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

Halfway mark!

Yesterday, we hit 20 weeks! Officially halfway there. Some highlights from the past 20 weeks (in no particular order):

1. Successfully finishing the first trimester without puking
2. Telling our family at Christmas
3. Gaining weight and feeling good about it
4. Having people treat me just a little nicer on the subway
5. Only experiencing the fun of running without worrying about the (lack of) training effect
6. Bonding with other moms-to-be

There really haven't been any negatives. I've felt fine the whole time. Sometimes, I feel a little tired, especially after swimming or running. I constantly feel round ligament pain, but that's actually kind of exciting. Yesterday, I enjoyed a cup of Peets with a mom-to-be who I met online at a Brookline Mom's forum - we chatted about creative child care options. Child care in this area is expensive - the cheapest I've found is $2200/month. Since we don't need or want full time child care, and I'd rather put $2200/month away from baby girl's University of Michigan college fund, I'm rallying moms-to-be in the area to work together. So far, I've talked with 3 other moms-to-be about part time care-taking for the babies (i.e. I watch a couple of babies 2 days a week, another mom watches a couple of babies the other 2 days). We'll see what shakes out on the other end, but I do like the idea of exploring different options. I plan to work full time as soon as my maternity leave ends (Feb, 2013), but the hours I keep can be very flexible, so I'm not too worried yet.

The below picture is about as good as I could get using my iPhone as I headed out for a massage yesterday. Sorry, no face, but I'm guessing people have much less interest in seeing my face than my belly these days!

Hello from Xi'an

Hiya,
If you have clicked over to the pictures (let Laura or me know if it isn't working for you) you can see that I am in Xi'an China and have been busy.  I just added some captions to the Xian1 and Xian2 albums.  The "Brad's China Website" is a site that I am updating that is plugged into the Brookline high school and parent network.  It will be a good way to see what I am doing with the kids, academically and fun stuff.  Hopefully, the students will be contributing soon.  My day to day life has been punctuated by flurries of emails, tours and happily some time for me to explore by myself.  I have had several small victories.  I found a french press and a Starbucks that with grind coffee for me.  I went to a noodle house and ordered all by myself (to be clear, I just pointed and grunted).  My free time has been filled with walking around and keeping up with the reading necessary for the classes I am teaching (not a small amount, yikes!).  I think I have a good handle on the streets around me.  The city is massive and crowded.  (I will write more on this later.)  I have been able to run, which is a huge relief for several reasons. 
That is all for now!

Remember to check the PHOTOS link to the right!

Brad uploaded some sweet shots of Xi'an to the flickr account to the right. He labeled the album Xi'an1. My favorite shot is of all the parked scooters and bikes. How cool! One thing you can't see is just how dry it is there. Brad said he has never been in a place that is this dry - for those track readers/followers out there, could you imagine a place drier than Reggie post-workout on a Tuesday night? I don't believe Brad has had time to go for a run there yet, so it'll be interesting to see how that goes.

Brad and Laura in the Public Gardens on Brad's last Boston day


Our table before Brad finished packing

Our table after Brad finished packing (and bought me presents)
(the basket is our ever growing baby gift basket. MSU fans, notice the first outfit gift we've received - thanks to Meredith, our MSU PhD candidate)

Every Valentine's Day, we go to Cafe Fleuri for brunch. Since Brad will be gone this Valentine's Day, we celebrated a week early. Clearly, we saved room for dessert.

He made it!

I just heard from Brad that he made it to Xi'an without a hiccup. All 8 of the students are safely with their host families, Brad is in his room, greedily eying his bed, I'm sure (and, yes, eying can be spelled with or without the second 'e'). He hasn't yet set up Skype and other communication methods from his dorm room, so he might not be reachable yet, but I'll keep you informed from here of anything noteworthy. (PS - above picture is of Brad and the students at Logan Airport yesterday morning)

The great adventure begins!

The Blog Revived

Welcome back, readers! We decided to revive the blog given that we have a couple biggies on the horizon. Starting next Tuesday, Brad will be teaching in Xi'an, China, for 4 months, and hopes to share updates with people through this blog. I'll be reporting from Boston on other happenings... including the development of little baby Hayden Kozel, due on July 2nd. We've made the blog private, so if you know people who would like to stay tuned but don't have permission to view the blog, give 'em a hug and send them my way - I'll add them.

Brad and Laura (18 weeks pregnant) on February 2nd, 2012