Angelica's New Toy

Gallant Guangzhou - 10 Great Things About Living Here!

1) Mangoes!!! The mangoes here are bigger than ANY I've ever seen (not all of us grew up in Africa, you know)! I can make a mango lassi anytime I want - and I DO! Besides, it's totally healthy - no sugar added! The marvelous mangoes do it all!

2) Oatmeal is available in LARGE bags and it is cheap!

3) Cheese exists here! Albeit, it's a bit expensive, but STILL! It's a nice treat from time to time. (If you don't share my love for cheese....then I am sorry....we can no longer be friends.)

4) STARBUCKS! Before moving to Guangzhou, I almost never bought things from Starbucks....but it sure was nice to visit this familiar place in the beginning when we were living from day to day and still without pots, plates, and food! For 5 days, I think I lived on yogurt drinks, water, cherries, bananas, dumplings, and the occasional treat from SB (very yummy!).

5) We live in a great area (and I am discovering more and more things everyday)! We are very close to quite a few wet markets (which sell produce and meat). These are wonderful places to buy your fruits and vegetables (still can't....and don't expect to be able to ..... handle the meat section, though). The prices are very cheap - even if they charge foreigners more.

6) Angelica and I often take refuge at IKEA when we are out strolling! Air conditioned buildings are my friend...and IKEA is AMAZING!! Surely, it is every home owners dream store!

7) We are moving to a new apartment in September (see our new address in CONTACT US section)!! It is cleaner, brighter, prettier, and Angelica will have her very own picture window that ACTUALLY looks OUTSIDE into SUNLIGHT! Score!

8) There is a playgroup that meets twice a week for expat women. I have joined that group and GWIC (Guangzhou Women's Int'l Club), and now I am meeting people from all over the world.

9) We found an AMAZING pediatrician and International Medical Clinic. It takes a very highly skilled and special individual to be able to administer a set of vaccinations WITHOUT making the baby cry.

10) Since we've moved here, Angelica has become a movie star! Everyone ogles over her, takes pictures, plays with her, and she graciously flirts back. Sometimes this makes shopping a real chore (since I can barely move an inch without everyone wanting to touch her chub or try to sell me something at the same time!), other times, I don't mind because people tend to be friendlier when she is with me.

All in all, I am trying to keep my sense of humour about me.

Funny Moments in Guangzhou

Life in Guangzhou is certainly not without its quirks, but instead of focusing on my frustrations about living in a new country and the challenges its culture brings, I’ve decided to write down the funny stories that happen on a daily basis within our home. Here are my stories!

Asian Snacks:

So I was in the grocery store yesterday picking up a few things and I decided to get some dried fruit.....trying to snack healthy. Today, I ripped open the bag of what I thought was dried mango.....turns out to dried yam. Yup. I thought it would be disappointing, but it is shockingly tasty. Asia is wearing down my taste buds.....

Midnight Concussions:

Glenn and I have a King-sized bed and even with all the extra room we've acquired, he still sleeps right next to me and my pillows.....not in the middle, mind you.....closer to my edge of the bed (his story will be different....you should believe mine) . Anyway, I was dreaming and I had my hands up above my head.....as I am bringing them back down under the covers, I sock Glenn in the eye with my elbow. Startled awake by a rather loud, "Yeeow!" I tried to comfort him, but I somehow managed to poke him in the eye instead, which only encouraged another series of cries.

"What are you doing?! I'm going to have a black eye!" Was his exasperated response.
"I'm sorry. I was dreaming."
"What were you dreaming about?"
Silence....and stiffled snickering.
"What were you dreaming about?!"
"Putting my arms down."

I know. It takes an unusually cruel wife to laugh at her husband's pain....but in my defense, our room was REALLY dark....and what's he doing sticking his eye so close to my elbow anyway!

Shave and a Haircut:

Has your husband ever asked you to trim the hair on back of his neck? Mine does…repeatedly!! And the funny thing is, he trusts me EVERY time. Unfortunately, for him, my job descriptions do not include “Hair Designer”. Instead, I come equipped with the following assets:

Early Childhood Educator & Nurturer
Culinary Artist
Interior Decorator
Household Manager & Maintenance Personnel
Financial Manager
"Budgeteer"

...And so the list continues on with a variety of other feats, which do not include hair dressing. So…it should not have come as any great surprise that the following dialogue took place…and if you’ve ever seen that episode of Mr. Bean at the Barbers…you’d understand Glenn's dilemma.

“Oops!”
“Oops???! What do you mean ‘oops’?” his panic-strickened voice resonated throughout the room.
“It’s okay…I’ll just even it up!” I reassured him.
Meanwhile, my "steady hand" began to falter as my whole body convulsed under waves of stiffled laughter.
“There…no one should be able to tell. What do you think?” (snicker, snicker)
“If I could see back there, I’d tell you.” Came the sarcastic reply.

So let this be a lesson to all you men-folk, out there. If you want your hair trimmed…ask a professional.

"Curry"

Glenn and I were in a taxi on our way to METRO, a German company similar to Costco. I noticed that I had curry sauce on the back of my hand.

“Better get rid of it,” I thought, getting my tongue ready.....but as I was in mid-lick, I suddenly realized something.

“Wait a minute! I didn’t have CURRY for supper! What IS that?!”

FLASH BACK
Setting: Bathroom

Part of Angelica’s bedtime routine includes a bath every evening before bed. Just as I was lifting her out of the water and about to dry her off on her towel…she decides it’s time to “go”. And so she does what babies do best – she poops on her nice, white towel, but fortunately “misses” mommy. Right. So…into the bath water she goes again…and into the bath water my hands are dunked…but I must have missed a spot.

Moral: When you think your hands have been scrubbed and rinsed clean – wash them again and CHECK THOROUGHLY! Or you may end up “licking” something that you should not be licking in the first place! Bleh!

Okay, that's all the silly moments I have for today. This batch of silliness was brought to you by the letter "K".

All joking aside, I have an unusual craving for rice and kimchi......I must be missing Korea!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What IS this stuff???

Angelica's First Taste of Food

"I'll feed her!" volunteered the overly eager father, "I mean, how hard can it be?"

Clearly, it's a lot harder than it looks! When I left, Angelica only had a little rice cereal leaking from the recesses of her mouth. Upon my return…well…it looked like she had gotten sucked into the bowl.