December in Shanghai

The past few weeks have been full of travel for Matthew, school holiday parties for the kids, and non-stop tai tai activities for Allison.  But on Friday we're off to Vietnam (via an overnight in South Korea, of course), and we'll spend Christmas and New Year here:



We're kinda excited.

Thanksgiving Party

As most of you know, Matthew works for the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a US-based nonprofit that does great work related to climate change, environment, strengthening communities (oh, and did I mention that I worked there for a little bit too...).  Because it's a US org, all staff get Thanksgiving day off.  We thought this would be a great opportunity to have a Thanksgiving party for Matthew's Chinese colleagues and their families.  Most had heard about Thanksgiving for years and even got the day off, but they had never had a real American T-giving meal and celebration.    We had it all planned for Thanksgiving day until someone pointed out that just because ISC staff get the day off doesn't mean that their spouses and children get the day off too.  On to plan b -- celebrating Thanksgiving on December 1st. 

It involved a lot of cooking and cleaning and creative acquisition of ingredients (thanks Elizabeth!).  We ordered two smoked turkeys from Bubba's BBQ.  My sister smuggled in some fresh cranberries, fried onions, Stove Top Stuffing (good thing as it's $10/box here in Shanghai). 

We had 30+ staff and family members from the Shanghai and Guangzhou offices, two turkeys, seven pies, 20 hand painted, hand turkeys, and one hilarious football game.

Some of the staff from Guangzhou came early to help cook.

Weekend in Chengdu

We had a wonderful visit with my sister Elizabeth, AKA "Aunt Lizzy".  As soon as she arrived , we whisked her away for a weekend in Chengdu.  I'd heard nothing but wonderful things about Chengdu, and I wasn't disappointed.  It's not really a beautiful city, but it's just got such a nice feel to it, and such great food, and PANDAS.  We were also excited to see Naomi and Townes' former Mandarin tutor, Zoe, in Chengdu.  She grew up nearby and recently returned to take a teaching job. 

We weren't the only tourists at Tianfu Square.

Watching candy animals being made at People's Park.

In Other News...

Updates in no particular order:

We've had a long-standing leak problem in our apartment -- mystery water under the floor wicking its way up the walls in various rooms.  Our landlady put us up in some fancy temporary digs while her contractors tried to find the source.  We stayed only a few blocks away, but it felt like a world away.  The area is more Western, more isolated, and more likely to make me lose my mind or burst into tears.  While it had a very nice playground, I hated it.  Made me appreciate our more Chinese neighborhood.  I missed pajama man.  I missed the fruit man.  I missed the vegetable chopping ladies.  I'm very glad to be home.

Happy Halloween (a little late...)

Halloween was surprisingly a big deal here in Shanghai.  Big parties at Eli's and Naomi & Townes' schools.  Here are the highlights:

Zombie from Candyland and All Aspects of Evil.



The other 4th grade class at the school Halloween parade.

Mr. Evil and his class.

Naomi and her friend Holly Catwoman.

Eli preparing treats to bring to school for Halloween.

Eli and his class singing Halloween songs.

Eli and Teacher Vivianna.

Scariest costumes ever.

 

Good Times with Grandparents

We're lucky.  We just are.  No matter where we move to, both sets of grandparents are game for visiting -- or in some cases, even moving nearby!  One of the cool things that I see every single day here in Shanghai, and likely all over China, is grandparents taking care of their grandchild (and yes, here in China it is grandchild, not grandchildren).

Grandparents are often the primary source of day care here.  It's not unusual to see a granddad out alone with a teeny baby.  Grandparents together feeding, caring, playing with their grandchild for the bulk of the day.  I love watching it.  Love watching grandparents play such an integral role in the lives of their grandchild.  Then I think to myself, what kind of moron drags their kids 7,000+ miles away from their two amazing sets of grandparents.  Morons like me and Matthew.  Sorry Charles and Gloria and Roger and Joyce.  We love you all very much and will come home soon.

Golden Week

This week has been a Golden Week here in China -- basically a week holiday to celebrate China's National Day (Oct. 1st) and the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival.  Matthew and the kids are all home from work/school.  Lots of people travel during this week.  I read somewhere that they were expecting 7 million people to visit Shanghai.  I think we saw them all on the subway.

Matthew and Eli started the week with new haircuts.  Eli got a 40 minute haircut.  No joke.  Complete with hair washing, blow dry, and style (with product!).