You know the saying that you never really appreciate something until it's gone? Well, I think that there is a little more to it: I think that you never truly appreciate something until it actually returns, that is when you realize how much you have missed it. Sometimes these things are things that you actually never thought you cared about, but when you get them back, it brings such joy, that you realize you have missed it all along...
Today it snowed. Big, fat, lovely snowflakes. It has been so cold in this city for a few months now, and it has actually been miserable. When I woke up today and looked at another dreary day outside, I just wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. But then something magical happened (yes, I used the word magical because that's what it felt like!). The snow started falling! Everyone said that it does not snow in Shanghai, but today, for a few hours we got snow!
What amazed me was the peace and serenity it brought with it...walking around outside was calm, people were quiet, and this city was actually pretty enjoyable for a change. I loved every minute if it :) I can only hope that the snow (and the quietness it brought with it) will stick...unfortunately I don't think that is going to happen, and by tomorrow this city will return to normal. But for one day, it was fantastic.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Just Walkin' Down the Street
I have become used to the fact that many people here will stare at me walking down the street simply because I am white; it has taken months to do so, but now I just stare back at them- and occasionally I make a ridiculous face just to make them feel as awkward as they make me feel. I have to admit that I am thankful for the frigid winter temperatures just so I can hide my blond hair under a hat! However, what really cracks me up are the things that people do not stare at, or even think twice about. I regret that I haven't had my camera on me when I have seen some pretty hilarious things, but the following are a few samples of the local sightings:
Take for example, the grown woman riding her bike down the street....on training wheels.

Or perhaps the large bulldozer plowing down the street among all of the crazy
cars, scooters and pedestrians...

And perhaps my favorite, just a girl taking an evening stroll...with her monkey!

I am sure there will be more ridiculous things to be seen, it's just a matter of time :)
Take for example, the grown woman riding her bike down the street....on training wheels.
Or perhaps the large bulldozer plowing down the street among all of the crazy
cars, scooters and pedestrians...
And perhaps my favorite, just a girl taking an evening stroll...with her monkey!
I am sure there will be more ridiculous things to be seen, it's just a matter of time :)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Oh Christmas Tree
Thanksgiving was over before I knew it, but I think Christmas will be another story...the traditional Christmas that I have known for my entire life is a wonderful, festive, multi-day event, and I love every minute of it. But this year, things will be very different being in China. The city of Shanghai has surprisingly put up decorations, even though it is not a nationally recognized holiday. Even with all of the decorations, it is just not the same as being home with my family...
Here's a golden tree in Shanghai, in front of the Gucci store, no less!

So, to get more in the mood, last night we bought and decorated our little tree, and it's lovely...Kos wants to keep it up until spring! We'll see about that!
Our little tree...

There are some good memories of Christmas trees from the past: one year, back when everyone bought REAL trees (a tradition I hope to restore soon!), apparently my sister and I cried and cried when it was time for the tree to be taken down...imagine 2 screaming girls bawling their eyes out as their father dragged a tree to the curb of a driveway! I'm not sure if we were more upset that Christmas was over, or if we just really loved that tree...
Another year, we all awoke to my mom calling for help...as we came down the stairs, we saw a fully decorated tree on top of our helpless mother! Apparently as she watered the tree, she knocked it off balance, and it fell on top of her! It was really quite a sight!
As hard as it will be not to be home, I will make the best of Christmas here...
Here's a golden tree in Shanghai, in front of the Gucci store, no less!
So, to get more in the mood, last night we bought and decorated our little tree, and it's lovely...Kos wants to keep it up until spring! We'll see about that!
Our little tree...
There are some good memories of Christmas trees from the past: one year, back when everyone bought REAL trees (a tradition I hope to restore soon!), apparently my sister and I cried and cried when it was time for the tree to be taken down...imagine 2 screaming girls bawling their eyes out as their father dragged a tree to the curb of a driveway! I'm not sure if we were more upset that Christmas was over, or if we just really loved that tree...
Another year, we all awoke to my mom calling for help...as we came down the stairs, we saw a fully decorated tree on top of our helpless mother! Apparently as she watered the tree, she knocked it off balance, and it fell on top of her! It was really quite a sight!
As hard as it will be not to be home, I will make the best of Christmas here...
Friday, December 4, 2009
Witnessing the Unthinkable
I cannot let go of what I saw tonight. Outside of our apartment complex is a long row of dilapidated housing that is part of old Shanghai. Initially, we thought it would be great to have the best of both worlds- western housing among local people- but tonight I have never wanted to be further away from this place.
As we walked down the street, we heard terrifying cries come from within one of the shops, and then a man dragging and hitting a child (I would say around 3-4 years old). Within seconds, he had the child out of his pants, in the freezing air, and it became apparent that he was being “punished” for wetting his pants. This man continues to hit the child as he is pulling off his pants- the hits seem to get harder and harder as the boy’s pant-less body braces for each blow. It seems as if he is trying to get the boy to pee on a building between each hit he gives to the child. Finally, a woman (I believe it was the child’s mother) pushes the man aside. The man, not embarrassed in the slightest, but actually seeming more angry that he was interrupted, walks away. The mother turns the boy to the intersection of the road (he is obviously still shaken) and he pees a small trickle from his tiny penis. The mother then whips up his pants, becomes stern, and begins to yell at the child once more. She shakes him a bit, continues to talk to him in this horrible tone, and takes him away.
I stand, frozen, in-shock, and helpless. A’kos wants to step in, but chooses not to when he sees the woman intervene. What absolutely amazed me were 2 things: one, how paralyzing a situation like this can be, and two, the only people shocked by this behavior were A’kos and myself. Almost everyone around us continued what they were doing with complete disregard for the abuse we were witnessing.
There is something bigger going on here- from what I have seen, there is less value for the collective lives of people in this country. Everyday I come close to being hit by a car or a scooter, I constantly get elbowed or pushed in line, and there is a complete lack of respect for other people’s space. My ears take constant assault- I have never heard so much horn honking, disgusting spitting, and aggressive yelling within inches of my ears, that it has caused me to rethink all of my assumptions of this culture. But aside from my personal discomfort, what I saw tonight reached a new level. I know that I cannot be sheltered from what is happening outside of the western world, nor do I want to be. I crave to understand other cultures and to know a world different to what I have always known. Yet, there is a point when it is no longer a cultural issue, but a human rights issue. I firmly believe that no human should be physically assaulted by another human, whether one thinks they have the marital or parental rights to do so. I am fully aware of the many people in the world that do not agree with this concept, and for them, I hope the same physical assault is given to them, based on proportion of body size.
I must reiterate- what I saw tonight was not a spanking, but a full beating- pure hate in the man’s eyes, to the point where all of the child’s energy went from crying to trying to withstand the blows he was receiving. No child should have to endure this. No human should ever be allowed to do this to another.
As we walked down the street, we heard terrifying cries come from within one of the shops, and then a man dragging and hitting a child (I would say around 3-4 years old). Within seconds, he had the child out of his pants, in the freezing air, and it became apparent that he was being “punished” for wetting his pants. This man continues to hit the child as he is pulling off his pants- the hits seem to get harder and harder as the boy’s pant-less body braces for each blow. It seems as if he is trying to get the boy to pee on a building between each hit he gives to the child. Finally, a woman (I believe it was the child’s mother) pushes the man aside. The man, not embarrassed in the slightest, but actually seeming more angry that he was interrupted, walks away. The mother turns the boy to the intersection of the road (he is obviously still shaken) and he pees a small trickle from his tiny penis. The mother then whips up his pants, becomes stern, and begins to yell at the child once more. She shakes him a bit, continues to talk to him in this horrible tone, and takes him away.
I stand, frozen, in-shock, and helpless. A’kos wants to step in, but chooses not to when he sees the woman intervene. What absolutely amazed me were 2 things: one, how paralyzing a situation like this can be, and two, the only people shocked by this behavior were A’kos and myself. Almost everyone around us continued what they were doing with complete disregard for the abuse we were witnessing.
There is something bigger going on here- from what I have seen, there is less value for the collective lives of people in this country. Everyday I come close to being hit by a car or a scooter, I constantly get elbowed or pushed in line, and there is a complete lack of respect for other people’s space. My ears take constant assault- I have never heard so much horn honking, disgusting spitting, and aggressive yelling within inches of my ears, that it has caused me to rethink all of my assumptions of this culture. But aside from my personal discomfort, what I saw tonight reached a new level. I know that I cannot be sheltered from what is happening outside of the western world, nor do I want to be. I crave to understand other cultures and to know a world different to what I have always known. Yet, there is a point when it is no longer a cultural issue, but a human rights issue. I firmly believe that no human should be physically assaulted by another human, whether one thinks they have the marital or parental rights to do so. I am fully aware of the many people in the world that do not agree with this concept, and for them, I hope the same physical assault is given to them, based on proportion of body size.
I must reiterate- what I saw tonight was not a spanking, but a full beating- pure hate in the man’s eyes, to the point where all of the child’s energy went from crying to trying to withstand the blows he was receiving. No child should have to endure this. No human should ever be allowed to do this to another.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Chinglish (Chinese English)
While I finish my master degree, I have taken on teaching ESL at a school here, in Shanghai. I have to say that I am very impressed with the level of English my young students already understand, and I wish that the US would enforce learning a second language within it's school system.
However, we have come across some awesome Chinglish around town... I wish we had our camera when we saw that "Cowboy Super Fungus" was advertised on a menu! I wasn't quite sure what that was, but I opted not to give that dish a try! Since then, we have seen some pretty amazing translations, such as this:
What some people in the English-speaking world would call "bacon", they have clarified as "roasted streakly pork"...although "streakly" is not even a word, I totally support the use of it here!
This is one of my favorites:
Or perhaps the best was when we first arrived at the airport in Beijing...apparently no eggplants, and no rabbits are aloud to be brought into China!
I am sure that we will come across many more, but city officials are trying to rid Shanghai of these "translations" before the 2010 World Expo. I certainly hope they do not remove all of the Chinglish because some of these really can make you laugh right out loud!
However, we have come across some awesome Chinglish around town... I wish we had our camera when we saw that "Cowboy Super Fungus" was advertised on a menu! I wasn't quite sure what that was, but I opted not to give that dish a try! Since then, we have seen some pretty amazing translations, such as this:
What some people in the English-speaking world would call "bacon", they have clarified as "roasted streakly pork"...although "streakly" is not even a word, I totally support the use of it here!
This is one of my favorites:
Or perhaps the best was when we first arrived at the airport in Beijing...apparently no eggplants, and no rabbits are aloud to be brought into China!
I am sure that we will come across many more, but city officials are trying to rid Shanghai of these "translations" before the 2010 World Expo. I certainly hope they do not remove all of the Chinglish because some of these really can make you laugh right out loud!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Chinese Visas, Quite the Headache
My goodness, this has NOT been an easy move. If it could go wrong, it has...and we have been through a lot. The last 2.5 months have been a roller-coaster ride of emotions and experiences. I have to admit, I have yet to fully enjoy 2 days in a row. At this point I am exhausted, and when I think the worst is over, something new comes our way.

We came to Shanghai for many reasons: to experience a new culture, to travel around Asia, and to make enough money to take care of some of our debt. We have definitely experienced the culture (some of it I wish that I never encountered), we haven't traveled anywhere(unless you count the ridiculous trip where we were denied our visas), and we have actually gone more into debt (we are pretty much at rock bottom). Lovely.
When we first arrived, we applied to jobs like crazy- our first few weeks were mixed with interviews, looking at apartments, and studying in between the madness. When I found a job that I thought I would enjoy, they tried to change everything they promised in the contract, from the pay to the benefits! I quit 2 days later...after wasted time I found a new position that seemed great, and when all of our paper work was taken care of, we hopped on a plane to Macau and applied for our work visas. Only, we were denied the visa because we did not get a medical check due to my employer telling us not to do it. A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

We have extended our tourist visa for the last time, and have been to the Exit and Entry Bureau about 10 times, as well as making the necessary reports to the police about coming in and out of the country, super fun. So now, we are getting the medical check tomorrow, and heading back to Macau on Monday. All of this in the middle of my master's program! Let's just say, the work is suffering...My mother keeps reminding me that I wouldn't be dealing with any of this if I would just come home and live in the US :)
So, here is where we are at: December 6 is a very important day. I will have completed one more semester in my program, and A'kos will have completed the first exam of the CFA. This day will be like Christmas for us! We believe all of the madness will end and things will settle down, at least we hope...right now, that's about all we can do!
We came to Shanghai for many reasons: to experience a new culture, to travel around Asia, and to make enough money to take care of some of our debt. We have definitely experienced the culture (some of it I wish that I never encountered), we haven't traveled anywhere(unless you count the ridiculous trip where we were denied our visas), and we have actually gone more into debt (we are pretty much at rock bottom). Lovely.
When we first arrived, we applied to jobs like crazy- our first few weeks were mixed with interviews, looking at apartments, and studying in between the madness. When I found a job that I thought I would enjoy, they tried to change everything they promised in the contract, from the pay to the benefits! I quit 2 days later...after wasted time I found a new position that seemed great, and when all of our paper work was taken care of, we hopped on a plane to Macau and applied for our work visas. Only, we were denied the visa because we did not get a medical check due to my employer telling us not to do it. A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
We have extended our tourist visa for the last time, and have been to the Exit and Entry Bureau about 10 times, as well as making the necessary reports to the police about coming in and out of the country, super fun. So now, we are getting the medical check tomorrow, and heading back to Macau on Monday. All of this in the middle of my master's program! Let's just say, the work is suffering...My mother keeps reminding me that I wouldn't be dealing with any of this if I would just come home and live in the US :)
So, here is where we are at: December 6 is a very important day. I will have completed one more semester in my program, and A'kos will have completed the first exam of the CFA. This day will be like Christmas for us! We believe all of the madness will end and things will settle down, at least we hope...right now, that's about all we can do!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Széchenyi Fürdő
One of my favorite things to do while I am in Budapest is to visit the thermal baths. This particular one is my favorite... the Széchenyi Fürdő is a great place for locals and tourists alike, unfortunately in the last few months less locals are unable to afford the enjoyment as they have raised the ticket prices dramatically.
On one of our last days in Budapest, we enjoyed a whole day of pools, saunas, and steam rooms of different aromas and temperatures that guarantee to relax and ease the soul. As you can see, it wasn't the best of days, but the clouds and rain offer an experience that almost makes it more enjoyable. I think that everyone must experience this at some time in their life. Besides Hungary's other treasures (turo rudi, langos- just to name a few!) I think that the baths are well worth the trip to enjoy :)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Some Major Life Changes

In one week I am about to explore a new part of the world in China. I'm not just traveling there, but I will be living in Shanghai for several months. Part of me is so excited, but the other part of me is starting to realize the gravity of it all, and I am feeling a bit nervous...
I have lived in several places, and not known the language, but so far I have done ok. However, this is a culture that I am not familiar with and that makes me somewhat anxious. Yesterday I went to the Chinese Embassy, and of course, everything was in Chinese- didn't have a clue! That's when it kind of hit me- this is how it's going to be for a long time!!! Yikes!
I know it will take some time, but I trust that it will all work out and be an incredible experience. I am also pretty sure that I am going to come away with some wild adventures and hilarious stories :)More to come...
Friday, April 3, 2009
Broken
2 weeks ago I broke my fibula in 3 places, which resulted in reconstructive surgery, and now bed rest for what feels like an eternity. I am feeling pretty low at the moment. I hate my bed, I hate my apartment (and roommate more than anything), and I am staring to hate myself...not a good combination. Everyday is mentally and physically exhausting, because even getting myself to the bathroom is a work-out...ugh...I am hating this!
Luckily, I have good friends to keep me company during this time :) I also have a ton of work to do for my master's program, which is not fun, but a good thing to work on during bed rest. Can you see that I am trying to make the best of this situation!?!
Yet, the warm weather is calling my name, and I would love, more than anything, to hop out of bed and get outside. I would love to go for a walk, or a run, heck, I would even skip around if I could! I don't care what it is- SOMETHING, ANYTHING out of this place!!! But, I will have to wait. A few more weeks, a few more weeks...
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Done with Roommates!
There comes a time in everyone's life where I think it is fully acceptable to be one-hundred percent selfish- and I am going through that right....about...NOW!
I live with my boyfriend (yeah!) and a twenty-two-year-old (boo!). After living with family for the past year, my boyfriend and I were ready to leave, get our own space... and move in with someone else??? Not exactly, but that's where we are at now- f-ing super. At this point, I don't want to have children anymore because I feel like a mother already, and it's a pretty demanding job! Seriously, I want to advertise this way of life as the new birth control method: ask a young twenty-something to move in with you, it will delay any wanting of child producing for years to come!
I am not sure if it is living with someone, or that I have somewhat become the third wheel in my own relationship- he (the super fun 22-year-old) is always around for every meal, hanging out with us, watching movies with us...that's all great if I wanted to have a threesome, BUT I DON'T! I need space; I need the apartment to be quiet when I study, I need people to actually clean up, I need to have more of my apartment beyond my bedroom, and I need my relationship back to 2 people, not 3...is that too much to ask? I really do not think so...
Seriously, never, never again...
I live with my boyfriend (yeah!) and a twenty-two-year-old (boo!). After living with family for the past year, my boyfriend and I were ready to leave, get our own space... and move in with someone else??? Not exactly, but that's where we are at now- f-ing super. At this point, I don't want to have children anymore because I feel like a mother already, and it's a pretty demanding job! Seriously, I want to advertise this way of life as the new birth control method: ask a young twenty-something to move in with you, it will delay any wanting of child producing for years to come!
I am not sure if it is living with someone, or that I have somewhat become the third wheel in my own relationship- he (the super fun 22-year-old) is always around for every meal, hanging out with us, watching movies with us...that's all great if I wanted to have a threesome, BUT I DON'T! I need space; I need the apartment to be quiet when I study, I need people to actually clean up, I need to have more of my apartment beyond my bedroom, and I need my relationship back to 2 people, not 3...is that too much to ask? I really do not think so...
Seriously, never, never again...
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AS Roma!!! Woooo!!!!
It must be half-time, there's no way A'kos would have taken this DURING the game :)