A day in the life of a Lohse

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Lohses headed to the southern hemisphere to escape Chinese New Year this year. We had a fabulous time in Australia...so much so that we thought about changing our names and not coming back. The fabulous food, scenery, pristine air, and anonymity were just what we needed before we embarked upon our third year in China.

And in case you were wondering, Eric took care of communicating with the Aussies for us. He officially speaks 4 languages now, American, Chinese, British, and Australian. ;O)

Click to see more pictures from our trip

Blessings

Carter was welcomed into the Catholic church and the Christian faith this past January. We have been lucky, especially in China, to find a church family that welcomes us and we enjoy being a part of. We were lucky to have Dena and Matty in town for Carter's baptism, but so missed having the other important people in Carter's Christian family here.

Girls Weekend

I have always wanted to go to Harbin, a second-tier city in the far northeast corner of China. This "Ice City" is known for its Russian influence and its annual Snow and Ice Festival (one of four in the entire world) held each year. But it is bitterly cold, with highs during the festival of less than 0 degrees Fahrenheit. So instead of hauling the family and all of our cold gear up to Harbin, a group of us ladies decided to do a short one-night trip to check this China must-see off the list.

It was worth the trip, but was indeed close to the coldest weather I have ever been in, with the nighttime temps around -15F. And we were lucky enough to also experience some of the worst pollution on record, with the levels on Saturday exceeding what could be even be measured. But it only takes a few good friends and a few bottles of beer to make it a memorable one.