Scott Lynch Visits Shanghai

Another college friend has dropped into Shanghai for work. This time it was Scott Lynch. Scott is married to Kristin who I lived with during and after college. For our family members following this blog, she sang at our wedding.

It was so great to see Scott and catch up with him. The kids and I last saw him a couple years ago when we stopped at their house in Columbia on our way from Myrtle Beach to Cleveland. He was here with his job and his boss was with him.

Kirk and I took him out on the weekend to some of our favorite spots including our new favorite, House of Blues and Jazz. (Watch the video: Both Scott and Kath took the stage. Kath was carried off by the lead singer). The next day, I took Scott and his boss, Rich, around Shanghai. We did all the major tourists sites like Xintiandi, YuYuan Garden, ate Nanxiang xiao long bao, People's square, the Urban planning museum, and finally the new Shanghai Financial Tower. That tower is reaaaallly tall! If you are at all scared of heights, don't go up to the top.

He and Kirk were supposed to go golfing on Sunday, but it rained. He expects to come back in December. Hopefully he will bring Kristin with him!

First Bus Ride to School

I just talked about the bus ride in the previous note. Here are more pictures.

First Day of School

Elizabeth and Alex had their first day of school and they were really excited. The first day, Liu drove us all to school and we dropped them off. It was a challenge to get their by 8am but we did it.

We first took Elizabeth to her classroom and met her teacher, Mrs. McKeough. She is from Australia and is very nice. Alex was quite upset when we told him that he couldn't go in. He thought he wasn't going to get to go to school.

Next, we took Alex. He basically ran into the room (same as Elizabeth's room last year) and never looked back. His teachers are Miss Kipp and Miss Alforte as Mrs Chiu is repatriating back to the US.

They loved their first day back and both were excited to learn that the next day, they would be riding the school bus. The bus picks them up at the entrance to our apartments at 7:20am. Alex is still a little peeved that it is a small bus. He wants to ride a big bus!

Their first week was challenging for them as they were still jet lagged. They were in bed everynight by 7pm. By Friday, Alex was so worn out, he fell asleep on the bus ride home. He didn't even wake up when I carried him home and put him on the couch.

US hangover

Our friends Missy and Luke penned this term - US hangover. Definition - how you feel after spending a good amount of time in the US and all the freedoms you have and the amenities you are used to. Feelings are frustration and being generally annoyed.

I think there is a reverse feeling when I get to the US after being in China. Like how annoyed I get when I land and US people are in general a lot more rude than Asians. Like how I have to drive myself around and stores are so far away. Like how much weight I gain because serving sizes in restaurants are so large and I feel guilty not cleaning my plate. And of course all the good junk food that I am able to get my hands on in the US. Also, having to clean and do my own laundry (although Gigi and Grammy helped me with that a lot :))

So coming back, I am annoyed that I just can't jump into my own car and drive myself to church. I am annoyed that Carrefour (grocery store) doesn't consistently have the product or brand that I like to buy. Same goes for Pines market which is easier to get around in and less crowded than Carrefour but a lot more expensive. I'm annoyed with the fact that my laundry is hung outside to dry because I have a washer dryer combo that is the size of a small bucket.

But after a couple days in both countries, I get used to life as life as an American expat. It's nice to have a driver that can drop you right at the entrance when it is raining and pick you up right at the entrance so you are not wet at church. It's nice to get good service in restaurants without someone expecting a huge tip (although we do tip).

Some things that I am putting my foot down this year on......no more doing dishes in the sink. We have a dishwasher and in 2 years have never used it. Xiao Ju doesn't like to use the dishwasher and just wants to wash by hand. Which is okay during the week, but on the weekend when we have friends over and I cook, I use every pan in the house (just like Gigi) and with my closet sized kitchen, I can't wash and go easily. But she uses it for storage, so I just can't use it easily. Stopped yesterday...I used the dishwasher. Not sure how the dishes came out, need to look. Not sure if I used the right settings or not.

We have also requested another dryer. This way Xiao Ju can be doing do two loads at a time and I won't have laundry draped everywhere in my house in the winter. It will be another bucket sized machine, but will help.

Enough of my rambling!

Detroit Zoo

We visited the Detroit Zoo with Grammy, Chrystal, Ethan and Nolan. The weather was perfect and it was not crowded since all the kids have returned to school. The kids all had fun following the elephant tracks although they couldn't quite understand why there were no elephants. They loved the reptile house. At one point they were watching a large snake get ready to eat his lunch of a dead white mouse. Fortunately/Unfortunately, the snake didn't seem hungry while we were standing there. Not sure how they would have dealt with that.

The monkeys were a hit with the kids. They loved watching them swing around. We continued on to the seals and polar bears.

The seals and the polar bears are my favorite exhibit and since there was not a crowd, we could stand and watch them for a while. One polar bear put on quite a show for us. He just sat on top of the glass tunnel and had a good time.

After this, we went through the kangaroo exhibit. Elizabeth and Alex had fun trying to jump as far as a kangaroo.

We ended the trip with a train ride back which was good for the kids tired legs.

back home in shanghai

We made it back safely to our home in Shanghai after a long visit to the US. The kids were there from the end of June to when we got back in September. By the beginning of September, Alex just kept asking when we were going to his home in China. He wanted to play with his police car.

I don't have the pictures loaded yet, so we need to work on it, but check over this week and there will be updates.

The kids grew so much this summer. We measured them on their chart and they both grew at least an inch and a half. Alex is the same height at 3 1/2 that Elizabeth was at 4 1/2.

Elizabeth will start kindergarten tomorrow and Alex will start preschool. They will both be at Concordia this year, which will help with logistics. They are both excited.

Trip to the Cider Mill

One thing I really miss about Michigan is fall. I miss the apples, the apple cider, the doughnuts, the smell of crisp fall air and the beautiful colored leaves. Last year, Elizabeth and I were able to experience it when we came back for Vineeta's wedding. This year, we stayed late enough for our friend's and family's weddings and as a bonus we could all experience fall.

The kids all had a great time. Emily, a girl that Chrystal babysits for, joined us too. Their favorite parts were climbing the haystack, watching Mr. Bones sit on the toilet in the out house, and running through the corn maze. Although I didn't get pictures of it, they also loved eating doughnuts!

Elizabeth's 5 1/2 Year Birthday

Elizabeth had her 1/2 birthday and we celebrated with a cake. Elizabeth helped Grammy make it and she had five full candles and a half of a candle.

Chesna Wedding

The awaited day finally arrived. Our friend, Steve Chesna, got married to Beth Sitten. Steve and Kirk were fraternity brothers at GMI and lived together after they both graduated. He is always been a really good friend to both of us and we are so happy he has found Beth.

They had a really nice day for the wedding. It was held in Birmingham, MI where Chesna grew up. Kirk was in the wedding so unfortunately, we had to send the kids without us to his cousin Amy's wedding.

All the guys had fun toasting him and Kirk publicly set the record clean with Mrs. Chesna.....it was Steve's can of tobacco....not Kirk's.

The day after the wedding, we hung out at Pelton's and finally got to meet her sister Deborah's twins, Anna and Claire. You can also see pictures of Clare and Kate Cronley.

Trip to Metro Beach Splash Park

Labor Day weekend was spent with a trip to Metro Beach. We took the kids to the spray park again and had a picnic. This time Kirk, Kevin, and PopPop joined us. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the adults.