Annie & Mike Go to Shanghai

Venting

2010-02-22T12:57:00.001-08:00

Okay folks, I'm a wee bit pissed off. I've been up since 3:30 am and it is now 4:57. Living in Shanghai is in some words; exciting, polluted, noisy - what NOISY?!?!? Yes, NOISY.

I've had this cough for about 3 weeks now and well, I didn't want to keep Mike awake - he has to go to work every day, if you know what I mean. He needs his rest to be at top form to be able to deal with the people in his office who don't speak to him in English. His command of Mandarin is even less than mine and that is saying alot.

So, I've been sleeping in the back bedroom so he can get a full night's rest. It still doesn't work because he usually gets up about 5 anyway.

Tonight though at 3:30 am they started with the jackhammer and I had about enough. I called downstairs and woke Tim up - So sorry Tim! BUT darn it - Mr. Chen says that if you call the police, the police will make them quit. So I called Tim and he was sleeping and I'm sure I woke him from a sounds sleep - he's in the Lobby so he would not have heard it - there are stores on the other side of his area that would have muffled the noise. So sorry Tim.

Anyway - after about 30 minutes - the jackhammering stopped. NOT because Tim sent the doorman out to check it out but because they were done.

You see, they are working around the clock - and I mean AROUND THE CLOCK to get this huge city of 21 MILLION people ready for the World Expo 2010. Every street has been dug up (or so it seems) and pipe laid and God-knows-what-else-has-been-laid so that they can pave the streets and make it absolutely beautiful for the World Expo.

Everyone has suffered sleepless nights because of World Expo - I sure hope it's worth it. . .

I'm going back to bed now that I've vented!

Good night.

A new year and a new Walmart!

2010-01-20T23:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Cynthia, Julie, Connie and I took our lives in our hands and went to Walmart. What I mean is that Julie's driver is a crazy driver - our Westinghouse drivers are not nearly as wild and crazzeeyyy and I'm glad for that. I'm also glad I had my book to read so I didn't have to watch the road. He was weaving in and out of traffic. Pretty terrifying for me, an old lady. . . It was a real treat though. Saw lots of interesting things - Connie was looking for a bicycle and I think she found one - a folding one - that costs about $28.50. It's so cute - If we move to a decent area in June, I might think about getting one.

Walmart was great. Clean and not as crowded as Carrefour and we found Keebler crackers, Heinz ketchup and some beautiful produce. I bought carrots, chives, leeks for chicken soup (it's going to get cold again) and some great strawberries and bananas.

Mike went to see Avatar last night with John Kennedy. He really enjoyed the movie - I'm so glad because I would NEVER go see that kind of film. I'm glad he's found a buddy to do things like that with.

Today I attended the Chinese Symbols and Patterns lecture by Mr. Joe Zhou at the Shanghai Museum. It was lovely, we received a book detailing all the symbols particular to Chinese history and proceeded through the Museum checking out all those symbols we had learned.

Mr. Zhou treated us to tea and a pastry in the Tea Room. Cynthia and I enjoyed that and then we went over to the Museum Shop where we found many beautiful items - note cards, umbrellas, Chinese jackets and beautiful table runners. I wish I had lots of money to spend but I know I will not be able to keep all the beautiful things I've seen here. My apartment is only 3 bedrooms and my house in Plum won't contain all Chinese furniture and other items.

Was supposed to meet John to go to the Fabric Market - he and Jane are going to a work dinner tomorrow and they need to wear traditional Chinese clothing. I couldn't get a hold of him -his Chinese phone is being wonky and Jane's has lost it's charge. Go figure! He will meet me tomorrow morning and we'll check out the scene then.

Need to check on Myszka - she had a cough yesterday - it is going around. And my friend, Sue hasn't been well since she got back. The dirt and grime of coal-fired power plants really takes a toll on us living here.

Walk in The French Concession

2009-04-24T04:15:00.001-07:00

Good evening,

Monday was the day I got to meet CeCe's sister Carol and her friends, Ann and Amy. Carol is from Wisconsin, Ann is from New York and Amy is from Connecticut. They are lovely ladies and I felt like I'd known them forever.

Yvette took us to the French Concession and we all enjoyed it immensely. We found ourselves at Joffre Terrace where the famous writer, Ba Jin. We walked a little further until we came upon the home of Xu Guangping, the editor and his wife, Lu Xun. We walked to the Astrid Apartments that consist of 8 floors and 40 apartments - it was built in 1933.

We saw a lovely building owned by the Chinese government but the suites there can be rented. Lovely antiques - some shown here - I loved the red trunk and the screen.

It was a warm day - lots of sun and we moved along to Fuxing Park where we met a lovely older couple near the Rose Garden here. Not many blooms yet - maybe in a few weeks - The gentleman was writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with a long pen with water in it. Just as soon as he would finish writing a character, it would disappear. His wife told us that he took up this art about 3 years ago but we thought he was an expert. She said he had a career as a designer in Shanghai. Their only child, a daughter, now lives in New York City. Her mother told us proudly that she has a 4 story home. They lived with her for two years. The older woman didn't like living in New York. She couldn't talk with her neighbors;even though her husband had learned a little English. They moved back to Shanghai because "the leaves were falling from the trees". Which meant she wanted to be home in her own country when she died. What lovely people they were.

Yvette told us the story of Mr. Du who was the "Mafia" person here in Shanghai back in the day. He was into prostitution and even had his own opium den. He had a few wives and many children. We saw his garden - see above.

After the walk, we went to Pearl City where I finally finished my Chinese Charm Bracelet. It is one of my proudest accomplishments. I got this great idea when Denice told me about the charm bracelet her mother had made for her when she was young. I decided that I wanted to make a charm bracelet with all the good things I've found here in China.

I went to Pearl City months ago after I met Valerie who owns a little shop there. She's a lovely woman who sells her beautiful sterling silver and gold-plated jewelry at the American Women's Club and Shanghai Expatriate Association Coffees. She had a wonderful chain and I bought some wonderful charms - a map of China to anchor it and a little heart-shaped locket with a key - it sort of reminded me of Mike; you know, like the "key to my heart". Valerie had those two charms soldered onto the chain and off we went in search of additional charms.

In the past few months CeCe and I've been to the Commodity Market and the Science and Technology Market scouring the shops for sterling silver charms. I have found some great ones and the bracelet is now complete - well, maybe I have space for one or two more items but it is basically complete and I'm taking it home to show my Mom and Kate. I think they'll like it too!

There are no photos of it in this posting - I want it to be a surprise. If you want to see it - post a message for me and I'll create a blog posting later next month - after I've shown it to them.

Walk with Yvette

2009-04-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Last Friday, CeCe, Denice, Ellen, Jane and I went on a walk with Yvette. She was born and bred in Shanghai and moved to Chicago when she was 16 to complete school there. She went to college there and met her husband and when he was working on his PhD at U of Illinois, she got her Masters in International Studies. She's a fascinating woman and I'm sorry to say, she'll be leaving Shanghai in July for Boston. She is presently final edits on a book she is writing to be published in June. I will make sure to pick up a copy before she leaves.

When she moved back her 3 years ago with her husband and 3 children, she decided she would learn everything she could about Shanghai because back when she lived here, people didn't talk about history much.

So she has accomplished what she set out to do and she took us on a walk in the Jing An District and we had a great time.

We went to Haushan Hospital and toured their beautiful Garden. I am adding some beautiful photos from there. The turtles were sunning themselves on some sort of pad and another turtle came along - his "friends" didn't even help him get up on the pad - he did it all by himself.

She told us a little bit about healthcare here as her mother is a retired internist. Her father was an attorney.

The wisteria, the urns and the sidewalk was paved in the shape of bats which denote good luck.

We stopped by a Shanghai theatre academy where they train up and coming actors and actresses. Yvette told us it was a huge opportunity to be accepted into this school. There were many students out front of the school dressed to the nines pretending to welcome some delegates. We assumed they were practicing for when the World Expo 2010 comes to Shanghai next year.

She told us a sad story about a well-known actress who lived across the street from the academy. She pointed out the villa where "The White Countess" was filmed with Natasha Richardson. I need to pick up that video next week before I leave Shanghai.

We went by her old house and the high school where she went before she left for Chicago.

I hope you enjoy these photos.

Grocery Shopping with CeCe

2009-04-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, last week I was very busy. Wednesday, CeCe and I went out with Skip. We went to The Pines store in Hongqaio. We don't get there very often because it is far and you really cannot take a taxi there.

We can buy very interesting things there like Bounty paper towels and Jello puddings. Yes, I know you people buy these things every week. But remember, we might have Chinese equivalent items but we can't read the package so we don't know what that might be.

So my purchases last week included:

Bounce fabric sheets that have a scent in them - a number 2 scent.

Jello chocolate pudding

Campbell's tomato soup

Canned pineapple

French green beans so I can make Green Bean Casserole

A beautiful whole chicken minus the head and feet - it was clean, really clean inside

Stove Top stuffing mix.

My BIG disappointment was the Mobier cheese that cost 57.80 RMB = $8.25 for a very small piece. I didn't buy it - I'll be at Penn Mac in The Strip on Thursday, April 30th to buy a HUGE piece though.

Yes, that is the photo posted with the blog post. The piece of Mobier cheese - my fav and I had to leave it there.

Yes, I will be better for it - I have experienced a huge letdown but I will recoup and grow in the knowledge that tomorrow is another day - or I will survive!

So long Linda and Reuben

2009-04-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Shanghai,

I've been remiss. I was very busy last week and hadn't had a chance to tell you about the wonderful dinner our friends Lisa and Rafaele planned as we said so long to our friends, Linda and Reuben. They are moving back to the West side of the world and we were very sad to see them go. I spent many hours with Linda as she shared her techniques for how to shop and bargain and deal for lots of interesting items here in many markets. We would see Linda everywhere - Commodity Market, Pearl Market, Yu Yuan, SEA, AWCS - we enjoyed her immensely. She is already missed but we know they arrived safely and are awaiting word on their next assignment.

On Monday, April 5th, the 14 friends journeyed to DaMarco's for a WONDERFUL dinner planned by Lisa and Rafaele. Denice, Kirk, Mike and I arrived early because we took a taxi - the other 10 arrived later because they had to come from the Dark Side of town = Pudong. It's not really dark there - it is just over the Huangpu River. You Pittsburghers know that people don't like to cross the river but we do it all the time - there are some very interesting things in Pudong but most of the exciting things happen here on the Puxi side (Mike and I live in Puxi).

DaMarco's is a fabulous Italian restaurant - there are two locations. We usually go to the one at Grand Gateway because it is closer to our apartment.

The fruits of this dinner are - - - Prosecco, in a word. . . and well, lots more goodies to describe to you.

The first course consisted of appetizers that included fried bread that looked like fingers, clams and mussels in garlicky, butter sauce, artichokes, fresh mozzarella, chopped tomatoes and peppers, arugula, roast beef with a mayonnaise, salami, prosciutto, soproseta - OMG - it was fabulous.

Then the pasta arrived in a beautiful red bowl (I must buy one or two before I go home). The waiter cut open the puffy, pizza crust that had been placed over the top of the bowl. Inside was linguine with shrimp, crab, and clams in a tomato sauce. The presentation was over the top.

Another bread bowl was placed beside it with tagliatelle and a wild mushroom and herb ragout.

All this time, the red and white wine flowed and flowed and flowed.

The seafood course was next - although we thought we'd already had it with the clams and mussels and then the linguine but NO - more more more more - salmon and crab and seared tuna.

Next was the veal Marsala over toast points. It was totally amazing - tender and flavorful. I could not believe there was more.

And dessert - well, little donuts dusted with sugar in a lovely custard sauce.

Needless to say, we didn't need to eat on Tuesday

On Top of the World!

2009-03-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

Greetings again from Shanghai,

Last week I went to lunch with my American Women's Club friends on the 93rd Floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel at 100 Century Avenue, in Pudong.

CeCe is making some snide remark in the first photo and Denice snapped it but I decided to keep it anyway. In the second photo there is Denice (her back to the view - she's frightened by heights) Ali and Linda. The third photo is the view of The Pearl Tower with the Huangpu River below. There were three cruise ships in port last week. Shanghai is a major stop for the Asian cruises. The river reminds me of the Allegheny River after a Spring rain; muddy and fast flowing.

Linda and her husband are leaving us next week and I will certainly miss her. She has been here six months and has out shopped us all. She's having a "garage sale" next week because she cannot take all her "household goods" and her "Chinese treasures" back with her - only the treasures so those of us left behind will sift through her goods and determine what we cannot live without. We will then toast them next Monday evening at a restaurant here in Puxi. We have spent some great times with her at the Fabric Market, the Pearl Market, the Northern Market, the Commodity Markets and at coffees each month. I hope our paths will cross again.

This lunch turned out to be very nice. It was another sold out event and the restaurant imported all the food for the luncheon. Alaskan Salmon and Australian beef. I had the beef and it was great with very crispy french fries which, in my opinion, is the only way to eat them. No Heinz Ketchup here - it was home made - not my fav but what the heck - some places like to make their own - I'm a Pittsburgh Girl Pure Bred!

Then I promptly got bronchitis for the entire weekend.

We've got a huge April in store - lots of classes, and the Botanical Gardens (Springtime edition). All before I go home in 3 weeks. Hopefully, we can put an end to our living arrangements before this week is out. I hate having that hang over my head.

And I have some shopping to do before I go home. . .

A Grand Day for a Parade!

2009-03-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Shanghai!

Well, what more can I say about March 14th? Read on. . . .

When Mike and I decided to move to Shanghai, I really thought we'd not be hanging out celebrating our wedding anniversary like we used to do. Boy, was I wrong. This year turned out to be one of the best yet.

Sure, we've been to New York for the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade which was chilly and very long but very exciting.

We've spent most of the last 30 years at the Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade. Some years spent on the Boulevard of the Allies just down the street from Froggy Morris's place. Last year we spent St. Patrick's Day Parade with Kate in Market Square and fighting for a rest room at Wendy's on Fifth Avenue. Then onto a fabulous family dinner at Nora and Amy's with great friends and family. I love having dinner with that group!

So this year we were not expecting too much. Boy, was I wrong!

Last September we joined LeCheile, the Irish Community in Shanghai. We went to a fabulous Bar B Q at O'Malley's Irish Pub in September where Denice learned how to play the harmonica - move over Mr. Slaman.

As time went on, we realized that we just had to attend the St. Patrick's Day Ball - I mean, after all - it has been 30 years since our wedding in Beaver, PA and the reason we chose St. Patrick's Day was because; well, we didn't want to forget that day and beside we always wanted to share the day with friends and make it an important one for everyone.

So we volunteered to serve on The Committee for this year's Shanghai St. Patrick's Day parade. What an experience we had - so much fun. We met so many interesting people from all walks of life.

Mike was almost St. Patrick - yes, a promotion from The Pope to St. Patrick but alas; it was not to be. There was an Irish gentleman who showed up with a real beard and he looked quite remarkable - no crozier though. Mike ended up holding the Parade Banner at the beginning of the parade with Sandy and getting sunburned - he's still peeling! He doesn't care - it was great. He so enjoyed the entire experience. Who knew the sun would shine through the pollution this early in the year.

I was a Parade Marshall with a florescent green vest along the parade route but no one in the crowd listened to me anyway - they didn't speak English! And there were no police barricades. You see, there aren't many parades in Shanghai. The organizing committee had to secure clearance from the local governmental jurisdiction and well, there just aren't many parades here. The streets are so crowded with cars and bicycles and motorcycles that a parade just doesn't seem to work. BUT, the Irish never let a small thing like that deter them.

Denice and Elise - the little Italian and Belgium girls painted shamrocks and tri-colors on many many faces. Margaret, Tom and Linda came to lend their support and the parade stepped off. We even met a lovely Irish lass from Pittsburgh - Miss Caitlin who brought Mr. Donut donuts and I ate one for breakfast and they tasted just like the ones back home. SWEEEEEEEETTTTT!

We marched about 6 city blocks in the French Concession up a pedestrian street (sometimes - I have seen cars drive on that street) to a stage where they had an Irish Band flown in from Ireland - a very cute piper who piped the entire route - many Irish organizations - a group of Chinese "alumni" who had traveled to Ireland to attend school in many Irish universities - an Irish "football" league - a Chinese marching band - a Leprechaun, Chinese stilt walkers and clowns - two (2) GREEN Chinese dragons - the consul general of the Irish Republic - all told - about 750 planned marchers. But in the end - there were really many many people who marched in the parade and quite a few of them were Chinese. Why, people were hanging out the windows at Pizza Hut. A good time was had by all.

At the stage - the Irish Community's children performed for the throngs of people and they were absolutely adorable. There were young ladies with painted nails and green hair and green hats of many different shades.

The t-shirts went like hot cakes. The meat pies went like hot cakes. The Murphy's Stout went like water. The Murphy's girls were quite beautiful (just in case you want to know for future reference).

My most memorable experience was the Chinese river dancers. I could not believe how well they danced - their costumes were beautiful and well, the band flown in from Ireland was top notch.

Then we had to make a mad dash to The Blarney Stone with some Shama friends for lunch because God knew when we'd eat later that night at the Ball.

Then I had to run and get my hair washed and blown dry - it cost me about $6 - totally amazing.

Then Cinderella and her Prince Charming were off - read the next post.

Color Analysis vs. Psychological Analysis

2009-03-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone!

This is going to be a short entry but I wanted to share about today's Color Analysis Class.

CeCe, Denice and I went to the Community Center today for Florence's Color Analysis Class. It met for two hours and we met some lovely ladies there. A striking Asian beauty, a lovely Canadian, a beautiful Dutch girl and another American who I know from American Women's Club.

We all wanted to have someone tell us what Season we are. First, a little bit about Florence. She studied in Belgium and then came to Shanghai to take some classes here. She's worked for Italian Vogue and she knows her stuff. CeCe and I met her when she took us on the Commodity Market Tour a few weeks ago.

So, we started out learning about warm and cool colors. That progressed into Seasons and from there we talked about what colors look good on us.

I did find out that I'm a Summer. I'm Warm and I tend to wear teals and pinks. I also wear corals and that is from the Spring Season but hell, I'm going to wear them anyway.

If you know me, you know I wear lots of green too. It "used to be" my favorite color - I say "used to be" because it should NOT be in my color palette anymore because it is more Spring. "Hogwash", I say. I'm still going to wear green and coral and salmon as well. They look good on me and I like them.

I did find out I should wear more Purple and Blue so that means I need to go shopping again - darn it anyway - I've been embarrassing Mike way too much!

Hope you all have a great week. Tomorrow CeCe and I will run to the Fabric Market. I don't need anything and I'm not going to get anything else until I lose another 15 pounds. That means I'll be out with Annamae when I get to Lancaster. I need some sandals for summer and some shorts and some camis. Oh boy, maybe I do need my head examined? Or maybe not!

It's Strawberry Festival Time in Shanghai!

2009-03-23T02:01:00.001-07:00

Good afternoon all,

I'm pleased to announce that I've been out to City Shop and picked up some beautiful strawberries this afternoon. This little box holds 15 strawberries and cost me about 13 RMB which equals about $1.85. Note that they also have a larger box but I didn't think we could eat the larger box.

They are picture-perfect and you can smell them just as soon as you take the plastic off.

I think I'll make some French Toast with strawberries, dusted with powdered sugar snow for breakfast tomorrow. I could stuff it with cream cheese. Kate sent me a wonderful recipe that she used for St. Patrick's Day Parade Breakfast.

Hope you all aren't too hungry!

Lecture after Lecture . . .

2009-03-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon all,

This week was an educational experience all its own.

Monday I had another jewelry class at the Community Center with CeCe.

Tuesday we went to a lecture at Gang Feng Wang's home. He lives in a typical apartment building a short drive west of Shama. Skip (CeCe's driver) took us and made sure we were in the right apartment block before he left us. He's the greatest!

Gang Feng Wang is a 53 year old man who grew up during the Liberation of China. He is a professional fashion photographer but his passion is photographing typical Chinese people in their own elements. He also provides commercial photography for many businesses and companies in Shanghai and China. He is absolutely brilliant and I will have to purchase some of his photographs to bring home. He did provide us with some post cards that I will bring home with me next month so if you plan on seeing me, please ask me to bring them along. They are amazing. His web page is http://www.gangofone.net/. Check out his work. Let me know if you'd like me to bring something home for you.

I have included a photograph of a beautiful "room furnace" that looked like cloisonne and was in the middle of the room at his lovely home. A photograph of Gang's father and my friend Cynthia. Mr. Wang was a delight. He's 85 years young and got all dressed up to meet us. He worked on a Chinese merchant freighter for years traveling the world and his English is quite good; he doesn't think so but it is very good. He loves to sing and serenaded us with a lovely song that brought tears to my eyes. He so reminded me of my own dad, whom I miss so very much.

Gang's wife, Coin Qian, is a lovely young woman who is a contemporary artist here in Shanghai. Her work is basically of Chinese women but I did see some other works in her home. Her web page is http://www.coinqian.com/ .

Needless to say, the Chinese have a wonderful way of welcoming you into their home. There were wonderful dumplings with pork and vegetables and some with chicken and vegetables. Very much like raviolis but different and very good. I ate mine with a fork but our friend, Julie ate hers with chopsticks because she's almost Chinese by now.

Morning with Betty Barr

2009-03-20T01:48:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone!

This morning I attended a lecture presented by Betty Barr, PhD. What a lovely lady who shared with us her enthusiasm for Chinese culture and stories about her life in Shanghai.

Betty is married to George Wang and together, they have written three books - Shanghai Boy, Shanghai Girl - Lives in parallel, Between Two Worlds Lessons in Shanghai and another book about the life of Margaret Wang, who was George's first British wife.

I've included two photos here - the first one is a photo of the Old China Hand Reading Room - the location of today's lecture. The second is of Betty addressing the women from the American Women's Club Shanghai who attended. Cookies and tea or coffee were served while Betty shared many stories about her childhood, her life as an expat here in Shanghai teaching English as a Second Language and her marriage to George Wang.

Denice and I attended this lecture and we were so glad we did. We enjoyed the time we spent with Diane Smith Walsh and meeting the others in attendance but Betty was the STAR! The Staff at the Reading Room ran out of Betty's books to sell so Denice and I walked to Taikang Lu to Deke's studio where there were more for sale. We both bought the first two, hoping we could get Betty to sign them but she had left after lunch and we'll have to get them signed soon.

These books hold the history of Shanghai and of three amazing individuals and their stories. I cannot wait to read them, get them signed by the authors and take them home for my Mother to read. I think they will be a highlight of my stay here in Shanghai.

Shopping

2009-03-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Shanghai!

Happy Daylight Savings Time!

Here in China we don't change time - it's always way too far ahead of the rest of you.

Today Mike and I went to Mass and then he came home and was a cranky person - he finished up the paperwork for our 2008 taxes.

I went out to the dry cleaners and I thought you'd be interested in what I saw today.

The first photo is the dental clinic close by. It has a huge tooth out front of the shop. I never see anyone in there and maybe that's a good thing. Today it looks like someone is standing there talking on their cell phone. Maybe they are calling for help. Who knows.

The second photo to your right is the area around the corner. A little old man sells little items here every single day. I tried to buy hair clips here a long time ago and he wanted me to pay a fortune for them. I moved along. He's got inserts for shoes, hair combs, pony-tail holders, panty hose and knee highs.

The next photo is of the little shop where you can get the scrunchies to use with your shower gel and scrubbies for your dishes in the kitchen. Haven't stopped by this shop. I have no clue what the prices are but there seems to be a brisk walk-in trade.

The last photo is the Elephant dry cleaners. You buy a card for 1,000 RMB and take it with you. They give you a 60% or so discount on your dry cleaning and they use the money on the card each week. The information on the card tells them where you live so they can deliver it to you. If we take it to them on Sunday, we usually get it back on Thursday. This week they will deliver it on Wednesday - or cheeng shi san. See, I am leaning something.

I have to cancel the Chinese lesson this week. Mike is leaving Shanghai on Tuesday afternoon for an audit trip to Suzhou. Needless to say, this will be the first time I've been alone in this apartment - alone overnight in Asia period. I'm not liking it but I know Denice and CeCe are upstairs so what can go wrong? He'll be back on Thursday. I'll be so busy during the day that I probably won't even think about it.

Monday I'm going to the Shanghai Expat Association Coffee and a jewelry class - making a bracelet tomorrow.

Tuesday I'm managing the Spencer Dodington walking tour of Yu Yuan. I don't know if it is the gardens or just the tourist trap or even just the area. It is supposed to be a beautiful day so that is good - CeCe and I already took a walk in the rain and it wasn't fun. CeCe and I really like this area and there are lots of shops there. I need to take a curling iron back that I bought last week. I wanted a big fat one and the guy handed me the box and like an idiot, I never looked inside. It turned out to be a wee little skinny one so I was pretty angry once we got back in Skip's van. I paid 45 RMB for it - about $6.25 so I really want to get the right one.

Wednesday we're going to the Fabric Market. I'm the guinea pig this week. Right inside the door is a cotton knit stall and I've been wanting to get some twinsets made so this week I'll pick up two - a black one and a green one. I'll let you know how they look later in the week.

Wednesday night I have a meeting at the Irish Consulate - final plans for the remainder of Irish Week AND the HUGE St. Patrick's Day Parade that will happen this Saturday. You do know that it's the BIGGEST one in China! Just mentioning that the Parade in Pittsburgh is the 2nd largest in the US. I cannot believe we won't be there this year. The first year we haven't been there with Kate. She'll stand in for us though and she's already planning to be at Finnegan's Wake after the parade. Can't wait for photos. I'll share mine next week with you.

I'll be writing another blog shortly about the Opening of Irish Week here in Shanghai. Mike and I belong to LeCheile - the Irish organization here and we spent Saturday afternoon preparing finger food for an art gallery event and the event at the Times Square Mall with the Irish Consular General and the Luwan governor. Stay tuned for those interesting photos. As a tease, I now know where Kate gets her skill at catering - her DAD! He made a great cheese platter - don't miss the photos - eat your heart out Eric!

Shedding Some Light on the Situation

2009-02-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

Good morning,

I know, I've been lax in writing BUT I have good reasons. I've been out and about and there are more good posts to come.

Today I'm talking about lighting. Here in Shanghai, it's very poor except at night when you really need it. Oh, okay - It's not poor on the Bund or in Yu Yuan or in Pudong along the River or even on Nanjing Lu where all the scammers are.

It is just poor in my apartment because we only have 8 watt lightbulbs. George Westinghouse would be appalled now, wouldn't he?

Yes, I can get Phillips light bulbs but the ones you see most often are 8 watt - I've added some 24 watt bulbs to my supply and now that I've got my beautiful porcelain lamps, I'll run down to Carrefour to pick up some more. I hate shopping there - the store is dirty and so very crowded. I'd much rather go to City Shop where I know the produce is good and the meat comes from Australia or Japan. Enough about that - more on that later this week because there IS good news on the meat front. . .

Anyway, the East lamp store in Hongqiao is having a MOVING sale - 50% OFF. I had dragged Mike out there a few months ago to see this store - it is absolutely amazing - every size, shape, color of porcelain lamp you can imagine. And furniture too - beautiful pieces - all Chinese in one place.

So CeCe and I were in Hongqiao on one of our many trips with Skip and we were driving by the store and lo and behold there were signs and well - we couldn't stop that day but CeCe and Skip went back later that week which was about 2 weeks ago.

I don't know where I was that day - maybe American Womens Club but she came back to Shama and called me and said, "Come see my lamps". So, I trudged down to the lobby and asked the concierge for permission (I have to do that because my elevator key only goes to the 7th floor and CeCe lives on 30).

She opened her door and showed me the most gorgeous JADE lamps I had ever seen. They were heavy too - very heavy. All I wanted was porcelain and she bought JADE. So, I had to whine a wee bit.

So two weeks ago, we were on an excursion to Hongqiao with Elise and I asked Skip to stop. I found two lamps that have some green (to match my sofas in Pittsburgh) and some gold to match what we have here. They are beautiful - as I'm sure you will agree.

I've tried to show the detail and the lamp shades so you get an idea of what they look like.

Stay tuned - I've got more to show you.

4th Quarter

2009-02-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

Okay - so much for good American football know how!

Winner of the blocks -

1st Quarter - Da - I picked them for him

Half time - Jacques -

3rd Quarter - Lucienne -

What gives with that? I've been a Steeler fan ALL MY LIFE and I cannot even win a few lousy RMB. . . Okay, I don't care - we just gotta win this game.

We're headed into the last quarter

Mr. Fitzgerald is unhappy - the Cardinals have to punt again - nice field position -

Defensive holding - #26 Cardinals - another blatent effort by the Cardinals. . .

Stopped us in the backfield - we gotta keep going - keep that clocking running - let's go BEN

Dockett sacked Ben - - Looked like Darnell Stapleton missed a block -

Nice punt and William Gay hits the receiver dead in his tracks.

Kurt Warner is passing way too much - and his receivers are catching them. that one was good. They only got 5 yards on that catch

We got a holding penalty called on us. The clock stops - we gotta keep that clock going DEFENSE!

Time out Pittsburgh - 8:25 left - LET'S GO DEFENSE. . .

I'm getting nervous - got him on the 2 yard line. 7:48 left in the game

Cardinals scored - Mr. Fitzferald - Ike Taylor let him - we're cutting Mr. Taylor, Suzi!

STEELERS - 20-14

Wish we could see more than the ESPN commercials - I guess we'll have to wait for The TODAY Show to see them. . .

One of the evil Cardinal fans came over to stand here near me - she's got a stupid green and yellow t-shirt on that says "Take a Hike" Plllleeeeezzzzzeeeeeee -

Where is Hines Ward? I don't see him - We've got to get a score on this drive. . . I'd LOVE a TD but hey, I'll take a field goal from Jeff . . .

Willie's not getting much - only 3 yards that play.

The sun is out - go figure - it is coming in the large windows here and the screen is hard to see now. Another sack for Arizona - this has got to stop - that Dockett guy again -

Looks like we're gonna cut that Stapleton guy too, Suzi - gee, we will be busy. .

Heath Miller caught a pass but we've got to punt again. There is 5:56 left in the game and we need an interception NOW!!!

One of those Cardinal people is being smug again - wish they'd leave. . .

We're really gonna get rid of Ike - he just got a 15 yard penalty - Coaches Tomlin and LeBeau - we gotta stop them.

4:38 left in the game - this is killing me. Cardinals just got a huge pass completion.

We need an interception Dad! Please come through for me. . .

Warner threw it away and the Cardinals got another penalty - some guy named Gandy!

Penalties - 11/106 for the Cardinals

Troy came through that time! Whew - let's keep it up . . . . He's the BEST!

Why is NBC showing Cardinal wives?

Arizona is 3rd and 20 - 3:41 left in the game - Arizona drops the ball - thank you Daddy!

OKAY - 3:36 left - we need to hold onto the ball and run it as much as we can - get it into the end zone and - oh gee, now we have it on our own 1 yard line.

FLAG - on us - who did that? - another personal foul - James Harrison - that was another stupid penalty - STOP IT YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Okay -we got it on the 1/2 yard line - Ben passes and Dallas Baker catches a short one.

What happened there? Willie didn't make it out of the endzone - Ben needs to throw the ball OUT of the endzone -

Another 30 minutes to play

2009-02-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Check out the guys in the front row! They are the Cardinal fans - although there are some in the back too - they cannot show their faces - LOL

Can I take all this excitement?

The Boss is dynamite. He's playing lots of great songs and the fireworks look like Shanghai on Chinese New Year Eve!

We are now on the Post-Gazette webpage - so check us out -

Tried to call Suzi but I must have the wrong routing number. Called CeCe - she was in the elevator on her way to The Big Bamboo - that is where her team is watching the game.

Called Ginny - she and Bill are trying to get over the exhaustion after James Harrison's run back. I know I won't be able to talk tomorrow.

Darn that Paula - she made Buffalo Chicken Dip - boy, could I go for some of that right about now.

The menu here is typical football fare - hot dogs - don't know if they are Ball Park Franks - I doubt it. Mac and Cheese - omelets - pancakes - chili - I should have called them with Paula's Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe. I can't find cream cheese here but maybe they can.

17-

7 - STEELERS -

1st HALF TIME OF POSSESSION:

lign=center>Steelers 17:35

Cardinals - 12:25

Five more minutes = 17-7 - we gotta do better - we HAVE to do better - we only have 30 more minutes to prove we are the WORLD CHAMPS.

Gee, I miss my Dad today. I know he's watching over us and he and he's having a cold Rolling Rock with Uncle Mike and probably Aunt Peggy is watching this game with them. I can hear her now . . .Gooooooooooo Steelers - she's yelling it at the top of her lungs. . .

We're gonna start the 3rd quarter. . . hang in there with me - we only have 30 more minutes to put this game to bed. Bed, hey that would be nice since I didn't sleep much last night - went to bed about 9:45 and I woke up at 2 and then again at 4.

We kicked off and they are moving down the field - we gotta stop them. They are running too much - why is that? I think the Cardinals are holding BIG TIME. I'm wondering why the refs aren't seeing it - they are right there.

WE GOT THE BALL!

Just tried to offer my Pittsburghese T-Shirt to Devin - he likes it but not that much. I told hiim Wendy gave it to me and it is one of my prized possessions. He's not buying it - - -

The ref ruled it an incomplete pass - that is NOT right - we cannot get a break!!!!!!

Fast Willie slipped - that's not good - little screen to Santonio - flag on the play - Cardinals - face mask - #29 - another 1st down for the Steelers - sonovabitch!

Nice screen to Spaeth - we gotta keep the clock going and rack up the points - we're now on our own 44 yard line.

I think there is too nmuch nolise - first down to Hines Ward - where has he been? We're on the 50 - another first down for us. Ben threw it away - that was too close -

FLAG - roughing the passer on Arizona - #59 - that guy was a jerk - Dansby is his name - he did it on purpose. This game is starting to get ugly.

Arizona now have 7 BIG penalties - keep them coming . . .

Nice screen to Santonio and another 1st down. We gotta keep going.

I hope my cousin, Brian and Aunt Gert can see this game in Louisville, Kentucky - They've had some bad weather in Kentucky this week and I know Aunt Gert will be wanting to be Pittsburgh Proud.

Nice run Willie - 15 yards - into the HEINZ RED ZONE. Willie got stuck in the backfield. . . Heath Miller's in for the Steelers - He dropped it - geez - - -

It's 9:52 in the morning - 3:44 left in the 3rd quarter - Ben tossed it out of play. . Should be a roughing the passing but they are saying he tossed it out of play and we'll get a penalty for that one -

Jeff Reid's kicking 3

It's now 20-7 -- wait - - -

Flag - personal foul on # 24 - that was blatent.

8 penalties for 81 yards for the Cardinals - that means we are back on the field.

That was damn scary - - -

Now Jeff kicks it because Ben can't get the ball in the end zone. . .

We got a 20-7 STEELERS SCORE

Cardinals have the ball again

2nd Quarter

2009-02-01T16:04:00.001-08:00

Hey - in the 1st quarter - Steelers had the ball for 11+ minutes - the Cardinals only had it for a wee bit more than 3 minutes.

We're at 3rd and 1 yard to go.

Da won the first quarter block pool - yipee!

Steelers score a BIG 6 points - Gary Russell! We are a happy group! And Jeff Reid scores the extra point - 10-0 - just like I want it!

Great ESPN commerical!

Calling my mom - Beth better get on the computer. Jimmy's at home watching the game - he almost didn't answer the phone - now he knows it's me calling from Shanghai!

What about you other people? What are you doing while the game is on? Where are you?

Warner's front line is giving him TOO MUCH TIME! He just completed two little short passes. This has got to stop! Darn it - a 1st down for the Cardinals. We gotta step it up - Troy.

Darn - they're in Pittsburgh territory now. Troy missed the guy completely.

Looks like there's a holding penalty on Arizona - it's about TIME! They've been holding for quite sometime. Another pass completion for Warner - Breaston - nice screen pass -

Touchdown Cardinals - #89 - Larry Foote missed a good move -

10-7 - STEELERS

Okay now, we've got to settle down and score - all the way down the field -

There are some numnuts Cardinals fans sitting in the front row - If it's one thing I cannot stand - it's someone from the other team - you know the kind - they think they know it all - they are now sitting there all smug and looking around - they even have tans - thank goodness they don't look like Bob Carroll!

We are not getting to see the really good commercials - looks like we are only seeing the ESPN commercials - they are okay but where are the Coke and Pepsi commercials

Ben is mixing it up - we are now on the 28 - Fast Willie's got the ball and he got a 1st down - now we're on the 35. Ben put one up intended for Santonio - incomplete.

Ben runs and damn it - holding call on Kemoeatu - where did he learn to play football - Hawaii?

Another flag - encroachment on the Cardinals - #90 - Yipee! 3rd and 17 - Little screen and it's not enough - we gotta punt - NOT GOOD.

BAD punt return - 34 yards - that Breaston guy is good - let's make sure he doesn't get any more yardage. What happened to Special Teams? Where's Cowher when you need him. Lots of people missed him.

Bad man - #23 James - evil guy -15 yard penalty to Cardinals.

Great SACK - Mr. Woodley!!!!!!!

TIME OUT CHARGED TO ARIZONA!!!!!!

Okay - here we go again -dropped bass to that James guy for Arizona. Another 5 yard penalty for the Cardinals. 5/45 Arizona - 2 penalties for 15 yards. Gee, so glad they gotta punt now. I can't wait for Halftime!

Interception! - DAMN IT - It was tipped - I knew it would happen but the Cardinals are now way down in our territory - we gotta hope time runs out before they can do any damage.

2 minute warning!!!!!

Oh boy - Larry Fitzgerald is in for the Cardinals - and Warner is in the shotgun - He got it off but Ike Taylor almost got the ball - darn it. Didn't - then he misses a crucial tackle - Suzi - we gotta look at him again. . .

And this Fitzgerald guy - he thinks he's Troy Polamalu! What's with that?

Gee, the Cardinals are at the goal - DEFENSE - DEFENSE

JAMES HARRISON -INTERCEPTS AND RUNS IT TO THE ENDZONE.

Flag on the play - - - - FACEMASK - Mr. Fitzgerald - Troy Polamalu WANNABE!!!!

TOUCHDOWN STANDS

Thank you JESUS!!!!!

OMG - that crazy Weisenhut is questioning the ref's call - what an idiot!

17-7 - STEELERS

I'm gonna go find the bathroom!

1st Quarter Phohtos and Commentary

2009-02-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

The Americans in this room should be ashamed of themselves! Denice and I were the only ones who stood during Jennifer Hudson's National Anthem. She looked great. Black and gold bracelets. And Faith Hill - she had the right colors on!

Check out the Budweiser cheerleaders - they are wearing the wrong colors - hope they don't cheer the entire time!

OMG - we are moving down the field - Heath Miller with a nice catch. Ben takes it in himself! YEAH!

Sandy and Devin arrive just in time - Devin comes NAKED - I cannot beeeeelieeeveeee he tells me he is NOT a Steeler fan - we will have to change that. Notice that Devin doesn't even want his photo taken - he's skeered! Sandy's got a Steeler hat and a T-Shirt! He's Scotch and a smart cookie - and I don't mean shortbread!

Da's here now and dressed appropriately - I just picked 10 blocks for him in the block pool! And 10 blocks for me too!

OMG - They pulled back Ben's touchdown - what is wrong with these refs! ??????!!!!!!!!!! We've been robbed again.

Pittsburgh on the scoreboard - 3-0 - thanks Jeff Reid!

We've got our towels out and waving - here's to you Myron! YOI and Double YOI!

And now the Cardinals have the ball . . . and they gotta punt!

As you can see - there are Steeler fans in Shanghai

Troy has something in his eye

We've got some movement again - down the field and before the ball is snapped - Willie Colon - gotta stop the mistakes. . .

Nice catch Heath - he's gonna be the man - I can just feel it. And another screen and he's got another 1st down.

And Willie's got a nice run - they are now watching Heath a little closer - we're gonna surprise them. Nice little catch for Santonio - gee, I'm still not convinced he's good for us. . .

1st and goal for the Steelers - nice

Here We GO! - Pregame

2009-02-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Good morning Steeler Nation!

LIVE from Shanghai - It's Monday morning - February 2nd.

It's 54 degrees and overcast but that cannot dampen the spirits of the Steeler faithful!

HERE WE GO!

Here's Denice and Mike and Mark and Kirk! Kirk is readying the betting slips!

Mr. Chen and David brought us here before dawn.

Looks like we are not getting the NBC feed here. It looks like this feed is coming from The Philippines!

The room is filling up - there are some Cardinals fans here too - it will be very uncomfortable for them - I will TRY and be a good girl!

Jing An Temple

2009-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year from the Jing An Temple

I'm including lots of photos as I know you will be interested to hear about the customs and traditions of the Chinese people during the Spring Festival.

You will see the beautiful photos of the temple with the gold leaf lions' heads. Check out the huge bronze piece sitting in the courtyard. The participants toss coins into the bronze piece - if your coin goes in, you are guaranteed prosperity in the New Year.

Check out the brazier in the courtyard. Participants pay to purchase incense to burn and pray to Buddha.

The gold Buddha is absolutely beautiful. There were many people waiting to get into this special room where they offer fruit and vegetables and money - of course - to Buddha praying that they will be richly rewarded.

You also see a bronze piece that is placed on the staircase leading to the big temple room. There are actually two of these pieces - one is a dragon and one is a phoenix. People are rubbing their hands on them before and after they enter and leave the big temple room. There are actually three rooms with three different Buddhas. In the largest room is the dark bronze Buddha.

The huge bell is in the corner of the big temple room. Please notice all the beautiful wood carvings to the right above the bell.

Mike and I thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the religious customs and traditions of Chinese Buddhists.

World Expo 2010

2009-01-31T18:01:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Shanghai!

Tuesday morning, Mike and I took a Shanghai Expatriate Association (SEA) tour to the World Expo 2010 Exhibition Hall. There were about 25 people on this tour. We had to be at the St. Regis - Portman Hotel at 9 am so we grabbed a taxi and got there early enough to grab some coffee and tea at the Element Fresh there. It was the only restaurant open before 9 in the plaza due to Chinese New Year - Starbucks wasn't even open yet.

We went via tour bus and rode through a section of Shanghai I had not been to yet. Lots of shops and malls so it looks like the Girls will be taking a field trip sometime soon. It was funny that we turned up at the Hong Kong Plaza which is right across the street from the Huangpi Road Subway stop. This is the same subway stop we use when we go to Xintandi - like we did for the Dragon and Lion Dance on Monday.

This was a very interesting tour in that our tour guide was a young man who spoke excellent English. He wore some crazy shoes though - red metallic tennis shoes. We have found that the Chinese like to make statements with fashion and express themselves through fashion - I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder but we've seen lots of strange accessories. You know what Suzi always says - Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize!

The Expo will begin in May 2010 and run until October. I've included a photo of the diorama (the last photo) that is very interesting. There are areas set aside for pavilions on both sides of the Huangpu River. There is a separate area for each section of the world. Unfortunately, there will not be a United States pavilion. There are many corporate sponsors - mostly Chinese names you would not recognize but Coke and General Motors are committed and of course many nations.

You can see the Chinese pavilion in the top photo - it will be enormous and I'm sure every bit as grand as the 2008 Olympics were. I also included a photo of an adorable little girl posing with Haibao who is the mascot.

Haibao means "treasure of the sea". The blue color represents the water, which also speaks that Haibao is from a coastal city Shanghai. Haibao is confident, lovely, happy, witty and lively. Its hair is like the wave of the sea; its motion shows his generosity and hospitality; he thumbs up to show the appreciation and warm welcome to the friends from all over the world. His smile manifests an optimistic spirit and a will to showcase the achievement of world's civilization. Haibao is expressing his sincere greeting from China -- "World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!

They will be looking for thousands of volunteers and I'm so looking forward to doing so.

Dragon and Lion Dance

2009-01-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone!

Today was the first day of the new year. Mike and I slept in because, well, we were up 1/2 the night with all the fire power going on around us.

Cathy R - I keep thinking about how you would have enjoyed this evening. The cultural experience is alive and well and we are so enjoying it.

We decided to check out the Dragon and Lion Dance over in Xintandi. So we rounded up the Westinghouse team that is still here - Manny, Jacques and Lucienne, Sue and Ulhas and grabbed the subway for the journey to Xintandi - about a 20 minute trip.

We arrived and had a coffee at Coffee Leaf and Bean because it was really cold outside. Then we checked out the latest decorations.

The last photo is of Manny and Mike with the lion heads between them.

The next one is of Mike and the man who passed out the hong bao - the red envelopes with the gifts in them. We were fortunate as we received some great gifts. Some of us received gift vouchers from Lawry's and some others received some coupons for a discount at Simply Thai - a great Thai restaurant - I'll think about you when we go there Matty! I might even try some Indian food next week.

The photo above that the man who led the dragon dance - there were maybe 10 guys pulling the dragon through the plaza.

The top photo is of the lions who performed the last portion.

After the dancing was over - we ambled over to the Dumpling House and ate dumplings, wonton soup, fried rice and vegetables with garlic. Yum, Yum - it was the best meal I've had in Shanghai! It cost about $100 for 7 of us - not too bad!

Stay tuned for more exciting events this week. Tuesday, Mike and I are going to the 2010 Expo site for a tour. Wednesday we are probably going to the Shanghai Museum or to Pudong. Thursday we're off to Hanzhou with David, one of the (W) drivers. Friday, it's the Shanghai Circus - better than Cirque de Soleil from what I'm hearing.

Lots to see during the Spring Festival or Chinese New year - we're going to experience all of it.

Chinese New Year's Rocking Eve

2009-01-26T06:12:00.001-08:00

Good evening everyone!

The Chinese here in Shanghai did an amazing job on New Year's Eve. It was truly something Mike and I have never experienced before. We are used to checking out the Zambelli show at Point State Park or watching a Capital Fourth on WQED but hey, this was amazing. There were fireworks EVERYWHERE. And I mean everywhere!

And for those of you living on Prince George Drive in Plum Borough, PA - none of these people were "certified" by the US Fireworks Commission or any commission for that matter. Everyone here does it - big people, kids, old people - young people - and they set them off right on the sidewalk or in the street. In fact, there is an apartment building in the next block where we saw strings of fire crackers hanging out the window - someone lit them and they were swinging in the breeze. Long, long strings of firecrackers that take maybe 5 minutes to burn down. And sky-high rockets of color that send off lots of sparks. They do have sparklers too. I saw some kids playing with them.

The people here at Shama - our apartment courtyard - set some off right underneath our bedroom/living room. The sparks were landing on the balcony and some even came inside the living room. We had to close the door pronto in order to avoid a fire. Needless to say, it was pretty crazy and LOUD.

Mike said he read that there were about 50 fire incidents in Beijing alone.

You can see some photos above - the top one is of some rockets bursting high in the sky near our apartment complex.

The second one is of Rosie (one of the waitresses), my friend, CeCe and one of the bartenders dancing on the bar at the Blue Frog - yeah, we had a great time. Shane, the main bartender makes a mean strawberry margarita. I didn't get up on the bar - wouldn't want to embarrass the Beaver girls.

The third one is of a Chinese man (check out his new jacket - everyone gets new clothes for the New Year - his is of gold brocade - very elegant) setting up a giant sparkler just down the street - his little boy who had to be about 6 years old was helping him. I was amazed that the mother was standing by proud as can be!

The last photo is of the balloon man on the corner - it kind of reminded me of First Night about 4 weeks ago in Pittsburgh - only it was a wee bit warmer here.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this as we did experiencing it.

Happy New Year!

新年快乐

Robbie Burns Supper - Shanghai Edition

2009-01-23T23:11:00.001-08:00

Good afternoon everyone!

I'm pleased to include some photos of our group at the Burns Supper held last Saturday - January 17th at the Shangri-la Hotel in Pudong. It was a glorious affair - note the luxurious table setting - the haggis - and check out the clothes on those people.

Mike, Devin (our Irish lads) had tuxedos made by our favorite tailor, Ball, as did Kirk and Denice (representing the Scottish-Americans). Sandy showed up in his favorite tartan and he looked smashing! I had my green Thai silk sheath dress and jacket made at the fabric market as well. Denice and I wore our pearl jewelry to dress it up a bit. Denice's pearl earrings were real pearls - mine were shell pearl jewelry that I made in jewelry class - earrings, bracelet and necklace. If I have to admit it, we all cleaned up pretty darn good.

This was the 250th Anniversary of Robert Burns' birth and those Scots sure know how to party! There was a bottle of Famous Grouse whisky on each table and red and white wine was flowing as well.

I've included some important background information for you to peruse so you've got a wee bit of information going into the evening. Some of you might not know much about Mr. Burns as I was not familiar with his works; but I've since learned he is responsible for quite a lot of international flair. Please read the excerpt below courtesy of the Hartford Courant newspaper.

Burns' political radicalism, romantic verse and use of Scots' dialect have made him a heroic figure to many Scottish people, especially to nationalists like the Scottish National Party, which governs in Edinburgh. "Burns is the inspiration behind our yearlong celebration of some of Scotland's great contributions to the world: golf, whisky, great minds and innovations, our rich culture, wonderful heritage and of course, Robert Burns himself," said Scottish tourism minister Jim Mather. But critics accuse tourism chiefs of preaching to the converted. They point out that a sentimental television commercial starring former James Bond actor Sean Connery, pop star Sandie Thom and triple Olympic gold-winning cyclist Chris Hoy singing the ballad "Caledonia" has, so far, only been shown on Scottish networks.

Maybe Americans should stand up and take notice of this gentleman who has brought lots of literature and music too, mind you, to the world's stage. Note Auld Lang Syne - he wrote the words. And we find out that he was very much the ladies' man. He died when he was only 37 years old.

The evening consisted

The Selkirk Grace - a short prayer
Address to the Haggis (a ceremony where a piper leads the chef into the room with great enthusiasm)
The Immortal Memory where a man is invited to give a short speech on the man being honored.
Then there is a Toast to the Lassies given by a gentleman. Originally this was to be a thank you to the ladies who cooked the food for the dinner but since most of these dinners are now held in hotels or pubs, sometimes the ladies don't have much to do with the cooking.
Followed by The Response that details men's foibles -this speech should be humorous but not insulting and it was done by a lovely Scottish lass who is a school teacher in the area.
Dancing, dancing and more raucous dancing and since by this time in the evening, the whisky is almost gone - the dancing had taken on lots of sore toes to ladies and gents who had partners who couldn't and shouldn't have been out on the dance floor.
Lastly, Auld Lang Syne sung and danced around in a circle.

I thought the food was better at this event although it wasn't as well attended. Some of the fashions were beautiful - lots of men in tartan kilts - no, you are not supposed to ask what is under them. It's not proper etiquette. However, we saw a woman in a strapless, plaid tartan silk, strapless dress that was absolutely beautiful. I don't know if it was her tartan but she wore it well! And she danced the Scottish dances like she knew what she was doing.

Then there were the usual people who don't know how to dress for an event such as this and they just shouldn't have been wearing denim. Let's not go there. . .

The menu consisted of :

the haggis with neeps n'tatties (whatever that is or was)
Roasted Beef of Tenderloin with mustard served with whisky mushroom sauce
Parsley turnips, cauliflower and roasted potato
Scottish apple pie served with vanilla custard sauce and caramel ice cream, blueberry trifle scented with whiskey

Yes, I did taste the haggis, although I didn't find it exceptionally inspiring Sandy stated it wasn't as good as what he was used to.

So this was an event we all enjoyed!

Stay tuned as the Irish will show us all how it's done - we're going to the St. Patrick's Day Ball - same hotel - March 14th. Mike had to do some slick negotiating to get us tickets. This event is advertised to Irish passport holders and since we don't have such a thing - although I think we're thinking about dual citizenship now - he had to do a wee jig!

So I'm off to the fabric market - I know the dress I want to have made - I just need to discreetly tell my dressmaker and choose the Thai silk.

Porcelain Lecture

2009-01-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon all,

On the 15th of January, I attended a lecture on Chinese porcelain at the Shanghai Museum. It was without a doubt, a highlight of my last six months here in China. Mr. Joe Zhou is an English-speaking curator with 13 years experience working with the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in China and he is now involved with the Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Moca.

The lecture took place at the Shanghai Museum. As you can see, it was a bright, sunny day in Shanghai. He spoke about the many pieces in their collection talked about the history of porcelain, how it is made, how they get the beautiful, bright colors they get and about a tour sponsored by the Shanghai Expatriate Association to Jingdezhen - the city synonymous with Chinese Porcelain.

The tour will be March 27-29 and Denice, CeCe and I are thinking about going. It should be a fabulous tour, especially at that time of the year when the weather is warmer.

I've been making some jewelry and would love to center more of it on porcelain versus pearls and jade. I've been scouring the Pearl Market for porcelain pieces but haven't found the items I'm looking for. Maybe when it warms up a bit later next week, I can run to the Commodity Market with Mike. This should be a huge adventure for him. I want to take some photos to document his face once he sees for himself how exciting it can be. It is near Yu Yuan Garden which always proves to be great for people watching!

Happy Birthday to Skip!

2009-01-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

Skip is CeCe's driver and we so enjoy his company and his great driving skills. Not to mention his patience in helping us learn Chinese.

Skip had a birthday on January 13th and CeCe decided to have a Surprise Birthday Party for him.

He had never had a surprise birthday party before so not only was he surprised, he became emotional and so did I.

The food was great! CeCe made her award winning Sloppy Joes and potato salad. We opened a bottle of wine and had Skip's favorite desert - Blueberry Cheesecake. CeCe hunted those blueberries down at 3 different grocery stores. She also made a chocolate cake and had ice cream too.

A good time was had by all of us - CeCe, Denice, Nancy, myself and of course, Skip!

We're Baaaaack

2009-01-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone!

It's Saturday, January 24th and we're waking up to sunshine and a bright blue sky. It is very cold though - for Shanghai - 28 degrees F which is below 0 degrees C. It seems that anytime you mention cold to the Chinese, and it includes the words "below zero", they freak out. I was telling Mr. Chen our driver about how cold it's been in the US and -58 F in Minnesota and he just couldn't fathom how cold that would be.

I'm looking out the office window waiting for Mike to come home from the dry cleaners and the bank and the number of people on the street is almost minimal - LOL - there is almost no traffic though which is amazing.

It is almost Chinese New Years Eve. This past week Denice, CeCe, Sue and I went to a Chinese New Year Lecture hosted by the American Women's Club of Shanghai and presented by Lawrence Lo (see photo above). He is originally from Hong Kong but his father was a diplomat so he lived in Belgium and in the US. He's a graduate of Georgetown University. Very nice guy and very knowledgeable. He filled us in on what to give as gifts to our drivers and ayis (maids - you know we live in a serviced apartment so we gave each of our housekeepers a hong bao - red pocket envelope). I've also included a photo of Denice and I at Xintandi a glitzy nightspot not too far from Shama. We went there for dinner the other night and posed so you could see the Year of the Ox decorations. The third photo is a photo of some meat hanging in the sun, drying. Yes, friends, they do this at this time of year. I cannot tell you what kind of meat it is because (1) I don't want to look to closely, I get a wee bit squeamish and (2) I don't care what it is because it won't be on my table . . .

I will also add some more Blog notes once we get CNY kicked off. Mike and I might take a day trip to Hangzhou with David one of the (W) drivers. Denice and Kirk are traveling to Hong Kong. Sandy went to Spain and England and Mark left yesterday for the States. Devin tried to leave but the plane had to be towed to the hanger (with his bags still in the belly). He, unfortunately texted us this morning to tell us that he was off to Seoul on the first leg of his journey back to Boston. I hope he gets there - he doesn't expect to see his luggage for a few days. John is on his way to deliver his new baby - a bridal veil fern - to me so I can babysit it for him while he's in the States visiting his lovely wife and children. I hope his trip is smooth as Chinese silk!

As the Westinghouse contingent living here at Shama, Denice and I went to the Oriental Department Store and bought a large fruit basket, some shortbread cookies and some fruit filled candies for the front desk staff and doormen. We are now finished with the gift-giving and are waiting for the onslaught of fireworks to begin. They have been setting some off every once and a while but we expect tomorrow night - Sunday - New Years Eve to be huge! We expect to be up 1/2 the night! We're hoping to run over to Zapata's - a local Mexican bar/restaurant for the CNY feast/free margaritas and hopefully, we'll win some hong bao too!

Mr. Chen told Mike and I yesterday that his son is getting excited about CNY. He is waiting for his hong bao - the little red envelopes - kids receive money too. Parents and grandparents give to the children and then they can go and buy that special toy they've been wanting all year. It kind of reminds me of Christmas though we act as Santa and purchase those toys - sometimes without the child knowing and sometimes it turns out disastrous. I think the Chinese have a great idea - let the kid's get what they want. They also get gifts of new clothes and shoes and coats.

I'm very sorry that I haven't been as diligent in writing since I got back. Christmas in Pittsburgh was very stressful - so many people to see and so little time - we changed our plans at the last minute. Kate and Katie Mo thought it would be good to stay at our house so we could save some money - a novel idea in the times we are now living in. So we went out and bought an Aero bed and sheets, pillows and blankets so we could sleep in Laila's room. Then, Kate felt sorry for us and let us sleep in her bed which was great.

Since we've been back, we've been very busy. It has been quite cold. I've got some great photos to share of some great events we've been to in the last 3 weeks - read on. . .

The 'Burgh

2008-12-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

Monday morning - December 15th - we got up early - we had a 9:55 am flight and Aunt Frankie made blueberry pancakes. YUM YUM! Carl drove us over to the airport in sub-freezing temperatures. When we got to the American concourse, we heard that one plane couldn't open the door upon arrival. We had about a 45 minute delay after moving gates and we were in The Burgh about 1:30 pm. And guess who was waiting for us at the Baggage Claim - Kate and Grandma Libbie! Can you believe it? We were surprised to say the least.

After we picked up the "Grandpa Car" - a 2009 Lincoln Grand Marquis - we sped off to Beaver and the Cafe at The Wooden Angel for a quick lunch and a short visit with Grandma Libbie and Aunt Hunsey.

Then it was off to Wilkinsburg to pick up Kate's car from the Progressive garage before the 5:45 pm close time. Can we slow down a bit? NOPE. Off to the Marriott in Cranberry for check-in, a quick stop at Target to pick up supplies for our hotel stay and a late dinner with Kate and Justin before we turned in for the night. Ugh

Day 2 in the Burgh - Lunch with the Westinghouse RRAS team in New Stanton - See the photos above - Kate was able to join us and then we discussed checking out of the hotel and moving into Laila's room at our house for the duration of our stay. So, we ran to Linens and Things in Greensburg for their Going Out Business Sale - picked up a Queen sized Aero bed and some bath towels. Then it was off to Marshall's for some queen size sheets and a blanket. We were good to go HOME. Will it slow down? NOPE.

The snow began and I missed visiting with my friends at EDMC.

Day 3 - Lunch with Regina and Denice and Kirk - Max & Erma's in Monroeville. Regina loved her Chinese gifts. Then it was cocktails with the Vintage Westinghouse procurement team at Damon's in Miracle Mile. Lots of fun.

Day 4

The doctor's visits begin on Thursday - continue on Friday and even the dentist gets into the act. Had to make another dental appointment for December 30th and blood work on Monday.

Day 5 - My Birthday

Never got my birthday cake - may wen ti! Chinese for NO PROBLEMS. Besides, it's only another day.

The Windy City

2008-12-22T18:41:00.000-08:00

December 12th we landed in The Windy City. We flew in on an American flight that was a dream. I took a sleeping pill and slept 8 of the 12 hours airborne. The food was good and the champagne was better. Julian was the flight attendant - he's from Taiwan - and he was so nice. We were early - if you can believe it - early into Chicago and they didn't lose our luggage.

My Uncle Joe and favorite cousin Carl arrived shortly after Immigration to transport us to Palatine and the fun began.

Saturday morning we treked over to the Woodfield Mall and picked up the sweaters and long sleeve shirts we had to get to survive Winter in the US. Great sales - I'd heard the stores were discounting but they were great. If only I could get Liz Claiborne sweaters in China; they make Liz there - you just can't get Liz there - they export all the good stuff.

Then it was to the Verizon Store to activate my "pay as you go" US cell phone. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my old number and I had to buy a new Samsung phone but it all worked out.

Jet lag is my friend - I kept saying that, thinking that maybe it would be over soon but not for me or Mike. We took a nap and ended up going to Mass the next Morning. Then it was off to dinner at a really great place called Milrose with Aunt Frankie, Uncle Joe and Cousin Joan. Great meal - great wine - great conversation. Lots of laughs too. Joan recommended Melatonin and it worked. We got some sleep that night.

Sunday we ambled on over to St. Theresa's and then it was off to Joan's for a family holiday party and the Steeler game. Brother Jim and Anne showed up and a good time was had by all. Monday came way too soon.

This Is Better Than A Drive-In Movie

2008-11-30T15:56:00.000-08:00

Good morning,

The St. Andrew's Ball was absolutely FANTASTIC! Being from Beaver, Pennsylvania - U.S.A., I'd never been to a Ball and when Sandy suggested we all go, I thought, "Oh sure - I'll never make it with the Brits". Boy was I wrong on that count.

It all started last Wednesday when Sandy signed us up for Scottish Dancing Lessons. It was at the Blarney Stone Restaurant on Dongping Lu. Lovely little pub. Irish by nature and we had Mr. Chen take us there after work. We ordered - I had the fish and chips with a wee salad and it was great! The others had Cottage Pie and said it was good - large portions. Then Gus showed up and he began teaching. There were maybe about 12 Westerners and about 18 Chinese who were fabulous dancers. I got a little angry when I couldn't do the Dashing White Sargeant (name of the dance) because I was in the wrong position. But the Triumph (name of the dance) was a piece of cake. The Gay Gordon (another name of a dance - no kidding) was very difficult. Lots of "move 3 steps forward and 3 steps back and turn and spin the girl and polka - YES - POLKA. Can you believe it? Lots of fun - lots of sore feet.

Saturday I had my hair done and a manicure at Hair Evolution. I really like it there. Jenny did my manicure and I don't know who did my hair but the head massage was divine. I almost fell asleep. There is a hair dresser there, Neil is his name - every time I go there he always asks me, "Have you had lunch yet?" He's trying to learn English - he's got a primer and there are photos and well, learning English is as hard as learning Chinese. So I always tell him, No, I haven't had lunch yet. Denice and Kirk stopped in for a wee bit of pampering as well. Needless to say, Denice said this is a cultural thing and I need to do some more research to understand what she meant by it. I'll get back to you on that. . .

So, I figure Saturday night will be a complete disaster because there will be hundreds of people there and no one will have had the benefit of the Wednesday night lessons. I was wrong again. Yes, there were hundreds there but some of them had been there before and so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

The first photo is one of Sandy all dressed in his kilt. The second is a photo of our group. There is Mike - Denice - Kirk - Devin - Sandy - Ned - Sophie. Ned is from England and Sophie is from Madison, Wisconsin. Sophie's got coffee in her cup - - - yeah, sure. So many nice people we've met in Shanghai.

We saw some of our dancing class friends who stopped by to greet us. The hotel is amazing - there was a wedding reception going on and we saw the groom being escorted down the aisle at the reception - he was blindfolded. He had to walk up the stairs to the stage and pick out his bride from about 5 beautiful Chinese women. WOW - didn't stick around to see if he picked the right one.

The fashions were amazing - the kilts even more so. The Scottish Lads were gorgeous but we saw some gorgeous Lassies as well. Lots of different tartans - red, green, black, blue.

I took a photo of the Guinness Girls, missed the Bailey's girls but didn't miss the Bailey's! Annamae - I even got to take a bottle home! It leaked in my purse though.

The food was interesting to say the least. The appetizer was a cold one - seared scallops with a small pastry thing holding some lettuce leaves together. Then the duck breast with a puff pastry of sauteed mushrooms and peas. Some small potatoes. There were rolls and soda bread too. Oh, and cheesecake with raspberry ice cream. The wine was free flow as was the Bailey's, the Johnny Walker Red and a bottle of red wine was on the table but no one seemed to grab that one. I took the Bailey's as I said before and Denice grabbed what was left of the Johnny Walker Red (they all toasted quite a bit - not me!). I toasted with Bailey's and took the photos. Of course, since I took the photos, there are none of me - although I think Sandy took some. Maybe I'll upload those later.

Anyway the carriages were supposed to arrive at 1 am but we grabbed a Shanghai taxi with Kirk and Denice about 12:45 am. We finally got home about 1:30 - so much traffic on the roads in the wee hours here - cannot understand that - I don't think I'm supposed to understand it.

Sunday we did another British thing - went to see Quantum of Solace - Bond, James Bond - 007. It was great. Saw it in English with Chinese subtitles. Great movie if you like action and suspense. So glad I saw the previous one. The Russian woman in this one was stunning as was the British woman who dies - ooops - sorry about that - you won't care - she's just a flash in the pan.

Have a great week - Go Steelers!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone!

After a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving Dinner at the Renaissance Yangtze, I'd like to share some great photos with you.

Left to right -

The first photo is Mr. Chen and his lovely wife, Li and their adorable son, Haotian. He really liked the pizza and the sushi. What a combination! The second photo is of me and Mr. Cui's beautiful daughter, Yijie. She is 9 years old and I saw her eating the strawberries off of the dense chocolate cake. The third photo is of David and (l to r) Hyde, Hattie and David's son, Yongqi. He wanted to leave his coat on throughout dinner and was not happy when his mother won that battle; but he finally "warmed" up to us and he liked all the fruit, pears and watermelon - all familiar things to him and to China. By the end of the night, he was running around with Hyde and having a ball.

We so enjoyed meeting the drivers' beautiful wives and children. Haotian greeted Denice and Lucienne with "Happy Thanksgiving". It was absolutely precious!

On behalf of the Westinghouse PSS Team, I'd like to thank everyone for participating in our Thanksgiving Celebration last night. We are so thankful for having each other here in Shanghai. This is a great team and we all get along very well. Last night, Mark gave the "blessing" and summed it up perfectly and of course, it brought me to tears. Thanks John for letting us put this altogether!

We are extremely thankful for our Chinese family and it was so nice to have them with us. Without these wonderful people, this power plant just couldn't happen. They are instrumental to our lives here; whether Mr. Chen, Mr. Cui and David are driving us to work or shopping or whether Maisie is coordinating everything or translating for us - we could not be here without them. I'm sorry Tony and his daughter couldn't make it - we'll have to have another party soon.

The food was great. So many different varieties. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and the cranberries were warm and were rather good. I sure hope Kate is buying up the Ocean Spray Orange Cranberry Sauce for me on Giant Eagle shelves - I want 3 at least. I really miss it. It's the closest to Mike's mom's recipe I can find.

I also want to say that I'm thankful to the Chinese government for giving us the opportunity for this cultural experience. Everyone we've met has been most supportive and kind and thoughtful. From the staff here at Shama where we live, to the security guards to the staff at Best Buy.

So today we are grateful and thankful for all of them and for the sacrifice they make for us each and every day. The Chinese work long hours - some of them work 7 days a week. They are amazing and I'm happy to be here.

BUT, on another note - I'm so happy to be going home - home to family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. We leave Shanghai in 14 days and we'll be back in The Burgh in 17 days.

All I want for Christmas is The Burgh! But I want the cake on the front of the December issue of Bon Appetit for my birthday! Kate, we'll go buy the ingredients. . .

A Time for Giving . . .

2008-11-24T00:32:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon all,

Well, I'm gearing up for my trip home, and I've been out shopping as well. It's not nearly as cold as it is in The Burgh - it was 59 today - very overcast but the sun did come out for a little bit.

Today I purchased some of the gifts for my Giving Bag. I needed to do this because the bag is due to be returned tomorrow.

In America, we'd call this - our Angel Tree gifts.

This bag is a program of the Shanghai Community Center in Partnership with the Shanghai Charity Foundation. The children who benefit from these gifts are migrant workers' children. They go to a migrant workers' school. I know that my friend, Jane was looking to volunteer to teach in a migrant school. I don't think the government supports these schools.

As I understand it, in China if you are a migrant worker and your family moves with you, your children cannot go to the local schools. The school across the street from Shama is where children who are residents of Shanghai attend. I think the migrant workers schools are pretty far out in the suburbs.

If you don't want to shop, or can't shop because you are too busy OR if you are afraid to shop, then you can give the coordinator 150 RMB and they will do the shopping for you. I was afraid to shop until I talked with my Chinese friends here at Shama. They helped me a lot in what to buy.

The migrant workers' children are poor children. I understand that migrant workers perform some of the jobs that we see everyday on the streets of Shanghai. Maybe the street sweeper or a cleaner in a store or a restaurant. I think that migrant workers might also sometimes be ayis (pronounced EYE EES) too; which is what we would call a "maid" in the US. Lots of my friends here have ayis. Mike and I do not. We live in a "serviced apartment" where they come every day like a housekeeper in a hotel. I wanted to shop and cook for us myself.

I have a girl whose name is Wu Ling. She is 14 years old and she weighs about 110 pounds. She is about 4 feet, 9 inches tall. She wears a size 24 shoe.

So, I bought her a winter knit hat (black/white/purple), similar to the ones the skiers wear in the US. I also bought her some black gloves and some socks. I also had some shampoo and soap and a shower scrubbie so I tossed them in too. Then I bought her a pair of red (because red means good luck in China) Converse All Star tennis shoes. Tomorrow, I'll run by the Pearl Market to pick up a sweat suit.

When I see Converse All Star tennis shoes, all I can do is think of my cousin, Ellen. A little story about this.

Many years ago, I was visiting my Chicago cousins and my cousin Ellen was a star runner on her high school track team. She so wanted a pair of running shoes and my uncle told her he would run downtown to Maxwell Street in Chicago to buy her a pair of shoes. I knew she didn't want the black high-top shoes that my uncle was suggesting. She wanted a pair of sleek shoes that would enable her to run faster and leap buildings in a single bound. So, when I saw these shoes, Ellen is who I thought about.

Anyway, Wendy at the Concierge Desk said I did a good job. I put the hair things in some little bags and tied them with red ribbon. I hope she enjoys these items. I just hope she gets all the items I put in there.

Also, today - I took the minutes at the November American Women's Club meeting. I called Malone's American Pub two days ago and tried to explain to the young lady there that the American Women's Club would be there at 9:30 am this morning. She kept telling me that the restaurant didn't open until 11:30. Of course, I knew that but Lisa, the former recording secretary, told me to let them know a few days before the meeting so I did call them. When I wasn't sure they would be prepared for me, I asked one of the concierges at the desk downstairs call them yesterday. He told me he would take care of it. This morning when I arrived at 9:15, they were all ready for me. With coffee and everything!

I set up the laptop and Kathy and I waited for the others to join us. Usually these meetings take about 2 hours but today there was a skeleton crew and we were done by 11. I had asked our driver to come for me at 12:15 but I had to call back and request an earlier pick up time and a change of location. Kathy and I walked over to The Ritz Carlton Hotel and had a Starbucks there. You know, I don't know what I'd do without him. The laptop is so heavy and I just knew I couldn't carry it all around Shanghai with the other errands I had to do today.

He dropped Kathy off at her place and then we were off to the Fabric Market to talk with Ball about the skirt I had made. Guess who I saw there? Yep, you guessed it - Margaret and Lisa. Margaret helped me convey my concerns to Ball about the skirt. Poor Ball - she thinks I'm 25 years old! I told her we needed to lengthen the skirt considerably and she will have it ready for me on Friday. She also said she can drop it off at my hotel (giggle) so we'll have to see if that happens. She has a friend in our neighborhood so it is not a problem - Mei wen ti! Then we stopped by the lady who has silk scarves and met a lovely Chinese / American family from New York City. We also met a lovely British woman who only had Pounds Sterling on her. She was wondering where she could get her money changed and we had to give her the bad news that she needed her British passport to do that at the bank - any bank. She would have to go back to her hotel to get it. It has been suggested to us many times to keep your Passport or a copy thereof with you at all times. The authorities have the right to ask you for it. I keep a copy as I'm so afraid of losing the original thing. Especially after Jane had her purse stolen. But I digress, again. . .

Then we went to the Commodities Market over by Yu Yuan Garden. This place is AMAZING! It's got a little bit of everything and a lot of anything you'd like; Christmas decorations, jewelry, clothes, socks, hats, hair ties and barrettes. We had 50 minutes to look around and purchase everything we needed or wanted - as Margaret says. Needless to say, it was my second time there and I could not find the cards for the places I had been to before. Thank goodness I still have my wits about me and was able to remember the general vicinity of the second floor. I purchased some more jewelry items so now I am good to go!

Guanxi

2008-11-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

Hello again,

The title of this post is Guanxi. You pronounce it Gwonshe. It means relationships.

The Chinese people are big on relationships. Business relationships are what we find everywhere we go here. But the business relationships turn into friendships - at least that is what we are finding. We really like the people we do business with.

When we had our two-day cross-cultural training, the Cartus relocation people spoke about it quite often. But you really don't understand it until you are here for a few weeks and then it finally sets in.

When you go to the markets you realize that the Chinese people really do remember you. They see Western people and remember who you are or what you bought at their shop.

When I go to the fabric market, my friends Ball (who makes my suits and pants) and Miss Shi (who made our coats) recognize me. I introduce each of them to more of my friends. Well, because that is what you do when you find a good tailor and they do good work - work that meets your expectations. The fabric is nice, the seams are straight and the lining is silky. AND the price is right! It's the BEST FRIEND price. The more friends you bring to them, the better the price and the better the price, the more things you get made because they do a fabulous job! Sometimes they'll give you a tangerine or a bottle of water. Other times, well, they deliver - like Domino's. . .

Last Friday, Mike was on his way upstairs from the gym after his workout and he sees Ball in the lobby of Shama, our apartment building. She was here to deliver some clothes she made for a friend of ours. Now, that is good service.

Another example, last week, I had some chinos made by Ball. She charged me a great price and when CeCe saw how nice they were and how great they fit - NO FITTING either, she had her make two pair for her. Then Mike saw how nice they were, he wanted two pair made.

Now Mike is a different story because you all know how tall he is. BUT she gave him the same price as me and that so impressed us. AND because he wanted a different fabric, we went to look at fabric around the corner behind the scenes; and he got to choose his fabric which was a little bit heavier than mine.

I love these pants - they fit great - and the fabric is so comfortable. When we went back to get Mike's pants on Sunday, they needed a little tuck in the waist and lengthened a wee bit - just about 1/2". Ball also made Mike's coat and he really likes it. It's long enough and he says it fits great, even with a suit jacket underneath.

Everyone is happy - CeCe and I are happy because we got new pants and Mike is happy too because he'll get new pants at the same price and they look just like the Dockers he bought back home at twice the cost!

Ball said she's got a gift for me next month - a cashmere scarf - gee, I cannot wait. . .

Shanghai Street Scenes

2008-11-10T16:01:00.000-08:00

Good morning all,

I was out walking around with CeCe and we decided to stop and have a Frappacino at Starbucks around the corner just taking in the sights!

Everywhere you go there are amazing things to see. Whether it be architecture or people. I find Shanghai soooo interesting. Yes, Italy was beautiful and amazing in itself but Shanghai, well, it's just China -

Check out the photos of the people on bicycles I've uploaded. The man with the empty bottles of water must be on his way to the recycling plant. You will also see men on bicycles with FULL bottles of water too, just like this. I don't know how they get around - the full ones are so heavy. We have a huge bottle of water in our apartment. That's the water we cook with each and every day. I go through one of them about every two weeks. It costs us about 20 RMB which is about $2.85. It goes in one of those dispensers and you can get hot or cold water at the flick of a wrist.

The Chinese are very big on the environment. Their country is so huge and they realize the need to clean up the place. All over town, you will see people with these huge plastic bags that have recyclable items in them like plastic water bottles. On the Bund the little old ladies will walk by you as your are finishing your water, hoping that you'll give the empty to them. Some of them rely on this to supplement the money they receive from the government.

Every so often you'll see little men on bicycles with huge piles of cardboard broken down. They are taking them to the recycle plant too. I wish we had people in the US that are as environmentally conscious as the Chinese. We talk the talk but don't walk the walk. . .

The Chinese people are very proud but they realize the need to make a Buck - or a Yuan. I so admire them for that. In the US you don't see many people on welfare getting out there to help themselves. That's a shame but that's another story for another day.

Check out the man with the plants. I cannot figure out how he gets around. He's not a very big man but he manages to get those plants to where they need to be. He must have powerful legs, maybe that's why he's so thin. . .

In the evening, maybe about 6 pm, you'll see men and women who are riding bicycles with floral baskets, filled to the brims, on them. I think they come from the flower markets and try to sell the leftover flowers on the street. I sometimes pick up some calla lillies or some carnations. The jasmine smells divine! On the way to the subway, there is always a little lady sitting on the ground creating jasmine bracelets. We've talked about buying them - maybe we'll do that this week. The Hongqaio Flower Market is one of our favorite places to go. They don't just have flowers and plants there.

The Chinese love their gold fish - koi - I think that's what the term is. There are lots of vendors there who sell koi and fish tanks and food. At one vendor last week we saw a huge lizard - makes me get chills each time I think about it.

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA

2008-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over!

Thank Goodness! No more political ads - no more robot phone calls!

I'm not happy about this election but from what I've heard in the last 30 minutes, I think President-elect Obama WILL reach across the aisle, choosing capable individuals to head up his Cabinet. It looks like he will work with competent, educated men and women who know their business.

He'll need all the help he can get! Only time will tell but let's just hope and pray that things look UP! It can't go anywhere but UP as far as I'm concerned.

I've been checking the election results in Allegheny and Beaver Counties and it looks like the other people I voted for have won their seats - Jason Altmire, (when will Melissa Hart give up?), Tom Corbett, Tony DeLuca. Yes, there are two Democrats and a Republican - I cannot vote straight party - it should NOT be an option for any American - I don't care what you say Miss Y!

I spent this morning at the Hilton Hotel where the American Chamber of Commerce and the American Women's Club hosted a party for Americans in Shanghai. Check out the photos! I saw many Chinese here too. Lots of women which is what I expected because we are always up for a party; but there were many men there too who I assume decided to play hooky and share their political views with others. McCain and Obama showed up - check out the photo above!

The Hilton is a beautiful hotel - this was my first time there. Lovely lobby and of course, they won me over with the calla lillies and the hydrangea.

They had Blue and Red M & M's so that was fun. AmCham provided some cheap US Flags and some cute hats too. The McCain and Obama buttons were plentiful and I think the Chinese enjoyed the excitement, as well. The US Consulate Public Affairs Department provided some really great handbooks to help the Chinese understand the election process. I grabbed three up for our drivers and staff.

I saw lots of babies and elementary school children whose parents thought it would be great for them to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event first hand. And there were lots of college students whooping it up.

We watched CNN as the polls closed and I was amazed that Pennsylvania was called so early. Way too early as far as I was concerned - I'm sure Wendy hadn't even closed the District One poll at Plum High School. The turnout in Allegheny County was very high. I think it was high all over the country.

I just checked Allegheny County records and Plum has yet to provide all results. I bet District 19 - also at the High School -couldn't close their poll - they have trouble every time!

Do I miss being in Pittsburgh for this election? NO WAY. I don't miss the phone calls because I'm getting them here. I don't miss the TV commercials either because I'm watching Slingbox here. AND, I don't miss the mud slinging one bit.

As I said above - time will tell - and we still have two more months of George W.

God Bless Us All!

Career Changing Decision Made

2008-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Well, after CeCe and I journeyed to Pudong last week, we've decided NOT to pursue pearl stringing as our next career move. As you can see, this is a strand of cultured pearls. It is NOT finished and it probably won't be unless I travel to the Pearl Market and ask my friend, Alina to fix it for me.

The Pearl Stringing Class was a nice thought. Oh, we met Valerie who told us she used to work for DeBeers in marketing and public relations. She is originally from Hong Kong and she recently moved here from there. She took up Chinese jewelry making as a hobby and now she teaches expats to do it.

She's very talented. She had on a beautiful strand of sea pearls - both black and white that incorporated Chinese silk cords. I thought it was beautiful. And her watch was made with freshwater pearls and it was beautiful as well.

She provided all the tools and supplies necessary for the class

CeCe and I have decided that we are not cut out to do this type of jewelry making. You must place a knot between each pearl and you must be precise and well, we just don't have what it takes to complete this project.

For those of you who have pearls, please take a minute to read what I've added below. This is the handout Valerie gave us and I think it will help you take care of the pearls you already have. I learned some things at this class I didn't know, like the perfume and cooking information. I will be more careful going forward.

Six factors determining the quality and value of a pearl

1. Color – intensity of color
2. Luster – surface brilliance. Luster is determined by nacre quality.
3. Surface quality – amount of imperfections
4. Nacre quality – the thicker, the more luster and the durability
5. Shape – roundness of the pearl
6. Size

Although size plays an important role in the evaluation of a pearl, color, luster, shape and surface quality are of primary importance. There is no international standard grading system for freshwater pearls or cultured pearl as in the case of the diamond. Each jeweler adapts his own system.

How to differentiate genuine and fake pearl

1. Imitated pearls are glass, plastic or shell beads dipped in ground fish scales and lacquered with the pearl appearance, such as Majorca Pearl and Swarovski Crystal Pearls. When putting pearl stimulant and pearl together, you can see that cultured pearl has an inner glow, but pearl stimulant has only surface shine.

2. Try the “Tooth-test” – if you run the pearl along the biting edge of your tooth, the genuine pearl will give you a gritty feel, but the fake pearl has a smooth surface.

How to clean and care for your pearl jewelry

1. Use a soft cloth to wipe your pearls after wearing and put a drop of olive oil on the cloth to help maintain the luster of the pearls.
2. Only use jewelry cleaner that is labeled “safe for pearls” to clean your pearls.
3. Never use an ultra-sonic cleaner to clean your pearl jewelry.
4. Avoid using any chemicals such as perfume, vinegars and lemon juice to come in contact with your pearls. That means put your perfume/cologne on before adding your pearls and certainly be careful of using these items around your neck, ears, or wrists.
5. Take off your pearl jewelry when applying make-up, perfume, hair spray, cooking, showering, swimming or exercising.
6. Never put your pearl jewelry with other gem jewelry to avoid scratching and keep them in a jewelry pouch.
7. Dry air can damage pearls so do not store them in a safe deposit box or wall safe.
8. Restring your pearls once a year if you wear them often to avoid breakage.

What is a cultured pearl?

Nearly all pearls sold today are cultured pearls. Cultured pearls are a product of nature with the help of technology. A nucleus is implanted into the mollusk to stimulate nacre (mother of pearl) production and over a few years, the nacre builds up layer by layer ultimately creating the pearl.

Types of Pearls

There are two main types of pearls: Salt water cultured pearls and Fresh water cultured pearls.

Akoya Pearl

A saltwater pearl comes from the Akoya oyster. It was first cultivated in Japan by Kokichi Mikimoto in the early 19th Century. It is round or near-round in white or cream color with overtone of rose, silver and cream. Japanese Akoya Pearl is used to be known as the hallmark of classic quality and grace. With the improvement in technology, today Chinese Akoya pearl is as good as the Japanese pearl. In fact, most of the small size (below 8mm) Akoya pearls in Japan come from China and are “assembled” and marked “Made in Japan”.

South Sea Pearls

South Sea Pearls are saltwater pearls found in the South Seas which encompass an area around North Australia and Southeast Asia). Pearls are silver or gold in color around 10-20mm in size.

Tahitian Black Pearls

Tahitian Black Pearls are gown in the waters of French Polynesia. They are saltwater pearls and they come in gray to black colors with red, green or blue overtones. They are also found near Cook Island, Fiji Island, Tonga, the Philippines and sometimes near Panama and The Gulf of Mexico in the Western Hemisphere.

Mabe or Blister Pearls

Mabe or Blister Pearls come from Japan, Indonesia and Australia. They are half spherical cultured pearls grown on the inside shell of a mollusk. The blister pearl that is produced is cut from the shell and the follow inside is filled with wax or glue. A mother of pearl backing is often added.

Freshwater Pearls

Freshwater Pearls come from freshwater mussels and are produced in Japan, China and in the United States. The most famous type of freshwater cultured pearl is a Biwa Pearl which used to come form mussels grown in Lake Biwa, near Kyoto, Japan. Because of the pollution, production has stopped. Now, over 20 different species of freshwater mussels are commercially harvested.

Today, China is the largest producing country of freshwater pearls.

Furniture / Rugs / Art

2008-10-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone!

First off, I'd like to thank all those who DO send me emails telling me how much they enjoy the Blog. I enjoy writing it. I AM having a good time here. I know Mike has to work very hard and the language barrier is always there. It can be frustrating! I do think he's enjoying himself too. He's playing golf each week - last Saturday he played 18 holes - he didn't do as well as he wanted but he had fun. And again this Saturday, he's going to play another 18 holes of golf.

Today I got an email from my friend, Beth Marko Fox, Class of 1972, Beaver High School. She asked me for some photos of some fabrics and some cloisonne. I have bought some cloisonne items - not much but I will include them in a future blog. Tomorrow I'm going to the fabric market - again. I need to pick up some slacks and have a fitting for a silk jacket. Mike went to have a fitting for his winter coat last Sunday.

If you've got special requests like Beth's, please let me know. A request forces us to make a field trip and my friends are always up for a field trip - today we're going on the Jewish Ghetto Tour on The Bund. CeCe and I have to be in the lobby here at Shama at 8:30 so her driver, Skip, can take us on the cross-town journey during rush hour. It should be very interesting. More about that next week.

The weather here is pretty good still. Yesterday; however, it was dark and gloomy all day and it drizzled for a while so my friends, CeCe and Ellen and I went to the Furniture Street. It isn't too far from our house and it is close to Ellen's house - but I didn't take my camera with me. I think the best way to describe it is this: It's a street with some furniture malls on it. We went into one Mall that had four floors of furniture stores in them. We stopped in at a carpet store too - beautiful carpets - no, I didn't take any credit cards - I'm leaving them at the apartment - but I did see some beautiful rugs.

These malls remind me of a huge Wickes store. Remember Wickes? Each store had a theme - either leather, contemporary, futons, children's furniture, kitchen, family rooms, some very interesting "Gone with the Wind" furniture and much, much more. We saw things we liked and things we walked right by.

We saw Natuzzi, La-Z-Boy and another brand I cannot remember. I know that Suzi has a chair and ottoman made by these people. It is a Scandinavian brand and the chairs are leather or suede. CeCe's husband, Brian wants one of these chairs in the worst way and they run about $5,000 back in the States. We figured one of these chairs here would run about $1,900. So I'm sure she's taking him over there to check it out.

We also saw some traditional Chinese furniture - some absolutely beautiful things. I will try and go back to take some photos of what they look like. There was some contemporary Chinese furniture that I didn't like too. Some stores don't want you to take photos because that might mean you're stealing their designs. You and I know that I can't steal designs - I can only appreciate them. I'm not talented in that realm - I just recognize great beauty! You know - your child's first crayon sketch, the American flag, the Grand Canyon, a Pittsburgh skyline? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I like what I like.

Speaking of beauty, we also saw an art street that had some good and some bad art. I'm taking Mike back over there because I saw some great Chinese calligraphy and some beautiful watercolors. My Gunny - we called my maternal grandfather that name when we were kids - was a fabulous artist. My Aunt Frances is a fabulous artist herself but she has grandchildren to have fun with now so she doesn't dabble anymore. Sure wish she did though -I've been trying to get her to draw/paint/sketch me something for many years. My cousin, Tommy New is also an accomplished artist. God grants certain gifts to each of us. I can type. . . that's my gift!

Anyway, back to Gunny - my mother gave me two paintings he did that were in her dining room for years. They need re-framed but as all good art. They are currently at her house because I didn't want to put them in the storage facility. Yesterday, I saw some nice pieces that I'd like to buy for our apartment here and they will complement my other pieces at home too.

We also stopped by a porcelain store that had ginger jars, bowls, vases and the most amazing sinks. Yes, sinks. I saw some of the same thing last weekend at the Hongqaio Flower Market. I went there with John while Mike was golfing. The woman at the Flower Market told me that the plain sinks (usually one color) are about 150 RMB - about $20. The more detailed or those with lots of color range from 180 RMB to about 300 RMB. I will definitely be bringing back one or two of those. I will try and get some photos of those too. You won't believe how gorgeous they are.

Mail - Ma'am - I've got mail for you!

2008-10-20T23:52:00.001-07:00

Yipee!

A little over a week ago, I was talking with Mary Louise on Google Chat and then I called her in Clearwater, Florida. We were discussing China and she asked me what I missed most. Well, after my family and my friends, I have to admit I miss my magazines the most. I would get all kinds of great dinner ideas from them. I've been reading them online but it is just NOT the same.

SO **************************************************

Mary Louise Cookson (Diogardi) sent me SEVEN - count them 7 magazines in a big envelope last week and they arrived today. It only took 7 days to reach me and they are in great shape. Better Homes & Garden, OK, People, US Weekly, SELF, Bon Appetit, and Southern Living (yes, Cris - I'm so excited to read it). I'm in heaven now! The concierge was amazed and now I have to share with him too so he can practice his English!

CeCe and I went to Just Grapes, a great wine bar and small cafe down the street and took the Better Homes and Garden - there are crock pot recipes in it and I'm going to do sauerkraut and pork tomorrow in CeCe's White/Westinghouse crockpot. I tried to buy one at Best Buy but the model she has is out of stock. They are ordering me one but God knows when it will be here. This model has Chinese markings so she has to give me the English translation so I don't do anything rash but hey - my house will smell so good tomorrow. I cannot wait. Kate, I know your mouth is just watering. . . don't drool sweetheart!

I am the envy of all the American women in my building and elsewhere in Shanghai. I hope to look through them all before I lend them out! Wait until Mike gets home tonight!

Mary Louise - you will never know how much I appreciate this. It probably made our whole week!

Tomorrow CeCe is getting her sea shipment so she's going to be in heaven tomorrow - today - well, TODAY - it's my turn!

The British are Coming! The British are HERE!

2008-10-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

Yes! They have arrived. The British department store, Marks & Spencer opened their Chinese flagship store here in Shanghai on October 2nd. Mike and I went after Mass last week and we had a great time. They have "large" sizes for regular Western people and great food! Check out the roasted red peppers, the horseradish sauce and the free trade coffee! Such a find!

Last week was a good week. We met Mae-Ling Tien, a lovely young Chinese American housewife from California. She and her husband have a 7 year old son. CeCe, Ellen and I went over to Anfu Lu to meet her at iiiiT which is lovely cafe in a gated community called The Summit. Very nice atmosphere. Then we dined at the Cafe Montemarte. It was lovely restaurant in the French Concession. We stopped at the Hu & Hu sofa store and found some great buys on Chinese furniture (I've been looking for tables) and some lovely sofas that Marybelle Hu can make up for clients in no time at all. Neat fabrics - colors you'd never imagine and some neat accessories too!

Saturday, Mike and I did a romantic thing. We grabbed a taxi and journeyed out to Hongmei Lu. We jumped out in front of the Pearl Market and dashed across the street to the Movie Store - yep, that's the name of the store. I had bought some great DVDs there a week or so before for 16 RMB which is about US $ 2.50. I cannot understand why they are so cheap especially when the quality is first rate. We've seen some pretty poor movie quality from some other stores but this store has 3 floors and it is absolutely amazing. I think I'll buy the MASH series for 64 RMB the next time I go out there. I would love to watch all those old MASH reruns. The problem - you cannot take them home with you. It is not legal to take them back to the States - I can understand why but the quality is first rate. Maybe they buy in such quantity, do you think that's why the prices are good? So we bought some CDs so Mike could download some music to his MP3 player - I stored all our other CDs - I wasn't thinking when United Van Lines came to pack them. And we bought The Kite Runner - I cannot wait to watch it. Read the book and read about the movie.

Then we went to Mexicolindo, a cute little Mexican restaurant on the Hongmei Pedestrian Street for dinner. Margarita and shrimp fajitas for me and a margarita and taco platter for Mike. I think it cost us about US $45. Not bad for a nice dinner and a seranade by the local Rolling Stones band. We didn't get there in time for Happy Hour but we were happy!

I still haven't been to Walmart yet. I don't have any plan to go either. Just thought I'd let you all know that. . .

Today I picked up a sweet baby gift for Miss Karina and Rob's new baby boy. I'll send it off this weekend after I get some wrapping paper at Taikang Lu on Friday. CeCe's driver, Skip will take us there on Friday. This Saturday is a golf marathon with the Westinghouse guys - they are playing 18 holes so I'll be alone all day. It's a shame - I'll have to get a manicure or something.

Today, one of our friends was sick so Skip took us to a Chinese pharmacy. I was expecting roots and bugs and stuff and guess what we found there? Tylenol Cold for 25 RMB which is about US$3.50. Enough for ten days. It's just up the street and they had Robitussin there too. I was amazed. It was so clean and the clerk spoke a wee bit English. China amazes me every day!

On A Magic Carpet Ride!

2008-10-14T21:04:00.001-07:00

Good morning everyone!

The American Women's Club had a fundraiser - they call it "Shopping for a Cause". It was last Saturday evening and Mike and I went along with Kirk, Devin and Sandy. The event was a Carpet Auction and it was great. Denice missed a good time and I bet she would have bought one - We DID! We won one too! It was the Luck of the Irish!

The cause was the Starfish Foster Home Foundation. Amanda is the director there and she was in attendance at the event. Their web page is listed below - check it out - but be ready for some tears - it's very hard. You must realize that these beautiful children have basically been abandoned because their parents cannot afford to take care of them. They have been born with some disfigurement like cleft palate or spina bifida. Amanda is known for her kindness and these children somehow find their way to her. She arranges for the much-needed surgeries that the children need - the surgery that gives them a second lease on life. You will see that she brings these children to Shanghai for these surgeries and it is quite expensive. Some of the doctors donate their time so if you know of a doctor with these special skills - please refer them to her.

So click on her webpage and check it out. http://www.thestarfishfosterhome.org/

The event was supposed to be held at Shama Luxe at Xintandi which is the upscale Shama property near Xintandi - the South Side Works of Shanghai. Mike, Kirk and I took a taxi over there and were amazed at the lovely location. The apartment building was beautiful but the Clubhouse that all the apartment buildings in that gated community building share was breathtaking. When the carpet company arrived at Shama, they realized that there would be too many carpets AND the group of people who had RSVP'd was growing by leaps and bounds so they had to move it to the Clubhouse - it was a great idea!

I didn't take my camera so I don't have photos of the property but the carpets - the one on the left is the one we won - it's about 2' by 3.5' and is mostly maroon and grey (Beaver Bobcat colors) while the one we bought, which is about 4' by 6' is gold and green with some red in it. It looks love here in our apartment (OR it will once the housekeepers help me re-arrange the living room Thursday afternoon). We have the smaller one in the hallway leading to the bathrooms and bedrooms. The larger one will look wonderful with our mossy green sofa and love seat that is now in storage in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania.

The food was great. Little nibbles that consisted of small shrimps sitting on a lettuce base in a remoulade sauce. Sauteed mushrooms on a puff pastry shell. There were little pieces of chicken in teeny pita pockets with cheese and a mustard sauce. There were many other things too numerous to mention. The cheesecakes were yummy too - blueberry and chocolate. The wines were great too.

The CARPETS - well, I had no clue what to expect. None of us knew what to expect, but the gentlemen from the carpet company in Singapore were excellent. I found maybe about 14 that would have worked for us. There were some huge ones as well.

Edmund started began the auction explaining what was expected - reasonable bids - and then of course, when people bid low, he would attribute that to the world-wide recession. Some of these carpets retailed for upwards $15,000 and were going for $5,000. We were very pleased that ours was much, much, much cheaper than that because it was much smaller and because Mike was sitting quite close to me holding my arm down!

Each attendee received a book so we'll know what to look for next time. It talks about the care of your carpet and how to hang it on the wall should you want to do that. There were also some points to make on the history of knotted carpets and where they come from. It is very interesting and I intend to sit on the balcony some morning in the sun and digest it from cover to cover.

They did pull about four carpets that did not elicit any bids and then the prizes were awarded. My friend, Sharyn pulled my number and I won the little carpet. I was so surprised. Very happy and surprised. Mike was able to carry both of them home in the taxi. Needless to say, we will go again next year and try and coerce other couples to go as well.

Le Cheile - It looks French BUT It's Irish!

2008-10-14T20:15:00.001-07:00

And it means - together! Of course we all know the Irish know how to party and Party We Did a few weeks ago over on Tao Jiang Road.

Most of you know Mike and I were married on St. Paddy's Day - our 30th Anniversary is next year and we are most excited about it. However, we'll be here in China and so we had to investigate how we will celebrate.

My friend, Kristin, author extrordinare, told us about this Irish group here in Shanghai. http://www.lecheileshanghai.com/

O'Malley's is a wonderful Irish pub close to where we live. Before I got here, Mike and the team would go there on Saturdays and watch some "football" - you know the European style. . .

But for this party, we went with some of our Westinghouse team and the Corning team jumped in the van and traveled to O'Malley's. The food was great but the people were even better.

When I walked in and saw the band, they were singing "Whisky in the Jar" and I shed a wee tear. It reminded me of the many St. Patrick's Day Parades we went to with the Doheny's and the Koehler's. There was lots of Guinness and another Czech beer that Sandy said was a very popular beer in the Czech republic. So Michael Stay - check it out! I've posted a photo of the label from the beer.

And we met Sidney who is Czech and he was dancing up a storm. Denice learned how to play the harmonica - move over Bill Slaman - and we had a great time. The food was spectacular - small burgers - grilled outside and they were just the way I like them - medium - and Irish stew with carrots and potatoes in a rich beef gravy. Mike like the grilled oysters and that made him smile.

We joined this club and now we'll be able to party with them whenever there is a reason - which should be quite often.

A good time was had by all!

ris

Korean Folk Village

2008-10-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

This was a real treat for us. There were tons of Korean kids in matching outfits denoting their schools running around everywhere. They were absolutely adorable and we enjoyed their greetings and their requests for our photos - YES, they asked if they could take our photos with their cell phone cameras! We were touched.

We met a nice young man who is a teacher at one of the schools. He's from Connecticut and he was extremely proud of his students.

Then we met another young man who was from Los Angeles, California who was visiting Seoul for a conference. He was waiting for his friend to text him the score from the Pittsburgh - Baltimore game. When he got the score - it was not to our advantage and I was so worried about what the end of the game would bring. Kate went to the game and she must have fallen asleep without texting the final score - we didn't know for two days that we WON! Hey Mr. Rooney - you need Alan Faneca back!

I'm adding quite a few photos here - I still haven't mastered posting photos - in the right order as you can see from the previous posting but hey, I know you are all smart people and you'll find the right photo and match it with the right paragraph.

There is a photo of a woman who is spinning silk. And a photo of a woman who helped me in the gift shop. I bought a lovely wallet and some magnets for Kate and Katie Mo's refrigerator. I hope I remember to bring them home with me.

You'll also see some photos of the farmer dancers who have drums and these really neat. Then we went to a Traditional Korean Wedding ceremony. It was very interesting. The groom has blue on and the bride has little red dots on her cheeks. She is pictured here with her attendants. Then they put her in a really neat box that some groomsmen carry. Her new husband rides alongside her on a horse. In that photo, Mike and I are standing in front of the groom -he's behind us on his horse. It was so wonderful.

I think Mike really enjoyed me meeting his Korean friends. I so liked them all - I wish I could have seen DY and met his wife, Okhee - he is such a gentleman. DY - Get Well Soon!

Land of the Morning Calm

2008-10-05T01:14:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!

It was Golden Week in China last week. A national holiday, so Mike and I jumped a plane and took a little trip to Seoul, South Korea. Mike used to travel to South Korea in a previous capacity at Westinghouse and he has friends there. So, he thought it would be great for me to meet them. He was right - it was a great trip!

We took a China Eastern Air Bus to Seoul on Monday evening, September 29th. It's just a short flight - one hour and 45 minutes. It was smooth flying and landing in the Land of the Morning Calm. Here's Mike beside a huge Korean folk drum.

Immigration was easy and fast so after we grabbed some cash (Korean Won) we jumped on a bus we thought was going downtown to the Korea Air Terminal. It stopped at every telephone pole and hotel/apartment building so when we got to the Ramada, we hopped off and grabbed a taxi. Kate got us a great rate at the Renaissance Seoul and we were very impressed. The lobby is spacious and well appointed and the best thing about it was we could drink the water from the tap in the bathroom! We decided to grab something to eat so we went to the Trevi Lounge where there were three Fillipino singers belting out some great tunes, a good club sandwich with a great glass of Savingnon Blanc!

Tuesday morning, Mrs. Yun Hee Lee and Mr. O. H. Park from the Westinghouse Seoul office arrived to take us to the Korean Folk Village before 9 am. We quickly crossed the street to Dunkin Donuts to get an iced coffee and a Boston Creme donut - can you believe it? Another great thing - (I still think about YOU - Jeff Abraham every Friday - this is a little hint only the EDMC staff will know about).

The Korean Folk Village is south of the city about one hour. The roads here are amazingly good. Lots of traffic but nothing like Shanghai. All very orderly and clean. The taxis all have GPS and TV screens in the front of them so you can watch Korean TV. It was cool! The Korean Folk Village reminded me of Williamsburg, Virginia - all the staff were in their traditional Korean costumes and there were different types of houses that you would find in different parts of Korea. I will write more about the Folk Village in another blog. Stay tuned.

Then we went to Itaewon which is a street near the US military base in Seoul that has lots of bars and Western restaurants and little stalls with Korean souvenirs and silk goods, celadon pottery and jewelry stores. Mr. Park and Mrs. Lee took his to a shop in the basement of a building. The woman who owned the shop is going out of business and Mr. Park wanted to buy his wife a Christmas gift. Mike bought me a lovely amethyst pendant, earrings and ring. All are set with an emerald cut stone and the color is amazing. Amethysts are recent finds in Korea - probably within the last twenty years. A man found a mine and didn't know what the purple rocks were. So he sold it and the second man kept it around for a while and then sold it to another man and woman who have now made a killing on the stones.

Then we went to a lovely restaurant called Korea House. Here we met Mr. J.K. Yang for dinner in a small dining room. It was lovely - there were some things I didn't care to try - like the eel - but for the most part, I tried lots of different things. I had some vegetables and bulgogi (bar b q beef), pumpkin porridge, rice (of course) and some great sweetened pecans and sesame appetizers. Then we went to a large auditorium to see some traditional Korean musicians and dancers. Their costumes were truly beautiful and each dancer was more beautiful than the next one. They were all very graceful and the men dancers were very talented. We couldn't take photos here but I did send Kate and my mom and sister some postcards. Please see Mike and I above with the Korean dancers!

Wednesday - October 1st was the Korean National Day. There were military parachutists into the Olympic Stadium about a mile down the road. There was also a martial arts exhibition which reminded me of the Chinese drummers in the Opening Ceremony at the Olympics - complete and utter precision of hundreds of military men and women who performed board breaking and concrete breaking movements. It was very impressive. Then there was a parade of hundreds of military men and women and military equipment down the street in front of our hotel.

On Wednesday morning, we ventured out early after our second Dunkin Donuts experience and walked down the street to the Intercontinental Grande Hotel - Mike used to stay at this hotel during his previous stays in Seoul. It is right next to the Hyundai Department Store that was very nice - although the prices were high and there wasn't anything there I could wear - I won't buy designer fashions and really, I've lost quite a bit but I'm not a size 2 yet! They had a grocery store in the basement of this store and a food court with all kinds of interesting items - wine - chocolate - bakery items - coffees and teas. Very classy place.

Mike made dinner reservations for us at the Sheraton Walker Hill. I know, we've crossed from Marriott to Hilton to Starwood properties and well, you have to see them all to appreciate how lovely they all are.

I truly wanted to go to see Walker Hill. Back in the day, when I worked at Westinghouse for Bill Thornton, he would travel to Seoul quite often to negotiate contracts and when he would return, he would go on and on about the Sheraton Walker Hill hotel. Good food AND a Las Vegas Revue! The dinner was lovely - it was a package deal and it cost us $300 for the dinner and show - yes, it was exorbitant but hell, I'm worth it! Mike and I both had a lovely scallop and salmon appetizer, a nice salad, a fabulous filet that was done perfectly and tasted divine and then a lemon cheesecake for dessert.

And then it was "Onto the show!" It consisted of some traditional Korean dancing - much like the ones we'd seen the day before and then the beautiful show girls. I had to work hard to keep poping Mike's eyes back in their sockets!

There was a magician, and a weird sort of South American guy who had long hair and used some kind of metal balls on strings that he twirled around and hit the floor with. Odd sort of thing, he was. And there were the five Brazilian motorcyclists who road their motorcycles in a metal ball - all five of them at once. It was amazing.

Thursday we went to the DMZ. And for those of you who are young and naive - that is the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. It is a strip of land about one hour north of Seoul that is a "no man's land" with barbed wire and lots of Korean soldiers who patrol. I felt very safe on this tour. There are 153 families who live in this area farming and selling their local produce.

We boarded a bus about 7:30 am with Jason Kim, our tour guide. (I don't think he was related to John Kim - this is a hint for my former Westinghouse colleagues). Then we drove to Imjingak park where we disembarked and got on another larger Greyhound-type bus for the ride to The 3rd Infiltration Tunnel in the administrative district of Panju. This is one of 4 or 5 tunnels that the South Koreans found that were designed to serve as a path for 30,000 North Korean soldiers on their way to Seoul during an invasion. This tunnel is just 52 km away from Seoul. It is 1,635 meters in length and 2 meters in height and width. Mike descended into the tunnel - I chose to stay up. It was hard because he is taller than 2 meters and it was pretty steep.

Off to the Dorasan Station which is a train station situated at the northernmost international train station in South Korea. It was designed to be the symbolic place of division but also the completion of the Seoul-Sinuiju railroad line. After the South Koreans built this beautiful train station, the North Koreans decided they didn't want to play anymore - they would not accept any trains through their country into Siberia where they could link up with other countries - China, Russia, Mongolia and move people into eastern Europe. This is also where sometimes relatives from the North meet their families from the South - those who they have been estranged from due to the Korean conflict.

Then onto the Dora Observatory where we could see over the abyss into North Korea. There were those high powered viewers that you could use to see but you could not take any photos - except from behind "the yellow line". See the photo of Mike and I with a smoggy North Korea in the background. . .

Thursday evening we enjoyed a wonderful Hot Pot Dinner with Yun Hee Lee, her husband, Mr. Park and their lovely 8 year old daughter Rebecca. See photo of us at dinner. . .

Friday was another lovely day - 70's and lots of walking. We decided to go visit the Buddhist Temple near the Intercontinental Hotel. I know you will agree with me that this is a beautiful temple - the colors are so vibrant.

By and large, our short trip to Seoul was both wonderful and truly a pleasure! I'm so glad I went and I'm so glad I finally got to meet the wonderful people in the Westinghouse Korea office in Seoul.

We're back in Shanghai now - living the life and counting down the days (70) until we can see you all again in Chicago - DePaolis cousins (December 12th) and in The Burgh (December 15th). Rita Gismondi has already scheduled Happy Hour for Tuesday the 16th (for me). Mike will stop by the K of C - Penn Allegheny Council 4242 for some much-needed catch-up.

I hope all my EDMC friends can stop by - place to be determined but I bet it will be the Renaissance Hotel (Kate's place) on Sixth Street. I am so looking forward to seeing you all and share some Christmas Cheer! It will truly be a blessing to be back in the Burgh with family and friends.

Until something else exciting happens. . .

Shanghai Botanical Garden

2008-09-26T07:06:00.001-07:00

Good evening!

A few weeks ago, my new friends, Lynne, Denice and Jane and I took a field trip to the Shanghai Botanical Gardens. It was over 100 degrees that day and we walked the paths. They had a lovely lake by the conservatory and check out the orchids in the lovely blue pot!

As I've told you before, I really have a thing for the blue and white pottery. We saw this table - it's in two parts - at the tea house at the Botanical Gardens. It was sitting in the middle of a deck with those plastic white chairs surrounding it. I pushed them off to the side so I could take this photo. Then, the other day we went to the Flower Market and there was a gold fish bowl that was for sale. If we were allowed to have "pets", I'd pick that up in a heartbeat. But, here at Shama - no pets - no kitties, no doggies, no fishies.

We've been pretty busy here the last few weeks. Most of the expats have returned from their summer vacations and I have to admit that I'm still wearing white and it's way past Labor Day. I hope my Beaver girlfriends are not embarassed by that. I'm sure Kate is crawling under a rock right about now. But she knows that fashion here in Shanghai is a whole new ballgame. People wear the oddest things here. Like pyjammas! Yes, they even spell it like that! I went on a tour yesterday and the tour guide, a lovely Aussie woman told us that the Chinese wear pyjammas because they are well off and they can! It means that if you are Chinese and you can afford pyjammas, you wear them outside on the street. So sometimes you see cotton and sometimes you see silk. No robes - just pyjammas.

Mike and I went to the Expat Show here in Shanghai with our friend and colleague Jacques from Belgium. It was basically your typical expo that showcased various vendors of healthcare (hospitals and clinics), restaurants and gelato purveyors - yum yum, travel agencies, car rental companies and furniture companies. Beautiful antique Chinese furniture that is breathtaking. Very expensive and one-of-a-kind pieces.

The best thing about this show was the Dutch cheese. The vendor, Beemster had maybe six different varieties of cheese and it was selling like hotcakes! We bought a chunk of their classic Dutch cheese and their garlic cheese. I cannot tell you how great this was. Maybe because the usual cheese we get is Land O Lakes and a few miscellaneous French pieces (Brie and Cammenbert) so this was a real treat for us.

We also visited many wine stalls - French, Italian, Californian. There was one vendor that showcased a very interesting new way to deliver the wine. It reminded me of the wine "cellar" at The Westin Convention Center in Pittsburgh. Every glass is fresh - I just don't understand how they do it.

Antiques

2008-09-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

Good morning friends,

Well, last week was very busy. Lots of expats are returning to Shanghai after their summers abroad or home, as the case may be.

Every week we are meeting new people and making new friends. Last Wednesday we had coffee in Xintandi and took a walk to the Antique Market. I didn't know what to expect but it is basically a Chinese Flea Market that is so cool. We saw lots of interesting things. I bought some Cloisonne hair pins for Christmas gifts for friends with long hair (I hope you all like them) and some porcelain bracelets too. There were lots of odds and ends to check out.

We met lots of pets along the way too - a lovely German Shepherd who nuzzled me for quite some time and made me shed a few tears for my Snowball. I wonder how she is. And a tiny kitten not much bigger than Kate's kitten was when she got her.

The thing that is so funny when you go shopping in China is that the sales clerk will tell you she/he will give you "the best price" or "best friend's price" or "the-first-sale-of-the-day-price".

We met a man whose family - cousins, uncles, aunts - own different stalls. He's been highlighted on CNN - he told us that was important to him. He had a lovely corner stall that featured pottery and porcelain. Denice bought a lovely translucent bowl and he asked her not to share the price with her friends - us. At another stall across the street - owned by the same man - I bought a blue & white tea mug with an infuser for loose tea. His niece sold silk goods close by.

Then we all walked to a great wine bar - yes, I know you are all wondering about the wine - I'm not drinking it - it is just that the best restaurants are those where good wine is sold too! :) Great lunch - Chicken sandwich on a baguette with tomato, lettuce, basil.

Another day we went to the Pearl Market again and I bought a lovely traditional figurine. My friend, Debbie told us that she has a collection of these figures. She explained that you can tell which women are aristocrats because they have dangle earrings that look like they are made of jade. The peasant women have circle earrings and portray women who live or work in the countryside. I bought a woman playing a traditional Erhu (it reminds me of a violin - see it above) and Denice bought one that has chickens at the woman's feet. They are all lovely and there were many different women - there was one feeding some fish, one with ducks, one with some sewing items. I liked them all (of course) and the price is right and affordable so maybe this will become the start of a collection for me. As you can see, the dress is lovely and the colors are amazing. Debbie displays them at her home in Philadelphia.

Friday we went to the Fabric Market. I wanted to take two dresses to be altered and pick up my linen shells I had made. My shells fit perfectly. Our friend, Debbie is having a dress made there for her niece's wedding in November. She wanted something classy but not something that everyone else would have. It has royal blue silk with some black chiffon and lace overlays. It will be beautiful after it is done. She needed another fitting and it should be ready this Friday. My dresses will be done then too. I saw some beautiful green silk that I want Elena to make me a blouse with. I went online to the J Jill and Coldwater Creek webpages and will take her some photos of what I'd like to have made. After we were done with Debbie's fitting we went to some of the bridal shops nearby and watched Debbie try on gowns for her daughter's wedding next May. We had a great time.

Over the weekend, Mike and I went to the Hongmei Lane Pedestrian mall - it's a walkway with lots of restaurants near the Pearl Market. We ate at The Big Bamboo - a western restaurant with very bad service. The food was good - the service was bad. I think that sometimes the young waitresses just don't have the command of the English language and of course, we don't speak enough Chinese yet to order so you have that language barrier.

Then we walked across the street to the Pearl Market and Mike got some cards for the golf store where he bought his clubs and I bought some pashminas and some tea. It was a nice way to enjoy the day together. He did see the figurines at that shop I told you about above. He liked them. I hope to get more. . .

Sunday we went to Mass and to Enoteca for breakfast with some church friends. What a great breakfast we had there. I had French scrambled eggs with thinly sliced apple, pear and orange, a warm baguette with butter and French jam, some brie and emmenthal cheese, fresh squeezed orange juice and Italian coffee - only 75RMB which is about $10. Then it was off to the Antique Mall so Mike could see what I had experienced earlier in the week. I bought a lovely vase at the "friend's price" from the man highlighted by CNN. And another tea mug for Mike so now we have 2 - maybe I'll get more . . .

This week is proving to be very busy as well - every day we have something else new and exciting to see and do. Stay tuned. . .

Whine Wine

2008-08-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

It's Saturday morning and you know that means GOLF in Chinese! Mike played 18 holes yesterday at the Shanghai Country Club and today he is participating in a Westinghouse/Shaw golf tournament at the Hongqaio Golf and Tennis Club. He's a lucky man! The reason he's lucky is that he got a great deal on Callaway clubs at the Hongqaio Pearl Market. Yes, I said Pearl Market. They call it the Hongqaio Pearl Market because its in Hongqaio, a lovely "village" (as Mr. Chen our driver likes to call it). I call it a suburb - like Plum or Mt. Lebanon. I don't know why they call it the Hongqaio Pearl Market except that they do sell lovely pearl jewelry there (that's where I bought mine) but they also have Coach, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada and you-name-it-you-can-get-it bags there. They have silk, cashmere, iPods, you name it - they've got it.

Anyway, this is where he got his golf clubs. Got a great deal - bag, clubs, drivers, woods, and travel bag too! Woo hoo - he IS a lucky man. His game is getting better. He sunk a 40' putt yesterday - amazing his friends and himself. And his scores have gotten better too. He's pretty consistent now. So Eric and Bobby and the rest of the K of C better watch out.

Another plus about Hongqaio is that they have a Flower Market there. Mr. Chen has taken me there twice now and I think I'm going to have to make another pilgimage out there again next week. My orchids have died! They were beautiful while they lasted - I cannot grow them here - in the Burgh or probably - anywhere. They need tropical heat and humidity but we need the air conditioning turned on here so it just doesn't work. I can go to the Flower Market to see them and admire them but I'll just dream about them.

Hongqaio is also the area near the Carrefour (French grocery store) where we go because we're foreigners. It's in Gubei. And there is a huge City Shop (the other western grocery store) near there as well. The best Israeli / Mediterrean restaurant and bakery called Haya's is on Hongmei Road - we so enjoy going there too. They have great hummus.

*************************************************************************************

Today I'm talking about - oops - whining about wine! I told you the other day that we had a wine tasting the other night with Jack from Vin. I was pretty disappointed this week as he only brought one wine I thought was any good. Last month he brought some very good ones and we bought two. This time, we bought only one bottle from South Africa for our cavernous wine cellar. Please see the photo so you can see what a wine cellar looks like in China!

This week Denice and I investigated an Italian Wine Shop down. John Mallory told us about it. We followed his directions - took the long way around and realized it is close to - catty corner to the Shanghai Stadium which is right down the street from us about 4 city blocks. They did have quite a few Italian wines there and some liquor as well. The prices for liquor were decent - better than City Shop. Denice found a red and I bought a white wine.

We were chatting with some women at the American Women's Club who mentioned that sometimes the Chinese even pass fake Absolut off reducing the price. One woman told us that a friend of hers put Absolut in the freezer and it FROZE! Imagine that?

I'm not going to talk politics on this Blog. There is no sense in doing it. It will only rattle some people and they will wonder what kind of rice wine I've been drinking. So, politically speaking - make up your own mind - vote your own conscience and don't complain about it once it's done on November 5th. Wendy Painter will be the only person who knows who I vote for - she's the Judge of Election at Plum High School and I'll make a point to key her in. . .

Have a great Labor Day everyone! We don't get to celebrate it here but we'll be celebrating the Autumn Festival on September 15th. Then we hope to be jetting off to Seoul for a few days on the 29th.

American Women's Club of Shanghai

2008-08-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

So, as I told you, I'm very busy! It turns out that every Wednesday from 10:00 am -12:00 Noon, Denice and I jump on the Metro and ride it four stops to Huangpi Road which is the Metro stop for Xintandi (pronounced Shin Tan Dee). It's a lovely area - somewhat like Southside Works in Pittsburgh. However, the Sikumen buildings here were once located somewhere else and an architect took them all down, brick by brick and had them moved to this location where they are all two and three story buildings housing great restaurants and shops. We've been to some of the restaurants and some of the shops. We've determined what shops are too expensive for us and what restaurants are just out of our price range. We've eaten at the Latina restaurant - Brazilian Bar B Q and Luna which was a Spanish tapas. We've also bought a few items that are great!

There is a wine shop there called Vin - who is run by our good friend, Jack who comes to Shama - our housing compound - once a month for a wine tasting. Mike and I have managed to buy maybe 4-5 bottles from Jack. His prices are high - yes, much higher than the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. However, his shop is much smaller than the typical PA Wine & Spirits store and I'm sure his overhead is higher. He's very nice and trying to make a living so we give him business and stop in to see what else he's got once in a while. He gives us a 20% discount on bottles and that is good. Last night we had a wine tasting here at Shama and there were 4-5 wines - I only liked one bottle last night - a South African red wine. We bought one bottle of it. The Pino Grigio from Chile and the Reisling from Australia just were not what I'm used to - Mike didn't care for either of them either. There was a French Medoc but it was very dry and we tasted it but tossed it out. I usually like French wines but not this time. I think the South African should arrive tomorow by courier. What I wouldn't give for a nice glass of Snoqualmie Reisling. Ginny, please help me out here and drink a glass tonight?

Back to the story - anyway, the reason we travel to Xintandi is for the American Women's Club Coffee each week at the Coffee Leaf and Bean. It's not Starbucks (there is a Starbucks at Xintandi but we don't meet there). It's like Crazy Mocha in Dahntahn Pixburgh - nice neighborly feel. Good food BUT they don't know how to make a French Vanilla Coffee.

Each week we go to Coffee Bean and Leaf and meet new friends and we have lunch somewhere new and enjoy the scenery. Last week, we met Elisa DeParolis, who's husband Raffaele is an Italian diplomat. They are here from Rome. Lovely woman who is about our age and has two children - a daughter who lives in Tel Aviv and a son who lives in the Ivory Coast. Both are diplomats as well. She is lovely and she lives now in PuDong, the part of Shanghai on the other side of the Huang Pu River. We live in Puxi (pronounced Pu Shee). Anyway, she has not received her sea shipment yet but she lives in a big house and we were so happy to meet her. We have been comparing restaurants and clothes and food and she has even promised me a bottle of Marsala wine because Jack from Vin cannot even order Marsala for me. Can you imagine that? No Marsala - what is this world coming to? It is just cooking wine but we cannot buy it here so Elisa will make sure I get a bottle when her shipment comes - am I a lucky girl, or what? No, I guess the story is that once again, Mike is a lucky boy!

Yesterday we met Debbie from Philadelphia and Lynn who is from Hershey, PA. We were just a bunch of Pennsylvania girls sitting there with a lovely woman from Italy - what does that tell you? We also met Anne Lee who is the Webmaster for the American Women's Club. She was telling us that the recording secretary has left Shanghai and they are in search of a new one. SO, that is now my new job. Other than laundry, that is. I'm happy to help and I'm happy to keep my typing skills at about 75-80 WPM.

We also met Julie Richardson who is a nurse and she told us to be careful about where and what we eat. She explained that even though we are very very careful, we will no doubt acquire a parasite of some type during our stay here. That didn't go over very well with Denice or I. In fact, we have taken such steps to avoid such a thing. I am just very glad that we've got the Parkway Health Clinic and they've got Cipro. I so miss Dr. Dan Steiner and Rosie Martin in Oakmont but this place is great.

Mike and I are planning our Autum Holiday. Yes, the Chinese have an Autumn Festival - they celebrate the harvest and pass around moon cakes. You can order these specialty cakes from anywhere - the grocery stores, Starbucks, Coffee Leaf and Bean, hotels. They come in many varieties but I don't think I'm going to order them. They have some odd flavors - chocolate is good choice for me but our cross cultural expert, Rachel Hsia, tells me that red bean paste is a Chinese favorite. I somehow cannot imagine a red bean paste being any good. I hate beans and it sounds like tomato paste, doesn't it. Maybe I'll try just a taste. . .

Anyway, we are trying to plan a trip to Seoul, South Korea for September 29-October 3. This will be nice for Mike to get back to Seoul to see his Korean friends, DY and JK and I can finally get to meet Miss Lee - the fabulous administative assistant there and her handsome husband and her beautiful daughter, Rebecca. We have been in contact with them for ages. DY and JK have been to our home in Pittsburgh for dinner but I've never met Miss Lee so this will be a treat. I am also excited to visit the Korean Folk Village that Mike has visited before and see the grandfatherly gentlemen that Bill Slaman tried to impersonate lo those many years ago when we all worked for Westinghouse PSPD/NOD in Greentree. I'll be taking photos so watch for those.

Well, Denice and I are jumping in a cab for a ride to dinner. We'll be meeting Kirk and Mike at a Japanese restaurant near the Renaissance Yangzte. Mike's colleague, Da Li has made a dinner reservation for maybe 6 or 8 of us so we're all going as a group. I hope it is like the Samurai restaurant. I hope it's not too off-the-wall. I'm still sensitive regarding food, how spicy it is and how clean the restaurant is. Da doesn't seem to care about such things - he just worries about quantity!

So, for now - Bon Appetito!

Clothes Clothes Clothes

2008-08-28T00:43:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone!

I know, I've not been keeping up with my Blogging. I'm sorry - I'll try to do better. I know you are just itching to get your hands on this very important information. So I'm going to try and update today and then again tomorrow and maybe again on Saturday. So much is going on. . .

Clothes is the hot topic this week!

See the photo of my washer/dryer. Yes, it's small and it is one contiguous piece of machinery - Tim the Tooltime Taylor has nothing on me, my friends. . .

Yes, before I got here, it took Mike 8 hours to do a load of laundry. Since I've been here, we have condensed that to about 2.5 hours. Thirty minutes to wash in cold water with Tide liquid and Downey April Fresh - although I really miss my Downey calla lilly, you cannot get it here. So I have to make do. Then once the wash cycle is finished you need to dry it in "less" heat for about 2 hours. I never let it go the entire time because then you get a wrinkled mess and have to iron the wrinkles out and of course with all the permanent press clothes we have, like dockers and polo shirts, it takes longer to iron than it does to wash them all over again. So now I can pretty much do two loads in an afternoon, if I'm staying home which doesn't happen that much anymore because I'm very very busy. Read on. . .

Clothes is the topic this week. Last week, Denice and I went shopping. She's about 4'11" tall and very petite and you all know I'm NOT. So, we go to 3 department stores in our general vicinity which is about 3 good-sized city blocks away. You can access them all from underneath in the Xujiahui (pronounced Shu Shaw Way) Subway Station. It is ideal - then you are out of the sun and the heat isn't nearly as bad and well; there are no buses, cars, taxis, bicycles or motorcycles riding on the sidewalks. Therefore, you are not taking your life in your hands or someone elses' hands. So, it is much safer under ground.

So we go to this nice department store close-by that has a Sephora store on the first floor as well as a MAC cosmetics counter along with Estee Lauder, Clinique, L'Occitane too. We ride the escalator to the 3rd floor to look around. I completely decide right then and there that I'm not going to even think about purchasing any clothes here because I'm not a size 0 or a 2 or even a Size 4 - Ha Ha - so I'm just checking out the fashions which are amazing - some funky, some odd, some elegant, and then there are some that I wouldn't give away. Enough said.

So we wander around and Denice sees this very nice silky black and white and gold (yes, it's Steelers' colors but maybe not like you'd wear to Heinz Field). It's way too nice to wear to Heinz Field. The clerk takes one look at her and runs to the back of the closet and pulls out this fabric rolled up into a ball and unfurls it. It's lovely but its a Size Large. No problem - Denice doesn't seem to be fazed by that fact. She goes to try it on - it looks cute and she decides to purchase the garment. The clerks here speak NO English.

So she goes to pay the cashier for the dress (here in China, the casher has a very important job) Only the cashier can accept cash for purchases - we haven't figured out why yet. So then Denice goes back to the clerk and gives her the receipt and the clerk hands her the bag and says something in Chinese mentioning the number 4 and points up. So Denice and I figure we need to go to the 4th floor for something. So we proceed upstairs where NO ONE speaks English again and no one understands what we want. We don't know what we want.

However, on each floor is a man or woman who stands guard at the escalator and; well, we don't know what he or she does. Maybe he / she monitors theft or maybe he/she is the risk manager or maybe he/she is the boss. Who knows. So we approach a man who is standing there and Denice is convinced that he thinks she wants to return the dress. She doesn't but he takes us downstairs - back to the department where she bought the dress and accosts the clerk.

Now, the clerk has no idea how she will explain to us what is right OR what is wrong. So, I pull how my handy-dandy China Mobile cell phone and call the Westinghouse Office and ask Maisie - the fabulous administrative assistant - to help us out. I hand the phone to the sales clerk who promptly talks to Maisie in raised tones. I look at Denice and she looks at me and the voices are raised and lowered and pretty soon people are staring and Denice is convinced we have created an international disturbance.

This happened when the Olympics were going on and we didn't want to call attention to ourselves so we waited until the sales clerk calmed down and handed me the phone. I meekly said hello to Maisie again and she laughed and said, "they just want to give you a gift." Oh my goodness - that is all????? And here we were totally convinced we were in BIG BIG trouble. So the sales clerk takes us upstairs to the 4th floor to a table set up for this specific promotion. Denice presents her receipt and they ask her to choose a card. The clerk scratches off the scratch-off space on the card and lo and behold - Denice has won - Ta Da - a bottle of SHAMPOO! We howled! Everyone looked at us and laughed and we walked away. Another day - another shopping experience with Denice and Annie.

So, then I get home and I'm thinking - where can I get some Liz Claiborne clothes here? All I want is Liz Claiborne pants and tops and skirts. I'm not asking for the moon - I'm sure they are made here - if they would just open a Liz Clairborn Outlet here in Shanghai, the thousands upon thousands of Western women who live her could buy great clothes at decent prices because they would be sold BEFORE they are shipped to The States and before the Tax Man gets a hold of them. So, I go to www.lizclaiborne.com and send them an email. Darn it - I get an email back the following email - - -

"Thank you for contacting Customer Support at www.lizclaiborne.com.

Our website does not currently ship to destinations outside the United
States. In addition, we do not accept payment with an international
credit card or a credit card with a billing address outside the United
States. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause but our
current systems dictate these limitations.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and
thank you again for contacting Customer Support at
www.lizclaiborne.com."

So, I wrote them back another email and they have NOT responded. I'm hoping they are trying to figure out how I can provide their marketing department with expert advice. At least, I'm hoping I'll get a discount out of the deal.

Then last Thursday I went to the Fabric Market to pick up my charcoal gray pantsuit. Alas, it turns out that the tailor thought I wanted a dove gray pantsuit and it was only half finished. Oh well, that's fine - I'm going to keep it because the cashmere feels great and it looks lovely. So I ordered some sleeveless shells at my favorite blouse tailor at the other end of the floor and I picked them all up today.

Perfection! I'm very pleased.

So sometimes things do work out and all is not for naught. . .

Meetings and New Clubs

2008-08-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Hello from Shanghai!

Last week was pretty crazy. My friend, Denise Allan, wife of Kirk, sister of Rob Donatucci arrived last Saturday. Kirk works at JPMO with Mike and back in the day - 1973-1986, Mike, Kirk, Rob and I all worked at Westinghouse PSPD, NOD, NSD - whatever. Anyway, we've been having fun exploring all week.

Sunday was 2008 Olympics Day - a group of us went to the Argentina/Australia and the Ivory Coast/Serbia soccer match at Shanghai Stadium - about 4 blocks from our apartment. We walked and were drenched before we passed the first side street. Torrential downpours and frequent lightening strikes forced us to stop and wait under an overhang. Once we got to the Stadium, we needed our ticket just to cross the street to enter the stadium grounds. Then the push was on. The Chinese push everywhere and all the time - you have NO personal space here. So it got a wee bit hairy as we approached the gate to security.

I have to admit, I was smart - I bought a small fancy umbrella once I got here - Kate had brought her dad a Totes-like umbrella from home and I brought my Ralph Lauren red USA umbrella from the States so Mike, Kate and I all had a small umbrella. The others all had large full-size umbrellas and the security group made them leave them in the security tent. . . along with hundreds of others so they could claim them once the game was over.

The security tent consisted of the typical x-ray machine and an adorable Golden Retreiver who sniffed at everything that came off the belt of the machine. He was adorable and the staff was kind although they would scream through megaphones in Chinese and we had no clue what they were saying. They were efficient and looked in purses but there were no smiles - it was all business. There are police everywhere. I've been very impressed with the security in Shanghai, since I got here.

The food in the stadium left a lot to be desired - where were my nachos? What about M & M's - a hot dog? No Primanti's! Ugh - what we did see and smell was something else. I saw a lady two seats away with a foil bag of popcorn and it didn't smell like the popcorn we know - it smelled like corn from a bag of frozen corn. The hot dogs were just down right gross - no buns - they are in these plastic cases - and they peel them to eat them - the smell is terrible - the man beside me was eating four (4) of them. I guess without the bun, you need more of them. . . I drank a Coke - Mike brought me a cold one - no ice but it was chilled nonetheless. I didn't need much else to make the event special for me.

Mike had purchased these tickets for the three of us from Craigslist - Yes friends, they have Cragislist here too. He bought them from Andy - a guy from Detroit who lives and works at Bosch, a car part manufacturer in Suzhou - about 45 minutes away. He paid RMB 680 for each ticket - face value was RMB 150 - so Andy made out on this deal. Argentina beat Australia 1-0 and Ivory Coast beat Serbia 4-2. We left before the end of the second game - it was hot and humid and we were tired.

Monday, Denise had to go prove that Denise Donatucci and Denise Allan are the same person so she can prove she's married to Kirk so she can get her Permanent Residency Permit so she can stay here. So she had to go to the US Consulate just like I did. Then Tuesday she went off to the Residency Bureau to prove all that and get her transit card. It will come back this week along with her passport. She carries a copy of her passport with her as do I - 24/7 - I put the real thing in the safe back at the apartment.

Monday I went to the JC Mandarin hotel - took two (2) subway trains to get there and a cab just so I could join the Shanghai Expatriate Assocociation. Lovely get-together with maybe 75-100 women who are in the same boat I'm in - following their husbands to Shanghai to work. Theresa said that there are usually hundreds of women at these monthly coffees. It cost me RMB 300 (membership dues for 2008-2009) and after a lovely brunch later, I walked out of there with an ENJOY card - yes, K of C members, they have them here in Shanghai too! Can you believe it? Although they cost roughly $42 here so tell your friends who are crying the blues about the price in the Burgh to quit their belly aching! However, I did receive a bottle of wine for buying the ENJOY card and after my friend, Theresa recruited Sue and Julie from Michigan to join, I got another bottle. Spanish Reds - that's okay - I'll either drink it and like it or cook with it.

I met some lovely new friends, after the brunch, we moved onto Starbucks and I met Julia from England and Jeannine from France. Judy from Philadelphia showed up and they all went to play bridge while I grabbed a cab to the Fabric Market to meet up Kate and Mike so she could pick up her new clothes. They ALL fit perfectly and I hope I'll have some photos later to post.

Monday night we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant - DaMarco's in the Grand Gateway Mall. Good food.

Tuesday was a bad day - Kate's departure - and we were up early waiting for Mr. Chen to take us to the airport. Needless to say, it was emotional. After she left for the gate, I proceeded to the ladies room in anticipation of the long trip back to the apartment. I stood in line waiting for a stall and lo and behold, this petite Chinese woman comes barging in right in front of me. I remembered the conversation I had the day before with my new Expat friends and they said, "you need to make your own space." So, I said to her, "My turn, please" and she quickly moved behind me. Task accomplished! Nice bathroom too! Tuesday turned out to be a very down day - I haven't had too many of these since I've been here and that is good. I think it's better to be busy and not think about what you all are doing on the other side of the world. Kate leaving just put things into perspective - I've got to snap out of it. And I will. . .

Wednesday, Denise and I jumped the subway to explore Xintandi where the American Woman's Club was holding their weekly coffee. Lots of coffee - lots of tea ---- We had our RMB 300 all ready to join there too. They meet at the Coffee Bean and Leaf at 10:00 am. Lo and behold, we saw Sue and Julie there and met Myscha, the president and Stephanie who was taking membership applications. Luna was the lovely Spanish restaurant we ate lunch at and then we were off to explore the rest of the cute shops there. Lots of things we couldn't think about buying. There is a lot of money here in Shanghai...we just don't have any of it. We stopped to see Jack at Vin - the vendor who holds our Shama wine tastings once a month. I ordered a bottle of Marsala so I can cook something nice for Mike. He had some lovely Reislings but none from Washington or Oregon - mostly Australia and New Zealand and France. He's bringing one of those for next week's tasting. Then we stopped at Staples to get some mailing labels and look for some pen refills for Mike - turns out they don't carry them and the lovely clerk wrote an address down for us to search for but we didn't have the time. Another day, another adventure. Denise was looking for index cards. She's determined to learn Chinese in 30 days or less - lol but they didn't have any so she'll have to make her own flashcards out of paper. Resourceful, that's what we are.

Thursday was Innoculation Day for Mike and I. We had to get more shots so Denise went along for the ride and Mr. Chen delivered us to Parkway Clinic and Haya's for lunch. Haya's is the Israeli restaurant we've found. Great hummus and babganoush and pita bread! In fact, they have a fabulous bakery and we loaded up on apple crumb cake and muffins and peach croissants for breakfast. Yum Yum. Then we took Mike back to work and Mr. Chen dropped us at Carrefour for some quick shopping. We were safely enscounced back at Shama by 2:30 and before the frist downpour came. We had 3 storms that afternoon and evening with lots of lightenting and thunder. I love thunderstorms. We lost cable and couldn't watch The Olympics, but we had a grand light show.

Friday, Denise and I ventured out to the beauty salon. Everywhere I've been, every time I've encountered Western women, I've asked them, "who does your hair and nails". More than often, I've heard Eric's Paris. So, I did some investigation and found one of his shops closeby on Heng Shan Road. One subway stop away and a few blocks walk. Actually, it's on the way to Sasha's - our Friday pizza favorite. Stuck between a Starbucks and a Papa John's Pizza Parlor. I made an appointment with Beatrice who did a great job on my haircut and it was reasonable RMB 400 (about $57) and since the shop was clean and well lit with lots of English magazines, we decided to have other things done too. I had a pedicure for RMB 180 (about $25) and Denise got a manicure RMB 140 (about $20). I didn't have my color done and I don't even know how much that is yet - I have to have it done no matter what so money is no object - hehehehe. Anyway, we thought it was pretty reasonable. In fact, the other day when we were in Xintandi, we happened upon the Vidal Sassoon Academy and stopped in to find that their prices were exhorbitant. So I'm sure Mike and Kirk are pleased we've found a good place to go at reasonable prices and we can take the subway which cost about RMB 3 which is about $.40 - yes 40 CENTS. Such a deal. Take that Port Authority . .

Mike and I have come down with some cold symptoms so he didn't golf yesterday - we were just slugs and we did nothing so that pretty much accounts for my week.

Michael Phelps has been the hot topic of conversation here among Western / US people. We are proud as peacocks about him and the other USA medal winners. Although we cannot get any English commentary on the Olympics here, it pretty much runs on CCTV all day. I can see swimming meets and gymnastic tournaments and scull races - I can see who wins - I just can't understand what the commentators are saying about it. We are anxious to see if the USA gets to the Women's soccer finals and we have tickets to the Men's soccer Bronze medal game to be held in Shanghai next Friday night. I'll be taking my USA flag again - I don't go to a sporting event without it. So if you are lucky to get the Bronze medal match on NBC - watch for us. I don't think our seats for this game are as good as the first game though.

Speaking of sporting events - what happened to the Steelers? In Canada of all places. . . and losing to Buffalo - Linda Sherry Larson - comments, please?

Ginny Zapsic Flick tells me the new quarterback is not all that great - he used to play for the Jaguars. Brian Lefkovitz - She should know, she lives there. I wonder if he turns out to be another Neil O'Donnell . . .

Have a great week. I hope to hear from you once you read this. It's my link to "the outside world". I crave your emails so keep them coming. . .

Go USA!

Ann

Sightseeing in Suzhou, China

2008-08-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Friday - 08-08-08 - Olympic Opening Day! We decided to travel to Suzhou, China - the silk capital of China to experience touring alone - without an English guide. What were we thinking? No, really - we hopped on the Metro at 7:30 am - RUSH HOUR - and went 8 stops to the Shanghai Railway Station to get our Fast Train to Suzhou. The metro car was jammed - we didn't even have to hold on because there were so many people. Security is amazing. The Chinese are taking no precautions when it comes to safety. We've seen many officers in brown uniforms - traffic cops - and officers in blue uniforms - regular policemen using wands and checking large bags and today we saw men in camouflage - they were helping checking tickets and putting bags in the scanners. The small shops in the Metro stations have been closed for about 3 days and will remain so until after the Olympics. You can usually buy some food or small electronics in this little shops/kiosks but now they are locked up with what I call bumper stickers across the doors - like that will really keep people out. . .

Anyway, at the train station, we had to put our purses through the scanner move to the waiting area to wait for our train to be called. We got there quite early so we had about 40 minutes to wait. What a madhouse. Whole families traveling with taped up suitcases and boxes and children. No animals.

Then the train was called and you would have thought someone was giving away money. Run for the exits - thousands of people. Thank goodness we bought tickets in advance and had seats already allocated to us so we were good. There are so many Chinese people that they violate your space all the time - when I say that I don't mean anything mean by it - I just mean that in the States, you can pretty much stand there without someone touching you or brushing by you or hogging the arm rest. Here - all bets are off. There was a woman sitting beside me with a young daughter who needed her hair re-braided. Both the mother and the child were putting combs and hair ribbons and barretts on my tray table the entire trip to Suzhou. I didn't bother me much but I find it so amusing. The children are so interested in touching our hair because it isn't like theirs - it's not black and straight.

Once we got there I was concerned about getting around. The guys on Mike's team persuaded him from going on a bus with a tour guide. It is costly - it would have cost us about 2100 RMB or about $291 just for the tour bus with the guide and there is no guarantee we'd have an English guide. So Mike and Kate opted for the "let's just get there and find an English driver". Scary to me. It worked out great. We spent about $35 instead and he was fine. His English was pretty good and he was funny. Took us to a Buddhist Pagoda (Ann, Kate and Mike), #2 Silk Factory (where the ladies are pulling pure silk together to make the "down" inside a silk quilt), Tiger Hill (construction on the pagoda at the top of the hill began in 959 A.D., It has a 3 degree 59' lean - just like the leaning Tower of Pisa) and the Lingering Garden (music provided by these lovely dressed Chinese couple playing antique musical instruments). Also check out the beautiful re-cycling container. I want one for my living room!

I'm having trouble posting photos - I don't know what I'm doing wrong but they don't always come out the way I post them. I guess practice makes perfect.

Well, off to Brunch with the boys of Westinghouse. Should be a good time. I laugh so hard everytime I'm with them.

I'd also like to welcome Denise Allan today - 8-9-08 at 1:35 on Delta. She's married to Kirk. Mike and I and Kirk and Denise go back a long time. As do John and Joy Mallory. Mike/Kirk/John/Joy and I all used to work together at (W) PSPD/NOD in Greentree. Denise's brother, Rob Donatucci worked with us as well. Ah, the good old days. . .

Stay tuned - tomorrow, we all venture out to the Shanghai Stadium where we'll see Australia play Venezuela play soccer - I cannot call it football!

Hey - the Steelers played tonight - Winning 16-10 over the Eaglets from Philly. What happened to Charlie Batch - please tell me it's not true!

Shopping with Kate AND Mike

2008-08-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Mr. Chen took Kate and I to the Renaissance Yantze so she could meet the catering manager. We had a lovely breakfast and then met the sales manager who showed us the property. Then we were off to the knock-off markets at the Hongqiao Pearl Market. When we got there, the store I've been to twice had their curtain drawn. I peeked in and the woman wasn't there. Then a man came and said there was a huge police presence and she was in the back room. He opened the curtain and we entered and he opened the false door to The Back Room where Kate bought two Coach bags for some good friends. Then she opened The Back Back Room and we were amazed at the beautiful large leather Gucci and Prada bags. Not in our price range. We went downstairs and she bought two packages of chopsticks - 20 sets in all for about US$12. Then we went to see Alina, the Pearl Goddess who made my scattered string of pearls and earings two weeks ago. She remembered what I had bought. I was amazed. She was whining at some cheap German tourists but she made a string and earrings for Kate and some earrings for some friends of hers.

We jumped back in the van for the short trip to visit Mike's office and Kate got to see the "company cafeteria". I've already been there and had NO desire to see it again. . . nor to smell it again. . . actually, I don't want to experience it again ever. So Mr. Chen took us to our favorite Israeli restaurant and then home so Mike could change clothes. Then off to #1 Fabric Market so Mike could get measured for some dress shirts. He ordered five and they'll be ready next Wednesday - usually a week leadtime. I guess I'll just have to grab a cab and go down there to pick them up and maybe pick up a little something for myself along the way. Then off to Yuan Garden so we could take more photos and pick up some additional gifts for Kate's friends. She's got so many! We saw lots of interesting things here.

Shopping with Kate

2008-08-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we went to the #2 Fabric Market with my friend, Theresa DeVito and Jill, Katherine and Jonathan Fung (their husband and father, Raymond is Chinese working with Westinghouse and they are from Charlotte, North Carolina where Jill plays in the Charlotte Symphony and teaches cello and Jonathan will be transferring to UNC Greensboro for music. Katharine will be a junior in high school this Fall.) We had a great time - I picked up one blouse and Kate had 3 more made and a skirt by a lovely woman named Geng. I'll show my new items soon. We had such a great time. Her daughter designed a beautiful qinpao on a mannequin and Kate tried it on. I think I'll buy one for her for Christmas. Then, we were on our way to the 3rd floor to pick up my slacks and never got there because Kate found two - count them - TWO - 2 - cashmere coats she just fell in love with and we ordered them both. Both for about US $114. We'll pick them all up on Sunday after Mass. Many thanks to Theresa for her bargaining lessons - Kate is now ruthless and won't even talk to people who don't come near her offer price.

We had lunch at a very famous Dim Sum restaurant in Yuan Garden called the Hanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant. Bill Clinton and many other famous people have eaten Dim Sum there. This restaurant has been in operation for over 107 years. They even have other restaurants in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. It is so popular that people come from kilometers around to sample the steamed dumplings which are sort of like pierogi or ravioli. We ordered some with shrimp and some with vegetables and spring rolls that weren't rolls at all but came in a triangle shape - something like a spanikopita. Very tasty and very interesting.

Tuesday night we went to the USA Men's Basketball game - USA versus Australia - we left at the beginning of the 4th period so we don't know who won. It was a great time. They did the wave and the arena was filled. The Chinese LOVE NBA basketball - they LOVE Yao Ming and they LOVE Kobe Bryant. He had his own cheering section right down in front of us.

Kate Lynch Lands in Shanghai!

2008-08-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

Kate ARRIVED Sunday evening safe and sound! Monday morning, our driver, Mr. Chen took us to the flower market and to the Chinese immigration office where Mike and I had our physicals last April. This is where the ultrasound technician found my gallstones. I wanted to present her a little thank you gift for finding my stomach problem and giving me the time to have the surgery in the States. She was lovely and so appreciative. I don't think many people stop back to this intimidating government location. The entire staff knew we were there as she was thanking us and thanking us profusely. Sophia, the young lady from Fraggomen, the immigration attorney's office met us there and became our translator. She told us that the staff is not permitted to accept gifts. She then took us "to their leader" who we think is their boss. He was not dressed in scrubs but in a military uniform and he spoke some English. I explained why we had come and he told me he would let her keep the gift because it was not large and nothing significant - just some lavender bath products from Bath & Body Works. I've included a photo so you can see how happy she is.

This week in China

2008-08-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hi!

It's been an eventful week here. I've been very busy trying to keep up with the Chinese - they are wonderful people. The Chinese nationals I come in contact with daily are phenomenal. So kind and so willing to help in any way.

Sunday and Monday I h

Tuesday was a lot of fun. My friend, Theresa DeVito (her husband, Paul works with (W) in the Consortium Office). Mike works in the JPMO (Joint Procurement Management Office). Anyway, Theresa needed to pick up a jacket she had made at the tailor so her driver, Jack, picked me up and off we went to pick up her friend, Judy at her apartment in Times Square.

It turns out that Judy's husband, George, works at Tyco Electronics. They are from Philadelphia. Well, it turns out my good friend, Debbie Reid Wallace, Beaver Class of 72 lives in Philadelphia now AND works for Tyco Electronics. Debbie was in Beijing last Spring but in Switzerland last year. I think that is where she heard his name because he went to Switzerland. It IS a Small, small world.

So off to the fabric markets/tailors we go. We get to the tailor that made their Chanel jacket and I get measured for a pair of slacks in a crepe fabric for $16. Then we're off to another tailor where I was measured for a lovely white cotton blouse - tone on tone with 3/4 sleeves and pearl buttons. Beautiful tucking in the front and back - $18. Then off to another tailor where I was measured for a turquoise linen blouse/jacket with long sleeves and French cuffs. The lining in the neckline and cuffs is lime green and the buttons on the cuffs are turquoise and lime Chinese frogs. Ed Gillett, I know you are making some wise crack about that! All these clothes will be finished next Tuesday the 5th when Kate will be here and we'll get her some suits and dresses. It's going to be such fun!

You should see the cashmere! Rust, plum, green, black, grey, white - OMG - and the designs - you can see Chanel, Lacoste, Burberry, they are all copied here. I've been told to get measured for my coat soon because the prices will go up and up the closer to winter we get.

Then on Wednesday, my wonderful driver, Mr. Chen, took me on a shopping spree of Europe - he came to get me at 10 and we went to the French grocery store - Carrefour and the German grocery store - Metro which is like Sam's Club or Costco, you need a card and then to IKEA. We had a great time. He practices his English and I practice saying all the Chinese street names.

Thursday and Friday this week, Mike and I had intensive Cross Cultural Training with Rachel Hsia, from Cartus - the relocation company. Rachel has a great background. She's got a Masters Degree in Information Technology from the University of Pittsburgh so we chatted quite a bit about Pittsburgh. She was raised in South Carolina and she can turn on that Southern accent Miss Edie! I laughed and laughed!

Very interesting experiences. We met with Ms. Spring Liu who taught us about Chinese history and customs/manners. Her background was amazing. She worked for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington and spent some time in the military. Beautiful woman.

Then we met a Mr. Kai Kim Yin. He spent 25 years with Pepsi and has also owned/operated/managed many companies - he is 70 years old but you'd never know it. Very likeable man and very funny. I enjoyed his experiences.

Friday we met Jennifer Dawson who has lived in China for 18 years. She is a real estate broker and she also has copyrighted these fabulous "taxi cards" that you take in your purse when you want to go somewhere and show the taxi driver the name of the place you want to go and he takes you there because the words are in English (for you) and in Chinese (for the taxi driver). Very innovative! She taught us all about the ins and outs of living in Shanghai - where to get groceries - what stores to shop at - what hospitals to go to. I'm feeling better and better about being here. She is also convinced I'll enjoy meeting the many expats at coffees and teas and that the Australian women are wild and wonderful! So much fun. She provided us with brochures on the American Chamber of Commerce, The Shanghai Expatriates Association and the American Women's Club. All important groups to join. I will probably do it all. You know me!

Well, I'd better get a move on - Mike will be home from the golf course soon. He's really enjoying playing here and he's doing so much better - wonder why that is?????

It will only feel like 101 Degrees today so that is much cooler - thunderstorms tonight. Wonder where we will go for dinner.

I'm attaching some photos of our apartment.

Kate arrives Sunday night so I might be busy next week. I'll try and update though.

Annie & Mike Go to Shanghai

2008-07-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Annie & Mike Go to Shanghai

Good evening everyone!

Our household goods shipment arrived last Wednesday but we were unable to get power to the CPU. Finally, after some email discussion with Geoff Crowe, the computer creator - and the purchase of a new View Sonic monitor, a new Microsoft keyboard / mouse and a new Epson color printer - we are back in business. I'll work on the webcam this week in my spare time.

Today Mike went to Mass without me. I haven't been feeling well the last few days. I think it is due to the extreme heat - 96 degrees+ which feels like 106 degrees with the humidity factored in. In other words, this Yankee girl is NOT comfortable here near the East China Sea! I guess I didn't read the fine print in the contract.

I did meet him and his friends, Meg and Nicole at Malone's after Mass. Malone's is a great Irish American pub about RMB22 away in a cab ride. I had a spinach salad because I didn't think the bar food would be good for me and a fabulous chocolate milk shake - Bert's and Jerry's are still tops in my book when it comes to chocolate shakes but Malone's was a good standby, nonetheless. They are a chain - there is one in PuDong across the river too.

We then took a walk over to the fabulous Portman - Ritz Carlton Hotel which is a lovely facility. Lots of great shops and restaurants around there. Lovely lobby where they had some beautiful Chinese girls playing traditional Chinese folk tunes. The traditional Chinese music is so relaxing - I think I'm going to have to pick up some CD's here to play while I'm napping on the veranda . . .

I checked out some "beauty parlors" - Toni&Guy's which has swarms of lovely Chinese hair and nail techs and some cute Chinese boys too. Very expensive - I need to watch those pennies since I'm not working now. They do not do acryllic nails either so it's either gel nails (I don't know what the difference is) or just a manicure. They do have OPI polishes though and it looks clean. Also a small Italian shop that does do acryllic nails but their prices are exhorbitant. I'm going to keep looking.

This evening, I read emails and talked with my brother. He and Anne McCreary are having a great "vacation" in downtown Beaver, Pennsylvania. It sounds like he spent time with my friends on Friday and his friends on Saturday. I'm hoping he'll decide to move back to the "garden spot of the world" - that is a direct quote from my Father.

Since this adventure began, I've lost almost 30 pounds so I'm on my way to becoming the svelte old lady I know I can be. I've decided to use the gym at least 3 times a week. This week will be difficult because I've got lots of plans. I won't bore you with them now because once I do them, I can share them with you.

Monday should be exciting - the apartment will have CNN Headline News - yipee - TV is terrible - we get BBC (not bad but they are butchering Barak Obama's first name), CNBC which is all about finance and none of that news is good, HBO Asia where the movies are all old - we saw Gladiator ( we saw this with Kate and Rory when they were young at the theatre at the Waterfront when it first opened)and The General's Daughter with John Travolta (not too bad but old). Then we get Bloomberg but there is no audio and MTV but I don't think it's the real MTV because I haven't seen anyone I know on it - but then who would I know nowadays? Should be an exciting day. Oh, and laundry - more laundry - I'm getting so good at it. I just wish I had my old machines. . . Rachel, I'm hoping they are working well for you.

Stay tuned for my exploits in Shanghai, China.

Mike goes to Madrid

2008-05-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, he left for 3 days in Madrid with our Italian daughter, Laila Bertagnoli and her fiance, Pedro. Mike so enjoyed visiting with them Wednesday night and dining at their home on Thursday with his friend Art. He told me Miss Laila has become quite an accomplished cook and she prepared an excellent meal for them.

Laila and Pedro both have new jobs in Madrid. Laila will be working for a company called Indirect Line and I'm not sure who Pedro is working for. He completed a day of training on Friday in time for a final dinner before Mike's departure this morning.

Today is Saturday, the day before Mother's Day. Suzi is driving home to Pittsburgh tomorrow. I can't wait to see her. Today is Kate's party for us at her place. Lots of preparations have been done this week for this party. I ran errands this morning and soon kate will come for me and we'll go to her place to make sure everything is in order.

My mother, sister and brother are coming as are the cousins. Aunt Hunsey isn't feeling up to it. Darnit. Kate's good friend, KC is here from Boston and her friend, Ashlee is here from Erie.

I just wish I felt better - I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Monday at 1:30 so maybe that will put an end to all this foolishness.

I heard from Staci, our realtor that there is a family very interested in our house and they are trying to work the numbers so they can buy it outright. We cannot accept a contingency so we'll just have rely in God to help us through it.

The screen door for the new sliding glass door in the dining room came yesterday. It works great. I'm pleased and I'm sure Mike will be too.

Until Monday. . .

Apartment Hunting

2008-04-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

Well,

Today we went to the park across the street from the hotel. It looks like lots of people get their wedding photos taken at this park. We saw two different brides there this morning. Check out the really cooL tree of flowers.

Today we met Isabel who took us to many different apartment buildings. I'll try and summarize for you.

The first one was Yanlord Gardens - a huge complex - indoor and outdoor pool, gym with volleyball and tennis INSIDE, ping pong, a gym with machines and a dance floor where they have "dancing with the star-type dancing lessons".

The gardens are amazing. I really liked them a lot. However, it is not a service apartment which means it is owned by individual owners who will provide what you want. We wanted a 3 bedroom apartment that we could make one bedroom into a den/study/office. The kitchen at this one was okay - I did not like the furniture but Mike and Isabel said we can ask them to buy us something different. It is close to the subway and is in the NW portion of the city near the Renaissance Hotel we are staying in.

Then we went to the Garden Counsel and this one was dark and I didn't like it at all - there is a maid's room and all the furniture was Chinese.

The next place we went was Huntington Terrace. I liked this one a lot. It was cheaper than the others and it is a service apartment too - the plates and glasses are there for you. I wouldn't have to buy these. It is about 4,000 RMB cheaper than the others which means we could buy something else with that money. It is right next door to the flower market. It has a shuttle that takes you to the grocery stores and Wal Mart. I liked it - Mike didn't - it is far to the subway. I'd have to take a taxi there. It is closer to the zoo than where we are now. The rooms are bigger and the balcony is nice. The furniture is nice too. Kitchen is good.

Then we went to the Oriental Manhattan. This one had individual room air conditioners but it was close to everything and most everyone else who works for Westinghouse. It would take about 10 minutes to get to work for Mike. The others were maybe 20-30 minutes. Mr. Chen is a very good driver. He has been shuttling us around for the last 4 days and he has finally warmed up to us. He was talking about his little boy who is 4 and the Zoo.

The Oriental Manhattan all had 3 bedrooms but they were not as nice as the others. One thing about this complex is that it is close to St. Ignatius Cathedral but no one knew if it is even in operation. It is a legend and is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Asia. There are others but this was very close - you could see it from the balcony.

We saw 3 units here - all individually owned. The second one was fine - the man is from New York - he is managing it for his parents. Nice guy named James. Spoke excellent English. There was virtually no closets - only armoires. Not nearly enough space.

The last one was the Shama apartments and I LOVED IT. Unfortunately, the 3 bedrooms are very expensive and we'd have to pay $$$ out of pocket. It too is a service apartment - they provide housecleaning 6 days a week. The furnishings are beautiful and it is owned by Morgan Stanley. There are already 4 Westinghouse people living there. I WANT to live there TOO! Isabel is going to negotiate for us. The manager is very accommodating. It is a very new building - just finished in January/February. No pool but a nice gym and close to everything- subway, shopping, everything.

We'll just have to see how this plays out.

We are going with Ashlee again tomorrow to see the markets and the Bund along the river. Then we'll meet Isabel and go see one more apartment complex - La Cite. We expect to make a decision tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night, Friday, most of the Westinghouse crew will have dinner at Pete's Tex Mex. This is when I'll get to meet the wives I've talked with over the phone. A new family got here today with two little kids. Their apartment won't be ready until June so they are in a temporary apartment. It will be tough for them.

Well, it's late and I want to go to bed AND sleep all night. It would be so nice to sleep all night. The jet lag is killing me. . .

Until tomorrow then. . .

Italian Dinner in Shanghai

2008-04-24T06:31:00.001-07:00

We dined at a lovely Italian restaurant around the corner from Hooters. It was very good. I started out with a bowl of cream of asparagus soup and moved onto spaghetti with tomato sauce, and a cold Coke to top it off. Beverages are served mostly warm here and because you shouldn’t use ice, they usually refrigerate for Westerners. Even the bottled water is warm – I put ours in the mini-fridge in our room. I was so happy to get a cold one.

On the way back to the Renaissance, I bought a Coach wallet for 75 RMB or about US $10.50. Mike says I should have negotiated some more but hey, it was my first time. I’m pretty pleased with my success.

Then we went back to the hotel and tried to relax. Mike watched Hotel Rwanda on TV and I called my new friend Kristin O’Keeffe. Kristin wrote a column last week in the Post-Gazette on her experiences here in Shanghai. She’s lived here for two years, following her new husband here due to his job with an international company I cannot recall.

Anyway, ironically, my friend, Theresa Melnick called me on Saturday to tell me about her article. I had already cancelled the P-G for this week so there was no way I was going to “read all about it” before we left for the airport - unless I went online. So after reading about Kristin’s experiences, I emailed her. She responded to my email before we landed in Shanghai. How’s that for technology? We had a lovely chat about places to visit and where to eat. She lives in the French Concession which is the older part of the city. The buildings are lower there – no high rises in sight. There are lovely streets with mature trees and beautiful walled gardens. It does seem quieter there.

Then I spoke with my fellow Westinghouse wife, Amy Shaqqo who has organized a group dinner at Peter’s Tex Mex for Friday night. She’s had a hankering for Tex Mex and there are some new families moving in this week. Both of them have small children, as does Amy so it made perfect sense to bring the group together for a small dinner party – we’re up to 25 by now for sure.

We slept like babies last night – finally - until about 4:31 am when someone from Oakmont called us – I couldn’t get to the Blackberry in time to answer it. Darn it – we would now be up for a while wondering who it was that called because the number is not in Mike’s address book.

I’ve emailed Kate to ask her to check messages at home. Then email us with anything important.

We received a wonderful email from Staci Rullo, our real estate agent in Pittsburgh. She’s listed the house and it’s already up on the webpage at Northwood – check us out!

www.northwood.com/723380

AND – we have a potential buyer who will stop tonight – Wednesday night at 6:30 pm. Staci was worried about Snowball but I encouraged her to have the agent armed with a dog treat and put her on the deck while the buyers toured the house. This is good news – only 24 hours and already an interested family. It’s a great neighborhood with great neighbors. I wouldn’t be leaving if I didn’t have to.

My biggest concern this morning was the Pennsylvania Primary. I was so anxious to hear if Hillary had taken the state by storm. Sure enough the polls hadn’t closed when we woke up so I had to wait until I got into the Westinghouse office to read all about it. Yes, she did it. My faith in my fellow Pennsylvanian has been renewed – lol. That was said with tongue in cheek. I know my friend Val will not be happy. She was supporting the other guy. But at least I don’t have to vote for McCain just yet.

Lunch at the Westinghouse JPMO Café was quite an awakening. There was not much there I could figure out. There were no fish eyes staring at me but maybe some spinach and some mushrooms – Mike chose the tofu with gravy on it and steamed rice. I chose yogurt and a banana. I will be so thin after this 5 years living in Shanghai – I’m praying for it.

Now, we’re off on another trip back to the hotel. I hope to take some photos of the sites along the way so I can post them tonight.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

Annie

Da Plane

2008-04-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Good morning to you East Coasters!

It's 8:11 pm here in Shanghai. We arrived yesterday on a wonderful United Flight. Business Class is THE way to travel. Every seat was taken by the way. The food, the champagne, the wine - a lovely Savignon Blanc. I can get used to this. . .

Rita, one of the flight attendants is from Chicago. She was wonderful. She brought me this lovely little Louis Vuitton business card holder that had maybe 35-50 business cards from vendors at the silk/cashmere/wool markets, flower markets, pearl markets. DVD's and CD's - restaurants. She was amazing. She gave lots of great tips. She takes this flight once a month and stays for 2 days. Buys what she needs and gets back to work and goes home for a week. Very interesting woman. I'm so glad I got to meet her. I told her about my interest to work once I get here and get settled - she thinks I should start my own business and sell jewelry - we'll just have to see about that.

Our flight was about 35 minutes early. You arrive and go through Immigration and then down into the hall with the luggage carousels. It took forever to get our bags - we were the first on the plane and the last luggage to come off. I thought USAir was bad. We were told to look for our driver who would be on the other side of the secure zone with a Westinghouse sign. He wasn't there. Everyone else was - PPG, Novatel, Siemens, no Westinghouse. Here, because we were early, he wasn't there yet - we had to wait for him. He was a fabulous driver - Chen Chen was his name and he got us safely to the Renaissance Yangtze. Mike's boss, John was there to greet us, waiting in the bar. We took a shower and went downstairs for dinner. We went to a restaurant with most of the procurement group. Even Maisie, the admin was there and it was a good thing. She is so valuable. She speaks Mandarin and English and translated the entire menu because the service staff at the Wang Steak house didn't speak English much at all. Very interesting foods. I'll upload some photos shortly.

This morning we had our government physicals. UPMC can take a lesson from these people. It took 30 minutes for the entire thing - Bloodwork, chest x-ray - eye exam, EKG, sonagram (the woman was brutal, she told me I have gallbladder problems so I must get that fixed before I leave Pittsburgh.

We came back to the hotel for a lovely breakfast on the Club Floor - omelet, French crossant, juice and coffee. Then took a walk to find a nail salon. We found one - they don't do acryllic nails and no one spoke English there. So we left.

Ashlee Lee came to show us the city at 1 pm. Lovely young woman, 25 years old, grew up here and her father made her take English classes - she speaks with a lovely clipped British accent. She took us to the hospital, two international grocery stores and will show us more on Friday.

Our friend, Kirk Allan checked into the hotel this afternoon. He will start his new job here tomorrow - without Denise, his lovely wife. She will come in June or July. Probably around the time I get there. . . if the house sells.

Well, I'm tired and want to post this for all to see.

Good day to you!

Ann

Relocation Company Angst

2008-03-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

Okay - so last Wednesday we received the 5 megabite document from the Weichhert Relocation Services people. Talk about overload. . . I was very excited prior to that. Now, I'm just overwhelmed! We registered on Thursday night with Cartus who scheduled a conference call with the relocation specialist for Friday at 3:30 pm.

She blew us off and now we're re-scheduled for Monday, March 31st at 2 pm. Maybe by then my anxiety will peak and I'll feel better about everything we have to do BEFORE we leave. The timeline is 8 weeks. The offer letter says the effective date is May 1. Our cruise is May 25-June 1.

In the meantime, Eric Johnson is throwing a K of C Good Bye Party for us on Friday, April 18th at St. Joe's School in Verona. It might be the last time we see some of our Western Pennsylvania K of C friends for quite some time. I'm still wondering if we'll be traveling to Lancaster for the Convention the first weekend of May. Could be YES, Mike won't want to miss it. I think we'll be still sorting through the myriad of magazines, books, family heirlooms and such. Mike is an only child and when his parents died, we threw lots of things from his childhood home, but lots were brought here to our house in Plum. And so now we have to look through that as well. Mike is not a purger like me. This move will be very interesting.

I've called 3 real estate agents based on suggestions from friends. I've scheduled two of them to come and look over the house. Then last night about 9:30, a Coldwell Banker agent called to tell me that Cartus had suggested she call us. Cartus is one of the relocation companies assigned to us. They provide great benefits for people registered in their relocation program. So this is probably the agent we'll be using. Coldwell Banker doesn't apply certain fees for these customers. Lots of work I could have just done without. . .

craigslist.com

2008-03-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

The chaos has begun! Our ad in the Pennysaver created a few calls but not much else. So today I posted some things on Craigslist.com. Already got some hits. Hope they incrase.

So yesterday was Friday and the perfect end of the Perfect Week. I was called to Jury Duty at the Allegheny County Court House. Needless to say, they begin by thanking you for your service and encouraging you to make yourself available for 2-5 days as that is the possible length of the cases that are scheduled for that day. They request that if you cannot avail yourself for that many days, you are to approch the bench. So, I figured - I'm moving to China, I'm still working and I need to step up the pace of what I sort through and get things out of the house. So, I cautiously approach the bench and the supervisor takes my summons and asks me to sit in the center of the room. Shortly we are instructed to move to the Jury Lounge - not really a lounge at all - just a room with tables and uncomfortable chairs and a TV that has Montel Williams on it. Not my idea of a fun day. Needless to say, I wasted an entire day there - hauling in a huge sum of $14.88. I run back to the office and finish my day before jumping on the bus home.

Kate and I enjoy dinner at Bravo in North Hills while Mike attends the K of C's Pittsburgh Chapter meeting in Sewickley. Then I'm home to sort and purge.

The Garage Sale Has Begun!

2008-03-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

Aha,

Our ad in The Pennysaver has been published. We've gotten three bites - two for the pool table and one for the Total Gym 1000. Let's hope they are fruitful.

We're going to meet Kathy and Paula and Bobby & Beth Kindleberger on Saturday night for dinner at Siba Cucina in Seven Fields.

Ann

Tuesday is Garbage Day

2008-03-18T05:26:00.000-07:00

We've told my Mother and close family. Kate is happy for us. She should be - she gets the Steeler Season Tickets! Mike and I will pay for them and Kate and her friends will reap the benefits. I'm wondering how we will watch Steeler football in Shanghai. We certainly can't "turn down the sound" and listen to the Pixburgh guys. Any suggestions from other Burghers will be greatly appreciated.

We've told Laila too. She was surprised but excited for us as well. Her mother wants to come visit and I told her that she is most welcome.

Mike told his Knights of Columbus friends on Saturday night. Most people we tell are very excited for us.

We've told most of the neighbors now - just a few left to tell. Our friends,Fathers John Rushofsky, Ed Czemerda, Kevin Dominik and Ben Vaghetto know. We haven't shared with our pastor, parochial vicar and the church yet though. We'll probably do that this week because it is Holy Week.

My greatest concerns now are selling the house and finding a wonderful family for our sweet doggie, Snowball. I've talked with Jennie, the groomer and Tammy the pet sitter. I'm just hoping someone will step up to the plate and take her into their home and make her part of their family,. She's 13 - she's very healthy - the vet thought she was 9 at her last appointment a few weeks ago.

Before we sell the house, we need to complete some projects before. These include replacement of our sliding glass door in the dining room, some carpet replacement and get our driveway paved. We've lived her 21 years and we've got lots of junk and lots of treasures. This WILL be a challenge.

Annie & Mike Go To China

2008-03-18T05:18:00.000-07:00

Mike has been offered a wonderful opportunity from his employer, Westinghouse Electric Company. AND he has accepted this opportunity. I get to go along. . . to Shanghai, The People's Republic of China.