Find of The Week

Got this from a friend who works for 3M. Here's a little piggy to clean up your pig sty.

Happy St Pattie's Day

A large portion of my ancestry is Irish and my birthday is in March, so I LOVE St Patrick's Day, and apparently a large portion of Shanghai does as well. According to the Irish consulate Shanghai has the largest population of Irish people out side of Ireland. Saturday was the third annual St Patrick's Day parade here in Shanghai. In the parade there was a large green dragon and Celtic tigers. I wanted to take Bean to see the parade, but Dam had to work, and I did not feel confident enough to battle a crowd here in Shanghai quite yet, but there is always next year!

Pass it along

Finding things in Shanghai can be a little bit frustrating. The city is humongous and stores close or move locations all the time. I have been searching for a sewing machine ever since I arrived in Shanghai, and no one seemed to know where to find one. Finally I found an address on the web: 7th floor of the New World City shopping center at Nanjing Lu (road). This shopping center is located at the People's Square subway stop (line 2). Best way to get to it from the subway terminal is exit 6. The New World City shopping center is more like a large department store than a shopping mall. Instead of individual stores that you go into each store is an open display. It took me a while to finally locate the sewing machines (they're located next to a set of escalators), but I was happy when I did. I had a choice between Singer, Janome (or Juki--I can't remember), and Brother. The Singer machines started at 998 rmb and the Brother machines started at 1100 rmb. The sales ladies for all three machines were quite helpful and very informative.

No Chiquita Bananas

Bought bananas the other day. Guess what company harvested them? Doritos! I guess they make more than just chips.

Laundry day

Alright, I desperately miss my washer and drier!! Each apartment in our complex is furnished with a washer, but driers are seen as a luxury. Most people just hang their clothes out on their balcony or off poles that hang outside their windows, to dry. I've always had a drier, so this concept is quite foreign to me. Since being here in Shanghai I have gotten used to laundry taking a day or two to dry. Dam says that the time required to dry the clothes will become shorter once it starts to warm up.

The Little Things

There are a few little things that annoy me about living in China:

1. Almost everywhere I go almost everyone wants to touch Bean. I spend a good portion of the time at the grocery store just slapping people's hands away. I'm still learning how to say my child has TB in Mandarin (one sure way to make the person turn tail and run).

2. People drive their mopeds, motorcycles and electric bikes on the sidewalk. These drivers will not stop for anything (except a larger vehicle). Adam has been clipped a few times by them.

3. Forget personal space--it does not exist here. If you or your shopping cart is slightly blocking the aisle that you are standing in people here will not politely ask you to move. They will ram you with their cart or push past you. When waiting to get off of the subway if you are not pressed up against the person in front of you someone will try to squeeze them self into the space you have left.

4. Most everything that you buy here is pirated. If you want to buy the real thing you have to pay three times as much as what it costs in the States.

...and there are things that amaze me about China:

1. China is a family oriented culture. There have been a few times that I have been adventurous enough to ride the subway with Bean alone. Each time that I do I will have complete strangers offer to help me (the subway is not a stroller friendly place).

2. The transit system is very easy to maneuver. Station names are printed in both Mandarin and English and are announced in both languages.

3. Corner veggie/fruit stands. You can access fresh produce almost any where and for the fraction of the price of what they cost in the stores.

4. Everything is pirated. I can get DVDs for less than a dollar right after they are released to the theaters, books for a fraction of the price, and purses that are pretty close to the real thing.

Still Trying to Figure This Out

Dam and I have an oven in our apartment. Apparently ovens in China are a luxury. Not many people have them. Then again mostly westerners use them. Well I decided to try my hand at making oatmeal cookies. It is so weird to mix batter with a fork when you are used to using a KitchenAid mixer. Luckily, a few days earlier, was able to find baking powder, baking soda, and Crisco. All of the local stores do not sell these products. To obtain them you have to go to the "City Shop", which is full of food imported from the United States, Great Britain and Australia. After tinkering with the oven for over half an hour I was finally able to get it to the right temperature. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but the cookies did not look like oatmeal cookies from home. They didn't taste bad, just something was off that neither Dam nor I could figure out. In the end we put peanut butter on them to make the cookies more appealing.

We're going to jail!

Dam bought fireworks today in preparation for the Chinese New Year. Out on the streets, every where you turn, there are little stands where you can buy fireworks. In Boise you generally do not see a lot of fire crackers and mortars being sold during the 4th of July. Here the bigger is much better. The most common firework being sold are firecrackers. People buy them in strands that range from 1000 to 2000 firecrackers. Dam bought a few of these along with a some fireworks that looked like sicks of TNT. As soon as we got home Dam had to light one off the balcony. His first choice was the stick. Since we were not sure what it did we wedged it under the railing of the balcony, so Dam could light it and then run into the apartment before the firework went off. What happened next nearly made me wet my pants. That firework shot a cardboard tube back towards the apartment as a blast of light and sound, that could rival an M-80, shot out into the parking lot. After that happened there was a second boom that was even louder than the first!! The first thought that raced through my head was, "We are going to jail." My next thought was, "Where is the US embassy located?" Dam just kept laughing like it was the best joke ever. I seriously thought that knowing my luck there would be some law against shooting fireworks off your balcony and we were going to go to jail. Dam assured me that what we just shot off the balcony was tame compared to what was going to be used by other people New Years Eve. We'll see.

Out and About

There is so much that I have not seen here in Shanghai. Whenever possible I get Dam to take Bean and me out for a walk. Yesterday we went to a market that had multiple pet shops. I saw lizards that I have never seen before, angora rabbits, multiple tanks full of koi, various turtles, love birds, a variety of finch that I have never seen before and a bird that I can only describe as a cousin of the black bird, that would talk to you like a parrot. Because it has been cold outside I put Bean in one of his polar fleece hooded sleepers. I bought a few from Carters around Halloween as a costume, but the sleeper is so warm that I use it still. Well I have two of theses fleece sleepers, one that is a dragon and the other a cow. Well I put Bean in the cow sleeper before we went out not thinking that in a few days it will be the Chinese New Year. The reason I mention this is that this year is the year of the cow, so as we walked around I had more people staring at us than normal.

Amongst the admires and gawkers I had elderly ladies tell me that Bean was not wearing enough clothing. It really was not that cold out, but I did notice that most children were bundled up with so many layers I doubt that they could move their arms. I'm not sure why but most people here seem to think that it is colder than it really is outside. I'll be wearing a polar fleece jacket and everyone else is wearing thick jackets, hats and scarves. Difference of oppinion I guess.

Let The Adventure Begin!!

Little Bean and I just had one of the most memorable adventures. It all started Tuesday when I was informed, by a reliable source, that I needed to change my flight plans, due to weather, and leave a day earlier, so I would not miss my connection to Shanghai. Boise has been experiencing heavy fog for the last few days. After I got into San Fransisco airport Wednesday it was announced over the intercom that all flights to Boise were canceled for the night. I was supposed to fly out Thursday, but this change made it so I had to leave Wednesday. Ever try stuffing all of your belongings into three suitcases??? I just tried it...doesn't work. With the change of my flight plans I had a mad rush to get everything packed. Unfortunately there was a lot of things that I wanted to bring that I had to leave at my parents' house. When I was frustrated about everything not fitting my sister Elisabeth gave me great advice: pack like you're going on a mission, take only 4 or 5 of everything for yourself and 6 for Bean. I have to say that the advice helped in cutting down on what clothes I was planning on taking.

Wednesday afternoon I flew out of Boise to San Fransisco. In the past I have been very lucky to have little problems with the flying process, but Wednesday was one to remember. My parents were kind enough to come in and help me check-in. I had been told by my travel agent that since I was paying required to pay for Bean to fly to Shanghai I was allowed to check a bag for him. At check-in I was informed that since I was not flying out the same day to Shanghai that I was required to pay a $125.00 fee for an extra bag. I have to say I was irked, but not nearly as much as what happened next. One of my bags was 5 lbs over the 50 lb limit. The fee for that--another $125.00!!! So my dad and I opened up the bad and took out what I thought was 5 lbs of stuff. Well, we went to weigh it on another scale (different than what the bag was weighed on before) and the bag gained 10 lbs! I was quickly informed by the check-in agent that all the scales were calibrated the same. How does a bag gain weight after you take weight out???? If anyone knows the answer to that please let me know.

Even though the trip started out bad things got much better from there. In security I was flagged for random screening. Apparently the female TSA agent was watching for me, because while I was taking off my shoes and getting things into bins to go through the x-ray machine she came over and helped me with Bean's stroller and my bags. The screening was quick and the agent was very helpful with Bean. After security I went to go find a bottle of water so I could feed Bean when he got hungry. The cheapest place was McDonalds. While I was paying for the bottle Bean started getting fussy. One of the employees grabbed a toy and offered it to me. Bean quieted down as he played with the plastic wrapping. This kind act was one of many that was performed for us as we traveled. On the flight to San Fransisco Bean was fussing because his bottle was not as warm as he liked it. As the stewardess was coming through the cabin with drinks I asked if the plane had any hot water. Her answer was yes, and she quickly got me some. After we landed I was able to get a cart to put my bags on before heading outside to hail the shuttle to the Marriott we were going to stay at. At the baggage carousel a lady noticed me trying to get my bags and she offered to help me with them. After we were done and I thanked her a gentleman, who worked for the airport, came up and asked where I was going. I told him to the airport Marriott. Apparently a lady that had been sitting behind me on the flight had seen how many bags that I had, found the gentleman, and paid him to take my bags out to the shuttle and stay with me until the shuttle arrived. This gentleman was also kind enough to help get my bags onto the shuttle. I had no snags at the hotel, the bell hops would show up out of no where to ask if I needed help. One, after learning that a was going to Shanghai, by myself with a baby, called me super mom.

My biggest concern, Thursday morning, was how in the world was I going to get my bags from the shuttle to the check-in counter. Fortunately, where the shuttle stopped, there were carts. The shuttle driver was kind enough to help me get my bags on the cart and then offered to get the cart across the street (the shuttle stopped at a median in the middle of the road in front of the terminal). Not only did he help me get across the street, he pushed the cart all the way up to the check-in counter. My travels could have been a complete nightmare, but everywhere I have been blessed with so much kindness. Whoever says that society has lost its humanity is wrong.

Luckily, I was able to give back. Before heading to the gate the flight was taking off from I stopped to adjust Bean's stroller. As I was doing this an older Hispanic woman with a toddler (not too much bigger than Bean) started talking with me. She did not speak a word of English, but with my limited knowledge of Spanish and much gesturing I figured out that she was in need of a diaper for the little boy. I gladly gave her one. It was the least I could do to repay all the people that helped me.

My flight to Shanghai went off without a hitch. One of the members of the branch, here in Shanghai, was on the same flight. Adam knew about this, and was able to ask her if she was willing to help me during the flight. Luckily, Jen found me before we got on the flight. Jen was a great help. I had someone there to watch Bean if I ever needed to get up.

Bean captivated the flight crew. All of the stewardesses wanted to know where we were going, and why I was traveling by myself. Many offered to watch Bean if I needed to get up, were willing to get me hot water for his bottles, and were constantly asking if they could get me anything. Bean had a bassinet to sleep in, which made the flight that much easier. The little guy slept for the last 5 hours of the flight.

Customs was quick and painless. I was praying the whole flight that I would not have to open my bags (I was afraid that I would not be able to get all of my things back in). All I had to do was show a customs agent our passports and then pick up my bags. Again Jen was so helpful, for I know dealing with my bags alone would have been a struggle. I had nothing to declare so it was a straight shot out to the lobby where Adam was waiting. Words can not describe how happy I was to see him. Bean had no idea what was going on, but I could tell Adam was so happy to see him (and me).

The drive to the apartment was crazy. I honestly have no idea what the rules for driving are here, but I swear that there were at least a dozen times that we could have been in a wreck. From what I can tell, driving requires a lot of honking, flashing lights, and sheer aggressiveness. Shanghai drivers put Californian drivers to shame. Don't know about New York drivers, never been there.

The apartment is great. It has a lot of quirks, which I will have to get used to, but I would be willing to live almost anywhere as long as I'm with my boys (Adam and Bean).