Fond thoughts Go Suzanne! So happy to hear you now have help with the cleaning, laundry, cooking and shopping. It's a win-win. She gets a pay check and a nice family to work for. That soup looked good.
Love your multiple possible interpretations of your getting your own chef at dinner. It could be any of those, or one you haven't thought of. Also love the photo shoot showing the charmingly narrow street, the flower bike, and the before and after shots of Nathan's haircut. But my recent all-time favorite is one from two blogs ago of Emily in your mom's hat!
Video The video in the night was great because of the good sound. It was fun to get the feeling of dancing in the park at night. You described it so well, but to listen a bit was excellent. I love this thing. Your readership grows. Last night I met a woman who could not wait to read your blog, so I sent her the link.
greetings from another trailing spouse Hi Suzanne,
my name is Michelle. I am a friend of Laura's and she sent me your blog so I have been reading about your adventures. I usually live in Santa Barbara but have just moved to Brisbane Australia with my husband while he has a year sabbatical at University of Queensland. What jolted me to write today was that I too just learned today about the phrase "Trailing Spouse." What synchronicity! It felt good to have a name for my "symptoms." I don't have kids and China is obviously much more of a challenge culturally than OZ but I have enjoyed reading about your cultural triumphs and you inspire me to get out and tackle this expat living. Good luck.
Michelle
loose ends Oh so happy here to read today's blog, Suzanne. There were a lot of loose ends which were so satisfyingly tied up. ...the kids like their new school and both made friends. Nathan's homework assignment sounds fun. The kids will be learning some Mandarin. The school bus has its act together with that wake-up service. the flooding seems to be gone. Those 600 drainage workers I read about in the news did a good job. you got to have some alone time, wandering in the park, checking out the spa, pampering yourself...yay. And...the puzzle was finished!
French Concession It's an area that was once the French District and still has a lot of that history. We saw a lot of pretty gardens, there are some famous churches and building in the area and the rest is all just fun streets with shops/restaurants but less junk shops. We saw art galleries and wandered through one. Art is supposedly cheaper here (like real paintings and such). There's tons more for us to see, so I'm sure we'll spend another Sunday or 4 in the area wandering around.
the first day of school Wow, Suzanne, what a great story indeed. You did SO WELL. I kept thinking as I read, nothing can come between a mom and her kids. I'm so glad you're all safe and dry. The second day of school should be a piece of cake.
Sunday's tour? Good idea to tour a different neighborhood each Sunday. What is the French Concession? What were some of the sights? Everytime I read your blog, my "picture" of Shanghai (still really murky) gets a little clearer.
"I didn't know it could get better than that" Flawlessly getting to a new place on your own, meeting friends for breakfast and talking through lunch, a store with great produce, a veggie burger for dinner, and the prospect of art classes for Emily and Lego robotics for Nathan...can it get better than that?
pandas at some point we are going to visit Sichuan Province known for having giant pandas and I think they are true reserves where the pandas live more happily. We'll see when we go there!
Nathan's blog Great job Nathan! You should be a guest writer more often. We love to hear what is happening in your own words. You write very well, just like your mom.
open house Glad the kids like their teachers. Good news about the other bus riders in your building...and neighborhood. It sounds like the school is multi-national, but is it an English-speaking one?
Nathan: Great description of a Chinese street moment!
Feel like I've known you for ages Hey Suzanne ~~~
By reading this blog and looking at pic and videos, I feel like we've known each other for ages. It's amazing to think that it was just 4 days 2 years ago.
Your daughter is a natural broadcaster. Maybe NBC news should keep her name in mind.
woo hoo indeed I'm in for the puzzle and Indian takeout. Thanks for reminding us what a big deal all that stuff is, laughing in the rain, ordering on the phone in English, having adult company, making new friends.
Food I can't tell you how interesting your blog is, Suzzane. It's really the highlight of my day. I love your details about the foods your eating in China. I think we are going to order Chinese food tonight.
Aunt Elaine
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, 200... full info
Geeze
non-member comment
sorry you're not feeling well..
"Ditto" and please keep us posted. Hugs, Aunt Geeze