This and That

Well, reports are basically over.  Only 2 weeks to go and I am now concentrating on end of year activities, packing up to move and getting ready for my trip to the States.

This year the family has helped my cousin and I out by delaying the Huerter Family reunion from June to July.  I have never been in a position to attend until now and it has always upset me to think of my family all (well, mostly) together and me NOT there!  Well, this year, at least, I WILL be there!  And I am very excited about that and seeing aunts, uncles, cousins and their children.  Other things that are exciting: visiting a long-time friend in San Francisco and also son Matthew who is also there at the moment!

Other highlights will be 3 days with 2 girls (OK, I am having trouble thinking of them as ladies!!!) that I went to high school with.  I think we will all secretly think we have not changed since high school, and we will all think that the others have!  Ha!  I can't wait to see you, girls!

Of course I have also never seen my parents' new place - despite the fact that they have been there about 6 years!  So that is also exciting.  Then, to top it all off, a road trip north and west - South and North Dakota and eventually to Tacoma, Washington, where I was born but where I only lived for 6 weeks!  Then back to Shanghai for another year.

Yes, I am moving flats.  This was a bit tenuous for a while but all has been sorted out and I am moving to the building in front of where I am currently, into a 2-storey penthouse with a little more space than the place I am currently in.  Large balconies, great views and no one above me to make noise, but lots of steps to go up with my groceries.

So lots to think about and prepare for, but all very positive and fun.

Monsoon season is here.  It is short - about a month or less, but humid, rainy, smoggy and warm.  It was almost 100 degrees F the other day!!!

I will try to post again before I leave...but it just depends.

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

Sorry!

Hi Everyone,

I know some of you are not able to respond to my blogs because you don't have an account, etc.  However, I get very little feedback, and life for me IS very busy, so I will update when I can, but it will not be as regular as if I got feedback.  Sorry - I just can't afford time on something that does not show any activity.  I am here...

Cheers,

Shanghai Suz

China Travels

It was so much fun to see Beijing through Matthew’s eyes!  

My last experience of Beijing was  October  2009 as a tourist here, never thinking I would one day live in China.  The twists of fate.....

We stayed in a hotel that is so close to the subway you could just about spit and reach it.  This is a huge bonus (as we REALLY found that out in Hangzhou later, but that is another story!)  The subway in Beijing is great!  2 RMB (40 cents NZ) to anyplace on the subway!  AND it is extensive.  

The bell and drum towers in the Hutongs, Beijing

We visited the bell and drum towers - not far from our hotel in the Hutongs (the old, maze-like area of Beijing).  In the older days in China, these towers were very important.  Originally they were used for music, but later they were used to tell the time - the only way people had to tell time in those days.  The bell went in the morning and the drum in the evening, in certain patterns.  

Seahorses, starfish and wriggling scorpions on
skewers.  You choose - they cook!

Tiannamen Square, looking at the Forbidden City

Matthew and I explored the Hutongs. the Forbidden City and Tianammen Square, which are the main highlights of Beijing.  the night markets are Wangfujing Road proved more than Matthew’s stomach (and mine!!) could handle - wriggling scorpions on skewers, starfish and seahorses! 

Peking Duck restaurant

We went to a restaurant that specializes in Peking duck (like of COURSE you have to have Peking duck in Beijing!!!)  It is well-known and you get your own carver who sorts out the carving of the duck.  We both enjoyed it, and also enjoyed the amazing dessert served with dry ice afterwards!

The National Performing Arts Centre

The Performing Arts Center looks like a space blimp.  We walked around it and could not figure out how to get in - until we did 360 degrees (yes, that is looooong walk) and saw that the entrance and walkway are UNDER the water, and  the clear perspex allows the ripples to glow as you walk under it.  

Entering the Performing Arts Centre

The Temple of Heaven

Matthew then went to the Military Museum, while I went to the Temple of Heaven, which is a World Heritage site.  It was beautiful and the grounds were great, too, full of dancers, karaoke singers and people enjoying the sunshine.  Dinner at a hotpot restaurant was different and  we enjoyed that novel experience.  

Matthew on the Great Wall of China

We went to the Ming Tombs and of course the Great Wall was AWESOME!!!  We were  at Mutianyu and went up by chairlift, enjoyed the quiet scenery (which was Matthew’s specific request) and then luged down to the bottom (a real highlight)!  What I noticed most was the difference in foliage.  I was last there in the autumn and this time, in the spring, there were many blossoms and buds, lashings of color and wonderful smells.  

Next we went to a sculpture / art area of Beijing.  It is fairly new and we both really enjoyed the little shops, cafes and restaurants.  

Although we didn’t go to the Summer Palace, we DID go to the old Summer Palace, which was a  park setting and really interesting.  


And there ends our trip to Beijing.  We really had a great time!!

The Garden Center - Chinese-style! (Pudong Flower Market)

24th April, 2011 (late posting, I know!)

Pudong Flower Market

I had fully intended to write about my recent Beijing trip, but I had an unexpected adventure in Shanghai, so Beijing will have to wait a bit longer.

This morning after I went to the local market, I decided to look for some plants and seeds for our upcoming unit about plants.  I had heard there is a flower market in Pudong, so after a bit of research, off I went!

The place was not at all what I expected, having thought it would sort of garden-center-ish.  It was a long strip with little cubicles of shops, some with plants, seeds, jade, small pieces of furniture, seeds, containers and vases, picture framing, fish, birds, dogs and kittens and much, much more! 

Fighting crickets

I had heard about the fighting crickets and this is the first place I have seen them.  The little red-rimmed rings you can see in the photo are plugs of food that the keepers plug in from below so they don’t lose the crickets! 

Bird cages

The bird cages are very traditional (and quite lovely), made of bamboo and had china water containers.  There were also stray chickens on the ground eating any stray bits of food that came their way!  

Fish to buy.  Dinner or pets???

There were many types of fish, some in tank, but these storage facilities amused me.  Nothing flash or pretentious about fish in basins on the ground!

A unique pet!

The next thing to catch my eye were these worm things in a round fishbowl.  Upon investigation (and investigation is quite hard here because they hit you up to buy as soon as you take a second glance!), I decided they were silkworms.  The silkworms are interesting, but at a garden / pet bazaar?  Names?  How about Bonnie or Silkie?  Tweed?  Spinner?  How would you tell one pet silkworm from the other?  

What cracked me up the most were the “doggie fashions”.  This is popular here and almost all dogs have “clothes” and sometimes even shoes!  (Although I had never seen them hanging on hangars to purchase until now.)  So have a close look at these little numbers for the well-dressed dog!

What the best-dressed dog wears!

My post about Beijing will come to you very soon!

xxx,

Shanghai Suz

10 things I Don't So Much Like About Living in Shanghai

1.  Missing family - It goes without saying that first and foremost I miss my boys!!!  But Matthew is in China as I write and he has had some wonderful experiences here and if nothing else, I have been able to give him (and Jonathan) this opportunity to have new experiences and do new things in a part of the world that most would deem “difficult”. I have several friends coming over and I hope my parents will also take advantage of my time here.  

2.  Hoicking and spitting and bodily functions- Starting at the airport you hear this distinctive “achhhhhhhh” as they clear their throats.  If this gutteral noise is BEHIND you, you will certainly cringe, in case the resultant spitting might miss the mark and hit you!!!  If you turn around, you just might find that the person involved is a WOMAN!  Apparently this is illegal so as not to spread TB, but find me a policeman who enforces it!  People pick their noses regularly, in public, never mind who is watching or what they might touch next.  Toilets - the more basic public ones, ladies, have no doors, a squat hole and if you don’t take toilet paper, you won’t have THAT luxury!!!  Luckily I can usually find the European facilities but there are times........!!!  First thing when you arrive home - take off your shoes.  Second thing - wash your hands!!!

3.  Hard to cook - Today I found some of the things to make my wonderful pesto sauce.  Trouble is, I had to search for the rest of them before some things went bad.  That is a down side for cooking or baking here.  Just getting the ingredients can take several days.  The ingredients may not work right.  Then, because the cupboards are so small, it takes about an hour to get all the items needed to mix, bake, line, measure, etc together.  Then, no dishwasher, so you have to wash and dry everything.  Oh yes, then another hour to rearrange everything to return everything to the back of over-full cupboards.  It is easy to be be “over it”!!  I don’t cook very often and I bake even more infrequently.

4.  Dry and humid - Thanks to my lovely friends who  provided me with various lip balms.  They were sooooo much appreciated!!!  The winter here is very, very dry.  I have never had dry skin, but here my lips were very dry and so was the rest of my skin.  But in the summer, it is very, very hot and humid.  Not a great combination.  

5.  Traffic - Ha!  Just think lawless!  A colleague arrived here and was trying to make sense of the traffic.  “What are the road rules?” she asked.  Simple - there are some but nobody pays any attention to them.  They drive on the wrong side of the road and I have seen them go the wrong way onto an OFFRAMP onto a motorway.  They turn in front of you or into oncoming traffic.  Taxis will simply stop anywhere (which CAN be a bonus!)  Spatial awareness - what is that???  They honk all the time - mostly to let you know that they are near rather than in any nasty sense (as would be the case in NZ)!  They cut across up to 5 lanes, drive at breakneck speeds and can do the  “accelerate - decelerate” which makes me absolutely sick (literally)!  

6.  Language - I find that although the basic language structure is easy, the tones are hard and I don’t have enough  opportunities to use the language.  Written language is absolutely a non-starter for me!!  I would love to do better at this.

7.  Lack of good wines - Coming from NZ this is truly a penance.  Yes, I do drink “Great Wall”, but it is not great (William thinks it will make me go blind).  You can buy a real variety of wines here - from California, to NZ and Aus, to France and Germany.  However, they are quite expensive......

8.  Smells of summer - Now don’t get me wrong, some of these are great.  There were some blossoms this spring that smelled wonderful.  But they are short-lived in the scheme of things and compared to the frequency of sewer smells wafting by on the streets, well, the sewer smells last for at least 6 months of the year!!!!  (Including in your own bathroom at home!!)

9.  Being stared at - Do you get used to it?  Yes, you become somewhat immune to it although when you aren’t feeling well or are tired, this is not so easy to cope with.  If you can be graceful about it, that is great.  But the Chinese are NOT used to large breasts and they are fascinated.  Even that apart, you cannot get away from being stared at for your hair colour, eye colour and shape, build, height, etc.....  When back in NZ last, I kept waiting for the adulation that I get here.  But nobody thought I looked different enough to stare at!!!

10.  Stranger in a strange land - As everywhere else in the world, some people will help you and try to be understanding that it can be hard to live in a foreign country, speak a foreign language and read a script that you have never seen before. Some will try to understand the sincere but sometimes pathetic attempts at talking to them.  Others will turn up their noses and not try.  Some taxi drivers just laugh, which is really a nervous reaction to picking up a “loweye” that they are afraid they won’t be able to speak or understand!!

Well, to conclude, I can say how much of an education it is living here.  Someone once accused me of not being flexible.  I would love to see those words eaten!!

xxx,

Shanghaisuz

10 Things I Love About Living in Shanghai

Phoebe at work!

 1.  Having my nails done, AT HOME, at a reasonable price!  Phoebe is awesome!

One of those great sunsets

 2.  Amazing sunsets.  WHY they are amazing is probably due to all the muck in the air, but I guess you don’t look at gift-horse in the mouth, right?

3.  The sight and smells of springtime.  There are some beautiful flowers just coming out, the weeping willows are a soft green and the white magnolias (the flower of Shanghai, I am told) are just beautiful right now.

4.  New places to explore in the city, which I try to do every second weekend if possible.  I have been to some really interesting nooks and crannies, as well and seen and done some amazing things.  

5.  Teaching Year 1!  I love my class and I cannot believe how much I have been enjoying the challenges of teaching Year 1!  They are great kids.

Sue, William and I at the
Great Wall at Dandong

6.  Travelling further afield.  This has been wonderful after all the years of not being able to do so.  I have been fortunate enough since moving here, to have travelled to various places in China, Boracay, Philippines and back to New Zealand.  A trip to the States is looming!

7.  Seasons in the northern hemisphere.  Once again, I didn’t realize how much I missed winter at Christmas and summer mid-year!  

8.  Using the languages I know.  This one crops up all the time at BISS.  We have children who have come from many far-flung places or whose background involves one of the cultures or languages I know.  I love being able to help ease them into the school and routines with understanding and language.  International week is great, too!  

Shanghai's beautiful skyline

9.Shanghai architecture.  It is truly amazing to see the vast array of buildings on the skyline and also those tucked away.  It is a very modern city, but here and there are some preserved buildings.   

Easy and cheap getting around
by subway

10.  The subway system!  What a wonderful way to get around.  You miss the traffic and the rain (or snow!), it is very quick and very cheap.  If you miss one, there is another one within a couple of minutes!   And you just might see anything!  

Interesting sights on the subway

Another Shanghai Adventure

I decided to go out on another Shanghai adventure today, despite an ongoing cold, reports to write and household chores galore!  I am glad I did.  The morning dawned beautiful, and I must say that by the time I headed out it was nowhere near as lovely, but it was still a fine day and rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I decided to go anyway.  I started my afternoon at Xintiandi.  This is a very upmarket, boutique street in Puxi, near the French Concession.  Lots of cafes, jewellery shops, restaurants and very quaint.

Sculpture in Xintiandi

Then I actually managed to read the map and find Taikang Lu.  (Those of you who know me well will know that this is quite a feat.  Map-reading and directions are really NOT my forte!)  Taikang Lu is AMAZING!  There are lots of little alleys with shops and restaurants (did I mention that the Chinese LOVE food?)  I took the shot below as I do not know anywhere else in the world where you would see sophistication in the shops below, and drying underwear above!

Taikang Lu - juxtaposition of sophistication and underwear!

From there I took a taxi to the South Bund Fabric Markets.  Oh my!  Everything in clothing you could want, from cotton, to cashmere, to tutus, to a shop that only had sparkly fabric.  I am now clearly recognisable as a local (even if a "loweye") and for the most part I am not too accosted by the shopkeepers.  This is definitely a place to go back to.  

From there I walked via a local market to the ferry across the river.  When I say "local" I MEAN local.  There was fabric, buttons, elastic, plastic ware, street food and - the worst - cages of live hens, pigeons and ducks, ready to be on your table!  Fish, too.  The ones that get me the most are the ducks with their big eyes, somehow knowing that their days (no, hours) are numbered!  

I found the South Bund and the ferry, although for a little while I thought I was going to have to find a taxi to bail me out!  I took the local ferry that transports both passengers and bikes and scooters across the Huangpu River.  Here you can see the approaching skyline of Pudong (Pearl Tower with the round piece at the top, on the left), Jin Mao Building (the tall one in the middle) and the Shanghai World Centre on the right.

View of Pudong, March 5th, 2011

But maybe even more fun was this photo of the scooters on the ferry.  Everyone is just intent on getting off!

Shanghai Ferries

So, another day gone by.....

xxx,

Shanghaisuz