Hello August! Family month!!

I can’t believe it is already August. July flew by in a flurry of diapers, snuggles, and piles of laundry. We’ve been enjoying every moment and living in the present more than ever. Zoey has now met most of our friends (and Skyped with most of our Cali and DC pals). Over the past week, she has enjoyed 2 dinner parties, had a play date with about 10 other Brookline moms, learned the rules of Olympic beach volleyball, slept for 5 hours once, had 4 vaccinations, and shared her first smile. That first smile was amazing. We’ve been trying desperately to figure out how to prompt her to smile… to no avail. She just does it whenever she feels like it, regardless of what we do! Good stubborn little girl. In terms of her growth, she has propelled from the 3rd percentile in weight (birth weight of 5 lbs, 7 oz) to the 29th percentile at 1 month to the 63rd percentile at 2 months (11 lbs, 3 oz). She is growing like a weed! As a note of reference, my two brothers, who were not born prematurely, were the same weight at Zoey at 2 months!! Way to go, Zoey.

In other non-Zoey news, Brad and I are back to consistent running. I’m back to pre-Zoey mileage but not pace. I’m thinking my first race will either be the Rochester Adams XC time trial in late August or something in September. My goal is to be back in moderate shape by indoor track. Brad is back to running without pain, which is a huge accomplishment. It is the first time in over 2 years that he has been able to run without his back, hip, or knee bothering him. Brad’s goal is to train pain free for a bit before thinking about racing.

In our work world, I’m working on a manuscript that, if taken seriously, could make a big splash in the world of education, specifically within school counseling. I’m teaching an online Counseling Ethics and Law class, which is a nice way to stay connected to academia over the summer. Brad is gearing up for a year of new things. He has a couple of new preps at work. Additionally, he is starting graduate school (he received a letter of acceptance the same week as he returned from China and had his first child – big week). He’ll start working on his Master’s of Education degree in Learning, Teaching, and Educational Transformation at UMass Boston this Fall.

Many of you have asked what our lives are like now. Every day is different, but let me share yesterday’s events with you so you have a glimpse into our daily lives.

12:00-12:30 am: Laura fed Zoey and Brad got ready for bed (blame Olympics for late nights)

3:30-4:30 am: Brad got up with Zoey (I slept)

4:30-6:30 am: We both slept

6:30-8:00 am: Laura fed Zoey (Brad slept)

8:00-10:00 am: Quiet time (Brad and Laura split a pot of coffee)

10:00-11:00 am: Laura fed Zoey (Both Brad and Laura caught up on the Olympics)

11:00-1:00 pm: Laura ran and Brad took care of Zoey/ran some errands

1:00-2:00 pm: Brad fed Zoey and Laura did some household chores

2:00-5:00 pm: Laura met a friend for a walk while Brad went to the gym

5:00-6:00 pm: Laura fed Zoey and Brad took a quick nap/did some household chores

6:00-7:00 pm: Family outing to the park. Zoey had her first swing ride. Photo shoot on the grass (evidence below)

7:00-8:00 pm: Zoey napped, Brad cooked, Laura did some work related stuff and marveled at the amount of hospital bills gathering on our kitchen table

9:00-12:00 am: We ate the yummy dinner Brad cooked and watched the Olympics! Fed Zoey twice during this time

There you have it. A day in the life of Haydkoz. A major highlight of yesterday was catching up with a good friend on the West Coast who is healing from a serious cycling crash in early July.

Zoey was tough as nails when she had her shots (note the ridiculously chubby legs)

What do you think? Is this the cutest hat in the world?

Brad and Zoey playing together. He gets smiles from her all the time.

More pictures of Zoey can be found on the Photos tab on the right!!

Gal around town

Zoey continues to be awesome. We had the second installment of family members in town a couple of weeks ago, so Zoey was doted on even more than usual. Zoey has a few experiences under her diaper flaps at this point. She has enjoyed a beach day with the Hayden/Wells clan, slept through her first Boston fireworks and 1812 Overture by the Boston Pops, dined at countless establishments (from fine dining to loud college restaurants), rolled the Freedom Trail, and hung out with tons of our friends. She is quite the socialite.

This week, Zoey's "firsts" will include:

1) A track workout with N, T, and mom
2) Rooftop beers with mom's friends
3) Maybe a movie (thinking TED)
4) Hopefully a smile (we're getting close)
5) Sleeping through the night (wishful thinking????)

Brad and I are happy as can be. Zoey's company is totally worth the sleepless nights. I'm able to run each day, Brad is able to hit the gym, and the three of us can usually fit in a good walk when it isn't too hot outside. We're doing our part to support the local coffee shop - I don't think we've ever inhaled this much coffee in our lives. Zoey really doesn't do anything new -  she sleeps, eats, looks around, wiggles her tooshie, and repeats. Sometimes, we just look at her and can't believe our luck.

We spend a lot of time in this position

Teacher Brad

Peaceful Zoey

Mom and Zoey playing

See the Photo tab to enjoy more pictures of little Zoey!

Zoey's first month

Zoey's first month of life has been so much fun! After 2 weeks in the NICU, Zoey was cleared to come home with us on Tuesday, June 12th. As soon as we let the family know Zoey's homecoming date, Grandma Sue and Nana Gilly hopped in a car together and zoomed over to Boston for a whole week. We had so much fun sharing Zoey and watching grandma and nana love on her and cuddle with her all week. We also totally appreciated all the meals they cooked, free babysitting they offered (every day, we were able to go to the gym together AND we had a fancy date night out), and random household chores that they did for us. The only reason I wanted them to come was for them to chill with Zoey... but the extra help was definitely awesome.

Zoey is pretty relaxed. She doesn't really cry - just sort of whimpers when she wants to eat or has a poopy diaper. She sleeps in 2-3 hr shifts in the day and 3-4 hr shifts at night. Brad and I tag team night time feedings so one of us can get at least 4 hrs of uninterrupted sleep. Zoey likes to wiggle around a lot - she absolutely wiggles out of her swaddler within about 5 minutes. She much prefers to be undressed and mobile than wrapped up. Let's see... she has mastered the Blue Steel look (and looks wicked cute doing it), has met a ton of our friends and is so mellow that she has no problem being handed from friend to friend, and has spent much of her short life in Peet's Coffee house.

To the right, under Photos, you'll see pictures of Zoey during her first month with us! We can't get enough of her. This weekend, we have the other two sets of grandparents coming to visit - it'll be great. Last time Grandpa Jim and Grandma Carol came to visit over the 4th of July, we had ourselves a bar crawl. I think this year might be a bit different!!

The Story

Well, as you readers all well know, Zoey arrived a little earlier than expected. On Monday night, I picked up Brad from Logan Airport at 10:00 pm. On Tuesday morning, I felt a little funny, so I called the doctor at 11 am. By 12:30 pm, I was in the doctor's office being told I was 4 cm dilated and I needed to go on bedrest for 3 weeks. By 1 pm, I was being monitored for contractions. By 1:20 pm, I was told I was having contractions at least once every 5 minutes. At 2 pm, I was at home in the shower. At 3:20 pm, I was in triage. At 4:50 pm, Zoey was in the world.

Uh, labor isn't the most pleasant experience in the world. I had this vision that I would handle it in a calm and collected way (some sort of nonsense about running being good training for pain management). Okay, all you mothers out there, you can totally laugh at me. You're right. I was absolutely 100% wrong. There is nothing like the feeling of labor. It was the most primal experience of my life. I remember grabbing onto Brad for dear life and locking eyes with our phenomenal nurse. Between Brad, the nurse, and the doctor, I had the most amazing support group in the world. Right after I had a few seconds of Zoey on my chest, the nurses went to town on her, making sure all was great. Brad went with them down to the NICU, I got about an hour of quiet time, and then I went down to see her myself.

Brad and I were waiting until baby girl arrived to name her, but we had a few names in the running. Zoey was the clear leader, but we didn't want to commit to a name until we saw her. It was my dad's advice back at Christmas, and we really took it to heart. As soon as we saw and heard her wiggling around, we knew she was a Zoey. The word means life, and, oh boy, is she all life.

Now, I know parents go googly-eyed over their babies... and I know I'm going to sound cliche here... but I don't care. She is the coolest baby in the world! She is only 5 lbs, 7 oz, but she has such a chubby face. Her preemie swollen eyes have gone down quite a lot, so she is starting to look a bit more like a newborn and a bit less like a preemie. Her cheeks are pudgy and she sucks in her lower lip under her upper lip all the time. The nurse positions her at the top of her incubator and, within an hour, she'll wiggle her way down until her butt touches the bottom of the pad supporting her and her legs are over the pad, splayed against the bottom wall of the incubator. Brad bought her back a panda bear from Beijing (which he bought 1 week ago - wild timing), so we're using that to hold her tooshie up in the incubator a bit.

In terms of her health and time in the NICU, she is doing as well as can be expected, but we don't have a definitive time by which she'll leave the NICU. She needs to be able to do 3 things in order to leave.

1. Breathe on her own (which she can do)
2. Feed herself (which she cannot do)
3. Maintain her body temperature in an open crib (which we haven't tried yet)

Once she can do #2, we'll try #3. Given that she is a good-sized preemie, the doctor doesn't think #3 will be too tough. She is also under phototherapy for her bilirubin. Today (Monday), we'll find out if she can stop her phototherapy AND if she can have her IV out (she was on an IV for the past 6 days for dehydration/not doing full feedings/low blood sugar).

Here are a few pictures. Brad has most of the pictures on his iPhone and he is at work right now, so we will post more when we're together.

Zoey, Day 5

Zoey and dad, Day 5

Brad has learned how to sleep in many different hospital locations

Brad bought me a deep green pearl necklace in celebration of mommyhood! That man is amazing!

Wow, this day feels like a million years ago! Brad's homecoming cupcakes 

Zoey is here!

 Zoey Hayden Kozel
5 pounds 7 ounces
19 inches

Mom and Baby are doing great.  Details soon. 

She came early so she is in the NICU but all is well.

This is how I started my day.

Practical advantages of working in education (notably: SUMMER)

Just a quick update for those of you who use this blog as your Haydkoz connection... maybe some of those Michigan folk....

In Laura land, the world spins peacefully. My semester is drawing to a close and, as I approach graduation, I can't help but reflect on the past year at UMass - my 2nd year on the job. This year was remarkably easier than the 1st year, making room for me to focus more on researching/writing and less on administrative duties. While my administrative tasks are still the same (I direct two graduate programs), they're much easier to handle after learning them, rather than trying to handle them while learning them! I wrapped up some solid residual research from BU and began a couple of new projects that will continue even while I'm on maternity leave, which makes me very excited. We're starting a PhD program in the Fall and, as a faculty member within the PhD program, I will have my research team doing research while I'm on leave, which is great for students and keeps me connected to the world of academia. I'm guessing my productivity also increased this year because Brad was on the other side of the world for the past semester, but since I'll probably be significantly less productive for the foreseeable future, it was most likely very fortuitous timing.

In Brad land, he is on a plane from Xi'an to Beijing as I type. He said goodbye to the Gauxin school yesterday, had a few beers with his international pals, and wrapped up loose ends at the place he's called home for the past 4 months. Over the weekend, he'll be exploring the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Olympic site, Tiananmen Square, and many other really cool places I've only read about in books. He comes home on Monday night. I.CAN'T.WAIT. I have to say, if you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you check out all the cool places Brad and the students have visited over the past 4 months by clicking here. You can also access it by going through Brad's China Website and clicking on the Xi'an Map. It's amazing to think about how many interesting sites they've all seen.

In Haydkoz land, we're both wicked excited about the upcoming addition to our little family, the summer Olympics (yay), seeing our Michigan family members over the summer, and enjoying the next 3 months together without working!!! Come Fall, when Brad's work life picks back up again, I'll maintain the home front for the semester before I head back to work in early February. We're in for a fun new adventure!!!!

The Ultimate Baby Shower Favor!!!

My Michigan baby shower was organized by the three moms and two sisters! They came up with the best idea that I just have to share. In lieu of party favors, they contributed all the money they would spend on favors (and then some) to a charity of Brad and my choosing. We searched through a bunch of organizations - from the Boston Red Sox Foundation that provides support for at-risk youth through athletics to the Boston Scholar Athlete Foundation that academically supports Boston's student-athletes. The foundation to which we decided to contribute is The Robert Bookston scholarship. The description below indicates just how great of a scholarship it is AND just how aligned it is with the Haydkoz family mission.

The Robert Bookston - Brookline Track Teams Scholarship 

(First awarded in 2000)

This scholarship is to be awarded to someone considered an outstanding team player by the Brookline Track Coaches. It is funded from proceeds from "Robert's Run", a sanctioned cross-country competition. Robert Bookston was a member and captain of the Brookline High School Cross Country Team. Robert found solace in community service and his commitment to running and his teammates. Robert was an incredible role model to those who knew him. He has touched many people in the Brookline community and his life has made an impact on many young students and athletes. Robert's teammates and friends have decided to commemorate his life with something that he would have loved to participate in himself, an annual race in his name. 

People still walked away from the shower with a little goodie!!

32 week check up + more

The past two weeks have been relatively uneventful here in Boston. I'm still shuffling along (barely, see training blog for details). I'm still able to exercise daily, my job is winding down for the semester, and I'm spending the month of May finishing up final administrative reports for the year and preparing for the summer Ethics and Law class I teach to incoming Master's students. I really enjoy the computer nature of May - almost everything I have to do requires me sitting in front of my computer, which gives me the alone time I need to feel rejuvenated  (yes, shockingly, in Myers-Brigg's terms, I'm an introvert!). It also gives me the flexibility of working from home even more than usual, which is great because while I'm a huge fan of being able to get to work train-style, I'm one of the most travel-sick people I know - so a preggo 1 hour commute to and from work each day = 2 hours of moderate nausea a day. I'm glad to cut that down to about twice a week for the month.

Each year, I love Mother's Day - its a great time to tell the moms how much we love them. This Mother's Day, I got a couple of surprises of my own... a gorgeous Lily of the Valley plant from mama Sue that will go in our front garden very soon and two dozen chocolate covered strawberries, a Daisy Bear, and  Happy Mother's Day balloon from brother Luke!!! Luke and I celebrated the day by going out for some yummy veggie sushi and watching Johnny Depp rock the movie Blow... while eating 16 of the chocolate covered strawberries!

Starting early on the Mother's Day annual celebration!

This morning began with a trip the doctor. All is well there. Baby is still measuring at pretty big for 32 weeks, but nothing to be worried about. She has positioned herself head down, which is pretty cool, even though there is still time for her to wiggle around.  I'm doing fine - BP 110/66, weight gain normal, etc. My only complain is that running is no longer fun by any stretch of the imagination. I joined a gym - blah - time to start walking more and doing those terrible cardio machines! Oh well... I can train for indoor season soon enough - in the meantime, I'll enjoy my last few weeks of being pregnant!

Chengdu

Hello Readers,
Last Sunday we took a train from Xian to Chengdu.  The ride was a bit long but has turned out to be worth every second.  We have a great tour guide, Oliver, who grew up here in Chengdu.  We are playing the tourist game but that has been fine by me.  Many pictures have been added and there are more to come.  Below is a quick video of the Chengdu city square.  I shot it on a Wednesday night.  14 million people means the streets are always packed, but even with that huge population the city has an odd relaxing feeling to it.  I also added in some Red Panda and Panda shots.  Sichuan province (which Chengdu is in) is home to the Pandas.  Enjoy!

Check out the photo link...

... to see pictures of Brad's latest adventures in Chengdu... and PANDA BEARS!

Rabbit Run

Hello Devoted Readers,
I started a new book and time pushes on here in China.  I do have to admit that I have, against my better judgement, started an internal count down.  I really do not want to wish away my time here but right now what waits for me in Brookline out weighs the promise of pandas in Chengdu or any of the other fun things still on my itinerary.  Having said that my time in Xian continues to be almost always stimulating.  I recently had a very welcomed visit from Chris Smith.  His enthusiasm pushed us to visit a few spots I had my eye on but required the right company.  We discovered that the pink elephant exists in China.  Good beer is hard to find here but our powers combined sniffed it out.  I updated the pictures with some of our recent activities.
Cheers!

Michigan Baby Shower!

This weekend, I traveled to Michigan for the most wonderful baby shower ever! The whole day, I felt so loved and happy. Everyone was in a great mood, I saw people I haven't seen in years, and baby girl was completely spoiled! I'm so appreciative of all the support and care that people have poured into this whole pregnancy!

My mom and Brian drove me back to Boston on Sunday. We had a lovely time in the city yesterday and my mom came with me to my 30 week appointment. All is well. I'm healthy as can be and, most importantly, the baby is fantastic! Her heartbeat is 136, she is wicked active, and she is measuring pretty big at this point. Now, I start going to the doctor every 2 weeks - a new milestone! Which means that I only have one more appointment before Brad is home!!!!! What a month :-)

Laura and the moms!

My amazing sister-in-laws and cousins!!!

Happy 6 year anniversary to us

4/21/2006

Just Married!

Love from China!

Yet another reason why I love my job...

I'm sure you've all heard me talk about how much I love my job at some point! I knew, from back in early high school, that I wanted to work in the field of Psychology, and, from late high school, that I wanted to work within Sport Psychology. My entire 20s were devoted to graduate school - first a Master's degree at Boston College, then a CAGS and license at Boston University, then a Doctorate at Boston University. I took a little break in there to be a school counselor, but I KNEW I wanted to get my Doctorate, be a professor of Psychology, work at a state university, stay in Boston, work primarily with graduate students, and do research in the field of at-risk youth development through sport. And, happily, all of those things happened. UMass has completely aligned with all of my goals and interests. The biggest part of my job, I'd say, is researching, writing, publishing. All day long. Research. Write. Publish. What I talk less about are the two other components - service and teaching. Service refers to any work I do to enhance the program (I'm the program director), the university (serve on committees) the field (editing journals), etc. I could go on. In terms of teaching, I only teach graduate students. They are motivated, smart, and creative. They are also, as graduate students, grown ups, with lots of grown up stuff with which to deal. Some are getting married. Some have full time jobs. Others are raising children. All are busy. Which was why I was SO surprised last night when my Advanced Internship class walked into the classroom at 7 pm, yelled "surprise" and carried in presents and cakes for me! They had a surprise baby shower for me!!! What a group of stellar people. Those of you in graduate school right now can speak to how busy of a month April is. Classes typically end in early May, so April is the heaviest month of the whole year. These students are also graduating, so they're juggling their regular courseload with their internship hours and their final Capstone project. They're so busy.... I felt so warm and loved! What a class.

My creatively challenged brain has absolutely no idea how a student was able to make such a unique cake

Odds are, we've got ourselves a state school baby...

It's official!

Yunnan Province

We have just returned from a 5 day tour of the Yunnan province.  The long bus rides were tedious at times but the pay off at our destinations were well worth the road time.  The kids may say differently but I think they will actually look back on those long bus rides fondly someday.   I taught them euchre.
We had a local tour guide and a Gaoxin teacher come along.  The tour guide spoke English well enough but was not very confident in her English language skills.  When the students did not respond with 100% interest and attention she would think it was because she was not being understood.  This caused her some stress but she adjusted well and the kids gave her some encouragement.  The Gaoxin teacher was the younger PE teacher here, he smokes like a chimney.  He was lovingly given the name Young G. He was a great travel companion and the kids really liked him.  He did not speak much English at all.  Which overall was not an issue because he was willing to engage with the kids and speak Chinese to them.  He was also very patient with me as I stumbled through the little Chinese I could muster. 
The sights of Yunnan are hard to put words to and the pictures, I am afraid, do not do them justice.  The flora reminded me of the Rocky Mountains.  The villages felt very old but not run down.  You could tell that much the village was there for us tourists but that did not matter because it was a brand of tourism that seemed very genuine.  The handcrafts and the silver work was made on site by the person you bargained with and ultimately paid.  Lijiang village had this really cool series of small canals and streams weaving in and out of the streets  Very beautiful and functional.  The water was a cool site, but we also learned that the area was in the middle of a 2 year drought!  There was evidence of this everywhere, several pools and ponds were emptied to maintain the agriculture that was everywhere.  Seriously everywhere, every patch of land that could be irrigated was being used and even with the drought the gardens were lush.  Domesticated animals just roamed around and seemed to follow their owners to and from the fields.  Check out the photos link for pictures of Yunnan.  I added captions to almost all the photos.
Cheers!

Beginning the transformation

I've always taken pride in our little condo. It is cozy, funky, and completely all Laura & Brad. I never thought I'd be excited about changing it, but I am having so much fun thinking about where things will go once baby girl gets here, what needs to be donated, what should be offered to Luke, etc. This morning, I spent a few hours beginning the process of transforming our condo into a bit more of a functional space. Of all the things we own, from expensive electronics to 8 pair of track spikes, my favorite possessions are the two red chairs we bought over from Michigan back in 2003. One of my mom's friends gave us two free armchairs and Brad and I spent hours picking out red velvet material and reupholstering the chairs. Correction: Brad spent hours reupholstering. I cheered and supported. Both equally important roles. Looking at these chairs always reminds me of those very early days in Boston when we were absolutely broke, trying to figure out how to start a life together in a new place, worrying about grad school and new jobs and making rent, and missing our family. Now that we're bringing a new little body into the condo, we need to make some space, and, sadly, the chairs will have to be moved. While I'm going to miss watching Brad sipping his Sunday coffee in one of the chairs, every page of the newspaper sprawled across our study, with both cats sharing the other chair, I'm so happy that we've been able to find a new home for them: My Office!!! Now, the rest of the world can enjoy these cozy little red guys - well, by the rest of the world, I mean the 112 graduate students I advise. Hopefully, Brad won't miss them too much, although I'm thinking those lazy Sunday mornings of sipping coffee and reading the newspaper will be few and far between.

Other than the moderately emotionally traumatic move of the red chairs, everything else has been easy to scrap or donate - candle holders with sharp edges, extra rum (why do we have 5 partially finished bottles of rum?), some kitchen appliances, and a table or two.

Luke and I enjoyed our Easter weekend. We both got fantastic packages in the mail from mama Hayden (as did baby girl)! 

Luke and Laura's Easter treats from Mama Hayden

Baby girl's newest outfits - yes, that is a baby's version of a Facebook page! Mama Hayden has a silly sense of humor

Hmm... I think I'm getting a bit bigger :-)

26 weeks check up

Today was our monthly check up. Baby girl is 26 weeks and 2 days along and doing great. My blood pressure was the same as always - 112/60. I haven't gained any weight since my last check-up 4 weeks ago, but I gained so much during my first trimester that the Dr. isn't worried at all about the weight taper. In the past 2 months, I've only gained 2.5 lbs total, but I think I gained something like 11 lbs during the first trimester - who knows what my body is doing. Regardless, everything is good!

Baby girl's heartbeat is rockin' along. She is growing fabulously, the Dr. said. My next appointment will be when my mom is in town - yay!

The below picture was taken earlier today - I wore the same sweater as I did at 20 weeks so you can see the growth a little easier (yes, even us soft scientists make slight efforts to control variables).

26 weeks, 2 days along

Day to Day in China

Hello All,
I have not posted in a while.  I am sure you have been waking before your alarms in the morning, rushing to the computer with that same nervous excitement that we all get on Christmas.  Then when you see I have not posted it is as if Santa passed you over that year....right?....yes?....no?  Well Santa has not forgotten you, he is just so busy with all those damn elves and reindeer that he can't sit his butt down and make you your rocking horse that is this post.  I feel a bit like Santa with my expanding waist.  The food continues to be appetizing and the air dirty enough to be nervous about running much.  The result is too much fuel not enough fire.  Not that I am complaining.  I was wondering if I would lose interest in the food here.  The fact that I am half way through my time in China and still happy when meal time roles around is a good thing.  Additionally, when I do run I have not had any of the knee or hip pain that has plagued me over the past year, also a good thing.
As for my teaching duties, I am still pleased with how classes are going but I am ready for our upcoming trip to Yunnan and the break from classes.  I was told a long time ago that the best qualities for longevity in teaching teenagers are a sense of humor and patience.  I am learning the limits of my ability in these areas.  That is all I will say about that.
Laura was here.  That was awesome.  I am so happy that she was willing to make the long trip.  I miss her but in many ways I am glad that she and baby-to-be are back in close proximity to those Boston hospitals.  Skype continues to be a lifeline and I am grateful.  Below is another video we shot while out and about in Xi'an. 

That is all for now.

A good day

Today was one of those days that just makes me smile. Here are the highlights:

1)   My run.

Great run in perfect weather with Luke to start the day.

2)   My commute to work.

First, the Green Line train was waiting for me as I crossed St. Paul Street. Then, I was just far enough out of rush hour that the train skipped a few of those less trafficked stops, making the trip into town super quick. I hopped off the Green Line, walked to the Red Line, and that train was waiting for me too. I slid onto the train just as the doors were closing. Once I got off that train at JFK/UMass, the bus to take me to campus was ALSO just right there – waiting – and as soon as I got on the bus, it sped off to campus. The whole trip took me 39 minutes. 39 minutes!!! Astonishing. My typical commute is about an hour. And that’s not all – once on campus, as I was walking to the stairs, the elevator doors opened up in front of me. So, of course, I had to treat myself to an elevator ride. It was the world’s greatest commute. 

3)   The train incident.

This part is funny. Last night, I was trying to refill my Charlie Card (subway pass) but the machines at work weren’t taking debit cards, so I couldn’t add any money to my card. So, today, I pieced together $2 in coins, or what I thought was $2. As I was dropping my coins in the coin slot on the Green Line, I dropped a coin down the steps. Since my gigantic belly makes it pretty tough to bend over, the train driver actually got out of her seat, climbed down the two steps, and picked up my quarter from the disgustingly dirty floor. Now, Bostonians, I know you agree – that is very atypical train driver behavior. So, I dropped that coin in the slot, went to put in my other coin, and realized it was a Malaysian coin, not a US coin. The wonderful train driver looked at me, smiled sweetly, and just said “let’s just call it a day, honey”. So, I thanked her and turned around to stand in the moderately crowded train, tripped over an old woman, and fell into the crowd. As I picked myself up, another woman saw that I was pregnant and got up from her seat so I could sit down. I protested, but she insisted, so I gave in. As I went to sit down, I tripped over a blind man’s cane, fell partially into his lap and partially into the open seat, and knocked over the same woman I knocked over the first time. Brad was on the phone with me for half of this scenario. Everybody laughed. It was a silly little way to start the day. 

4)   My work day.

I was able to do my first phone meeting of the day while I was out on my morning run. Always a great way to start the work day. My second meeting of the day was a Skype meeting with somebody from Korea. I had allocated 30 minutes for it. It took 10. So, I had 20 free minutes in my day, which is pretty wonderful. Then, my budget meeting ended early. Then, my union meeting yielded good news for all graduate program directors (which means me). Then, my department meeting ended early. Finally, my admissions meeting ended 30 minutes early. All in all, a completely unusually convenient day for Laura.

An early anniversary celebration

Brad is amazing! Since we won't be together for our 6 year anniversary in April, Brad surprise me with a celebration on Friday night. We spent the night at the Swisstouches Hotel in Xi'an, which was one of the nicest hotels I've ever been in. After work on Friday, we walked over to the hotel (across the street from the school), walked around the place (it had a bunch of cool restaurants and terraces), and chilled for a bit. Then, Brad treated me to an hour massage - which was AWESOME. Very similar to US massages, except at the end of the massage, the masseuse served me rose tea with actual rose petals floating in the pot. Yum. The massage felt amazing, and totally got me in the mood for a luxurious night. After the massage, Brad and I had dinner at one of the restaurants... vegetables, beef, pork, and noodles. At one point, I asked for a Sprite. Since we have a bit of a language barrier, the waitress didn't understand, so I made a hand motion to indicate I'd like to see a menu. Still, I wasn't clear enough, apparently, and we ended up with the check! It was a cute situation. After dinner, we rode up to the 30th floor to the Swistyle Bar for mock and cocktails. Very swanky bar with live music and huge plush couches. We had one whole side of the bar to ourselves! The next day, we treated ourselves to a yummy moderately Western breakfast before heading out to the Shannxi Museum with the Brookline students. All in all, a killer anniversary, yet again!

This is about the best I can do without a hairdryer!

A walk through the Muslim market

Muslim Market & Local Living

A trip to the Muslim Market, the Drum Tower, and the City Wall comprised most of the day and night. We hopped the 29 bus from Gaoxin to the City Wall and stepped off the bus into the most crowded street I have ever seen in my life. Scratch that. The most crowded place I’ve ever seen. Including packed concerts. Including Michigan’s football stadium during a home game. The streets were absolutely full of walkers, bikers, stray dogs, homeless people sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, and cars driven by eager drivers. Sometimes the people were in the road. Sometimes the cars were on the sidewalks. There really isn’t much of a method. Basically, the aim is to get where you’re going as quickly as possible. It’s unreal. We powered through the crowds over to the Muslim Market, which is an incredible array of small stands next to each other with salespeople pushing chopsticks, polo shirts, Louis Vuitton suitcases, Chinese board games, you name it, onto curious Westerners for a “good price, a very good price.” Essentially, what happens is a Westerner shows an interest in something, a local salesperson magically appears with a calculator, the salesperson types in a ridiculously high number, the Westerner counters with a ridiculously low number, and the process continues until somebody wins – usually the Westerner. Brad just looked at a red Ralph Lauren polo shirt and was accosted by a salesperson who quoted him a “good price” of 250 yuan (about $40). Brad wasn’t interested in the shirt at all, so he was having some fun with the bargaining… by the end of the bargain, he was being offered the shirt at 50 yuan (about $8 dollars).  He politely walked away, despite the salesperson trying to drag him back by the arm. They’re relentless. We had tons of fun bargaining and bartering. Brad spent the most money on a present for baby girl – a Taekwondo Panda shirt. Above, you see a video of us walking through the Muslim Market down one of the less crowded lanes that’s lined with food carts. We finished up the day at a traditional Muslim restaurant with Brad’s travel agent, Richard (don’t know his Chinese name). We ate qiezi and green beans, shaved beef, roasted corn and pine nuts, and beef and lamb dumplings. It was delicious. 

Decisions, decisions!

Laura perusing the goods

Sad - birds in cages everywhere

The Drum Tower

The next day, we spent the day with She Ying, our friend and colleague here, and her family and friend’s family. Of course, neither of us brought the camera with us, so let’s just say that we saw local life at its best. We went to a huge park next to the Tang Paradise equipped with a children’s playground, pond, and lots of street art. The children’s playground was surrounded by a bunch of trampolines. Apparently, these trampolines are standard at children’s playgrounds around Xi’an. They have a harness for the children and the parents bounce the children in the harness by pulling on a long cord. Children love it. Brad and I went for a lovely walk around the grounds, counted 16 kites in the sky, and enjoyed a few quiet moments before dinner.

Dinner was an event. Here, for formal dining, we were told that there are 3 courses served: (1) a cold course (with 6 dishes), (2) soup, and (3) a warm course. The cold course included dishes like sausage, lotus root, herbal medicine (no joke), and shredded potatoes. The soup was a potato and meat soup (pork and chicken, still with bones). You spit your bones on the table. The warm courses included a whole bunch of unrecognizable stuff. We tried it all. The one recognizable thing was the individually served fish that appears with its own fire cooking it. The fish comes complete with its little eyes and every other part of it. Our job is to peel the meat off the bones while its eyes follow us. I did it, but I didn’t love the experience. Brad loved it. To drink, for the second time in one week, we drank warm soybean juice. It really does taste like warmed, pureed soybeans. 

 Check out the Photos link for more pictures of our recent adventures!

 

March Madness strikes...even in China

Well, my bracket is shot. For so many reasons. Missouri. Duke. Michigan. In an incredible act of loyalty, I had Michigan going all the way, beating MSU for the title by 2 points. Whoops (to be clear, this entry is a Laura entry, not a Brad entry).

In more global news, we're having a blast here in Xi'an. It's hard to pick what to report on - so let me organize my thoughts a bit:

1) Brad
2) Gaoxin
3) Terra Cotta Warriors
4) Food

1) Brad is rockin' China. He has found a routine that works for him and the students. Each day, he heads to the classroom between 8-9ish, unless he has an ambassador-type event/meeting to attend. Then, he is with the students - teaching/supervising/etc - until 3: 45 when they all take a culture class together. Each day, the culture class is something different - cooking, calligraphy, painting, sewing, sports, etc. I've joined them for painting and calligraphy. I am terrible at both in China. The culture class ends at 5 and then Brad is either free for the night or he supervises the students for one final class of the day. He is always done with the students between 5-6 pm; however, the Chinese students are still in school. When Brad and I leave campus for dinner, usually between 6:30-7:30 pm, the Chinese students' parents are waiting for their kids at the gate to the school. So, some kids are looking at 12 hr school days. Plus, they have school on Saturdays! Wild.

2) Gaoxin High School is one of the elite schools in Xi'an. There are unbelievable services and relationships that exist between this school and sister schools all over the world. Yesterday, I interviewed 38 Chinese students who are fighting for 20 spots to travel to California or Singapore over the summer. There are opportunities to travel everywhere! The students who don't go to California or Singapore will have an opportunity to apply to travel to the UK or to Australia. Also, about 100 students are traveling to Boston for the summer - so I'll hook up with them while they're there. I'm here doing some research, so my contact here, Xiaolin, has organized a bunch of interviews for me next week so I can study the role of sport in the lives of all students here. It's just another example of how accommodating the school is of guests and how interested the school is in being involved in scholarship all over the world.

3) I saw 'em. The Terra Cotta Warriors. On Wednesday, I spent the morning checking them out with a bunch of people from the University of Kentucky. They're amazing. I'll post pictures when I'm with Brad (I need his camera cord). There isn't much to say except it is really hard to capture the enormity of the TCW through pictures and words. They are a sight to see.

4) The food is wild. The Shanxi province is known for its noodles, so most dishes are noodle-based, and the rest are rice-based. Some of the food highlights include...

Eating Hot Pot earlier in the week. We had a VIP room at a gorgeous restaurant where we had unlimited food. A huge hot pot is placed in the middle of each table and then different types of vegetables, noodles, and meat are dropped in. Lots of mushrooms too. We were served bean juice with our meal (which tastes how it sounds). Toward the end of the meal, the chef came into our room, took a single noodle (about 5 inches long) and stretched it out to about 10 feet with a dance routine in which the noodle sort of flew above the heads of all of us in the room. It was astonishing. Then, the noodle goes in the hot pot and we all eat it! Yum. We ended the meal with a dragon sculpture made of fruit and left with gifts in hand. I got a special gift (I'll post a picture of it later) for being pregnant. Then, the women got pot pourri as gifts. It was lovely.

Thai food with a bunch of Brits, including a Brummy! We went out with a bunch of international teachers for dinner and enjoyed the most unusual tasting Thai food I've ever tasted (probably because I've only tasted the US version of Thai food). Spicy, lots of curry involved, lots of vegetables... A very different experience.

Shanxi local noodles. A few days ago, I went to lunch with Xiaolin and the UK folks to a local restaurant that served only Shanxi province food. Again, the biggest difference... almost all vegetables. Every meal is full of vegetables. There is very little meat in most dishes. We sat at a round table with a circular moving device in the middle on which all the food is placed. Then, you just take off the middle device whatever you want to eat ... and there is always food left over.

Chinese BBQ. It is eaten outside. It is yummy. Mainly vegetables, but Brad did get his fill of beef, which made him very happy! We went to Chinese BBQ with Leiying (a friend from the state) and her friend and husband. The experience was amazing. Leiying speaks okay English, but her husband doesn't speak the language at all. The 5 of us had a wonderful time, even without all of us being able to communicate!

Japanese food. Last night, we went to sushi with the Brookline students. For you Bostonians, we went to a place that looked and tasted a lot like Oishii. But, for 10 of us to eat (with food left over), it cost us the equivalent of $164, which is less than what it costs two people to eat at Oishii! Amazingly different. I was told the sashimi was yummy -  I stuck with my veges! Once baby girl enters the world, the first thing I'm doing is getting a dirty martini and Fugakyu take out. I can't wait!!

That's about it so far. So much is happening that it's hard to touch on everything. Sometimes, the best parts are those that seem almost routine... for example, one of my favorite occasions so far was walking through one of the parks here (gorgeous park) and people-watching with Brad with a cup of coffee in hand.

We're heading to the Muslim Market today and then to dinner with Brad's travel agent over here. Apparently, we're having a traditional Muslim dinner. Tomorrow, we're having dinner with our friend and colleague, She Ying, and her family at her home. I've been here a week and food invitations keep on coming... everybody is so hospitable!!!!

Love to all back home!

22 week check up, mom and Brian visit, and China bound!

Last Monday, I had a 22 week check up! I was so lucky that my mom was in town and able to come with me - it was so much fun. The doctor even pulled in the u/s machine so my mom could see little baby on the big screen. Everything looks great - baby is super active, swallowing like crazy, and growing by the day. Going to the appointment with my mom was definitely the highlight of the long weekend.

The rest of the weekend was uber fun as well. Mom and Brian came into town on Friday night and met Luke and me at my place. We then had the most relaxed 3 day visit ever - lots of wonderful chats, great walks, yummy food, and amazing company. While Luke and Brian watched MSU play on one of the night, my mom and I went to Cuchi Cuchi, which is one of my all time favorite places in the world! It was a blast.

I'm currently in China with Brad. I'll update a bit later with pictures and stories. The place is wild. I thought Boston was loud - it is a constantly screaming city - cars honking, fireworks popping (to ward off evil spirits), and streets bustling with people. Baby even got into it a bit and started making such a fuss that Brad could feel her kicks from outside my tummy!

My China Digs

I am sure you have recently asked yourself what my living situation is like.  I bet that it keeps you up late at night.  Well tonight you we sleep soundly after viewing this stunning piece of film.  Seriously, my place is working out great.  I am right on the campus of the school on the tenth floor of a residential section for visiting educators.  Right now, I am the only visiting educator.  They were worried I would be lonely but really I do not spend much time in my room, so no big deal.  The picture is a Xi'an sunrise out of my living room window.  As you can see, through the haze, there is a lot of construction going on.  The smaller buildings in the picture we call the "village".  Most of this area used to be a part of the village but the massive apartment complexes are rapidly taking it over.  I have zero clue what happens to the people in the village.  Makes me wonder about eminent domain, China style.
Later