HI Friends!
So I have had some updates from our lives running through my
head now for some time. But finding time to write it all down has been
difficult. We have had a busy season, yet a joyful one in many ways. I can’t
share it all here on a blog, but what I can share I will.
The first part of the season has been watching Levi turn
into a very happy and smiley person. He is now 6-months and very healthy. He
really smiles a lot and loves his big sister and brother. I get a kick out of
watching his face as he follows Alleyah and Noah around the house. I just
wonder what he is thinking? It is always a change of pace with a newborn, but
this change has been fun and great. I managed to home school Alleyah during his
long morning naps, and sometimes had to change plans up to feed or change him.
Alleyah is a great big sister and didn’t mind the interruption from school in
parts of the day. She is in 2nd grade this year and I think she is
very bright. Noah has been attending the local international pre-school. He goes
every morning. It is in both English and Chinese. He really misses being home
with us, but sometimes I think he imagines Alleyah and I watching movies all
morning or something he doesn’t want to miss out on. He will have a real taste
of home school for 1st grade this year after the summer break. Morgan has been
busy out of the home teaching and some other “things”. But his season of Monday
thru Sunday activities will slow down after February. He will slow down just in
time to take the 2nd grade home school teacher role to release me
into the grand opening of Starfish in our city. Starfish officially starts the
beginning of March. I can’t wait to watch the first women come through our
doors. If you want to know more about Starfish check the link I attached to our
blog, it will give the main idea. Trust me, it is pretty exciting! 
Morgan took some friends on a trip to Nepal and Thailand in
January. There in Thailand the kids and I met him for our out-of-country
business. While in Thailand we always go through the medical check ups. We all
passed the dental chair with no cavities, always a relief. We also sent each
child through the immunization check and well… yeah no one likes those shots,
but they had to get done. Morgan and I also got checked up and know we are healthy;
Morgan apparently has arteries the age of a 20 year old. I guess noodles aren’t
too bad huh? We ended our stay with a few days at a beach in Thailand to soak
up the sun. We ended up getting pretty sick from a flu bug, but managed to swim
and feel sand in our toes anyway. Oh and getting our taste of home at Mc Donald's!
Now we are back from travel in our little city of 2
million. The Chinese New Year is next week and the celebrations have begun.
Fireworks light up our apartment complex at night. Most are just loud BOOM
sounds, but a few have color. Next week will be pretty exciting. It’s the year
of the snake and actually beautiful decorations of snakes are hung around town.
I thought I would respond to a language question asked on
facebook here on my blog. The question,
“Sorry for the ignorant question but how do you handle the
language difference? I'm sure you learned the language but how long did it take
to be able to communicate effectively? As long as you have been there do you
still struggle with it?"
To put it simply, it is still a struggle to
clearly communicate. Morgan and I have our different strengths when it comes to
the language. Morgan has a great handle on the grammar of the language, and I
do not. Yet, I love the vocabulary and can remember many words. How to put them
together, well I think I sound like a 2-year-old sometimes. But one time I said
that to a local friend and she said, “No, more like a 10 year old.” Hey, I will
take it. We have lived here for over 3 years. I would say the first year was
the hardest in language, but then finally got a handle enough to move forward.
But it is not enough. Morgan and I can speak and understand, but we are
illiterate. There are over 10,000 characters and when studying diligently, I
think I knew maybe 150. Wish it was the simple 26-letter alphabet in English,
but it’s not. I heard you need to know about 3000 characters to read a newspaper.
My goal is to read a woman’s magazine! We continue to study through tutors to
keep going. But it is difficult. I think Dutch is much easier. We both really
love the language though, even if it is a struggle. We encourage our kids to
speak both as well. Sometimes my close local friend and I can chat for hours
and I leave thinking I am pretty awesome. Then I get in a taxi and the driver
has an accent that is deep and tough and then I feel like a looser. I love to
sing in both languages, and sometimes I dream in both too. I don’t know if we
will ever be fluent, but hope to be very proficient and able to read and write
someday.
Blessings to you all and Happy New Year!
Thanks for keeping up with the Joneses~
