feeling their pain...

At precisely 2.30pm there were loud sounds of sirens mingled with car horns from outside. I went to look out of our balcony window and saw all the cars, bicycles, carts and even pedestrians were standstill. Didn't know it was 2.30pm but looked at my watch and realised that that was the exact time the earthquake struct in Sichuan Province. It was a moving scene. I don't think I can even comprehend how the victims feel especially parents. They're only allowed one child and put so much into that one child.

It was my first earthquake experience. At first I thought it was my pregnancy hormone - why else would I suddenly feel as though the world was moving apart from me? Then I realised the lights above the dining table were swaying just like our apartment building and then realised that this isn't pregnancy hormone but is either builders were messing about in the basement or an earthquake. I did think that if the swaying went on for another minute I was going to get Tom (who was having his nap) out pronto but as it was the swaying stopped so I called our landlady Jenny and asked her if she could call the management office to see if they were doing any work in the basement. [They put notices up but can't read Chinese so it would go unnoticed if they were]. Anyway, Jenny called back to say that it was infact the aftershocks of an earthquake perhaps from the one that hit Taiwan the day before. I switched on CNN and there it was the breaking news saying that China was just hit by a massive earthquake.

We were lucky that we are 950miles away from the epicentre - James and even our landlady who worked on the 3rd floor of her building didn't feel any movement. Only us who were on higher floors felt it. I could only imagine then the kind of damage there must be nearer to the epicentre and we now know what the people in Sichuan had to and are dealing with.

of strawberries and cream & Tous Les Jours...

Yippeee I am now in the third and final trimester - fingers crossed only 10 more weeks to go (ever willing my baby to want to be born in my 38th week). My weekly pregnancy newsletter from babycentre.co.uk tells me that I should gain about 5kg from this week onwards - yikes! Last I checked I've only gained 8kg so fingers crossed at Monday's check-up the nurse will tell me I've gained only another kg more.

This is, of course, me having wishful thinking. I am devouring huge amounts of strawberries topped with yummy fresh cream from Jenny Lou's (essential expat grocery store) and can't seem to stop eating Tour Le Jours' (bakery) melt in the mouth sponge cake and cream filled bun. Bought more cream filled bun lastnight as had to pop over to get bread - resisted the sponge cake though was very, very tempted - and J's eyes almost came out of its sockets when I was into my third portion of the bun (which is about a foot long and cut into 5 portions). May I add that this was after a scrummy Korean meal complete with BBQ'ed beef sirloin, grilled mackerel, cuttlefish rings, a huge amount of salad and a whole bowl of the best ever kimchi plus when we got home I had a banana too! Will this eating ever stop??

My baby girl is getting more active by the day - wonder if all the cream and sweet things are getting her all hyper and of course my belly is getting bigger - and my son tries as much as he can to get me to carry him especially when we have to walk to somewhere. After 5 minutes he will say "cannot do this (walk) anymore. mummy carry?"

And speaking of Tom, school this week has been more fun as his class were given a new music CD which coincidentally has his favourite theme songs - Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam that is. As I write this I am also experimenting to see if I can view my blog again as think I have been censored due to last blog post. This is not the first time mind. J says he's not surprised :-P

Anyway, here are more latest pics :

Weird weather...

This is our first experience of such weather in Beijing so thought I'd record it in my blog...

Yesterday we woke up to a bright albeit very polluted day in Beijing - so polluted that we can't see pass 200 metres or thereabouts. Nothing new to us Beijing laowais. Anyway, at 9.30am-ish it began to get dark so I thought great finally the rain comes. Then it got darker and darker and lo and behold it was night time again. Called J and asked him what was going on but he told me hurriedly (he was teaching someone - whoops!) that there was nothing to worry about and will speak to me later. Then 10 mins later the sky just poured it down. By 11.30am the sky was back to normal daytime rainy day i.e. gray and very cloudy.

This weather phenomenon is the work of great Chinese weather wizards who seem to have magical tools/powers that can induce rain, wind, storm and even snow. It's no wonder that Beijing-ren can predict weather spot on - they obviously have inside information! Amazing? Call it govt control. Can't complain though as today is a lot less polluted and we can see and feel Mr. Sun's rays upon us again - hurray!