Travel!

We are coming home soon! Ill be in Portland for 3 weeks while Sarah will be in Florida for one, back to Shanghai for one, the in Portland for a week. Sounds crazy, but it doesn't end there. We come back to Shanghai for a week, then head to New Zealand for three weeks.

Ill be back in Shanghai after New Zealand for 4 days, then I head to the US for the month of March Fei chang feng kuang- means very crazy.

By the way, we likely won't have any contact with anyone February 8th-24th since I anticipate our travel in NZ to be very remote.

Ok, on another note- I haven't been posting much because I run a super busy schedule and can't find the time. Here is the catch up on the SH scene:

Found out that the "water towns" outside of SH are ok to go to once, but not really going back to. They pitch them as towns built around canals and rivers....feel like Venice.....blah blah. They're kind of donkey, and not that cool.

Speaking of donkey, we went to dinner at a place that serves donkey dumplings. The folks that took us call it the "donkey dumpling restaurant".....it's my new favorite, but I can't bring myself to eat donkey. Sorry. Check it out though- dinner for 4 is about $20 with drinks- and that was more food than we could eat!

As long as we are talking food, in some places here you can order cow head. No brains (sorry Jen the food won't make you smarter here), but the rest of the head....eyes, tendons, skull, teeth, whatever. They take the cow head, throw it in an oven, plate it....and there you go. David's wife text him a picture of one she ordered last night- he just sent it to me....ill include. This one looks a little different than just a straight up head, but you'll get it....

Had lunch with a dude yesterday who was the Oregon duck mascot for 3 years. He eats deep fried chicken feet and says they're way good.

Enough on food.

We have had some time to check out other parts of the city as well. The leather market is pretty cool, as well as the bird market. If anyone wants and entire cow hide tanned and treated- $90! I'm talking full grain, good italian looking stuff. I'm going to get one. I also saw at least two zebra hides.....I can't seem to get on board with that one though. Seems wrong. I guess at the end of the day- what's the difference? But it just seems wrong to me to sport a zebra hide in your house....especially if your decor is more brownish.

Anyway, at the bird market you can buy these giant bugs, maybe 3-4 inches long and 2 inches tall. Chinese people buy them to listen to the sounds they make ( as a way to relax). They sound like crickets kind of.

I have some pictures I'll throw in- but can't label them since I'm posting from my phone. Some are from the water town, some from just around SH. One cool one to note is the boat with black birds on it- they're cormorants- and the dude in the photo uses them to fish. He ties string to their feet, they dive under water to catch fish.....and he quickly pulls them up and takes the fish from them. Animal cruelty in China is everywhere.

Ok last thing- seriously. We were at Old Town....and it was pretty busy with tourists and vendors and on and on. Well we were in this Japanese store, kinda like a toy store.....anyway- I hate to say it, but I got in a fight. This dude bumped into me and wouldn't apologize. He had a gun in his hand but that didn't scare me. Sarah got a picture of it just before the scene really blew up. You can see it below....

Christmas in Shanghai Photos part 2

More photos to go with the Christmas Eve blogpost......from Glamour Bar on the Bund, Traditional Chinese massage in Xintiandi (yes--that is what you wear!!), Tapas at our fave spot in Taicang Rd, and a little FaceTime with the fam.

Christmas in Shanghai Photos part 1

Here are some from our adventures on Christmas Eve day at a Craft market and then Yu Garden.
Hope you enjoy!
-Sarah

I laughed, I worried, I cried, and I cheered

This morning we woke up to a tiny bit of snow here in Shanghai. It is sunny and soooo cold (at least if you are an Oregonian used to mild weather). We are watching the Beaver bowl game on sling box while we start the morning off lazy and slow. Calee pulled out some weird colored hair, feathers and thread and tied some flies for fishing. I caught up on my former coworker and friend's blog. It is called Bossier than cancer, and I love it. She started the blog shortly after her diagnosis in April 2011.
We had not worked together long, so I knew little about her except she was a college athlete at Oregon (GO DUCKS!!), had a quick wit that was starting to come out at work and was a mother of three.
I remember the first time I read the blog thinking she was meant to share her stories this way. Her short, funny and straight forward approach to her posts made them a quick read, and left you wanting to read the next before she even had it written. I have laughed, cried, and thought of my own personal experiences with cancer as I read it.
My personal experiences have not been as personal as they are for those that actually had the cancer.....but I still relate to many of her comments as I remember my loved ones going through those appointments, treatments, surgeries, check ups and ALL that comes with them. And I stop to appreciate them and miss them.....and pray for them as they continue to go through their cancer experience.
This morning was no different. As I read all of her November and December posts, I laughed so hard I cried, I cried, and I missed her. I knew some of the places and people she was mentioning from my old job, and I felt reconnected for a little while. And I cheered for her and for her family as her she stays focused on kicking cancer's butt.
I thought about how much I hate and I fear cancer.

www.bossierthancancer.blogspot.sg

Expectations. Hard to live up to?

Christmas Eve in Shanghai turned out to be pretty great---Better than expected! Even after a rough start at breakfast involving the French toast Calee was generously making for us.
Our rough start was the result of a common occurrence here in Shanghai's "Westerner Village" (Xiantindi). You return to the grocery store to buy something you've discovered as a reasonable replacement for something you used to buy back home---never the same but workable you know---and it's gone. Poof, vanished. I'd heard of this horror from others...."when you see something you like, buy a lot of it. They drop a lot of products and then won't carry them any more." Whhhhat???
You have to know, for every 20 western brands the store will carry---that you can buy without care or concern---there are 100 more in Chinese that you attempt to translate from pictures on the packaging, multiple entries into google translate, and possibly even some awkward hand gestures with the non-English speaking store staff. For example, you see the box of what looks like it could be milk near the chews section and you think to yourself -
"I think this is milk for drinking....maybe refrigeration is a Western thing (it's not in a refrigerated case but next to it!). Oh yeah, it's probably 2%. "Er" means two in mandarin...that looks like the Chinese character for E right??....."

So once you find a product that tastes good, you can cook with, and doesn't make either of you sick, that's a WIN people. We had a winning record with the French toast bread at Bazaar and then it was gone. On Christmas Eve's eve! To make a long story short, my replacement purchase was a terrible substitute. Really. Bad. Calee did his best, but there was no amount of syrup that could turn that replacement bread into French toast. And believe me, we both tried.
From there, we ended up at our clubhouse gym burning off all the bacon we ate to make ourselves feel less sad about the French toast. It had been so long since this body worked out that I was actually sore before I even left. Seriously.

Fast forward through a much better lunch at a local favorite called Urban Soup Company, and we were off to a tourist top pick called Yu Yuan Garden. It turned out to be a good time despite the biting cold (sooo cold here even after you layer up your Oregon clothing three times!), large crowds of tourists and the line-cutting Chinese lady at Starbucks....never fails to happen at Starbucks. Some days the cutting in front of you in line doesn't phase us, some days one of us must escape to outside so he or she doesn't kick her a@@. I digress.
We saw some cool ancient Chinese architecture in the gardens center and even snapped some photos. Calee found a music shop and was inspired to either take up the harmonica or the Chinese flute. More to come on that in the blog I'm sure. We even stumbled upon the craft market that I posted some photos of on Facebook. Like every market here, you discover something new---for me, this was the place to find wrapping paper which had been ridiculously hard to come by in Xintiandi for Christmas---and find several things for so cheap that you have to talk yourself out of buying it all an trying to ship it home. Overall, Expectations on Yu Yuan Garden trip were met.

From there we headed to the Glamour Bar on the Bund. It was said to be expensive, flashy and inspired by all things glitz and glam. It was all that and more, and I loved it!! My drink was delicious and only slightly over-priced. And the interior was the perfect mix of over-the-top Pink, mood lighting, mirrored chandeliers, fur rugs and velvet chairs made sophisticated by a healthy dose of wood, prints and leather chairs of all colors. I had the "passionate encounter" cocktail and settled into my pink velvet chair. And then I had another one. We looked out the window to the views the Bund bars are famous for, and enjoyed being there too early for the crowds and late enough for a great city lights view. We met the Bar manager David, and he bought us a round. Expectations exceeded.

Our evening went on for three more stops, some better than, others less than, expected. The dinner spot we chose had no tables un-reserved....but the massage place next door was open and had two spots we could take. Dinner ended up working put just fine and two of our usual dishes came in above expectations. The mulled wine on Special--did not. Christmas Eve away from home is a big day and hard to live up too. Especially when it's as awesome as I think our traditions have become.
And the ultimate test on Christmas morning in the U.S.--about 11pm to midnight here--was kinda like being there for a little while as we invaded mom's home with FaceTime. We missed seeing Gino open his toys from Santa, but we still caught the highlights from that household as well just before midnight here. Expectations for what it would be were both exceeded and missed it seemed...but now thinking about it again now, were they really "missed" because we didn't see this or that, or at one point someone couldn't hear us? That seems silly compared to what we could and did see on Christmas morning.

So I will continue to work on managing my expectations in the New Year. When unsuccessful, I will probably experience some frustration and maybe regret. Those "WHY do I live in China???" moments. Ugh. When I'm successful, I will take away great moments and memories from this awesome Asian adventure......and probably have a lot more fun.

Now, time to use a few new Chinese phrases and awkward hand gestures to find a new option for French toast bread.

Orphaned in Shanghai

Orphaned in Shanghai (for Christmas).
At least that's what the posters said.....it didn't make much sense to me the first time I saw it. But, we were going to Thailand, so it didn't need to make sense. And then my passport got jacked. Right out of my work bag, side pocket, unzipped, passport revealed, passport gone. Dang.
Needless to say, timing and luck (Or, maybe a brain that wasn't overworked and undernourished of sleep was Not on our side. And Thailand trip was cancelled pre-maturely. Yeah, I could've got an emergency passport and we could've went to Thailand as planned. Lesson learned. It appeared that Christmas was not going to be as planned.
So we are waiting on a new fully loaded passport. Then I can re-apply for my work Visa, re-apply for my Residence permit and re-apply for whatever other licenses/certificates/permits that keep us in China--and out of China--and not in Pilipino airport jail cells.

Meanwhile, we dialed up the Christmas cheer here in apt 702 and prepared for our First Christmas "at our own place." I won't go as far as to say "Home", because I just don't think China could ever be home?? But, I am only 4 months in and work with a lot of folks who said they'd never make it past 2 years (4 years ago...). We put presents under the fabric tree, pulled out the True Value Hardware Christmas CDs and started to notice that Christmas appeared to be all over here in Shanghai! Christmas trees, Bells, lights and Christmas music playing in stores and restaurants. There are some pretty incredible Christmas trees on display in the City, and I kept taking pictures of them. It was liking a little boost of the Holiday spirit each time I saw one. And then the Santa hats....everywhere! The waiters, clerks and even the massage lady was sporting the red and white Santa hats by today! A lot of Chinese people appeared to easily embrace the Christmas cheer with the westerners. And I don't think its just for our (the customers) benefit. The religious sentiment of the Christmas season is not likely resonating, or recognized, by most locals. But the Holiday Cheer---the energy that comes with Christmas---is something they appear to be enjoying as much as I do. And that means we may not be as orphaned as the poster claimed after all.

Christmas in Shanghai

Cancelled the trip to Thailand.

We paid a visit to the US consulate and ordered up a new passport for Sarah. It'll be here faster than I thought, but not in time for Christmas.

If all goes well, it'll be here by the end of next week- which may allow us to travel over the new year!

We are thinking about a two day hike in southern china.....find some warm air.

Speaking of- it is absolutely freezing here. A little snow yesterday but not much really at all. However, it is super cold. It reminds me of when we used to hunt geese in Klamath. It would be snowing, with a foot or so on the ground....and right before the sun would come up the temp would drop like 10-15 degrees and it would be painfully cold. That's shanghai.

Check it though- everyone is saying that it'll be even colder in Jan and Feb. We're in for a long winter.....

Word is it's snowing in the valley? Hope everyone can get to where they need to be!