The Bozzuto's: updates galore

Ayi Bonnie
In China, the term Ayi is loosely translated to 'auntie'. Most families hire one or more Ayi's to help with everyday household activities. They help with the cleaning, laundry, cooking, errands, childcare, etc. And if you are lucky to find an Ayi that speaks English, they also become your translator. We knew very early on that we wanted to hire somebody that would help our family and give me a little flexibility. There is a large supply of labor in Shanghai but it is sometimes difficult to find somebody with the right skills. Rich was in touch with a family that recently moved back to New York and they were helping their Ayi find a new family in Shanghai. They gave their Ayi an amazing recommendation and were eager to help her find another great family to work for (some families do not treat the Ayi so well). We interviewed Bonnie this morning and have now hired her!! She will be starting with us on Tuesday and we are really looking forward to her helping us. We were both very impressed with her English skills, her personality and her eagerness to help and learn. She has already committed to helping both Ang and I learn Mandarin!

Communication
We have finally figured out the ideal phone situation (for those not on Skype). We have a US number that will ring to a Skype phone in our house. Since it is a US number, you pay no extra charge for the call (only long distance for those that still use a land line). If we don't answer at home, the call will automatically forward to my mobile phone. I am not going to publish the phone number here since this is a public blog but please email me if you would like the number. Also, a friendly reminder that we are 12 hours ahead of New York. So if you decide to call us from NY at 2pm, it will be 2am here and we probably won't answer.

Life as an Ex-pat
Now that I am feeling much more settled here, I can admit that I was feeling pretty overwhelmed our first week here and had started questioning if this was the right thing for our family. I think this is a normal response for any family that makes a move this big, so I wasn't all that worried that I would end up regretting any of this. We are settling into a routine here and I have to say that I am loving it. I know that having Bonnie here will give me the ability to explore a bit more (I don't want to bring Ang to the big crowded markets) and I am looking forward to that. We got out this weekend to explore a bit more. There is one street in Shanghai that is well known for its shopping. We walked down this street on Saturday and passed 3 malls within a 5 block distance. Oh, passed is the wrong word. We walked through two of them. One of these malls has every top name designer you could possibly want (the real thing and the real price). I'm looking forward to getting back to this area to do some shopping for sure! We also went to the 'food street' which is where there are lots of little shops that offer a variety of local foods for a very small price. We had some amazing dumplings and a meat filled pastry type thing that was yummy. Rich and I both love trying new foods and I'm sure we will visit this street often.

Life as a parent
Angela has been amazing at adjusting to the new time zone, new home and new city. Rich has been awesome at helping out with the diapers and with keeping Ang happy. Her face lights up when she see's him come home from work and I just love seeing that reaction. Last night I left the two of them home alone and went out to the mall for a while. Rich gave Ang a bottle and put her to bed (and of course takes full credit for her sleeping so great last night - she slept 12 hours straight!). Last week I mentioned that Ang was rolling from her back to her belly. Well, she quickly learned how to flip back to her back and now keeps herself very entertained rolling around on her gym mat.

Pictures
Uploading pictures is still slow going, but I've managed to remain patient enough for these to load. Enjoy!