It's a rainy lazy day in the neighborhood...

I just had a totally normal trip to the grocery. For $12usd I got:
3 sunkist oranges
4 organic apples
about a pound of grapes (all from the USA)
pint of blueberries from Chile (same package we see in the USA)
3 bananas from the Philippines
2 cups of yogurt from Switzerland
and the 8 piece loaf of organic bread from the bakery

I think that seems reasonable. Hopefully the sticker shock was just more apparent when we had to buy EVERYTHING.
We walked to the grocery without the stroller so the kids could get some activity. There's a big open space in front of all the shops surrounded by picnic tables called The Plaza. At any given time of day there are kids running and playing. Always something happening. I ended up carrying D half the way home but oh well. He'll get there and it's good for him to get his walking legs. We got back home just as it started to rain so I am glad we got out this morning.

The best description for Discovery Bay that I can come up with is to say that it's like a big college campus. (Much like Purdue except it's not flat.) You can walk to wherever you want to go but there is lots of bus service and that is the faster and less sweaty way to get around.

We took a walk yesterday to the school G will start attending next week. It's Easter break right now (spring break) so no one was around. Which is perfect for my daughter. She likes to assess things and know what she's in for. We walked along the building and she looked in every single window. Very good for her to see it in a relaxed setting like that! She starts next Monday. She'll be in the afternoon session of school and we were told to just show up 10-15 minutes early so she could get fitted quickly for her uniform. That is going to be a crazy 10-15 minutes when that all happens! She may or may not do well on that day. I hope hope hope she enjoys this school and is not overwhelmed to be joining the bilingual program toward the end of the school year... In the admission paperwork they included a temperature chart. We are required to take her temp every morning and the chart is to remain in her backpack. She is not allowed to go to school if her temp is over 99.5. I think this is genius. These Asians don't take these pandemic flu bugs lightly!

I got a phone call from a lady about our shipment today. It is here in Hong Kong! Yay! But she needed some information sent to her so that customs can clear it. And it has to be cleared by customs for her to arrange delivery. So we are close but it's still going to be a few more days...

I could write a whole post about what it's like to have a phone conversation with a Chinese person speaking the Queen's English. They all learn British English since Hong Kong was ruled by England until 1997. I get a headache from focusing so hard. This woman spoke really clear English. Thank God. Every time my phone rings I about have an anxiety attack because it can be so hard to understand when you can't see the body language. Sometimes it's hard even when you can see the body language!

What do I miss most from my stuff? Well at first it was cookware! But we broke down and bought a cheap fry pan and sauce pot after we realized it was going to take longer to get our things than we thought. So I miss my cookware but I am managing.
Toys for my kids!!!!
More towels for my kitchen.
My clothes. I am working with about 10% of my wardrobe right now.
Cloth grocery/shopping bags.
chip clips to close up our food!
my pillow

Obviously these are things I could have brought over when we flew here but we didn't think it would take this long to receive our stuff. And I'm not sure I would have come up with some of this stuff. Honestly--chip clips? Who knew I'd miss them sooooo much? Don't take your chip clips for granted, people!