Friday, January 1, 2010
A temple visit
Wen Miao Temple is is an ancient temple which was built to pay homage to Confucius. It is the only temple located in downtown Shanghai and offered the perfect backdrop for our holiday family photo. I met a woman through a local Shanghai Mom's group that was offering to do family photo's at the temple and thought it was a great idea. While we were there we did wander around a bit and I managed to get a few photo's of the grounds.
wedding bells
This past November, Rich and I attended a wedding for one of the local assistants in his office. It was an interesting experience and I'm sorry I didn't blog about it sooner.
The invitation arrived via e-mail and requested a pretty quick response. It turns out this was the preliminary invite and that the response to this would generate a proper invitation. You are basically requesting an invitation by responding yes to this preliminary invite (which also means that you will be giving a gift). The proper invite arrived with only Rich's name on the outside so we were left to ask locals if this meant that I was invited too. We learned that not only was I invited but they encouraged us to bring the baby (we decided to leave her at home with Bonnie). I found it quite entertaining that the invitation included a photograph of the bride and groom - dressed in wedding attire! What about it being bad luck to see the bride in her dress?
Of course, once we figured out that I was invited, I had to figure out what one wears to a Chinese wedding. My research of weddings in Shanghai yielded little help (Google failed me), but Bonnie said to just wear whatever I wanted because there would be people in jeans and people in dresses. I decided on a simple black dress - since you really can't go wrong there! Rich wore a gray suit. Bonnie was right, there was a wide range of outfits - some wore jeans while others wore suits.
The invitation said that the wedding started at 5:30pm so we arrived at the hotel about 5:00pm. We were very early, considering things didn't actually start until 6:30. Apparently these things never start at the time indicated. We were brought to a table that was nicely decorated and included beverages (soft drinks, wine and beer) as well as cigarettes. There was a menu on the table that indicated a traditional Chinese meal would be served (13 dishes and wedding cake).
The ceremony and dinner both started at the same time. Some dishes were served while the bride and groom were performing wedding traditions. Everything was done in Chinese and there was no translation so I'm not really sure what was going on at all times but there were some obvious similarities to weddings as we celebrate them in America. The one that I found most interesting was the bouquet toss - since they invited all single girls AND BOYS to join in for this. A man caught the bouquet and was teased about taking his girlfriend to the alter.
The bride changed three times she had one very formal wedding dress and then two other dresses that she wore for part of the ceremony. There were games for the attendees to play (and prizes for the winners). One of them required the participants to search the room for a size 10 Nike sneaker, a Nokia phone and a tube of lip gloss. One person actually found everything in about 20 seconds!
Once dinner was complete, the wedding was over (about 8:30). The guests all made their way out of the room and everybody told the bride they would see her at work on Monday - no honeymoon for them, right back to work!
The table - wine, beer, soda & cigarettes!
some of the food
exchanging rings - dress #1
candle lighting - dress # 2
dress #3 - they sang a song together
The invitation arrived via e-mail and requested a pretty quick response. It turns out this was the preliminary invite and that the response to this would generate a proper invitation. You are basically requesting an invitation by responding yes to this preliminary invite (which also means that you will be giving a gift). The proper invite arrived with only Rich's name on the outside so we were left to ask locals if this meant that I was invited too. We learned that not only was I invited but they encouraged us to bring the baby (we decided to leave her at home with Bonnie). I found it quite entertaining that the invitation included a photograph of the bride and groom - dressed in wedding attire! What about it being bad luck to see the bride in her dress?
Of course, once we figured out that I was invited, I had to figure out what one wears to a Chinese wedding. My research of weddings in Shanghai yielded little help (Google failed me), but Bonnie said to just wear whatever I wanted because there would be people in jeans and people in dresses. I decided on a simple black dress - since you really can't go wrong there! Rich wore a gray suit. Bonnie was right, there was a wide range of outfits - some wore jeans while others wore suits.
The invitation said that the wedding started at 5:30pm so we arrived at the hotel about 5:00pm. We were very early, considering things didn't actually start until 6:30. Apparently these things never start at the time indicated. We were brought to a table that was nicely decorated and included beverages (soft drinks, wine and beer) as well as cigarettes. There was a menu on the table that indicated a traditional Chinese meal would be served (13 dishes and wedding cake).
The ceremony and dinner both started at the same time. Some dishes were served while the bride and groom were performing wedding traditions. Everything was done in Chinese and there was no translation so I'm not really sure what was going on at all times but there were some obvious similarities to weddings as we celebrate them in America. The one that I found most interesting was the bouquet toss - since they invited all single girls AND BOYS to join in for this. A man caught the bouquet and was teased about taking his girlfriend to the alter.
The bride changed three times she had one very formal wedding dress and then two other dresses that she wore for part of the ceremony. There were games for the attendees to play (and prizes for the winners). One of them required the participants to search the room for a size 10 Nike sneaker, a Nokia phone and a tube of lip gloss. One person actually found everything in about 20 seconds!
Once dinner was complete, the wedding was over (about 8:30). The guests all made their way out of the room and everybody told the bride they would see her at work on Monday - no honeymoon for them, right back to work!
The table - wine, beer, soda & cigarettes!
some of the food
exchanging rings - dress #1
candle lighting - dress # 2
dress #3 - they sang a song togetherThursday, November 26, 2009
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!!
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
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 ownMonday, November 23, 2009
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
CLICK FOR VIDEO
Friday, November 20, 2009
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
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...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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
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!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)