Lets Go Kiddo

One of the changes we made upon getting to China was to cancel the Netflix subscription.  It’s a weird thing for me to be without that.  After 20 years, I canceled my membership.  It just wasn’t worth it any longer.  Not the price, nor the content.   During our summer, we also upgraded our tech.  With that, we got a few free months of AppleTV+ and gave it a try.  Our good friend, B Schmittah, told us about content we needed to see; Ted Lasso , Shrinking , and some of the nature docs.  We ended up just keeping the service and we’re all loving it.  J and I loved the shows named above and Kiddo and the family watch the docs at night as a family before Kiddo brushes and does bed.   I mention this because of Ted Lasso .  There is a scene in the first season that kind of speaks to us.  To what we are doing and how we think.  Of what we try to teach Kiddo. “Be curious, not judgmental.” — Walt Whitman J and I were both raise...

I’m waiting on pics from J on one our adventures, to the aquarium, but she took a ton, so that will have to wait a bit.  Maybe next post.  Mostly, what we did was play with Kiddo all break.  Had some adventures.  Kind of just hung out as a family. Back in Cali, Kiddo had magnet tiles and loved them.  She was reminiscing one day just before break about those and how she wished with had brought them with so she cold build and make things for her friends…. A school or a restaurant our whatever her little imagination was dreaming up that day.  So, for a CNY gift, we got her some magnet tiles.  They’ve been a big hit and she spent a lot of time during the break just building and playing and imagining.  It was fun to fall into the world with her and just sit on the floor and play. We walked a lot.  Went to a lot of little parks around us.  We found restaurants and little eateries around us or near where we were exploring and just tried foo...

The expat life isn’t for the lazy.  First, you need to be “ON” all the time.  Difference in culture, lifestyles, traffic, language, etc etc etc and that means you need to have your head on a swivel every moment you are out of your own space; ears, eyes, and brain open.  Secondly, you walk a ton more than you think you will.  That’s been true in BKK and Shanghai both, but also applied to our time in Vietnam and Mexico.  Last, it’s that you are lost.  At least for the first year or so.  You don’t know where to get things.  Need batteries…. Figure it out.  Need TP…. Figure it out.  Need toothpaste, a mug, tea or coffee, a roll of tape… Gotta figure it out.  It takes work.  A willingness to adjust frequently.  A willingness to learn and roll with things.  A willingness to make mistakes and be a fool and you need to be ok with that.  You need to be willing to explore, get lost, find your way, and then do it all again ...