Japan

Sorry gang, it's been nearly a month since my last post and I don't really have an excuse- I'm just lazy. Anyway, thought I would fill everyone in on our trip to Japan. We went over the Chinese holiday in the last week of September. I guess I was expecting more similarities to China but other than the fact that they also eat with chopsticks, it was an entirely different world. Civilized, clean, polite, modern, and yet ancient and traditional at the same time. Since the primary purpose of the trip was Disneyland (of course) we really only spent one day exploring Tokyo. We took the train/subway from our hotel near DL right into downtown Tokyo. Totally convenient and no need for a car rental- which was good because they drive on the opposite of the road from us westerners! We first explored a traditional park in the middle of the city. Lots of green spaces for the kids to run and for our nature starved children, it was perfect. We then took a tourist boat along the river that runs through the city to our next stop at a Shinto temple. It was definitely not as interesting as the Buddhist temples that we see in China- not as ornate but still worth seeing. Then we walked around a popular shopping area with traditional Japanese souvenirs. The coolest thing was seeing many of the local women dressed in their kimonos out for a stroll. Both young and old were dressed in traditional costumes (saw some men dressed in theirs as well) and they honestly were not doing it for the tourists, but for themselves. Finally, we were blessed with both the kids falling asleep on the walk so Sev and I found a very local restaurant down a back alley and enjoyed lunch. We made friends with some of the locals, shared some beers and some sign language since their english was not so good, and had a blast pointing to everyone else's dishes in an attempt to order- no english menu of course!

And the next 3 days after Tokyo were spent at Disneyland and Disney Sea. It rained a lot and it was really crowded but we still managed to enjoy it. The craziest thing was that 80% of the people at both parks were adults- who were there without children! And 99% were Japanese. We hardly saw any other westerners which really surprised us. By the way, the kids wore the same costumes for Halloween so we got a lot of use out of them. And thanks to mom for making Grace's Snow White dress! So here is a brief compare/contrast of Japan and China based on my limited experience in the land of the rising sun:

1) People line up for things in Japan/ Not in China

2) Cars stop when pedestrians cross the street/ Not in China

3) It was extremely clean for a big city/ Not in China

4) People stopped and took pics of the kids/ Same in China

5) Hardly anyone spoke English/ Same in China

6) Starbucks opens at 8am/ 6am in China (thank heaven)

7) Lots of scary stuff on the menu/ Same in China

8) Tokyo was ridiculously expensive/ Shanghai is relatively cheap

9) Japan continues to practice whaling (unfortunately)/ The Chinese continue to eat dogs (also unfortunate)

Overall, we really did enjoy Japan and would love to go back and explore the country outside of Tokyo. Enjoy the pictures!

A busy shopping area in old Tokyo

Ladies out for a stroll in their Kimonos

Making friends at a local restaraunt

Waiting for the monorail to go to DL

Snow White- meet Snow White

Tinkerbelle and Peter Pan (note the girls in the background snapping pics of Audrey)

Audrey's 2nd Birthday

Our little baby turned 2 last month! And by the way, the terrible 2's have come on with a vengeance. You know it's bad when at the end of the day, I reflect on the fact that Audrey was more challenging than Grace! We celebrated with a joint birthday party with two other kids, Greta (also from Minnesota) and Oran (from Ireland). Since all three kids were turning 2 within 3 weeks of each other and we all have the same friends, we thought it would be best to just get it all over with in one shot. Bring on the Winnie the Pooh cake! Our friends have a great apartment with a rooftop balcony that overlooks the city so we were able to do an old fashion BBQ out on the deck. I'm also including some pics of a recent fieldtrip that I went on with Audrey and her class to pick "oranges" which turned out to be green. But they tasted pretty good anyway.

The Birthday Girl

The rooftop BBQ view (it's pretty funny because we don't even live in "downtown" Shanghai and yet our little suburb is more urban than Minneapolis/St Paul combined).

Audrey- looks like she's pretty excited for the cake (and that's my wine, not hers).

We didn't request the fruit garnish on the cake- just an added Chinese bonus!

Picking "oranges"

Audrey and her teacher enjoying her favorite lunch- noodles and eggs

Polish in Shanghai

Ok, now I'm just a blogging fool! 3 posts in one day. Sev has very recently broken into the local Polish community in Shanghai. Yes, believe it or not, there are about 200 Poles living here- compare that to the estimated 20,000 Americans. But being just 1 of 200 is actually turning out to be a big advantage. For example, the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, was recently in Shanghai and Sev managed to talk his way into a small meeting (about 30 people) with the guy. He actually got to meet him- this is the man who is responsible for negotiating with America on the new US missile defense system in Poland. Basically, it would be like me getting to met Obama. The following week, Sev & I were invited to an invitation only event at the Polish consulate to celebrate their independence day. It was a lovely cocktail party at the consulate which is in a beautiful old villa in an exclusive area of old Shanghai. For reference, the US consulate is located in a mall. Yes, a shopping mall. And believe me when I tell you there is no charm whatsoever. Anyway, upon entering the villa, you definitely feel like you have landed in Poland. The house is decorated with traditional Polish furniture and rugs- I seriously felt like I was at my mother-in-law's house. The party was fun- free flow booze and Polish vodka of course! They even had traditional Polish food but because it was made in Shanghai, it didn't taste quite right...oh well. Now once a month, all the Poles in Shanghai get together at an Irish bar (yes, Irish- there's no Polish bars here so it's the next best thing). And these are the nights that Sev gets home about 3am but hey, can you blame him? After all, it isn't often he gets to speak Polish & act like he's in Poland so when the opportunity arises...

Sev and the PM of Poland (the one with the brown hair and NO pin on the lapel is him- the guy with the pin in the background is secret service- cool).

What's a Polish party without the booze?

I just liked this picture of us...

I'm officially a soccer mom

Now that Grace is over 3 1/2 yrs old, I thought she would be ready for soccer. So I found a local league for foreign kids and signed her up. Once a week we schlep ourselves out to the field for practice. The day usually goes something like this:

3:30- pick Grace up from school. G: "Are we going to soccer?" Me: "Yep" G: "I don't want to go"

Me: "Really? It will be fun." G: Silence

3:45- Change her clothes in the car on the way there, swearing under my breath as I try to

pull up her socks over her shin guards.

4:00- Me: "Do you have to go pee? Remember there is nowhere to go at the fields". G: "No".

4:15- Arrive at fields.

4:16- G: "I have to pee". Me: "Ok, fine." Tell the driver in my crappy chinese to go around the block to Starbucks b/c G has to pee. He laughs (he knows the routine too).

4:25- Back at the fields. G:"I really don't want to go to soccer. Don't make me go". Temper tantrum. Me:" You don't have to play, just sit there and watch. You're part of the team, they need you. Maybe you'll want to play in a few minutes". G:"Can I go home and watch Toy Story instead?" Me: "NO."

4:30- Practice starts. Grace is the only girl on the team but she's better than most of the boys (a little bragging- sorry).

4:40- Her attention is gone and she is playing tag with another boy instead of listening to coach.

4:50- Now she is dribbling the ball to the complete other side of the field instead of practicing shooting like she's supposed to be doing.

4:55- Grace makes a run through the entrance of the fields and is half way up the street before I catch her. I am making an ass of myself running after her. I yell at her, she cries. I am in a pissy mood, she is in a pissy mood.

5:00- Grace decides it's more fun to play with the cones. I don't even bother trying to stop her this time.

5:10- Scrimmage game with the other toddler team. Grace plays for the 1st minute then just sits down in the middle of the field and picks at the grass. Of course there is a 4 year old on Grace's team who played last year as well and he is a foot taller and so much better than everyone else that it's not fun for any of the kids. I'm disgusted. I think about complaining but decide I don't really want to be "that parent".

5:15-5:29- Sit on the sidelines with Grace on my lap and watch the game. Think to myself "Can't believe we spent over $100 to go through this every week."

5:30- Finally, an end to my misery. Game over.

Ah yes, these cones look interesting...wonder if anyone's watching me...

Now, if I line them up just so...

Almost done!

Finished! What a work of art. Huh? What soccer game?

I just voted- I'm sad to say

Yet another interesting experience has been to live outside of the US during an election year. I am thrilled that I don't have to suffer through those awful bullsh*t TV commercials so that's been a plus. I have also been very surprised by how passionate so many Americans are about their candidate of choice. I broke down and joined facebook and happily got in touch with several people with whom I have not had contact with in over 10 years yet the first thing these people told me about themselves (or indicated on their facebook page) was their political preferences. Example: "I've been married for 10 years, 2 kids, live in Virgina, work as an accountant and if Obama doesn't win, I am moving to Canada". I couldn't believe that this person (one of many) actually considers their political preference so important that they needed to tell me about it after a 10 year lag in communication between us. Weird.
Ok, so I figured out how to register for my absentee ballot and just got it in the mail this week. It has to be back in Minnesota by election day which meant I needed to vote this week and mail it asap. I can truly say that I was undecided (gasp) so I made sure to watch the most recent presidential debate and check out both candidates websites before making my decision. I am actually totally irritated by the this entire election and these two SUCKY candidates. Yes folks, that's right- I think they are both lousy choices. I think they are so bad in fact that if the candidate I voted for doesn't win, I don't even care. Wake up and smell the coffee people- neither one of these guys is anything to be excited about. Maybe you're wondering who I voted for? Not gonna tell ya that.
Most of you are probably thinking "I don't care what Tonya thinks"- well then, stop reading my blog :)
Some upcoming posts to look for: Our trip to Japan (fun) and Audrey's 2nd birthday party (can't believe my baby is 2)!

ARGH! An "I hate China" Day

Warning- ensuing rant to follow: I haven't had one of these days in awhile but today was definitely an "I hate China" day. I am sure most of you have heard about the milk scandal here- in a nutshell, some unscrupulous milk manufacturers decided that in order meet the required protein standards they would just add a poisonous chemical to their dairy products. It started with just baby formula (could you get any scummier? Messing with baby formula?) but now, as is usually the case with things like this in China, it has spread to regular fresh milk, yogurt, ice cream, etc. And the kicker is that the milk Audrey drinks (she is the only one of us who drinks the fresh whole milk since she is under 2) is OF COURSE on the list of tainted products. She's been drinking it for 6 months. My ayi, trying to ease my mind, was like "don't worry, it only had a little bit of melamine in it". Yeah, but the point is that is shouldn't have ANY chemicals in it. I am so frustrated! Today it's milk, tomorrow what? Meat, noodles, rice, etc. We already buy almost all of our veggies from an organic farm and today I ordered beef to be delivered from Australia. And let me tell you it costs an arm and leg to live on imported products here. But I think we are really going to cut back on our chicken and pork consumption as I've heard recent rumors that there are tons of added steroids and hormones. Anyway, the only reason the milk got tested was because a bunch of kids got kidney stones from drinking it; otherwise, we all would've just kept on buying it without even knowing. It just makes me question what other kind of crap it in our food here. Now, I know that not everything in the US is healthy or chemical free (remember the tomato recall this summer?)- but I'd like to think that on the whole, we don't have to worry about people adding crazy shit into our food to hit some sort of required nutrition standards- but ya never know.
Now on the whole, I would venture to say that in one way, China is a lot safer than the US- virtually no violent crime, no kidnappings, no shootings, no child molesting, etc. But on the other side of it you're chances of getting killed while crossing the street are much higher, you might die from poisonous chemicals in your food, and look out for that construction overhead that might fall on you as you pass by. In short, no safety standards whatsoever. So which is worse- worrying about your kids getting kidnapped if they are out of your sight or worrying about them getting some random parasite from drinking their bath water- you decide.
Anyway, we are off to Japan on Saturday and I am really excited to get out of here for a week and go somewhere that has milk we can drink :)

More pics from the weird and wonderful world of Shanghai

I'm feeling a bit lazy this week and I don't really have much new to write about - except for the fact that I bit the bullet and took a public bus the other day. It was raining, I was tired, there were no taxis...so I figured what the hell? It wasn't as bad as I thought. The funniest thing was that the stops were announced in both english and chinese (a recording- believe me that the drivers don't speak english). I thought this was hilarious considering that I have never seen a foreigner ride the bus in China- I honestly think maybe I was the first one! But it only cost about 17 cents so I may do it more often.

Anyway, enjoy the pics (I threw in a couple recent ones of the kids at the end for good measure):

Migrant workers shaving and bathing out on the street at night. Since they live in the buildings they are constructing, they don't have anywhere else to clean up (they weren't happy we took this picture either).

For those of you who didn't believe me about the locals picking through raw chicken at Carrefour

with their bare hands...

A typical apartment building with laundry hung to dry- almost no one has a dryer here.

Audrey playing with Great Grandmom's handkerchief.

Grace flying a kite on the Jersey shore. If you could capture sheer joy on camera, I think it would look like this.