Rules of the road (or lack thereof).

One of the biggest cultural shocks I had here was the traffic. Not only is it like LA times ten with the amount of traffic jams but people drive like absolute maniacs. The other day, our driver was turning left and we were in some bad traffic. He promptly hopped over into the lane going straight, jetted to the front of the left turn lane (past about 50 cars) and cut over in the middle of the intersection so that we were the first in line to make a left. And no one batted an eye.

Even scarier than riding in a car here is being a pedestrian - a.k.a. speed bump. Remember the Atari game in the 1980's called "Frogger"? Well, trying to cross the street here is like being the frog. All intersections have a pedestrian walk symbol but it does not mean it is safe to cross the street, only that it is safer than usual. For example, you get the walk symbol and step off the curb. Your first obstacle is the bikes and scooters which blatantly disregard all traffic laws and pedestrians. If you make it past the scooter lane alive, you then have to watch out for cars making a right hand turn because they have the right of way over people. By this time, you are in the middle of the intersection when the cars on the opposite side of the street get the green light to make a left- and then you just run for your life. See? Frogger.

My latest strategy is to wait until a crowd of locals has gathered on the curb. Then I nestle myself in the middle of the group and wait for them to go. I figure that way, if we get hit, I am at least a little insulated in the middle of the pack. Anyway, it's worked so far. And Sev is living in his fantasy world that he is going to get a drivers license here. For now, I let him dream.

By the way, Sev and I went out for an awesome steak dinner for his birthday so I am attaching some photos of the view from our table.

A typical "merge" on the highway.

A view of the TV tower (it's pink and lit up with multicolors at night).

Part of the skyline & the Huangpu river

Because Americans cook differently...

Just a short update today since I will be busy looking for a new apartment. Yes, the carbon monoxide problem is back although it only happens if we use our stove. In other words, as long as we don't want to eat any hot food everything is honky dory. When we contacted our landlord about this problem yet again, she actually told our friend (and I quote): "The reason they have a carbon monoxide issue is because Americans cook differently than the Chinese. They don't use the exhaust fan." Considering that a) we always use the fan so we won't die from the fumes and b) our Chinese housekeeper cooks 90% of our meals- with the fan on of course- we didn't think that our landlords excuse for the problem was very good. At the end of the day, after multiple "maintenance" people have tromped in and out of our apartment and we have had 10 different opinions and reasons for the problem (yet no one seems to be able to fix it) we have finally decided to throw in the towel on this place. So look for photos of the new place soon.

Boy or girl?

It never ceases to amaze me that Chinese people are always asking if Grace is a girl. She has long hair and is normally in a dress yet we are constantly asked this question. Of course, they also ask about Audrey but you could understand the confusion (sort of) with a baby. In order to shed some light on this, you have to understand China's one child policy. Basically, since 1979 there has been a law that limits couples to one child in order to help slow the population growth. If you have more than one, bad things happen (large fines among other things). And in the Chinese culture, boys are expected to take care of their parents in old age and therefore, almost everyone here desires to have a son. So, when people see us with both of our children (already a novelty that we have two) they are always keen on whether they are boys or girls. We happily tell them that yes, indeed we do have two girls. Our response is always met with either a disapproving grunt or absolute silence which always makes us smile in amusement.

Anyway- check out below picture. It has nothing to do with boy vs. girl but I just liked it.

A young boy studying at his desk while the laundry is drying.

Picture this.

It takes forever to upload pics for the blog so here are a few fun ones we took around town:


Audrey eating (note the glob in her hair)


Construction workers hanging out in their boxers near our apartment.


A very cute area of Shanghai called Qiabo (this is where I took the duckhead pics). Notice the color of the very "clean" water here.


A bridge in Qiabo (this is what I thought China would look like before I got here).


A statue of a boy peeing - this was part of a larger budda statue but I thought this was more interesting than the rest.

Here kid, have a cigarette.

I had been warned before coming here that the Chinese love kids and because of that, they tend to lavish attention on children (especially western children) to the point of becoming slightly annoying. It's true. We are constantly stopped on the street by people who want to look at our kids. They often touch them too (which drives me crazy since I am a border line germ freak). At lunch yesterday, Audrey was fussy so one of the hostesses took her out of her stroller and just walked around the restaurant with her so we could finish eating. Normally I would have been freaked out about this but I knew from other westerners that this is common behavior and they are just trying to be nice. We even had someone ask if they could take pictures with Grace. She of course takes this in stride and often points out to us that people are staring her (unfortunately, she likes the attention). But I had to draw the line the other day when we were strolling through a garden and one of the gardeners was smiling at Grace and trying to talk to her. He then proceeded to pull out a pack of cigarettes and hand one to her. Cultural difference.

A lot of you have emailed me with requests for more pics so I am adding a bunch below. Most are from our outing to a very nice garden near here (think Central Park in NYC).

Open area in Zhong Shan park. Guy doing some kind of yo-yo thing at the park.

Grace with a dragon. Crowds ogling Audrey.

Grace and her classmates on field trip. Audrey playing peek-a-boo with the curtain.

What you get for your money.

Living in the big city isn't cheap no matter where you are but I wanted to share some of the ridiculous prices we have come across here. Some things are outrageously cheap and others are off the scale expensive. So, here goes: I had an amazing 1 hour foot massage (complete with hot soak in some unidentifiable liquid) for about $8. Later that day, I bought a carton of Florida's Natural OJ without looking at the price and later realized it was actually the same price as my foot massage- $8. A box of Cheerios from the US- about $7. And this is for the small box. They have a Chinese version of Cheerios but considering that Audrey kept choking on them, I figured we'd better pony up for the American kind. 20 pieces of fresh, good quality sushi for Sev- yes, he actually ate that in one sitting- $8. A frozen pizza- $8. 1/4 pound of good cheese- you guessed it, $8. A one hour taxi ride about $7. A pair of silk slippers $3. A hand painted Chinese scroll $7. A newly released DVD (i.e. Evan Almighty) $2.50 and a bootleg version of Transformers shot by a guy sitting in the theater with a handycam runs about 75cents (so I've heard). Anyway, hope that gives everyone an idea of the cost of living here which on the whole is not cheap if you want a western lifestyle. But you can't beat it if you want to get massages, cheesy Chinese souvenirs, and DVD's!

I realized that I never really updated everyone on the apartment situation. Bottom line- the gas leak is fixed and we decided to just stay where we are. I'll spare everyone the drama that it took to get it fixed. Anyway, I also realized that I have posted a lot of negative things about living here so I thought I would use this post to highlight some of the positives. For one thing, Shanghai is a very international city. There was a huge french & european influence in the city before WW2 which has carried over to the architecture & restaraunt scene today. You can get any type of food you want here (included Mexican, I was surprised to find out). There are a lot of 5 star restaraunts too. We finally went out for the first time last Friday (without kids) and met up with another Minnesota couple. They introduced us to 2 couples from Ireland and we all went to a Belgian beer tasting at an Irish bar. Why is it that no matter where you go in the world, they have a good Irish bar? Anyway, for awhile I actually forgot I was in China because there were so many "westerners" as we caucasians are called here.
Another good thing about Shanghai is that since it is growing so fast, there is definitely an air of excitement and optimism here. It is a vibrant place and there is always something going on and something fun to do (if you can stand the crowds). That's it for today but as I get out and about more, I am sure I will have more fun stories for everyone.

Etiquette rules

As you may imagine, there are many things that are culturally different here than in the US. Here are my top 3:
1) No lines. Nobody here lines up for anything. It is a free for all everytime you need to get in line. Sometimes, there is a line but if you leave just the slightest space between you and the next person, someone will suddenly wiggle in front of you. Personal space rules don't apply. Most of the time, it is just a chaotic group of people huddled together in front of a counter trying to get served next (i.e. today I had to return something and was cut in front of 3 times before I elbowed my own self to the front and shoved the receipt in the clerk's face). I guess in a country of nearly 2 billion, you just have to shove your way in or you'll never get served.
2) Spitting. As in hocking luggers everywhere and anytime. The more phlegm the better. And I mean on the sidewalks too. More than once I have been walking down the street and heard the tell tale sound of someone about to spit when suddenly from a bicyclist riding past me a huge ball of mucus comes flying towards me and narrowly misses my leg.
3) Public urination. Apparently OK around here. As I was out for a walk this morning, a taxi driver pulled up just ahead of me, leaped out of the car, and proceeded to take a whiz on the sidewalk right in front of me.
It is for reasons #2 & #3 above that all people in China take their shoes off when entering some one's home.

What's for dinner...

Thought I would post today about the wonderful array of food available here in Shanghai. Some of my choice favorites include:

1. Duck heads- see pic

2. Duck innards- see pic

3. Duck feet- see pic of Sev eating one

4. Fish heads

5. Floss - a sweet pastry with a "pork floss" coating. Not sure what that is exactly and I am not brave enough to find out.

6. Jelly fish (served raw) - I actually tried this and it kind of crunchy like a raw vegetable

I went to the Chinese market with my housekeeper (Ayi) which was similar to the farmers market in Minneapolis. All was going fine until we wandered down the live poultry aisle where I freaked out and ran away screaming "bird flu, bird flu!!" I also had to clarify to our Ayi NOT to buy any unrefrigerated chicken and beef from the market and only buy our meat at the western grocery stores. Speaking of grocery stores, we found one today that sells a ton of stuff from the US- at 3 times the price. But at least we know it's there if we want it. By the way, I cannot see the blog once I post it so I can't read any comments- please email me directly if you want to chat.

Haircut anyone?

First off, thank goodness for satellite since I heard about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis first thing this morning. I was glued to CNN all day.

Thought I would post some fun pics of the neighborhood near our apartment. Since there is so much construction, the migrant workers from outside the city come and stay in makeshift buildings right on the construction site. Many are constructed from plywood and feature 4 bunk beds, no AC, no bathroom, etc. So after the days work is done, the men all congregate outside on the corner where the merchants come to them! One night on our walk we saw the traveling barber and she just set up her chair in the middle of the sidewalk (see pic). Check out of the photo of the "squat pot" taken in the ladies room. Most toilets are like the USA but once in awhile if your lucky, you'll stumble across one of these. Really challenges your leg muscles and your aim. What the photo doesn't capture is all the pee on the floor for those who missed.

Also posting our outdoor washing machine- which leaks all over our balcony so good thing it's outside! And a belated flight picture of Grace with her monkey- who we named George.

I had my first really exasperating day this week when I took Grace to get her kindergarten exam for pre-school. I had to go to the women's and children's hospital. First off , there were women having babies on their same floor where we got our exam and at the end of the hall was a glass paneled room full of small tubs. The new parents would bring their hours old baby to the room where the nurses would put an inter tube around their neck and float the baby (alone) in the tub. Crazy but really cute. Anyway, nobody spoke english so communicating to the doctors during the exam was tough. First we went into one exam room where a lady checked Grace's ears. Then we were shown back to the waiting room. When we were called again, we were shown back to the same room, same doctor where she did the next part of the exam. Then we went back to the waiting room, got called into a different room where the weighed/measured her. Then another room where they listened to her heart. Not sure why this couldn't have done all in one room. Finally we were sent back to the first floor where they did a finger stick and told me Grace had to pee in a cup for a urine sample. I tried to explain that she isn't potty trained so how am I supposed to get her to pee in a cup? After 30 minutes of discussion/charades, the resolution was that she HAD to give a sample but I could go home and get it in my own cup and bring it back the next day. Great- could be my urine for all they know! More to come on this.k.