Blogs from Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 6

Sammy is coming along in leaps and bounds. He’s putting on weight, his eyes are sparkling, he loves to joke around, he has learned to love water if his Jei Jei joins him, and he’s generally an easy kid. He has incredible patience for a three-year-old, which Kym attributes to his lack of mobility – you have to learn patience when you often can’t move anywhere unaided. He hasn’t (yet) manifested any behaviours relating to the sudden loss of his previous life, so I’m waiting for the hammer to fall, but right now, he’s a surprisingly normal kid. Tooh tooh (spits on fingers superstitiously). ... read more

I just want to say a great big thank you to my fantastic friend, Kym, who has been so incredibly supportive to us through what has been a very stressful journey, both physically and emotionally. We couldn't have done it without our amazing guide and mentor.... read more

…..I'm guessing Adele didn't write the song Hometown Glory with this country in mind but I'm thinking a lot of it is somehow appropriate; I like it in the city where the air is so thick & opaque, I like to see everybody in short skirts, shorts & shades, I like it in the city where 2 worlds collide, the people & the government, everybody taking different sides …..not many shorts or shades around just yet, as winter hangs on to the end of February, but the rest of it, well … It was raining & almost literally freezing yesterday, & even after the rain stopped it was not a nice night to be going to a gig on the scooter but after waiting about 20 minutes for a taxi I just gave up, put on ... read more

…..I am exhausted. I just washed up, a bowl, 2 cups, a fork, a spoon & a lunch box. Doing it balanced on one leg, in the bathroom, (there's no running water supplied to the kitchen / living room in our 2 room apartments), a trip back to fetch the dish washing liquid. I need to lie down... I'm doing it on one leg as the other is in plaster, after I slipped on the wet floor during a pre-Christmas clean up..... …..it seems I am doomed to periodic accidents with accompanying orthopaedic issues, like my current fracture in one of the lower leg bones where it connects to the ankle. They've told me I should not bear weight on it for 3 MONTHS! (It's always been 6 weeks previously, & I do have experience in ... read more

…..a man is kneeling & kowtowing in the middle of a bike lane at a busy intersection near the Da Run Fa supermarket. On closer inspection he has an old woman, possibly his mother, wrapped in blankets, not looking particularly well, lying next to him, as the bikes dodge around them. When I ask if she is sick he just nods in affirmation so I give him the benefit of the doubt & put some money in his container. I also wonder, if the current Australian government starts winding back Medicare & people are reduced to similar methods, how long you'd be allowed to do this before being moved on..... …..progress isn't always what it's cracked up to be. As China lurches into the 21st century, sometimes way ahead of supposedly more advanced countries, sometimes hopelessly ... read more