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Published: September 7th 2008
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Sun all the way...
...from Toronto. And then we arrived in Shanghai Hey all,
Well, as to rumours that our blog has never been funnier, nor our apartment so sparkling clean....we have to confirm that's all true thanks to a certain pair of ghostwriters who inhabited our Shanghai apartment for the summer, namely one Carly and Craig. And thanks to their penchant for Shanghai, and specifically a certain Dongping Lu area, we're now happily enscounced there as residents! So for all that, our spanking clean old apartment, a beautiful photo of Shanghai we'll treasure always (but maybe not turning all of our sheets, towels and clothes into hazardous chemical zones over a mistaking of industrial strength floorcleaner for detergent, that blew up first Craig's eyes and then Amy's into itchy watermelon-sized red balloons...but hey, nobody's perfect!)...we thank you!! Especially the other evening from our perch on the patio at Cotton's -- an outdoor patio where the candles flicker, and the bamboo trees wave in the warm air, all just steps from our new apartment...we had to agree that the Dongping area is great...thanks a million for bringing it our attention, guys!
And we are well and truly back to our lives in Shanghai - so much so that we're already looking
Not our apartment...
...we wish. Just a neighbouring house on our new street. forward to our upcoming holidays...three days next weekend, and then the entire first week of October for the mid-Autumn festival. Yes, we're well into our start of our last year in Shanghai and another ride on the dragon's tail. Already it's so all-consuming that it feels like our summer in T.O. is but a distant memory. And what a summer it was...as we crawled off the 14 hour flight , and then stumbled our way coughing and sputtering through the smoggy streets of Shanghai (the sun was shining the whole way until we landed!) we realized that we'll have to carry the memories of crisp clean air and Beausoleil sunsets with us all year -- and hope that our lungs do, too (carry some of that air still, that is...)
But all good things must come to an end, and our relaxing holiday tempo has rachetted up to supersonic Shanghai speed. Since returning we've taken on new jobs (same schools, but new responsibilities...both very challenging, but we're hoping commensurately rewarding), moved apartments as noted, and now planning our holidays...mid-Autumn festival, Xmas and Chinese New years.
But these will be the topics of future blogs...this one we'll devote to
Believe it or not...
...the trees that line the street in the French Concession are maples. ''the move''. And that's exactly what is was...it was as moving as moves go...and all in 33 degree temps. At times it seemed like an idea we'd wished we'd never had back in the days of last spring...and maybe it was the jetlag, but on our return our apartment was looking awfully good to us. Besides, rents in Shanghai had been skyrocketing...a fact which baffles us since our apartment building, like many, is half-empty. And looking around our 7 rooms (including bathrooms...but, hey, they had to be all cleared out too!) the prospect of shifting all the stuff we'd somehow managed to accumulate...well, it was just a tad intimidating. Where had all this stuff come from, we asked in horror. When we'd moved in, exactly one year ago, the place was very sparcely furnished. Our landlord (one of those reasons, back then, which had prompted our moving decision) amongst other things, was very stingey in the furniture and supplies department) which now meant that all of the same we'd picked up from a myriad of IKEA runs, needed to be packed up and moved! Which would take some doing on our two bicycles...or so our jetlagged brains reasoned.
But
Yueyang views
...after Huangpi Nan Lu, the peace and quiet will take some getting used to. the decision was taken out of our hands with our landlord's announcement that he wanted the place back for himself, and so the search was on. At first we limited ourselves to within a 20-minute walk to Xin Tian De...but when the rents proved exorbitant, we asked our realtor if he had anything in the Dongping Lu area, and he said, why didn't you say so, upon which he showed us a cosy 3-bedroom in the heart of the French concession with high ceilings, warm wood floors and trim throughout, a magnificent cross breeze and balcony off the living room -- and all for the same rent! "We'll take it", we shouted! Being Shanghai that meant we had it in our possession the next day, and now ''the move'' was on. But what a difference a year makes. This time last year when we were grappling with a move off of the ''island'', because we were new teachers, the whole thing was done in the school's buses. Now we were on our own...nevertheless we managed to obtain some inexpensive movers -- four guys and a 2-ton truck -- and the following weekend we crammed everything we owned into a couple
Wonder why...
...David likes the high ceilings in our new digs?? of dozen giant Chinese plastic bags, and moved lock, stock and barrel. In fact the ease of the entire transaction was so smooth, including internet, water, and satellite TV - even registering with the police - we were in before we knew it.
So if you're in the neighbourhood, we have room to spare...and we'd love to show you around the leafy quiet streets...not the wild and wooly neighbourhood we left behind, which we'll remember fondly for the vanishing glimpse of ol' Shanghai it gave us...but for our last year we're looking forward to a whole new take on our adopted city. And Xin Tian De is just a 20-minute bike ride!!
See you soon,
Amy & Roel
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Chris Vanderwal
non-member comment
like the new digs
Hey guys. love the new pad! Is dad so excited about the kitchen that it has inspired him to cook??