China Day 2—Shanghai

What a wonderful place this is, although severely different from what we know. This morning was a whirlwind, and it was excitement at every turn! Justin, Liz, and I met for early breakfast in the hotel, then Justin and I headed to the train station to buy our tickets to Nanjing for the evening. It's good that we did because the trains fill up, and we could have been left standing or, even worse, without train tickets. We got back as fast as we could, then we all headed to church, which was only a short walk from the Lonyang Rd. Station.

The English ward meets in a conference center in a giant circular room inside a glass walled rotunda. It was a fun place to meet, even though it felt like we were going to hotel instead of to church. There are two English branches that meet there, and they actually rent out a section of rooms all the time so they have classroom space, nursery, storage, etc. We were late, but arrived for the sacrament, which is excellent, although we were still standing in the back as they passed it around. We only stayed for the first meeting, but it was one of the most wonderful church experiences I've ever had. In China, foreigners cannot attend church with natives, nor can they discuss religion across national lines. We found a group of people, probably about a hundred, that were all in Shanghai under different circumstances, for different reason, and from all parts of the world, including other Asian nations. As I sat there listening to each one bear testimony, I had a keen sense that these people needed one another more than any other group I've ever met with. They had no family close by, no lifelong friends, none of the bonds that provide support and stability for a life. It was truly a modern example of "strangers in a strange land," and I felt like together we answered the question, "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" I felt more loved, accepted, and needed than I have in any other ward or branch I've ever attended.

Many of the families were there because they had started business or worked with exporting businesses, and the financial situation has become very difficult for many of them. As it was the first Sunday of the month, the war joined together in a unit fast for the financial situation of the ward, and their faith was strong; I could feel it. They bore testimony of the power of the fast, both in their current circumstance, and in experiences past. They were humble, kind, and loving, and while many of them expressed an inability to comprehend why they were in Shanghai, they all simultaneously expressed comfort knowing that the Lord was with them, watching and caring for them in their special circumstances.

After the meeting we changed clothes, gave Jaime a fresh diaper, and set out for more Shanghai adventure. We returned to the shopping market, and had a marvelous time interacting with shop keepers, haggling over prices and finding all kinds of little somethings with which to remember the trip. We had checked out of the hotel, so everywhere we went, we pulled along our little suitcases and expressed continual gratitude that we had not brought larger ones. The market was busy, full of people, both natives and foreigners, and quickly learned to say "Duo shao," (how much?) and "Bu yao" (we don't want that.) Justin was a master negotiator, and we were grateful to have him on our side. We had planned to see a temple and some gardens while we were out, but time flew away from us, and we ended up just leisurely making our way back to the station for our train. We enjoyed some food here and there along the way, and Liz learned that noodles are fine, but dumplings are her heart's delight. She even bought her own from a vendor without Justin translating; she's a rock star.



We stopped for a real dinner, and enjoyed four trays of dumplings, and this time each one had a little brothy soup in them. Exciting and messy to be sure, but definitely delicious as well. I also enjoyed the "tea tree meat mushroom smells like urine noodles." They were great, although the mushrooms were a little tough. It did smell a little funny, but I wouldn't have chosen urine as the representative title. Weird.



The train was an awesome adventure. Let me rephrase: the train STATION was an awesome adventure. I felt like I was in a refugee camp, there were so many people shoulder to shoulder in there. Of course, it was Sunday night, the end of the weekend, and everyone was heading to wherever they needed to be for the week. There was plenty of jostling and pushing, but, fortunately I could see over almost everyone, and Justin was easy to spot ahead. Tall has its advantages. Both Liz and I fell asleep while waiting for the hour-delayed train, then slept most of the way to Nanjing as well. It had been a long day, and our bodies were feeling it. We finally got back to Justin and Jodi's apartment around 11:30 and settle in. We have a little room to ourselves, and they even bought us a mattress so we didn't have to sleep right on the bed frame.



Some things I've learned in Shanghai during the first couple of days:

1. They love babies. Jodi wasn't kidding.
2. They are, on the whole, a very kind culture.
3. While they are kind, don't get in the way when entering or exiting the metro. Or waiting in "line."
4. Skinny jeans are for everyone.
5. Hair product is extremely important.
6. If you're going to learn one English word, it should be "hello" It means so many things, like "Hello," "look here," "don't walk away," "I love your baby," "welcome to this foreign land," and "I'm sure we can agree on a cheaper price,"
7. The metro isn't quite tall enough for me. I had a few head bumps, and even more close calls.



8. It's OK, even preferred, to have the Statue of Liberty outlined in rhinestones on the back of your black pleather jacket.
9. Children are a real scarcity. In all our travels around the city we encountered only a handful of native children. What would the world be like without cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews?
10. Abortion is illegal, yet somehow there is still a staggering inequality of males to females. Learning the sex of your baby is also illegal. Everyone still wants a son, and they'll what they have to do to get it.
11. Public transit is my new favourite thing in the whole world. The Shanghai metro system is only 15 years old, but it's the fastest and fastest growing in the world. It's amazing.
12. It's OK to stare. And to spit phlegm wherever you want.

We're excited for our week in Nanjing. I think Justin and Jodi are excited to show us around as well, since Justin keeps asking us if we prefer R&R or adventure. I'm leaning toward adventure.

China day 1—Shanghai

Life is an adventure, don't you think? We arrived safely at Shanghai Pudong International airport around 14:40 local time after a long, but pleasant flight. I found that boredom is the real problem with the long flights, but that a movie can keep your mind occupied for 2 hours with very little effort on your part.

Justin and Jodi were late to meet us, but we survived. They met us at the MagLev station, and we took that train into the city just as fast as we possibly could. The trains list their current speed on the display, and at one point we were in excess of 300 km/hr. I have a photo that shows the speed display, but I can' figure out how to post it because of the Chinese internet filtering. More progress on that tomorrow, I hope. Justin and Jodi said that when they took the train to meet us, it reached 400 km/hr at one point (almost 250 mph.) Fast times on the Shanghai MagLev.



Our gracious hosts had a little hostel in mind for us, and walked there from the train station, our rollerboard suitcases clattering along behind us on the cobbled sidewalks. Unfortunately, the hostel felt that it was too full to accommodate foreigners, so a-searching we went for a new place to stay. After that plan ride and with the cold—it's been topping off around 5˚C—it seemed like the longest walk of our life, but we found a nice hotel chain with a couple of not-too-expensive rooms available with internet. You know how Liz loves her internet.

We found the place well enough, but we couldn't check in, because someone, or should I say two someones didn't bring their passports with them from Nanjing, and foreigners have to register everywhere they go. We even had to present our passport to convert currency. Tight reins here? Tight reign here? Both work. So, J & J trotted over to the local police station to register and have their files sent so they could check in to a hotel. We kept Jaime at the hotel with us so they wouldn't have to bother and it could be quick and easy. 90 minutes later Liz and I were still sitting in the hotel lobby with a very unhappy and hungry little girl, and were weighing our options. I mean, what does one do when one's hosts are jailed in a foreign city and you have their baby? Unknown.

Just as we were preparing to take some sort of action (don't ask what it was going to be—we didn't really have a plan) they arrived back by taxi, passport information in hand. Apparently the officers at the station couldn't find them in the computer, so it took a few extra attempts, some waiting around, an extra officer, some waiting around, a phone call to Nanjing, some waiting around, and a fax to fix things up. We were glad they cleared that up; they'll keep their passports handy from here out, methinks.

We stashed our suitcases in our rooms, then headed out for dinner and some seeing. We immediately headed to the metro and took trains to the heart of the city, but not before we grabbed a great little rice dumpling at a place right outside the hotel. Of course, by place I mean a guy standing on the street steaming giant baskets of stuff. They were little volcanoes of flavour, probably mostly MSG, but whatever, we loved them. There's a great tourist shopping market we visited, but it was mostly closed up for the evening. It looked amazing, though, so we vowed to return. We wandered back through the city and stopped in at a noodle place that was still open. It was an interesting setup, where the cook was visible through open windows, and Justin called out to her. She invited us in, and we made our way through the door that wouldn't open, past the buckets of coal that fired the stoves, and up a narrow staircase to a flat of old kitchen tables spread with baskets of chopped scallions and little cellars of salt, MSG, and chili pepper flakes in oil. I had the lamb noodles, Liz had the beef noodles. My noodles better than hers, of course, but the meat left a bit to be desired. We now know that meat can be hit and miss: Sometimes it's amazing delicious, and sometimes it's fat in broth. We got a bit of both.





We made our way back through the metro maze, but couldn't take our last train because it stopped running two or three minutes before we got to our connection. Justin grabbed us a taxi and we worried our way through almost fifteen minutes of turns, stoplights, speeding down narrow streets and generally not knowing where we going or how we were going to get there. Arrive, though, we did, and we were glad to do so; I still suspect that the good took advantage of the foreigners, but what can you do? Taxis meters in China run by the minute, not by the mile, so it's easy to gouge.



Our room was nice, but ultimately, it would have been nicer if we had noticed that the window was open. We couldn't figure out why it was so cold, but the blanket kept us pretty warm through the night. Also, maybe better if we had learned how to use the heater. Again, heavy blanket was great.

Tomorrow I'll learn to post pictures.

Dad moments

Yesterday was a fun "Dad" day for me. When I arrived home, Michael greeted me with a deflated exercise ball and explained to me that he popped it with a pencil and offered me the twenty bucks to replace it. My mind immediately rewound to a little boy who just wanted to make a "tiny hole" in a waterbed and who wanted to skate inside the TV. We chatted, he paid me a fiver, and we called it good. Dad moments are good.

-- Post From My iPhone

Michael's Final Game

I don't have any great pictures but had to blog about Michael's final game. The day started with the great hunt for his tennis shoes. Actually it started the night before when I searched the entire house including their room with a flashlight looking for them. Fortunately, they did find them hiding in a cubby in their room (I thought they were too big to fit in such a small cubby so I didn't check there--I won't make that mistake again). Then, the game began. It was a very low scoring game but fun to watch anyway. It is so much fun watching little boys try to handle such a big ball. There were two boys on the team who had never made a basket in the game, so the coach was really working on having the boys pass to them. Yes, one of them was Michael. I think having the coach tell the boys to pass to him really pumped him up. He stayed on top of everything . . . defense he was all over his man and even got two rebounds. It did help that he was guarding a boy half his height but regardless the rebounds were his! He even stole the ball once and got caught up in the mix of a couple of jump balls. This was amazing because he usually just lets the other person have the ball. He is such a nice kid!

Then, for the most memorable moment of the game. . . He threw the ball into a player from the sidelines on their side of the court, ran and got open, had the ball passed to him, caught it, ran all the way down the court with the ball, stopped, shot and MADE IT!!!!! Yes, it was his first basket in a game and it was awesome! Hopefully next time around he can make a basket in the correct hoop but we take what we can get. It was an awesome game and Michael was on cloud nine the rest of the day. We might just do this again next season. Way to go Michael!

More Kitchen

The Kitchen

So, I'm just a crazy blogger today. I put together new sketches of our kitchen remodel, and I wanted to share and get feedback. General notes:

• White cabinets with vertical insets. Yes, like Michelle's; just like Michelle's, I think.
• Removal of the soffit above the existing cupboards; who thought of those anyway?
• Cupboards on far left of the window are glass front, cabinet to ceiling, with a row of cubbies. I love the cubbies, but might forego them if I need a little more counter space.
• Dark wood countertops unless I find something I like better.
• Dark wood (laminate) floors.
• Stainless steel appliances.
• The walls will be a real red, I hope, and not that pinkish crayon red that appears here.
• We're closing the door into the kitchen and shortening it on the other end to open it into the living/dining area. It's going to be a great room (yup, totally chuckling to myself . . .)
• The island will match the cabinets, but be about 3" taller.
• We think we'll be able to center the sink better under the window with minimal effort. We'll see.
• The sink is a huge farm-style basin with a huge frontal presence. I love it, and will love it even more more with a tall antiqued faucet. Yum.

So, here's the floor plan, subject to some ooching and shuffling, but pretty well in place:

And here is each wall, first the way it is, then the way I wish it was:

And this is what we're doing right now to make sure that everything will work the way we want it. I decided to tape off the actual area of the island and put the table there for good times, then tape off the new wall of cabinets. I did this all early in the week, of course, then I opened my Martha Stewart Living tonight, and lo, there was someone doing exactly the same thing so he could see where his furniture would sit in his room. I am obviously Martha-worthy.

So, what do you think? Thoughts? Advice? Mean-spirited remarks meant to taunt and annoy? Well, if it's too mean, maybe you should email it . . .

Winter Photos