Middle Days.. Mom's Visit

The exact details day by day escape me... but the ‘middle day’s we spent together were wonderful.  

Taiking Road and Lane 248, as noted in one of my four Shanghai Travel Guide Books, is described as “Shanghai’s latest secret.  A narrow, gritty street now inhabited by artsy cafes and intimate boutiques.”  Oh yes, we knew the secret!  We explored the area, and discussed the mixed emotions of the locals.  Some were happy shopkeepers, welcoming the foreigner invasion into the area that was previously a local ‘neighborhood.’  Others hid inside behind the bamboo curtains and sheets that shrouded their doors and windows.  We didn’t purchase much, but enjoyed peeking in and out of the shops.  Mom found some fabulous antique pieces of furniture that were quite over priced... aren’t all the things we really drool over!?

On Saturday, Mom and I met up with Heidi and Rachel Ann to head over to Renmin Park a.k.a. People’s Square.  Mom took some fun photos of three men practicing some kind of sword-tai chi-exercise thing!  They giggled as I asked them in Chinese if we could take some pictures.  The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center has a remarkable model of the entire city and surrounding areas.  The model is so large it would take an apartment four times the size of mine to set it up!!  Later that evening, we met up with the guys for dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant, 1221:  xiao long bao (dumplings), sichuan pork, clay pot eggplant, sweet and sour fish, kung pao chicken, sauvignon blanc, fried rice, broccoli, chinese tea = delicious.

FIRST VISITOR!!!

Mom came to visit for a week!  Of course I had all intentions of writing a blog entry each day... way too busy for that!  What a fantastic week..

Day 1 - Mom and Rachel Ann (Heidi's mom) arrived at the Pudong Airport after the long trip over.  Mom experienced her first Chinese massage before she even touched ground in China - the person sitting behind her on the airplane provided that for free!  I ensured her that I would take her for a more relaxing experience later in the week.  After getting her things unpacked, we took a walk around the block to keep her awake.  Dinner outside at Slice was nice.. sandwich melts and pizza.

Day 2 - Shanghai is the perfect place to acquire an entirely new, custom-made wardrobe.  Yes, the fabric market is a MUST on the itinerary (I think we went three times in total).  The market is three floors jam-packed with vendors begging and bartering with each passing customer.  We had a beautiful, black cashmere coat made for mom at about a fifth the average price in the US.  Audrey (my sister) was with us in spirit - we had two light jackets made for her.  I had some pants altered.  etc... etc...  Mandarin Chinese comes in extremely handy here.  As with most places in Shanghai, bargaining is customary.. and I've finally managed to remember all the numbers and key phrases.  AND people are starting to understand my tones!!!  Mom enjoyed listening to me show off my bargaining skills.  My favorite phrases:  1.  "Duoshao qian" (how much is it?)  2.  "Zheige taigui le!" (that's too expensive!)  3.  "Wo zhu si Shanghai, wo yao pianyi yidian"  (I live in Shanghai, I want a lower price).  The key is to remain relaxed and friendly without backing down.  This often ends up with me walking away and the shop keeper running out dragging us back saying "Ok lady, Ok..  you speak Chinese very well."  My reply, "Wo da Jongwen bu hao.  Ni tai keche la"  (My mandarin is very bad, you are too nice)

After the Fabric Market, we headed over to Xintiandi (area near the former French Concession) to stroll around and have lunch at Simply Thai.  YUM!  Lemon Chicken, Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Green Curry, Broccoli..

Walked down Dongai Road - a local street lined with outdoor stalls exploding with antiques (from long, long ago... or fabricated to appear as such??)  Either way, it's a street worth exploring.

Mom purchased two unique items - an old water bucket and a Chinese shoe box 'thing'..  (took us a few days and a few conversations with Chinese friends to determine what it was!)  Unfortunately for her, both items were too large to pack!  I convinced her that after such hard bargaining, it would be a shame to pay an arm and a leg to Fed-Ex them back to the US....  After some arm twisting, I decided to let her leave them here - they only match my apartment perfectly :)  

Stay tuned... 

Toilet Update.. Long Overdue

So for all of you who are still in suspense about the toilet mystery....

A few days after the failed attempts to plunge, two more workers came with a wrench and a long metal thing that looked something like a jumbo metal nail file.  I watched as they unscrewed the toilet from the floor and ran as quickly as I could to get some old towels as they lifted the toilet up and all the water poured out the bottom.  As they tipped the entire toilet on its side, I anxiously dreaded to see what was stuck in the base of the toilet.  Turns out it was three q-tips that had grid-locked themselves together.  One of the workers started to inform me in Chinese that these 'things' cannot be flushed... VERY BAD... VERY BAD, he tells me.  Of course, I couldn't let him think I didn't know that..  

The next day, I had to do a quick teaching lesson to our aiye, Jen.  (Ok, secret's out.. we have a lady who comes and cleans the floors, toilets, plates - hopefully not in that order with the same cloth - - we've gone over that one already!!  She was seeking work and it's almost expected that as an expat you'll hire an aiye.)  Apparently, Jen was wanting to save on trash bags and rather than emptying the bathroom trash, decided it would be more cost and time efficient to flush all the contents of the trash down the toilet.  Ah!  I'm glad there wasn't anything more substantial than a few q-tips in the trash that day!  

Exciting Morning

What an exciting morning!  Woke up to realize that the toilet isn’t working properly - the water fills the bowl and ssssslllllllooooooowwwwwlllllyyyyyy drains.  We’ve resolved to quit trying to figure out ‘who did it’ and get it fixed.  Plumbing is quite and issue in China.  (Has everyone heard my story about trying to use the dishwasher?  To make a long story short - the open ended pipe that’s under the kitchen cabinets shoots out dirt and leaves as the dishwasher drains!  Needless to say, we wash dishes by hand.) 

I do have a plunger!  After spending twenty minutes splashing around I thought Justin might like a turn..  His solution was to call the service center!  Calling and trying to explain a problem in half English/half Chinese is usually as frustrating as trying to fix the problem myself!  As he left to go play basketball, I decided to give it one more try.  There is something about plunging a toilet, even when it’s just water you’re dealing with, that is SO disgusting!   I won’t be going into the plumbing business anytime soon.  I gave up and called the front desk.  

About ten minutes later, a nice little man showed up at the front door with a plunger.  He wasn’t quite as concerned with keeping the water in the toilet as I had been.  Actually, he didn’t even mind sticking his hands down the toilet drain!  As he plunged and splashed away, I realized that the drain in the shower was making a terrible noise.  I can’t imagine what kind of pipe maze hides under the bathroom floor!  Using hand motions, I asked if he wanted me to turn the shower water on to fill the pipe.  Great idea!  Didn’t help!  

When I came back to check on him, he was taking my trash can to the shower, filling it with water and dumping it with full force into the toilet.  Over.. and over.. again.  My bathroom is quickly becoming a miniature water theme park!  I suppose the water in theme parks here might not be much cleaner!  

He appears to have tried everything he can think of, starts to get a bit frustrated, calling on his radio for help.  The few words I can understand are:  not good, two meters, something, house, her, water, i don’t know.  Then, he looks at me and talks so fast in Chinese I have no clue what he’s saying.  I respond with, “I hear you, but don’t understand you.”  He smiles, and then just leaves the apartment.  I’m assuming he’ll be back with something that’s two meters long to stick down the pipe??  Who knows!

Chinese Name

Nothing too exciting to report over these past few weeks.  I did however get a new “Chinese name” from my friend at Head to Toe.  (Head to Toe is a massage place not to far from our apartment - great pedicures, massages, and even hair cuts!  You can get a hair cut and one hour massage for less than $20!!  I have learned that I prefer getting my hair cut twice a year while in the US, but that’s another story.)  Anyway - the friend I referred to earlier gives a great massage, and she even speaks decent English.  Her English name is Dani, taken from her Chinese name of Dan Dan.  Last week, she asked me if I had a Chinese name.  I’ve actually tried several, but am always up for being given a new one - mainly due to the fact that Emily, in Chinese, translates to Mae Li (which means beautiful.)  Quite awkward when people ask what my name is, and I’m supposed to respond with, “beautiful.”  Yes, call me beautiful!  Weird!  Ok, so Heidi and I are getting a massage and joking with the girls about Chinese names.  (Side note - they normally tell Heidi that her name doesn’t need to change because in China, they can just call her Hei Di!)  I always get the, “you are SO tall” comments, so Heidi jokes that my name should be Gao Mei - meaning Tall Beautiful... ha ha ha.. After several attempts, Dani says she has the perfect name for me - “Shuang Shuang.”  Our first question, “What does that mean??”

Dan Dan has a pondering expression on her face.  “How to explain  this?”  She says that it is a VERY good name and has a good meaning.. but can’t quite explain what the meaning is!  She starts by saying that Dan Dan means number 1 and says that Shuang Shuang is number 2.  After about ten minutes of trying to understand what she’s saying I conclude that it must have something to do with birth order?  Maybe this isn’t the best new name for me.  After all, I’m the oldest! 

The next day, we took Heidi’s driver, Annie, out to lunch.  She speaks a bit of English but we mostly communicate with her in Chinese.  We told her about this new name I had been given and she laughed and laughed and said, “Oh no.. this name not too good for you Mae Li.”  Turns out that in Chinese, odd numbers are called Dan Dan.. and even numbers are referred to as Shuang Shuang!  Go figure :)

Back in Shanghai

I arrived back in Shanghai on Saturday after spending the month of July in "The States."  It seems appropriate to call 'them' 'that' now that I live eight ba-zillion miles away!  SO thankful to have the opportunity to travel back and forth and stay in close touch with family and friends.. I've had so many comments regarding my lack of writing on this blog, that I'm going to make an effort to keep everyone updated more regularly - so here goes!

Jet Lag .. oh how wonderful!  Heidi and I arrived in Shanghai at 2pm and were met by my wonderful driver, Steven.  He's a very nice man so he quickly grabbed some of our luggage (between the 2 of us we had 6 bags and a backpack!) and we headed for the van.  Justin was excited to see all the goodies I brought back - even excited to have new deodrant and hair gel from "The States."

This first week back hasn’t been too eventful - most of the women here travel back to the US for the entire months of July and August - so it’s a quiet neighborhood here in Jinqiao!  The weather is HOT HOT HOT and HUMID!

The four of us (me, Justin, Heidi and Josh) purchased tickets to the USA vs Australia Olympic Exhibition game on August 5th.  After finding out that both Justin and Josh needed to be out of town on business, Heidi and I invited a Chinese friend, Willie (her chosen English name).  She was super excited at the opportunity to see her first basketball game!  Since we still had one extra ticket, we let Willie know she could bring a friend.  Heidi was on the telephone with Willie, as I overheard Heidi’s half of the conversation.. It went something like this..  “Willie, you know - basketball. .. and you can bring any friend you want.”  “Oh Sure!”  “What, your friend is a boxer??”  laughing..  “He works where??”  “At a hostel?”  (This shows how interesting a simple telephone call can become with someone who’s native language is foreign to ours.  Willie speaks good English, but on the telephone understanding it can be challenging!)  We later found out that her friend is a doctor who works at a hospital!

The game was really fun!  I was able to get some good use out of my new camera taking shots of Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Jason Kidd, etc...  Also quite entertaining listening to the game being announced in Chinese.  Oh the joys!

Plants!!

Yesterday, Heidi and I visited the "Plant Market!"   I purchased three wonderful new additions to my apartment!  In Shanghai, there is a "market" for everything...  Fabric market, wet (seafood) market, fruit market, copy market - all those knock off items have to come from somewhere!  etc..etc..

At the plant market, we came to a quick realization that we needed to purchase from someone who spoke English!  (Picture a Lowes-type green room, except there are 50 different shopkeepers all competing for your business.)  I wasn't about to pay for a big plant that was going to die because I didn't know how often to water it or even whether to put in indoors or out!  Of course, we did try to use our Chinese speaking skills... but I haven't learned how to say inside/outside or "is this an annual/perennial?"   One of the shopkeepers looked at me with a blank stare as I told her (in Chinese) that "I did not want a plant with many flowers" because (with hand motions) the bees and wasps... (in Chinese) "I do not like!"  Ok, moving on to the next stall..  we enter and a girl walks up asking, "Do you want to buy an outdoor plant?"  YES, yes I do!

After much deliberation, I ended up purchasing three tree/plants (the pics are above in the new slide show).. and they were delivered today!  The two delivery guys weren't so happy when I asked them to carry two of them to the back porch, but they look great out there!  Now I just need to find a small table and chairs.. and a mosquito tent!!

Top Ten List

... Favorite Things about Shanghai in June...

10.  Hot Muggy Weather - makes for wonderful hair-do's!

9.  Beautiful flowers and well maintained shrubs ...  in the city you learn to notice these things!

8.  The aromas that grow stronger and stronger with the higher temperatures..

7.  Hoping that the smell is  'stinky tofu' rather than 'stinky poopoo'

6.  Mosquitos - no lie, at this moment, I have 28 bites between my toes and knees!!!

5.  Pedicures!  I even have a flower design on my big toe!!  (Had to have some distraction from all the mosquito bites!!)

4.   Beautiful evenings and dinners on outdoor patios!

3.  I've been here 3 months and a few days ago at dinner (at an American restaurant) I thought "chopsticks would be much easier" as I was digging onions out of a burrito with a fork!!

2.  Looking forward to a trip home to see family and friends in July!

1.  Being involved in a non-profit orphan care organization!! 

SCC in China 2008

I find myself hesitant to believe most 'famous' people when they share with the world the things they believe in.  So many people out there will say anything ... anything for money.. for a fan club.. for fame..  And we become numb to allowing ourselves to think there might be depth in words from anyone, much less a famous individual that we don't even know!  OK OK.. where am I going with this?!  I had the opportunity last week to spend three days with SCC (can't share details via blog), his wife, and the team that travelled with them to China.  He came to share his heart through music - he visited three small cities around Shanghai where students and local people flocked through the doors eager to hear his message (and for free!)  He has a passion for helping orphans and has founded an organization that aides people in the adoption process.  Not only that, he has three adopted little girls of his own.

SCC has a personal friendship with a lady here in Shanghai that Heidi has become friends with.  She asked if we could help hand out information and sell t-shirts at the concerts in Hangzhou and Nanjing on Thursday and Friday!  What a fabulous time!  We met some amazing people.   The people are thirsty for hope and truth to believe in.  Amazing to speak to them... half in Chinese and half in English (I'm learning .. slowly).  These events were truly touching people's hearts... many of them haven't EVER heard this message... as the concert ended they raced to our little table to grab the information packets.  (We struggled to avoid being smashed unintentionally into the wall behind the table as 300 people shoved toward us!!)

On Friday, we all rode a bus for five hours to Nanjing.  When we FINALLY reached the destination for lunch, Heidi and I were the second and third people off the bus.  Tons of people greeted us with cameras, video cameras, banners, signs, hugs.. Oh yeah, we are with a famous person!?  By this point, we had forgotten he was famous!  That morning he came over and personally thanked us for volunteering our time and then sat around and chatted with us for a half hour.  This really all was no big deal, but it made my heart happy to know that there are people out there who really are who they say they are... with real, genuine hearts to serve and help and be a light in the darkness to people in need.  So many hurting people..  It inspired me to use my hands, my time, and my heart to help precious little orphan babies.. I can't think of anything more important.  More to come..

IKEA and May Holiday

On May 1st, the Chinese celebrate the May Holiday.  As with all proper holidays, this is a country-wide day off of work!  Justin wanted to take part in some shopping so we decided to spend the morning at the local Shanghai IKEA.  Our driver, JJ, picked us up at 9am to take us 45 minutes across the city.  Good plan - we would get there before the 10am opening.  With little traffic, we arrived at 9:45 and concluded that IKEA must have opened early.  There were no less than a hundred people just inside the front doors!  Oh - IKEA has a cafe - the cafe opens early (great...let's feed the mob and give them more energy and stamina to swarm through the store).  ALL the people ALL over is something I'm trying to get used to!  I've decided that when I'm back in Tulsa, I'll be one of those 'rude' people who shoves my way through crowds and fights to get as far to the front of lines as humanly possible no matter how many innocent bystanders I knock over!!  In China, this skill is necessary for survival!!  I will admit, I have already come to the point where saying "sorry" when I bump into someone is no longer my subconscious reaction.  Saying "sorry" get's you weird looks and marks you as an obvious foreigner!

OK OK back to IKEA....We went inside, and up the escalator where we joined about 50 more eager shoppers.  I took pictures of everyone as they (we!) waited behind barriers guarded by four employees until the clock struck 10am!!!  At 9:58am the room was so full I realized that everyone in Shanghai had the same great idea - to visit IKEA on vacation day.   

'The Running of the Bulls is a practice that involves running in front of bulls that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets.  Unlike bull fights, which are performed by professionals, anyone may participate.  Injuries are common, both to the participants who may be gored or trampled, and to the bulls, whose hooves grip poorly on the paved or cobbled street surfaces.'

Pamplona??  Shanghai??  Where are we??!

Ready, set, GO!!  Hurry... run for your life... there are only 4 more pairs of slippers in all of Shanghai!! j/k (Here, the custom is to remove your shoes when you enter a home and put on slippers.)  I climbed up onto a display table to avoid being trampled by the bulls..  ha ha..  

All in all, it was a good day.  We purchased two lamps for the living room, a set of five pictures for the guest room, a flower vase, and a few other random things..  The crowds make shopping a true athletic event, but my heart has a special place for the people here...  Seeing one smiling Chinese baby makes the frustration all worth while!  

THE "Health Check"

In order for foreigners to be allowed to stay in China for more than sixty days at a time, the government requires a residence visa.  The residence visa permits a one year stay.  Although, I think I could deal with a trip to Hong Kong every two months to renew our visa's - shopping at stores that actually have sizes to fit "big" people like me, great food, beautiful scenery - it isn't too practical!  SO, we are in the midst of applying for the one year visa's.  One major step in the process is acquiring a Health Certificate.  

The Health Check process is one to write about!!  Upon arrival we were told to take a number and fill out a few forms - seemed pretty normal.  Justin had number 35 and I had number 36.  Good - he could go first and let me know what to do!  (Most of our communicating at this point is done through hand motions and I've unfortunately gotten over the brief period where this was amusing and enjoyable!  I MUST learn Chinese ASAP!!)  By the time number 36 was called, Justin was out of sight - so I was on my own!

Health Check - Station #1:

I sat in front of a lady and her computer... with a web camera in my face.  I smiled.  The lady looked unhappy.  I didn't smile... she finally was pleased with my photo.  She looked over the forms I had filled out...  asked me "Are you pregnant?"  YES!  She spoke English!  NO!  I'm not pregnant!  Hello!? I checked NO on the form.  She looks at me again and asked, "Are you pregnant?"  Ok - maybe she didn't hear me... "NO".   She takes my form, scans down to the "Are you pregnant question"... which I had checked a BIG FAT NO... she takes her pen, underlines the question and then hands me the paper!  (NOT KIDDING)  So I get the pen.. and pointed to my NO.  Then, she motions me to a room where I change into a gown and put booties over my shoes... this is going to be fun.... 

Station #2:

Blood work!  OH GREAT.  Now they are going to take my blood, I'm praying that I don't pass out.. wait - if I'm pregnant, can I skip the blood work?!  J/k!  I made it through the blood work - probably because there was a lady next to me (also having her blood taken) and the nurse couldn't find the vein.  This poor lady was gasping in pain as we both watched the needle go in and be twisted in her arm.. my nurse instructed her in Chinese..WOW

Station #3:

X-Ray.  No speaking.  The man pressed my face into a metal bar and motioned for me to be still as he took the x-ray.  I hope this didn't fry any of my organs.  The machine looked like it was from the 1800's.  Well, if they would've had xrays in the 1800's.

Station #4:

Ultrasound.  Not to exciting.. The cute old Chinese lady put cold gel on my stomach and pressed the instrument into my stomach and ribs VERY hard!  Then looked at me, smiled, and said "GOOD.. Very Good!"  

Station #5

I have NO idea what this 'check' was.  I was asked to lay on a table and open my shirt.  Not off to a good start!  China is NOT the place for the modest.  The lady had three clamps in her hand - she placed one on each of my ankles and on around my wrist.  Then covered my chest in sticky electrode things and started punching on another VERY old machine sitting near my head.  At this point, I just don't want to be electrocuted!  After a few minutes, she turned the machine off and I was unclamped!  No Clue??!

Station #6

Old man who spoke NO English had me sit in front of him while he looked up my nose.. no actually he must've been inspecting my brain - it was the longest anyone has ever looked in my nose..  Then he motioned for me to put a big metal spoon over my right eye to perform a sight test.  I failed.  He would point to number and after my response, he would shout, "NOOOOO"  I had three tries on each eye.  All NOOOO's - I must be blind?

We paid 1400RMB (about 200USD) and that was it.  Very Interesting!! 

Week #1 - check!

Well.. I've been in Shanghai for a week now!  This is going to be a short entry - consider it a test due to the the incredibly SLOW upload speed for the internet here in Chinaland..  I wanted to share some pics of the apartment as we get settled - I'm working on finding furniture but here it is as of today!!  If you are wondering what is on the guest bed - it is an 'official' Beijing Olympics stuffed animal.  AND - we are in desperate need of a dresser (piles of clothes all over the bedroom) and new curtains for the entire apartment (I am thankful we convinced the complex to give us curtains, but I'm not sure I can get used to the 'foil look' of the lining :).  I found the silk rug at an enormous market while shopping for a couch... bargaining with the 15 Chinese words in my vocabulary.  Enjoy the pics!  I will work on making these updates a bit more exciting :)