A little this and a little that….

Wednesday, March 9

I walked to the grocery yesterday and as I was returning home… listening to the car horns and the people chatting and the construction … and I reeeeally listened…. It was more like a symphony… music… as the unique tones of the horns blend and harmonize … in a very lyrical and deranged way.   I began to hear all the sounds I thought were noise, differently.  It made me reflect and smile. 

I am starting to look at a lot of things differently now.  This will be my home for the next 1-2 years.  This is a place I need to find a comfort… and familiarity.  Like the predictability of the fruit vendor at the gate each day at 4pm.  Knowing that I will need bread every two days and that the one I like the most is the farthest away.  Knowing that when I walk through the compound, the same guard who knows me and always smiles and bows when he says ‘NiHao’… the one word I always understand will always be there.

I know my way around the ‘Metro’ now… that is what they call the subway.  We even have our blue public transportation cards… it will allow us to ride anywhere, anytime, for as long as I continue to load it with yuans.  It is the most economical method to get around the city… assuming there is a line going in the area you want to go.  Then cabs are fairly reasonable as compared to what one pays in the states. 

 But... we are becoming quite the walkers.  We walk everywhere we can. Which is getting us fit… and this is a great time in life to get fit and stay fit.  The extra weight makes it harder to do everything.  So … the fact that we are eating healthier and getting way more exercise than we ever did…. It is paying back in dividends!!!  We feel better than ever. 

Friday, March 11

We were supposed to have our cultural training today, but the trainer had to reschedule.  We will be doing that all day on Saturday instead.  So in honor of the change in plans, Michael and I decided we would head over the river to check out the former French Concession area.  We have been told that it is a very desirable area to live and just a really pretty area to go see.  We figured we would have dinner there and do a walking tour through the neighborhood. 

I spent the better part of Thursday researching how to get there and where to go once we got there.  Something I should mention here…. No matter what or where…. You must plan.  Doing the everyday stuff to a site seeing afternoon, you must lay out the route, figure out how you are going to get there, and figure out where you might like to eat.  If you do not plan you will get lost and with the level of Chinese we possess… well it would not be a fun afternoon.  It is easy to get lost unless you have a really good map and even then it is a challenge.  

So we headed to the Metro… we would take Line 2 from the SSTM station to People’s Square.  From there, we would take Line 1 to Shaanxi Nan Lu…. ‘Nan’ means middle or center, which explains why we could not find the name on the map…. It is only Shaanxi Lu… the Nan is to tell you where on the road it is… as in ‘xi’ which is west or ‘dong’ which is east or ‘nan’ …in the middle.  It is really helping that we are learning a few things in Chinese.  And just for grins…’pu’ which is river…. So pudong is east of the river and puxi is west of the river.  It makes me feel like I am making progress when the light bulb finally comes on and stays on. 

Oh well… let me get on with my story.  We decided to get off one stop before the planned one and have a late lunch.  Armed with our map and an address, we set out to find the restaurant I had picked for us.  One block into our walking we realized we were going the wrong way… we u-turned and headed back the opposite direction.  The things we noticed most were the stores.  We saw all kinds of high end stuff in this area, Gucci, Tiffany, Cartier, Rolex, and many many more designer shops.  The streets and sidewalks are much narrower and lots more people too.  We found it difficult to walk side by side and found ourselves walking single file a lot.  We finally found the BriccoCafe Pasta Restaurant.  I had identified 3 that were in the area and we were going to eat at the first one we found.  It was a nice place, a little small, but the food was really tasty!! 

After our lunch we headed to the streets I had found to be the ‘walking tour streets’.  The internet has been my companion and today was no different.  It had given us two walking tours to choose from and I had decided we would check out Shaoxing Road to Taikang Road for our walking tour.  It was a good 15 mins or so to get there.  It would take us to a park and a street with mature trees planted during the time the French government controlled this area.  You can see the French influence in some of the architecture.

Below are a few pictures we snapped along the street of Huaihai Zhong Lu.

 The first picture is because we thought it was funny how the English translation read for the kids store, Juvenile Article Store.  And the others were just because.

This was a restaurant along the way.  I thought it was really pretty all tucked behind big doors. It looked like a hidden garden.

These were taken at a little hidden away park.  There were grandparents with children playing, ladies exercising and a group of old men huddled over a chess board, some playing chess and some watching.  It was pretty big once you got in, but from the outside it certainly did not look that big.  The rock formations were unique and tucked in a corner was a cave that looked like a miniature grotto.  This was a peaceful and tranquil place in a huge bustling city.

We decided to stop off at a Starbuck’s for a cup of hot java and a seat to rest a minute.  These were just some street scenes as we sat there… and a final snap of Michael as we headed back to the Metro and homeward bound.

It was a great afternoon.  We walked probably about 10 miles all told.  We made it safely back to the apartment about 7pm… completely exhausted but proud we had managed to find our way without a hitch.

Saturday, March 12…Cultural Training

Our trainer, Victor, arrived right on time.  He is from Monterey, Mexico originally, but has been here in Shanghai for 13 years.  He did a great job.  Finally … now …I have put some perspective on some of my frustrations.  He helped 100% on attaining this clarity.  He helped Michael understand that for the spouse this is not… NOT a walk in the park.  Doing everyday things are exhausting here.  I know that Michael has his share of frustrations from a business perspective, but now he realizes how really hard it is for me too.   All in all… it has turned out better for us to have taken this training here after a month, then if we had taken it before we left the states.  We had lots of real life examples to share with our trainer….and for him to help us sort it out.  I was concerned that we had not been able to get the training before we left… but as usual… everything happens for a reason….

Sunday, March 13

Today is my brother’s birthday.  Happy birthday Benny!!

Michael and I decided to go to the Foreign Language Bookstore in Jin Qiao.  It is an area in Pudong that is a good ways from our apartment, but our trainer yesterday introduced us to some books to help us with the language.  We wanted to get the Mandarin phrasebook from Lonely Planet and the first Volume of the Tuttle Cards.  The Tuttle cards, as they are called, are really just flash cards for adults.  Both of these resources came highly recommended and we surely needed any and all help we could get. 

So off we went to the Metro… line 2 to line 6 and then a few blocks to walk.  We are getting to be real pros with the subways system.  There is a huge Carrefour right across the street and we explored the area a bit before grabbing a cab and heading back to the Carrefour we usually go to.  We found out about the City Shop that is right around the corner and wanted to go so we could see what it was like.  We wanted to see how many USA products and their prices so we would know about another option if we get hungry for home food.  I am trying to be selective about that… since the prices are REALLY high for imported products.  We are trying to use products from China as much as we can.  They taste a little different, but not enough to pay so much more for those manufactured in the USA.

First stop at Thumb Plaza, the Niki store.  Michael needed a light weight jacket.  We finally found one that would fit that he actually liked… so we bought it.  Second stop… Cold Stone Creamery!!!  I have been craving ice cream for a while and it did not take much to talk Michael, the ice cream man, into it.  It was sooooo creamy and yummy… I loved every single drop of it.  My only regret… I should have gotten a large instead of being good and having the small!!!!  I wanted more!!!!  Next time ….

Then off to the City Shop… we found it, we explored it… we left.  Products were expensive as I expected, but when you have a hankering for some Cheezits or the genuine, made in the USA something… and you just don’t care about the price, this is one of the places to come.  So now I know what I can get and will go back for specific items when I am really craving those things.  They had a really nice cheese selection and the meats, particularly the chicken, looked really inviting.  Up until coming here, the chicken had always looked pale and uninviting.  Their chicken had a nice fresh color and actually made me want to buy some… so I will be back for that for sure.  I am starting to learn the places that have the things I want… but going to several places on the same day that are not close or require refrigeration is hard.  So I plan different days for different places.  These are the kind of things that it would be wonderful if we had a car and driver.  I could plan the day and they would take me to my appointed places and wait for me… and the bags would be loaded at each place and no lugging them around.

Now back to the zoo…uh hum… the Carrefour.  Oh no… the Bread Talk is gone!!!  That was my favorite place for bread.  They have completely cut off that entire area which included not only the Bread Talk, but other restaurants and stores.  It appears we have a remodel in progress with no forwarding address for the bread store…. Boowho!!!

So I am forced to forage for a new place.  There is a bakery in the Carrefour and a Marco Polo and an Ichido out in the plaza, but none have the particular whole grain we have really come to love.  What a huge disappointment!  Oh well, just a small set back.

The one thing on our list we were unable to get… although we searched the store in all the places we would expect them to be…. Envelopes! No kind of envelope… not letter size or manila or mailers… nothing! How do the Chinese mail letters?  We could not imagine why we could not find envelopes, but we went home with no envelopes.  Michael will have to ask about this at work.  My guess is that you have to get it from the China Post…. that is the post office in China.  Michael thought that was the newspaper…. Like the Washington Post?  Oh well… we must find out where to get envelopes…

With bags in hand, we head to the curb for a cab and then for home.  It is Sunday night and it has been a busy weekend.  Until next time…