"zow shang how"

So, I tried out some of my Chinese this morning with the driver that JCI provides to our family for all our transportation needs. When Mr. Liu responded with a smile, I knew that I must have been close and definitely did not offend him.

The subject title above translates, "Good morning". The rest of the drive with Mr. Liu was deathly silent though because I had exhausted my Chinese language capability. (He speaks very little english) I spent the drive reading my chinese-english dictionary. By the time we arrived, I had figured out "shyeah-shyeah" which means thank you. He proceeded to kick me in the shin because he thought I said "your van smells like cat on stick". J/K.

My Dad successfully called our house today. I'll update the blog once I get the details on what service he used. I believe the call costed him 42 cents for the connection plus 2 cents for each minute. I thought that was reasonable. We'll post the going rates people are getting so that we can all find the best deal possible.

We are still working to get the internet connection up and running at the apartment. Soon thereafter, we'll start posting pictures/video of the kids/apartment/activities/etc. I'm logged on at work right now and the blogger website is in Chinese so I'm clicking links/buttons based upon memory.

Thanks for your prayers. The biggest challenge thus far is the time change. The kids don't want to get out of bed from naptime. The one day we let them continue sleeping after nap, they woke up ready to rock and roll at 10pm. Not good!!! Also, they are missing the bulk of their toys that are being shipped by air. Aimee explained today that Elijah is following her around all the time because he's got nothing else to do. The bag full of toys we brought on the plane are not enough to keep Elijah occupied. I think they will start taking advantage of the clubhouse (swimming pool, indoor play area, game room, etc) on a daily basis. It's very convenient.

More to come later.....