DECEMBER 26, 2007

It's been an interesting holiday, and one that I've been quite anxious about which to write. First, as promised, I'll report on my dentist visit.

I'd asked my friend, Ali, if she were available to join me, and it turned out she had items to pick up at the fabric market (not too terribly far from the dentist) so she agreed to tag along and keep me company. Dr. Hu practices in an office with a few other dentists in a clinic utilizing an old renovated Shanghai house for their office. It is a stark contrast to the gleaming, sparkling, high tech institutions that serve most US citizens as medical and dental clinics. While the house seemed to be in good repair, it hadn't been changed much from house-style to office-style. Outside it had been painted a cheery shade of yellow with bright white trim, and the inside still sported dark heavy wood trim around the doors and windows as well as serving as railing for the stairway banister. The reception area was probably a living room back in the day, and I checked in for my appointment. The Chinese gal took my pertinent information and I was invited into a small room that had been retrofitted for dental purposes.

From that point forward, other than the fact that Dr. Hu and his assistant were Chinese (but spoke fairly decent English), I could have been in any dental office in the U.S. The assistants all wear nurse's uniforms complete with nurse's caps which made me smile a bit. Dr. Hu was sweet and gentle while performing the procedure to remove what was left of my crown and fit me with a temporary to utilize during the week while the permanent one was being fashioned. He even let me pick out which color I wanted (I never knew there were so many shades of white .... eggshell, ecru, ivory, etc.). At various points during the procedure, he even massaged my jaws to relieve some of the ache and tension from holding my mouth open so long (they ARE big into massage here which isn't a bad thing).

Ali and I were off to the fabric market where she picked up her items and I ordered a few shirts for Randy. I also took advantage of the wonderfully priced cashmere wool that is available here, and picked out a pretty grey cape, and ordered a light blue duffel coat which is probably ready for me to pick up at this point. These items which are beautifully hand made, are about a quarter the cost they'd be in the states. The fabric market is definitely becoming a habit now that I am getting the hang of it.

After the fabric market, Ali and I headed out for Ikea. I'd made up my mind that I really couldn't stomach the flashing of the Christmas tree lights, and our timing was good. Ikea was having a sale on all remaining Christmas decorations, so I picked up two strings of lovely white stars, one for the tree and one for the balcony railing ..... and NO flashing!!! Much better. We also made a stop at a nearby flower market that also sells pottery, ceramics, furniture, candles, and many decorating items. I purchased a star for the top of the tree as well as a few more little ornaments to fill in the gaps. Our tree is no longer Charlie Brown ... quite respectable I'd say!!

My 50th birthday was Sunday, and Ali had suggested a holiday brunch at a local hotel they'd tried previously. The Regent Hotel did have a very handsome Christmas tree and many beautiful decorations adorning their lobby and restaurant areas, and the brunch was fantastic!! Ali and Mike were particularly keen on this spot as the Regent's custom in the past was to serve free-flowing (meaning all you care to consume) Australian champagne with the brunch, but they have now changed it to white or red wine (which was still great .... but agreed, champagne would have been better). We spent a couple of hours over a leisurely brunch of lovely fresh seafood, sushi, casseroles, breads and rolls, some traditional Chinese dishes, and a gorgeous selection of desserts. We stuffed ourselves until we were uncomfortable, and took ourselves home to sleep off the combination of wine and too much food. Or maybe I'm just getting old and needed a nap!!

Christmas Eve was also planned with Mike and Ali although things didn't quite go as planned. The Prousts were picking up their son, Duncan, at the airport at 11:30. Duncan had quite wisely taken a flight to Tokyo where he'd spent the night before continuing his journey to Shanghai. Ali text me around 12:30. Two flights from Tokyo had disembarked and no Duncan! They were at a bit of a loss as to what to do next. The airline wasn't giving them any information and there was one more flight coming in shortly, then no more until after 6:00 in the evening. Would I go walk Ralph for them, and they'll wait for the next flight? Sure, no problem.

The next flight came in .... still no Duncan. Of course, at this point, they were quite concerned. Calls to Australia provided no information. Ali had a doctor's appointment at 3:00, so they left the airport assuming that at some point, they'd hear something from Duncan.

As they arrived in Hongqiao (our neighborhood), their cell phone rang. It was Duncan who had just come through customs having deplaned the last flight for which Mike and Ali had been waiting. Apparently, there'd been a miscommunication of some kind. They turned around to fetch Duncan while Ali phoned to delay her doctor's appointment.

Our meeting time was 6:00 PM in their lobby for the Christmas Eve festivities. The party was near the downtown area in the ballroom of the Sofitel Hotel. Ali text'd me that we'd shove off closer to 6:30 as their day was effectively off schedule severely!! No problem. We all got gussied up in our holiday best. I gave Randy one of the 5 new silk ties that I'd purchased for his Christmas stocking, and he looked very dapper!! We met the Prousts (along with Duncan and another guest, Evon, one of the Chinese gals who works in the developer's office here in our compound). Mike had arranged two cars and drivers so Ali, Randy, and I took off in one, and Mike, Duncan, and Evon were in the other. Off we got, closer to 7:00 than 6:30.

Well, for people who are rather late to the Christmas celebration game, the Chinese are certainly making up for lost time!! I assumed (stupidly) that there would be little or no traffic as to most Chinese folks, this was any other Monday evening. The traffic was bumper to bumper and moved rarely. What should've taken us no longer than 20 or 30 minutes took closer to an HOUR and 30 minutes!! I think every person in Shanghai was out on the town. Ali had sort of clued us in on what to expect as far as the evening's festivities .... a lovely buffet, some nice entertainment, possibly some party hats (as the Chinese sort of celebrate everything like we Westerners do New Year's Eve .... party hats, glitter, and fireworks!!).

We finally arrived at the Sofitel and Ali text'd Mike to see where they were located .... just behind us a bit. OK, no problem. I was starving, and I am quite certain that I've mentioned in previous posts that I do get a bit cranky when hungry. We amused ourselves watching another party in a restaurant to the rear of the lobby of the hotel. It did indeed look like a New Year's Eve party complete with party hats and favors. There was a band playing some easy rock 'n roll. But our party was in the ballroom on the 5th floor. As five minutes turned into thirty, Ali was kicking herself that she hadn't thought to get three tickets from Mike so that we could've gone on ahead of them to eat. We were starving!!

I believe 45 minutes after our arrival, Mike, Duncan, and Evon arrived. Mike was seriously flustered and stressed. He'd been sick for a better part of the previous week, and I don't think the stress of trying to get guests to a party in spite of wall to wall traffic in possibly the largest city in the world was helping his disposition. OK, up to the 5th floor. The elevator door opened, and a sound more hideous than anything I've ever heard greeted us. Let me see, how can I describe this noise??? .... a large microphoned cat having a hysterectomy performed without anesthesia. In actuality, it was a young Chinese woman, who under normal circumstances may have indeed had a lovely singing voice, but the sound system either hadn't been tested, or HAD been tested by deaf persons .... either way, the effect was something not ever experienced by me. I've been to a few loud rock concerts in my day, but this was truly painful!!!! And to add insult to injury, they seated us directly beneath a speaker. Communication was impossible unless you were adept at lip reading. Mike tried to get someone to turn down the speaker, but apparently this was impossible (at least that's what they said).

The room was full of Chinese folks and the atmosphere was that of a wedding reception. Children stood in front of the stage dancing in their party hats while the remainder of the room sat at round tables of 10 or 12. The buffet was set up in the lobby of the ballroom and we were hungry enough to ignore the deafening caterwauling to get something to eat. The buffet was probably lovely and fresh two hours ago, but as we were certainly last to arrive, the pickings were somewhat wilted. But we managed to get something to eat, and Randy was quick to offer Mike a glass of wine which he did indeed look as though he really needed. Oh no ... no wine for Mike as he was still taking antibiotics for his ailment. Bummer!!

After a few more minutes of excruciating screeching (even our Chinese table mates were holding their ears and grimacing), a pair of dancers came out to perform. This was somewhat more acceptable as at least the screaming had stopped. After a lively rumba, an invitation was put out for folks willing to come onto the stage to be taught a dance number. The couple came into the crowd to find willing participants, and they beseeched Randy to join them. Oh no .... WAY outside his comfort zone!! It's too bad because the Chinese always get a kick out of seeing a "laowei" on stage trying to do something traditionally Chinese. But I think we were all simply trying to stomach the event gracefully, and having to add tiptoeing through the tulips to the evening's agenda was simply over the top!

Immediately after the dancing, there was a drawing for some gifts (mostly electronic items) to be given away. Someone thought it would be cute to let the children draw the numbers and announce the winners. Cute it might have been but most of the children thought it was pretty neat to scream the numbers into the microphone. I'm sure we all suffered serious eardrum damage .... for sure MY ears are STILL ringing!!! And we didn't win anything either, dang it!!

Mike and Ali were simply mortified that their lovely evening they'd planned for us turned into a bit of a circus. We took it in stride as another adventure here in Shanghai!! "One for the blog!!" I told them.

Randy and I had an invitation to the home of a couple from Flint, who are here in Shanghai working for Delphi, for their annual Christmas Eve Open House. Mike and Ali knew of our invitation from them and released us from our obligation with them so that we could go to this other party. We urged everyone to come along with us, but as Mike and Ali had had a really crazy day, they were ready to head for home (with maybe a detour for a drink at the Hilton, one of their favorite haunts). Randy and I did indeed visit the McCarty's at their lovely home and enjoyed some oyster stew, American Christmas cookies, and a few other treats. As we were riding in the taxi on the way home that evening, I commented that for better or worse, this was more than likely the most memorable Christmas Eve in MY lifetime!!

Randy and I opened gifts by the tree on Christmas morning while playing our Christmas CD's. It was a chilly, grey day ... no snow in the forecast. Christmas afternoon was spent with Mike and Ali for a leg of lamb and turkey dinner with all the trimmings (AND the Aussie Champagne!!) along with Libby, a lovely Chinese lady, and three Romanian musicians who are part of the band that play at the Hilton which Mike and Ali like to hear. It was a really lovely day .... not quite like being at home with family (although I will say that Mike and Ali have become our Shanghai family), but as good as it gets if we had to be away! Mike was in a better mood, and we all had a big laugh about the previous night's festivities.

So I have Ralph with me for a few days as Mike is working, and Ali and Duncan are off on a trip to Harbin in the north of China where there is a fantastic snow and ice festival occurring. This is not to be compared to the snow and ice festivals with which I am familiar back in the states. They don't just do snow and ice sculptures in Harbin .... they do snow and ice BUILDINGS!! Ali has her orders to take LOTS of photos!!

Happy Boxing Day to my UK, Aussie, and Canadian friends!!

DECEMBER 19, 2007

Please forgive me, patient readers. My life has not been my own the last couple of months, but I will endeavor to bring you all up to speed on our lives since the last post.

To start, around the first of November, our landlady informed us that she was raising the rent by 17%! Randy and I had considered a move prior to hearing this news, but as we hadn't found anything that we LOVED within our price range (and to be honest, we hadn't put a tremendous amount of effort into the search), we'd pretty much decided to stay put. This increase threw a wrench in our works. We decided for that amount of money, we may indeed find something we'd prefer to our current abode, so a more intense and thorough search was launched.

It didn't take too long to discover a couple of things: the first being that the landlady was out of her mind in terms of the comparative cost of the rent (we were certain that the "expat premium" was coming into play, the mistaken notion of most Chinese that if you are not Asian and are living here for employment purposes, cost is no object), and the fact that we could probably have something much nicer for the cost of the increase, maybe less. We settled on a larger, more nicely furnished apartment on the 24th floor of a nearby building within the same compound. A bit of haggling ensued (as is the custom here), and Randy signed the lease just prior to my departing for a month long trip stateside for the Thanksgiving holiday. I lamented the fact that the move would need to be accomplished while I was away, but felt that the deed was in good hands. But packing for my trip to the U.S. was a bit of a trial. I had to pack the items I was taking on my travel, and then I had to pack the items to be moved. I wisely opted to pare down while I was at it, a decision that has made my life simpler upon my return.

The new apartment is quite warm and bright as it is high enough to not have the problem of other buildings blocking the sun, and the views are fantastic!! On a clear day, we can see the Pearl Tower (in Pudong) from our kitchen patio. Also, the patios are much larger so we'll be able to enjoy some real time outside utilizing them. Our main patio overlooks the garden, and as such, the bedroom is much quieter as there is a decent buffer of the garden and other buildings between us and the traffic on the street. We are told that we are high enough to be above the "bug line" (who knew such a thing existed???), and due to this fact, we have no screens on our windows as the bugs will not fly high enough to be a problem here.

I had a lovely visit back in the states with my family although Randy could not join me due to work obligations. My son, Jake, and my brother, Alan, traveled together from the Atlanta area and spent a week in town. I was able to complete our Christmas shopping, wrapping, and delivery before I returned to the Orient. I even traveled a bit within the state .... a couple of weekend trips to visit my son David and his family in Grand Rapids, a trip to my best friend and her husband's home near Detroit (Judy and Neal), and a beautiful casino trip with my folks into the Upper Peninsula where lots of fresh snow floated to earth daily to highlight the lovely Christmas decorations and lights. I didn't hit it big on the casino trip, but I didn't lose the farm either.

I will say that I underestimated the amount of relief I would feel when I took a bit of time to do nothing more than recline decadently on the sofa to view some American TV with a cold Michelob Ultra (something I can't get in China). I said to a friend recently that while I have come to tolerate and even enjoy our life in Shanghai for the most part, I think there is always a level of stress associated with dealing in day to day life in a foreign land, especially where the language barrier is so pronounced (even though I felt I had grown quite used to it). When just that bit of struggle is removed, the sense of relief is more intense than one would expect. Simply shopping for groceries, ordering a burger at the drive thru, purchasing some gift wrap at the Dollar Store ... these were all intensely pleasurable experiences because I could do it in my native tongue with reasonable assurance that I would be understood. It was really nice to give my brain that break!

The other great thing about the trip was that my mother-in-law (who is a priceless GEM of a woman) perfectly executed a surprise 50th birthday party for me at her home. The actual date is December 23rd, but of course, I am not going to be in residence for the real deal. Her house was decorated with the appropriate black party supplies and "over the hill" paraphernalia. I blew out candles, ate too much pizza and cake, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thanks, Norma!!!

So now I'm back in China where life is pretty good for the moment (which is not to say that I anticipate any tragedy ... but hey, it's CHINA!! Anything can, and probably WILL happen!). I did break a dental crown immediately upon my arrival, but my friend Ali assures me that Dr. Hu is gentle and speaks terrific English. I'll let you know. I see him tomorrow.

The Chinese are giving the idea of celebrating Christmas the ole college try! There are various attempts at decorated Christmas trees here and there (more than I expected), and some are quite lovely. As the general populous are not Christian, most do not understand what all the hoopla is about. Most think we are celebrating Santa Claus' birthday. One of Randy's coworkers said that she and her husband acquired an evergreen upon their son's request of a Christmas tree, but couldn't understand the child's dismay at a bare tree erected in their living room. They thought they'd gone to supreme effort, but the child had bigger plans in mind. Also, said child seems to think it is necessary to talk to Santa Claus on the telephone or the desired presents will not be delivered (there do not seem to be any Santa laps upon which little Chinese children can seat themselves). Of course, the parents don't have a clue as to how to get Santa on the phone (does he have a mobile???), and the child will not give them a list as he has the idea that the list MUST be a secret or else the delivery is in jeopardy. The parents are sincere in their desire to provide their little cherub with a "real" Christmas, but are stymied as to know which gifts are requested. Randy explained that yes, a list is a good idea but must be written in a letter which is posted to the North Pole. This seemed to go right over the coworker's head, so Randy explained that the parent can then intercept the letter so that they can review the list. I'll let you know how that goes.

Randy and I shopped in a nearby neighborhood mall yesterday. Most larger establishments are playing traditional Christmas music, usually in English which is quite pleasant. I have been humming along and getting into the spirit lately. While we were in the Lotus Store yesterday, I suddenly noticed that the music was "Oh Susanna!" "Is that a Christmas song?" I asked. Randy replied that the Chinese must think it is. Maybe it IS in Alabama! We are so often bemused by the misguided attempt at Western customs here in Shanghai, but hey, they are trying (as my mother would say, "BELIEVE me, they're trying!!). Makes us chuckle!

So we did indeed purchase a 3 foot Christmas tree along with some lights, garland, and a few shiny ornaments. In spite of the fact that the lights twinkle on and off (which is not MY cup of tea), it's a cheery little Charlie Brown tree and adds a bit of holiday spirit to our new home. I brought along some Santa caps and a couple of stockings from the states which have been hung by the chimney with care (OK, use your imagination .... they're really hung on the front of a cabinet in the living room), and as our new apartment also came furnished with a CD player, I also brought along some holiday music to brighten the atmosphere. Almost like being in Michigan for the holidays ... almost .... really!

We have received a couple of invitations from our Aussie friends, Mike and Ali, for a Christmas Eve party hosted by a business associate of Mike's, and Ali is cooking Christmas dinner with all the trimmings Christmas Day. The city seems a little quiet here right now due to the fact that the vast majority of expats return to their native land for the holiday, but that's OK. The relative peace seems appropriate (and appreciated) right now. There are plenty of available taxis, and many open seats in our favorite restaurants. We're happy that Mike and Ali have stuck around as we'd be truly alone for the holiday (yes, it's possible to feel alone in a city of over 20 million people).

Please forgive me for the leap from Halloween to Christmas in one post. Now that I am back to my normal routine, I expect the (mostly) weekly posts to resume. In case I do not post before next week, I wish you all peace, love, and happiness for a wonderful holiday season.