Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

Thanksgiving weekend is always a little different here. Last year both of us were sick, so we stayed at home and ate the most American meal we could find in our fridge- hot dogs and baked beans.

It's strange when holiday traffic is the same traffic you face every day (frightening in it's own way- we'll write about that another entry), when Black Friday is just another Friday, and you need to work your turkey cooking schedule around your classes.

This year, we joined some friends for a traditional turkey dinner that was truly something to be thankful for. Dinner was followed by games of "heads up seven up" and "apples to apples", since the traditional football games wouldn't be on until after midnight (and even then they wouldn't be aired here).

Friday was a busy work day, Saturday was mildly restful, then on Sunday we went back to the orphanage. Rob left his guitar at home this time, but singing a capella was just as fun. We had twice as many volunteers than we expected (which was great!). When we arrived, we had a chance to do a personal interview with the director of the orphanage- learning that one of the girls from last time, an 11-year-old who had never spoken a word, started singing a few weeks ago! When we showed up, she sang for us some of the songs we had taught them last month!

The last hour of our time was a lesson in humility and servanthood. We put ourselves at the orphanage's disposal to do whatever work they needed. So a few of us ended up outside digging rocks out of a path that they hoped to one day pave. There was some grumbling about whether or not this was the best way to complete the task and some questions as to whether or not we should just give them the money to hire someone to do a professional paving job, but in the end, we learned to quietly submit ourselves to those whom we were serving. Sometimes serving others only works when it's on their terms, not ours.

All in all, a great holiday weekend (despite Rob's swine cold), but I do wish it would have ended with a Steelers victory in Baltimore.

Thanksgiving

Perhaps I (Rob) was a bit hasty (and negative) in my venting about the weather. This week has been a beautiful autumn week- cool but not cold, sunny, crisp...
So of course I got sick, Maybe I got that "Swine Cold" April was talking about. April, for her part, is in class this Thanksgiving Day, because there's no such holiday in East Asia!

So I'm trying to learn thankfulness. I'm realizing that default mode for me is to only be driven to thankfulness when I am in want. When something is lacking, I realize that I shouldn't take for granted what I do have. Even that phrase, 'take for granted' speaks a lot to me. I take for granted, that is, I assume will always be the case, that I have food, general health, friends, shelter, etc. I never envision a world where I lack these things.

True thankfulness sees even the 'givens' as gifts. Ironically, we call them "givens" and mean that we ought to have them. We are entitled to them. But the word "given" even points to the gift, and the gift points to the Giver.

So Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you are able to celebrate in a warm home, with a full plate of food, surrounded by loved ones. Good gifts all around.

The Blahs

November in our city can be a pretty nasty month, weatherly speaking. Pardon me while I vent and revel in a moment of discontent.

It's usually in early mid-October that Summer makes its hasty exit, like a social butterfly who just realized she has a better party to go to somewhere south of the equator. Summer is followed by what might be called the season of Autumn, but around here, it's less of a season and more of a short reprieve. But it's usually an enjoyable two or three weeks here. Then Winter shows up like an angry bully with something to prove.

Winter: "So you liked all that sunshine and warm weather, eh? Well let's see how long you can last without it! I can make the sun disappear for so long, you'll break out the Coppertone the next time you see a streetlamp!"
Me: *cough, cough*

Spring? Spring is as fleeting as Autumn, and it doesn't start until mid-April. Ugh. Our extended forecast calls for rain and cold. The meteorologists here have the easiest job for the next 6 months. "Weather forecast? Uh, sure. How about- mostly cloudy, 50% chance of rain, high of 45 degrees." There you have it. I have predicted the next 6 months of weather with depressing accuracy.

Rob has his seasonal cough/sniffles from the sudden change in seasons, and April wishes that humans were capable of hibernating. It's just a blah kind of day.
And the Steelers lost. To the Bengals.
Maybe tomorrow will be better :-/

Why I'm Glad, not Mad (a domestic update from Rob)

Warning- this story has a lot of background and little point, but it does give a good snapshot of the mundane aspects of our daily life.

A few weeks ago, I read an article online about 'creative uses for household items'. It suggested using old tissue boxes to hold plastic bags you intend to re-use. Since our city banned the free distribution of plastic bags at grocery stores, the stores now charge for bags, so we use cloth bags and hoard our plastic bags for later use. As a result, that frightening under-the-sink kitchen cabinet (you know what I'm talking about) is packed full of various bags, cleaners, and always a few surprises. So when I read about the great idea of storing plastic bags in old Kleenex boxes, I eagerly awaited the day when we finished off one our our boxes of tissue.

Then April got a cold. She claims she has the "Swine Cold."

This morning, when the first (and later second) box went empty, I cleared out the cabinet and stuffed plastic bags into tissue boxes. So far, I love it. But here's what made me really happy:

East Asia trash bags are frustratingly thin. In all my years here, I've never pulled a trash bag out of the can without it tearing in some way. Sometimes it rips completely open. I've taken to double-bagging in the can. During our trip to the States this past spring, we brought back some wonderfully thick trash bags, which we used up after a few months. Or so we thought...

This morning I discovered a whole new stash of unused American trash bags. I'm so happy :) Now we have a better way to get rid of all those used tissues...

Orphanage Visit

Well, it's been a busy few weeks. Here's a little video of how we spent our Saturday this week.



April helped organize a trip to an orphanage for mentally and physically disabled children. She managed to talk Rob into coming along and bringing his guitar. In all, we had about 30 volunteers, East Asian as well as American, which was good because some of these children need two people with them just to help them move.



We spent much of our time with this little girl who was born without an anus. She was about a year and a half old now and is doing well after her surgery. We were ready to take her home that day! It was hard to say good-bye to those precious little ones. We hope to be able to visit them often this year, bringing more friends who are ready to learn about and love those in need.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Ladies and Gentlemen, aprilandrob productions is pleased to present:
"Proof that Rob is finally doing something about all the video and pictures saved on our computer"!!!!

Seriously, though, I'm trying to learn how to combine our videos and pictures into nifty videos like this, so we can save space on our computer. Not to mention it makes for much better reminiscing than sorting through file after file.

So here you have (I hope, this internet video thing still baffles me) a 15-minute presentation of our trip to Xi'an this past spring, including a visit to the famed Terracotta Soldiers. My favorite part is the slo-mo yo-yo guy at the park. (and yes, that was a shameless teaser to make you watch the whole thing).

Please leave us comments telling us what you think of it!

Rob's Update

Some of you know that I'm in a different city this week, taking a class. Unfortunately, the prof got sick and spent Monday night (warning: gross phrase ahead) puking up his guts. So we watched videos of the class material Tuesday, then had half a day off. It's Wednesday afternoon, and we're watching videos again. Normally, two days off isn't a big deal, but when they cram a 4 credit Master's program class into 5 full days of lecture, missing 2 days is like missing...a month. I'm hoping this won't affect our ability to get credit!

Meanwhile, April is back in our apartment and has her own classes this week. Email her and try to get her blogging! Let's get an April update!!!

Funny things I saw yesterday and wish I had a camera for:
-East Asian security guards- in cowboy hats
-a sign at the front of a bus saying "No chat with driver"
-a giant sign saying in English "ent hospital". Until I saw the East Asian translation, which was "Ear Nose Throat Hospital", I was on the lookout for giant walking trees.

Local Art (by Rob)

Here is a picture from our dining room window, looking down on the water pond in our neighborhood. I don't think I need to comment on this, it pretty much speaks for itself.

Meditations on a Haircut (by Rob)

I cut my hair today. Well, 'cut' is probably rather generous and implies more skill than I possess. I shaved my head, which requires no more skill than is needed to continually rub my scalp with electric clippers.


About every 6 weeks, have this twinge of guilt that maybe I shouldn't shave my own head. Seriously, I'm trying to live economically, trying to save money wherever I can, but by shaving my own head every 6 weeks, I'm only saving about 6 dollars...a year. And that's assuming I keep sporting this super-slick peach fuzz. Yeah, I know, 6 dollars a year is not a lot. But every little bit helps, and maybe it's more the principle than the bottom line, in this case.


Now here's where the guilt comes in: supporting small local businesses. When I hear the term "small local business", I usually think of the mom-and-pop coffee shop that my wife dreams of working at some day. Here in my corner of East Asia, small local business in the hair cutting business is this:


















Yep, that's me getting a haircut sitting under 60 tons of concrete highways. Very high ways. These guys (and gals) come out in good weather, prop up a chair, hang a mirror, and throw a towel around the neck of anyone willing to spend 80 cents on a trim. No paying rent, no utilities, even the clean-up is left to the street sweepers.


It's not Vidal Sassoon. It's not even the Hair Cuttery. But for a guy like me, it gets the job done.


Some of these folks are amazing. You see the 80 year old man who has been doing this for 65 years, the middle-aged woman who did it for a career change, or the young guy just starting out. The young guy down the road from my old apartment is my favorite. I saw him give an eyebrow trim (yes, you read that right) to a VERY old man, then walk him back to his apartment. Then while my hair was getting cut (and boy is it fun watching them try to figure out what to do with curly hair!), he was setting up a weekly house call with an elderly lady who wanted him to give a haircut to her 90+ year-old father. I want to keep these people in business.


So what do I do? I think what I'm leaning towards is doing my own buzz cuts in the summer, and letting them wrestle with the curls the rest of the year. So what if I only save $4 a year? There's a bigger principle at stake.

You Found Us!!! (a welcome from Rob)

OK, so we probably gave you the address and urged you to check it out, so you did not technically "find" us, but whatever.
Welcome to our little space where you'll get (hopefully) frequent updates on our daily life. For security reasons, we can't talk about our job, but we can give you a glimpse into our life here. Nothing too serious (usually), just whatever is on our minds. We'll try to make sure you know who is writing each entry so that the voice you read it with in your head can be gender-accurate.
We're going to work on getting a comments section soon, so you can say hi back at us. Or tell us how crazy you think we are (you know who you are!).
That's it for now- good job on finding us! :)