T minus 20 days.
Hello again. I figured I would reboot the blog with a sort of pre-moving FAQ for those people who I don’t talk to on a regular basis (so basically everyone but Mom and Grandma). The goal after this is to update regularly, since I think I might actually have things to write about now that our lives are changing rather spectacularly. Here’s the things people generally want to know:
Where are you going again?
Shenyang, China. It’s a major city in the northeastern part of China, about 100 miles northwest of the North Korean border. Fun, right? There’s around 5 million people in the city, and it’s a major industrial hub. It’s also closer than I ever wanted to be to Siberia. I’m told the winters are cold and long. I plan on hibernating.
How many Americans are there in Shenyang?
There’s around 40 Americans who work in the consulate, plus their families. I don’t know if there are any other expats in the city, but I imagine there are a few.
Do you know anyone there?
We’ve met about a dozen people who will be working there with us. Most of them arrived in Shenyang at the beginning of August, so by the time we get there they’ll be able to show us around. Everyone has been really friendly, and I’m glad to see there’s already a great sense of community. One of the ladies and I have already decided we’ll have to start a ping pong club when we get there.
Will you live on an army base?
Nope. I don’t even know if the US has an army base there. But we will be living in the same building as most of the Marine guards. The US government is basically leasing a couple floors in a couple of hotels in downtown Shenyang and remodeled the rooms into American-style apartments. That’s where Mike and I will be living. It’s right in the middle of downtown, close to the shopping district, and Mike can either take a shuttle to work or walk. Also, the apartment is a furnished 3-bed 3-bath, so we will have plenty of room for visitors. And my loom.
Are you taking your loom to China?
Duh. It is the best toy ever. Unfortunately, it has to go on the slow boat with the bulk of our stuff so it probably won’t get there until January or something. I intend to have a long list of projects planned so I can have things to make as soon as I can start weaving again. Get your requests in soon, people.
People are coming to move you, right?
Yes, and I love them for it. I just have to make sure that all the stuff gets in the right piles. We will have four piles: going with us on the plane in our suitcases (two 50 pound bags each), going by air freight (450 pounds max, and hopefully arriving in China a few weeks after we do), going by sea (the rest of our stuff), and consumables (peanut butter and chocolate chips and brownie mix, oh my!). There may be a lot of brightly colored sticky notes in my near future.
What about church?
We’ve been told that since Shenyang doesn’t have enough expat members to make a branch, we will be part of an international call-in branch. Basically all the people out in the boonies like us do a massive conference call on Sunday and have our meetings via phone. There’s a branch president in charge, and for the sacrament he will apparently authorize the priesthood holders to administer the sacrament where they are and the call gets muted for about 10 minutes. I don’t really know much more than that.
Will you have internet?
To my knowledge, yes. Probably slow and crappy sometimes, but we won’t be completely cut off from the outside world.
Can we send you stuff?
Always. I will post the DPO address as soon as we get a real one assigned to us, but in the meantime, here’s the pouch address:
Michael Haws
4110 Shenyang Place
Dulles, VA 20189-4100
There seems to be a morass of rules and regulations about what can and cannot be sent, but I don’t know how to decipher them, so this is the best I can give you: http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ce_009.htm
How long will you be in Shenyang?
Two years, after which we will be sent off to a different part of the world. And no, not to somewhere in the US. We’re in the FOREIGN Service, and as much as the deep South feels like a foreign country, it has not yet seceded from the Union.
How long is your flight there?
Way longer than I ever want to be on a plane. Like 14 hours or something? All I really know is that we leave on Tuesday the 13th, switch planes in Seoul, and arrive in Shenyang Wednesday night. Pray that I’m not homicidal and Mike still has kneecaps by the time we get there.
Do you know any Chinese?
我会说一点儿中文，可是我常常乱说话，因为我觉得说中文很难。
I know just enough to be sure that I am slaughtering the grammar with extreme prejudice. People tell me that immersion will be good for my skills. I just hope to be functional. My Chinese/English picture dictionary will be my closest companion for a long time.
Are you excited?
I think there’s a very thin line between excitement and terror, and I use it as a metaphorical jump rope multiple times a day. I’m trying to stay focused on the exciting parts and not be nervous about the things I have no control over. I do know that this is what we’re supposed to be doing, and there is a solid support system out there for us, so we won’t be doing this alone. I have to remind myself of that often. I think it will be an adventure, and some parts will be really amazing and some parts will be really hard, and sometimes those things will happen at the same time.
Let me know if there are any other questions you want answered, and I’ll do my best.
再见！
