Biting off more than I can chew (but loving every minute of it)!

I mentioned in one of my first posts that everything takes longer to accomplish here, so today I will go into great detail. I hope this isn't too boring and mundane. It is Friday, and our pets are arriving this afternoon. For the Chinese, it is a holiday weekend, but our kids have school on Monday. I had a long list of errands to attempt today:

1.) Go to uniform office, which is located in Owen's school to exchange a long sleeve shirt that was given to me in place of a short sleeve shirt I requested for Evan. While at the school, stop in the cafeteria to prepay a lunch card for Owen, since he finally saw an offering that was more tempting than the packed lunch I had been sending.

2.) Stop at the hotel downtown to pick up Evan's clothing that was inadvertently left behind on moving day. Also pick up important paperwork from the hotel that proves to that we had registered with the police there, as all visitors are required to do or risk getting fined. Every place we have stayed has done this for us, but neither Chris nor I had any recollection of the hotel taking care of this, so we were a bit nervous!

3.) Stop at the tailor to pick up some alterations I couldn't do myself because I don't have my sewing kit yet.

4.) Pick up a few items that were not available at our local grocery store, but that are available at another store close to the hotel.

5.) Take our passports and the papers from the hotel to our new landlord so that they could register us with the police at our new location.

6.) Pick up something for breakfast tomorrow.

7.) Be home in time for the pets to be delivered and meet the boys after school.

Now, if I were back in the states with my own car and no language barrier, I would have been able to accomplish all of these things. But instead, I only got about half of them done, and I am exhausted. I did not even attempt to go to the school, because it was raining this morning, and taxis are hard to get on a rainy day. I was confident I could get a taxi to school, but not sure one would wait for me while I conducted my business, or that I would be able to catch another one home. Add to this the fact that a major road near the school has been under construction (but should be done soon if it isn't already) and I just didn't want to risk getting stuck at the school for several hours. Instead, I opted to start my day with a trip downtown. I tried to flag a taxi on my own (the compound provides this service, but I was trying to be independent, silly girl!) and it took me over 20 minutes and one rejection (the driver either didn't know how to get to my destination, or it was too far away) before I finally got a taxi. The ride was uneventful. Some slowdowns on the highway, but got there via the most direct route (not always the case).

Stop Number 1

I start at the grocery store and stocked up on a few things, but nothing perishable or likely to be crushed, since I had lots of stops planned. I load up my wheeled shopping cart that I remembered to bring with me, but I didn't buy anything for breakfast, because it is still only 10:30 am. I had lots of time, right? Then I take a short walk to the hotel. There I was greatly relieved to see that they had the police forms. Oh wait, they have 3 forms, but there are 4 in our family. Where is the 4th form? 45 minutes later I am able to leave the hotel with all 4 forms and a bulging bag of clothing. Having had no caffeine all morning, my head is throbbing, so I stop for a cup of coffee in the lobby of the hotel next door. I will formulate my next step from there.

Stop Number 2


Since I don't know the metro route and have a horrible sense of direction, and I have a cart full of groceries AND a bag of clothing with me, I opt to take a cab to the fabric market. I had a business card with the tailor's address written in Chinese, which is essential for getting around when you don't speak any Chinese. Cab drivers generally don't read or speak any English, so having someone translate an address in advance  (or using the Google Translation app -- I have a smart phone, but it hasn't made me smart enough yet!) are essential. I manage to get a taxi to the fabric market quite easily and am in and out of there in no time. However, adding another bag into the mix, I decide that maybe I have time to catch a cab home and unload and grab some lunch. I am in a busy area and no rain is falling so hailing a cab is easy. However, the first cab will not take me to my destination, so I try again and am successful with the second cab driver.

Stop Number 3


I stop at the landlord's office to drop off the papers and passports and am told that the person who can deal with this is on vacation. Panic sets in because on Wednesday we were told that it must be dealt with within 3 days. The woman makes some calls, and tells me all is well, they DO have someone who can take the passports and paperwork to the police today. I go home and fix lunch. In the meantime, I get a call telling me that they do not have all of the paperwork from Papadumpling's employer, and that we will have to appear in person at the police station on Tuesday. I request assistance with this, and am promised an escort on Tuesday. I wait while the office worker produces a letter with an official seal that should keep us in good standing with the police. It is now almost 3 pm and I am exhausted. I consider making a trip out to buy breakfast goodies and a dish to pass for tomorrow's school BBQ, but I am spent, and I'm not sure I even have enough time, for reasons that hopefully are now evident! I decide to take it easy, put my feet up and blog instead. The boys and the pets will be here soon, and we have food to eat tomorrow morning, even if it isn't traditional breakfast fare. Today hasn't gone as expected so far, but it hasn't been dull. I hope it doesn't sound like I am complaining, because I am not unhappy, I am just learning how to adapt in this new place.