Natasha T. and I spent about 5 hours yesterday picking out material, figuring out measurements, and waiting for curtains and sheets to be made. Natasha's family just moved here last week. Since we have the week off we wanted to help them out and thought it would be good for our Chinese.
Before we went to the fabric market I wrote out a cheat sheet of vocabulary I thought I'd need to get stuff done. At the market there are rows and rows and rows of fabric to choose from. The bolts are all different sizes and blends. Down one central isle ladies sit lined up with their sewing machines. They work quickly and usually do a great job. So everything can be done in one day. It's really convenient and a unique experience for us foreigners.
Thankfully, Natasha had some ideas for what she wanted and that helped a lot because with so many fabrics, colors, and patterns it can be very overwhelming. We also picked a great seamstress who was patient with my Chinese and even walked over to a shop with us at one point to make sure we were getting the right amount. The hardest part was the language. Right of the bat, we found this seamstress and started explaining to her the measurements of the windows and beds that we needed stuff for. She figured out how much material we needed and how long the bolts should be. It took me several trips to her station to finally figure out everything she was trying to tell us.
It doesn't help that I know very, very little about sewing. My biggest sewing feat in life still hangs proudly on my parents bathroom wall. I made it in 7th grade and it's a small quilted square that has an old time bathtub and the words, "Soap 5 cents". I figure it will be a family heirloom.
Natasha's ideas were really good and she picked out very nice material. We got back to our houses around 5pm. I really, really wanted to call her last night and see if she had hung everything but I didn't. I knew I'd see her today. I just hope that I didn't totally mess up the measurements.
I really find this sort of thing fulfilling...helping others get settled. I haven't done it much but the few times I've done things here and other places it's always been such a good thing. This is something I hadn't really thought about as a gifting until recently. It kinda seems like a thing that anyone can do but from my experiences I'm seeing that that's not true. It takes patience and a sense of knowing that the time your spending is worthwhile. I can see how others could easily feel like finding the perfect shade of blues to match a quilt or the right accent border for red curtains is a waste. There was one time yesterday that I felt really tired and ready to go but I knew we still had a long time ahead of us. I also know that making your home feel like yours is very important for most people and that Natasha and her family needed this. Anyway, I'm curious to see how this could be used in my life more down the road. Makes me wonder what's ahead.
Maddie and I have colds. My body always tells me I'm about to get a full-blown cold by making my throat really sore and then sneezing a ton. That happened yesterday and sure enough, this morning I'm blowing and blowing my nose. Maddie's had a runny nose, which started off as sneezing, for a couple days now. Yesterday she didn't feel well at all. YaLi and Phil both said that during the day she often would hold her stomach and cry. I saw here do it last night, too. It's very pathetic looking.
Today, Phil will be helping move bunk-beds to Natasha's. Our neighbors are selling their beds to them. We'll rent a 3-wheeled motorcyle/cart sort of vehicle that is often used to move things around town. They don't live far from here at all but no one wants to move a bunk bed on their own. I mentioned to Natasha that today we could go to a huge market on the north side of town to buy an oven. I'm not sure if we'll do that or not.
I can't believe it's already Thursday. This vacation is going by too fast.
Before we went to the fabric market I wrote out a cheat sheet of vocabulary I thought I'd need to get stuff done. At the market there are rows and rows and rows of fabric to choose from. The bolts are all different sizes and blends. Down one central isle ladies sit lined up with their sewing machines. They work quickly and usually do a great job. So everything can be done in one day. It's really convenient and a unique experience for us foreigners.
Thankfully, Natasha had some ideas for what she wanted and that helped a lot because with so many fabrics, colors, and patterns it can be very overwhelming. We also picked a great seamstress who was patient with my Chinese and even walked over to a shop with us at one point to make sure we were getting the right amount. The hardest part was the language. Right of the bat, we found this seamstress and started explaining to her the measurements of the windows and beds that we needed stuff for. She figured out how much material we needed and how long the bolts should be. It took me several trips to her station to finally figure out everything she was trying to tell us.
It doesn't help that I know very, very little about sewing. My biggest sewing feat in life still hangs proudly on my parents bathroom wall. I made it in 7th grade and it's a small quilted square that has an old time bathtub and the words, "Soap 5 cents". I figure it will be a family heirloom.
Natasha's ideas were really good and she picked out very nice material. We got back to our houses around 5pm. I really, really wanted to call her last night and see if she had hung everything but I didn't. I knew I'd see her today. I just hope that I didn't totally mess up the measurements.
I really find this sort of thing fulfilling...helping others get settled. I haven't done it much but the few times I've done things here and other places it's always been such a good thing. This is something I hadn't really thought about as a gifting until recently. It kinda seems like a thing that anyone can do but from my experiences I'm seeing that that's not true. It takes patience and a sense of knowing that the time your spending is worthwhile. I can see how others could easily feel like finding the perfect shade of blues to match a quilt or the right accent border for red curtains is a waste. There was one time yesterday that I felt really tired and ready to go but I knew we still had a long time ahead of us. I also know that making your home feel like yours is very important for most people and that Natasha and her family needed this. Anyway, I'm curious to see how this could be used in my life more down the road. Makes me wonder what's ahead.
Maddie and I have colds. My body always tells me I'm about to get a full-blown cold by making my throat really sore and then sneezing a ton. That happened yesterday and sure enough, this morning I'm blowing and blowing my nose. Maddie's had a runny nose, which started off as sneezing, for a couple days now. Yesterday she didn't feel well at all. YaLi and Phil both said that during the day she often would hold her stomach and cry. I saw here do it last night, too. It's very pathetic looking.
Today, Phil will be helping move bunk-beds to Natasha's. Our neighbors are selling their beds to them. We'll rent a 3-wheeled motorcyle/cart sort of vehicle that is often used to move things around town. They don't live far from here at all but no one wants to move a bunk bed on their own. I mentioned to Natasha that today we could go to a huge market on the north side of town to buy an oven. I'm not sure if we'll do that or not.
I can't believe it's already Thursday. This vacation is going by too fast.