soooze - Suzanne S

I am an American woman with a husband and 2 kids, about to relocate with my family to Shanghai.

The back story: We are moving because my husband is going to be working in Shanghai.
July 6, 2008: We are a bit less than a month away from the move and current postings chronicle the prep to get there, the logistics to be allowed to go there, and the coordination of all these things we have to do before we can go! Oh, and Mark is in China for about a month (the last month we are in the states and getting ready)...so I'm very busy.

July 28, 2008....2 days til the big move.

August 4, 2008 We are in Shanghai. We arrived on 7/31/08 after a long flight. We are still in get used to a new city mode, minus the ability to speak the language...so it's been both exciting and also challenging.

December 5 2008 4 months down, and we are heading home in just over a week to the USA to visit friends and family before returning to Shanghai in January. Talk about culture shock. I expect it to be another adventure to simply go back to our home town.

February 6, 2009 Back in the groove of life in China. Spent last 2 weeks as a solo parent and eager to have my husband back in Shanghai on Monday.

October, 2009. getting back into school routine after a fab holiday in Vietnam. Living in Asia affords us short distance trips to dream destinations.

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Joined on: May 24th 2008
Last Login: November 8th 2009

Blog Entries: 159
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by soooze, order by Date newest first.

By soooze
November 4th 2009

customs and costumes in Shanghai (year 2) Asia » China » Shanghai

UN Day

Two weeks ago we celebrated UN Day. This is what you do at an international school in China. You appreciate that there is a holiday all about unity among a diverse population. Our school has something like 45 countries represented. Of course some countries are represented with larger populations than others. Some countries may only be represented by one or two students. UN Day involves having the students dress in traditional clothing or in their home country’s flag colors. In the case of the USA, some of our fellow citizens wore sports team attire (saw a Cubs fan in the crowds) [View Full Entry]

By soooze
October 23rd 2009

more small world moments Asia » China » Shanghai

outside the Westin

This week, the weather has been spectacular. That perfect fall weather I associate with the Midwest. Sunny and warm but not hot. No jacket required until evening when it gets a bit chillier and even then, not really jacket weather but light sweater. It’s dreamy. I know it won’t last for too much longer so I’m trying to make the most of it. I’ve had lunch outside 3 days this week and I’ve done some solid walking. On the weekend, we had the chance to visit with some family friends of Mark’s parents. Dave and Kathy had last seen us (Mark [View Full Entry]

By soooze
October 10th 2009

Last days in Vietnam - Hoi An Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Hoi An

mark and nathan in front of rice field

Final entry in the Vietnam series... We flew from Hanoi to DaNang and arrived at what would be the final stop on our Vietnam tour at about 8pm. I arranged for a car to meet us (my new favorite travel thing to do) and we were driven to the Hoi An Trails Resort. I should mention that we had originally booked a different hotel, one that was recommended by friends and travel sites, but it was damaged during a recent typhoon (!) so we had to make alternate arrangements. During the drive from the airport, I spent my time staring out [View Full Entry]

By soooze
October 9th 2009

3 days on the water in Halong Bay, Vietnam Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Halong Bay

our boat

Prepare yourselves, readers. This is a long one. Might want to grab a cup of tea or beverage of choice before settling in to read this one. Or make it a two part experience. I decided to publish it all as one since I tell the boat trip story start to finish. I hope you enjoy it. When I researched Vietnam, everyone I spoke to said we had to go to Halong Bay. Halong Bay means descending dragon bay in Vietnamese. The area has thousands of the limestone formations that are mini-islands. After doing some research online and seeing the photos, [View Full Entry]

By soooze
October 8th 2009

Vietnam adventure continued Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi

toys galore
luckily we rode by on a cyclo so no time to stop & shop

I posted pictures on the previous Vietnam post, so you can go back and check those out too. Just wanted to share a bit more on Vietnam and what we’ve noticed so far. There should be a video here soon...check back if you are an early reader. They take a long time to upload. People are very nice and seem a bit less aggressive than in Shanghai. There are people selling the same stuff as in China but we had no fear or hesitation and we’ve said no more often than we’ve said yes. We have seen many people selling vegetables [View Full Entry]

By soooze
October 5th 2009

good morning, Vietnam Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi

dinner time

Hanoi We are off to a great start on our Vietnam adventure. We arrived a bit after 1am with some very sleepy kids. We all slept on the plane (about a 4 hour flight) and were fortunate enough to have a driver waiting with a "Slaven" sign as we exited the airport. It's all about planning those key details. Especially when traveling with kids. We drove to the hotel, Mercure, Hanoi and arrived at about 2am. I picked the hotel after seeing a pop-up ad for the hotel while researching Hanoi. The lure of the hotel was the fact that it's [View Full Entry]

By soooze
October 4th 2009

Quick and dirty pre-Nam blog Asia » China » Shanghai

60 years of PRC

During the past week, I was fortunate enough to have my wish for visitors met twice! First, my dear friend Natalie’s parents Diane and Orry came to Shanghai as a stop on their 3 week China trip and I gave them a quick tour of my favorite spots. They were traveling with some of their close friends and it was fun to meet Linda and Nick and bond over being Wolverines. Go Blue! The weather was horrible but we marched through the soggy streets and had a good time even with the bad weather. I impressed myself with my ability to [View Full Entry]

By soooze
September 28th 2009

made in china Asia » China » Shanghai

family commuting to work
see the bike with the mom, dad and kid all riding together?

The last week plus has really flown by for me. I finished my language class on Thursday. I didn’t know I’d be taking a test, so of course I didn’t study. I think it’s better though. The point isn’t to cram, it’s to assess my retained Mandarin. I did fine. I am debating whether to join a group class after the group catches up to me in a few weeks, or just do private lessons. I have started the kids with a tutor and I am going to have lessons with the same teacher twice a week. We’ll see how that [View Full Entry]

By soooze
September 16th 2009

worst foot massage ever and other suze news Asia » China » Shanghai

Shintori

So much to blog, but finding it hard to make time to do it. I think these weekly reviews are working well. Let’s do this thing. Last week was another busy one. I helped out with a new parent orientation at school. While stuffing the welcome bags and talking with the women who were going to be speaking, I was offering my ideas and next thing you know—on the agenda. Darn. I was a bit nervous, thinking it would be hundreds of people, but it ended up being a much smaller group than last year. We had the potential for as [View Full Entry]

By soooze
September 8th 2009

iPhone resurrection, spinny rides and tandem bikes Asia » China » Shanghai

to market to market

Welcome to blog number 150! Every now and then I glance at my blog stats (read: daily) and today I realized was another milestone of sorts. 150 entries from the time we decided to move until now. Over a year later, and I’m still finding things to write about. We had a good week. Mark was out of town until Wednesday night but he got home in time for our anniversary on Thursday. We spent most of the evening at the school open house for parents. We really enjoyed meeting with the kids’ teachers and my only complaint is the evening [View Full Entry]

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