Living in Epcot

Disney conjures up all sorts of good tingly feelings whether you are young, old or ancient. Its Epcot park provides the amazing ability to travel, view and eat one’s way around the world in a fraction of the amount of time it would really take! So I am here to say there is a real Epcot, as my friend from “France” pointed out today, and we live in it!

Our first year in China had us living approximately one mile from the girls’ school in a house owned by a Chinese landlord. We had our share of issues in that house and dealing with the landlord but we also felt imprisoned by a large, eight-lane road with a freakishingly intimidating intersection that stood between us and all the necessity stores and school. It’s one of those roads that unless you want to become a hood ornament or rickshaw road kill you don’t cross it or at least don’t let the girls cross it. So we had to find a way to rid ourselves of the housing warden and break free of the prison walls.

Thus we discovered “Epcot” a mere mile away. It’s a wonderful land of America, Spain, Italy and France to name a few. Housing choices, that is. Someone thought it would be satisfying for Expats to style the houses and their street names after various countries. And you know what? How smart they were!

Of course coming to China we had envisioned living in either city skyscrapers or temple-like villas growing rice out our front door. It’s funny what thoughts come to mind for a far-away land when the truth is, its not anywhere as odd as you’d imagine. So here we now live in the Americas, except in China. Huh? I have to say the Americans are a really functional sort of people when it comes to floor plans and although we tried to be different the first year, we found there is no place like “home”.

What makes it more like Epcot is the fact that not only is the school a stone’s throw away, the distance it would take from Space Mountain to Cinderella’s castle gets you to restaurants that cover as many countries or more. I can count at least six country menus on one street alone, our favorite being Catina Agave. A Mexican wonder of marvelous margaritas and fajitas like no others. You can ask my hips and post-morning swollen ankles to prove it!

So we ventured from America to China and back to America again - in China. The only other place in this world you can do that? Epcot. Thank you, Walt Disney, and thank you smart Chinese businessman and developer.

God Bless America!

Weight Issues

I am not about to confess my very old story about being overweight – although I succeeded in eating my way through our Home Leave. I’m talking about what happens when a family of five, including four females, embarks on an odyssey to shop for a year’s worth of shoes, clothes and practical necessities that will carry them through next year’s Home Leave and then tries to fit all of it on their return flight home.

Yep. We managed to have ten checked suitcases of which five were drastically overweight! We ended up entertaining the small group of onlookers at the check-in area by assembling a family crew to weigh, shift, sort, allocate and re-weigh for 30 minutes straight! It’s a time to appreciate a small town airport, for attempting this maneuver in Detroit Metro would be impossible. And we succeeded. In the chaos, one bottle of hairspray hid out in a carry-on to be quickly detected by our observant security staff. I wasn’t going to let that ruin our day and managed to run it back to check-in (I was not going to leave a bottle of Biolage spray behind).

As we relished in our success, the airline declared the plane overweight and offered $400 vouchers to volunteers willing to take a later flight. Tempting… but we passed on that. We figured since we were surely a significant cause of their dilemma, the least we could do was take the flight! But we weren’t the only ones to blame. There were a couple of other families to point fingers at. Maybe the family heading back from Home Leave to their Thailand location with 9 checked bags and golf clubs. Or maybe the large group of Chinese business folks heading back to Shanghai.

The worse to wear was Jon who brilliantly took front-line command and management of the whole operation. It was all popcorn-watching worthy!

So now to wonder what we actually packed given that we shopped obsessively. Even Velveeta Cheese, Miracle Whip, Pam Cooking Spray and Chili Seasoning mix made the trip. The excitement will begin when we unpack the suitcases. I’ll let you know how many times we say “why did we think we needed this”… or better yet “why doesn’t this fit three weeks after I bought it”?

LOL!

Freshman Year Under Wraps

I am almost certain we first arrived in China just yesterday, yet we are now just arriving for our Sophomore year. For Megan quite literally! The Nicholas’ China High Freshman year surely resembled high school. A new territory. New Rules. A large and overwhelming school. Difficult class subjects. Inferiority in comparison with the Senior classmen. And obsession with fitting in and looking like you know what you are doing.

Did we make the National Honor Society? No. But not for lack of trying. We were able to hold the grades enough to look decent and retain an average that might still get us into college.

I’m not sure where the year has gone and I’m baffled at the ability for 365 days to pass in rapid fire succession with an emotional velocity that no physics teacher could calculate. And we survived! In truth, we managed quite well - each of us growing in different ways and learning that perseverance and attitude are a combination for success.

As I write this, we’ve finished our Summer 2011 home leave and are back in the Far East. But this time we are comfortable and reflective, graceful and appreciative, and enthusiastic to continue our journey – knowing how much more we will grow, learn and appreciate while still destined to return to our beloved country, family and friends. I can’t think of a better thesis to write upon.

Look out Sophomore Year. We are aiming for the Dean's List this time around.