Another pretty tame week at our apartment in Shanghai. We're using the weekdays here to make some serious end-of-the-year school progress, so nothing too exciting.
Actually, I take that back. Most everything we do here, no matter how mundane at home, has a certain level of excitement to it. So I thought you might enjoy a peek at our days:
We took an overnight weekend trip to the city of Hangzhou. There was a little false advertising involved on the part of my husband. Most of Saturday was spent in a business meeting, with Mike providing engineering advice to a start up venture.
Hangzhou is most famous for West Lake, a really scenic lake with beautiful surroundings in the center of town. After the meeting we were taken to dinner and for a walk along part of the lake.
On Sunday we were on our own and spent the day walking around the perimeter of the lake which was beautiful and very scenic.
The locals may call this West Lake, but I will heretofore refer to it as 其中，风度 (which translates as Where Grace Ended--or maybe as "We are going to receive the beach"--read the previous post if you don't understand that one!).
It really was a beautiful walk, but it was very humid and we were all carrying our backpacks and we were constantly stared at and people kept taking pictures of us and everyone was popping my personal bubble!!
Two parting pieces of advice, one for older men and one for the general population:
Dear Older Men: It is in appropriate and just downright creepy to be staring at young girls.
Dear General Population: If you walk past someone, stop two feet past them, turn around 180 degrees and stare, THEY CAN SEE YOU!
Yikes, see what I mean? I sunk to a very low place and I'm ashamed...
We ended our day with a late train ride home to Shanghai. This new and huge and modern train station was another thing that just made my jaw drop. I was going to delete this picture, but Trina told me I had to include it and tell you about the cost. "Dad said the floor alone was $3,000,000 and the whole thing probably cost about $50,000,000. The floor is granite so each square foot is $5 and it's $2 to put each square foot in." Wow--maybe I should ask her to explain the whiteboard!
Actually, I take that back. Most everything we do here, no matter how mundane at home, has a certain level of excitement to it. So I thought you might enjoy a peek at our days:
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| Our go-to lunch. Took us a few days to get adventurous enough to open up the green packet (green=fire). Turns out it was just added flavor. And isn't that fork the cutest? |
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| Where a lot of our schooling is happening right now. We're enjoying the space of a really comfortable two floor, 3 bedroom apartment. The kitchen is only equipped with the very basics but we're getting creative. |
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| The outside of our building. We're the first two floors on the right. |
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| This is how most roads are set up. Traffic lanes and scooter lanes. Driving is crazy here, not because of speed, but because drivers develop the rules as they go. Random changing of lanes or stopping or straddling of lanes is par for the course. Ella read an article about how bad road rage is in China--understandable! |
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| This is the shopping center with our Carrefour grocery store. I already feel like a regular. We walk there and taxi home, I know where to find the up and down escalators, I know what's in each aisle, I know to weigh my produce BEFORE checking out, I know to bring my own bags, and I've finally mastered the four wheel drive shopping cart (all 4 wheels operate independently). |
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| An entire aisle of rice cookers? We're certainly not in Michigan. |
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| Anyone need a wok? Believe me, these store employees, usually through a very loud microphone, will do their best to convince you that you do! |
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| People, this is what I'm dealing with! And I must be very careful because there's a good chance these will be fish flavored. Nothing worse than opening up a package and smelling fish. |
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| I'll bring a free package home for you if you can identify these. |
We took an overnight weekend trip to the city of Hangzhou. There was a little false advertising involved on the part of my husband. Most of Saturday was spent in a business meeting, with Mike providing engineering advice to a start up venture.
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| I'm developing a photo exhibition: "How We Occupy Ourselves While Mike Talks Business" |
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| My worst nightmare! How can you possibly have a whole whiteboard filled and no WORDS?? I think I just CLEPed out of Physics in one afternoon. |
Hangzhou is most famous for West Lake, a really scenic lake with beautiful surroundings in the center of town. After the meeting we were taken to dinner and for a walk along part of the lake.
 |
| Hangzhou should become Grand Haven's sister city! Musical fountains unite! |
On Sunday we were on our own and spent the day walking around the perimeter of the lake which was beautiful and very scenic.
The locals may call this West Lake, but I will heretofore refer to it as 其中，风度 (which translates as Where Grace Ended--or maybe as "We are going to receive the beach"--read the previous post if you don't understand that one!).
It really was a beautiful walk, but it was very humid and we were all carrying our backpacks and we were constantly stared at and people kept taking pictures of us and everyone was popping my personal bubble!!
 |
| The girls and I sat on the curb to take a break. First a woman sat down and asked her friend and husband to snap pictures. Then she came back, moved the backpack which was between Ella and I, sat down, threw her arms around us (my sweaty back--"Take that, Lady!") and shrieked loudly at them to take more pictures. Then an older man sat down next to Celia and these men motioned for us to stand up. Are you kidding me? I said no and motioned them away, but this was their reaction. |
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| And really? Check out the center of this picture. If he can do this when he's hot and sweaty, then so can I! |
Two parting pieces of advice, one for older men and one for the general population:
Dear Older Men: It is in appropriate and just downright creepy to be staring at young girls.
Dear General Population: If you walk past someone, stop two feet past them, turn around 180 degrees and stare, THEY CAN SEE YOU!
Yikes, see what I mean? I sunk to a very low place and I'm ashamed...
We ended our day with a late train ride home to Shanghai. This new and huge and modern train station was another thing that just made my jaw drop. I was going to delete this picture, but Trina told me I had to include it and tell you about the cost. "Dad said the floor alone was $3,000,000 and the whole thing probably cost about $50,000,000. The floor is granite so each square foot is $5 and it's $2 to put each square foot in." Wow--maybe I should ask her to explain the whiteboard!
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