Wuxi International Club - A Gathering of Expats

Hey Ya'll!

One of the most important topics in anything we can write is....how do I meet people? If you are like me, I crave friendship and love being around people. I know this is not everyone, but if you are looking to find a community of friends in Wuxi, this is the place to start.

The Wuxi International Club! Below is an introduction from the club president and a link to the website. We would LOVE to have you come join us!

Wuxi International Club (WIC) is a voluntary organization of expats from various countries based in the Wuxi area of Jiangsu Province, China.  For a family to join our club, one member of your family must hold a foreign passport.  We charge an annual fee of 200 RMB per year per family payable in January.  If you join us after June, the fee is reduced to 100 RMB for the remainder of the year. 

We arrange events to enrich the social and cultural lives of members and to help them become familiar with Wuxi. We also give back to the local community with our members volunteering and donating to various organizations in the area. 

Our activities are planned by our members. They are varied and targeted towards our member's interests. For example, we have a monthly lunch at western style restaurants, toddler play dates, coffee mornings and organize visits to local attractions. Members are sent our newsletter on a monthly basis packed with things to do for the entire family.  All our communications are in English. We are a small community and all have one thing in common, we are expats in China!  You can find out more information about us on our website: Wuxi International Club

Pickle having fun at the play date with his friends. 

Ladies from our playgroup! 

Pickle playing with the baby animals at our WIC Easter brunch. 

Some sweet ladies enjoying coffee at one of our "coffee morning" outings. 

We all love Starbucks! 

Come join in on the fun. We can't wait to meet you!

Thanks Ya'll,

Belle

Dental Appointments in China

Hey Ya'll! 

I love having my teeth cleaned and it had been way to long since I had been to the dentist, until last week. Though we have a dentist here in Wuxi, I had a hard time getting them on the phone so I ended up making an appointment for Tractor Man and I at Parkway in Shanghai. 

I have been to Parkway for a lady doctor visit and for Pickle to go to a pediatrician visit. Our visit were good so I decided to try and schedule an appointment. Parkway makes scheduling appointments very easy for the most part. What is even better for me is that they take Saturday appointments, so it makes it easy for Tractor Man and I to go together. 

The Dentist office was fabulous! It was brand new and they had all new equipment. We saw Dr. Henry Zeng and I was impressed. He actually did the cleaning and examination all himself, which was shocking to me, but good. 

Parkway Health

021-64455999

203 West Retail Plaza

1376 West Nanjing Road

Shanghai, China

The dental clinic is located in the Shanghai Centre. There is a Starbucks, Element Fresh, and a City Shop Supermarket in the same location! So make an appointment and make a day out of it.

They take most insurance policies, but you can check their website for most information. 

Getting to the clinic is very easy. You can take the train from Wuxi into the Shanghai Station and then get on the metro Line 1. Take Line 1 to the People's Square stop and transfer to Line 2. Then you can get off at West Nanjing Road. From here it is just a short walk down Nanjing Road.

Enjoy!

Thanks Ya'll,

Belle

Finding a place to live in Wuxi.

Hey Ya'll! 

Finding a place to live is probably the top concern in moving to a new country. I wasn't so sure how it would work out, but Tractor Man did a GREAT job! I wasn't able to come over at all before we moved  to Wuxi since I was pregnant at the time, so he had to do it all and I personally think he did great and I tell him this often. 

In finding an apartment you normally have to go through a rental agency. Most companies on "look and see" trips will set you up with a relocation company that will get you set up with an agent to take you around to look at places that fit your needs. 

Before this time you want to think of things that you want and/or need in a place to live. This will help the agent help you find the right fit for you. So here are a few things to think about.

1. How many people are in your family and how many bedrooms will you need?
2. Do you want a yard or would you prefer an upper floor apartment?
3. Do you want to live downtown or away from the city?
4. Do you want to live close to your job (or spouse's job) or are you ok with having to drive?
5. Do you want an apartment or a stand alone house?
6. Do you want to leave near expats or are you alright with being farther away?
7. Do you prefer an apartment within walking distance to most things or are you ok being further out?


Once you find your apartment and are working on negotiations with the rental agent/landlord, you need to know what you are going to ask for. Here in China some of the things that we take for granted in America are not common here, so you need to make your requests known. This is a list of some of the things that we asked for.

1. Western style, large refrigerator.
2. Oven (specify that you want something other than a toaster oven)
3. Clothes Dryer
4. International TV
5. Western style mattress

This is not an all inclusive list by any means, but more of a start to get you thinking. Each situation is different. Enjoy the move! Can't wait to have you here in Wuxi!

Thanks ya'll,

Belle

Electricity Bills - Explained!

Hey Ya'll! 

One of the things that has been super confusing for me here is our bills. Since our sweet landlord helps us handle most of them, I just have no idea what we are really paying. But since I keep getting "late" notices on our electricity bill, I decided I needed to look into this further. 

My dear friends over at Wisdom International Education helped me put this together. There are three levels of electricity here in China, and as an American expat, you can go ahead and plan on using all three levels. Ha! Our family loves to use our AC on a regular basis and add to that our clothes dryer and our electricity levels sky rocket!

This example below is not my bill (I wish it was!!!) but you can look at the explanations given so when you move over you will know how to read your bill. 

This is the "past due" notice that gets put in your mail box. Apparently is is really common since most of the mail boxes in my building have one each month.  The box at the bottom is the different locations of the State Grid offices where you can pay your bill. 

State Grid is where you go to pay your bill. It took me 5 minutes to take care of it. Just take your pink slip and money with you. 

Hope this helps! 

Thanks ya'll, 

Belle

Play Time! Indoor playgrounds are fabulous!

Hey Ya'll!

***This post is being updated and rewritten since the last indoor playground has closed.***

I was bummed to learn that our playground we had been going to was closing, but within a few months a new one has opened in a brand new mall! This mall, Suning Plaza, is amazing.


Suning Plaza 无锡苏宁广场

---

Renmin Rd and Xinsheng Rd
无锡市人民中路和新生路

Pickle and I love to go to the playground, especially in the winter when it is super cold outside. It gives us a morning out of the house and time for him to run around and wear himself out. Its even better when friends go along. For the Mommy's and friends Suning has a Starbucks (and other coffee shops) and the playground lets you take your drink in with you. Sweet!!!! 

When you arrive at Suning, the playground is on the 3rd floor. It is called "Cheer" and costs 50rmb per kid to get in to the different parts of the playground, but it is totally worth it. You can buy a 10 times pass for 380rmb which is what I have purchased for these last few weeks, making it only 38rmb per visit.

There is three different sections to this playground. There is the main part for older kids, which is where we spent most of our time, a sand pit that is filled with sand toys, and an specific area for younger children. You have buy individual passes to each area per visit, but we tend to stick with just the one. They all look amazing though.

Below are some pictures of what the place looks like. One of the things you will notice is how clean it is. For China this is extra wonderful. The staff does a great job of keeping it clean and making sure the kids are not sick (have a fever) going in and that all kids have on a diaper (meaning no split pants...score!).

Enjoy!

A cool side. 

Tunnels all around. 

Climbing areas. 

You have to have a ball pit. 

They have an amazing area filled with soft balls that you can shoot, make float and more. 

The staff at the place is part of the reason I love it. They are super friendly, not over bearing and always willing to help out. 

Pickle loves going, especially when friends go along. 

So come on over to Wuxi and join us in the fun! You know you want to.

Thanks ya'll, 

Belle

Shipping Medicine

Well ya’ll...I had an interesting experience today that I wanted to share with you. Forgive me for getting personal (ha!), but I’m almost out of birth control. AHH!!! So I have been working with my wonderful Ob/Gyn to get another year supply (cause who really wants to run out of that.....). After getting their approval, I called our international insurance company to find out the best way to have it shipped, since mine has to stay temperature regulated. 

Well...after a long afternoon of being on the phone with different people, I learned that I can’t have my prescription shipped to China. This being the fact that there are new laws in place here that prohibit foreign companies from shipping their product in. From what I was told this is because China is trying to produce more of their own meds and not have so much imported. 

I still do not know much more than this at the moment, but I’m going to try to get this figured out and when I do I will update you further. 

As of now, my suggestion would be to work with your doctor as much as you can to get all the prescription medication to last until you go back for a visit. Knowing some of this in advance should help some of those conversations and get you thinking more on how to pack. Another suggestion would be to have your doctor write a letter for you to bring in your suitcase with you of what the medication is and why you are taking it (have them put this on their letterhead) as an extra precaution in case they search your bag. 

Thanks ya’ll,

Belle


*****UPDATE***** 

Hey ya'll. 

I wanted to share with you that I had my mother put some of my medicine in a package surrounded by a bunch of other item and not declare it on the customs form. It took over a month to get here (who knows why.....maybe Chun Jie???) but it is here safe and sound. 

I would still recommend bringing as much as you can of what you need or having someone bring it for you, but if needed go for it, have it shipped...just don't declare it. 

Thanks ya'll,

Belle

China Working Weekends

One thing to be aware of when looking at moving to China and your vacation schedule is “working weekends.” This is something that Tractor Man and I were not told about until we got here, so I really want to make sure that I share this information with you. Its always easier when you are a little more informed going in than not. 

Working weekends, in essence, is a way of making up some of the holidays that the company gives. For each holiday on the calendar there is a weekend day that will have to become a working day. I’m still not completely sure of the reasons behind this, but here is the little bit I have learned. The Chinese people tend to work in another provence than where their family lives so they would rather have a longer holiday to be able to travel to see their family. Then they will make up those days by working other days. 

A good question to ask the company you are coming over with is what holidays from your home country they honor, if any. For example, China does not celebrate Christmas, so that is a day you would have to take as a vacation day if you only get the Chinese holidays.  

Below is the complete holiday schedule for 2013 in China as put out by the government. 

New Year’s Day: Holiday from the 1^st of January to the 3^rd of January, three days in total. Jan. 5^th (Saturday) and Jan.6^th (Sunday) will then become working days.

Spring Festival: Holiday from the 9^th to 15^th of February, seven days in total. Feb.16^th (Saturday) and Feb.17^th (Sunday) will then become working days.

Tomb-sweeping Day: Holiday from the 4^th to 6^th of April, three days in total. Apr.7^th (Sunday) will then become working day.

Labor Day: Holiday from the 29^th of April to the 1^st of May, three days in total. Apr.27^th (Saturday) and Apr.28^th (Sunday) will then become working days.

Dragon Boat Festival: Holiday from the 10^th to 12^th of June, three days in total. Jun.8^th (Saturday) and Jun.9^th (Sunday) will then become working days.

Mid-Autumn Festival: Holiday from the 19^th to 21^st of September, three days in total. Sep.22^nd (Sunday) will then become working day.

National Day: Holiday from the 1^st to 7^th of October, seven days in total. Sep.29^th (Sunday) and Oct.12^nd (Saturday) will then become working days

                                                                                         

 Always,

 Southern Belle 

Moving to Wuxi with a cat

It was never a discussion in our family whether or not our cat would be joining us on our move overseas. He has lived through my husband's bachelor days, our dating, marriage and two other moves...so he was most definitely going to move to Wuxi with us, old age and all. We often joke that he may not make the return trip home with us, as he takes Senior cat status to a whole new level being almost 14 years old. To be honest, I was worried that because of his age, and the stress of the move, that he might not survive the trauma of a long flight and a stint in the mandated quarantine.

I spent many hours scouring message boards and pet relocation companies prior to our move. The laundry list of paperwork,
vet visits and clearances seemed too much for us to handle on our own. The allure of door to door service seemed most appealing, but at nearly $5000 USD, it was out of our reach. After a bit more research, and we found a vet in China who would assist us with only the tasks we needed help with ( translating paperwork into Chinese and chaperoning our cat from the cargo area to quarantine, and eventually to our home in Wuxi). The fees were fair, the vet spoke English, and even checked our documents via email before we left the States to make sure we had completed everything satisfactorily for customs clearance in China.

In preparation for bringing our cat to Wuxi, we completed the following requirements for shipping our cat as air cargo from the USA:

Two months prior to departure:

1. Rabies shot (must be within one year of departure, but no less than 30 days prior).

2. Booked airline tickets.

3. Ordered cat crate to meet airline specifications. Here's a link to the formula we used to select ours.

4. Made appointment with our vet for 10 days prior to departure  date for health certificate completion.

5. Secured pet relocation services based on our arrival date into Shanghai. 

One month prior: 

1. Brought crate into the house for cat to get accustomed to it. Lured him in with an old blanket and food.

2. Prepared crate: Put "LIVE ANIMALS" stickers on crate, and filled out identification labels. I also bought an airline kit with a large soaker pad for the bottom of the crate from Dry-Fur. Your cat crate must have spill proof feeding dishes (accessible from outside the crate) due to airline regulations.
 

10 days prior: 

1. Another visit to the vet for completion of a health certificate.---VERY IMPORTANT---The name on health certificate, vaccination record and name of Consignee must match the name on your passport. Also, when traveling, the original paperwork/certifications/ vaccination record MUST be traveling WITH your pet. (A Ziploc bag duct taped to our kennel worked fine).

2. Drove to the closest USDA office which was located near LAX airport with our completed health certificate in hand. (Note: take ALL of your paperwork with you). There was a fee of $30 USD for the USDA office stamp.

3. Faxed all completed paperwork,airway bill and our Chinese contact information to Dr. Jenny Yu for review.

4. Confirmed completion of proper paperwork.

5. Confirmed drop off location for cat at LAX.

Day before departure:

1. Stopped feeding cat 12 hours prior to flight. Water only.

2. Made copies of ALL paperwork.

Day of flight:

1. Dropped cat off at cargo area in his carrier. Loaded extra food in a gallon Ziploc taped to the top of his carrier. Left all ORIGINAL paperwork and contact information in Ziploc bag taped to cat crate. 

2. Said goodbye and crossed our fingers.

Upon arrival to Shanghai:

1. We collected our luggage and headed to a Shanghai hotel for the night.

2. Pet relocation company agent met us at the hotel and took my husband's passport overnight to process our cat through customs and into the mandated quarantine (Consignee’s original passport must be provided for custom clearance use)

Day one:

We stayed in Shanghai waiting for my husband's passport to be returned. The vet called to say that the cat had been processed into quarantine and was not eating, but otherwise well. After many hours passed, an agent from the pet relocation company arrived at our hotel with my husband's  passport and we were finally off to Wuxi. If all went well with our cat's physical by a Quarantine official vet, then he would be released to us after 7 days, and would then need to spend the remaining 23 days of quarantine in our home.
 

He arrived, alive and well. Re-united at last.

Day seven: 

Our cat was released from quarantine. A pet relocation agent phoned to say he would deliver our cat to our home. Two hours later we were reunited. With his fur a bit matted (and flea infested), and a little rough around the edges, he arrived in one piece, alive and well.

I've heard stories of people avoiding quarantine by making Hong Kong their first port of entry, but really- quarantine wasn't the death of our cat, and I'm glad that we just went ahead and booked our flight direct from LAX to PVG. I admit, I lost a lot of sleep prior to our move worrying about our cat's well being. Seeing as he is snuggled up next to me right now, purring away, he obviously wasn't too scarred from his experience. Don't let the paperwork or quarantine scare you from bringing your family pet. It's worth the work.

Elle Lay

Packing List for Wuxi, China - Moving with a Sea Shipment

Hey Ya'll! 

The Real Wuxi Expat Housewives have put our experiences together and put a list together of things that we either didn’t bring enough of, or didn’t know we would need when we arrived and want to make it easier on you as you move. This post will deal with those of you blessed to have a sea shipment where you can pack more with you. 

Tractor Man’s company provided a sea shipment and an air shipment for us coming over. But, with a newborn and thinking, “Everything is made in China, so I’m sure I can get what I need there”, I ended up asking my mother to ship quite a bit of stuff to me during my first year in China. 

One thing to remember though, this list does not apply to everyone. This is more to get you thinking of things that are easy to pack and will (in my humble opinion) make life a little easier. Also, as you are packing, think of what kind of apartment space you have and how much space you will have to store things. If you plan to make trips home then you can space out what you bring to when you need it. 

You can find quite a bit of stuff here, but a lot of it is quite a bit more expensive than in the US. 

Regular Packing:

Q-tips

    ***you can buy them here but they (again in my opinion) are not as good of a quality as the ones you can buy in the US. Tractor Man stocks up for me every time he goes back. 

Deodorant

     ***PLEASE pack...you really can’t find this here at all. I have found 2 different types but they are tiny bottles and not at all what I’m used to. We probably have enough in our storage to last 2 more years. Ha! 

Shave Gel

    ***maybe I’m just a shave gel snob (probably....) but I much prefer the gel to the foam. Tractor Man doesn’t mind the foam so that is what I buy for him and use when I run out of my gel. Plus they don’t have women’s shave gel over here. The one type of gel that you can find is Gillette, but one can is $8.00. So take that under consideration as well.  

Razors (women and men)

   ***Especially women’s razors. The women here do not shave as much so the options are very limited in this area. 

Tampons

    ***so far the only type of tampon we have seen here is the OB brand and in very small boxes (6pk). 

Shampoo - if you have oily hair

      ***There is quite a large selection of shampoos and conditioners here, but my hair type is vastly different from the local Chinese so it didn’t work for me. Had I known (or even thought) about this in advance I would have packed more. 

Plenty of new underwear (panties & bras)

Floss

Toothpaste 

     ***Elle Lay was told before she moved to stay away from toothpaste here. I did not know that so Tractor Man and I have been buying Crest Pro Health here and it has been fine. So take this into consideration and decide what you think is best. 

Medicine

   ***Even if you don’t normally use a lot of medicine its better to stock up and have it. Some of my suggestions are: Pepto Bismol, Advil, Children’s meds (Tylenol, Advil, etc), Cold Medicine, Neosporin, Hydrogen Peroxide, Cold Sore Medicine, Flu medicine, Any prescriptions you have, and Vitamins. 
                ******A side note on this (there is another post just on this topic) but now it is becoming illegal to ship medicines in to the country by packages, so you want to bring as much with you as you can that you will need. 

Aluminium Foil
   ***Again, you can find this here in China, but in smaller rolls. If you can find the larger rolls on sale in the states, it would be easy to pack. 

Wax Paper
   ***The only place I have seen this here is in Shanghai at the foreign goods store and Tractor Man about has a heart attack when he sees the price on it. Ha! So if you are  a lover of wax paper as I am, I suggest packing it. 

Pam Cooking Spray
   ***This would need to be packed in a suitcase since from everything we have ever been told, you can't put aerosol cans in any shipment. 

Paper Plates 
  ***This is something for sure you can find here, but if you have a sea shipment coming and have extra space, pack them. It will make your life easier and you won't have to shop for them for awhile. Plus they are much cheaper in the states and you can buy them in a big pack there. 

Paper Towels
  ***Same as paper plates, but in the states they are a much better quality. 

Napkins
  ***Napkins like we know in the states are not so easy to find here, so if you have space pack some of your favorites!  

Packing for Babies & Toddlers: 

Car Seats for all stages that you will be in China

    ***Granted, it is not required to use car seats here, but I still put my kid in one for long trips with our driver. You can buy car seats here, but again they are just way more expensive. So if you have the shipping space, plan for it and pack it. 

Walking Stroller

    ***There are a lot of great places to walk around Wuxi, but the ground is not always even and you have to go up stairs a lot as well. My personal opinion would be to get a stroller with big tires to make walking easier. 

Umbrella Stroller

    ***The small strollers are better for indoor walking and shopping where they block off the elevators and escalators. This type of stroller fits through there barriers where as my big stroller will not. 

Table Toppers 

Foldable Booster Seat

   ***This was something that I never even knew existed until I realized I needed something to take the restaurants. Most of the local places here either do not have high chairs or only have one. So if you go to dinner with another family with kids then one of you has to hold your kid. I bought a Brica Fold and Go and it folds flat and goes everywhere with me. (You can find the Brica Fold and Go on Amazon.com)

Clothing for all ages that you will be in China

   ***This was one of those times I was thinking, “I can buy that in China...its made there right?” But no...well...yes you can but you are going to pay quite a bit more for most things. So hit the sale racks and stock up as you can. My sweet mother is always shipping me the clothes that I go online and purchase. 

Bigger type toys 

   ***Again, just a money saving issue. 

Books

   ***The one store here in Wuxi where I could find great kids books in English closed down and I haven’t found another one yet. 

Boogie Wipes

  ***Great for colds. 

Shoes for different stages

  ***This is a tough one I know...how do you know what size their foot is going to be? We just guessed the last time we were home and bought shoes in the next 3 sizes according to the season. 

Baby & Toddler Snacks

   ***If you have space to pack some stuff with you do it. 

Baby & Toddler toothpaste

  ***I found this here at a new baby store today, but since I can't read what is in it I would still get mine from the states, but there is always that option. 

Food Type Items That Can be Packed: 

Ranch Seasoning

Taco Seasoning 

     ***This can be purchased here but is more expensive. They are in flat packages so they are easy to pack. 

Pudding Packets

Again, this list is just a guide to get you thinking. Take a day and go to Target (or your favorite place to shop) and look at things that you wouldn’t want to live without and make a list. Then as you know what type of shipping you will have you can buy and pack accordingly. As you start thinking through these things, let us know if you have questions. Can’t wait to hear from you. 

Thanks ya'll,

Belle