TJ and Kris in Shanghai

TJ and Kris arrived Monday afternoon. Tony went to pick the kids up at the airport while I took the subway and bus to and from work - that's 1 hour 45 minutes each way! Only 45 minutes when we drive. As we only have one car I was on public transportation duty. Fortunately I got a seat both ways and class was short as it was final exam day! I met up with TJ, Kris and Tony as I was coming out of the subway heading toward the apartment, they were just having a walk around the neighborhood and enjoying the sights.

Tuesday morning we headed out to the fabric market to get a few items made for the kids. TJ, a new black double ply cashmere coat, 4 new work shirts and 2 new pairs of jeans. For Kris a new winter white coat. After that we went over to a small cafe and rebooted with some coffee and for TJ a shot of espresso as well! Here he is ready to caffeine up!

After the coffee fix we wandered through some of the old streets of Shanghai (forgot to take out my camera and shoot as I was enjoying watching the faces of TJ and Kris seeing the sights and smells of old Shanghai.) and ended up at YuYuan Garden for lunch at the famous Nanxing Steamed Bun Restaurant. Here we are eating up all the yummy food.

Since the weather forecast said today was going to be one of the warmest (45F) we decided to climb the Lupu Bridge. Unfortunately the day was very hazy so the view was not that great, but the climb was fun!

Here we are heading toward the bridge.

The stairs look quite steep in this picture but in reality they were not steep at all and the climb was very easy.

Here we are at the top. If you look to the left of Kris you can see the Chinese Pavilion at the Expo.

And here they are on the way down with the highway(s) in the background. A full day for all. We headed back to the apartment and everyone crashed from 4:30 - 7p. Even Tony, as he only arrived back from the States 18 hours before the kids did. No one was up for going out to dinner so grilled cheese sandwiches and salad for dinner.

Wednesday we have not made much of a plan yet but we are expecting Kris's dad and brother to arrive in the evening at 7pm.

The Giving Tree

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - the Giving Tree gift giving ceremonies have begun! Volunteers and donors alike have been getting ready for this for months now. It is time to go to the migrant schools, hand out gift bags and watch the smiles abound! Without the community at large, Giving Tree would not have been able to reach 15,000 deserving migrant and orphaned children this year. Right now volunteers & donors are charging camera batteries and checking Google maps for directions, all in an effort to arrive at one of the 23 ceremonies held at migrant schools all over Shanghai and beyond.

What a wonderful experience to watch their faces while they open their bags! I wish it could be xmas everyday for these kids!

A day in Suzhou with friends - Oct. 2010

Martina and me! The Cloud Rock Pagoda in the Tiger Hill Garden built in 961AD.

Decorated stairs in the garden. Martina, Joan and Deb.

These are lollipops made with sugar in shapes of animals. Can you see the bird, butterfly and crab?

On the canal.

I came across these pictures and remembered what a wonderful day we had visiting Suzhou, a small town about 2 hours away from Shanghai. I am with Joan(behind me) Martina (next to me) and Deb(Martina's friend) on a "boatride" down a small canal. The weather in October was warm and sunny and we had a splendid time walking around the pedestrian section of the town where no cars are allowed.

Santa Claus in China!

Our apartment building put on a tree lighting ceremony last week (pay no attention to the incorrect date on the corner of the picture....darn camera) and here I am with Santa helping to distribute toys!

Can you tell he is a Chinese guy dressed up? China does not really celebrate Xmas yet the streets are decorated colorfully and there are many trees up and sparkling! Dec 25th, which falls on a Friday, is a regular work day.

Saturday

A wonderful day and a wonderful lunch at the Citizen Cafe!

Wash Day

Saturday was such a beautiful day and Tony and I walked around Shanghai for about 4 hours, as usual we encountered the unusual, this lady doing her laundry........on a wash board. Tony's comment: "look how good you have it, you have a washing machine!"

Just when you think you have seen it all.

Tis the season!

Here is our tree in our new painted green living room!

And a few pictures on the outskirts of YuYuan Garden shopping area! I think the lanterns in the background look so festive.

A fine day for a walk

A great day to be outside and enjoy the sunshine! Just make sure your shoes match your outfit as this stylish canine has!

Back online!

As some of you may know I have been off line for more than 14 days. While somewhat liberating it has had it's challenges.



In a nut shell my hard drive crashed! 4000 pictures and 1000 documents all presumably lost. Fortunately I found an IT guy - from Sweden - who has a business here in Shanghai and he said he may be able to extract my data from the crashed drive. He of course asked: do you back up? With tears streaming down my face I whispered - no. Ah ha he replied, well I am sure that now you will and I will teach you! He then told me it may take 1,400 hours to get all the data back.



That's 58.3 days for those of you wondering. OMG!



Well it has only been 14 days and I have all my pictures and documents. IT guy is a miracle worker!



It was a challenge doing without my computer, especially teaching, as all my material is located on the drive, but I managed. Can you say DVD babysitter. Yes that's right, 23 year old students, in the masters program at Donghua University enjoyed watching episodes of Friends and then discussing the differences between American Culture and Chinese Culture.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Great to be back!

uh oh

Total crash, you can't believe it.

Bought a new hard drive.

All files LOST.

OMG.

This is something I have heard of but never thought it would be me. When was the last time you back up?? I now will do it once a month. I lost over 500 pictures. So sad.

Shanghai Baby Butts

Although China is getting wealthier and yes even disposable diapers are available, it is still a luxury item to wear disposable or cloth diapers when it is permissible for the tiny tots to use the great outdoors as their own personal bathroom. As you can see the clothing for the tiny tots are created with easy of access in mind. I am told that at night the babies do wear cloth or disposable to sleep.

Here are a few cute butts to brighten your day!

Drinks at the Peace Hotel

On Sunday evening we went into the newly renovated Peace Hotel to check it out and ended up having a cocktail at the famous Jazz Bar! We were with Carey who was in town for business.
I copied a bit of information from Wikipedia as this is quite an old (for China) and famous hotel.




The Peace Hotel is a hotel on The Bund in Shanghai, China which overlooks the Huangpu River.It was built by Sir Victor Sassoon, of the famous Sassoon family who dominated Shanghai business and real estate in the early 20th century. He was a British Sephardic Jew of Iraqi origin, and his family had extensive business in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Calcutta.Construction began in 1926 and completed in 1929. The building is ten storeys in height, partially thirteen storeys, and with a basement.Before 1949, the ground floor space facing the Bund was leased to two banks. This space later became the Shanghai branch of Citibank in the 1980s

Before 1949, the Cathay Hotel (Now known as the Peace Hotel) was regarded as the most prestigious hotel in Shanghai. Most international envoys visiting Shanghai would stay in the hotel. After the Communist takeover in 1949, some of the offices were used by the Municipal Finance Committee. In 1952 the building was taken over by the Municipal Government. In 1956 it resumed trading as a hotel under the name "Peace Hotel". In 1992 the Peace Hotel was listed as one of the famous hotels of the world by the World Hotel Association. Today, it is particularly renowned for its Jazz Band and its roof terrace restaurant, overlooking the now booming district of Pudong across the Huangpu.

The Cathay Hotel, officially opened on September 5, 1929.

The hotel was widely known as the luxurious "Number One mansion in the Far East", due to its prime location along the Bund, and for its grandeur, including the distinctive copper-sheathed roof that rises 77 meters above ground, white Italian marble floors, and priceless Lalique glass artwork.

The Cathay Hotel welcomed distinguished guests from all over the world, including politicians, financiers, entrepreneurs, important Chinese officials and celebrities, such as General Marshall, Charlie Chaplin and Bernard Shaw. It was here that Noel Coward completed his famous play "Private Lives". The hotel was also renowned for its Old Jazz Bar, a favourite of the city’s expatriate community. Its band of six veteran musicians entertained dignitaries from around the world, and also toured to great acclaim in the United States and Asia.

Dinner at New Heights

It's been a busy weekend. Saturday night Tony and I had dinner with friends from Italy at our favorite and not so fancy Italian restaurant - Bella Italia. Simple easy and fun! Then on Sunday we had dinner with the Hong Kong and US contingent at New Heights restaurant on the Bund. The view are just great, although the weather kept the view limited. We got 2 nice pictures - one of the old buildings on the Bund and the other of the Pearl Tower (partial) on the Pudong side of the river. Here I am with Carey who has never been to Shanghai and thought it so interesting!

Censorship