We have our Larison Family Christmas trip all scheduled. No one can back out now. All 5 of us are going!!! We are going to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand for 10 days. We will meet the 3 kids in Hanoi, Vietnam. (They have a 24 hour trip we have a few hours) We spend time on a boat, explore caves, fishing villages. Visit musuems and temples and small towns. In Cambodia we will visit a elephant camp and yes, we get to ride elephants! We will continue to sight see and then the last 2 days we will relax on a beach in Thailand.
I can't wait...now I can looked forward to Christmas even though it will not be a traditional Christmas at all. They do not celebrate Christmas here, Thanksgiving and Halloween are not celebrated either. It is sad not to see any Halloween decorations anywhere, no pumkins, no bags of candy. I hear the American schools do celebrate in their classrooms but I'd like to know where they get their Halloween stuff, especially the candy.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Another weekend...
On Saturday we walked around a few places just to continue to explore different parts of the city. We first went to a new restaurant to try to have some lunch but they only served brunch all day long
on the weekends. Kinda weird but we stayed and had some French toast and Eggs Benedict.
Then we walked around Xiantiandi, which is a European shopping area in the French Concession area. From there we went back to the YuYuan Garden area and walked around. I bought a Mahjong tile set there. A nice Chinese guy came up to us and started talking and took us up to the 4th floor of the Garden area to show us a great view. It was nice, he also showed us a area to have tea and buy pearls. I know a cheaper place to buy pearls so we didn't buy anything else there. We saw the line for the best dumplings around and I bet there were about 40 people waiting in the line. The pictures will show you as they are being made. Same as the class I took the other day but theirs actually looked really nice. Mine were globs.
Sunday we spent a big part of the day trying to figure out a Christmas trip with our kids. We are pretty close to getting it all figured out. I am excited about it as long as I don't look at the price tag that goes with it. But I can not wait to see the kids!!!! Then we went for a nice long walk. The weather this weekend was so great. We walked to Jingan Temple area and home again. Then we had Tacos for dinner. Found the same seasoning and everything. I included a picture of the Cheetos I found. So disappointing...I'm not sure what they taste like. More false advertising, they aren't even orange.
Great news! The mail service does work. We got mail from home since Sara had to mail Mark something for work the good middle child included chocolate! A little bit of heaven:)
on the weekends. Kinda weird but we stayed and had some French toast and Eggs Benedict.
Then we walked around Xiantiandi, which is a European shopping area in the French Concession area. From there we went back to the YuYuan Garden area and walked around. I bought a Mahjong tile set there. A nice Chinese guy came up to us and started talking and took us up to the 4th floor of the Garden area to show us a great view. It was nice, he also showed us a area to have tea and buy pearls. I know a cheaper place to buy pearls so we didn't buy anything else there. We saw the line for the best dumplings around and I bet there were about 40 people waiting in the line. The pictures will show you as they are being made. Same as the class I took the other day but theirs actually looked really nice. Mine were globs.
Sunday we spent a big part of the day trying to figure out a Christmas trip with our kids. We are pretty close to getting it all figured out. I am excited about it as long as I don't look at the price tag that goes with it. But I can not wait to see the kids!!!! Then we went for a nice long walk. The weather this weekend was so great. We walked to Jingan Temple area and home again. Then we had Tacos for dinner. Found the same seasoning and everything. I included a picture of the Cheetos I found. So disappointing...I'm not sure what they taste like. More false advertising, they aren't even orange.
Great news! The mail service does work. We got mail from home since Sara had to mail Mark something for work the good middle child included chocolate! A little bit of heaven:)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Antique Market
Today I met my friends at an Antique Market. This market was a couple of blocks long and had many street vendors. We were suppose to go on Friday but the forecast is rain and they would not be
open due to rain so we switched it to today. It is hard to really say what is really an antique but it was fun. My friends are good negotiators. I bought some "antique brushes" that they used for their calligraphy and paintings. There were so many different types to choose from, different colors, styles etc. Then I bought a wood plaque that is carved and supposed to be from the Ming dynasty. Well it is very old looking but hard to say when it was really made so I guess we can believe it really is 1000's of years old. I also bought an abacus in a case that I just thought was fun too. So you can see I'm trying to support the Chinese economy by buying their treasures.
After shopping we went for lunch and then checked out a French Fair in the French concession area. They had booths of breads, wines and cheese for sale. We were looking for samples but there weren't many.
Yesterday I went to a Mahjong class that a lady from Michigan was hosting. She lives in the Pudong area, one side of the river and I live in the Puxi area. Obviously the wrong side of the river. Her place was amazing with an amazing view of the Bund area. I wish I brought my camera. She lives on the 43rd floor and has lived here for 7 years. I could sit there and just looked out her windows at the river and buildings. She said the view at night with the lights is great. She is totally into Mahjong and teaches a few classes a week for fun. She has 3 special tables made, 3 kits and just loves to play. Its pretty incredible that she opens up her home like that for strangers for free.
Last evening Mark had a 3M recognition dinner that he attended after work. It was at a hot pot restaurant. Reminds me of fondue and like the Melting Pot in Mpls. The President of 3M China hosted the event and even acted as the bartender for awhile. Mark said the food was really good and the drinks were flowing.
open due to rain so we switched it to today. It is hard to really say what is really an antique but it was fun. My friends are good negotiators. I bought some "antique brushes" that they used for their calligraphy and paintings. There were so many different types to choose from, different colors, styles etc. Then I bought a wood plaque that is carved and supposed to be from the Ming dynasty. Well it is very old looking but hard to say when it was really made so I guess we can believe it really is 1000's of years old. I also bought an abacus in a case that I just thought was fun too. So you can see I'm trying to support the Chinese economy by buying their treasures.
After shopping we went for lunch and then checked out a French Fair in the French concession area. They had booths of breads, wines and cheese for sale. We were looking for samples but there weren't many.
Yesterday I went to a Mahjong class that a lady from Michigan was hosting. She lives in the Pudong area, one side of the river and I live in the Puxi area. Obviously the wrong side of the river. Her place was amazing with an amazing view of the Bund area. I wish I brought my camera. She lives on the 43rd floor and has lived here for 7 years. I could sit there and just looked out her windows at the river and buildings. She said the view at night with the lights is great. She is totally into Mahjong and teaches a few classes a week for fun. She has 3 special tables made, 3 kits and just loves to play. Its pretty incredible that she opens up her home like that for strangers for free.
Last evening Mark had a 3M recognition dinner that he attended after work. It was at a hot pot restaurant. Reminds me of fondue and like the Melting Pot in Mpls. The President of 3M China hosted the event and even acted as the bartender for awhile. Mark said the food was really good and the drinks were flowing.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Cooking Class
Today I was signed up to attend a cooking class with some friends and I woke up with a migraine headache and was very nauseated. Why can't this happen on days I don't have anything going on? Anyway found some aspirin and Ibuprofen and off I went. Today was a "hand's on" cooking class and we made pork filled dumplings. I wanted to take more pictures but my hands got really messy... I think I can recreate these at home if I can find the ingredients in the store. She showed us what to look for but I probably should have taken a picture because I'll never remember once I go to the store. The class was fun and we had lots of help, if they didn't like how our dough was turning out they would mash it all together again and start over. Talk about picky:)
After the class we stayed and had lunch at the restaurant on the main level. The cooking demo was run by Winnie and her husband runs the restaurant. Pretty slick deal. The food was interesting and of course many dishes. Some really good. Winnie has a cooking class there once a month. I think I will try to go again.
After lunch 4 of us went shopping to the fabric market. My friend is having a cashmere coat made there. I'm going to get a coat or two made here before we leave also. Good prices and tailored to fit you. It is very easy to spend money here, so many stores everywhere you go.
After the class we stayed and had lunch at the restaurant on the main level. The cooking demo was run by Winnie and her husband runs the restaurant. Pretty slick deal. The food was interesting and of course many dishes. Some really good. Winnie has a cooking class there once a month. I think I will try to go again.
After lunch 4 of us went shopping to the fabric market. My friend is having a cashmere coat made there. I'm going to get a coat or two made here before we leave also. Good prices and tailored to fit you. It is very easy to spend money here, so many stores everywhere you go.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Zhongshan Park
We have a great view of Zhongshan Park from our apartment living room windows. This is a very busy park from early morning until it gets dark and the park closes. Even at night when it is dark and the actual park is closed there still is a lot of activity going on the sidewalks in front of the park. Lots of dances in the evening hours. This park is fun to go and people watch, so much activity. Here are just some fun people watching pictures we wanted to share and I'm sure there will be more to come in the future.
Jing'an Temple
Today Mark and I took the subway to the Jing'an Temple which was first built in 247 AD. It is a little weird to go to this temple as it is in the middle of all of these huge sky scrappers. It has been restored to its original condition starting in 1998. There is a 4 meter Jade Buddha which is the largest Jade Buddha statue in the country.
Then we walked to down the Nanjing Road where it is the number one commercial street in China. The excitement of all this shopping is wasted on Mark and I. This area is a pedestrian mall and of course a ton of people walking around enjoying the day and great weather. Still shorts weather here.
Then we walked to down the Nanjing Road where it is the number one commercial street in China. The excitement of all this shopping is wasted on Mark and I. This area is a pedestrian mall and of course a ton of people walking around enjoying the day and great weather. Still shorts weather here.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Mahjong
On Friday I went to a small group gathering of Mahjong players in the "new club" I've joined this week. Remember the SEA group I joined?( Shanghai Expats Association) Anyway, my driver dropped me off in the wrong spot, okay he was one block off. I used my resources and found a non black haired person and asked if she spoke English and she did and she helped me locate my right location. This Mahjong group of ladies get together to play every Friday morning. I remember playing on the computer a few years ago and I thought it was pretty easy so I'd give it a try. Wrong! Not easy at all. The computer version I played and this Mahjong are totally different. It was a bit overwhelming and I wasn't sure I'd be back but a very nice lady from Michigan said she gave lessons out of her home and that it would take about 6 times before I felt I knew what I was doing. So I guess I will give that a try. At my table of 4 were ladies from Michigan, South Africa and the UK. Nice group and they had a lot of patience with me. I'm going to try it awhile before I give up and I'm not going to invest in the tiles (game) until I'm sure I can understand it.
I also looked up how much a average nurse makes here in Shanghai in case I wanted to pursue that potential job out there. They make about 15 RMB per hour. That equals about $2.70 per hour. Yikes! I don't think I'll commit to that.
Today Mark and I went to restaurant where they are known for their good hamburgers and they were good. Just kinda spendy. Then we walked around the area for a bit and also checked out a expat grocery store. Really spendy! I guess I will put up with the groceries from my Carreforre and only go to the expat store if I really need something I can't get from across the street. I didn't see any heads on anything but I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay their prices just for that, or maybe I'm just getting used to seeing heads on food:)
I also looked up how much a average nurse makes here in Shanghai in case I wanted to pursue that potential job out there. They make about 15 RMB per hour. That equals about $2.70 per hour. Yikes! I don't think I'll commit to that.
Today Mark and I went to restaurant where they are known for their good hamburgers and they were good. Just kinda spendy. Then we walked around the area for a bit and also checked out a expat grocery store. Really spendy! I guess I will put up with the groceries from my Carreforre and only go to the expat store if I really need something I can't get from across the street. I didn't see any heads on anything but I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay their prices just for that, or maybe I'm just getting used to seeing heads on food:)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Stuff from home
Today "our box" that we packed one month ago arrived today at our apartment. Feels a little bit like Christmas but yet not that exciting. More clothes, my sewing stuff, Mark's office things and pictures of family. Now just to figure out where all this stuff will go and will try to iron out all the wrinkles of Mark's work clothes. We probably would of had our stuff one week earlier but due to the Chinese Holiday things were delayed.
On Monday I joined a club. It is called the Shanghai Expats Association or SEA. There is a yearly membership fee and it is an organization that has a monthly gathering to have coffee and meet other people. They offer tours, classes and some small group activities. They also publish a monthly magazine with stories and tips on travel, restaurants etc. I talked with a couple of people from Sweden and India. When people ask you where you are from the don't mean the city where you came from they just want to know that I'm from the US. I didn't met any others from the US but was planning on going to check out their club today but had to stay home to get "our box" Maybe next time they have a meeting I'll be able to go.
On Tuesday I went to an expat clinic here so I could get my prescriptions filled. I was pretty impressed with the whole experience. Very American and since I've had recent clinic experience I'd have to say they room patients pretty much like we did at Aspen Clinic. The doctor I saw was nice and when he found out I was a nurse from the US he wanted me to send him my resume and he'd send it on to see if I could be hired as a "educator" there. I don't know what to think about that. Might be interesting, but might be complicated trying to figure all of that out. Do I need a Chinese license? Then there is a work visa etc. I'll have to think about it...plus all the time off I want to have. I want to be off June, July and August to spend in MN. I don't want to work when Mark is off or when we have visitors...so I don't know if it will work in my schedule. Kinda nice to be wanted though.
On Monday I joined a club. It is called the Shanghai Expats Association or SEA. There is a yearly membership fee and it is an organization that has a monthly gathering to have coffee and meet other people. They offer tours, classes and some small group activities. They also publish a monthly magazine with stories and tips on travel, restaurants etc. I talked with a couple of people from Sweden and India. When people ask you where you are from the don't mean the city where you came from they just want to know that I'm from the US. I didn't met any others from the US but was planning on going to check out their club today but had to stay home to get "our box" Maybe next time they have a meeting I'll be able to go.
On Tuesday I went to an expat clinic here so I could get my prescriptions filled. I was pretty impressed with the whole experience. Very American and since I've had recent clinic experience I'd have to say they room patients pretty much like we did at Aspen Clinic. The doctor I saw was nice and when he found out I was a nurse from the US he wanted me to send him my resume and he'd send it on to see if I could be hired as a "educator" there. I don't know what to think about that. Might be interesting, but might be complicated trying to figure all of that out. Do I need a Chinese license? Then there is a work visa etc. I'll have to think about it...plus all the time off I want to have. I want to be off June, July and August to spend in MN. I don't want to work when Mark is off or when we have visitors...so I don't know if it will work in my schedule. Kinda nice to be wanted though.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Hangzhou
Today we went on a bit of a road trip. We had our driver pick us up at 0700 this morning and we were dropped off at 7:00 pm. We went to a city named Hangzhou and we went to explore the West Lake area. It ended up being a very hazy day (like most days around here it seems) so the scenery wasn't the at the best and so the pictures don't look all that great either. Back in the 1200's it was believed to be the biggest city in the world with one million people. Now the population is 1.7 million.
We took a boat ride to Yingzhou Isle to see the Three Moon Pools. When there is a full moon it is suppose to be very beautiful so hence the name. Then we did some hiking to Baochu Pagoda. Lots of stairs. I didn't feel like I should do any complaining as I was wearing tennis shoes and I saw some Chinese girls up there in their 4" heels making the same climb. We went to Baopu Taoist Temple. It was beautiful but they didn't allow any photos to be taken. We were there when they were preforming a ceremonial ritual. They were dressed up in some colorful Chinese costumes, playing instruments, singing and burning lots of incense.
Usually on outings I go into my dehydration mode because I have this "thing" about using public restrooms. I'm a little bit of a germ/handwashing freak. Anyway...I got to experience my first squat toilets. I had heard the Chinese prefer these over regular toilets and that they even may place their feet on the toilet seats of regular toilets and squat away. One thing my mom always asked us growing up before we left the house is if we had a Kleenex in our pockets. Thank goodness for habits because there were no signs of these toilets ever providing any toilet paper. Another habit I have is carrying hand sanitizer, another blessing in disguise.
We had a late lunch while we were there and managed to point to some pretty good pictures and the food was actually good.
Last night Mark's new boss and his wife took us out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. They had some Mexican items on the menu but a lot of different types of food too. They have lived here for 4 1/2 years and have 2 kids ages 12 and 8. They are set to head back to the States in the next year.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of the holiday. We just plan on lying low. Mark has to work on Saturday until next Friday. It will be a long week.
We took a boat ride to Yingzhou Isle to see the Three Moon Pools. When there is a full moon it is suppose to be very beautiful so hence the name. Then we did some hiking to Baochu Pagoda. Lots of stairs. I didn't feel like I should do any complaining as I was wearing tennis shoes and I saw some Chinese girls up there in their 4" heels making the same climb. We went to Baopu Taoist Temple. It was beautiful but they didn't allow any photos to be taken. We were there when they were preforming a ceremonial ritual. They were dressed up in some colorful Chinese costumes, playing instruments, singing and burning lots of incense.
Usually on outings I go into my dehydration mode because I have this "thing" about using public restrooms. I'm a little bit of a germ/handwashing freak. Anyway...I got to experience my first squat toilets. I had heard the Chinese prefer these over regular toilets and that they even may place their feet on the toilet seats of regular toilets and squat away. One thing my mom always asked us growing up before we left the house is if we had a Kleenex in our pockets. Thank goodness for habits because there were no signs of these toilets ever providing any toilet paper. Another habit I have is carrying hand sanitizer, another blessing in disguise.
We had a late lunch while we were there and managed to point to some pretty good pictures and the food was actually good.
Last night Mark's new boss and his wife took us out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. They had some Mexican items on the menu but a lot of different types of food too. They have lived here for 4 1/2 years and have 2 kids ages 12 and 8. They are set to head back to the States in the next year.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of the holiday. We just plan on lying low. Mark has to work on Saturday until next Friday. It will be a long week.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Yuyuan Garden
Today we took the subway to the Yuyuan Garden area of Shanghai. The garden was first established in 1559. This garden was created by Pan Yundauan, who spent 20 years building a garden to please his father a high ranking official in the Ming Dynasty. The inner garden has lots of rockeries, ponds, pavilions and towers. Yu in Chines means pleasing and satisfying, built for his parents to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their old age. One of the trees in the garden is said to be 400 years old.
After walking through the garden we walked around the tourist shopping area. Again still on holiday so about 2 million Chinese people this time. We also walked on the Bund river walkway. It was a nice sunny day in Shanghai so it seemed like everyone was out enjoying the day.
After walking through the garden we walked around the tourist shopping area. Again still on holiday so about 2 million Chinese people this time. We also walked on the Bund river walkway. It was a nice sunny day in Shanghai so it seemed like everyone was out enjoying the day.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Ancient Water Village
Today we went to a ancient water village called Zhujijiao. It is about one hour outside of Shanghai. The city was built during the Ming dynasty 1700 years ago. It has many tea houses and shops throughout the alleys of the city. There are 36 stone bridges, the most iconic bridge is the 70 meter long Fangsheng bridge built in 1571. The sell live fish and turtles to be released into the river. We took a ride in a gondolas which gave us a nice view the the little city. Since it is the Chinese holiday still there were probably one million Chinese people there as well. Some of the food they were cooking in the alley ways did not smell very good and even Mark said some of the odors were making him nauseated.
This evening we were invited out to dinner by a vice president of 3M China and his family. We went to a very nice, private restaurant and had a very traditional Chinese dinner. He ordered many different dishes and I even tried everything including the jelly fish.
On Saturday we went to the Shanghai museum and Sunday we went around and did some shopping and ended up watching Rugby in a expat area. We don't understand the game but there isn't any American football options here.
This evening we were invited out to dinner by a vice president of 3M China and his family. We went to a very nice, private restaurant and had a very traditional Chinese dinner. He ordered many different dishes and I even tried everything including the jelly fish.
On Saturday we went to the Shanghai museum and Sunday we went around and did some shopping and ended up watching Rugby in a expat area. We don't understand the game but there isn't any American football options here.
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