Shayas in Shanghai

Shop 'til you drop!

Did you ever spend $458 in one trip to CVS? Exclusive of prescriptions!? That's what I did the other day and I must admit: It was fun!!!  Just like the situation with food, it is not that you cannot get many of your favorite toiletries/cosmetics in China, it's just that it will cost much more. So, since we have this 40' container being shipped with our stuff, why not fill it up?!

Nordstrom has their anniversary sale right now, so kids all got new North Face fleece jackets. These will probably be sufficient to get them through the Shanghai winters. Will still need real winter stuff for northern China travels as well as Tibet (gets cold up in those mountains!)

Eddie Bauer has a great sale on duffel bags and rolling duffel bags. I bought an XL rolling duffel bag for each of the kids. They are huge! Since we will need to live out of whatever we can fit in these bags for anywhere from 2 weeks to a month, you can see why we need BIG! There is this cool compartment in the bottom of the bag that zips separately where I will pack sheets and towels. At this point I am thankful the kids are required to wear uniforms to school which must be purchased at the school. Even so, they need three new pair of shoes each which are still on the shopping list. I also purchased 3 medium non-rolling duffels for our travels while overseas. Check out the link to see the great deals:

http://www.eddiebauer.com/EB/Bags--Gear/Luggage--Duffels/index.cat

I said we would need to live 2-4 weeks out of our luggage. Let me clarify. We get two shipments: one air and one sea. The air shipment is limited to 600 lbs. and cannot include any toiletries, cosmetics, etc. So that $458 CVS purchase? That won't be arriving the first month. Basically we will send more clothes, a few books, perhaps a desktop computer, and some more towels. The sea shipment can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks. It will arrive just about the time I am having my first major "What am I doing here?!" meltdown. I imagine myself happily unpacking the boxes of books, the pictures, and other items that will help us to feel at home.

I am, frankly, having a ton of fun purging and shopping and organizing. It is a very cleansing experience to go through the house and think about what you really need to live. Also, to realize just how much STUFF has been accumulated over the course of 11 years of living, having and raising children, and being way too busy to stop and assess. And I mean, really assess. While I love cleaning out closets and am an avid user of the VVA donation of household goods pick-up service, this experience has taken me to a new level. I sense that while our time in Shanghai will present many challenges, there will also be a welcome dose of simplfication that will be good for the soul.

Enjoy your day!

"There are people starving in China!"

Do you remember being a kid and making those "yuck!" expressions while playing with the food on your plate that you had no intention of eating? Our parents would say some version of the above statement and you would grumble under your breath "So, send it to them." 

Not to make light of the very real problem of too many people and too little food (something I hope to further enlighten my children about during our time overseas), but I did promise I would give you the pictorial on our recent food shipment.

 

The top left (green) bag was packed by Max personally. It has several of his "must have" items: Rice Krispie Treats, Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa mix, Frosted Mini-Wheats, and Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.

Having visited the international supermarket I know that many items we enjoy are available in Shanghai, however, in much smaller sizes (no Costco quantities) and much more expensive. For instance, I saw a few jars of Skippy peanut butter (no choice of a variety of brands) - they were itsy bitsy by our standards (8 oz.) and cost more than a 48 oz. jar costs here! I guess we'll be eating lots of rice like the rest of the Chinese!

Where everyday's an umbrella day...

Yes, it's true! While at home sunscreen seems to be sufficient for blocking the ray's harmful effects, here there is another reason for using an umbrella:  keeping your skin white! I even saw some "Skin Whitening Fresh Cleanser" at the local Carrefour store. Carrefour is like Target here, only less so. More like Walmart. No, lesser still. Kmart? I am fast realizing that I need to do some major shopping at home to include in the container shipment.

We have completed our house hunting and are keeping our fingers crossed that one of our two hopefuls comes through. Also, the application process for schools is not complete yet. Sarah and Zach need to do some standardized testing - apparently their glowing report cards are not sufficient. And Max, while no testing is required, must have a personal interview with the Head of the school when he arrives to determine his ability to enter first grade. A personal interview? For a 6-year old? Now that I have older children I can sincerely state my opinion that some people just take academia too seriously at too early an age. We do not fear that any of the kids will not pass these rigors, however, the tentativeness of how exactly our life will work out in the near future is rather stressful.

Tomorrow morning I head back to Michigan on the very new direct flight from Shanghai to Detroit - yeah!! I miss my kids so much. Here are some of the cultural tidbits I have accomplised during this short visit:

• I have learned how to completely ignore people that are speaking to me.
• I have learned how to be on hyperalert as I walk down the street lest some bicyclist or taxi mow me down - even though the traffic light may say I have the right of way.
• I have learned how to haggle down a price when shopping on the streets.
• I have learned not to tip people.
• I have learned that much of what comes naturally to me in treating others with respect will be a true hinderance to my survival here in China.
• Lastly, I have learned that I will do just fine in Shanghai for two years and will return home at the end a more enlightened and grateful person.

Namaste -

A hunting we will go!

Jeff and I are hanging out in the Northwest Lounge in Narita (Tokyo) Airport waiting for our connecting flight to Shanghai. We are ready to embark on a whirlwind, 4-day, school application/house hunting tour. Looks like we will be selecting a home without knowing, for certain, where the kids will be going to school... but that is a longer story than I can tell right now.

Boarding call and time to go. Check back soon to hear about the three large suitcases full of food we brought with us!!! Pics included!