Snow In Shanghai!

The other day, I asked Matthew what he really misses about Connecticut and his answer was snow. It gets cold in Shanghai and we do get some flurries but no real accumulation. Well, yesterday it started snowing. Matthew came home from his dental appointment and immediately found his snowball maker. The movers shipped the wrong box and we found it when it arrived. We never opened it again...until yesterday. It continued to snow all day long.


The ground is relatively warm so not much was sticking but we did get enough to make snow men and have a snow ball fight. All the kids came out and made snow men. It looked like a community of snow people all over the compound. Boy, was Matthew happy. It was like his wish came true. I was happy because I didn't have to shovel it. The local Chinese were in awe. I guess they've never seen snowmen before. We had fun running around and getting totally wet and sweaty. It continued to snow today but its is already melting. Matt was right, snow is fun, I guess I missed it too.

Rainer's Birthday

It was Rainer's birthday yesterday. Ina planned a birthday dinner for him and Matthew and I went out to celebrate with them. Tony's been away for business in Malaysia this past week and missed all the festivities. Mr. Miao was invited to the festivities as well along with some of Ina's friends from Malaysia. Eugene and Li Ping used to work in Shanghai with Tony and Ina and they were here visiting. It was nice to be able to put a face with a name. Too bad Tony wasn't able to see them as well.

Li Ping and her sister Steffanie ordered the food for us. We were a table of seven adults and two children. That means....bring on the food. Sake and beer was flowing endlessly as well as soda for the kids. We had the usual- sashimi, tempura, gyoza, beef negamaki and other tasty tidbits and then we all noticed some new items on the table. Let's just say those who saw the show "Mr Ed" would know what I'm referring to. It was horse meat and a Korean dish that consisted of raw meat with a raw egg on top - something similar to steak tartare. I figured between the sake and beer... if there was something questionable about the meat, nothing would be able to survive. So, yes- we all tried the horse meat. I was told that many many years ago, mortadella- that lunch meat that you see with the pistachios today used to be made out of horse meat. I can't tell you if it's true or not but I had a very bad image of Mr. Ed the horse getting led to the slaughterhouse and getting sliced into razor thin pieces. I can honestly say that I've tried it...can't say that I would do it again. Then again, I've had some pretty weird things in China that I know I will never see in the States.

I made a chocolate peanut butter pie (see attacked pie picture) for Rainer and it went very quickly. Ina is a bit of a party girl and is not one to go home and sleep early. She insisted that we all go out for karaoke. Matthew and I have never been to a karaoke bar so it was a first experience for us. The Chinese take karaoke very very seriously. They don't care how they sound, it's the sport of doing it. A typical karaoke night will mean you are chaperoned into a private room with your party. This beats having to do it in public on a stage with many strangers staring and snickering at you. Hey, at least if you're going to sound awful, you can do it in the privacy of a room with your friends. I'm happy to report, our party didn't sound awful because Matthew and I declined to sing but sat back and watched everyone else do it.

After about three hours, we rolled up the party and drove home. Matthew was giddy about staying up until 12:45. He wants to do it again. I told him he'll have to wait until Rainer's next party.

Mrs. Kuehn & Mrs. Wink

Hi! It's me Matthew and I'm going to write about my first and second grade teachers. My mom has been keeping in touch with them and they received our holiday card. They wanted me to write about them ... so here it goes. Meet Mrs. Kuehn. She taught me first grade and I was called her little "love bug". Come to think of it...I think she called the whole class her love bugs. She was a very funny teacher and my mom used to visit the class and do things with my classroom. I remember Mrs. Kuehn's favorite candies to be Butterfingers and Reeses Peanut Buttercups. She had a giant Coca-Cola bottle in the classroom and during activities if your table won, you were allowed to pick a piece of candy out of the bottle. That was really special!


Meet my second grade teacher Mrs. Wink. She was someone who really took care of me. I liked it when she would read to the class the Judy Moody books. My mom would stop by the class from time to time to talk to Mrs. Wink but I think she was really checking up on me instead. I remember Mrs. Wink's favorite candies to be Kit Kats and Hershey's Kisses. I really loved it when we were allowed to play games if we had extra time at the end of the day. It made school fun for me because we were allowed to play games.

I remember both of them all the time and I talk about them with my friends and my mom and dad.

So, you have now met my two favorite teachers in Stamford. I hope to see them again when we return to the States.

Lost in Translation

During our adventure here in China, we've come across some interesting translations of Chinese signs into English. On our recent trip to Hangzhou we found the mother load of funny signs. Everything from spelling errors to down right mistakes. The odd thing is that these signs were all found in public places and have been there for years. You would figure that someone would have fixed them but obviously not. Please don't get me wrong, I really, really, really appreciate that there are English signs in China. I would be in serious trouble without them but I just can't help laughing when I come across some of these gems. Therefore, without further delay I give you silly signs, enjoy.

[SICK ATHEROSCLEROSIS] In Chinese the sign reads,"Mixed grain porridge or congee". The English translation was "sick atherosclerosis". This beauty was found at a breakfast buffet. The definition of atherosclerosis is "hardening of the veins". Are they trying to tell us that our veins will harden if we eat it? How did they screw this one up? ... I think we'll pass.

[NO WALKING ON WATER] The Chinese characters read "Please deal with this water. For safety, please do not enter the water." The sign shows a guy walking on water. Now, this sign can only apply to one person that I know of. I have not been able to walk on water for at least .... forever!





[BE CAREFUL ABOUT A MEETING] The Chinese characters read "Careful, bump head."Matthew spotted this gem in a cavern in Tonglu. Being careful for a meeting is always good advice but I don't see how it applies here. Maybe a sign with someone bumping his head would have been more effective.

[DO NOT CLAMBER PLEASE CRAWLING] Chinese characters are "Please don't climb, crawl". Huh? Boy, that one sucks in both languages.





[PAY ATTENTION TO YOU] Chinese characters are '"Warning, watch your footing below." Ok- not quite pay attention to you. No wonder people would stop in front of the sign and hug themselves.

[THE PRECIPICE STOPS BY] The Chinese characters are "Pending Cliff, stop walking". Maybe we can have coffee and donuts the next time the precipice stops by.


[LONELY LANE, DON'T BE CROWD PLEASE] Chinese characters are "Single Person Narrow Lane, Don't Crowd". Matthew thought we should keep the lane company since it was so lonely. Everybody's a comedian.

[DRAW NEAR DANGER]Chinese characters are " Deadly danger nearby". Are they asking us to get closer to the danger?



[HOILET] The Chinese translation is "Toilet", and I use the term lightly here. What the hell is a "hoilet"? Many toilets in China are literally holes in the ground so technically this one may make sense, "hole toilet" or Hoilet.

This is just a sample of some of the hilarious signs that we've found in China. Believe me, there are many, many, many, many more. We're starting to compile a photo montage of bizzare sightings around China. Stay tuned for that posting.

Humpty Dumpty

Well, believe it or not (because I can't), Susan sprained her ankle again only this time it was the other leg. Our compound has beautiful grounds with streams and small bridges. A bridge, which will remain nameless, was the culprit. We were walking to the shuttle bus to go into town. It had been raining for the past few days so the walkways were wet. The bridges are arch shaped, with sharp inclines and declines. Have I set the stage, good. Well, on the down side of this bridge Susan slipped and twisted her ankle. Luckily, we have a medical center on the compound so we collectively hobbled over to see the doctor. Now I would like to pause here to rant a bit. The medical facility is a satellite office of a western style hospital. That's the good news, the bad news is that every time we go in there they tell us to go to the hospital. What good is having a medical center in the compound if all they do is tell you to go to the hospital, a statement which I verbalized loudly. Anyway, a nurse looks at Susan for about 4 seconds and sends her off. The club house is a few painful steps away so we decided to go in and sit down and, of course, have french fries. The attending doctor must have felt guilty because she found us in the clubhouse and did a more thorough examination. So now Susan is hobbling again, damn I hate that.

Since Susan feels obligated to sprain her ankle every few months, I've decided to create, "AIR BAG PANTS." Yes, the concept is similar to the airbag in your car. In the event that Susan starts to fall, her pants will inflate, becoming a ball and thus preventing her from falling down. She might roll down a hill but she won't sprain an ankle. I have to work out a few details but I think it will be a big seller for spastic people.

Wu Zhen

Last day in Hangzhou. We had a tour booked to a water village called Wu Zhen. Wu Zhen is where scenes from Mission Impossible III were filmed. The scenes where Tom Cruise was running through the water village is familiar for many.

We were up before the roosters and headed to breakfast. We figured it would be a good idea to eat something since heading to a water village- the quality of cuisine would be.....questionable.

We were on the tour bus and the guide goes into a non-stop 60 minute monologue about Wu Zhen. They must all be trained to do this. In fact, I could see the want ad for this position. "Wanted: Girl with a very shrilly voice who can speak non-stop without breathing". I was able to understand her better since she spoke a bit slower than yesterday's guide so I knew what was coming. We decided to separate from the tour group and explore the village on our own.

We wandered around and found some interesting sites. This is yet another village that is stuck in imperial China. These are tourist attractions because places like this are disappearing. China is developing so quickly that traces of the past will soon be gone forever.

It was lunch time and the kids were getting hungry. Now this was going to get ugly. All that was available were local restaurants and they were not going to have any of that. They insisted that they saw a McDonalds but, surprise, we couldn't find it. Now, gentle reader, there is nothing worse than a whiny, hungry kid and we had two to deal with. All we could find was a convenience store. The only things the kids ate were Oreos, Chinese moon pies and M&M's. I know, I know, not the healthiest of diets but at least they stopped whining. Besides, how much worse can it be than smelly tofu?

We had a nice tour of Wu Zhen and then left to return to the railway station for our train back to Shanghai. In between, we gobbled down some KFC. Yes, another healthy meal on the road.

Hopped the train and returned to Shanghai. Picked up a taxi and waltzed in the door at 8:30 PM. Popped some laundry into the washing machine and we're watching Mission Impossible III. What a way to end the weekend.

Tonglu

On the third day of our trip to Hangzhou, we thought it would be a good idea to take a bus trip to explore an old nearby village. The tour was filled with locals and conducted in Chinese. We were not able to follow the monologue since the tour leader was speaking as if she was on crack, extremely fast and with few pauses. It was impossible to figure out what the trip was all about. She spoke like this for an hour straight. I thought my head was going to explode!

We arrived at a place called "Grandma's village". A small town that is locked in the past. It felt like we were in imperial China waiting for the emperor. As part of the tour, we took a raft ride down the Tianmu River, the Chinese really love raft rides. Let's just say- the weather wasn't helping. It was coming down in buckets. We purchased plastic ponchos which were thinly disguised garbage bags. They didn't last for the first kilometer of the ride, disintegrating into pieces upon contact with water.

We then went to a local restaurant for lunch and by "restaurant" I mean "roach coach". It was more like someone's house then a proper eating establishment but we were a captive audience and had no choice. The kids didn't want anything and quite frankly, nothing was appetizing on the menu. We ordered tofu to be on the safe side. The tofu had a rather unique aroma and was grey in color. We were convinced the it was strained through a pair of pantyhose to give it that unique flavor. Needless to say, we didn't eat anything.

We headed over to Yaolin Fairyland to tour the under ground caverns. This was a truly spectacular site. Nature is an incredible thing, something man can not duplicate, ..... except Disney.

We ended the day with a phenomenal dinner at Va Bene, yes, an Italian restaurant in China! Two bottles of wine, pasta with clams and a wonderful dessert made up for the terrible lunch we had.

Tomorrow, we will head to Wu Zhen. An ancient water town about 1.5 hours away by bus. Yes- another tour with the local Chinese. Then we're heading back to Shanghai by high speed train.

International Incident....Almost

It was drizzing all day in Hangzhou. We were wandering around sightseeing when we came across a statue of a famous local resident. Rainer struck a pose with the statue holding its beard in his hand. Suddenly, we began to hear shrills in rapid fire Chinese from a very old woman. At first, we had no idea what she was saying and who she was saying it to. Eventually, we realized that she was screaming at us. According to Matthew's translations, she kept saying "stupid and brainless". She was making quite a scene. People gather at a drop of a hat in China and this tirade drew many people. Her husband kept trying to stop her but to no avail. Obviously, we could only do one thing, laugh hysterically. This only fueled the fire. We weren't doing it to be mean, we thought the whole situation was so absurd. Apparently, she was upset that Rainer disrespected the local hero by pulling his beard. The funny thing was, everyone that posed with this statue, pulled his beard as well. Apparently, it's because we were foreigners that it was disrespectful. Now you understand why we were laughing.

We hopped a ferry that took us to three small islands on the lake. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal for picture taking but it was still beautiful to see. We headed back to the city to search for lunch and we found Crystal Jade. It's one of our favorite restaurants in Shanghai and we were relieved to see a branch in Hangzhou. Beijing duck, spicy chicken, tofu and other dishes were inhaled at lightening speed. One thing we haven't lost being in China is our appetites. All our fans can attest to that.

Hangzhou

Since we're home for the holidays, we decided to take short trips to surrounding towns. Our first stop was Hangzhou. It is considered to be the backyard of Shanghai. It's got lots of trees, lakes and clean air.....things that Shanghai doesn't have. In fact, Hangzhou reminded us alot of Connecticut. A high speed train took us from Shanghai to Hangzhou in 1 hour and 18 minutes. We're staying in a five star hotel close to West Lake.

Hangzhou was once the capital of China during the Southern Song Dynasty (AD 1127-1279) and is known for West Lake. It is surrounded on three sides by hills, temples, pavillions, gardens and arched bridges. The lake runs about 3 miles across and 9 miles around, a truly beautiful place. We took a boat ride across the lake. I'm exaggerating when I say boat. It was more like a sampan with a single paddle. The man paddling the boat had as many teeth as paddles and he kept telling us how fat we all were and that he should charge us more money. I wanted to push him into the water. Of course, he thought this was great fun....top that with him singing "Happy Birthday to You" in Chinglish, it was an interesting ride.

After dinner, we wandered around the lake and found the musical fountain. It was great to listen to music and watch the water dance to it. It was very nice way to end the day.

Uncle Boris

Boris is a very good friend of ours who was recently hospitalized. Word traveled fast from Duracell. Irina, Boris' wife, was mystified how word got to us so fast. Hey, we still have our connections. Shortly after we heard about Boris' illness, Tony was hospitalized. It was as if it was a sympathy illness, misery loves company. They were both laid up in the hospital and miserable. Luckily, they've both recovered.

Boris and Irina have both been an important part of our lives. They have big hearts and they love Matthew immensely. Boris was solely responsible for introducing the Kinder eggs to Matthew. It's a chocolate hollow egg with a toy inside Matt has loved those thing ever since he was small. Of course Boris would over indulge him buying a carton at a time instead of one. I think he really loves to make Matthew happy. Thanks to Boris' introduction, we were roped into buying the Kinder egg Advent calendar this Christmas. That's 24 eggs, one for each day until Christmas. You really don't want to know how expensive the Advent calendar was, especially in China. Even though Boris and Irina are half way around the world, they were there in spirit as Matthew held those eggs close to his heart and smiled.

So, Uncle Boris and Aunt Irina will be spending a quiet Christmas holiday at home so Boris can recover. We'll be home as well, Shanghai I mean, doing the same so that we can spend time as a family which is the true spirit of the holiday.

Christmas Gathering

We're all officially on vacation- Matthew's out of school, Tony's home from work and me, well... according to Matthew, I am always on vacation. We'll be together for the next three weeks. Three glorious weeks of togetherness....yeah. We went into the city today to have lunch with a friend of ours, Alice. She lives in Shanghai most of the time and returns to Hong Kong every few weeks to see her family. So, since we're all nomads, we decided that it would be great to get together for the Christmas holidays. We met at Xintiandi today for lip smacking dim sum and what not. Two hours of eating non-stop and we all waddled out of there. We said our goodbye's to Alice and we'll see her when she returns after the New Year.

In the meantime, it's a very small world. We headed back to pick up the shuttle bus to get home and I ran into my friend Nicole. Tony looked at Brian (Nicole's husband) as if he knows him from somewhere but can't quite place him. Brian does the same. While we were chit chatting, we find out that Tony and Brian worked together at Duracell in Bethel, Connecticut. What a small world! Brian is now with 3M and is here on assignment in China as well. Funny thing- it turns out that they live in the building next door to us. It shows us that the world is truly a small place.

Kitchen Is Closed

This is Matthew's last week of school. Then he's off for the next three weeks. I've spent the day baking today. I started at 7 AM and finished around 6:30 PM. I was trapped in the kitchen. I made two loaves of banana bread, two trays of brownies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies and shortbread cookies. Total count on cookies- about 400. I've packed up most of the shortbread cookies for the holiday party at Matthew's school tomorrow. The kids will frost and decorate the cookies. Everything else will be going to Tony's office. I often send platters in during the year when I bake and the locals love it. They've gotten used to seeing something sitting in the pantry from me. The locals don't bake at all. The traditional Chinese kitchen does not have an oven. Most of them would rather buy it at the local bakery. However, I've tasted the local baked goods and it's not suited for the American palette. We bake with real butter, lots of sugar and most of all, chocolate. Good chocolate. That is something that is not replicated by a local Chinese bakery.

Of course, right after I was done with all the baking, I had to turn around and start dinner for us. Roasted chicken with vegetables. So, the oven was on for a record 11.5 hours today. I don't care to see another cookie, brownie or banana bread for a while. I can't wait to see what my gas bill will be next month.

Environmental Violations

Every day, there is smoke billowing somewhere in Shanghai. Particularly, in our neighborhood, it happens practically 24 hours a day. Sometimes, it's so grey outside, that you honestly think it's a very cloudy day. You can't identify the direction it's coming from...but none the less, you can really smell it. Here in China, there is no environmental protection agency. At least that I know of. Really. People openly burn their trash on the side of the roads, toss their plastics on the side and most of all, people hang their laundry out to dry with the distinct aroma of burned trash clinging to their freshly laundered goods. Go figure. Often times, I like to have the windows open to get the fresh air circulating. Only then, when I get a whiff of the burning trash, I quickly close the windows. Haven't these people figured out about recycling for the sake of the environment and not burning the trash that is clearly ruining the ozone layer? Guess not.

Back in the US, I was an avid recycler. Newspapers, magazines, paper products, glass, cans and plastics. You know the weekly pick up was quite enormous coming out of my home. I am still recycling here. I sort everything out and put it into a separate bag. Tony thinks it's an absolute waste of time for me to sort since the locals don't do it. I can't break my habit. I am really trying to contribute to the environment. Instead, the locals put all the trash into one bin and then someone has the unpleasant job of sorting through everything to pull out the plastic and what not. That is really not a pleasant job and I feel for the person who has to do it. I've walked by and seen someone diving into the dumpster pulling things out into a pile. I can't figure out why the government hasn't implemented recycling. Perhaps it's to give the locals jobs to sort through the dumpster.

So, when we return from this assignment, I will probably glow in the dark from all the environmental hazards I have exposed myself and my family to. It'll be my souvenir from this part of the world.

Christmas Concert

Matthew and his band mates performed today at the elementary school Christmas recital. He was blowing real hard on his saxophone and he also played the snare drums for one of the songs. It was a twist on the traditional songs that I know. The kids performed "Castles and Kings", "Jingle Bones" and "Yo Christmas Tree!". It was a really great to watch him play and we were very very proud. Tony had the opportunity to attend since he is on the mend.

There has been a lot of rehearsals for the kids over the past three and a half months and it was very hard to hear the same songs over and over again. Practice makes perfect and the kids were able to achieve this moment on stage. Matthew and his band mates will have to perform at the school assembly next Friday and then holiday vacation starts. Three glorious weeks of sleeping late and doing nothing for Matthew. He's really looking forward to it.

Christmas is Coming!

Tony's home recuperating. We decided it would be a good day for us to put up the Christmas tree. Not the same like in Connecticut. We have a tradition where we go out and pick a fresh cut tree and spend the weekend decorating it. This tree isn't fresh cut and came out of a box. Tony put it together and Matthew and I put the decorations on. Not quite the same but it's better than nothing. We're not going anywhere this Christmas holiday. We're going to stay in Shanghai and just take it easy. Last year, we spent Christmas and New Year's in Hong Kong. It will be interesting to see what Shanghai has to offer for the Christmas holidays here. Most of the expatriates are returning home to spend the holidays.

While assembling the tree, we noticed that there was a little tag on the tree branch that read "Flammable". Ok- that's not something we would expect. All the faux trees in the US are non-flammable. Another reality for living in Shanghai. There isn't the same standards for safety here. Take for instance, restaurants. There isn't a smoking and non-smoking section. Well, if there is, it's a matter of be separated by one table. Hello--- what's to stop the smoke from spewing over to the non-smoking area? Have they heard of proper ventilation? Apparently not. Second hand smoke is an issue. We often walk out smelling like ashtrays.

So, Christmas is several weeks away. Uncle Tony will be mailing our holiday cards from New York when he gets back later this week. I still haven't figured out what to get Matthew and Tony for Christmas. I don't think cash would work in this instance. Gift cards are not even an option here. The stores don't get the concept. Looks like I have to go around and educate the locals on the benefits of selling gift cards.

Recuperating

Tony and his friends left last Sunday to return to Hong Kong and it has been a whirlwind. Matthew got sick on Monday and missed school. Packed him off to school on Tuesday only to have Tony come home complaining that he wasn't feeling well. Flu like symptoms, stomach issues and what not. He was running a fever on Wednesday morning and I asked him not to go into the office. He didn't listen to me. He went in and came home several hours later. Raging with fever and complaining of severe stomach cramps. Tony's lips and fingernails were blue and I didn't like what I saw. I called Mr. Miao and dragged Tony out of the house to go to the hospital. He kept insisting that all he needed was gatorade. He was probably right but I wanted to get a professional opinion on the whole situation.

He was running a 104 degree fever and was doubled over in pain. He was admitted into the hospital that evening for severe dehydration and acute gastroenteritis. Basically, he had a severe bacterial infection and was on demerol, IV saline, antibiotics and potassium. Four days later, he was released. Scary situation. We don't know what type of bacteria it was and how he got it. He'll be on antibiotics for a few more days. Luckily, we're living in Shanghai where there are decent expatriate hospitals and the doctors speak English. I keep wondering what would have happened if we were living in the middle of Sichuan or some small remote village in Suzhou. Not a pretty scene.

Tony's recovering and will be home for the next several days. He has to get clearance from his doctor before he can go back to the office. Meanwhile, I cleared out the import market of all the gatorade. I'm making sure he stays hydrated and is resting.

Uncle Tony's Visit

Tony arrived from Hong Kong on Thursday evening with his friends Mavis and Yvonne and it was a very nice reunion. Just in time for turkey dinner at the clubhouse. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Anne and her family. It was very nice to have Thanksgiving with friends- old and new. Matthew was very happy to see his Uncle Tony. Hard to believe we just saw him several months ago in the States. Time goes by so quickly. All we needed to complete the meal was Gus and Tallini, May and the kids and we would have been all set!

We spent the past few days taking Tony and his friends around Shanghai. We did the usual- shopping and eating. We took them to the Blue Frog, Moon River Diner, Nanxiang Steamed Buy Restaurant and Crystal Jade. We did the usual tourist attractions- Yu Yuan, Jin Miao Tower, the Bund and Xintiandi. It was a very short trip for Tony who had to leave yesterday to return to Hong Kong. He'll be leaving Hong Kong next week to return to the United States. He's dragging all my US holiday cards to mail from New York. Be on the lookout in your mailbox for your card. Thank you Tony!

We plan to see each other in Rome next summer. Matthew has expressed an interest in going to Italy to get in touch with his Italian side. The gang will meet us there as well. It will be the usual suspects-Tony, Gus, Tallini, May and the kids and of course, us. We'll probably have Tony's parents meet us in Italy as well and we're probably going to take a trip to Sicily to meet Tony's relatives in Ramacca. Summer will be here before you know it. I better get moving with booking a reservation to Italy.

Thanksgiving

It's that time of the year again. Hard to believe that this is our second Thanksgiving celebration in Shanghai.  Matthew's class held a luncheon today for the families. Each of the kids had to prepare their favorite dish to share with the class. Matthew wanted to share cornbread since it was appropriate for the holiday. It was a different kind of Thanksgiving. Not the traditional turkey, gravy, cranberries and stuffing. The kids brought in sushi, dumplings, pumpkin muffins, sandwiches, pasta and buns.  It didn't matter what we ate, but what we were thankful for.  The kids each told the class what they were thankful for.  It was unanimous.  Family and friends. Oh yes, and a great teacher too! 

Our friend, Tony will be arriving from Hong Kong tomorrow evening. He'll be staying with us for a few days. We will have our Thanksgiving celebration at the clubhouse with Anne and her family. Though we can't be at the table with our loved ones in the States, it's really nice to have friends to celebrate with here in China.

So, we give thanks for all our family and friends and the love and support you've given us. We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Remember us when you're passing the turkey to have a portion for us as well!

Hairy Crab - Take 2

We went on a company outing today to Suzhou for a taste of hairy crab. It didn't matter that I went with my friends just a few days ago, any chance for hairy crab...I'm game! We embarked on a two and a half hour bus ride to Suzhou and then boarded a boat to arrive to our destination. Matthew and Tony have never experienced hairy crab and it was a good way to get them to try it. It was nice to see Tony's colleagues and their children again. We met some of the new children who were just born recently and were amazed at how big all the kids have gotten.

We had a ten course banquet and the hairy crab was served at the end. It was messy but very good. We had three crabs between Tony and I and it was all gone. It took me almost an hour to pick through the one crab that I had. Matthew and the other kids weren't interested in tasting the crab. They were more interested in torturing them instead. After our dinner, Matthew and the kids played a game of soccer in the front yard of the "restaurant". I'm using the term restaurant very loosely because it was more like someone's house that we had dinner at. We boarded the boat for our ride back to the dock to pick up our bus for our long ride back to Shanghai. All was quiet on the bus since we were all full and tired.

Thus is almost the end of the hairy crab season. We'll be gearing up for Thanksgiving next week. Tony will be arriving into Shanghai on Thanksgiving day and we'll be breaking bread and sharing turkey at the clubhouse with my friend Anne and her family. Another eating marathon will begin when Tony arrives!

Hairy Crab

My friends and I went on a tour to visit Tai Lake located in an area called She Shan in Suzhou. Suzhou is about two hours away from Shanghai and is home of the famous freshwater hairy crab. This is the season for hairy crab. When the first autumn chill sets in, many of the aficionados dine on hairy crab. The reason is the chill in the air signals that the crabs move less and thus bulk up with fat and produce more roe. It's a short lived season- ranging from September through December. The crabs are considered a delicacy. They are dark green in color and have fine golden hair on their legs and a patch of dark hair on their claws.

We left Shanghai early and arrived at a crab farm where we learned about the different products available from that area. Gingko nuts, mandarin oranges, tea leaves and crab. We went out on a fishing boat and took a tour of Tai Lake and saw how the farmers captured the crabs. We returned from our tour to sample our first hairy crab and to learn how to take one apart. In the States, the crab bashes equip you with plastic bibs, hammers and little picks. Here, you roll up your sleeves and use your hands. No fancy plastic bibs, no cute little hammers. Just you and your ten digits.

The crabs are tied up and boiled with ginger for about 15 minutes. They are bright orange red when they appear and this is where the fun begins. Andrea and I decided to share one. Anne passed since she's not a big fan of shellfish. It's a bit of a mess when you take the crab apart. The legs are used to pry the meat out and there is a bright orange cream that is very rich. The meat was very sweet and it was good. You dip the crabmeat in dark soy with vinegar and ginger. I can now honestly say that I have tasted a hairy crab.

Now, I'll just have to get Anne and Andrea to try fried scorpions.

Anne and Andrea

Meet my friends Anne and Andrea. They are residents at the Shanghai Racquet Club. We met two months ago and have been inseparable since then. Anne (on the left) is from Nottingham, England and arrived in Shanghai late August with her husband Tony and daughter Amy. Andrea (on the right) is from Michigan and was transferred mid-assignment from Tokyo and arrived in Shanghai in July. She's here with her husband Patrick and two children Tanner and Foster. Since I've been here longer than the two of them, I'm considered the guru of all information of Shanghai. Not true. I am full of useless information. Anne and Andrea learned early on that every excursion with me includes a meal (or two) somewhere in town. This bring back memories of my days at IP. (Lip smacking sound effects are in order here).

They can often be found in my kitchen enjoying whatever homemade concoction is available with fresh ground coffee after we stampede home before the kids get off the bus. Anne's daughter knows to come directly to my house to find her mother. Amy often says that despite all the running around I do, I still find time to cook and bake for my family. She'll ask her mother why she can't do it as well. Amy has threatened to move in with me because she likes what she finds in my kitchen. Tanner and Foster have told Andrea that they want to move in with me as well. They've told her "Mrs. Susan is nice. She has two hamsters. Why can't we have that too?" Who knows, before the end of the year, I may wind up with three more kids. The beauty is, I didn't have to birth them and they've all been potty trained. You know I'm being sarcastic right?

You know that Anne and Andrea have been roped into my book club and they are also my mules. Andrea's going home to the US for the Christmas holidays. She'll be carrying all my US holiday cards to mail from Michigan. At least, I know they will arrive unlike the fiasco we had last year with the postal system here in China. Anne will return to England and will bring back the baking supplies that I need. It's a beautiful relationship we have.

Ironic that they bear the names of people that I loved while I was at IP. Now, I just need to find friends named Deborah, Melinda, Mary, Charlie and Janice and I'll be all set. It doesn't matter if I find friends with these names. The next friends I make will get renamed by me so I can very happy.

Textiles

Now that the banking fiasco has been resolved....I can get back to what I really like to do. I've spent some time wandering the stores looking at antique textiles. Some pieces have caught my eye and I took Tony to one of the shops to show him some of the pieces that I liked. He agreed and we purchased three pieces of antique textiles. The piece you see is from the Qing Dynasty (from 1644-1911) during the reign of Xian Feng (1851-1861). It was taken from a robe that was worn by a young prince of the royal family. I've been trying to find a robe in the imperial yellow color but it's almost impossible to find and if I can get it, it will be extremely expensive.

The two additional pieces are also from the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Xian Feng. One is gold embroidery of a dragon from a woman's skirt and the other is gold embroidery of a phoenix from a woman's skirt. For those who don't know, the dragon is male and the phoenix is female. Thus is the start of our collection. I'm sure there will be more to come before we leave this area but it's nice to have something that will always remind us of our time in China.

Issues

Communication is a major problem here in China. In the US- we're quick to acknowledge and respond to emails so at least the recipient will know when to expect a resolution. Here- radio silence. No response, no acknowledgment. The mentality is ... if we don't respond, it'll just go away.

Tony's expense reimbursements since August have not been paid out. After sending numerous emails to the finance department ..... three weeks later we finally get an answer. It seems that the reimbursements have been deposited into a colleague's account. Oops. Finance writes an email to his colleague and asks that he give the cash to Tony. Maybe the finance department doesn't see the issue that is blatantly glaring at me. There is a paper trail issue. In the US- finance would offset the cash paid out against any future expense reports submitted by the colleague. Finance will then pay out the outstanding expense reimbursements to Tony again and DEPOSIT it into the right account. Two weeks go by, no cash has been handed and now we're at a crossroads.

I'm tempted to do something Soprano like. You know..."Badda bing, badda boom. You don't hand over da cash, I'm a gonna hafta take you to the back and rough you up a bit. I'm gonna get Paulie involved and he's gonna hafta knee cap you." My other option is call in the Chinese triads. The way I see it, It's nice to be set up on both sides. Life has it's advantages here. I often tell Matthew if anyone bothers him at school, he should say he has ties to the mob and to the triads. That ought to keep the bullies at bay. I have an over active imagination. I know. I know.

Getting back to the expense reimbursement fiasco. The other day, I went to the bank to check on the reimbursements. I wait over an hour at the bank only to be told that Tony has to appear at the branch where the account was opened with his passport, work permit and some other documentation. The teller muttered something that I didn't quite understand. All I can figure out was the account had been suspended.

Tony takes the day off today. Mr. Miao, Tony's driver takes us to the branch which is 1.5 hours away from our home. We wait in line to speak to a teller and before our eyes, several people are gathered at the terminal and they are whispering something about the account status. One representative is on the phone but no one tells us what is going on. Finally after 1.5 hours, it turns out the account was suspended because someone was trying to electronically transfer funds out of the account. Uh, hello .... did anyone try to contact us about this? No. The bank just suspends your account without sending out a letter or even try to contact you by phone. Oh, yeah, right. I forgot. No communication.

After 3 hours at the bank, I am happy to report that the account has been reinstated and Tony can go along his merry little way and I can continue my day job as his accountant, secretary and bouncer without pay. Now, I just have to find my brass knuckles and rough up his colleague and shake the lunch money out of him. Just kidding.

Antiquing

My friends and I went to a seminar today about antique furniture. While walking down the alley way, I spotted a shop called "5,000 Year Antique Furniture." First, you can't afford it since it will be outrageously expensive. Second, you won't be able to take it out of the country even if you can buy it. Smart tactic. Catchy name...makes you think you're getting a real antique. My friends and I strolled in and found that a majority of the pieces in the shop are new replicas. We looked around and walked out. We like the stores that carry the older furniture. From the condition and smell, you know it's the real stuff from years gone by.

We headed over to Hu & Hu, a very reputable antique dealer shop and we learned alot about the various antique pieces that are found in shops. We're in the process of looking for a small cabinet to put under the staircase and will bring it back to the States once we're done with this assignment. I have an idea what I'm looking for and would rather buy something that is antique rather than get a reproduction made. I did spot something and took a picture to show Tony. Now, I just have to take Tony to the shop and have him look at it. If all goes well, we'll probably have something in the house by next weekend.

Family Photo

Its that time of the year again. We headed into the city this afternoon to have our photo taken by Gang Feng Wang, the same photographer who took our holiday photos last year. We had the photos taken in the alleys of the old Shikumen style homes. These homes will all be torn down by the end of the year and it's our last opportunity to have our family photos done in this setting. Shameful that this area so rich in history will be gone and new high rises will stand in its place.

It was great to see Gang again and we're excited about our new photos. It'll be ready sometime in the next two weeks and then I'll have to create the holiday cards and have them all posted before the end of November. Hopefully, they will arrive in your mailbox before the end of the year. Then again, judging from last year's disaster....some cards made it before the Christmas holiday and some showed up end of January/beginning of February...or in some cases...not at all.

We'll see how it goes this time. It's always a crap shoot on how the mail system works here. I have a theory and it's not a pretty one but nevertheless, I'll be happy to share it with you over a cup of coffee when I'm back. Don't even get me started on packages. That's another unpleasant story.

In the meantime, check your mailbox middle of December and let me know if you do get the card.....or not.