The Burtons

The Burtons

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving

We had a fun Thanksgiving dinner tonight at the Hilton buffet with 35 friends. There was classic Thanksgiving food plus plenty of Asian choices, fresh seafood and desserts. The hotel even made an area for the kids to play. Love our Asia friends















One more thing before bed - some of you may recognize that hotel from last Christmas when Cole fell in the lobby infinity pool before dinner. They now have signs there warning. We did have an incident in our group- a helper who was chasing one of the kids slipped and broke her arm. Lesson- don't chase a 2yr old on marble floors in 3" heels 😕


Monday, November 24, 2014

Thanksgiving Craft

The neighborhood mom's got together to do a Thanksgiving craft for the kids. Victoria and I got the craft supplies and prepped while the other moms brought treats.  We ordered the supplies off of TaoBao - the amazon of China.  We didn't anticipate that the paint wouldn't dry on our styrofoam balls so she and I spent hours with the blow dryer trying to get things prepped.  In the end the craft was cute and the kids loved it.










Maryn, Jaclyn, Victoria, me and Sherley

Friday, November 21, 2014

School Field Trip - Cooking Oil Factory?!

I was excited to find out the boys would have their first ever school field trip. I remember how happy field trips made me as a child.  When I saw where it was to I had to fall out laughing - a cooking oil factory!  I envisioned kids walking precariously by hot vats of oil.  Well it turned out to be a nice little tour.  This company is of the major oil manufacturers in China and they a few other staple products as well. The kids loved riding the bus and checking things out.  After the tour the kids did some crafts, snacks and games in the cafeteria area.  They showed the kids a short film about their processes followed by a q&a for the kids to win prizes.  Unfortunately the film was in Mandarin so most kids and parents had no idea what was said!  As we sat through the painful follow up game that was just not working out a question came that Cole knew - "when is Thanksgiving?"  Cole answered, "next Thursday!"  The teacher said, "Not exactly -  the right answer is it's always November 27th".  We then explained to the Chinese teacher that Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday and not always on November 27th - Cole was right.  "Oh", they said and gave Cole his prize - a plastic orange colander?! oh China... : )


On the bus













Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Around China

Border Crossing at Futian

This was the Ritz Carlton TV Guide

This is an elaborate chart from the police station explaining what ID photos were and were not acceptable.  Some things they would not allow included too much makeup, headwear, tilting your head smiling too much... 
I loved Monchichis as a child and thought they weren't made anymore.  Nope , they just moved to China

Squatty potty

I'm not lovin it

How cute is this guy in this crazy outfit.  Notice the split pant for peeing.
  Obviously he is from a progressive family as he has a diaper on. 

And that would be a monkey in the stairwell in Luohu

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Old Shekou


Cool murals on sides of buildings

 Dogs with shoes


Some have labelled them ridiculous and annoying, while others believe that they deserve their own time, space and respect.
They are the 'da ma' - women, mostly middle-aged or retired and freed from the constraints of work and raising children - who dance in public spaces around the country in the mornings and evenings. This group was in Old Shekou. We also had a group that met in front of our apartment building
Their hobby has hit the headlines as it has at times pitted neighbour against neighbour, and has also provoked widespread debate.
The da ma have been blamed for taking up too much public space and dancing in the wrong places, such as rail stations and highways.
The loud, amplified music they use has irritated neighbors, who have fought back in a variety of ways, such as using loudspeakers to drown out the "noise" and in some cases going as far as firing warning shots in the air.
In some areas, the fraught situation has led local governments to formulate laws to limit the times and locations of the dances.

 Locals drying meat in the alley