Back to Tianjin

Hello! This weekend we packed up the kids and headed south to Tianjin, China. This is where Joab studied Chinese at Nankai University from September 1997 to June of 1998. We stayed with some good friends who are still living there and got to show Miriam where Daddy went to school.

The picture of Joab and the kids in front of the large building are the dorms Joab stayed in while he was at Nankai. A front desk lady recognized him and Joab was able to catch up with her and learn what some of his classmates are up to.

Miriam loves to “help” with our suitcase when we go anywhere. In fact, she is usually mad she does not get to bring her own pink suitcase when we go on these short trips. She said to us while we were in Tianjin, “I like to go on adventures”. It took about one hour on the train to get to Tianjin and it was certainly an adventure getting on and off of a very crowded train with two kids.

When we got back we took the subway home from the train station home. This is a picture of Asa in front of the subway sign inside the train. It was a long trip home (cab to train station in Tianjin, train ride to Beijing, subway ride to the end of the subway line near us and then a ten minute cab ride to our apartment)- but so good to see old friends and realize how far we have come since 1997!!!!!!

Update on my Chinese class: now two Tibetan Monks have joined us! They can speak really good Chinese but do not know how to write in Chinese. So when you talk to them during breaks you have to only speak in Chinese. They are very funny and love to talk on their cell phones (often during class!) I have really enjoyed talking to them. In one day I can feel really good about my Chinese and they want to cry because I have NO idea what anyone in saying. A good note of progress is now I am able to talk to Asa’s babysitter when we have lunch together after preschool. It is nice to actually understand what she is saying! Joab and I are talking more in Chinese together- I hope to keep this up when we go back to the states.

Well that is all for now! Em