Christmas in February, Meet the Ayi

When Santa arrives in February, for the second Christmas of the year, he looks less Nordic, is much thinner and he brings with him several elves all dressed in red! Tuesday the 27th was a momentous day here in Belle Wood Villas as our ocean shipment finally arrived! I shouldn't say finally as some families have been waiting more than six weeks for theirs to come and one even had to endure three months without their belongings.
Two Sante Fe moving trucks just slightly larger than a small UHaul and about 7 men delivered all of our comforts and necessities from back home.We worried about not having sent enough items to make it feel "homey", but I think we may run out of space for some of this stuff!
The movers were amazing. They brought all the boxes in, opened them, helped unpack items and put them where I asked, and set up the cribs right away. I reached for the high chairs as soon I spotted their shape under the brown paper wrapping as Ava and Caden were about to get started on their morning toast with strawberry jam.
"Christmas" cannot even convey the feeling in words what it means to have our stuff! I think that Ava and Caden feel the same way as they look in wonderment at all of the toys that they haven't seen in two months. The first few naps and the first night didn't go so well in their cribs as I think they were used to their large mattress on the floor. I think Ava was quite thrilled to be able to crawl over her brother each morning and get out of bed when she wanted to. Mommy and Daddy are much happier to have them contained!




I also want Brandon to know that I was so happy to unwrap my Montana mug that he got me on one of his father son skiing trips to Big Sky. I washed it up right away and had it ready for my cup of joe this morning! Maxwell House never tasted so good.






Another new development in our Shanghai adventure is the hiring of our Ayi (Auntie). We would like you all to meet Ms. Zhang (pronounced like Dzhung if that helps you out any). Ms. Zhang is with the kids and me Monday through Friday 8:30-4:30, however, she is trying to make a good impression by staying longer so we practically have to push her out of the door in the evening. She is wonderful with the kids and is keeping our house clean despite the messes we manage to make each minute of the day. Although Ayi (what women in this profession prefer to be called) doesn't speak any more English than a few words, we have been communicating quite well through the Surviving the Ayi Handbook which was published by two expat women to help nonChinese speaking tai tai (term for lady of the house) like me. She is patiently working with me though to teach me pronounciations and to help me learn some Chinese.

First Couple of Weeks in China

Sabrina sent out an email early last week before we had this website figured out and off the Chinese language default so I'm attaching that email below. It documents just about everything that has happened through week #1. Many of you may have already read it. I added it as it kind of chronicles our first week.

In addition, I'll try to characterize what life is like without 80% of your belongings such as high chairs, cribs, cooking utinsils, & other necessities. (our shipment is scheduled to arrive the first week in March) Actually it is not that bad, it is like being at the cabin or something on that order. Plus the weather has been in the high 50's to low 60's and very, very sunny & mild. Much more beautiful than 10 below and a foot and a half of snow. It is stroller weather here. Flowers are out and we are tackling this together. It is a challenge at times no doubt but it is much more rewarding then one can imagine.

This past week was the Chinese New Year celebration so basically the whole country is shut down except for the service sector such as retail & so on. I must say the 4th of July doesn't hold a candle to the fireworks displays here over the past week. It's a good thing they are all made here because a fortune, by US standards, in fireworks has been ignited each night for about a week now. Anyway because of this holiday, I worked from home this week. This was nice because it allowed us a slower transition. I basically worked very early in the morning for a couple of hours and worked 2 or 3 hours after breakfast and another 2 or 3 after lunch or after the twins are down for the evening.

In our other time, the weather has made it convenient so we have spent a lot of time walking around the neighborhood with the stroller exploring. We ate at Papa Johns for dinner tonight. Yes, Papa Johns. We've checked out the major supermarkets in the area and I think we both agree the supermarket will be a thing we do without the kids because as Sabrina mentioned in her email the twins just attract so much attention that it is next to impossible to get anything completed or shopped for in an efficient manner before the kids are hungry again or Caden is spooked out of his skin from Chinese people talking Chinese about two inches from his nose. I took the camera the other day to take a picture of this. The picture is attached. This picture was taken very early in our visit to this store. It progressed to be much worse. (STMA - you should be proud with the sweatshirt :) But like my dad says, "it could be worse...at least they like you"... this is so true. We are lucky in this regard... but we just feel a bit like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jollee.

Just as we did in Minnesota and I am sure we do what anyone does with 10 month old twins... we spend a lot of time indoors in our new home. Time is passed playing in one part of the house until that becomes boring, so we move to another part of the house, break out the guitar, take a nap, and start all over again, between a meal, snack, or bottle here and there. It all culmunates over a hot bath and a bottle before bed time at 7:30 or so. The kids are sleeping through the night now quite nicely - with a few wake up glitches every now then when Caden wets himself a bit much or Ava rolls over and bonks her head on the wall. We have taken a mattress and put on the floor as a make shift crib. Ava is starting to think it is pretty cool to crawl off the mattress and rug burn her forehead. But all in all we are very lucky that they have adjusted so well.

Though we are doing very well, we still have our times of stress and anxiety. Sabrina has her Pilates & I am starting to hit the gym 3 to 4 nights a week. Sabrina and I also spend a lot of time on the computer answering emails, talking to love ones via webcam on Windows Messenger, catching up with what is going on back in the US, and we also are starting to get to know people in our neighborhood and other Americans living in the general vicinity.

Until next time...

{here is Sabrina's earlier email}

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Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 06:59:54 -0600

Hello everyone!

We arrived a little weathered yet in one piece on your Tuesday morning, our Tuesday evening. We expected our little firecracker Ava to have the rougher time on the plane, but Caden just couldn't get comfortable. In an effort to not be thrown out of the cabin by the other passengers, we spent much of the time walking around with him. Come to find out, he was suffering from one ear infection and the other one was on it's way. We learned this after our first trip to the Shanghai East International Clinic yesterday. In a way, it was good to use the clinic this early on so we kind of know how healthcare works here.

Much of the week has been spent trying to get settled. Our air shipment(small) was delivered yesterday. We were grateful to get the kids toys finally! Unfortunately our large sea shipment with all of our other essentials has been delayed. It was supposed to arrive 2/12, but now is expected the first week in March. So... no cribs, kitchen items, formula, baby food, more clothes etc until then. We went to IKEA the other day to get towels, kitchen supplies, and other household essentials to help us make do until the shipment arrives. IKEA in Shanghai is amazingly like the one in Bloomington, except every sign/label is in Chinese.

We've been to the Carrefour (SuperWalmart like store) a couple of times now for groceries and to start buying some appliances. Our 10 cup coffeemaker cost close to $100 - the same model that you can buy at TARGET back home for about $30! Strange how some things are much more expensive and others are extremely cheap - like fruits, veggies, some clothing. There are two grocery stores that deliver to homes in our housing compound and you can get quite a lot of American products. However, you will pay a little over $2 for a box of Kraft Mac-n-Cheese. We are experimenting with food very little at this point because we have nothing to cook things in, but we've tried different types of Chinese cereal, noodles (like Ramen), yogurt, breads, produce etc. It's hard to shop when you can't read the labels, nutritional content or even the directions on how to cook things!

Shopping has also become challenging in another way. Our twins have something akin to celebrity status. You don't see too many children, especially babies, in Shanghai. Plus, "the Dragon and the Phoenix", or what boy girl twins are called, have a very special status in China. They are seen as very good luck and the parents are "strong". We literally stop people in their tracks wherever we go. People talk to them and to us in words that we don't understand, peer into the stroller, touch them, point at them and on and on. They almost fall over each other to take a look. At first it was kind of scary, then flattering, and now it is almost annoying. It is difficult to get anything done in any short amount of time and we are not fond of people touching our children. Think of this all going on while you are at a Walmart on the Friday after Thanksgiving and then multiply it by 5. No kidding, it is that crowded in the grocery store. Some lady crawled over me and the stroller to get in front of it to take a look at the babies today while we were on the conveyor like belt up to the second floor of the store. CRAZY! We try to keep in mind that they all mean very well and just do not get to see something like Caden and Ava everyday.

Other than that we are trying out drivers and Ayis (housekeeper/nanny) to find ones that "fit" our family. I'm looking forward to the help as Tony goes back to work next week after the Chinese New Year holiday. Which, by the way, has turned Shanghai into a nightly war zone with a plethora of fireworks that we can see from every window in our home. They are being shot off between high rise apartment buildings right next to us as we write this. We are also trying to work out the glitches in our home - power failures, lost internet (that's why you haven't heard from us), an overactive security alarm system, and a leaky water cooler and dishwasher. Whenever we call for service about 2-4 people show up. One with choppy English and the rest who don't speak a word. So far, only two items have been fixed and the others only partially fixed and we get ridiculous explanations for why things don't work or can't work. I'm not sure any of the 4 men that showed up to show us how to use the home security system, mainly to make it stop beeping, knew how it actually works. And, its still beeping. Ahh.... the adventure continues.

I'll close by letting you all know that we are doing well but we miss you so much. There are hard points every now and then, but we are working out the kinks. Caden and Ava are adjusting very well and are almost back to sleeping through the night on their mattress on the floor that will have to do until their cribs arrive. Tony and I still want to go to bed around 8 and we wake up around 4-5 in the morning, but we are slowly adjusting. We are 14 hours ahead of you so it takes a few days to adjust, but it is not as bad as one might think.

Keep your emails coming, Sabrina and Tony

The Trip

The trip on the plane was somewhat eventful as we thought that Ava was going to be the sparkplug and not want to sit in one spot for 12+ hours. But it was quite the opposite as Caden couldn't get comfortable and we later found out that he indeed did have an ear infection. He did sleep the first half of the trip but was very uncomfortable on the 2nd half of the flight to Tokyo and the final leg from Tokyo to Shanghai. Sabrina and I took turns walking with him around and around the cabin. On the other hand, Ava was just taking all of the activity in and watched as she was seeing so many "new" things for the first time. I don't think she mumbled a cry the whole flight - well maybe one or two.

We arrived at 8:30 pm Tuesday the 13th of February with six large suitcases, one diaper bag, one camera bag, one car seat, two coats that we no longer needed because sub zero temperatures are non existent in Shanghai, two weathered and weary kids and two very tired parents. Before we left the US, we arranged for a driver to pick us up and as we exited the Customs area there was a small Chinese man in a suit holding a sign "Tony Wixo". You would have thought we just met Jesus Christ himself as we were just relieved to get to our new home as soon as possible. It was kind of comical. Our first full day in China would be Valentine's Day.

Below is the house we arrived at located in BelleWood Villas that we will be calling home. It is located in the Pudong area of Shanghai and is about 25 minutes from the international airport and about 15 minutes from the central downtown area of Pudong, Shanghai and about 20 minutes from Tony's work (in good traffic). The house is located on the outer edge of complex and immediately behind our house - like literally 10 ft - is the club for the complex that has a small convenience store, children's play area, guest rooms, a swimming pool, and other ammenties. BelleWood's homes are built in a "western style" and they have everything from GE appliances to the standard wall plugs that Americans are used to. However, everything here is 220 not 110. Tony already fried our baby monitor and the transformer to the computer scanner.

More next time...

Last Days in the good ol' USA

Sorry about being delinquent on updating our blog, but when we logged in once we arrived in Shanghai, everything on the website was formatted in the Chinese language. Though we do plan to learn Chinese, our skill is not quite there yet as one might imagine. Tony got it figured out and we are set to go. :)

Winding down the move to Shanghai was as one might imagine a busy, hectic, at times tear filled, departure from our home, very, very good friends, and of course family & loved ones. Our neighbors and Sabrina's co-workers at her school threw a send off / good-bye party for us. It was bittersweet as it was a time to relax and enjoy each others company but also we knew that we would miss everyone for an extended period of time. Tony also had some of his best friends - Adam Lupien fly in from Phoenix, AZ, Mike Tagliapietra drive in from Wisconsin, Russ Hanson fly in from North Dakota, and Kelly Flynn drive in from Iowa. They had some good times and drank more than a few beers along the way.

As for family, the Wixo parents spent extended weekends helping get things packed and moved and took a number of things to North Dakota that we just did not want to go into storage for 3 years. Sabrina's mom, Sandi, also came to Minnesota to give us a much needed hand. It's not easy trying to pack and make sure three kids are happy and being looked after. We thank all of you for your sacrifice of time for us. Having our house sell unexpectedly at the last minute added a lot of stress in the near term, we could not have completed everything without your help. Again, we are truly grateful and blessed to have a family like all of you. Thanks.

We spent our final days in the US at our good friends, Ben & Michelle Feldman's home in Buffalo, and at Grand Lodge in Bloomington, MN. Grand Lodge is home to WaterPark of America and is near the Mall of America. Brandon joined us and we reserved the family suite which allowed us to comfortably kick back and take a few deep breathes for some quality R&R before the big flight "over the pond". Chad & Amy (Sabrina's brother & wife & mother to be) also visited us on Sunday for some relaxation time around the pool, and our "last supper". Brandon, one of his friends, Chad & Tony swam in the waterpark and spent numerous quarters in the game area, while Amy & Sabrina brought the twins down to the pool area. Fun for all, however we don't think Caden & Ava liked the waterpark as much as they do their bath routine . Note to file...

Our departure day came too soon on Monday, February 12th. Tony took Brandon to his mom's home for a tearful goodbye and hug. We then picked Chad up from his work and he took us to the airport to start the adventure.

Stay tuned for more blogs...much more to come.