Author Archives: Mark Griffith
The Last Logistical Bits
The last logistical bit of relocation bureaucracy is complete, our air shipments were delivered today at our apartment in Beijing. I’ll review a few details and things that I understand better now. Here is a tour of our Apartment Beijing Apartment Tour from mbgriffi on Vimeo. I wrote the about the process of getting permits … Continue reading
School in Beijing
I attended a focus group this morning at Beijing City International School where our kids go. It was an interesting experience and offers an opportunity to spend a bit more time writing about the kids educational experience. For the kids I think they have adapted the fastest here in Beijing, the routine alone has been … Continue reading
Snaggle Tooth
Today at school Miles and another boy were playing on the playground and he smashed his right front tooth on the head of another boy. I got a call from the school and they wanted us to pick him up and take him to see a doctor. Stac wasn’t feeling well so I left work … Continue reading
Settling, Settling, Settling
Well we have finally moved into our permanent home in Beijing. Â Its been a busy couple of weeks but we are finally feeling like we are settling in. Pee in a Bucket Last Saturday I went shopping for the last “big” purchase for the house. I was sick and tired of shopping at Ikea and … Continue reading
Basketball in the Hood
There are first times for everything. Today was my first time playing Basketball in China. It was also the first time I’ve played in around 25 years. Basketball is the most popular sport in China. There are as many people playing basketball in China as there are in the entire United States around 300 million. … Continue reading
Shopping Hell
Relocating yourself halfway around the world with a limited amount of space to bring your lives along and attempting to settle into an unfurnished furnished apartment means that you need to buy a crap load of stuff. As we left Issaquah, divesting ourselves of all our worldly possessions (car, house, etc) and packed away the … Continue reading
Beijing go Boom
We arrived in Beijing in the middle of Chinese New Year. We missed the biggest fireworks day when New Years kicked off, but there was a huge day Sunday night when fireworks just exploded everywhere. The sheer number of fireworks going off is overwhelming in addition to how long they go on and on and … Continue reading
Relocating – Part 3
Well we have keys to our new apartment; Our apartment is largely empty. Here’s what’s happened since my last blog. Friday Night we visited SanLiTun, this is where the foreign embassies were relocated in 1949 when the new government wanted them out of the inner imperial city. Since that time there are many western bars, … Continue reading
Relocating – The First Few Days – Part 2
Day Three – Wednesday I woke up around 4:30 am; jetlag sucks. It was Sofi’s first day of school. We met Driver Wang downstairs and I accompanied her to school. We got there 40 minutes too early and waited in the lobby. Some paper work to fill out for her bus and I met her … Continue reading
Relocating – The First Few Days – Part 1
Departure Day – Saturday Since I have jet lag and I am up at 4 am I thought I’d jot down a few notes on the transition and how things have gone since we arrived. We were originally supposed to leave San Francisco (after Disneyland) on Friday, but Stac and Miles both had a bad … Continue reading