My New Staff

How can kids earn a buck (or a kuai) or two while living overseas?

Mine were asking for ways to do just that. Consequently, I have brought them on as members of the Survive and Thrive blogging team! IA's roles are tech support and photography, and AA is my staff writer.

For their S&T debut, IA has redesigned the look of the blog & coordinated the photos used. AA has written about her experiences camping, ice skating and playing soccer here in Beijing.
(I got a few words in at the end, too.)

We welcome any feedback about our new format.

Thanks, and enjoy!

Fun on the ice!

Ice Skating

 The other day LB, IA and I all went to the mall to try ice-skating. We got all bundled up, and made the long, tiring walk… it was all the way across the street. When we arrived, we saw all the amazing Chinese skaters and hockey players, all of whom were younger than me! After skating for about 35 minutes, IA was ready to go home. LB and I were set on using our full 90 minutes, so he journeyed home alone. No sooner had he left than we decided to shed off our coats and gloves. When my mom said we had to go home, LB and I did everything we could to make her let us stay longer. However, in the end, we both droopily sulked to the bench. I hope we can go ice-skating again soon! -AA

 Camping

Last Friday, IA and I had the wonderful opportunity to go camping with some of our American friends. Chris, who camps quite often, led the group. We took the one-and-a-half hour van ride up, getting acquainted with anyone we hadn’t already met. By the time we got there, I had gotten to know two girls: Cheryl and Kyrie. Ian had been talking to Gabe, Sean, Nick, and Chris. After putting on our thick coats, for it was already 7:30pm and very cold, we took the 45-minute hike up the mountain. Next on the agenda, all of us kids set up camp: Girls on kitchen duty and boys on tent-set-up. My friends and I then made dinner, which consisted of cream-of-mushroom soup and bread. Then we had a campfire and s’mores, which Cheryl and Sean had never tried before! We didn’t get to sleep until around one in the morning, but we all fell asleep quite quickly. The next morning, after eating a scrumptious breakfast of oatmeal and dried fruits and packing up, we hiked with Chris’s group of college students to an un-refurbished section of the Great Wall. The hike was very long, steep, and strenuous. When we got to the top, we had lunch on the wall. Lunch was re-hydrated humus with cucumbers wrapped in a tortilla. After walking around on the beautiful wall, which was overgrown with trees and bushes, we hiked back down. Then came the long and peaceful ride home. We had an amazing time!

  Soccer

Every Thursday, AB, IA and I take an hour-long subway outing to get to a big grass field. There we meet all of our foreign friends and play a little friendly soccer game! There are about 25 kids, plus a few grown-ups, who do the same. Each family is paying a fee to help rent out the field every Thursday. The three of us have made great friends, and going to soccer has become the highlight of each week. Any week without it seems empty and boring! -AA

Dad runs by in a blur!

SayingGoodbye

Sadly, our spoken Chinese teacher, Zheng Laoshi (Teacher Zheng), said farewell to our family this week.  She was recently married, and shortly after her wedding she came down with an illness of some sort. Her doctor has told her that she needs a long rest from teaching in order to fully recover. We will sure miss her, but she told us that when she begins to feel well, she would like to show us the sights around Beijing and take us to some of her favorite restaurants. We hope that will happens soon! We are getting to know our new teacher, Li Laoshi, and we know we will learn much from her as well. -GA

 

Yum!

Sea cucumber, anyone?

While living in the US we made a Chinese friend who has since moved back to Beijing. We were able to reconnect with her last Sunday, and she took us out for Peking Duck, Beijing's most celebrated cuisine. Everyone enjoyed the sliced roast duck, served wrapped in thin tortillas (for lack of a better word), with sweet bean sauce, cucumbers (the garden variety) and green onions. Our host also ordered several other tasty dishes, but thankfully she knew that our American taste buds were not quite ready for some of the items on the menu (see photo).



We continue to enjoy our daily lives here in Asia! Thanks to all of those who pray for us!-GA