Sunshine

In mid-March, when Matt was traveling back in the states and I was suffering through yet another bout of illness, Shanghai started seeming like not such a fun place to live anymore.  I woke up each morning and looked outside and thought, man this town is dreary.  And then I read an article in the local newspaper (English version) about how Shanghai had just experienced a record-setting period of cloudy days, which started right around when we returned from Hawaii, and was predicted to end that week.  Apparently the skies haven’t been this gray since 1980.  It dawned on me that no wonder this place was seeming so gloomy; it literally had been for the past six weeks!

Well, I am happy to announce that the seasons have turned, the sun has come out, flowers are blooming, Tyler and I are finally ceasing the sniffles, and things are all-around cheery.  Let the sun shine!

our courtyard, announcing the arrival of Spring

Gender Bending

I got into a taxi today with a female driver.  As we pulled up next to a big city bus, also driven by a woman, I started thinking about the jobs women in China occupy that they typically don’t back in the US.  In my six years in New York City, I think I saw a female cabbie once. They’re in the minority here, but definitely not uncommon.  In NYC there were some female bus drivers, but not typically, whereas here I’d say it’s about 50/50.  In New York, I never once saw a female construction worker or utility repairwoman.  Yet I’ve noticed many construction crews here with women in the mix, and utility crews in the streets fixing water or electrical lines almost always include at least one woman.

This whole reflection in the taxi reminded me of an experience Matt and I had when we first moved into our apartment here.  Our sliding glass doors leading out to the balcony were broken, so we called the complex’s maintenance office and they said they’d send a worker right up.  When the doorbell rang, Matt opened it to discover a very petite, middle-aged woman dressed smartly in a satin floral blouse, black slacks, and black high heels.  He turned to me and shrugged; surely something had been lost in translation and the management office didn’t understand the nature of our request.  As he and I wondered how to rectify this, she kicked off her heels, went over to the door, opened her toolkit, and commenced banging and poking and screwing until the door smoothly slid open and shut.  I was impressed, and then embarrassed to be impressed, and then excited to live in a place that was clearly going to break down some stereotypes – in both expected and unexpected ways.

Many Americans make the mistake of assuming that China’s developing economy and non-democratic government have resulted in a society that surely isn’t as progressive as ours.  But as I read the American news (with political gaffes, racially-charged crimes, and woeful business reports), I think my female taxi driver might begin to challenge that assumption.

Character Study: Cry

So far my (very amateur and sparse) study of Mandarin has focused on functional words and phrases, just the simple pronunciations for me to navigate taxis, markets, and instructions for our ayi (literally “auntie”, the woman who helps me with cooking and cleaning).  I’ve been intrigued by the written characters, but have found them to be less pictographic than I originally imagined, and thus have a hard time learning any.

Well, I recently found a character that conveys its meaning perfectly.  I present you with the Chinese character for “to cry” (in Mandarin, pronounced kū).  It might be my new favorite!

simple font

calligraphy version

Baby Steps

She’s walking!  And we caught it on camera!  Amazing!

Oh, Beijing

First, the bad: TJ did not like the hotel’s crib one bit.  She didn’t like sleeping at night either.  Her nose – well, all of our noses – plugged up with all sorts of treasures collected from the super-polluted air.  She decided to scream at many inopportune times, like at a sacred temple, stuck in the rain, and in quiet restaurants.  Matt headed off to a day of important business meetings with sleep deprivation and a massive headache.  Val & TJ got stuck on a busy boulevard, unable to flag a taxi.  Val forgot to pack socks.  Our intended brunch spot was overbooked.  Our intended dinner spot was too far away.  Due to some bigwigs in town, security was heightened to a ridiculous degree.  It took us 45 minutes just to cross the street near Tian’anmen Square.  We arrived at the Forbidden City only to find out that they stopped selling tickets for the day just ten minutes prior.  We walked way too far for way too long.  We had a bunch of pesky little issues with our hotel room.  And to end our trip, we were subjected to the most annoying security screening ever at the airport. 

Now for some good: TJ loved the hotel’s baby pool.  We loved the working cable TV.  Matt sailed through his various business presentations.  Val found an awesome mall with the worlds longest/biggest escalator and a store with a massive sale on socks.  We got to enjoy a delicious dinner of Peking duck and other Chinese delicacies (like sea cucumber – not a vegetable!).  Val learned that she can nurse TJ anywhere, in any conditions.  We ate a delicious brunch with wonderful friends.  We bargained down a bicycle cabbie, using our limited Mandarin and local negotiating tactics, until we got way better than the typical tourist deal on a sweet rickshaw ride around an old traditional neighborhood.  We stumbled upon a quaint little Vietnamese restaurant with intriguing décor and satisfying food.  After so many trials and tribulations, we moved through annoyance and past anger into delirium, until every new obstacle gave Matt a clever punchline and sent Val into giggles.  And due to our troubled hotel stay, we now have a deluxe suite waiting for us . . . if we ever dare return to Beijing.

Temple of Heaven, where TJ provided a soundtrack

A rare moment: TJ awake for a photo

The Weis with Chairman Mao at Tian'anmen Square

Forbidden City lived up to its name for us

Did I mention it was freezing cold (literally)?

 

 

 

Peking Duck dinner with delightful hosts was a trip highlight

Lovely rickshaw ride reminded us of our Dhaka days

Enjoying ourselves against the odds

One Year Ago

One year ago, Matt and I made our maiden voyage to Shanghai, spending 10 days exploring the city that has now become our home.

Things were a little different then.  For starters, there were only two of us, plus a little bump.  Over a fancy dinner at one of Shanghai's most famous restaurants, we opened an envelope with an ultrasound photo that revealed the little bump's gender.  Instantly, our “peanut” became a baby girl, and we knew we'd call her Tyler Julianne.

ah, the innocence of childless Shanghai newbies...

Our initial impressions of Shanghai were also quite different than the reality of our settled-in life here.

We spent most of our time up on Nanjing Road, the major shopping pedestrian street, and the Bund, which is the row of fancy old European-style buildings along the river.  Since living in Shanghai, I think we’ve visited each of those places twice.

When we left our hotel, we had the concierge translate all details of our travel so that we could simply hand the taxi driver a card of Chinese characters and sheepishly shrug to communicate that we didn’t speak his language or know where we were going.  Now both Matt and I can direct a taxi back to our apartment from pretty much anywhere in the city, using our newly-acquired navigation and Mandarin skills.

During our initial explorations, we were continually impressed by the complex urban highway system and elevated pedestrian sidewalks.  We never thought about the feat of heaving a baby-filled stroller up and down giant staircases just to cross the street.  

because painting crosswalk stripes is too easy?

We saw many many apartment complexes on that trip.  Since living here, though, I’ve realized we only visited the very tip of the iceberg.  I guess there’s bound to be more than a week’s worth of buildings to explore in a city of 24 million people.

I am a big water drinker.  For the life of me, I could not figure out how to order a simple glass of cold, clean water.  Either I'd wind up with ridiculously expensive bottles of Evian, or more often, glasses of steaming hot plain water.  A year later, I do know how to order one (yi bei bing shui), but I find myself preferring the Chinese drink of choice -- hot tea -- and if I want something cool and refreshing, I go for watermelon juice.

I remember walking into City Shop, the original westernized grocery store, and thinking that it was my best (only?) option for grocery shopping.  But now I’ve happily discovered many more shops that are closer/cheaper/fresher/better.  Okay, so it takes me four stores to fulfill my grocery list, but at least I have choices beyond what I originally thought.

On that trip last year, Matt had to go meet a couple of business contacts, and I was too scared to leave the hotel by myself.  Now, of course, I venture out daily, with a baby strapped to my chest no less!

Back then, we fell in love with fresh-squeezed juice stands, where you point to the fruit and it gets juiced & blended right in front of your very eyes, and for only about a dollar (US).  This is still one of my favorite things about living here.

my favorite, pineapple + dragonfruit

At least something is still how we first imagined it.

Tough Girl

This was supposed to be a post about how TJ is such a tough little kid.

I had planned to host a playgroup last Wednesday.  The eight babies span a one-month age difference, with TJ representing the midpoint (believe it or not, she’s one of three in the group with the exact same birthday!).  She’s also the only girl, and perhaps because of this, one of the smaller babies in the group.  Despite these facts, she is the resident bruiser.  At our last gathering in December, while the boys peacefully sat on their moms' laps or lay on the floor, she sat on her own, leaning over her playmates to snatch toys right out of their hands and/or mouths.  This was before she was crawling.  Now that she only operates in two modes -- standing and grabbing, or bee-lining on hands & knees -- I can only imagine what havoc she will wreak on the poor boys at our next play-date.  Since I was hosting, I thought I’d grab my camera and snap this wild woman in action for you all to witness.

But alas, my plans were foiled.  TJ woke up in vomit on Wednesday morning, and things deteriorated rather rapidly.  I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but by the end of it we had made four trips to the pediatric unit at the nearest expat hospital, we had a dining table full of various pharmaceuticals, TJ had endured a range of blood tests, and received diagnoses including cold virus, blocked sinus membranes, double ear infections, and mostly a nasty gastrointestinal bug.  At its worst, in a moment I hope to never repeat as a parent, we had to rush TJ over to the hospital for her to be rehydrated via IV.  After that, she slowly began improving.  We spent a day on the couch to recuperate, where she continually slept on my chest, too weak to sit up or even stay awake for longer than thirty minutes.  Still, she had ceased vomiting, was able to breathe through her nose, and was back to nursing.  We were on the mends.

Then the bug hit me.  I woke up in the middle of the night victim to the same stomach virus.  TJ now had to endure her mama staying in bed for two days, unable to breastfeed due to her own dehydration, unable to allow her too close lest she projectile vomit once again and send TJ into a fit of screams, unable to cuddle away the alternating looks of horror and confusion as she attempted to understand what was wrong with this person who suddenly wasn’t so familiar anymore.

Through it all, I must say, she’s been a champ.  Experiencing vomiting – and then dry heaving – for the first time almost without complaint.  Handling the doctors poking and prodding and frantically searching for a non-collapsing vein.  During the hour and half with an IV hooked up to her arm.  Enduring the many many many syringes of medicine I’ve had to force down her throat.  Persevering through myriad trials and tribulations of feeding.  Continuing to seek cuddles even when mama became a monster and daddy was a bundle of stress, dealing with two sick ladies and a huge pile of work.

I think this still might be a post about how TJ is a tough little kid.