Lovin' the Bund

Since Thursday was a holiday, most Chinese got off Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. (It was the Mid-Autumn Festival.) This weirdly meant that our bank was open on Sunday. Since we had to set up a few different accounts each, we split a cab with our friends to Lujiazui (Loo-jah-zway) right near the Bund. 

The banking was relatively painless for once, and we left to meet more people at the Shanghai World Fincancial Center for lunch. (That's the one that looks like the bottle opener.) I didn't get a picture of the whole elevator map, but I did want to show you that you are "her."

If you come to Shanghai, you will be taken to Din Tai Fung. Shanghai is known for their soup dumplings: little packages filled with meat and broth. Things of beauty. This place is one of the more famous restaurants. Picture nine of us at a normal round table for 6, 11 steamers of dumplings, and side dishes to spare.  What a feast!

Afterwards, we went to the top to take pictures of the view, but we were literally in the clouds. Nothing to see!

Like so:

You can't even see the bottle opener in the clouds.  Also in the smudge of my picture.  

Really, I'm fascinated by this city. I haven't gotten over the view, that's for sure. 

I'm feeling really good about this transition so far. I'm picking up words here and there. We're finding interesting things to do on the weekends. And weekdays even!  Who knew that was even an option??  We haven't gotten totally lost or had any completely mortifying experiences.  We've been definitely having an adventure, so that's a successful life choice I think.  

I miss parts of my "old" normal.  I miss friends and family, of course. I miss playing in the orchestra. I miss going to my exercise class. I miss running down the hall to gab with coworkers.  I miss having a chocolate drawer at school!  I miss Mexican food. Oh, el Taco de Mexico....

But! 

I'm loving how much free time I have to explore my world. I'm loving all the "problem solving opportunities" I have on a consistent basis: how do I order food at the restaurant when there aren't pictures in the menu?? I'm excited to be meeting all of these different cultures and having kids excited about that folk dance from Sweden simply because they just moved from Sweden a few months ago. 

I'm feeling my world expand out of the bubble it had been in, and I'm excited to see everything.

Let's just hope the feeling lasts when the weather turns cold and dreary!

Mark's side of the story

Mark is feeling like he's not getting to share around here.  So who gets to write his story while he's rehearsing with the Shanghai Community Jazz Band?

Yep.

Me.

You kidding?  Him with the sassy writing?  Ha!  ;-)

So he's at the upper school, and I'm at the lower school.  It's about a 15-20 minute bike ride down the major road.

See??  Yeah... not that spacially accurate.  There are more streets in between the lower school and the upper school, including the road we live on and the roads that Wanda Plaza is on.  

Back to the main story.  

Welcome to...

How cute is that!  The Dragon's Lair.  

And if you forget where you are by the time you get to the basement pool, they remind you again. 

This was before school started so see if you can spot me in the fuzzy crowd. :o)  He's so stinkin' excited about this auditorium. 

We got up to the second story where Mark's classroom/wing is.  There was a bit of back and forth since the high school director was still choosing which room to have, but behind those shelves is his classroom. 

And here's the messy room!  It's a lot more organized now since school is starting.  See his office door and window?

Here's his office, but I'm thinking that it doesn't look much different 3 weeks into the school year. 

Nicely, he does have some windows in his room and office.  Weirdly, there are only two power outlets in the band room: the wall under that window and the opposite wall that you can see with that shelf on it.  

But here's that view from his office window. 

So when they were remodeling the wing right around the corner, they accidentally built an extra room.  (The explanation was "This is China.")  

Guess who got an instrument storage room???

One of the benefits of "This is China" is the magic that can occur.  

So the room is bare.  It's organized, but not the best right?  

BAM!

It's really making our heads spin.

******

One of the stories he brought home that really is cracking me up is this class of beginning band students.  Sixth and seventh-grade beginning band students.  

All boys. 

Oh yes.  The horror.  

As they are learning to play for four beats and "rest" for four beats, Marks starts hearing mumbling from the back row in the rests.  

All of a sudden, it becomes clear that they are keeping the beat. 

With their choice of words.

Seventh-grade boys.

Poop Fart Burp Kick  **blast for four beats** Poop Fart Burp Kick **hoooooonk**

The story ends with P.F.B.K on the board as the band name and a logo, courtesy of one of the members.  

The End.  

Quick Pics

Just a few interesting sights.  Enjoy!

This is a dragon fruit.  It's very mild in flavor, and the texture is a bit like a soft melon (without being icky). Good with a spoon!  :o)

 

The day after we landed, we went to Ikea to feed ourselves.  This was the line to get into one of the sides of the buffet line.  Yowzers!  A lot of people wanted meatballs!

 

From our main balcony into what we think is a military school across the street.  We don't know though....  They play some drums at the main gate sometimes...????  We'll keep you updated! 

 

 



 

Day trip to the Puxi side of Shanghai.  Puxi, pronounced "poo-shee," means "west side."  We live in Pudong, "east side" and take a guess on the pronunciation.  This picture is from the famous part called the Bund, which is just a bend in the river in the middle of the city.  This is the Huangpu River.

 

 



 

This is called the Oriental Pearl Tower.  It used to be a radio/TV tower, but not anymore. 

 

 



You can see the "can-opener building" and then the building to the right under construction is the Shanghai Tower which is supposed to have 120-something stories. 


Neat, huh??


On our picture to-do list:
-tour of our apartment/complex (We get our new couch tomorrow!!)
-pictures from our balconies (waiting for a clear day...)
-picture of our schools (Mine has a ball pit!  A staff meeting in the ball pit needs to happen!)
-ummm  everything?????

Update: The health check was wild.  There were about 8 different rooms with a nurse/doctor in each: one to have you change into a robe, one to take your blood pressure, one to draw your blood, etc.  There was also another lady that would tell you to wait here or scoot down to there.  Can you imagine taking the blood of a new person every 3 minutes?  They were that stream-lined about it.  Apparently,  this is good enough for the government for the rest of my life.  Woohoo!

Xiajian!
XOXO!