The start to year #2

Upon arrival to Shanghai, I looked out the window and thought "We are home". Weird. But strangely enough it does feel like to home to us now. Maybe because it's familiar now and we know what to expect for the most part. And since I often blog about negative things (mostly because it's more funny than the good stuff) I thought I'd note some recent positive developments here. First off, since we've been back, the skies have actually been blue and the air pollution has been a lot better than last year. And although still hot, it's much better than last year where we couldn't even go outside because the heat was unbearable. Next, it's pretty awesome to be in China right now during the Olympics. Everyone here is so proud of their country and the Olympics. I must admit that the opening ceremony (which we watched on live TV) was amazing! The streets were totally empty during the ceremony becasue everyone was inside watching - quite a feat in a city of 22 million! And Sev and I managed to score tickets to some of the Olympic soccer games here in Shanghai next week (the US teams are playing in a different city so we won't get to see them).
When I was back in the US this year, people kept asking me "So, do you like living in China?". At the end of day, I don't love it here but it is certainly livable and it's been an experience we will never forget. Having said that, and because it just wouldn't be like me to not have a typical China story, here's the latest reminder that we aren't in the US anymore. Our apartment complex has a fantastic pool and we have been taking the kids almost everyday for a swim. Yesterday, Sev and I noted quite a few Chinese babies (under 18 months old) without swim diapers on under their suits. Now, these parents may argue that their kids are potty trained but even I get the urge to go when I hit the water and you can't tell me that these babies are not putting the "p" in pool. I thought about saying something to the parents but in reality, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink and nothing I can say in my lousy chinese is going to make them put a diaper on their kid. And so it goes in China...