My week so far.....

Tony was in Singapore and Bangkok this week so I was on my own in Shanghai. Monday I had to go get my physical, if you want to live in China you must go get a health physical. It was an easy process and didn’t take more than 45 minutes. They took 2 vials of blood – to check for HIV and I guess some other things. Checked my height and weight, and fortunately the electronic scale was wrong by 10 Kg. Yea! I am officially skinny again. Too bad my clothes don’t recognize the new weight and fit better. An eye check, ear check, x-ray of the midsection, sonogram of the belly, heart check, BP, and an EKG, each done in a different room, they shuttle you through quickly and without much hassle. I should know on Friday if they think I am fit enough to stay.

Tuesday I spent with a new friend Kathi Walton, she and her husband Todd have been living here for 2 years and she is a wealth of information. She took me around to some neat areas of Shanghai and we did lunch as well. Shanghai is so spread out that it is hard to see everything in one afternoon, but we saw a few of her favorite things and we will go out again perhaps next week to see more. I am taking notes on the places I like too so I can take Tony back at a later date. So far there is this one area called TaiKang Road which are old lane homes (remember the roof line I shared with you last post?), which are either being torn down or as I have just found out, converted into pedestrian outdoor shopping /eating areas. They are very quaint; I’ll take some pictures next time I go.

Wednesday morning I attended the American Women’s Club of Shanghai and became a member. They have some wonderful programs and I hope to participate in some soon. I met 5 new ‘friends’ and am looking forward to getting to know them better. They all had nice hair and I am now prodding them for their resource as it’s almost time for me to help Mother Nature in keeping me blond. After the fun morning coffee clutch, I headed over to Donghua University to have my interview.

Yes, I had an interview for a position teaching English, the position calls for 3 days a week, totaling 16 hours of class time. I thought it went well and hope to hear from them soon. The university is about a 10 minute car ride and maybe an hour walk from the apartment. I am very interested in finding something to do here so this may be it!