Let the fun begin!!

Easter Sunday found us playing a new game.  Chinese Chopsticks.  What fun! I had such a great time with the girls.

Passports!

Checked passports expiration dates ... three out of five needed to be renewed!
Children's passports need to be renewed every five years.  they do change a lot, don't they!?  I have done this a few times, but every single time I seem to forget the requirements!!!  I guess I just don't want to deal with anymore paperwork.

The difference this time was that you have to have an appointment!!
So, before you go make sure you call your local post office.
The children need to appear in person,  along with  parent/parents, old passports, birth certificates, parents copies of drivers licences, back and front, one for each child,  and of course the fees.

I filled the applications online, and printed them. Quite easy to do, and you can keep a copy, for your records.

Once we were at the post office, everything went well and very smoothly.  Great service form the post office staff.

The link below answer all the questions you might have about getting or renewing a passport.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/

Playing Games - Feilong - The China Game

Sunday is game night!

A couple of weeks ago we decided to play the game "Feilong - The China Game" to have some fun while learning about China's history, traditions, culture and so much more.  It had been a while since we played the game since it is for ages 12 and up.

Feilong (pronounced Fay-Loong) or Flying Dragon, is a question based board game, with three different levels.  You can be a Beginner (Deck A), Intermediate (Deck B)  or an Expert (Deck C)!
The questions cover a wide range of features of China and the Chinese people, from Neolithic China to present time China.
There are 26 question categories, from Agriculture to Economics, Education to Literature, Martial Arts to Zoology!!!

Some questions are easy, others are rather challenging (expert level).

 We did quite well on it came to "Culture & Costumes" but failed in politics and history, etc.!
  Need more practice, I guess!

Today, we also discovered that there is an online version at Asia Society.  Faster then the board game and of course more appealing to the younger ones.

You can also purchase the board game at China Sprout and other online stores.

Enjoy discovering China!

Chinese?!

When you visit China, with your children,  you become an attraction!
Our oldest daughter loved this, because "Now you are the ones that don't belong!  Everyone looks like me!"
It was 2003,  as we were coming out of a restaurant in Beijing,  we were surrounded by people trying to figure out who these strangers were!   And why in the world did they have such a beautiful Chinese girl with them!!
After a minute of loud talk, pointing, touching, smiles, thumbs up and "Lucky girl", our daughter became scared.  This happened a few times, in different places!
We had no clue what to tell people!  How you explain that she was adopted, and now lives in the USA?
Our guide, a very young woman,  didn't seem to know what to say either.

So, in preparing for this trip we wanted to be able to explain our family if and when asked.
Our goal is to empower our children so they feel in control of  the situation, if or when it arises.
With the help of our Chinese teacher, Columbus School of Chinese, we think we came up with an easy way to explain our family.

我出生在中国，（但是）我长大在美国。 （I was born in China, (but) I grew up in America.)
Wǒ chūshēng zài zhōngguó, (dànshì) wǒ zhǎng dà zài měiguó. 

我父母是美国人。我住在美国。      (My parents are American. I live in America.)
Wǒ fùmǔ shì měiguó rén wǒ zhù zài měiguó.


 The girls are quite good at it, Steve and I ... well that's another story!  We will keep trying.