Other resourceful things I have been up to...

I label this resourceful as I do think you tend to be more resourceful here than at home...if you want certain things, you can't just go to Target and be done. You definitely have to keep your eyes open and look for options, and I am finding in many cases, they are there!

I have a new friend here, ni de pengyou. (my friend) Its a guy that on Saturdays, sets up his "shop" on the sidewalk about 2 blocks away from our house. there are always people selling things - toys, umbrellas, jewelry, movies, purses, junk, and more junk..but this guy...he is my friend. He sells MAGAZINES! yes, you read that right. I don't quite know where they come from? I don't ask...I just buy. you never know what he may have and sometimes there isnt much, but typically I can find something. Last week was a good haul: Vogue, Allure, Travel and Leisure and Redbook. I can get them for about $3usd, they are new, current issues and all wrapped in plastic. Honestly, they must come from some of the local stores that sell foreign magazines, but maybe they are stolen? or the stores figure they won't be able to sell them as they charge between $8 and $15 usd per magazine? I dont really care, I just am glad I can pick up a few to have for the week, as I take them to whatever kids activity to have something to flip through, or when I am in the car for longer than 20 min or so...something to do. Anyway, he is a nice guy, doesnt speak much english at all, but he loves to tell me his is my friend and he give me best friend price, only for me. of course.

Step away from the Kindle....

For Mother's day, I got a Kindle. If you don't know what a Kindle is...you can check it out here...I could take a picture and post, but then I know I would never get this updated!

http://www.amazon.com/

I had resisted this purchase, analyzing it last year before we moved overseas. I just couldn't get my head around not holding a real book..but a little computerized like screen. Practicality won out though, as here it is really hard to find books....there are a few stores with english books but they are normally really weak on selection and really expensive. Example might be a Danielle Steel book from 2 years ago for about $35USD! No, I dont think so!

So, I gave in. You can't use it quite as intended - it has a wireless option you can use in the states that you can even shop for books via your kindle, linked direct to Amazon, and do instant downloads. That doesnt work overseas, but it is quite easy to look on amazon.com, order, download to your laptop and then use the usb to transfer - it takes less than a minute so quite fast. So the good news is, I have read 4 books in the last 2 wks...the bad news is I now love to browse amazon so I can see what other books I need to buy! They run about $9.99 each, which isnt SUPER $, but I would feel better if it was say....$6.99 each? something about it being $10 makes me think...hm...should I get this or not? Psychological, I guess. ARE YOU READING THIS AMAZON? 6.99??? good price point! Anyway, I highly recommend it if you think you will be unable to acccess books for some reason, or if you have a lot of travel - how nice to download a few books and take this on the place vs lugging a bunch of heavy books!

Oh..and do I like it better than a real book? not sure. I kind of miss holding the book, its still a little strange, but for my purposes, I think it was a good purchase!

All dressed up and nowhere to go...

these costumes were quite popular in yangshuo...we thought they looked Russian but no, I guess not. Connor was a sport, as always....

Yangshuo

Last weekend we flew to southern china to a town called Yangshuo. They are known for their beautiful rivers and karst mountains. It was really very pretty - and the weather was great the whole time. We stayed at a mountain retreat right on the river, and it was very relaxing. It is still China - bathrooms were sketchy - our hotel and one other place we went had toilets - rest were squats - ugh. Other than that though was good! We did some hiking up a mountain called moon hill, went through the dragon caves, had 2 foot massages (the second was requested by the kids!!), did 2 boat rides down the river, saw the banyan tree - this HUGE tree that is hundreds of years old and went to a cooking school where we made our own chinese dinner that was super fun. They took us first to the market, where we didnt buy our things but they did earlier in the day...honestly it almost made you lose your appetite, but I went with the fact the school caters to westerners, the owner is australian, and I dont think they would be successful and in business if they were serving bad food! There were some nasty things in the market though! We also got a lot of attention - the kids especially - people stopping to take pics, watch us, etc.

We left Friday am, at least Delaney and I did, with another family. E and C flew out later as C had a field trip to the shanghai financial center, a ferry and to bargain at yu yuan gardens as part of his economics assignment he was doing at school. Logistically all went well, though we have now tested our international health insurance - SOS 2 times in the past week. Not sure how they respond in a true emergency, hopefully quicker than the 2 times we have called! C had been complaining of a stomach ache for a couple days but then seemed better, till Friday when it was hurting worse than ever. Sat he started out with a lot of pain but still wanting to go and do everything with his friends. He climbed the moon hill - about 2000 steps with a terrible stomach ache which is the point I decided to call SOS to figure out - if we had to see a dr, where would we go???

Worst case scenario was appendicitis, best case, well, that he just needed to go to the bathroom! while climbing the mountain I was able to call SOS from my cell - for a very low rate and had totally clear reception. Was able to talk to the dr who said - well yes it could be appendicitis but also could not be too. I think I see a future career opp for me - I could have fielded that call perfectly! They then said they would contact someone in beijing or hong kong and get further direction on where to go if we needed to....so 6 hours...yes 6! hours...they called me from Hong Kong to tell me they really didnt recommend any of the hospitals in the area...but if I had to ....here is a choice. Definitely didnt leave me feeling too good about things but by that time C was feeling a bit better and we just kept an eye on him. He continued to have some intermittent pain but mostly felt ok by the time we came home. Well, till today when he woke in the night to severe upset stomach. So, not sure what he had, but I do think he will be better soon. Just one think to keep in our minds around here - I dont stress too much about it in Shanghai but medical treatments and good facilities are not the norm here....it is a really lagging industry and has not caught up with the population nor today's level of skill you would find in US.

Here are a few pics for your enjoyment! The view from the retreat:

View from lake to retreat:

I will have to post the rest of the pictures separately as I am getting some strange error messages...Stay tuned and will add them as I am able!

Sunday Strawberry Picking....

Sunday we went out to a strawberry farm and got the most beautiful berries you have ever seen. YuWei had brought a box to Delaney for her birthday and we wanted to go back for more. He said you could pick your own, so we went with some friends and got a bunch! Next week I plan to give Yu Wei the money and let him just go pick them up for us!!

Lulu's Spring Walk

Last week the preschoolers went on a walk to look for signs of spring. We rode the buses to a small pocket amidst skyscrapers and apartments to a chinese park, with temples, ponds, wtih fish, ducks, swans, flowers, etc. It was so surprising to find it there, in the middle of town. We had a picnic lunch and of course there was a playground. They had a great time.

Fun in the Sun...

Wanning Warning!

Don't go if you think it will be hard to return to reality after a relaxing, sunny weekend at the beach. Especially if you plan to fly back to gloomy, polluted, fogged in Shanghai, which it was the day we returned! quite a let down, indeed.

This past weekend we took off a day and flew to Hainan Island, about 2 and a half hours from here, then drove about an hour and 15 min to the resort, in Wanning. It might be about the nicest hotel I have stayed at, with the exception of the Montage and I am not sure that counts since its so darn expensive! It was a new Le Meridien, just opened in Dec 08. Our room had a private pool, and it was a room big enough for 2 twin beds for the kids in addition to a king and the other furniture. They had great pools, and a beautiful beach. Now, don't forget, it is still China - the ocean - meh - I was not keen on - it was a bit choppy so looked not as good close up and I of course had in my head that is is the East China Sea!! It was also a bit chilly so we dipped a toe in but didnt actually swim. We did spend time on the beach, and of course in the pools. We rode bikes, hit the gym, the spa, the kids center and the disco, to boot! Connor lived out his dream of performing on stage with the band in the bar - he sang Bon jovi and just was so excited! Did I mention rest? Well yes, I think I had the best sleep that I have had in the almost year we have been here! I slept - get this...almost 11 hours every night! yes, that's true. Here at home I am getting much less than that -sometimes only 4 or 5 and its not a good sleep. I can't tell you how much better I feel.

Anyway, we are back to reality and in the midst of final plans for D's bday party this Sat..as she turned 5 last sunday! what a great bday trip - I would be thrilled to do the same for my next bday! I'll post a couple pics I have readily avail and come back later with a few more! It's past my bedtime!..

well ok..I wont leave you with a picture as it won't upload tonight, but will try again tomorrow! G'night!

Note to Self.

When spending the day at the office in foreign country. Bring food. Lots of it.

I spent the day at our site about an hour and a half away yesterday - we held a women's conference and I was on the committee that did all the set up and execution. It went really well - over 300 people attended, which is quite a lot, probably had 70% of total female population here in Shanghai. A few came from Beijing and Chengdu, but that was not really encouraged due to cost efficiencies. Anyway, I was in charge of obtaining the speakers, ensuring the content was aligned to the theme, etc. Also ensuring everyone was where they needed to be at right time. All was good with the exception of lunch...oy. I had some rice. and picked a few carrots out of some mystery meat medley coated in oil. And that was it. I walked out of the house without my apple, cookies/almonds/ granola bar. Never again.

Flower Market...spring is here!

China has a market for most everything. You want copies of purses - you go to fake market, you want clothes made - fabric market. There are streets that sell all things related to music or art supplies. Well, there are also flower markets, which are fun to poke around in. The one I like best is pretty far away, so I don't go there much but the one close to the house works for the basics. As spring is surely here, I went a few weeks ago and got a few things to brighten up the front porch and I must say, I think it looks quite nice. I now have two neighbors that want me to pick out flowers and pots for their porches, too! Maybe my new side business for me after I bake all my bread????

Quote of the week....

the other day C says to me, "mom, you would make the best ayi"...I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment? or ..? I think I will consider it a compliment!

Go Green....

Recently I bought some Soapnuts. "Soapnuts"you say - "what are those?". Don't feel bad, I hadn't heard of them either. They are, by definition:

Soapnuts are the fruit of a tree (Sapindus Mukorossi), found primarily in India, Indonesia, and Nepal, and they are an EXCELLENT alternative to traditional laundry detergents. How are soapnuts prepared for use in your wash? They are simply harvested, de-seeded, and then dried in the sun. And they WORK .

The outer shell of the soapnut contains saponin, a natural substance known for its ability to cleanse and wash. (That’s what makes them so GREAT for cleaning your laundry!) They are 100%, totally natural. They are organically grown and are free of harsh chemicals, so they are incredibly gentle on clothes AND skinRead more: Soap nuts: an amazing, 100% natural cleaning product.

I bought them as part of a group buy here - we bought over 100 kilograms as a group - and it was about 20 rmb per kilo...so $3 and it will wash about 150 loads of clothes, no softener needed, no chemicals, etc.

Anyway, I bought them as our Tide with Downy we brought last summer is just about gone. sadly. The detergent here is not same - even if it says Tide - it is different - and is harder on your clothing than what we have at home. I thought it was worth a try - certainly cheap, and also good for the environment. You can make dishwashing soap, household cleaners, etc from these same nuts. I haven't done that but I started using them today to check them out. If you have a hot enough wash you just put some nuts in a sock and tie it off. If you have a cool wash you can make a "syrup" with boiling water and nuts and let them soak. So I did both today - and they are both working great. The clothes come out of the wash clean and soft.

Here is a website where I found a bunch of my information ...I dont know if I would do this at home or not, but I plan to keep using them here!

http://www.laundrytree.com/

Look out Orowheat seven grain....

I tried a loaf of bread. I found so many recipes and finally just picked one and made it...have to say it turned out pretty well for my first attempt! kids thought it tasted like what we would have at home and immediately had salami sandwiches, E included. I will for sure make again - may or may not use same recipe - was certainly easy, but may try another one for comparison sake. I did get quite concerned as it wasn't rising very well the first rise - but it did finally puff up some, and for the second rise it did even better. I had bought new flour and had yeast that should have been ok, but I was quite nervous. It really didnt take too long, either.

Carrefour on a Saturday - ay-yi-yi....Just say NO!

we were having friends over Sat night for dinner and I needed a couple of items that required a run into Carrefour- its a French based grocery store chain that is wildly popular here. They have tons of Chinese products, meat, produce and then household items, too - kind of reminds me of a superwalmart but its all in Chinese? they do have a small imported section with a few items I can only buy there, so I go if necessary. The bad thing are the smells - blech - the downstairs where you walk in is all food courts and the smell just makes you gag- I guess this is good for weightloss -- as after you walk through you don't feel like buying much! Then the fact it is so SO crowded - 3 generations shop together - people everywhere. ugh. Anyway, I ran in, got my stuff and ran out. Yu Wei told me he didn't think it would be busy as its Tomb Sweeping weekend and that people should be sweeping the cemetaries instead of shopping - but unfortunately he was mistaken as they were all there. Maybe all that sweeping worked up an appetite and they all had to hit carrefour for groceries!

Speaking of our dinner...I had found out about a lady from Mexico that cooks authentic mexican food - you just pick it up and heat it up and you are good to go. We ordered a beef, pork and chicken tinga and enchiladas- they were cooked in different chiles, etc and all good - and rice, beans, homeade tortillas, salsa...was quite good and couldnt have been easier!!! We will for sure use her again.

Delaney Cate had a farm, e-i-e-i-o...

D is taking an art class every week here and she wanted me to share her first masterpiece.

The class is pretty neat - they are all projects and they spend several weeks on each item. She had to plan what animals, the colors, etc she would have in her farm, and then they did in steps - as the animals were made with clay, had to harden, then paint, etc . She really enjoys it...her teacher really recommended we put her in something art related as she seems to have quite an eye and knack for it in school. It lasts for 10 weeks, and at that point we will be going home for a few weeks, but I will likely sign her up again. The other bonus is we can walk or scooter to class - always a good thing!

..

"did you mean to type Warning, China"...asks Google..

In a couple weeks we are going to the Hawaii of China. Yes, for real - Hawaii of China. Not "a great beach location in China" but Hawaii. It seems to be a theme here, to find something remotely similar and name it the same here - I found that when we were looking at neighborhoods - there is Rancho Santa Fe, Beverly Hills, Palm Springs...you get the idea.

So, we are heading for a long weekend to the beach to relax and work our on our tans. It takes time to figure out travel here as all the sites are different online and airlines are different, so finally I pieced it together. The city, though I dont think its much a city - is called Wanning. When you google that, it says - did you mean "warning, china"? I hope not! The resort looks great - kind of like what you might find in the real Hawaii. Its a new Le Meridien that just opened and has gotten good reviews. We will be sure to fill you in when we return!

Lantern Festival

finally I post some pics of the lantern festival, which is Day 15 of the New year. Folklore says that the soft glowing lts of the lanterns help guide wandering ghosts home. Later, everyone watches for the 100 foot long paper and silk dragon to come out of hibernation.

Dragon means strength and goodness and in the new year dance, it chases after the sun ball, the source of power. Lanterns come in all shapes and sizes. Some like fantastic crabs with moving claws or birds with wings that flap. There are lanterns called pacing horses which spin when they are heated frm the flame of he candle or fan. Some lanters as large as houses.

In N. China, where winters are cold, lanterns are carved from blocks of river ice. Kids make lanterns at scool and hang riddles on them Example of a riddle: ..."when drawn it is round, but when written it is square. In cold weather is it short and in hot weather long. Answer :sun or day

It is the last night of the chinese new year and signals the end of the new years celebrations, hence end of the fireworks, at least for a couple days! We went to Yu Yuan gardens, a famous temple here to see the decorations and eat dumpling with some of our friends. here we are, in all our glory! The lanterns were very festive, but as usual, we were main attractions with people taking our pictures left and right. Some come and ask for a picture but many try to to it slyly then quickly turn away when you look at them.

Delaney has found a new store she likes here....

yes. Barbie. They have a 6 story "House of Barbie" here...with spa, dining, etc. It was nicely done, really. Not as good as the American Girl stores but D liked it very much. She picked out somethings for her upcoming birthday. And she is planning her return trip back!

Top Chef contestant?

Who knew that when I moved to Shanghai I would have the skills to try out for Top Chef upon return! I have not applied, no, but it would be fun. I love to cook and you do have to be creative. I was seriously saved today - as I was going to make ricotta cheese. Don't ask me what possessed me to look that up, but I did, and you can! Luckily, the store I was in today had it, so I can save my culinary experiment for next time. I also am going to make some bread next week...note - havent done this yet, but I will and will post a pic of my final product. I have made croutons, birthday cake for C and soon one for D as her bday is in April. I have also made pancakes and brownies from scratch- which I never do, and been quite creative with some of my other ingredients. I made the mistake of figuring out how much we spend on milk. Yes, we have milk again - its UHT in boxes. We use about 2 boxes a day, give or take. We spend $5/DAY. yes per day! on milk! gack!!! That is crazy. There is some local milk that is cheaper but not that much cheaper and it tastes yuch. So, what are you going to do? We aren't going to buy a cow to milk! Anyway, C will be glad, lasagna for dinner, and I am glad, as it was much easier than I was anticipating!!!

CDR ...the boyscout?

well, he is one...but he kind of wishes he wasn't! He was pretty fired up about it at the beginning, as lots of boys do this here, but after awhile it wore off a bit. The den lasts all year, so we are almost done. These were at their latest award ceremony and he got several badges and was asked to carry the flag. The other is him with his Derby Car, a couple of weeks before.