Nǐ hǎo! 你好 Hello!
We are
the Thomas Family. I am Cynthia, my husband is Sam, and we have three
daughters aged 8, 6 and 4. We are in our mid/late 30’s. In May 2018 my software engineer husband was
accepted into a 2 month Global Rotation Program to Dalian, China through his
employer. The program allowed him to bring his family, and we homeschool,
so we were able to join him on this amazing opportunity.
A few family/friends have encouraged me to
blog about our experience, and since they are interested and I have a terrible
memory, I have decided a blog is not such a bad idea. At least my family will have a record of our
Grand Asian Adventure.
A
disclaimer – I am posting this blog on my husband’s Mac computer which is not
my friend. So I apologize in advance for
my less than professional looking blog.
The Mac and I are struggling to work together! And I am unfortunately a poor writer. But I know that if He needs me to do it well,
He will provide the ability.
The
Preparations
We
started preparing for our trip months in advance and it did take us a while.
We are not world travelers, so we had to start from the beginning.
Passports did not take too long to arrive (We applied end of June and it did
not take more than a few weeks to arrive). Visas were much more
difficult. I tried to complete the paperwork on my own, but the
complexities of working with my husbands employer made it quicker for him to
complete the visas with his employer.
Tip#1 -
get your passport pictures at CVS and use those pictures for the visas.
The chinese consulate has strict rules on the pictures - no shadows, white
background, no white shirts, shoulders must be visible, no jewelry, hair pulled
back, no smiling. Make sure you know the rules when you are at CVS and
make sure the pictures follow those rules. It will save you money and
many headaches if you go this route. (we did not - we took our first set
at the post office when we submitted our passport applications, but those
photos all failed the chinese consulate standards. We tried several
subsequent photo sessions at various locations, trying not to spend money again
(in front of white posterboards, in front of white boards, using photo shop,
etc. - but it all failed. Go to CVS and do it all ONE time:).
Several
items we purchased for the trip:
1. New
suitcases (We ended up getting two 3 piece sets of Merax light weight spinner luggage -
worked great. We ended up taking 7 suitcases for our family of 5 for a 70
day trip. That particular luggage was affordable, came in many colors and had the
hard top/spinner features). Our previous luggage was in poor condition. If your luggage is in good condition (or you are able to borrow some decent luggage), then save your money! I prefer frugality whenever possible!
2. A pack of 18 bag labels. More than enough for each suitcase and carry on
bag.
3. A Bubble Bum Booster seat for our 4 year old. Most common ways to get around China are
taxis or public transportation (buses and underground subways). Much of China is still working on getting
people to use seat belts. We knew this
was going to be a tricky area. My
husband’s employer provided us with a driver.
So far the Bubble Bum booster seat has been really helpful. We just blow it up before we head out and and
can deflate it/roll it up when we are done. We found this to be more convenient than hauling around our bulky booster seats back home.
4. A passport pouch that can go under your clothes.
In China, you must have your passport with you at all times and can be
asked for it at any time (ours was asked for many times in just the first few
days). There are a surprising lack of
foreigners, so you will stick out. Us
and our 3 kids are an oddity (China had a 1 child policy for 30 years and only
recently started allowing a 2 kid policy which many of the current generation [whom
were almost all single children] are uncomfortable in having more than 1).
5. Electronic Device Converters due to different electric plugs/voltage. The hotel we stayed at had the outlets we needed (as did the Beijing Airport), so we ended up not needing the devices. But I know not all hotels/apartments, etc. will be so accommodating to Americans.
6. Headphones for the kids. The international flights had headphones, but the shorter flights did not.
Other
items to do:
1. Convert your American cash to Chinese
Yuan/RMB. ($1=6.85 Yuan).
2. Learn some Mandarin. Tools we used were the Little Pim DVD Series for preschoolers
(found new packs on Ebay at reduced prices); Free Chinese Skill app (great for
learning) ; Free google translator app (great when out in China and need help
translating signs/menus/whatever and communicating with mandarin speakers) ;
and purchased a $6 pocket mandarin book (I still prefer to use books when
possible).
3. Check out several books on China from the
library – for both the kids and adults.
Good adult books were the Lonely Planet: China, Rough Guides:
China and Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos (this book
gives great background on China, specially during the last 40 years). Good kid books were the Lonely Planet: China
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know (highly recommend!), Magic Treehouse: China
books (there are 2), and our personal favorite, Lottie Moon. Many other great books for kids were
available and read as well.
4. If you take prescription medication, be sure
to have a supply to last you for your entire trip. I procrastinated to the week prior and almost
had to leave without a 3 month supply of a medicine I take, which would have
been bad for my trip! Thankfully it
worked out in time – but don’t wait until the last minute!!
5. Reach out to your contacts for any
connections in China. We reached out to
some friends and through friends of friends of friends, we got hooked up with a
group of expats in Dalian!
6. Vaccines – we had to get flu shots, make sure girls were up to date on their normal pediatrician given vaccines, and I had to get caught up on my HEP A shots. We were able to get all those taken care of at the pediatrician’s office and CVS minute clinic. Was all covered by insurance. The unusual vaccines recommended for China we went to a Passport Health location (they have locations nationwide). Those vaccines are NOT covered by insurance and are very expensive (rabies vaccine - $1200 per person; Japanese Encephalitis - $800 per person, etc.). Needless to say, we did not get those vaccines and are being careful to stay away from animals (rabies) and use bug spray with deet when outdoors (Jap. Enc. is spread through mosquitos). We did all get the typhoid vaccine ($150 each). Fortunately my husbands employer did cover all his shots; we just had to cover the shots for the girls and I.
Well I
hope that gets you started! I tried to
find an easy primer on traveling to China with kids and was unsuccessful. This is my attempt to help future newbies on
their Chinese adventures!
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