Today, we've officially moved into the house. YEAH! The storage items came out this past Wednesday and Thursday. Three full trucks, lots of boxes and lots of damaged items. We're also missing things. We can't find the answering machine, things from Matthew's room and I can't find things that were in the family room. I know we're missing a heck of a lot more. Despite that and the construction going on, we're thrilled to be back in our own home. No more hotels and I even cooked in my kitchen. Large oven that can accommodate two trays simultaneously. That's a thrill!
We get to do this all over again next week when the air shipment comes in. Then we get to do it all over again when the mother load comes in, the sea shipment. We're supposed to get about 195 boxes that will arrive sometime at the end of August. Yes, yes, it was finally released by the Chinese government after customs manhandled everything in the box to their satisfaction. Let's see what will be missing when we get that shipment.
In anticipation of our move home, I went to the supermarket this morning. It was absolutely WONDERFUL to be able to buy things without funky smells from the meat department, people shoving me and most of all, no jumping the line at the check out counter. The cashier handed me my change NICELY and didn't throw it at me. The market had a full selection of everything and anything I wanted and it was CHEAP compared to China. I got a half gallon of Breyer's ice cream for $1.99 not 128 RMB which equates to $18.68 at the current exchange rate of 6.85 per USD. It was absolutely a pleasure to be able to peruse the supermarket and people would say "Excuse me" when they bump into you or passing you. Do I miss the shoving and the smells of Shanghai? NOPE. Do I miss my friends in Shanghai? YES. Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be back and we've seen a lot of our friends here. Funny, all our reunions with our friends have involved food though. Gee, I wonder why? This will mark the start of the eating marathons. I am sure the restaurant industry will get a boost in their revenues because of our return!
