living in beijing
Reintegrating The Other Way
Moving back to Seattle and leaving Beijing has been a somewhat smoother experience than coming to Beijing. Mostly because we really haven’t left yet and all the hard stuff is on the other side. Here are the logistics we went through in leaving : Deciding to Return :Â this might be obvious but for us … Continue reading
To Miss and Not to Miss
For the past 18 months China has become our home, and it’s surreal because many things are now just normal; the way things are. Readjusting to what I remember as familiar back home will be an interesting comparison. Â As we prepare to leave China and return to the US I’ve been keeping a list of … Continue reading
Driving in China vs. Driving in USA
As we get ready to repatriate to the US I’ve been keeping track of the things that are different between driving in the US and China. These are also a list of things I have learned about how to drive in China. Â This is my perception based on driving in China for the past 14 … Continue reading
Best of April 2012
Another group of the best of photos for the Month of April. Click through on any photo for more details and information. We had spring break and visited Thailand and was lucky enough to get in another three weekend visits to the Wall. The most special part was catching the Wall in full spring blossoms. … Continue reading
The good, the bad and the ugly
After talking to a close friends daughter last night via FB about our feelings living abroad (she nannies in Paris), it got me thinking. We were talking about our likes vs. dislikes about the cities we live in and also the things we know we are going to miss when we move back to the … Continue reading
Reflections on BCIS
March is the season of Student Led Conferences at Beijing City International School. A year ago we attended our first, after we’d only been in Beijing a couple of months. We spent an hour each with both Miles and Sofi reviewing the school work they had done over the last year. Sofi was first, we … Continue reading
Jiankou in Snow
Those trapped in the languid places of no seasons can’t understand the way a winter will change a place; or the way spring will bring new hope; summer will bring sun and Autumn the golden end of a season. Â I was saddened when Beijing had a few warm days in February that I’d missed my … Continue reading
Ice Skating at HouHai
First thing to know is that despite the title of this post we found most of the ice skating was at QianHai, south of HouHai. When we started out we didn’t know that, but we wanted to beat the crowds so we parked outside HouHai lake at 9am between two trees on the side of … Continue reading
Logistical Renewal
In hindsight moving to China during the middle of Chinese New Year wasn’t such a great idea.  Trying to shuffle logistics with bureaucracy during the biggest Chinese holiday is problematic at best and very frustrating at its worst. Then a year later you have to renew your work permit and you have to go through … Continue reading
2011 Griffith Family Christmas Letter
What a wonderful busy busy year its been for everyone. This news letter recaps the family happenings, mostly written by Mark in the 3rd person. January This year began with us celebrating the New Year in Utah with the Zollingers. After the long drive back to Issaquah we frantically began cleaning out the house and … Continue reading