arguing with security. This man apparently had not attempted to fly since before 9/11. They had pulled out his four large bottles of lotion and cologne and were insisting that he couldn't bring them on the flight. He was insisting harder that he should be allowed to take them. He asked what I thought was a valid question, "What do you think I'm going to do with them?" This interchange continued for some time before the security woman finally went back to helping other passengers who had obediently put their tiny hand lotions in clear plastic bags.

In the end, he put the offensive items back in his bag and went to decompress in the waiting area with the rest of us. I thought, "if that guy tries to kill me with his hand lotion, I'm gonna sue the Singapore airport." Also, note to all potential international terrorists: the "wear them down" approach works in Singapore.

The Search is ON

We are in the midst of trying to find tickets back to the States from China this summer. Our dates are somewhat flexible, but our budget is limited, and it's a bit of a challenge.

An initial glance at Northwest and United puts us at $1,900+ per adult. Seriously?? Oy.

But! I found a site called AirGorilla that has flights on United for $1,300+. This is looking a little better. For only $856+ per adult we could make the trip if we are willing to fly three separate legs on three airlines, including Hainan Airlines. Nothing against the Chinese, but I'm guessing the in flight entertainment on the overseas flight to Seattle would be less than ideal. We could also fly Air Canada for $1,100+ if we don't mind a 14 hour layover in Toronto. I mind.

So the search continues. I keep switching our dates around, hoping for some magical combination that will allow us to fly at a reasonable rate. Isn't there a recession right now? Shouldn't air travel be cheap? Let me know if you've heard of a good way to get from here to there without shelling out too much green.

The Magic Kingdom

My first trip to Disney World was when I was six, so it seems fitting that Megan's first trip would be at the same age. I think six and up is the perfect time to take kids to Disney. Our kids were wired with excitement as we parked, took the tram to the "transportation center," hopped on the monorail, and entered the Magic Kingdom.

We thought it might be better to hop on the train to the back side of Disney and make our way forward to avoid crowds. Turns out the train's pretty slow, so I don't think we beat anyone, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. The first ride we hit was Goofy's Barnstormer, which is a mini-roller coaster. Ethan and I went together with Megan, Nonna and Erik soon to follow. Ethan laughed the whole way, and we had barely slowed down when he exclaimed, "Let's do it again!" I think he might have been happy just staying there the whole day. But we moved on.

I have some strong memories from my first trip which kept cropping up as we moved through the park - the Mad Tea Hatter's Ride which, as it turns out, is more fun when you're six; Snow White's Scary Adventures, which we avoided after we scared the pants off Megan in the Haunted Mansion; Pirates of the Carribean, where you can tell which animatronic people were created more recently than 1980; and the Jungle Boat Cruise, which was on a much larger river when I was 4 feet tall. Or so I remember. It was fun to relive my own memories while watching the kids make their own. And thank God for fast passes, though this time of year isn't a busy time at Disney. We hardly had any wait time for any rides.

The only part of the day I really didn't enjoy was Space Mountain. I know - it's one of the best rides, and it was Megan's favorite. But having my petite six year old, who barely made the height requirement, be flung back and forth in her seat in front of me in almost total darkness terrified me. Especially since by that point of the day she was all into the "raise your arms like this, it's more fun!" kind of coaster riding. I reached as far around the seat as I could and clung to the hood of her sweatshirt, like that would help if she launched from the car. I know, irrational of me, but I couldn't help it.

What surprised me about Disney was the amount of crying I observed. There's no crying at Disney World! C'mon - it's a magical place where dreams come true! Can I offer an explanation and perhaps a warning? The children who were crying were the little ones - the ones who were scared of the rides and the giant characters, tired from missing naps, and from being dragged around a huge amusement park. They're just too young. Save your money. They won't remember it anyway. Unless you know that your kids are troopers who love new experiences, take them to the county fair until they're old enough to appreciate it.

Wait until they're five or six, then have a great day with them, like we did.