The Best Laid Plans

I fully intended to catch up on my blog while I was home over the Christmas holidays.    As you can see, that didn't happen.  Hopefully, when we get back to China  my blog won't be blocked and I can start posting again.  The brief hiatus from My Excellent Chinese Adventure was government induced as can often be the case.  If you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know what happened. 

In the mean time, here is a snapshot of some of the things we have been doing. 

Halloween was a huge celebration in our compound.  The children got to play games at the clubhouse and trick or treat the neighborhood.  A friend even invited us over to their house on Halloween night to trick or treat in their neighborhood.  The children were thrilled!  They had so much candy left over that I took it to the Special Needs school that I visit each month with some of the members of our church.




The Special Needs school is in a nearby canal town.  You actually get to ride boats up and down the canals.  The children went with me in December.  We sang Christmas carols and handed out Christmas presents with our church youth.  Those children are so precious.  It warms my heart each time I go. There is always so much joy and happiness when we visit. The peeps had such a great time and want to go back again. 



Riding in a boat down the canal



Several ladies in my Bible study work with the Giving Tree Project through the Shanghai Community Center.  It is an awesome service learning project that provides students at the Migrant Schools a bag full of clothes, school supplies, blankets, and toys at Christmas time.  Nearly 15,000 students will receive bags before Chinese New Year.  It is such a blessing to help out with some of the ceremonies.  I get to see the schools, grateful children, and spend time with some fabulous people.  The donors for each school are just amazing and they participate in the ceremonies as well.  The whole program makes me much more thankful for the life I have and the schools that my children get to attend.  Migrant children have it tough but you would never know it by all the smiles on their faces.

 

Donor bags

New hats and scarves

    







My minister is conducting an awesome ladies discipleship that teaches us about spiritual leadership and service.  I am so blessed to be a part of this group.  The weekly lessons can leave you raw but you create such a close bond with the Lord in the process.  This has truly changed my life.  The lessons I have learned are so important as I begin this journey with the Lord.   I am so anxious to gather each week and discuss our homework with the ladies in my group.  Pastor Kevin has such a gift for teaching the Gospel.  He is so passionate in his faith.  He is a fantastic mentor and leader.  I truly have a relationship with the Lord for the first time in years.  I'm so thankful He waited patiently for me to open the door and let him back into my life.  Our lives are so much better for it.



The peeps have been busy with piano, Wu Shu, cheerleading, swimming, cooking, and a variety of after school activities.  They have really enjoyed their new school and all that it offers.  I am amazed at their ability to pick up the Chinese language - written and spoken.  Their reading and writing have come a long way this semester and they both have given research presentations to their classes.  This has been such an awesome experience for them and it's only been one semester.  Their leadership skills are growing in leaps and bounds.  I can't wait to see what they will be doing next semester!


After the first of the year I will begin my Chinese language lessons.  I am actually anxious to get started.  It's time that I started learning the language that my children are learning in school.  I will also continue to see my Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor to see if we can get a few things straightened out with my body.  I'll head back to the pool since it is heated now.  I will also be spending time at school reading with the precious first graders in my children's classes as well as substitute teaching on occasion.  Life won't be slowing down any in the new year.  Hopefully I'll find some time to stitch and scrapbook along the way.  I have really missed doing both these last few months.  Life is pretty good for the Wells clan.  Can't wait to see what adventures 2013 holds!

Swimming into the Deep End

One of the things that I love about being in Shanghai is that I have time to do things for myself.  Working out has been one of those things and I most enjoy swimming twice a week.  It gives me time to ponder and just relax my mind.  In the last few weeks, I've come to realize how settled we have become in our new home and how much I miss folks back home. 




I've realized that we've been here long enough that my children pronounce Shanghai correctly (Shung/hi),  I can't tell the difference between red beans and peanuts in the dried legumes department of the grocery store,  Robert is comfortable wearing his pajamas in public, and my husband scooters my children all over Puxi without a second thought.  I am even the proud new owner of a scooter.  Now all I have to do is learn to drive the darn thing without running into curbs, trees, or pedestrians.  I thought relearning how to ride a bike was tough.  The children can't wait until I am ready to hit the road so we can scooter to church.  They patiently ride their bikes along side me and give me encouragement hoping that I'll be able to leave the neighborhood sooner rather than later.  It is really quite sweet.

I also have time to enjoy an awesome Bible study group with 40 other women, volunteer at the children's school, and take part in a neighborhood book club that focuses on books about life in Asia.  I am so grateful for this time.  It is helping me grow as a Christian and as a global citizen.  A part of my Bible study homework last week was to come up with a Bible reading plan.  I've never really sat down and read the Bible regularly so I searched a plan on the internet that helped me get my feet wet.  It has been one of the most cleansing, soul searching, and honest experiences of my life.  Especially the lesson on gratitude.  Each day I begin my prayers for the things which I am grateful.  That is when I realized how blessed I am for having a family at home in the States and a growing family here in Shanghai.  It made me realize how much I miss my family back home but also how thankful I am for the people in my life here.


 I just feel the need to share my gratitude list with you.  I may not see you every day but I want you to know that you are never far from my heart.

1.  A gracious, merciful, wise, and forgiving God
2.  A strong, caring, and loving husband
3.  My precious gifts of Robert and Emma Grace
4.  The family that we had to leave behind
5.  Our tremendous support system in Shanghai
6.  Lessons I am learning about myself and my faith
7. Pastor Kevin and his passion for teaching God's word
8. The time to spend with family, friends, by myself, and with God
9. Roof over our heads and good food on the table
10. The means to purchase things that make our life more comfortable, nuture creativity, and the opportunity to give to the church
11. Creative gifts and talents, the desire to use them, and share them with my children and friends
12. Laotong is a Chinese word that means "old sames"  Young girls were carefully paired and they became laotong.  They built their friendship into a lifelong relationship. They were deep-bonded friendships that  survived distance, hardship, and even death.  I am so grateful for the "laotong" that I have in my life.
13. The smooth transition into our life in Shanghai


I hope you take the time to thank God each day for the things for which you are grateful.

Our Newcomer team at church

Whose Idea Was It to Go Shoe Shopping This Week?

It's hard to believe that my first visit to Shanghai was a year ago this week.  It is an exciting time of year in Shanghai.  It's fall!  Mums are all abloom at the flower markets, moon cakes are for sale EVERYWHERE, and the Chinese flag is hanging from just about every thing in sight.  It's time for the Mid-Aututmn Festival and China's National Holiday.  Mid-Autumn is based on the Lunar calendar and everyone eats mooncakes.  While they look pretty, they generally don't taste very good.  Unless of coarse you enjoy eating red beans or green beans inside your cakes.

Pretty packages for a special time of year

I chose the good one.  It tasted like vanilla
on the inside. 

                          

 National Holiday celebrates the 63rd anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the Communist governement.  There are Chinese flags, people, police, and military all over the popular places in Shanghai.  We were told that most folks leave Shanghai during the holiday since we get a week off to celebrate.  That is really not the case.   There are people everywhere and we decide to take the children shoe shopping in the middle of it all!  The police and military served as traffic cops.  It is really a sight to see thousands of people move across the street based on the whistle of a policewoman or stop with the same.  The soldiers created walking  paths going in both directions.  It was awesome to see how peacefully that many people could move.  The Chinese Military has to have the tallest men in China.  We had to look up at them to take their pictures.  It was cool to see them moving in formation and standing above most of the crowd.

It took us about three steps to fit into the crowd.  An older woman gave the children Chinese flags to wave while walking Nanjing Road.  Nothing will turn a head faster than Western children waving Chinese flags.  I didn't think it was possible, but we turned Nanjing Road into a photography circus.  Even Emma Grace, who generally adores getting her picture taken, tired of the attention.  Had she been wearing her new shoes, that may have been a different story.  She was tired and ready to ride the river boat.  Which turned out to be an impossibility that night as well.  Just too many people and too long a wait.  So we decided to call it a night and wait for Jacky, our driver, to come pick us up.  That turned out to be the most exciting part of the the evening since we had to ingnore several policemen and trounce on the all the freshly planted red flowers in order to dive into the van while it was parked illegally on the side of the road. 

 

Thankfully, Jacky is a fast talker and a fast driver when he needs to be.



Happy Girl with three new pairs of shoes

Robert making friends with the police.



Life as an Expat

This is a glorious sunny day in Shanghai.  Windows open, sounds of the waterfall in the background, and a soft breeze wafting the spiciness that is Shanghai.  I believe it is the Tea Olive that provides that lovely fragrance.  Makes you realize that you are living as a  guest in a different part of the world.  I've quickly learned that life as an expatriate (foreign national living and working in another country) holds many opportunities for opening the mind to people that are different that you.  The most important thing is to get involved in your community.  Which is a bit of a struggle for this recluse, but the opportunities for growth are amazing.  I love having the time to get out and do things that I couldn't do when I was working and keeping up house.

I've been blessed by the outpouring of graciousness and kindness in our neighborhood.  Three wonderful ladies held a gathering in the neighborhood for all newcomers to meet and greet their neighbors.  It was an awesome opportunity to put names to the faces I've been seeing and find out where everyone lives in the compound.    They have also put together a directory of all the families.  Makes life easier to have phone numbers and emails of all your neighbors!  We have several Finnish, German, Swedish, French, Chinese, and even a few American families that live in our compound and LOTS of children.  It's actually refreshing to be surrounded by people that talk differently than I do.  I've learned a great deal about Finnish culture already and find it completely fascinating. 

Every morning mothers meet at the bus stop with their children and catch up with each other.   The rest of us chat on our bikes on the way to school.  It is so cool to see how many parents ride their bikes to school with their children!  Everyone rides a bike or scooter around the neighborhood.  Easy way to get to each other's homes for coffee or just go for a workout at the Clubhouse.  Children roam the neighborhood on their bikes looking for friends to play with or just enjoying being outside.  It is quite comforting to know that the children are safe to roam from house to house.  Families, ayis, the compound workers, and the children just look out for each other.  We are like a little family.  It's not uncommon around 6:00 that parents will be out rounding up their children.  Another chance to chat and catch up on our day.

My Bible Study is an amazing resource for help and guidance.  I'm still in awe of the diversity and openness of the group.  Just having the opportunity to spend three hours with women who have been where I am is an awesome comfort and source of much wisdom.  Besides the connections that we are making as a Biblical community, we are growing as friends and support team.  Every Monday at lunch I learn something new about cooking, food, children's activities, parenting frustrations, travel, and the list goes on and on.  This week's lesson was on Chinese stir fry and rice.  I found out that you should always rinse your rice to remove the excess starch and whatever little critters may have laid eggs in it.  I tried it for the first time last night and couldn't believe how long it took for the water to run clear from all of the starch.  Will definitely be doing that from now on.

Volunteering at school has been so much fun.  I get to see how things tick around there and do a few things that help out the teachers.  I love being around the school children.  I didn't realize how much I would miss them until I started working at the school.  As an added bonus, I get to eat lunch in the cafeteria for helping out so I get to spend my lunch with a bunch of rowdy children.  What more could you want?

My next adventures will include taking some language classes so that I can actually communicate with Qian without relying on Google Translate and meeting with an accupuncturist to try an alternative approach to my thyroid problems.  The possibilities are endless!

The most important thing to remember about being an expat is that you are not living in your hometown.  Don't try to make Shanghai into something that it is not.  Shanghai will never be like Tupelo.  Embrace the new opportunities that surround you.  Explore what makes Shanghai unique. Find a way to make it your home away from home.

I'm Going To Be Doing What?

The children have finished their first week of school and we have been in Shanghai for nearly two months now.  Time continues to pass, no matter where you live, so you might as well make the most of it.  We have truly enjoyed our time in Shanghai.  So many of you have asked about the transition and we are so thankful for your interest and concern.  Our transition has been a relatively easy one.  The good thing about having Rob in China for about two months before we joined him is that he had everything pretty well set up. 

Any concerns that I had about the first week in China - going to the grocery store, getting water set up, getting internet and satellite installed, interviewing an ayi, and dealing with the movers and unpacking at the same time - were alleviated by Rob having taken care of it.  I know this played a huge role in having a good attitude about everything.  Life was a whole lot easier that first week because we moved into a working home environment. 

Now that doesn't mean there haven't been a few adjustments to make.  We have found there are a few things that take some getting use to while others have been a blessing. 

Mode of transportation:  bicycle
I never thought when I started riding bikes with the children in our neighborhood in Tupelo that I was actually in training.  If I want to go anywhere in the neighborhood, the bicycle is my main mode of transportation.  I am amazed how often I find myself on the bike.  We ride our bikes to school, to the clubhouse and the pool, to the neighbors.  I have even ridden my bike on the main road.  A concept that totally scared the &^(*(#)$ out of me when Rob first mentioned it.  It really isn't quite as scary as it seems, you just have to stay very alert and know that they really don't want to run you over - just put you in your place.  :O   Rob thinks the scooter is next, but I'll stick with my people-powered mode of transportation for now.  Unless he comes home with a pink scooter.  That may change my mind.

Working Out
The sky is not falling, the Earth as we know it is not coming to an end, but I may be meeting my maker soon.  With all of this bike riding and time on my hands, I am turning over a new leaf and working out.  My thighs may burst into flame before they stop hurting but I am committed to taking better care of this vessel the Lord has given me.  I have been biking, swimming, and lifting weights. My body is sore and may be in revolt, I'm not sure right now.   I'm still waiting for the burst of energy that working out is suppose to give you.  I just want to take a nap when I get home.  I am also giving my faith a workout by joining a Bible study that lasts the school year.  Our minister is a dynamic speaker and I am anxious to spend time with him every week to grow my faith and be a better person.

Household Help
We love our Ayi Qian.  She adores my children and will do anything that I can figure out how to communicate to do.  We made Rob's birthday cake on Friday and we currently enjoy riding bikes to and from school together twice a day taking charge of one twin each.  But it takes some adjusting having household help in your house every day.  And the ayi is not the only person.  There are gardeners, lawn mowers, rakers, house workers, water delivery guys, and your driver.  You are surrounded by a staff that is a well oiled machine.  Everyone has their day and their schedule and they work seven days a week and all hours of the day for the most part.  For example, on this lovely Saturday morning, I had a worker show up at 8:00 to work on our terraces.  He tore out the terrace floors last week with his trusty jackhammer and now he is reinstalling what he took out.  The satellite dude came over at 9:00 one night to fix the TV.  Next week it will be something else.  You never get to have Pajama Days when you have workers in and out of your house at all hours.  The good thing with our landlord is that she uses the same workers so they are becoming like family, too.  One of them watched part of Grown Ups with me yesterday afternoon instead of taking a nap.  Maybe there is hope for Pajama Day yet! 

Church
Now I am the first to admit that we have been heathens for most of our married life yet have very strong opinions about our Church house and faith.  It's not like you can go visit 20 different churches in Western Shanghai like you can in Tupelo.   There are just not that many.  If you do go, you have to be a foreign passport holder.  One of those Constitutional freedoms that we tend to take for granted.  I can tell you that it makes you a whole lot more appreciative that you don't to be ready to provide proof of nationality when you walk into the Church House.  We have a great little church that is active and growing.  It was amazing to be a part of such a diverse group of people worshipping Christ that first Sunday.  I have never been part of a church that openly welcomes and seeks out so many people from so many parts of the world.  It is awesome to see.  Like so many places these days, we have what Rob calls "Karoake Church".  No hymnals, singing verses splashed on the wall by computer accompanied by a Praise Band.  We both struggle with this but it is something that we can get over. At least I think we can.  When Amazing Grace was splashed on the wall last week with new verses, I thought we were going to lose Rob.  We just weren't brought up in churches that relied on so much technology and "new age" tactics to keep the services fresh and well attended.  Religu-tainment.  My own son wears shorts and Crocs for goodness sakes.  Please forgive me, Reverend Goldberger!


West Salon  - THE Beauty Shop
I'm not much of a girlie girl, but I LOVE to go to the beauty shop.  Dennis at West Salon has made it his mission to create the best darn hair dressing experience of your life.  Which is so up my alley and I must say he does excel at it!  In his little six chair shop, he is able to work magic with Western hair and color and it doesn't stop there.  I don't know how many folks he has working for him other than a lot.  At one point there were five people foiling, coloring, fanning, consulting, and checking my hair.  It must be what it is like to be a Kardashian!  Once they were finished and my color was processing, I got a shoulder and neck massage while I waited.  Every few minutes two or three of Dennis' workers would interrupt my massage to check my hair.  I didn't care if my hair all fell out at this point I just wanted my massage to continue!  When I didn't think it could get any better it was time to wash my hair.  OMG! is all I can say.  Twenty minutes of shampooing, massaging, conditioning, more massaging, and total relaxation.  The haircut was perfect.  Dennis consults with his technicians, checks in during the process, and then takes over the scissors at the end to ensure the perfect cut and style.  I don't know what it's like to work for Dennis because he is such a perfectionist.  But I know that he knows something about the salon experience and he is training his staff well.  The best part about it is that you don't have to have an appointment and he is open seven days a week..


Working in Shanghai
(This is my observation based on the visits we've had and the time that we have lived here.)
We have had FIVE typhoons in the Shanghai area since we lived here.  Thankfully, only one of them made landfall close to Shanghai.  You wouldn't know it watching local news coverage.  There is no Jim Cantore standing on the shores here.  The city doesn't come to a screeching halt either.  The ONLY workers excused from work by the government were the outdoor construction workers.  If you work in the streets or anywhere else, you go to work.  Keep in mind that many people ride bikes and scooters to work.  You don't work, you don't eat.  The street sweeping crews were all out in force with their tricycle carts and brooms sweeping up leaves, branches, and debris in the pouring rain.  The wind was so forceful that it blew over one of the carts near the house.  She then had to clean up the mess that made in the middle of a busy street.  Gives a whole new meaning to "will work for food".  It's just what you do.  Whether you are painting the fence along the highway, cleaning the streets of Shanghai, working in a restaurant or selling your wares under a tent, you go to work every day.  If there is a holiday, then you work another day to make up for taking the holiday.  They may take a nap after lunch, but they are going to be at work rain or shine. 

My Kingdom for a Sharpie!

It's back to school time!         

I guess this is a bit of hyperbole since I don't technically have a kingdom but I really need a Sharpie!  It is just that time of year.  I always buy a brand new pack of Sharpies - the 16 color extra fine point collection - just because.  And I am in the midst of Sharpie withdrawal.  It is part of the back to school ritual that gets me in the mood for school, whether I am teaching or not.  I need them to write the children's names on their uniforms and school paraphernalia, plus it is coming up on the biggest crafting season of the year and I now have the time to craft until my little heart is content.  But I  can't find them anywhere.  We stumbled upon the world's smallest Staples around Nanjing Road and I knew I would be able to get my fix.  No such luck.  Apparently, Shanghai doesn't know the magic powers of the Sharpie.  They've never heard of them.  So alas, our new school year begins and I'll have to suffer through without my beloved Sharpies.   Just something else to add to my list of things to purchase when we are back in the States.


The children don't need Sharpies either. Not on their back to school supply lists. In fact, I have the shortest back to school supply list in history. Pencils, colored pencils, and a pencil bag. No paper, no markers, no Kleenex, no Germ X, no scissors, no crayons, and no 40 glue sticks. Amazing. Their school supplies everything they need. Refreshing concept for a reforming school supply queen.  Emma Grace has had her backpack ready to go for a week.  She tried to get Robert in line and he has nothing to do with that.  She has organized their cubbies, uniforms, supplies, and sharpened pencils until she has nubs.  Purchasing the electric pencil sharpener was probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, but it keeps her busy for hours on end.  I'll just have to go buy more pencils for school.

It has been an exciting few days around the kingdom. Supplies purchased, uniforms purchased, back to school haircuts.  We're ready!   Robert and Emma Grace have started back to school, finally!  They have had an extremely long summer and this was such a welcome change.  Thankfully, they both love their new school.  They have already had swimming lessons this week and PE tomorrow.  Both are excited that they get to wear their PE uniforms to school tomorrow.  We rode our bikes to school today and took Qian with us so she can see where they are going to school.  She is really missing having the young'uns around the house.  She is excited that she can go pick them up after school today.  Thankfully many of the staff speak Chinese so she got her dismissal instructions and is set to go.  It is really cool to see how our driver and ayi have taken to our children.  The children adore them and really enjoy spending time with them.




Ready to ride our bikes to school with Qian.

Waiting in the courtyard for our
first day of school

 

Hello, First Grader!

 

Their classrooms look like mini United Nations forums.  There are over 40 different nationalities represented at the Western International School of Shanghai (WISS).  It was awesome to see so many different little faces.  Each class has two teachers.  One from China and one from the west.  The children have Chinese studies every day for an hour. It's a fairly new school and it continues to grow.  This year they have 650 students and are building 23 new classrooms, adding another pool, badminton courts, tennis courts, and basketball courts.  It's fun to be a part of a growing school community.

Primary section of the library

Entrance to the school.  The Primary wing is on the right.

Secondary wing is on the left and the library is on the
bottom floor.

 Emma Grace was thrilled to get to play Simon Says in Chinese.  They have already learned three characters and the sounds.  Robert's teacher is from Australia and Emma Grace's teacher grew up in Russia but has lived in Shanghai for the past 14 years so Shanghai is home for her.  Their school follows the International Baccalaureate World standards which means the curriculum is individually based and inquiry driven.  I am so excited about this opportunity for my children.  They have been busy making new friends.  Thankfully, many of the students live in our housing complex or go to our church.  Sunday School starts this weekend.  I'm anxious to see how many of their school mates will be in their class.



Emma Grace with her teacher Ms. Bela

Robert's teacher Ms. Morrissey



Robert's class

Emma Grace was the first one in her class and I was ordered to
leave after I took this picture.  I haven't gotten a picture of her
class just yet.

I'm in awe that my babies are first graders now.  It was the first time that I got to go to school with them on the first day.  Such an amazing experience to watch my own children interacting with new people and new teachers.  So glad that I got to do this myself.  I am so blessed to have them in a great school with tremendous possibilities ahead of them.  I cannot wait to see what will happen this year.  Keep us in your prayers as we start another new adventure! 

Oriental Pearl Tower - Our Day with Daddy

Main globe has the sightseeing floor, observation deck, and
revolving restaurant.  The Space Station is the top globe at
350 meters high.  In between the two are five separate

 globes that serve as a hotel. 

On our first day out with Daddy, we visited the Pearl Tower and the Apple Store since Daddy had never been to either one.  As you can tell from the  picture, we had beautiful sunny skies. (Sorry for the picture being sideways, I don't know how to fix it on my blog.)

Our visit to the Pearl Tower was amazing.  It's main purpose is to be a TV tower, the tallest in Asia at 468 meters and third tallest in the world, but it's draw as a tourist destination is undeniable.  It was yet another steamy day in Shanghai so it was a fabulous day to spend inside and 350 meters in the air with about 2,000 people. 

Welcome to the Pearl Tower.  The first of many pictures.



 First, a side note.  We are quite the side show when we travel around Shanghai.  School children, older couples,  groups of women, families, it doesn't matter.  People from outside of Shanghai or other metropolitan areas in China rarely see folks with blond hair, blue eyes, or just tall, fat, sweaty people in general.  We get stopped by tourists more than we do hawkers wanting us to buy a bag.  We have decided that our children are just rock stars and we need to embrace that.  Emma Grace is on board, the little blond one is still getting comfortable with his rock star status.  So today, I decided to become part of the papparazi and take some pictures of people taking pictures of my children. I must admit that I still get an uneasy feeling when someone at the grocery store touches Robert's hair or Emma Grace's arm.  I hope that the feeling never goes away.  It is all pretty innocent.  I just don't want to get desensitized to total strangers approaching my children.

You see Robert still hasn't fully
embraced having "family" photos
taken with complete strangers.

Notice Blue Eyes parked up in the middle of the school group.
We just had to shove Robert  back in the picture. Oh, and in
any touristy picture, peace signs are a must.  At least I think
they mean the same thing in China.

 

Now, back to the business at hand.  The Pearl Tower has a sightseeing floor, observation deck, revolving restaurant, and a second sightseeing floor closer to the top. Of course there are gift shops and a salute to Coke underground.  The elevator ride to the first globe takes about 15 seconds.  The ride to the second globe takes about 10 seconds.  There is no personal space involved in these elevators.  If capacity is thirty six, there will be thirty-six people on that elevator. 


 Newer Shanghai architecture is very avant guarde and over the top in all ways imaginable.  They are rarely perfectly rectangular and have interesting rooflines.  Numerous building materials will be used and they are erected at an amazing pace.  And at night, they all light up with flashing signs or syncopated colored light shows.  They are truly a sight to behold. 



The World Financial Tower looks like a bottle opener.
Notice the three cranes on top of the building to the right.

Puxi Skyline from the Sightseeing Tower.



 

We live about an hour away, depending on traffic, to the
southwest.  There were eight barges working around the
bend.  I wish I could have gotten them all in the picture!
That is one busy river!

 

Spaghetti, pizza, and fruit for lunch in the revolving restaurant.
This is one of the few restaurants that provides forks,
knives, and spoons!! 

These pictures are various skyline pictures taken from two different points of view.  The World Financial Tower was taken from the Space Deck.  I even got a few pictures from the Observation Deck.

  Puxi is the west or old side of the river.  That is where we live.  The Pearl Tower is on the Pudong side which is the east or new side.



This picture was taken from the observation
deck that had a see-through floor.  The large
circle is an elevated pedestrian walkway.

See the glass cube with an apple on it?  That is the entrance to
the underground Apple store taken from the escalator.  It is adjacent
to the IFC Mall.  You won't find any Charlotte Russe, The Gap, or JCPenney in there.  Big Name brands are everything here.  Rob
wouldn't even let me window shop at Harry Winston in Xintiandi!



This is the same pedestrian walkway from ground level.  There are outdoor
escalators or steps that you can take.  It is the only way to cross the street
at this interection.  Traffic is pretty light in this photo.  The  (official) Apple
Store is in the right corner just below the walkway.