Thanksgiving

We had our first Thanksgiving here in Shanghai. Tony’s away on business so we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving as a family on Saturday. Matthew's school hosted a Thanksgiving meal for the parents. The children had to serve their families and clean up, which was quite refreshing. Matthew got into the spirit of the day by having three helpings of turkey, mashed potatoes, string beans and stuffing. When he returned with his third plate, the teachers gave him a turkey leg (see picture - yes, it's already been dismantled).

Matthew and I celebrated Thanksgiving in our own special way. We didn't have an elaborate meal or anything, it was just a plate of Matthew's favorite foods. We gave our thanks for the blessings we have received as a family. We also gave our thanks to all our family and friends for the support we have received when we decided to embark on this adventure in China.

I’m especially thankful to May for all she’s done for us and will continue to do. It’s not easy monitoring the amount of our mail that comes through her mailbox. She’s been there for me since the year of the flood and she has listened to my ranting and ravings about the trials and tribulations of living in China. Often times when I complain about not finding a particular food, it shows up in the mailbox. She’s been there through all the laughter and the tears.

So, we give our thanks to all of you who have been so supportive and understanding when we decided to move halfway around the world. Please remember us when you’re passing your turkey and stuffing around. We’ll be there in spirit with all of you at the table giving thanks as well.

A Taste of America

The American toy store has finally hit China. Toys R Us has opened it's first store in Shanghai. Let's just say that Matthew is a happy little camper now. Toys R Us will give the local department stores a run for its money. Toys can be found in Shanghai but, it's a pretty limited selection. A lot of the toys are traditionally sold in small outlets in department stores and it's mostly geared towards girls. You'll find a lot of Hello Kitty and dolls but the selection for boys is generally very small and geared towards the little kids.

We went over to check out the new Toys R Us store on Saturday and found it crawling with a lot of expatriates. Matthew spent a lot of time looking at Hot Wheels, remote control cars and helicopters and other "boys" things. He was really making up for lost time over the past several months living in Shanghai. However, I suspect that we'll be spending quite a bit of time at the Toys R Us since it's the next best thing to being back in Connecticut. Now, who do I contact to open up a Costco in Shanghai so I can be happy?

Lights...Camera...Pie?

Well, we're in November and it's starting to get cold and chilly in Shanghai. I really miss the autumn colors of New England, carved pumpkins and most of all, I miss the smell of a freshly baked apple pie. So, today, I've decided to bake one complete with cinnamon and nutmeg and hope that I can recreate that wonderful feeling of New England here in Shanghai. Trying to find a pie plate here is a mission in itself. I went to every "kitchen" store and no pie plates to be found. So, I'm going to have to improvise. So it's not going to be round. Who said an apple pie had to be round anyway? Remember the Hostess Apple Pies in a package? They were rectangular. As long as it tastes good, it doesn't matter what shape it is.

Yesterday, we had our family photos taken by Gangfeng Wang. He's a pretty famous local photographer. He's like the Chinese Bruce Weber of the Shanghai photography scene. We see a lot of his work in local magazines and books. The photograph is our annual family photo. I usually send out pictures to our friends and family for the holiday season so they can see Matthew as he's growing up. Unfortunately, there isn't a Sears or a JC Penney's in Shanghai, so we decided to have Gangfeng do the photos. The back drop is a very old cobblestone street in Shanghai, lined with houses built in the early 1930's. It is a street rich with cultural history and we thought it was the perfect setting for our pictures. Years from now, when we look back at these pictures, they will remind us of our time here.

He took several pictures of us as a family and he even took several of Matthew on his own. I know that the photos will be great. Now I just have to figure out how to get the photos made into holiday cards so I can send them out in time for the holidays.

Now, onto my apple pie. Maybe I'll even make chocolate chip cookies!

Things to Be Grateful for in China....Wait, Give Me a Minute

As we enter into the Thanksgiving season, I pause for a minute to give thanks for the things that make my life easier in Shanghai. Okay, so I haven't thought of anything yet but, I'm working on it. I do, however, have a very long list of things I absolutely hate. Let's start with internet access. If you've been reading the blog, I'm sure you've come across a few rants and complaints from Susan about the problems we are having with the internet and telephone access. We've had China Telecom and the internet provider over so often that I've declared them as dependents on my tax returns.

What drives me absolutely mental is that things seem to change on their own, like if the internet was possessed or something. We have our friends from China Telecom and the internet provider fixing the problem for 5 long hours. Everything finally works and a few days later we have problems again. I almost feel like someone is messing with me, as if I were a large but handsome lab rat, poking me with a stick and zapping me with electricity.

I guess that you've probably figured out that we are currently experiencing problems, yet again, with the internet. We've given up on the phone. People call us at home and all they hear is beeping like a damn fax machine, beep, beep, beep, beep, what the hell! China Telecom doesn't know what it is so they won't fix it, nice!

Maybe we should try a more proven technology to communicate with our friends and family, maybe smoke signals, but they'll probably be in Chinese.