Thanksgiving wishes from afar

As our evening winds down here many of you are just getting up to start preparing for your Thanksgiving day. Turkeys are going into the oven, the NYC parade is kicking off, and everybody is gathering to celebrate. I know you are all curious about how we celebrated Thanksgiving here in China. The answer is short, because we didn't. It is not a holiday here, so most people are working (and unfortunately, Rich isn't even in Shanghai).

While out getting a few groceries last night I did see that our local supermarket had three frozen turkeys for sale. I hesitated for a minute, thinking that I could buy one to make this weekend when Rich is back from Beijing. I'm not sure how large it was (pound-wise), but it was big, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't even fit in our oven. It was 780RMB - although I have to admit that I have never bought a turkey so I have no idea if this is a good price or not. As with everything else in this country, if we wanted a turkey the price would be fine. Given that I don't even really like turkey, I decided that the hesitation was more about being homesick and missing out on this family holiday than a desire to cook a turkey (and all the trimmings to go with it).

I can say that despite not having a proper Thanksgiving celebration, we did have a great day. We slept later than usual (thanks Ang), had two friends over for a play date, and then attended a tree lighting party at our building - I guess when you have a tree that big it warrants its own party. There are a few lingering homesick feelings tonight, but I did realize today that we have a really great network of new friends here and that helps this feel a little more like 'home'. Rich will be home from Beijing tomorrow evening and the three of us will have a wonderful weekend together.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Only 22 more days until we're back home!!

And because no post is complete without a picture or two of Ang...

A play date with the girls (Jasmine & Mami - both 2 months older than Ang)

The new place to hang out - since she can roll there all on her own

rolling rolling rolling....

We have quite the accomplished roller on our hands. I've uploaded a video to Picasa - it is so cute to watch her go.

CLICK FOR VIDEO

Adventures in China

Rumor has it many of you are enjoying the blog...sorry I have been so slow with the updates. We have been keeping very busy with play groups, music class and Christmas shopping.

I was talking with somebody the other day about how some of the most mundane tasks can end up being adventures when you live in China. For example, buying diapers. The large supermarket near our house is closed for renovations and the smaller market nearby does not sell Pampers (our brand of choice). To get diapers (and other basic household items) we have to get a taxi to go out to a larger shopping area where there is Carrefour (similar to Walmart). Once you finally get through the check-out line (the place is always packed) you then have to get a taxi and try to explain how to get back to our house. We usually end up bringing address cards (similar to business cards) with us everywhere, but taxis don't usually know our building/address. At times I get very annoyed that I can't just hop in my car and drive to Target to pick up diapers.

Some other recent adventures include bowling and shopping (surprise surprise)...
Our friends, the Lisi's, called one Sunday morning and asked if we were interested in joining them for a little adventure. They were going bowling. Only in China would I declare going bowling an adventure. We took the subway to the bowling alley which was relatively easy to find once we were on the right street (the place was well marked with giant bowling pins on the sign). As usual, the babies got lots of attention from the staff. After bowling we went for lunch at 'New York Deli' and enjoyed some pretty good American food. On our way back to the subway we stopped by a Dunkin' Donuts and guess what...the glazed donuts taste just like those at home and they sell coffee by the bag!!! They even have the flavors!




It had been a while since we last visited the fake markets (located in a subway station under the Science & Technology Museum) so we picked a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon to go do some shopping. I was slow to get into the shopping, it is a little overwhelming because all of the shops want you to look at their stuff and offer "best price, best price". Then when they show you the price you have to name your price and/or walk away to get a lower price. We bought quite a few things, including a pair of Uggs, Seven jeans & and Paul Smith polo all for about $50USD (modeled in the attached photo).




I'm having a hard time getting photo's to upload tonight so I'm going to be lazy and just link to my Picasa album online (see below). There you can find a lot of our recent photo's as well as some pretty cute video of Ang.
Picasa - November 2009

Christmas is coming!

I have seen little bits of Christmas popping up all over Shanghai, but came home today to find a giant (and when I say giant, I mean GIANT) Christmas tree now standing in the lobby of our building. The weather has also dropped significantly and we had some snow yesterday. I have also started Christmas shopping. This may be a new record as I am never one to start shopping a full month before Christmas. I guess I am trying to be a little extra organized this year since our plans include stops in five states. Our flights have been booked and we will arrive in New York late on the 18th of December. We will be in New England until Christmas Day and then leave very early that morning for North Carolina. It is going to be a whirlwind trip home but we are very excited to see everybody!


uh oh....technical difficulties....I can't get my photo to rotate but I really want to include this so that you can see just how big this tree really is (they hadn't even finished building the thing). I guess you will just have to tilt your head to the right to figure it out...

the laowai price

Bonnie Ang and I were recently at one of the local markets in Shanghai and decided to have some fun testing out the 'laowai' price theory. The locals refer to anybody that is not local (i.e. ex-pats like us) as laowai. The true meaning of this word is old people but they have come to use it for anybody with white skin, regardless of age. We were at the junk market (4 floors of everything you might find at a dollar store in the US) and I asked the price of an item I was looking at. I wasn't really interested in buying it, I just wanted to know. Bonnie thought that the price seemed high. At the next little shop she went in first and asked the price of a bag and was quoted 15RMB. I went in next and asked the same question. 25RMB (and then later 20RMB if I buy more than one). We had a good laugh about this but also discovered that if she asks the price when I am standing there with her she gets quoted the laowai price. I guess this means I send her shopping now, or I just need to work on my bargaining skills!

Ang seems to have had a growth spurt recently and is looking much chubbier these days. She has been attempting to crawl but only manages to inch herself along the floor. Usually she ends up just flipping onto her back and then will roll to wherever she wants to be. Unfortunately she isn't sleeping so great lately (which explains the lack of blogs posts!).



Update on my knitting projects...
Rich declared my last attempt to blog about knitting projects too technical so I will not get into too much detail here (I have included a photo of Ang modeling for me). Attempt number 2 at the little hat was a better - but it is still too small. I have moved on to other projects for now but will give it another try soon.





I do have a little bad news. I had numerous requests for pictures of all of us at Halloween (because I only took pictures of Rich and Ang in their costumes). I found out today that there are no pictures of my costume. Somebody DID take a picture of the three of us on Halloween. However, that same person learned very late that evening that there was no memory card in the camera and therefore no pictures. Unfortunately I gave part of my costume (the necklace) to Bonnie so I can't really re-create it now. If I get enough requests I guess I'll put on the dress (and look like a cave woman) so that Rich can take a picture. In the meantime you will just have to use your imagination!

A few new pictures of Ang...

Daddy obviously dressed her (and we were celebrating his birthday so I couldn't say no)

She was very confused that she couldn't pull this socks (tights) off her feet.



Rich's birthday celebration

NY style pizza, wine and cake (made by me!).

Happy Halloween!

We weren't sure what to expect for our first Halloween in Shanghai. It was a little surprising to see the shops stock up on costumes and decorations in the weeks leading up to October 31 (and now some of them even have Christmas stuff out). Our friends were hosting a party at their house in Jin Qiao so we decided it would be fun to dress up and join them. Jin Qiao (pronounced Gin Chow) is an area on the outskirts of Shanghai where there are great International schools and villa communities. Many ex-pat families live in these villa communities which offer kids a nice place to run around and play. It is a great neighborhood for trick-or-treating since the houses are so close together and the traffic is limited to residents that are coming or going (so no crazy taxi drivers or mopeds).


I decided that it would be fun to make our costumes and headed to the fabric market last weekend to pick out all of the material I would need. Considering I put them together in less than a week with no pattern, I think they look pretty good! Rich even got a Yabba Dabba Do shout out while out trick or treating!

Meet the Flintstones

Daddy & Ang

Kyle (Luigi) and Ang (Pebbles) playing

Oops! No pictures of Wilma on my camera. I know somebody took a family photo of us so I will have to try to track it down and will post it later.

A new ride to Puxi

The weather in Shanghai has been beautiful lately and we took advantage of it this weekend by spending lots of time outside. We had to get back over to Puxi (across the river) so that I could go to the fabric market to see the dress that I ordered last weekend. Typically whenever we need to get to Puxi we either take a car or the subway. However, there are a number of ferries that cross the river and this is by the far the quickest and cheapest way to cross. Riding the ferries is a bit of an adventure though because the ferry terminals do not have any information in English. We had taken a ferry across once before but felt comfortable because Rich had taken that one with coworkers previously.

I researched the ferry locations on both the Pudong and Puxi sides and realized that there is a ferry that runs from a terminal very close to our house that would put us about two blocks away from the fabric market. The tricky part was that there are two ferries that leave from the same terminal on the Pudong side so we just needed to figure out which one would take us to where we wanted to be on the Puxi side. Of course, we took the wrong one and ended up at the Bund. Oops! At that point we decided that Ang wasn't really up for any more adventure so Rich got back on the ferry with her and headed home while I set off on foot to do some exploring. I made it back to the fabric market and found all sorts of interesting little shops in the area outside of Yu Yuan Garden (which is a big tourist spot). I managed to get back on the correct ferry going home and found that it only took about 15 minutes from the time I boarded the ferry to the time I was standing in the lobby of our building. And for only 0.5RMB ($0.07 USD). Not bad!!

We decided that crossing the river by ferry could be compared to a game of frogger. The river is used by very large boats to transport all sorts of materials around. The ferry must navigate through all of this traffic and oftentimes it seems that they are weaving in and out of the other boats. It isn't so bad on the weekend when river activity is minimal, but I can imagine it would be a bit nerve-wracking during the week when things are busier!

the 'nice' ferry that goes to the bund

the other ferry

river traffic

waiting for the boat

Adventures at the fabric market

I have been in a bit of a shopping funk lately. Every time I go to the mall I can never find what I am looking for, or if I find something I like it doesn't fit just right. Rich thought we could solve this with a visit to the fabric markets. The fabric markets are quite popular here in Shanghai and it is well known that you can have just about anything made for a fraction of the price you would pay at the store. We ventured out to the Shanghai ShiLiu Pu Cloth Market on Saturday afternoon (I have since learned that there is a larger, better market not far from this one that we will visit next time). The ShiLiu Pu market is three floors of tailors that offer a wide range of sample items and hundreds of fabric options. I was slightly overwhelmed with the number of options and couldn't decide what to have made for myself. I settled on a dress - a very basic strapless, a-line. I go back in one week for a fitting and then should be able to pick up the finished thing the next day. Just like most things in China, you can bargain with the tailors to get the best price for the item you want made. I have a feeling I am probably over-paying for my dress (200RMB = $28USD) , but I'll decide that once I have the finished product in hand.

entrance to the market

Ang & daddy at the Bund Center (Westin Hotel)

Ang is back on China time and is now sleeping all night (most of the time) and napping well during the day. She finally has a tooth cutting through on top that I can see - I feel like this one has been a very long time coming. Of course, this messes with the whole sleeping thing but at least we had a few nice nights! We are feeding her solids twice a day now and she loves eating them.

Some recent pics of our favorite little girl - who just turned 7 months!!

love the spoon!

so cute

cold carrots feel soooo good on those new teeth!

Craftiness

A friend of mine posted a picture of her baby girl wearing an adorable little hat the other day, so I figured Ang could use a cute little hat too. I was feeling crafty and needed to do something with the yarn that Nana left behind when she was visiting. I should probably mention that to date, my knitting has consisted of various 'sample' squares that are full of mistakes and usually end up getting ripped apart. I decided that it was time to start a real project and went about searching the internet for free hat patterns (there are hundreds of them). I settled on a very cute, basic hat that had a ruffled edge. I had to make a few modifications as the pattern called for size 10 circular needles and worsted yarn. I only had a pair of size 7 straight needles (also left behind by Nana) and haven't a clue what type of yarn I have (the label got thrown away). I assumed that it would be easier to knit on straight needles and sew up the seam than to hunt down circulars in Shanghai anyways (and even if I found circulars, I would still then have to figure out how to use them).

Well, two days later, we have a hat! It resembles a hat. It has a ruffled edge. Only one problem. I forgot to take the infamous 'Bozzuto head' into account and there is no way this is going to fit Ang. I guess we will save it for use on a doll someday.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the hat on Ang to show truly how small it is - she is asleep and I'm not waking her up to model.

After a little bit of searching in Shanghai yesterday, I now have a pair of size 10 circular needles and am going to attempt a second hat using these. This time I'll take her head size into consideration so hopefully it will fit!

It looks like I have a new hobby? And you all thought you were getting cheap Chinese trinkets for Christmas. Ha!!

jet lag

Sorry we have been MIA the past few weeks - it has been a crazy month for the Bozzuto's. We spent an unexpected two weeks back in the America under very unfortunate circumstances. Our return trip to China coincided with quarter close for Rich (which means crazy work hours) and having a baby with jet lag that appears to be getting new teeth has been painful. We are starting to get over our jet lag and Rich's work schedule has calmed down a bit. Ang finally slept for five hours straight last night which was such a treat (she has been waking up at least every two hours for the past three weeks). I can't blame her though. She really has been a trooper considering all of the traveling we have done.

Rumor has it that some people back home are missing a certain little girl so I thought some pictures might help.

very serious about her toy

Meeting wylie


cousins

our new 'crinkle my nose' face


visiting great grandma

happy!

cousin cuddles

I am cutting this post short because we have had a busy day and I'm exhausted. I will be back soon with stories from some of our recent adventures and of course new photos.

Miss you all!

Six Months!

A very special post for a very special girl. Ang is half-a-year old today!!

A new stamp in the passport

A quick recap of our recent trip to Malaysia...with lots of pictures because I'm feeling short on words tonight.

We left Shanghai Wednesday morning on a Malaysian Air flight - 5 hours direct to Kuala Lumpur. I have to say, two adults and one baby for 5 hours is a breeze compared to one adult with one baby for 13 hours! As usual, everybody just adored Angela. I buckled her into Rich's seat for a quick picture and the flight attendant jumped in for the photo.

Angela actually had her own 'bassinet' on this flight and just barely fit in it (length-wise of course)! She didn't like it very much but we found it a great place to store all of the baby stuff (wipes, diapers, toys, etc) during the flight!! It also meant more leg room for mom & dad since the bassinet's only attach to the bulk head rows.

The hotel we were at for Wednesday and Thursday nights was connected to a shopping mall and to IBM's offices. We did some browsing at the mall on Thursday and Friday while Rich was at work and then spent some time relaxing by the pool. We also enjoyed some nice dinners with Rich's co-workers. Ang was such a trooper considering we kept her out past her bedtime three nights in a row!





On Friday afternoon we moved to a hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The highlight of downtown is the Petronas Towers. These are two massive towers that are connected by a pedestrian bridge at the middle. There is a mall attached to the towers and a very nice park just outside the towers. The park has a running path, a giant playground and a public swimming pool for children. On Saturday afternoon we went up to the 41st floor of tower 1 and walked across the skybridge.

After our trip up the towers, I spotted a Dunkin Donuts!! We stopped for a donut and iced coffee which weren't quite what we are used to. The donuts were more cake-like and the coffee came pre-loaded with an insane amount of sugar. But, it was a nice reminder of home in a far-away place.

The rest of our day was spent relaxing by the pool at our hotel. The pool was on the 22nd floor and offered some really nice views of the city.



Overall, it was a really great trip and it was nice to get out of Shanghai for a few days. We can now say that Ang has visited another one of the World's Tallest Buildings (yes, we are keeping track). Hopefully the next time we go to Malaysia we will be able to take more time and visit one of the nearby beach towns. From what we have heard, there are some amazing beaches only a few hours from where we were.

Residency obtained, play dates found

It certainly has been a busy week for us...

Ang and I are officially temporary residents of China. I finally received my Passport back from the government this week with my residency permit enclosed. My permit took at little longer to obtain after realizing that we needed an official translation of our marriage certificate (it is in Spanish). The residency permit application process is interesting. IBM contracts with a firm in Shanghai that takes care of the paperwork and basically escorts you to the various agencies for a health check and interview. The health check includes a series of tests - blood work, chest x-ray, EKG, vision test, and ultrasound are the ones I recall. You then have to go for an interview where they review your forms, take your picture and then process the visa (they call it an interview but I didn't have to answer a single question). I was denied at my first interview because they couldn't read our marriage certificate. I returned a week later with an 'official' translation and there were no problems. I have no idea where this translation came from or what made it 'official' but it worked so I guess that is all that matters. Luckily children are automatically granted a visa based on a birth certificate so there was no need to bring Ang for a health check or interview.


Angela and I have started to get out of the house more and more and have made quite a few friends here in Shanghai. This week we joined Pam and Kyle for a playgroup in the clubhouse at the complex where they live. Most of the kids were older than Ang and were walking / crawling but it was nice to sit and visit with other moms and Ang was very entertained by the other children. She seems to enjoying the stimulation of being around people - I think I have started to bore her, she gets so cranky if we stay home all day. We also went to our first baby music class this week. There were about ten other babies with their moms. The class is about 45 minutes and is a lot of singing, listening to music and a little bit of dancing. She has always loved when we sing to her and I think this class will be really great.




Wednesday night was date night for me and Rich - Bonnie stayed a little late to watch Ang (we always wait until Ang is asleep). We went to the Kitchen which is an Italian restaurant not far from where we live. The reviews were very mixed so we weren't sure what to expect. We had a table outside overlooking the Bund which was great. The food was decent but didn't blow me away. I had lobster risotto and Rich enjoyed a sausage and broccoli wood fired pizza. As we were sitting there enjoying our meal we both commented that it didn't really feel like we were in China. At times (most times), you are very aware of being in a foreign country where you don't know the language and need to divide every price by 7 to determine how much something costs. However, there are times when you feel like you could be in any city in America even though you are really hundreds of miles away. It is great to know of a few places to go when we are feeling a little home sick!

Next week we are off on another adventure. Rich has to travel to Malaysia for a few meetings so Ang and I will tag along for the trip. It is a 5 hour flight; same time zone just further south. It will be nice to get away from Shanghai for a few days and I've never been to Malaysia so I'm excited for a new stamp in my passport. Unfortunately we won't have long enough to visit any of the really nice beaches, but we will get a chance to explore the city and meet some of Rich's coworkers.

This is the result of play dates - a very sleepy baby!!

Not so happy about the teeth - if you look very closely you can see the white on the bottom gums.

A little grin...

We had a little taste of oatmeal...it was fun and she seemed to enjoy it!