Monday was my 39th birthday and my first in China. Attached is a photo of a 39 candle conflagration atop a rather inadequate Chinese chocolate cake. The family deserves an "A" for effort on the birthday celebration, but it is hard to find a decent cake or a decent birthday gift at the stage we are at in China.
Nonetheless, we did go out to a nice dinner at the Daytona Sports Bar (see post #6) which provided lots of diversions for the kids so that Kathleen and I could enjoy dinner and a few drinks. It is great to drink and not worry about driving !
In addition to my birthday, there were two other significant events on Monday - our air shipment from Peoria arrived and it was the first day for the new housekeeper or "Ayi" as they are called in China.
We were excited to receive the air shipment as it contained all of the kitchen things as well as bedding, toys, additional clothes, and especially the home computer. Computer-wise, we have been managing well by using my new and old work laptop computers, but have still be eager to get the desktop house computer. More in a later post on the inaugural launch of the computer.
The Ayi is a big deal for Kathleen. We have been eager to find an Ayi so that Kathleen can turn over the housekeeping, but also have some help with child care. Our Ayi's name is Tsong. She seems very competent and is extremely affordable - $170 / month for full time (40 hrs / week) which is about what we paid for two days per month of housecleaning in Peoria. By the way, lest you think we are running a sweatshop here, the $1/hr is quite a decent wage in China. It will allow Tsong to afford a decent apartment and to buy a motor scooter to get to work. Such low labor costs, of course, are one of the reasons so much manufacturing is done today in China.
In addition to my birthday, there were two other significant events on Monday - our air shipment from Peoria arrived and it was the first day for the new housekeeper or "Ayi" as they are called in China.
We were excited to receive the air shipment as it contained all of the kitchen things as well as bedding, toys, additional clothes, and especially the home computer. Computer-wise, we have been managing well by using my new and old work laptop computers, but have still be eager to get the desktop house computer. More in a later post on the inaugural launch of the computer.
The Ayi is a big deal for Kathleen. We have been eager to find an Ayi so that Kathleen can turn over the housekeeping, but also have some help with child care. Our Ayi's name is Tsong. She seems very competent and is extremely affordable - $170 / month for full time (40 hrs / week) which is about what we paid for two days per month of housecleaning in Peoria. By the way, lest you think we are running a sweatshop here, the $1/hr is quite a decent wage in China. It will allow Tsong to afford a decent apartment and to buy a motor scooter to get to work. Such low labor costs, of course, are one of the reasons so much manufacturing is done today in China.
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