A first try at expat life ;-)

Today was my first official day as an expat-wife. Paul went to work and I was at home with the kids at the compound. This is what my day looked like:

• 6:15am: I get up to make coffee for my dear husband.
  
• 7:00am: Paul leaves to join the carpool to work. I read the China Daily (in English) and check some online news sites. I also tidy the house so it is ready for the cleaning ladies to come. (We're in this furnished apartment, which is kind of like a hotel, so every day someone stops by with towels and such).
  
• 9:00am: Boys finally awake. After breakfast I help Thomas build a truck with legos.
  
• 10:00am: Where are the cleaning ladies? When they come, we'll go out to the playground.
  
• 11:00am: No cleaning ladies: we'll go to the playground anyway. We explore part of the compound and revisit two tiny playgrounds and discover one more.
  
• 1:30pm: Back to the house for legos and lunch. Finally, the cleaning ladies arrive!
  
• 3:00pm: We go to the pool. I meet two other women who also live here. We discuss tennis (for me) and swimming classes (for the kids).
  
• 5:30pm: We buy some drinking water (can't drink water from the tap); I start preparing dinner.
  
• 6:30pm: Paul comes home from a busy day. I ask how life is outside the compound.
  
• 8:00pm: We watch a bit of Nemo (尼莫) and the kids go to bed. Clown fish are not funny.
  
• 9:00pm: I type an email about my busy day!