Likes and dislikes so far..

The things I like –
- great vegetables - the flavors are so incredible. I do not know what I am going to do when we move back to the U.S.
- amazing food - nothing like it is in the U.S. 100 times better.
- friendly people who are really kind. We are served daily by those that are around us. They help so much with daily living. I can't even begin to thank them for helping us survive each day.
- merry go rounds - You begin to realize that all of the litigation might keep us safer, but it also sucks the enjoyment out of life.
- visiting the supermarket - it is always a fun adventure watching the boys see something cool at the markets.
- learning new ways of doing things - I like to learn the strengths of each culture, and why they do certain things. In China for example, they drink a lot of soup, and they do it for the calicium that goes into the water from the bones. I didn't know that was the case.
- subways - clean, effieicent, cheap (30 cents per ride), close, and in English
- cheap labor - deliveries and repairs are fast. So are massages, etc.
- taxi - they are cheap - $5 will get you across town, $1.50 in your neighborhood.
- not having to fight the kids to learn Chinese
- exploring new places
- science museum - they have the most incredible science musuem. we go at least once a month.
- the clothing - the styles on the boys clothing is cuter.
- having someone cook and clean...I just point and say what I want her to cook and it is done
- long school days - an absolute necessity when I have been getting settled.
- accelerated learning on some things....my friend claims that her 2nd child after 2 months is playing more difficult peices than her oldest who has been taking piano classes for years in the U.S.

what I don’t like
- sewer gases coming up through the floor or our bathroom
- bathrooms are smelly
- not being able to read
- feeling behind or burdensome because I always need help translating
- dirty - Beijing has a lot of construction going on
- crap in my apartment that is broken but the landlord doesn't want me to throw it away, but at the same time feels entitled to leave in the apartment
- the weather - autumn is the only bearable season in Beijing. Winters are horribly cold, sandstorms come in Spring, and Summer is hot, humid and polluted.
- long school days - there is no family time
- pressures of Chinese living – maybe you can live up to them if you have one child and 4 grandparents and 2 parents working a child you can get them to perform at that level....as a single mom of three kids I am just happy to get through the day.....which reminds me that Gavin doesn't have his jump rope at school! Ahhhhh!
- mandatory 2 1/2 hour naps at school. Getting kids to bed at night is a problem.
- not having a dryer...cloths do not dry fast enough and get really musty smelling.
- there is no real oven