Christmas in Shanghai

Well, the boxes have arrived from customs and all the contents were in there. There goes my overactive imagination that the custom agents were having a grand old time going through the contents of the boxes and eating all the food. The much anticipated arrival was like Christmas for Tony. He's happy that there's music, cereal, snacks and most of all, the familar items of home are now in China. He made it back from Hong Kong safely and has even started to venture out to find out where things are. He made another trip to Carrefours on Sunday in anticipation of the arrival of the boxes. He purchased some food, picked up a kitchen appliance and had lunch at Carrefours. He even found a place in Carrefours that sells gelato, and its quite good. He's starting to feel like he lives in Shanghai and I trust that he'll find other places in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, I did some research on the internet and found a mall within walking distance to the apartment and even a fancy bakery of some sort. I'm sure by the time Matthew and I arrive things will be running a bit smoother and Tony will have the lay of the land and can tell me where to find the things that I need to make the household run smoothly.

Meanwhile, the house is still being shown and I'm going to see who makes the best offer. Since I technically haven't signed a lease agreement yet, the house can still be shown. We'll see who will be my lucky tenant and I can practice being a landlord over the next three years.

Oh, and did I mention that my mother is planning to visit us in China? Oh, and she plans to bring my sister Sheila of course and my grand aunt. Those who know me know that I often refer to the three of them as the "door prize." I don't just get one door prize, I always have three door prizes. I don't know how I was ever blessed with such luck. My sister Sandi is chuckling since she knows that this will turn into a long vacation for my mother. Having the three of them with me under one roof will mean months or even years of intensive therapy for me. So, Christmas can come early. For Tony, it was the arrival of the boxes, for me it's the door prize.

Changes

Hard to believe that a week has gone by. Tony's been living overseas and adapting to life in China while Matthew and I are chugging along here in the States. Matthew's busy counting down the days before he's done with school and we'll be on a plane to China. I'm counting down my last days with International Paper.

Our home went on the rental market last Friday and by Tuesday evening, we had an offer. Wow. That was fast. Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled that we found a tenant and everything checked out. Now all we need to do is sign the lease agreement and on July 15th, Tony and I will officially become Landlords. The good thing is that we'll have someone here to manage the property in our absence and we won't have to deal with the phone calls at 3 AM in China that something has gone wrong. I can't imagine trying to deal with those issues halfway around the world.

Tony in the meantime is dealing with issues in China. Namely, the residence permit. Yes- the residence permit. It came to his attention five days after he arrived that the "business" visa that's affixed to his passport that allows him a one time entry into China is not the correct visa. Apparently, a "work" visa should have been applied for in order for the residence permit application to be processed. WHO KNEW? It was never communicated to him by HR in China that he had to apply for a work visa. So, a standard business visa was issued which allowed him a one time entry into the country and allow him to stay a maximum of 90 days. However, once he leaves, he can't return unless he applies for another entry visa. Well that's a slight problem. Considering he's returning at the end of June to help me finalize the move and then we're all going to return to China in July to live together as a family. The residence permit had to be resolved within 15 days upon arrival into China. So, he went to Hong Kong to get this resolved.

The good news is it was resolved in Hong Kong and he's returning to China tomorrow. If all goes well, he'll be readmitted into the country, the residence permit application will then be approved and the boxes that have been sitting in customs will finally be released. Yes- the infamous boxes that I so painstaking prepared over two weeks ago. The boxes have arrived in China and could not be released until Tony arrived into the country. Proof of his entry and a copy of his passport, baggage claim that's stamped with a chop has been turned over to the courier in order for the boxes to be released. As of today, no boxes yet. I have this vision of the customs agents going through the boxes and eating the cereal, popping the pop corn and just having a grand old time with the contents of the boxes. OH WELL.

Day One

I flew into Shanghai on Thursday, May 18th. Little did I know that I was flying into a Typhoon. Not a Typhoon in the figurative sense, I mean TYPHOON - wind blowing, raining cats and dogs, plane rocking back and forth---that kind of stuff. Considering the weather and the fact that the plane landed on one wheel, the rest of the landing was uneventful.

I had flown for 18 hours and needless to say, I was exhausted but, my day was just beginning. First off, I had to go through a "special" line to get two baggage claims tickets stamped so I can get the packages that I sent a week ago out of customs. Special usually means trouble.

So this is what I envisioned in my mind for the whole entire flight.

I walk up to baggage claim and.....

Me: Hello, I need multiple baggage claims stamped because I've shipped some of my belongings by air.
Guard: Dwebuchi chinwan, Ni shu?
Me: Ah, hi, I need multipl......
Guard: Dwebuchi chinwan, Ni shu?
Me: Ahh...I need......
Guard: DWEBUCHI CHINWAN, NI SHU!!!!

At this point, the guards surround me, grab my arms and rush me off to a back room. A sweaty man in a military uniform mimes to me to remove my clothes, like some twisted charades game. After the anal cavity search....well you get the idea.

The reality was that they spoke English, slightly, and approved both baggage claims without a problem. Okay, so I have an over active imagination.

Melody, our realtor from Well & Well met me at the airport. We drove to the apartment and proceeded to inspect every itty, bitty detail. All I wanted was some toilet paper and drinkable water. I kept repeating to my self, "and don't forget to ask about the toilet paper. Can I get some toilet paper? Paper for the toilet? PLEASE, for God sakes, I'll give you a $100 US dollars for some toilet paper!"

We spent close to three hours signing documents, turning on all the appliances, reviewing instruction manuals and asking for toilet paper. At this point, I was ready to pass out. All I wanted to do was eat something and go to bed. No such luck. Don't get me wrong, I was very grateful for Melody's help but, I was tired. So tired in fact that I skipped dinner, a first for me, and went straight to bed.

The next morning, 2:45 am to be precise, I got up. Reality had set in that I have nothing. Nothing to eat, not a plate, not a fork, nothing except a coffee mug, some coffee and two towels that Sue put into my bag. I love you Sue. With these three items I was able to do things that MacGyver would have been proud of, now all I needed was some food. No problem, I'll just go to the local supermarket, if I knew where one was and of course when I get there they will all speak perfect English. I did tell you I have an over active imagination.

Fast forward, after not eating for two days, I decided that it was time to venture out. I found a couple of nice restaurants around the corner and a Starbucks. Of course, they were all closed at the time, but I now know where they are.

I got really brave yesterday and decided to take a taxi to a supermarket called Carrefours. It is an international supermarket that is French owned. According to the management person of the apartment building, this was going to be easy. All I had to do was press a button on the intercom and say "Taxi" to the front guard. Ok, I can do that, so I press the button and say "Taxi". What I heard was "Dwebuchi chin wan, ni shu?" oh my God not this again. I figured that the guard knows what I am talking about and that a taxi would be available instantly. So I gave him 5 minutes and went down stairs. I see the guard and say "Taxi" he nods his head. OK that was easy. After 10 minutes of standing around I realized that he didn't get it. Suddenly, the management agent comes running out and says,

Girl: "Can I help you?"
Me: "Yes, I need a taxi"
Girl: "Oh, ok" (she tell the guard something in Chinese and instantly a taxi appears.).
Me: "Can you tell the driver that I would like to go to Carrefours?"
Girl: "Carrefours?"
Me: "Yes, Carrefours"
Girl: Confused look on her face.. "I'm sorry, Carrefours?"
Me: "Yes, Carrefours"
Girl: "Oh, Carrefours" and turns to the driver and says "Carrefours"
Me: (thinking to myself) What the hell was that? I guess she couldn't understand my accent?

I get to Carrefours and almost started crying. They have most everything that Americans are used to. I purchase a large bowl, chop sticks, some plastic forks, plastic wrap and TOILET PAPER. Yes, I know I didn't buy any food but I was worried that if I bought too much I couldn't get it back to the apartment besides, I know where the restaurants are now.

I had a plan for getting back to the apartment. I took a sales brochure that had the address of the place on the back and I would just have to show it to the driver and voila! I assumed the Chinese writing on the back was the address or it could have been for underwear for all I know.

As it turns out, it was the address and I got a very nice taxi driver. I may go there again today around lunch time, this time I'll buy food.

I really miss Sue and Matt. Hopefully this month will go by fast so I can return to the US and see them again. More excitement ahead.

Countdown

I have been given my official end date at International Paper. My last day will be on June 15th. My group consisted of six women and we worked very well together. They were my lunch buddies and we truly enjoyed working with one another. The dynamics of our group started to change last month when Deborah left to join Xerox. Last week, my boss Andrea and my assistant Melinda left after the annual meeting of the Company. Now, there's just Mary, Carol and I until the end. I've started training my replacement and packing up my office. All the pictures and art work on my wall from Matthew's visits to my office and the art work contributed from my nephew Nicholas when he was visiting from Florida has been put away into a box and will go into storage.

Meanwhile, things are moving right along for Tony as well. The moving company sent two movers over last week to pack the air shipment of essentials for Tony. I had spent the previous week segregating a lot of household and non perishable food items for Tony so he could get the new home started until Matthew and I arrive in July. The movers arrived around 11:30 in the morning and it blew my mind to see the stuff packed and on the truck in less than an hour. It was as if locusts came in and invaded our home. I had never seen anything like it. In an effort to prepare the home to go on the rental market soon, I had scheduled the movers to return yesterday to start the process of putting stuff into storage for us. I truly thought we would only have about 20 boxes going into storage but, was amazed when it was more like 40. The movers showed up at 8:30 in the morning and by 9:45, everything was boxed and on the truck. The movers will return again in a few weeks and work with us over a three day period to move most of our furniture into storage and pack the items for shipment to China. We will be left with the bare minimum until July 6 when the balance of what's left will be removed from our home and into the storage facility. Pretty scary when you realize your entire house will be locked up in a room somewhere for the next three years.

It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff one can accumulate. We've been in this home less than three years but yet, we somehow have stuff everywhere. Matthew's been really good about cleaning out his toys and has donated quite a bit to his little buddy Nicholas in New Jersey. We've also donated some of it to Piper's Hill, the child care center that Matthew started with when he was three months old. A bulk of the games and books went to Piper's Hill and I've donated quite a bit of books to the local library. My nephew Nicholas in Florida was also the lucky recipient of Matthew's computer games and toys. He was pretty happy when the box arrived from Connecticut.

We're getting down to the wire and I still have to sell my car and hope to find a good tenant to live in our home. So much to do...so little time left.

Transition

Okay, here's the update. I've sold my Caddy, well more like gave it away but, I am happy that it's over. My last day at Duracell was Friday, April 28th. They gave me a going away party nothing real formal just cookies and coffee in a conference room. I thought it was doing to be a small gathering but, as it turned out, all of Michael Robert's staff showed up - around 40 people. I didn't expect so many people to show up, maybe they just came for the cookies, ... wait a minute. Terry Hamilton opened up things with a speech, then Michael and finally me. It was pretty heart warming. The official going away party is scheduled for May 9th at Boston Billiards. I know it's going to get really sloppy then.

I've been home making repairs, getting the house ready to rent, my back feels like a gorilla is standing on it. It sucks getting old...er.

We spoke to the realtor yesterday about renting the place. It feels weird that someone else will be living in our house. I hope that we get a good tenant. Once we told our Lawyer that we will be renting she said "Okay, I will start the eviction notice ". Thanks for the sense of security Bernice. I'm sure that won't be necessary...... I hope.

I was informed by HR that I would have to give up my Blackberry, computer and American Express Corporate card upon my transfer to the ATC budget, which was on May 1st. The problem was that without these essential items I would not be able to communicate with anyone or even expense our relocation flights to Shanghai. Okay, I hear you saying, "Can't ATC give you those things, after all they are part of Gillette." The answer is yes they can, once I am in China which defeats the purpose because I need to get there first. Luckily, Duracell graciously allowed me to hold onto my corporate card and computer equipment until I return to the US in June to relocate my family to Shanghai.

Organizing this transfer is like watching a movie that has a ticking time bomb, they always diffuse it at the last second, same thing seems to be happening to me. For months I couldn't get answers to my questions and then suddenly things started falling into place last week, making the last of my hair that much grayer, gee thanks.

I must admit I'm feeling nervous about leaving without Susan and Matthew. In fifteen days I'll be on a plane, flying half way around the world away from my family. I've done plenty of traveling in my professional career and it never bothered me. Then again, I have never lived in another country. I'm sure I'll feel better once I get there and settle in.