Who's up for Hooters?

I've mentioned the great array of food choices here in Shanghai (both good and bad) but despite all the great local cuisine sometimes I just crave a good, old fashioned, heart clogging meal involving lots of red meat and deep fried food. Just the other day Sev asked me where we should go to eat and I promptly replied "You know, I am just DYING to go to Hooters". What? Did that actually just come out of my mouth? Sev just laughed and replied that he had been waiting years to hear me say that. Sad but true- the best burger I have found here in China so far is at Hooters. And it is actually a very fun, family place to go here. Sev really enjoys it because with our two kids, all the waitresses congregate at our table to coo over the girls. And of course they bend over while entertaining the children which affords Sev a great view of their push up bras (Chinese ladies tend to be a little flatter chested than us busty American gals). Anyway, everyone leaves happy- Grace gets a balloon, Audrey gets passed around the restaurant to all the servers, I get my burger, and Sev gets...well, you know... an eye full ;)
So, here's to Hooters- may this bastion of American culture live long and prosper here in Shanghai.

Chinese Security

I must preface this blog by telling everyone that Shanghai is extremely safe for a big city. Crime is very low and limited to minor things like pick pocketing. As you can imagine, the penalty for committing crimes in China is pretty rough. I noticed that there is a lot of security around most buildings which I find funny considering how safe it is here. Our apartment complex has several security guards posted at the entrances plus a wall around the entire complex with electric fencing at the top and electronic monitoring. But today's blog is about the less expensive way to protect yourself. Follow instructions below for your very own Chinese security system:

1) Gather up some glass bottles and jars- any type will do.


2) Smash them up so you have some nice big shards (discard any pieces that are too small).


3) Mix up some cement and apply to the top of the wall you want to protect.


4) While cement is still wet, stand the individual glass shards straight up in the cement.


5) Let cement dry.


You now have your own security system- who needs barbed wire? Plus, what a great way to go green and recycle all those glass bottles.


See pictures below for clarification if the instructions were too difficult.

The dreaded "Body Check"

Today was one of our "Why did we move here again?" days. Getting a 1 year work visa for Sev and accompanying family has been no easy process. Part of the visa application involves a required "body check" for both Sev and me. And oh what fun it was. Our appointment (and I use that term loosely) was 10am; however, upon arrival we found out that the appointment time was the time at which we would be granted a number in order to wait for the exam- not the time at which the exam would commence. We were number 90 and they were serving number 50. Oh, and we weren't allowed to eat or drink anything prior to the exam so I was already crabby going into it. Finally, our numbers were called. Sequence of events is listed below:
Room #1: Height/weight. "Take off all clothes to your waist. No bra." Nurse hands us a robe and shows us to the changing room. By the way, I've lost 6 lbs since I've been here so at least something good has come out of living here.
*Note that in between each room, you have to sit in the hallway with a bunch of other foreigners in their robes- everyone looking anxious and wondering what's next.
Room #2: Blood draw. Four other patients in the room at the same time while you are being stabbed in the arm. Awkward.
Room #3: Ultrasound of the chest. "Lay down. Open robe". Freezing cold gel. I'm not happy.
Room #4: Xray of the chest. I am sure they are using 10 times the amount of radiation necessary.
Room #5: ECG. "Lay down. Open robe". Nurse hooks up a bunch of wires to my arms, legs, and chest. Coincidentally, my stress level is up at this point and I am sure it showed up on my test results.
Room #6: Eye check. Self explanatory.
Room #7: Blood pressure; stethoscope; "Lay down. Open robe"; general health questions- at least the nurse speaks english.
Room #8: Thank you for coming. You now have to pay $100 USD per person to get your results. I think the bill at the end was the most violating part of the exam!
Ultimately, a very well organized process even though you go through feeling like a heard of cattle. At least we don't have to do it again until next year!

Home at last!

And, we're back. Sorry for the one week delay but we were busy moving to our new place. We've lived in our new apartment for about 5 days now and amazingly, there have been no problems- imagine that. And, we have discovered that you really can cook a meal in China without the window open and not die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Amazing. Our apartment is 3 bedrooms plus a study/office, two bathrooms, dining room, living room, and a pretty good sized kitchen. It's 180 sq meters (1900 sq feet). I know I mentioned this in my last post, but the complex is a kid's paradise. There is a sand beach the size of 2 tennis courts, 3 huge outdoor playgrounds (which are actually not covered in rust and sharp edges like most playgrounds I have encountered here), and a large indoor playground with a ball pit- think MacDonald's playland. Plus, I'd guess that about 20% of the residents are western so people don't stare at our kids here because they are used to seeing caucasions. Anyway, attached are a few new pictures from our new place. The best part is that the management speaks english and all the signs are in english and mandarin. It's like living in a nice hotel.

The other funny thing about living abroad is that the translations into english are often very incorrect and usually humorous. I saw a t-shirt the other day that said "A shoe saved my life". Attached are a couple of photos from two shops right outside our complex that will help illustrate my point.

The view of our complex courtyard from our balcony (7th floor). Our kitchen.

Our living room & dining room.

The outdoor pool at our apartment.

Funny sign for a restaurant. Somehow, I doubt they paid the licensing fees to use Jerry's picture.

At first, I wasn't sure if this was an "adult toy" store, a baby boutique, pet shop, or office supply store (or a combination of all 4). Turns out it is a pet groomer. Who would have thought?

Homeless (sort of).

No Chinese culture lesson today kids. Just an update that we moved out of our apartment today and we are now in temporary housing in a furnished apartment. We signed a lease at a new place but we can't move in until Wednesday so we are crammed in here with all our crap until then. Sev and I couldn't believe how much stuff we actually had until we had to pack it all up. Meanwhile, the landlord of our old apartment is an evil lady who won't give us back our 2 month security deposit even though we could have died from the gas leak. Whatever. On a positive note, our new place is bigger and nicer than the old one and in a very kid friendly complex with both indoor & outdoor pools and indoor & outdoor playgrounds. If you want the new address, just email me and let me know. You can email me directly from the blog (I think you just click on my profile and my email address is there). Also, Grace is starting her bilingual school on Monday and I will start my mandarin lessons on Monday as well. Audrey will probably speak mandarin before english since her nanny only speaks to her in chinese & Sev is picking up quite a bit at work. We are hoping our whole family will be speaking Chinese by next summer!