Travels

I just got back from a tour of Guizhou, a province in Southern China. It was a 4 day trip designed around seeing a minority people called the Miao, as well as observing a festival they hold each year called the Sisters Festival. It was a great trip and I hope to go back with Phil later this year. I managed to get some good pictures and will post them in the next few days if I can.

I am now preparing for a 9 day journey along the Silk Road in Western China. I leave on Sunday, so my time is short. This will be a bit more challenging than Guizhou, but I look forward to it. I will definitely write and post on both trips when I am back from the Silk Road travels.

Sorry for the short post, but I did want to give a quick update.

-Jen

So It Seems

It seems as though we will be moving into our new apartment on Tuesday morning. My apprehension comes only as a result of all of the crazy things we have encountered with housing in the last few weeks. The other side has officially signed the lease, the movers are scheduled, and well- all seems on track.

Everything has worked out brilliantly and better than we had hoped for in the long run. We got a great new realtor; found an apartment in a building with a great view on the 55th floor, and have a landlord that seems quite rational and easy to work with. We even got the serviced company we were using before to work with this landlord and provide the shuttle service we so appreciated having. Aside from turning out very well, we have learned a great deal about patience and perseverance.

Stayed tuned for more... Jen

Pause

Phil has this habit of pausing after getting my attention. "Hey Jen"... 3 seconds pass, sometimes 5, and occasionally 10 whole seconds will go by before he follows up with any information. Those 3 second intervals are more often excruciating than not these days. I brace myself each time; wondering what news might follow that dreaded pause. I finally shared with him the other day that it would help me a lot if he would quickly follow his initial request for my attention with some bit of information. With all of the drama and change that we have had thrown our way recently, I just can't take anything for granted. This is China after all...

I will say that Phil did a good job yesterday when he called to tell me that our apartment fell through. Two seconds passed between me saying, "this doesn't sound like good news" and him saying, "nope- it's not good news". I won't fault him for the 5-7 second pause between that and delivering the part where he told me, "so the landlord didn't sign the contract, etc." His brain, much like mine, has had about all the bending it can take.

So if you are wondering if I mean we now have no foreseeable place to live after our stint here in the hotel, you are correct. Tomorrow morning we will hit the streets with our realtor in search of another place- again.

-Phil and Jen