School Christmas Parties

Concordia Christmas Concert

The kids have been practicing their Christmas songs for a while now and finally the day came for their Christmas concert. They both did well up on stage and had fun.

Alex was an angel (in costume only) and sang Angels We Have Heard on High. Elizabeth sang a song about instruments. Check out the video. There is a little boy, I think his name is Penn, and he is belting out his song like a pro! What a great performance by all.

After the performance, the kids got to open Christmas presents that we gave to them. Alex got a policeman helmet and Elizabeth got a new High School Musical doll.

Gingerbread Tea Party

Julie Romanski is a member of the Shanghai Expat Association and every year they host a Gingerbread Tea Party or something similar to it. She invited Elizabeth and I to join her, Maddie and Allie as well as Denise and Renee Rockett. The Dulwich children's choir was there singing Christmas carols. Santa welcomed us into the tea party and gave everyone a gingerbread house kit. There were several stations set up with crafts for kids to do. There was a tea party buffet set up complete with finger sandwiches, french fries, hot dogs, and desserts. All the girls had their faces painted and made bead bracelets and did other crafts. They even got a gift from Santa and got to sit on his lap. We saved the gingerbread house for when we returned home and Alex helped us put it together.

Shanghai Pub Crawl Hosted by G2 & Molly

We were invited to a tour of Shanghai by friends, G2 and Molly Forsberg. During the last Concordia auction, they won a bus trip in a Concordia bus. So about 20 or so people loaded up in a bus at the Hard Days Night bar in JinQiao. We proceded, after getting instructions from G2, to the lifestyle center near our house called ShiLe. ShiLe literally means 10 happinesses or something like that. It is a neighborhood of 40 villas, a spa, a lounge, and a restaurant that is ultra luxurious. We were able to tour a villa and the spa. Really nice place. We've always wondered what they were.

After that, we boarded the bus and drove over to Puxi. We played some games and drank some beverages. We made a stop at the Velvet Lounge which is a popular spot with many. After some more beverages, we loaded back on the bus to return to Pudong. We ended the night at the Irishman's Pub where G2 arranged for a band to entertain us and some of Declan's Guiness pies to fill us up.

Our hosts showed everyone a really good time. I have to say that it was the most fun I have had in Shanghai.

Visit to Christmas Train at Hilton

We read in the newspaper that there was a train up at the Hilton in Puxi. So after church one Sunday, we grabbed the Romanski girls and headed over to see it. Alex was in heaven. He could have stayed there all day if we would have let him. He couldn't take his eyes off of it and noticed so many details about the train. After watching the train for a while, we went to lunch in Xintiandi to see the decorations there as well.

Elizabeth's Gymnastics Class

Elizabeth took a gymnastics class this sememster on Saturday afternoons. She really seemed to enjoy the tumbling they did. They never let parents stay in the gym to watch, so I've never been able to get good pictures. This was the last day and I was able to get a picture of her getting her certificate and badge.

Dinner at Paulander Kristkindle

We visited the European style Kristkindle market at the Paulaner at FenYang Lu. This year we went with the Romanski's and we also met their friends there as well. We all enjoyed good German food and beer and were able to do a little Christmas shopping.

Elizabeth Daisy Trip to Migrant School

Every year for the past 6 years, the Concordia Daisies, Brownies, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts along with the Shanghai community center sponser "Giving Tree Bags". Each member of the Scouting group gets a bag and fills it up with a coat, hat, mittens, scarf, and a pair of shoes. These bags are then distributed to a local migrant school and given to a child who needs them. This year, Elizabeth participated.

Xiao Zhu (Ayi) took us shopping to the QiPu Lu Market to fill up our bag. This market is in Puxi and is a huge shopping area where you can get good prices. This place was crazy. Liu dropped off Elizabeth, Ayi, and me off and we waded through a million people to get into the market. It was dirty and the aisles were crowded. Never going back there again. Anyway, we started shopping and I thought we just had to buy a similar size as Elizabeth. After we bought a coat and shoes, I opened the bag and saw that there was a tag inside telling me the size and sex of the child. Great.....11 year old boy. Sooo we returned all that we bought and rebought items for a boy. So glad when that excursion was over.

The pictures you see are of us going to the migrant school on the bus a few weeks after the shopping trip. There were really nice Chinese students so happy to see us. I don't think everyone got a bag, just the neediest, but it was a good chance for Elizabeth to learn about charity.

Thanksgiving at the Stevens

Our friends from Minnesota, Missy and Luke Stevens hosted Thanksgiving dinner at their house. They had 2 turkeys, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, pumpkin soup, caesar salad, bread, corn, etc..... They hosted 8 families. There were 17 adults and 17 kids at their house. She did sit down, family style with a kids table and all. We rented a bounce house for a couple hours to keep the kids busy. The kids had so much fun playing together. It's obviously not as good as spending holidays home with our own families, but it was a good substitute.

New Shanghai Tower Construction to Start

The day we went to the WFC, they officially annouced they will start building the Shanghai Tower this week. It will soon be like the Jetson's! See the Shanghai Daily article below:

Defying the downturn, city builds even higher
By Dong Hui 2008-11-28 NEWSPAPER EDITION

WHERE some see crisis, others see opportunity.Three months after opening the world's second-tallest skyscraper, Shanghai is about to start construction of an even taller building - in the face of an economic slowdown and falling property prices.Construction on the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, expected to cost 14.8 billion yuan (US$2.17 billion), will begin in Pudong's Lujiazui financial district tomorrow, developers said yesterday.Gu Jianping, general manager of Shanghai Tower Construction and Development Co, said that by starting work in an economic downturn, construction materials would be cheaper. He also predicted that by the time the 121-floor, glass-and-steel tower is opened, China's economy is likely to be soaring again."Launching construction at this time will help boost Shanghai's confidence in fighting the financial crisis," he told a news conference.The tower, which will comprise offices, retail space, a super-five-star hotel and cultural facilities, will be part of a triangle of tall buildings. The recently opened World Financial Center, at 492 meters, is now the world's second-tallest building. Its neighbor, the Jin Mao Tower, rises 420.5 meters above the Shanghai skyline.The new skyscraper will surpass the height of the 501-meter-high Taipei 101 in Taiwan, but the world's-tallest title will go to the Burj Dubai, now under construction in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj is expected to be roughly 800 meters tall, though its exact height has been kept secret.The Shanghai Tower is scheduled to open partially in 2012 when the top floor is finished and go into full operation two years later. The tower's pinnacle will feature the world's highest non-enclosed observation deck. And the building's high-tech office space is expected to help boost Shanghai's financial industry."The floors for trading will be designed especially for companies in the financial services industry," Gu said. "The building is expected to serve banking, insurance, securities and fund companies as well as the headquarters of multinationals."Unlike the Jin Mao Tower and the World Financial Center, the Shanghai Tower's three shareholders are all state-owned enterprises. Shanghai Chengtou Corp holds 51 percent of the company, Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development Co Ltd 45 percent and Shanghai Construction Group 4 percent. The developers declined to release future rental rates."What can be certain is that rents will be higher than current ones, as the economy should recover by the time the tower is finished," Gu said.

Trip to the WFC (Tallest Building in China)

The kids were off school the day after Thanksgiving and it was a very clear day for Shanghai so we took the opportunity to go to the top of the World Financial Tower. We can see this building from our apartment as part of the downtown Skyline. This building is currently the tallest building in China at 492m/1614ft (not including Taiwan - Taipei 101). It is the tallest building to the roof (not including antennas or spires) in the world. It will soon be passed by the Burj Dubai in Dubai (800m+). The building contains restaurants, shops and office space on floors 1 - 52. The Grand Hyatt is housed in floors 53 - 87 making it the highest hotel in the world (passing the Hyatt in the Jin Mao Building next door). We visited the 3 observation decks at the top of the building on the 94, 97 and 100th floors.

We had to take two elevator rides and a couple of escalators to get to the very top observation deck. The elevators are very fast. Once at the top, the kids were not scared of the heights and layed on the ground and looks through the glass floor down to ground level. The view was great, but it was still difficult to see in the distance due to the slight haze in the air. We were able to see Kirk's office building, but we could barely make out our apartment and Century Park.

Below are some links to information about the WFC:

WFC Official Website

Wikipedia WFC Website

Grand Hyatt Website

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

I'm not sure how it happened, but Kirk has caught the Christmas Spririt! At lunchtime on Wednesday, he went to YuYuan Gardens and Bazaar shopping for Christmas stuff. Now, for those of you who have visitied, you know how crazy this area can be. He went into the crowded market by himself and found a Christmas tree, lights, ornaments, and a train. He brought them home and the kids were so excited. They couldn't wait until the weekend so we put the tree up that night after they ate dinner.

Elizabeth's Fall Art Project

On the way back from parent/teacher conferences, we stopped for coffee/tea/hot cocoa and it was a nice day, so Elizabeth and I decided to walk home. The Northwest entrance to Century Park was open so we decided to walk back through the park. It was so sunny out and many leaves had fallen. We decided to pick up leaves for some type of project when we got home. Elizabeth decided she wanted to make a fall tree. She did a great job drawing the trunk. I helped her tape the leaves up and then we put it up outside of our door.

Elizabeth's Ballet Recital

Kirk did a nice job taping exerpts of the ballet recital. It was held at the Portman Theatre again and the girls all did a nice job. They have all really improved from last year. You can see that Elizabeth was very proud of herself.

Santa Visit @ Concordia

This is the first year that neither kid was scared of Santa Claus. They saw him at the Concordia Christmas Bazaar. Elizabeth told Santa that she wanted new pants (although she NEVER wears pants!). Alex told Santa that he wanted GEO trax. The yellow one. They were really funny with Santa and you can see from the video that Elizabeth was very nervous.

Playdate with Crystal and Clare

No school last Friday, so Elizabeth invited Crystal and Claire over for a playdate. They played dress up and did crafts. Claire's older brother, Andrew, stayed and played with Alex. They all had fun.

Alex Brings Dottie Home from School

Alex is in the Ladybugs class at school. This week, he got to bring Dottie home with him. He had to take pictures of activities that he and Dottie did together. He took her to the park, in the police car, and ate together. We printed out pictures and put them in the book to send back to school.

Ballet Recital Practice

This is Elizabeth's second year of ballet. This year, they had their recital in November. This year, there was only one practice day. Last year, there were 4!

Dulwich School Fair

Another international school in Jinqiao, Dulwich, had a winter festival. They had 4 different bounce houses/slides and the kids had a lot of fun jumping on them. Elizabeth ran into Crystal and the two had their hair sprayed pink and their nails done. Alex just had fun playing on the bounce houses and the playset.

Elizabeth Field Trip to Organic Farm

Elizabeth's first field trip of the year was to the Shanghai Organic farm. Organic products are in abundance here in Shanghai and I think are the safest to eat here so we enjoyed seeing where they grow. The kids were able to pick leeks, carrots, red peppers, and spinach. They were able to plant there own bok choy. They were also able to pet and feed the goats. It was a beautiful day. Elizabeth loved it since she has spent time in Bumpa and Gigi's organic vegetable garden.