Our lives through the eyes of our guests from China.

     In October 2007, Rich and I spent 3 weeks in Xian, China teaching conversational English in a school in Xianyang.  We had an hour’s commute each way every day with a driver and a local English teacher escort.  Our escort Kim Wang managed to commandeer the assignment because her husband’s business was in Xian where they lived and she was teaching in Xianyang at Rainbow School.  Because she was our daily escort, she was able to spend nights in Xian and be at the school with us during the day.  On the weekend, she and her husband were our weekend tour guides. He drove. She explained.  We had a wonderful time and got to know her quite well.

             In the summer of 2008, Kim and her family came to the USA to visit for 7 weeks and stayed most of the time in our home.  Kim, her husband, Jason, her sister, Nying, Alex (age 12), and Ben (age 20 college student) all stayed here in our Overhill Drive home. 

 We saw our lives through their eyes.  These were the comments and wonders.

 HOME FRONT:

 1.    A home in the Tustin Hills is paradise.  It’s so quiet. The air is clean and fresh, We can walk on the streets without bumping into 50 other people. The scenery is so beautiful with bright colors. There is a huge garden around the house. 

2. Dishwasher: This is a machine that washes dishes automatically in less than an hour.  Put the dirty dishes in and they come out clean?

 

3. Washing machine: The clothes go in dirty and actually come out clean!  We must wash the clothes by hand first to make them clean.

 

4. Where do you hang the clothes to dry?  There is a machine that dries the clothes in 20-30 min and the clothes come out fluffy!

 

5. You have pots you don’t have to scrub because the food does not stick?

 

6. Toaster oven—how do you use that?
   
   
   

 

7. You can bake a cake so quickly?  What is a cake mix? An electric mixer saves your arm from aching and falling off.

 

8. We have only heard of apple pie but never tasted one.  Now we helped make one.  Could not imagine how to make one.

 

9. These are called donuts?  We never had them before.  Why do they have a hole?

 

10. Oatie, the dog, lives in the house like one of the people?

 

11. Is it really ok to flush used toilet paper down the toilet?

 

12. Homemade lemonade from lemons on your tree in the garden.

 

13. Fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast.  You have a machine to squeeze them?

 

14. Homemade nectarine jam on toast.  How do you make that?

 

15. Eating breakfast outdoors on the patio with fresh air and no bugs.

 

16. A blender to make bread crumbs.

 

17. The coffee maker has an on/off switch.  You don’t have to watch it?

 

18. The wonders of a cordless can opener.  Just hold the handle.  How easy!

 

19. The refrigerator keeps fruit for more than 1 day after its cut.

 

20. It’s ok to freeze bread?

 

21. An electric food chopper can grate and chop in seconds.

 

22. Waffles—Special machine to cook in waffle shape.

 

23. Pancakes that rise and are fluffy.

 

24. Teach us American western table manners.  How do I properly use a fork, knife, and spoon?  How do you set a western table?

 

25. The closet pantry looks like a store.

 

26. The trash is picked up from your home by only one man, with one truck?

 

27. The kitchen has EVERYTHING and all in the right place.

 

Although many of these kitchen gadgets are made in China, they are only available to the wealthy, if at all.  They do not have access to American products.

 

SHOPPING

 

1. Costco!!!!  Beautiful foods.  Never would we find an assortment of fresh fruit cut & ready to eat.  American jeans for under $50?!

 

2. SAS shoes!!!  Super comfortable American made shoes for under $400.

 

3. Yard sale!  People actually sell their things on the front lawn.

 

4. Stuffed animals for children on the American market meet American safety requirements.  Material on the ones sold on the Chinese market cannot be trusted.

 

5. Things here “Made in China” are of better quality for export than found in China.

 

6. Nordstrom’s Rack!!! Shoes at such discounts.

 

FOODS:

 

1.     Souplantation—Unbelievable variety and quality of food all you can eat.  No limits on dessert!

 

2.     Mexican food is new.  Never had it before. Chicken tacos are good.  We ate too many!

 

3.     Western food DOES taste good after all.  Soooo different than in China.

 

4.     Chinese dim sum (Hong Kong style) was a new kind of food.

 

5.     Baskin Robbins 31 flavors are so good.  Too many to choose from.

 

6.     Target—things we have never seen or did not know what they are for.

 

7.     Dollar Store:  school supplies so inexpensive

 

8.     Disneyland!!! More than we imagined.

 

ACTIVITIES:

1. You can go for a walk in Peter’s Canyon wilderness park minutes from the house.

 

2. Picnic and music in the park.  Chicken salad on lettuce leaves, with cut watermelon to enjoy.

 

3. Model homes have large kitchens and wire shelves in the closets.

 

4. Car lots have a variety of used and new cars. Car pool lane. Toll road. Sun shield for the car. Everyone MUST wear seat belts in the car.

 

5. Camping—never been camping in a tent & white water rafting. A machine to blow up the air mattress.

 

6. Church—traditional one so quiet and calm

 

7. Church—modern charismatic so loud and festive.  The Bible seems simple there.

 

8. Unbelievable that China is across the ocean from Mission Beach, San Diego.

 

9. The animals in the San Diego Zoo live in luxury.

 

10. Beautiful university campus at Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine.  Spacious, clean, with beautiful gardens

 

Seeing our world through our visitors' eyes, made us aware that we take so many things for granted.  It made us grateful for the lifestyle we have and also happy to share it with them.  This was (12 years ago).

 

      Since that visit in 2008, young Alex has moved to the USA as a student, graduated from high school, college, and graduate school.  He is now living the American life.  Mom and dad still live in China but have traveled to the USA and countries worldwide since.  This trip was their first out of China.  We were happy to be their host.