It's kind of incredible to think that we have been in China for over
six months now. Time has gone by so quickly that it snuck up on us! I've
had a lot to share but have put off because of how busy work has been,
and I've quite frankly been too lazy to upload and edit pictures. With
the way my procrastination works, I might as well share words with you
now, and pictures with you later, or I'll never get around to anything
at all!
Suzhou has been wonderful to us. We really enjoy our city and the
pace of life. We love the apartment complex we live in, and have
established a level of comfort with the people that live around us. We
are obviously recognizable, and people have become familiar and used to
having us around. The majority of the people here are sweet natured, and
we have had several instances of people defending us or taking care of
us when we have struggled to communicate or rise to a social custom.
Several weeks ago we were trying to buy some fruit to snack on from a
fruit vendor outside of the complex and were frustrated with his
attempts to take advantage of our being foreign. We were being as clear
as we could about how much we wanted, he 'knew' but was trying to up
sale anyway. A few people passing by that recognized us observed what
was going on and stood in on our behalf and badgered him into giving us
what we were asking for. In a place where many of the cultural
differences cause clashes and aggravation, I've really learned to
appreciate the underlying kindness in the people here.
Work continues and I do my best to thrive within it. It's been an
interesting experience to work for Disney in an educational setting.
It's been even more so interesting to observe the state of education in
other countries in comparison with home along with parenting styles,
expectations on children, and the relationship the two cultures have
with their teachers. I'm sincerely grateful to have had this experience
and I really think it will shape my decisions as I move forward with my
career when we return home.
Jeff
has probably had the most sincerely funny, aggravating, eye opening,
and all around more interesting experiences between the two of us, and I
cannot begin to tell his stories as well as he can ( I suppose I'll
have to push him into sharing a few posts). While I spend the majority
of my time working and recovering from working, he spends his time out
and about running errands, exploring, avoiding conflicts { or not}, and
overall interacting with this people much more frequently than I do.
He's had much more experience with culture shock than I {working in an
English speaking environment has been life saving}, and has had his ups
and downs with being here. He's been anxiously engaged in trying to find
work to occupy and supplement our income, and in doing so has met some
interesting people along the way. Still, with the challenge of running
the household, and staving off boredom, he continues to be the plucky
and amazing guy we all know and adore. He's pretty much the most awesome
person I know and I'm so very glad to have him here.
This has been the most amazing experience to go through as a newly
married couple. We have the freedom of independence in the extreme
living half-way around the world. We've been able to hammer out some of
our differences without the interference of {loving} family and friends.
We've really had to be each other's best friend in every way, because
there's not really anyone else to do it! I get compliments and
astonishment from the local girls that I work with here. They frequently
exclaim how lucky and well taken care of by {
Mr. Incredible}
and that their husbands don't do anywhere near what he does for me.
Well into our second year of marriage I'm pleased to say that I have not
been more in love with this excellent man than I am now.
I've been thinking a lot on the subject of marriage. My attitude
towards the institution has changed so dramatically since getting
married myself. I get so gleeful looking through the pictures of friends
nuptials, and I love seeing people so happy to have found that perfect
person for them. It reminds me of how happy I was to go through it
myself. There's also been a flip side to this phenomenon. So many people
I know have ended their marriages. So young, so sudden, and so sad to
think about. There have been a couple of days where I've been stuck in
my head pondering what must go wrong to give up on a spouse and marriage
so early. People that I've known for a long time and who made excellent
couples have split and it simply breaks my heart. It also makes me
meta-cognizant of how important my own relationship is to me, and how
much harder I want to work on myself and my partnership with Jeff. I
simply don't think that I could go through that kind of heartbreak, and
cannot fathom losing my best friend.
If that wasn't enough to think about, I've also been thinking about
babies. No, Jeff and I don't have any news we'd like to share, but
thanks for asking {;)}. Babies are simply springing up left and right
around here like weeds. Here, and on Facebook, in fact. Of course we
want to have our own eventually. In the mean time, I've just been
contemplating parenting and paths to parenthood a lot. The cultural
differences, rules, norms, and expectations are so different in the two
countries; it's been intriguing to watch how the differences affect the
outcome of the children. I've had several interesting conversations with
the ladies I work with about the one child policy and their thoughts
and opinions on it, as well as the technicalities of it, and the entire
culture around child rearing here is so fascinating.
We haven't travelled as much as we would like to while here in China,
but we're more focused on saving money and doing what's fiscally
responsible for us and our future. In spite of that, we've had some
great experiences locally that we've been able to participate in, and I
don't feel like we've missed out simply because we haven't been all over
the country. We are very lucky to have picked the city that we have,
because in doing so we are located in a culturally rich area where we
have been able to experience and see most of what makes china unique and
special. When I finally do get around to those pictures, I'll be sure
to share some of the festivals and places we've been able to visit in
more detail.
We continue to learn, grow, and enjoy our experiences here in China.
We haven't regretted the decision to spend this time here, although we
do miss family and friends very much. We look forward to the next six
months with just as much optimism as when we came, and look forward to
sharing our adventures with you!
Thank you for your love and support!
-Ashley
