A very special post for a very special girl. Ang is half-a-year old today!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
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!
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!
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