Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Two minutes to 2009 and the fireworks are gettin' happy around here! :)

While this is the time to celebrate the calendar new year...this is NOTHING compared to the upcoming Chinese New Year...according to the Chinese. For the calendar New Year, there are fireworks in a couple of the major parks around town and a few spurts of fireworks can be heard in our neighborhood, by residents. But, other than that, there's not much going on here in Shanghai. Did you know that fireworks were invented by the Chinese? They take their invention very seriously over here...and generally use it to celebrate it for everything!

However, for the Chinese New Year, which is on January 26th, the celebration lasts all week long. I know of Chinese people who have paid over 1000 RMB for their own personal fireworks...which is supposed to mean that you'll have a good business year. The stores are already overrun with CNY decorations. People are planning where they will be for CNY EVE parties and dinners. Men and women are supposed to wear red underwear which is a sign for being prosperous. And, of course, the red envelopes are already out. The purpose of the "red envelope" or "hong bao" is to give a bonus to friends, family, kids, service providers, etc...aka, money. So, similarly to our Christmas where people give different token gifts for different people, everyone here exchanges money. Yep...they all exchange these red envelopes which are always filled with money. While I'm sure there is significant tradition behind this exchange, I'm not entirely sure I understand it myself. Everyone is giving and receiving money, back and forth. I can understand giving extra money to service providers. I can understand grandparents giving the kids money for a college fund or something. But, this exchange of money is extensive and spreads to parents, aunts, uncles, co-workers, siblings, friends, and beyond! The amount of the money given depends on who and how long you've known the recipient. Why doesn't everyone just keep their own money? Do some people really "make out" on this deal - or maybe not!? I'm not really sure. Since we are Americans, I feel comfortable having given gifts to individuals over Christmas. However, we will also be providing our service providers with their own "hong bao" as a bonus...since it's custom. 2009 is the year of the ox.

As I'm waiting to bring in the new year by typing this blog, I'm thinking of all the events of this past year and my upcoming New Year's Resolutions...

When thinking about our 2008 year gone by, I think...

WOOOOOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha. If I had known, this time last year, about the completely [often] overwhelming undertaking of making a move to China...I think...WHAT would I have done to try and stop it! haha No, really, it's been quite a year. I'm sure 2008 will stick in my family's memory for quite awhile. It isn't as much about the "events" as it is the "experience" that will be memorable. When moving to China, you can't quite get around all the "hard" stuff. It's hard. No doubt about it. And it's all the time, in one way or another. But, that's what makes this experience chock full of sticky memories. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, right? By the end of our contract, we'll be living proof! :)

With the hard stuff, though, comes amazing experiences, sights, sounds, smells, tastes and culture. While our experience, so far, has been wrought with challenges, the benefits to this kind of journey are invaluable...to us and our kids. We've all discovered some amazing things about ourselves. Before moving here, I didn't know I could even learn a new language. Allen has learned and proven to himself, new depths to his managing abilities. It turns out that Brandon is an architectural fanatic. And Ryan is learning Chinese faster than his mommy.

We have seen a bird's eye view of the city of Shanghai. We have walked the ramparts of the Great Wall of China, where hundreds of thousands have walked before us. We have touched the peeling paint of the massive doors of the Forbidden City and hobbled over the same cobbled courtyards as China's previous Emperors. We have seen great expanses of Chinese terraced farmland and tree strewn countryside. We live near the world's 3rd tallest building and seen the top of it from a neighboring structural icon here in Shanghai. We have seen an ancient water town and visited an ancient temple to pray for the Tibetans during their time of crisis.

Now I ask...WHAT is not amazing about any of that? While I might whine about being here (for GOOD reason), I'm also encouraging my family to LIVE while we are here. Life is too short.

It's all about perspective...

My mom's visit ends in a few days and she is fond of reminding me how getting old stinks! She did a lot of travelling while here in China, ate some bad food, got a nasty flu/cold, got plenty of headaches from the smog AND is getting older! Sheesh! Her own experiences here in China haven't necessarily been #1 on her list of "fun things to do." haha In fact, she tells me, "Honey, I love you. But, I really am not fond of China...I could have seen it on the Discovery Channel." However, her boyfriend has had a wonderful time, re-discovering China and especially Shanghai. He was here about 20 years ago (extensively) as a travel guide and is absolutely dumb struck with the changes between now and then. He's been like a kid in a candy store! It's all about perspective.

So, ONE of my New Year's resolutions is to gain better perspective about living here and try and enjoy it while we are here. At least...as much as possible. There's a difference between existing in a foreign land and LIVING in a foreign land. We're here...now is the time to live it as well as live with it, albeit grudgingly.

Other 2009 resolutions include, finding healthier eating habits, even though it's difficult and expensive; maintaining my son's health from the air pollution, finding the source of my older son's moodiness; scale down on some of my commitments; TRY and be more consistent with "handling" my 2-year old's behaviour; take some trips and make some family memories; capture and nurture what my husband and I have very recently found again; and I definitely want to try and find my smile and laughter. Where is it? I'm not sure where to look, but I suspect I may have left a little of it back home. Good thing I'm visiting soon! ;)

What are YOUR 2009 resolutions??

As I watch the clock turn to 00:00...I shiver. Happy New Year!

Lots of Birthdays!

Today, I took my mom out to celebrate her birthday. We decided just to spend the day together, shopping, eating, getting massages, etc. Since ayi cooks lunch and dinner, my mom really hasn't experienced many of the [American] restaurants around town. So, I took her to two different veggie based restaurants that have very tasty menus. We also went to the fabric market and the handbag market. We ended our day at a very nice, but reasonably priced, massage place in one of the expat areas.

Overall, it was a lovely day! There are lots of birthdays in December in our family. This year is a "biggie" for my mom and I was happy to have her celebrate it with us here in China. :)

I would like to comment more about her visit here, but decided it would be best if she wrote a little something herself...

"Ni Hao! I'm afraid that's about all I know in Chinese, except how to say thank you. Pretty basic. I'm delighted at how much Chinese Kim, Allen and the boys are learning though. This trip has been interesting for me. I've been able to travel around this vast country just a bit and have gained a new appreciation for Kim and Allen's courage and fortitude. The differences in culture and language create many challenges for the traveller and many more for the ex-pat. I'm really proud of my kids for accepting and perservering over these challenges. I believe they all have much to gain from this experience.

This year is my first Christmas with my grandchildren and it's been wonderful! Christmas morning brought back memories of many Christmases past, when my own two girls were growing up, and memories, even more distant, of when I was growing up. Christmas really isn't the same without the awe and wonderment we get to witness in small children. I'm so glad I could share the holiday season with them this year."

I'll be sad to see her go in a few days. The time just never feels long enough when we visit. It was SO nice having family here for Christmas and birthdays, as well as for the upcoming [calendar] New Year.

Our Christmas Day!

Our Christmas was absolutely fabulous! It was a wonderful first Christmas in China. I had invited our ayi and driver to come early, knowing the kiddos would be up pretty early. Both ayi and our driver came to our house around 7:30-8:00 am. I had bought some special donuts to munch on, as a breakfast treat. We all got up early and my mom and I arranged a couple of platters of cheese, fruit, crackers and meat...to counter balance the sugary donuts. ;) We brewed up some coffee and tea for everyone, placed it all on our dining table and went to town on the presents!

Allen played Santa and handed out all the gifts. I had bought a couple of special things for both our ayi and driver...so nobody felt left out. Neither of them have experienced a true "Christmas" from the previous families they worked for in the past. So, I'm sure it was quite a shock to witness the gift unwrapping "mayhem" that is our traditional Christmas morning! There was LOTS of wrapping paper and plenty of gifts all around...strewn all over the place! What fun! haha

After we opened gifts, we all filled up on tasty food and warm beverages. Hey! I just happened to have some high quality tea I could bust open for both ayi and our driver! haha They loved it!


After a casual morning of eating and playing, we decided to head to the Pearl Tower and go up to the top! What fun! We were 350 meters high in the sky and could see many of the more famous buildings throughout Shanghai. We had a couple of architectural buffs in our group, so it was lots of fun. It's not often you can see the TOPS of so many other tall buildings!

We stopped for a quick lunch at Subway and headed right next door to the Shanghai Aquarium. Our guests have not seen it, so it was LOTS of fun for them to witness, first hand, the artistic wonder of this particular aquarium. It really IS amazing! A must see here in Shanghai!

Everyone was pooped out from our day's excursions, so we headed home and ayi had dinner waiting for us as soon as we walked in the door. We ate some delicious dumplings and tofu soup...and then played with our new toys before bedtime! :)

The only way it could have been a better Christmas, is if the rest of our family were here to help celebrate it. We have never missed a Christmas together and the separation was definitely felt by all of us! We miss you!

Christmas Eve

I found rocks! Yeah...can you believe it? I found a rock market! On Christmas Eve, I had a few last minute errands to run before Christmas and went to one of the major shopping markets (YuYuan Gardens). I was browsing along one of the side streets and went into a shop to look around. I saw a brass dragon I really liked that had a real jade ball in it's claw (which it was holding up). I looked around the store some more and noticed that there were a few rocks on stands. The [male] owner of the shop was there with two younger girls, helping him out. He took extra care with the rocks, so I figured he was the "collector". When I was ready to leave, I was gathering my strength and strategy for the bargaining process to purchase the dragon. One of the girls picked it up and the jade ball slipped out of the claw, fell to the floor and broke clean in half. There was a collective "ahhhh" in the tiny space, loudest from me. The reason I liked this particular dragon was because the jade ball was natural, not synthetic. The owner was a collector, which means he is motivated to use real jade instead of a plastic green ball. He indicated he could get another one and I waited for awhile, hoping he really could. While I was waiting, I picked up the broken ball and inspected the break in it...and sure enough, it was a [lower] quality, but REAL piece of jade...with decent natural color.

Also, while I was waiting, the shop attendants were looking everywhere for another ball and couldn't find one. The owner saw that I was about to leave and he eyed his other collections of stone balls, ie, quartz, rose quartz, etc. He picked one up and turned towards me. He pointed to the pink ball in his hand and told me in halting english, as he placed it in the dragon's claw, that it was pink jade. Ha! I said, "Really? Pink jade? Jade comes in pink?" He nodded and said, "Very rare." HAHAHAHA I bet! After making a very unlady-like sound, I pointed out he was holding rose quartz! You should have seen the look on his face! He had just been caught in a complete and utter bald face lie...and shamed himself in the process. Not good. A moment after this exchange, a "friend" came running up with another jade ball. I took it and examined it very carefully. This jade ball was an unnatural shade of green...a turquoise really. The girl stood there telling me, "Jade all different...no two alike." Got it. However, I have never seen jade that color, which indicated THIS ball was color dyed. I left, hearing them emphatically tell me I was mistaken. But, just as I rounded the corner of their store, I heard the owner say something in curt chinese to the girls...probably telling them I knew a thing or two and to stop trying.

It's not often my background comes in handy. The look on his face was a good Christmas Eve present...to myself. :) :) :)

As I left that store and continued down this particular lane of shops, I noticed that gradually, more and more vendors had rocks in their stores. Hmmmm. Rocks are not particularly common as collection pieces here in China - yet. So, hmmmm. In the process of searching through vendors along this street, a nice Chinese man told me about the market at the end of the lane and asked if I had ever been there. Uh, no. So, [we] made our way to it and it turns out that this market, so close to YuYuan Gardens, is a rock market!!! Wow! You can imagine my surprise and pleasure at discovering this nugget of a market! Granted...it wasn't as clean and organized as some of the ones I have been to...but that made it all the more interesting to look around. There were many wonders I discovered in there.

However, I have to say, going back and purchasing something is NOT something I'm looking forward to in the future. Everything is about bargaining over here. So, that means that you can never get too attached to anything you want to buy. You have to have the ability to walk away if you hope to get a fair price...it's all part of the "dance". I'm so screwed...

Christmas around Shanghai!

Many people are asking how we are spending Christmas over here and what kinds of Christmas activities does Shanghai have to offer?!



I think I have mentioned that Christmas definitely has a presence here...and it's growing every year, according to locals! Anything that promotes consumerism is very good for the Chinese people! Everywhere I go, there are Christmas decorations hanging on store fronts, plazas have huge Christmas trees and decorations, sections of stores are dedicated to buying toys, doctors offices have decorations, office plazas have lights all over their trees and sidewalks, and there is Christmas music playing EVERYWHERE! Just about any store or plaza or office I visit, has Christmas music playing. It's great! It feels like home - almost. :)

Since the US has a division of thought about Christmas...some celebrate the religious aspect of the Holiday and some celebrate Santa's visit to their kids or sometimes BOTH...the Chinese might be a little confused as to the origin of the Holiday. Foreigners from around the world, I think, contend with this division of thought. The Chinese have definitely adopted the Santa version more than the faith of Christianity version. Christianity and Catholicism are present here, but neither drives the bulk of the population over here. And really...it comes down to consumerism. Money talks.

I know some businesses are celebrating with Holiday parties. MANY of the more middle to upper class Chinese families attend a Christmas Eve dinner at a hotel with friends. Christmas Eve dinner seems to be very popular with both expats and chinese alike. Our own family, went to a Christmas party today, hosted by our Chinese friends. It was lots of fun! :) It was so nice to be celebrating Christmas in a traditional way. We had a ton of delicious food, had a gift exchange, drank wine, sang Christmas songs...everybody had a really great time!

My mom and John come back from Guilin tonight. They will be staying with us for another 2 weeks or so. So, we will all be celebrating Christmas morning here at our house. Since it's a normal work day, we will probably visit a museum or walk the famous "Bund" after we open presents and eat Christmas morning goodies. It's so great to have my mom here with us this Holiday. It feels even more like "home". :)

Swindled!

Wow! We got swindled!

Allen and I had last night to ourselves. We made it one of those casual, 'wherever the wind takes us' kind of evenings. So, we had just finished dinner and decided to walk down a very touristy and famous pedestrian walk where there are lots of stores and people to observe.

It is not uncommon here in China for complete strangers to ask you to sit and have a conversation with them in English. Many Chinese people want to improve their English skills and use expats as an opporunity to practice. It's just a fact. As a wary foreigner, it's something that throws you completely off balance at first. You're not sure WHAT they have up their sleeve. But, again, it happens quite a lot over here and it IS just so that they can practice their English skills.

There ARE off-shoot scams that mostly happen to foreigner men, from some stranger who wants to talk to them. I'm sure you can imagine some of them...

We were walking at a very leisurely pace, when a young woman asked me if I could speak English. I replied, 'yes', thinking she wanted to ask a question. She was with another girl about her age (college age) who she introduced as her 'class mate' in college back in their small hometown, not too far away from Beijing. She was very friendly...but this is not uncommon, especially with the younger Chinese crowd. The younger college age crowd seem to be on a fast track, wanting to catch up with the rest of today's college crowd from around the world. So, maybe she just wanted to practice her English.

Well, long story short, they mentioned they were in Shanghai visiting for a week. They were on their way to a traditional tea ceremony and asked us to come along so they can practice their English and we seemed very nice. Well, we ARE nice and since Allen and I had nowhere in particular to go...sure, what the heck.

We DID sit down for a traditional tea ceremony...although, the venue wasn't quite what we had perceived it should be based on their description. But, this is China...so who knows!? The tea ceremony was really quite lovely and I learned some things I didn't know before. Allen had a sneaking suspicion we were being scammed, but since he wasn't completely sure, he didn't speak up. But, over the course of the tea ceremony, there were MANY things we see NOW that we didn't quite pick up on while we were there.

The result? We ended up spending WAY more for some tea than we should have. However, I KNOW the tea we bought is exceptional quality and have had Chinese people to verify this since the incident. So...could it have been worse?? Absolutely! We walked away spending more than what we should have, but actually walked away with good quality tea AND a lovely tea ceremony.

It turns out that this is just ONE of MANY scandals and scams at these touristy places...the 'tea ceremony' being one of the biggest scams. Who knew!? Tea seems to be a pretty innocuous topic to scam people about. Right?! These girls were SO good. They dealt us with a series of half truths, friendliness and an actual legit business on the other end. Wow! It's hard to explain all the details of how completely duped I was and why, but I can't help but feel like I want to give these girls a standing applause at their efforts! They really were THAT good! Neither Allen nor I are spring chickens and we have lived our entire lives (up until now) in the States. Us, along with many other foreigners, have been around the old block when it comes to things like this. So, really...I give those girls "kudos" for their abilities.

Once Allen and I realized completely that we had been scammed, there were several points along the way someone could have questioned the girls' behaviour. However, even though many of these points were brought up, I could easily counter them by the differences of being female vs. male. Like I said, these girls's behaviour didn't set off alarm bells with ME for a reason - I'm a girl and could absolutely identify with many of the things they said or did along the way.

So, what's the scam? The tea house was a legit business. They perfomred a service (tea ceremony), they presented us with prices (even if somewhat obscure) and they delivered a high quality product in the end. The GIRLS were the scam! They walk Nanjing Road all night long with the same story. They probably twist it a little bit, depending on if they encounter visitors or residents. They walk the person to the tea house and sit down with them to ensure they don't leave. They, together, promote the product with individual views and insights about the product and their "experience" with you. They act as if they have invited you as friends, but you end up paying for things you wouldn't normally pay for, ie, additional snacks, and more cups of tea. All the while, they have in depth conversations to distract you and keep your mind busy. They even go through the ACT of paying and buying their own product after the tea ceremony and chat you up about their shopping choices...thus encouraging you to buy some or more of your own. This is probably money paid out by the company who has hired them...the tea house perhaps?...and which they return the product and the money at the end of the night. However, these girls get a "cut" from the business they bring in. The more the customers buy, the more commission they get that night. And then they go right back out to "work" the street again.

Pretty much...these girls aren't much more than product 'call girls'. They entice people to the business and entice them further to spend money. When we got home, Allen got online and found out that this is, indeed, one of the biggest scams on Nanjing Road. Go figure! Although, many times, these girls will single out younger single men and get them to pay for everything, by professing they don't have enough money...etc, etc. etc.

Allen and I actually laugh about it because these girls were really that good AND we ended up with high quality tea! So, it proved to be an invaluable lesson to us, but one that didn't cost us too much - THANKFULLY! Now, we know that NOBODY can be trusted in these touristy places. Next time someone asks me if I speak Enlgish, I'll respond by saying, "Se habla espanol!" haha

Trip to Beijing!

Following a very busy weekend, we all headed to Beijing for a mini Holiday. Allen is very overloaded with work and wanted a "head" break. I can't imagine living in China and NOT seeing the Great Wall and Forbidden City at least once. So, I thought it would be such a great memory if my mom could join us for a visit to these places. My mom is usually flying to visit us or we are flying to visit her...but we never go anywhere together. This was special!

We headed to Bejing on Monday night on an overnight sleeper train. The beds were VERY firm, even though it was termed a 'soft sleeper.' But, most of the beds in China, even in 5 star hotels, have very firm Chinese style beds. All in all, my mom and I could have used more rest, but the overnight sleeper is something I MAY consider doing again in the future. It wasn't horrible. We got our own room, although it was a small space. But, we could lock the door and there was a tiny table in the compartment and four beds (2 bunk beds). Next time, we will travel during a season that doesn't require so much extra clothing...which will also free up some space with less luggage. The bathrooms were horrendous! Each train car had several sleeper compartments and only one area for the toilets. They had a choice of two... a sit down toilet and a squat toilet. BOTH of which were absolutely disgusting!!!! But, this shouldn't be any huge surprise by now. I, personally, don't think it's possible for any chinese person to aim correctly over a big gaping hole of a toilet. My 2 and 5 year old have better aim! Ick! That was by far, the biggest complaint among our small group...the disgusting toilets. Next time, we will bring Ryan's little potty for ALL our use! ;)

Beijing! Wow! Nothing like what I expected based on other expats' descriptions...both those who have visited AND those who currently live there! Beijing was fantastic! Clean! Buses and taxi cabs were NEW! McDonald's on every corner...instead of icky KFC! Huge walls up around the city to cover up the shanty parts of town. Trees! Lots of them! Beautiful spaces around the city that had natural as well as beautifully manicured vegatation! The achitecture! OMG! What beautiful acrhitecture on every single building we saw around town! All of them! The people spoke so much English...I actually felt awkward using what little Chinese I know with them.

We ended up at the Great Wall Sheraton...a beautiful hotel! And SO comfortable after the sleeper train. It was niiiice! The Hard Rock Cafe was located right next door. So, of course, we ate there for Allen's official birth DAY (Tues.).

Allen had the opportunity to climb the Great Wall ON his official birth DAY. How cool is THAT!? He climbed it so fast...we were all very impressed! The rest of us took the tram up. Just as we reached the top to wait for Allen, the batteries in our camera died. You can imagine how BUMMED I was! To go all the way to the Great Wall of China, and have your batteries die! I'm not kidding. There was a nice couple who offered to email us some pics of us on the wall...if they don't send them, we have hardly anything to show for us being there except a few souveneirs. My heart absolutely ACHES with that knowledge...

Wow! The GREAT WALL OF CHINA!! I can hardly describe it! The great wall is the only man made structure you can see from space. It stretches over 4,000 miles across China! Can you even imagine the kind of man power that took way back when!? You can see pictures of it...but the structure itself is SO impressive! It was so incredible to see the ingenuity and engineering behind every stone that was placed along the wall...or even lack thereof, in some places. The top of the rampart had a slight tilt to drain rainwater, but the steps leading to the different various parts of the wall had completely asymmetrical stones in some places. Some of the stones were normal sized while others were HUGE and would have taken a very tall man to ascend/descend them easily. Many of the workers who helped build it, carved their names in various parts of the wall. The wall runs along the top of the ridgeline in the mountains. They didn't carve out the mountain like today's engineering practices, but just placed the wall right on top of the ridgeline. So, every dip and sway in the natural topography can be seen reflected in the huge structure on top of it. Incredible!! It really was a truly incredible sight and one I would recommend anyone to see at least once in their lifetime. And Allen...to be able to say he was ON (and climbed) the Great Wall of China on his XX birthday...wow! What an experience and memory for him! :)

We visited the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, which is less touristy than other sections. We had hired a driver for the day and it took us about 1.5 hours to get there. The countryside on the way to this section of the great Wall was absolutely beautiful! Just what I needed! Something beautiful...for a change. When we arrived, there was hardly a soul there. During the warmer months, I could imagine MANY people visit that section since it is set up for an immense amount of visitors. But, not the day we went! It was sooooo great! In China, it is hard to get ANYWHERE where there isn't a huge amount of people. So, we felt incredibly lucky. While it was colder, it wasn't bitter and the sun was shining brightly. It was a beautiful day! :)


The next day, we visited the Forbidden City. Again, wow! Amazing! You see versions of this kind of city in movies, etc...but until you actually see the immensity of an ancient city like this one, firsthand...you really can't wrap your head around it. There were so many pathways with HUGE walls on either side...it was a labryinth of corridors! All of these corridors led to separate structures which had at least TWO courtyards surrounding them. The doors on each structure were massive...and you can't even imagine how massive the exterior walls and doors were to the city! HUGE! The door knockers on these doors could have only been reached by a very tall man on a very tall horse! haha The entire middle section of the city was used my the emperor/emperess to either hold court, recreate or sleep. The concubines lived in the side courtyards of the city. Now, many rooms are dedicated to showing off old relics, such as weaponry, jewelry, decorations, etc. Gold, silver and jade seemed to be the precious stones and metals of choice. The royal bedrooms could only be viewed through windows. So many of the doors and roofs and beams had ornate and intricate designs on them...you could look at the details for hours! Much of the wooden structures have stood up fairly well throughout the centuries. Although, who knows, the entire city could have had a huge makeover or been renovated 500 hundred years ago or something! The amount of time these structures have been standing is absolutely mind boggling. Also, there were orante gardens throught the city that were just beautiful. Surrounding the city, there was a rectangular moat. We ended up at Tian'enman Square on the other side. The whole place was just so impressive!

While we were scurrying from one courtyard to another through the central section of the city...it started to snow! The kids were so excited! :) It was colder in Beijing, but it was a drier cold...so it felt more "normal". If that makes any sense.

Allen flew back that night since he had to work. My mom, the kids and myself all decided to take the day train back to Shanghai the next day. We wanted to be able to see more of China's countryside. BIG MISTAKE! The D31 is supposed to be the best and newest train in the "fleet". Ha! I'd hate to see an old train then. It was also supposed to be an "express" train. Ha! Yeah...while it DID go about 250 km/hour or something like that...it did it BETWEEN stops. Every stop between Beijing and Shanghai. It took about 11 hours to get home. And the countryside? All. the. same. From Beijing to Shanghai, the countryside didn't change a bit. What a waste! The "countryside" consisted of field after field of crops or orchards, with little to moderately sized towns in between. That's it. While it was flat the entire time, there were a miniscule amount of tiny little hills scattered around. Nothing to write home about. Two interesting things were 1) we saw a HUGE Catholic temple with a HUGE statue of St. Mary out in the middle of nowhere and 2) my mom said there were headstones right next to the tracks, but no formal cemetery.

The HARDEST part of this last leg of the trip was my friend's "help" in getting our tickets. I know she meant well. Everything here can be negotiated. So, when my friend said she got us cheaper tickets and we wouldn't have to pay the 1/2 price for Brandon's seat...we thought she had just negotiated a better price. Ha! Because Chinese people hold their children everywhere and they definitely don't think to pay for an extra seat for their children...well, we found out why our seats were less expensive AFTER we boarded the train. She had negotiated Brandon to be another "lap" child even though he slightly exceeded the height amount, so we only paid for two tickets. Ugh! Trust me when I say I would have paid for TWO extra seats if I had known that! Since this train ended up stopping at many points along the way toward Shanghai, there were LOTS of people on it and every seat was taken. SO, Brandon and Ryan both ended up on me and my mom's lap the ENTIRE trip! Aaaghh! I can't even begin to describe how uncomfortable that was...and very long the trip was for us all. Because the Chinese people have such disgusting health habits, ie, peeing, pooping and spitting on the ground everywhere you go...both my mom and I were frantic to keep the kids OFF the floor or even the footrest of the seat in front of us. Ick! Just visiting the toilets on the train was reminder enough that we didn't want the kids to touch the floor - at ANY time! So, needless to say, everyone was more than cranky when we arrived. All the toys I had brought for them, couldn't be used because we didn't want them playing on the floor. What. a. very. long. day. I, without a doubt, won't be doing that kind of train trip again here in China. The landscape didn't even make it worth it! Crummy Chinese trains! >:(

All in all, Beijing was a lovely trip and I'm so glad we could see those things with my mom. Unfortunately, on the train ride back, my mom started to get very ill. By the time we arrived back in Shanghai, she was feeling downright crummy. She has been very sick with a flu? cold? or something since getting back. My poor mom! :( She is supposed to be going to Guilin in China on Monday. I desperately hope she is on the mend by then.

Birthday parties!

Last weekend, both Allen and Brandon celebrated their birthdays with friends. :) On Saturday night, we all headed out to Bubba's for a down home birthday BBQ celebration for Allen. Allen invited a couple of his co-workers and my friends, my mom, our ayi and the kids came along as well. YUM-MMMY!!!! We bought some alcohol filled truffles in lieu of a birthday cake and the kids ate brownies at the restaurant. It was a good time! :)


The next day (Sunday), we headed to an Art Gallery for Brandon's birthday party with his friends. They had such a good time "splatter painting" their posters, their clothes...and the rest of the room as well. hee hee The kids all turned out to be true artists, creating incredible works of art. It was a fun and messy activity...just what a boy likes for his birthday! :) We plan to have the kids' artwork framed for the families, as a momento of the event.

The birthday cake left something to be desired...unfortunately. Cakes are generally very expensive here and taste like cardboard. To get a "theme" on any one of them is near impossible. We ended up going to the Shangri-La, a very expensive hotel...hoping they could create a better cake than most. HUGE disappointment! I was soooo bummed. But, the kids hardly seemed to notice...which is all that truly matters anyway, I guess. Although, I have to say, we won't be going to the Shangri-La again for a cake.

Acupuncture!

Recently, I have seen an acupuncturist for what is termed "frozen shoulder". When Ryan got to that age when he was getting a little too big to carry on my hip everywhere, but was a little too young to walk everywhere himself...well, I developed what's called "frozen shoulder." So, I have had this pain in the middle of my upper arm for about a year now. I figured it wasn't going to go away on its own, so I better see someone about it.

The acupuncurist I saw was referred to me by a couple of different people (expats). He's a medical doctor, but also studied an additional 5 years in acupunture during medical school here in Shanghai. It turns out he had also did a segment about acupunture for the Discovery Health Channel as well.

Many chinese people over here will tell you that they see acupuncurists to lose weight and keep their skin healthy and young. Ok...all part of the Traditional Chinese Medicine parcel, I guess.

Well, if I was a skeptic before...even a little bit...I can't claim that now. When I first met this doctor, I thought there was some kind of mistake...he was a BABY! WAY too young to be so acclamied and knowledgable. After getting to know him through my visits, I found out he is 44 years old! Ok...sign me up! haha He, of course, is a patient himself of acupunture (for many years)...and he wears the result! Wow!

He advises me and other patients that people are only supposed to go to acupunturists who are practiced in the field with formal training. Here, many of the medical doctors at the hospitals can perform acupuncture. But, unfortunately, many of the chinese people will try and avoid costs and go to underground "specialists" for acupunture and it can do major damage or even cause death if done improperly. These "specialists" may have had a relative who had done acupunture at one time and now call themselves acupunturists because they learned a thing or two from somewhere. Scary.

I had felt immediate results from my first acupunture treatment for my arm. But, I also know it will take a few more treaments to help my arm completely heal. The acupunture alone won't heal the injury, but it will help open up channels to allow for more blood flow to the area, so it can heal itself faster. Apparently, frozen shoulder is where you can tear a small piece of your ligment(s) and that kind of injury can take a long time to heal on its own. But, again, I felt immediate results...and for that I'm grateful. I can now lift my arm above my head without pain. So, it's all good. :)

Updates!

Many of you are asking to get updates on situations in previous blogs. And because the Q&A format was so popular, I'll try and give some updates in that format once again.

Q: How is Ryan doing?
A: Holding! Which is good! After my previous email request for US OTC medication, I was fortunate that a few of you did send us some of the ones I had requested, plus a few more I didn't think about. I figured the best defense, is a good offense and I became much more proactive in maintaining Ryan's every day health. I mentioned that we have been completely unprepared for the cold weather here and it seemed to happen overnight! So, I have been putting a lot of extra effort in dressing the boys more appropriately on a daily basis to try and keep them nice and warm. I have been giving Ryan a daily antihistamine, like Claritin or Zyrtec, but only when I notice his cough starts up. Also, along side the antihistamine, I give him a mucus thinner, like Mucinex, to break up any built up mucus in his lungs. But, again, this is only when I notice his cough is "acting" up. Also, I make sure BOTH boys get plenty of rest. Their daily activities, plus their new surroundings, plus ALL the daily visual stimuli they get everyday have increased dramatically since moving here and their brains are working in overdrive ABOVE the normal hyper speed of a 2 and 5 year old. SO, they NEED lots of rest. So, naps are in order! If they don't take a nap, it's low key activities or at the very least an early bedtime. This is all something I would normally do, even back home, BUT now I'm making sure they get enough rest!

I had noticed that Ryan gets these "episodes" of semi-asthmatic, semi-bronchial symptoms AFTER getting a normal cold. By the time he gets the episode, his little lungs have already been irritated by built up mucus from the head cold AS WELL AS being even more irritated by the heavy air pollutants (2 years olds are closer to the ground and pick up these pollutants which settle on the ground) AND the moisture in the air. His head cold seemed to suddenly develop into this "episode" because of all the irritants in his lungs and the mucus would get infected...and couldn't be treated without antibiotics at that point. So, I was trying to think of ways to PREVENT as many head colds as possible. However, he IS 2 years old, it IS winter, he DOES have an older brother, AND he goes to school part time. So, the likelihood he won't get any head colds is SLIM! So, I decided that prevention of further mucus build up is the key to avoiding these episodes. Thus, the antihistamine and mucus thinner when I suspect his lungs are on their way to a major build-up.

So far...it's been WORKING! Yah! He has gotten less head colds through everyday prevention and he hasn't gotten another "episode" after a head cold with keeping his lungs a little drier with the antihistamine. I don't expect he won't ever get another episode through this cold season, but I'm happy if he has a lot less of them and isn't on a string of antibiotics because of it! A couple of other items we can get to further try to prevent more irritants to his little lungs, is purchasing an air filter and a good humidifier for the boys' room. Which is on our list!

Something interesting...
Every single Chinese teacher, doctor, mother, ayi, etc had been telling me that I have to take Ryan in immediately and get an IV treatment for him if I don't want him to continue to get sick. Well...YEAH, I don't want him to keep getting sick. Is there something I don't know if EVERY Chinese person tell me to take him to the hospital for an IV treatment?? Is there some Chinese formula that Chinese people have discovered to counteract this "phenomenon" that happen to 2-4 year olds here in Shanghai?? TWO Chinese doctors have told me that if we were Chinese, they would send us to a room at the hospital to get a "treatment" (for several days) of CORTISONE!!!!! What????? Uh, WHAT????!!!!!

Yeah, it's true. That's the "secret" to Chinese health by modern day medicine. Because of socio-economical reasons, both adults and children NEED to get back to work or school the next day because they can't afford to be off for more than a day. Parents want their kids to get back to school, etc. So, it has become PROCEDURE to put a sick child (or adult) on an IV of cortisone as a treatment plan. No joke. Depending on the severity of the sickness, the number of days of treatment is decided. Many of you realize that cortisone, even applied to your skin in very small doses, can cause damage to your liver. BUT, cortisone is used because it fixes EVERYTHING and makes you feels a WHOLE lot better in a very short amount of time. Chinese doctors seems to negate the fact that it's also VERY toxic to your system. What are the long term effects for the Chinese people if they are always treated with cortisone shots or IV's?! Shorter life spans? Shorter people? Mental stunting? Who knows!?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been proven throughout the centuries to be effective and natural. But, as with any natural remedy or medicine, the results are slow. TCM is wonderful for preventative health.

Q. How are you and have you made any more friends?
A. Yes! I'm also holding my own and am very comfortable with the number of commitments and activities I'm engaged in on a daily basis. :)

Q. Have you adjusted to life in China?
A. It's still a work in progress! I imagine this kind of adjustment takes a very long time for MOST expats. However, I do feel MUCH more comfortable and continue to do so as time progresses. I'm excited about being able to show my mom several points of interest throughout Shanghai and experience some new ones too.

Q. Do you still want to come home?
A. Yes! I have a hard time imagining NOT feeling that way! There's no place like home. However, with that being said...I feel much more comfortable than when I first arrived (as to be expected, I guess.) Having a Chinese local born friend helps. Having other social commitments help. Having a GOOD driver helps!!! Having a wonderful ayi helps. Knowing my way around town helps. And figuring out how to keep my children health-IER definitely helps!

So, these are my updates! I'll keep you all abreast of more information as I get them! :)

O Christmas Tree!

A couple days after Thanksgiving, we brought out all of our Christmas decorations. It was SUCH a great family day! There is nothing like seeing and handling so many items that not only are familiar, but which also have fond and warm memories attached to them.

It was the kind of day I remember we USED to have more often as a family on the weekend...a kind of kick back, nowhere to go, no hurry, lazy in our PJ's day. The kids were thrilled to bring out the Christmas stuff. We took pictures of the kids helping with the ornaments. Although, by the time we finished decorating the tree...about 3/4 of our ornaments were on the bottom portion of the tree...about 3 feet from the bottom! haha

After everything was set in place around the house, we realized we had miscalculated something back home when we were considering bringing our own Christmas decorations...electrical conversion! By the amount of wattage both our tree and lighted train apparently take...we would need a HUGE transformer! Up to this point, we hadn't had much luck finding even small transformers in Shanghai. So, we had to sit with an unlighted tree for a few days. You know what? NOT THE SAME! I tried to convince myself it was no big deal...but, nope. There is something truly magical (especially for kids) about turning on those holiday lights at the beginning of the Christmas season. After doing some more research, we located a transformer to accommodate our needs and VOILA - LIGHTS! YAH!!!! Now our house has that only-one-time-a-year, warm-and-fuzzy, intimate and magical quality to it. :) Ahhhhhh...feels like...well...HOME!

My Chinese friend has wanted to celebrate Christmas for several years, as her own mom has always wanted to do. However, they have never felt comfortable purchasing the necessary items to set up their own indoor Christmas, especially since the Holiday and it's origins are not really taught to Chinese children. At her request, we headed to a local market and negotiated on several "starter" traditional Christmas items. But, I have to say, my friend is truly amazing. She can, in the space of a few minutes, "eye" certain items in a store and pull them all together to make a truly amazing ensemble of purchases. She did GREAT! Wanting to avoid Chinese ridicule from her neighbors, she picked out traditional Christmas items, but with Chinese flair. It all came together beautifully!

Christmas definitely has a presence here in Shanghai. Many stores sell Christmas items, markets are overrun with Christmas items, schools shut down for a couple of weeks, hotels decorate to the max, etc. Christmas is becoming more and more popular every year, especially since Chinese and expat children go to the same International schools. C'mon...it IS a pretty cool holiday for kids. :) I have heard that Chinese New Year in late January/early February is equivalent...lots of presents, lots of celebration, lots of merriment, time off work, etc. It was explained that the chinese year all leads up to this one holiday...like Christmas, for us.

Many of the Chinese people still don't know WHY we celebrate Christmas. But, again, it's catching on...

I was recently informed that our ayi has never experienced Christmas with an expat family yet. Wow! She is in for a surprise Christmas morning! haha Many expats go back to their home countries for the Holidays and that is the primary reason the schools are off for a few weeks. Everyone keeps asking if we are leaving and seem very surprised when I tell them we are not.


We were invited to a Christmas party/bazarre at another expat compound. We went on a sleigh ride, painted a Christmas tree, posed for pictures and played on a playground. Mommy did a little window shopping at all the vendors' tables. hee hee

My mom is coming in TWO days!!!! YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is spending a month with us. Next week, we hope to go to Beijing together. After Christmas, we will probably be spending a lot of time looking around Shanghai. My mom is coming!!!!!!!! Yah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

We have a very busy weekend ahead of us. My sis celebrates her birthday first. My mom arrives, then we have Allen's birthday dinner celebration, followed by Brandon's 5th birthday party! Whew! It should be fun! Also, my mom will be here to celebrate her own birthday on the 29th. Lots of December babies in our family! :)