Cars

A lot of people have asked what we are doing with our cars AND, will we get a car when we are there? Well...we already sold Andre's car. We sold it to a friend and it worked out perfectly with the exception that we are now down to one car and have been since the end of June. After many forgetful incidences in which we both made plans, we are finally used to one vehicle. Although I will never be used to getting up so early to take Andre to work if I need the car!! :) My car on the other hand is being purchased by Andre's Mom & Dad. They wanted something they could tow behind the motorhome, and thought our car would be ideal for that. They will be taking the car whenever we finally get out of here!! Now, if we could just sell our house that easily!! ;)
Now, about driving in China...if we wanted to die we would probably undertake this feat. However, we aren't prepared to end our lives just yet. So in the mean time, we will have a car allowance from Klipsch. We will be tracking our transportation for the first 3-5 months of living there and then we will come up with an appropriate allowance. I would imagine that if we were to have company, or if we were traveling to another city (Shenzen for shopping anyone?) we would get a driver/car for the day. We might do that a couple of times a month, but other than that most of our transport will take place via taxi.
Traffic is very crazy in the city. You have to witness it firsthand to REALLY understand. Our traffic laws are just guidelines in China. You will frequently see people crossing over double yellow lines to pass a long row of traffic. As Andre says, if you don't make eye contact with the other driver, you do not have the right of way. You literally feel like you are going to be in an accident at least 2 times per trip...even more if you are going farther. I thought this would make me nervous, but it was actually kind of fun. Think...driving on an obstacle course...with about 1,000 other people. Any takers? :)

Where is Dongguan, China?

Many people were asking for the spelling of our new city. The spelling above is correct, and usually if you type it in Google Maps or Google Earth it will locate it. However, if it can't be located you may want to try Dongwan, China. It is the same place, apparently it is just not translated easily!! :)
The closest major city to us is Hong Kong. That is where we fly in. Then you take about an hour ferry ride to the mainland since Hong Kong is an island. Once on the mainland, it is about a 45-50 minutes taxi ride to the area of town in which we live. And what a crazy taxi ride it is...hold on!!

What about your house?

Ahhhh...this is the biggest reason our life has been so crazy lately. We have been working non-stop on our house and it looks GREAT!! It is officially on the market, and now we just need buyers. If you know of anyone looking for a starter home please pass them our way. The moving company has already come once and taken everything we are putting in storage that we don't need before we move. It really de-cluttered our house. They will come again to pack up everything we are shipping to China when we leave. And then they will come one final time to pack up everything staged in the house, after it sells.
Our apartment in China will be furnished so we aren't shipping any furniture. We are basically only taking clothes, pictures, and DVD/video games. Everything else is being stored or pitched!

Thank you!!

Thank you to everyone who has come to one (or both) of our going away parties. It means a lot to us to see all those people we care most about. We have had so much fun and we are lucky to have such GREAT friends. We hope to see everyone at least once more before we leave!! :)

What are you doing with your dogs?

We have (had) three dogs that made this decision that much harder. They were the one aspect of this move that we were unable to talk about for so long because we both got so emotional thinking about giving them up. If you have pets you understand this....they are our children!!
That being said, Klipsch agreed to pay for the relocation of ONE of our pets. That is costing them $5,000...so imagine their reluctance to re-locate THREE of them!! That wasn't going to happen! :)
Even though it seems like this would be a hard decision, fate stepped in and decided for us. A friend of mine at work, Chelsea, expressed interest in adopting a big dog, as she always had dogs growing up and missed it. Her husband Aaron and her just got married about a month ago and we ready to expand their family. So when I went to visit China, she kept Gracie for us to see if it would be a good fit. They all loved each other immediately and we knew we had found a new family for our little girl. Gracie made the move right after the 4th of July and has been very happy. Her brothers miss her terribly, as do Andre and I, but we know she is in good hands. I think Chelsea and Aaron are spoiling her...but she deserves it!! :)
That brings us to Reuben. Anyone who has met him knows he is skittish and rejects anything that is not in his routine. My Mom & Dad have had a spot for Reuben in their hearts for him since they do they met him, and volunteered immediately to take him. I feel very comfortable with this, and know that he will be a good little lake dog!! At this time he is still with us, and will be until we leave.
If you are keeping track you know that leaves us with Ralphie!! He is our baby...the only dog that Andre and I acquired together. So in a way, it makes the most sense. He is also the biggest pest/troublemaker. However, I think he will be a different dog when he doesn't have any other dogs to torment & pester. Ralphie will also be living with my Mom & Dad until we arrive in China and move into an apartment. Hopefully it will be about a month or less, and then Animals Away will transport him over to his new home in China!
It will be nice to have a piece of home over there. It will give me responsibility and a reason to get out & about everyday regardless of whether I want to or not. We are sad to part with & separate our "children" but we know they will be well taken care of and happy.

Questions?

Please, if you have questions about this process....either e-mail me or reply to his post and I can blog about it. I am going to try to hit some of the things we are asked about most often...but trust me, if YOU want to know...EVERYONE wants to know!! :)

WOW!

Hello loyal readers!! :) I am so sorry for the lag in my posting! Things have been CRAZY around here!! I still don't have an idea for what to do in China when this blog gets blocked, but I suppose I will figure that out when the time comes. I have heard that it still allows you to access certain websites occasionally...so you may just have to bear with me!! That's what you've been doing anyway right??
I have decided to abandon a detailed explanation of our trip, because it has been awhile since then anyway. Don't worry...I still have plenty of witty observations & stories for you!! :)
I wanted to update everyone on the most frequently asked question: When are you guys officially leaving??? We still have no "official" date! We know this is just as annoying and frustrating for you as it is for us!! At this time, our paperwork has been submitted, but we are waiting for approval on our medical paperwork. Once we get that, hopefully by the end of next week, we SHOULD be able to purchase our tickets and have a finialized date.
Part of the hold-up is that they originally wanted our medical exams to be done in Guangzhou, PRC...but Klipsch didn't really want to send us there just to get medical exams ($$$) so we had them done here and they are being translated. Hopefully they will accept these medical exams, because if not...we will have to have them done AGAIN in China!! Which will not be fun because trust me...there was a gauntlet of tests done on us...we were poked, prodded, and pricked for several days.
Another reason this is all taking so long is the Olympics. China is basically shutting things down for this worldwide event. Everything is 10x harder because they are cracking down so hard on visas & stuff.
As soon as we have a date set & tickets purchased you will be the first to know!! :)