We just returned from a fascinating week in Cambodia. I know, Cambodia doesn’t exactly seem like a vacation hot-spot, but it was one of the best trips we’ve ever had. We were in three different locations - Phenom Penh, the country’s capital, Siem Reap, the ancient capital and home to countless temple ruins, and Sihanoukville, an up-and-coming beach resort on the Gulf of Thailand. Since April is the hottest (and I mean HOT) month in Cambodia, we were a little concerned about going the last week of March. It was definitely hot, but not unbearable most of t [View Full Entry]

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We were happy to welcome our first overnight guest - Kevin Dean - a couple of weeks ago. Kevin was over on business, and we were lucky enough to get him for a night upon his arrival from his week in southern China. We had a great time catching up and seeing a bit of Shanghai with him before he became violently ill! (It might have been the flu, or maybe the unidentified "seafood" he had before arriving here??) Then this past week were very happy to welcome Joe Lupone. (Sorry, no pictures!) It was just like old times. Joe gets [View Full Entry]

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Today the kids and I traveled just an hour by car to another world. We often say we live in a bubble in Shanghai, well today we went to China! Tongli (Tong-lee) is one of many water villages just west of Shanghai. The area is said to be the Venice of the East. The area is flat, and apparently very low, and is covered with water - rivers, canals, ponds, and lakes. People here really live with the water, incorporating it into their daily lives and livelihoods. The water is filled with fishing nets and pearl farms. Tongli is actually an [View Full Entry]

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If you had mentioned Chinese New Year to me a year ago, about the only thing that would have come to my mind might have been the color red. Now my mind would be dominated by one thought…NOISE! I can’t begin to describe the fireworks we have seen and heard here over the last week. We’re so tired of them that I actually yelled “Shut up!!” out the window at them this evening! I’ve fallen asleep with earplugs in (Anika’s brilliant idea!) two nights this week because the fireworks were roaring all around us. This makes the 4th of July di [View Full Entry]

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This is what came out of our kitchen faucet this morning! Yes, it's disgusting. We're told that we need a new filter put into our house's water filter. No, we don't drink the tap water...now we all see why! [View Full Entry]

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You've probably been hearing about the catastophic snow falls across China right now. Chinese New Year is next week, the time of year when everyone goes home to see their families. For many migrant workers this is the ONLY time of year they get to see their spouses and children. Millions of people are unable to get home because of the snow storms. It's really very sad. Our kids have been having fun in the little bit of snow Shanghai received. It was only a few inches, but more than the city has received in at least 50 years. They even [View Full Entry]

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Our first trip was a huge success. We spent the week before Christmas in Phuket, Thailand...yes, home of the tsunami. [View Full Entry]

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Well, we now have a whopping four months under our collective belts in our adventure in China. Is it what we expected? Yes and no. We've seen lots of things that make us say, "Yes, we're in China!" Things like bikes piled high with impossibly-big loads balanced precariously; food stores full of live eels, turtles and every other sea creature imaginable and the smells that go with them; crumbling shacks that multiple families call home; polluted rivers, smog-filled skylines and litter-covered roadsides. And then there’s the horking - the loud guttural sounds that fill [View Full Entry]

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