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Published: August 27th 2009
Shanghai meets T.O.
Carrie, Sherry and I took up the gauntlet of those who challenged us to import a certain Shanghai custom to Toronto! Now it's up to the rest of T.O. to follow suit...or PJ's :)
Hi all,
Well we're back home...Amy soon to work, Roel to study...in other words, back to reality! But as you can see from the photos on the following pages, life in 'Toronto the good' is not treating us too badly. However, over the course of this entire blogging enterprise, we've talked an awful lot about ourselves and our time in 'Shanghai the bad' (and good😊...so now, as the title says, this last blog is for you, our faithful readers!
Why is that you may ask? Well, your comments were invaluable, so blog
number 36 (can you believe it?), will try to explain how much we enjoyed your input. In any case, for this, our last,
final blog we've dedicated the content (and we're only sorry that we have so few pics!) to those who took the time and trouble to respond, email and just generally communicate with us about and through the blog, throughout our incredible time in China.
So the following are
our final responses and tributes, in no particular order, to all of
you.
Carrie...thanks, sis, so much for all of your many thoughtful comments. As well, sharing your own experience of life as an
Mr. Toh
Roel enjoyed his years as 'little Toh'...as the smiles attest. expat during your almost 10 years in Mexico was priceless! Thanks also for contributing greatly to our transition back home. Here's to our coffees on Queen Street...in P.J.'s or civvies😊 We're looking forward to reading your accounts soon about your upcoming adventure of volunteering in Spain!
Sherry - we enjoyed receiving all your comments...as we did sharing the PJ shoot. The Beaches is such a small community, let's hope as neighbours that we can augment our online with more real-time communication! (BTW...did you notice the interest our PJ's received from the bemused passer-bys?? Do you think the trend will catch on anytime soon in the Beach?)
Mr. Toh - we appreciated your collegial and welcoming hand on the helm as principal of Xuhui, during our spell at SSIS. Thanks for all of your support...Xuhui really is
a family with heart par excellence! Best of luck in all of your future endeavours. We wish you and yours continuing success!
Carly & Craig...daughter and son-in-law, you were the original Asian adventurers, and now your travelling spirit has landed you in Beijing where to all accounts you're having the times of your lives, and we're all immensely enjoying your tales
Good-byes at Sasha's
Were the order of the night on the eve of Craig and Carly's new adventure in Beijing, and our last night in Shanghai. of hutong living, curing pork (!) and running marathons. Keep the spirit alive, guys, and maybe we can see your life up close and personal before you leave...in the meantime, thanks for infecting us with the Asian travel bug! BTW your hutong abode is adorable...so keep on sending us those Beijing pics! (By any chance have you thought of taking up the blogger's pen yourselves??)
Cindy & Jay - it's been a delight to hear from Craig's relatives through the blog! But now that we're closing its pages for good, let's hope we can keep in touch. After all, the Illinois/Toronto divide is surely not that far?! Or shall we say, Myrtle Beach 2010?
Pauline! Wow! What an incredible story of China post-cultural revolution you sent to the last blog! It was quite eye-opening...and so opposite to our own experience this time round...if rather reminiscent of 2003, when we all shared our Hardy's in the empty lobby at your hotel in Hong Kong during SARS!? Here's to swapping more stories soon on this side of the globe.
Chris & Johanna...we always enjoyed your heartening emails and comments, and now that we're back home we
love catching up
Summer in the City
We've enjoyed our two summers back home...as evidenced in this pic snapped last July at the Distillery with our son, Chris, and his partner, Johanna. face-to-face over picnics, dinners and get-togethers. Thanks for the great welcome home...as well as keeping the home fires burning! We definitely look forward to expanding our horizons to the west end...and always remember that you both have a home-away-from-home in the east...(and thanks to you both, now a place with absolutely knock-out ceilings and lighting! 😊
Ted & Irene - it was great renewing our acquaintance online! We really appreciated the effort and thought behind your timely remarks. We look forward to seeing more of you guys at Carrie's fantastic soirees down the road, where we can catch up...and compare China notes!
Sherry - I'm so glad that we renewed our acquaintance through the blog, and have even carried it over to lunches and cappuccinos, which has helped remind us that T.O. has its own set of cool cafes (Editor's note: now if we can only convince the owners to keep them open with patio heaters into the fall we may forget
Sasha's et al sooner than later!?) Thanks, too, for getting us in touch with your grandson Tyler...we enjoyed hearing about his concurrent experiences in southern China.
Tyler - your grandmother is amazing...and it seems that
Here
Niece, Lauren, and sis, Martha...thanks for your early, regular correspondence. the apple doesn't fall too far! Those incredible accounts of your adventures in Shenzhen made ours pale in comparison (and reminded us of what a vast place our host country was...and is!) Your perseverance in learning Chinese was a positive inspiration, and will serve you well😊 Best of luck at McGill!
Martha & Lauren - thanks guys, for keeping up such regular contact our first year...and for your warm welcomes back! We loved hearing from you in the early days of the blog, when it really was a lifeline back home...can't tell you how much. In fact, our very first response was from you, Lauren, and it really meant a lot that you kicked off our blog! Also, it goes without saying that this summer's get-togethers have been fantastic. Here's to many, many,
many more down the road ahead😊
Dave...we will always remember our laughs, drinks and rendezvous' on some of the most incredible patios in one of the most amazing cities...the pearl of the orient...Paris of the east...
good ol' Shanghai! And you're right! Weren't those some of the best
'b'n'g' sessions on the planet? We must, must,
must keep in touch, and not only because you're the
Dave
...the lone, lean, Canadian of the original 11, who stayed on in Shanghai...we wish you all the luck! sole survivor of the original Canadians, but we have to know how your years in Asia progress. Besides...even if we are dreaded
"Torontonians" (crash, thunder, lightening) who else can commiserate like a pair of the original 11?
Chalo & Chris P...your observations always gave us food for thought, which made us appreciate our experience anew! Here's to your quirky take on life and its adventures...we appreciated the effort, guys...and the laughs! So keep on the lookout for those zombie bears with chain saws...and keep the smiles, energy and hilarious insights coming!
Yvonne...your remarks were so affecting that we're only so happy you were able to garner some enjoyment from the blog during your convalescence, and we hope that it was as beneficial to you as your comments were to us! Let's hope too that the opportunity of working together on the teaching circuit of York Region District School Board (YRDSB) presents itself again...get well soon!
Marina and Wendell...we'll miss commiserating over all the trials and tribultations of life in Shanghai...as well as the accompanying laughs we all garnered from the crazy enterprise of living and working in China. We admire and envy your tenacity at staying on
Chalo and Chris
We enjoyed the chuckles from our nephew and partner...both on and off the island:) in Asia, and look forward to hearing about your adventure -- part two!
Jim...we're so glad that we were able to impart our joy of China to you, and that you enjoyed our accounts so much you're now experiencing, as you put it, "blog withdrawal"! We are in the same
boat so to speak...that is, not only learning to enjoy ABYC as landlocked sailors, but also having to get our China fix from expats on the scene (see comments above to Mr. Toh, Margaret, Maria, Dave, Marina, Wendell, Carly and Craig) In the meantime, here's to life on the land (but if you see any good deals on used boats, please let us know😊
Margaret...we concur with all of your fav memories. What a laugh we had, eh mate? And let's not forget such chuckles as over the wisdom of owls, and other sundry topics from TOK days. We so enjoyed your collegiality and will sorely miss your insight, wit, and company -- in and out of the workplace! And now that you're back in Shanghai we appreciate getting our China fix through you, not to mention SSIS insider updates...keep them coming! (but don't hesitate to go too
Marina and Wendell
...since dining with us in our Shanghai digs, have moved on to new prospects in Asia. Good luck guys! 'low' ha, ha) To answer your question to the last blog, Carly and Craig are absolutely loving Beijing (even preferring it to Shanghai, can you imagine!) How lucky we were that all our paths crossed, and if there's one thing our sojourn's taught us, it's that the world is very small indeed...and where there's a will the distance between Australia and Canada is only one (LONG) way!
Maria...we're so glad to have met you, and are only sorry that our time together as colleagues, friends, and fellow
survivors of New Concept Mandarin night classes, was so short😊 Besides, there's still so many questions we have about your amazing stories around the globe...and, of course, your adventures back in Shanghai and SSIS (see request to Margaret above for news...and...ditto!😊 So when you return to the U.S. you must remember your neighbours to the north! Besides, for a Canadian hand such as yourself, it will feel like a homecoming😊
Leslie - your messages over the two years in Shanghai were SO appreciated. Thanks for keeping us in regular touch with happenings back home and at YRDSB. Now that we're back let's hope we can see each other often, if not
Cheers!
Thanks Jim for all of your support! And WE toast all your successful terms as Commodore at ABYC. in the halls of G. Williams, then either Aurora, King City or the Beaches...now that we're practically neighbours again!
So, as promised...
this is it! Our little China blog is now and forever closed! And in closing, we'd just like to add that now that we're home, and our adventure is well and truly behind us...in fact even the six boxes we mailed to ourselves have all arrived packed with dusty clothes and souvenirs...it turns out that thanks in large part to you all, this blog will probably be our most precious memento of two jam-packed incredible years in Shanghai.
Here's to you: Carrie, Sherry, Mr. Toh, Carly & Craig, Cindy & Jay, Pauline, Chris & Johanna, Ted & Irene, Sherry & Tyler, Martha & Lauren, Margaret, Dave, Maria, Chalo & Chris P, Yvonne, Marina & Wendell, Jim, Marg & Maria, and Leslie...with honourable mention to Amy's mother, Gagi, Roel's colleagues Moe & his sister, Linda, and our friends, Mike & Lynda, (who never got to visit, but at least had our Xmas presents sent, returned to sender, and finally delivered to us this summer personally!) Sok Lian, our SSIS English head and mentor (your positivity is absolutely inspiring!)
Here's to your encore at SSIS!
Maria and Marg (from left to right) are two of the best colleagues and friends one could hope to find on this, that or any side of the globe! Have a great second year, mates! China colleagues from 2002/2003 and friends, Joan and Bill (we wish YOU guys, with your world travels on the international teaching circuit, would write a book!) and last but never least, our SSIS colleague, Garry (who maybe one day will even read the blog, as well as look at the pics, ha ha😊...all of you have no idea what your emails and comments meant to us, whether they were written, verbal, frequent, or occasional. If the blog was a labour of love (with a greater emphasis sometimes on the first part) it was your input that made it all worthwhile, and kept us on the ball for pics and stories.
Finally, guys, here's to
all of our paths continuing to cross...and, as always, we look forward to hearing from you on your adventures, whenever and wherever they take you.
Love,
Amy & Roel
PS...and it goes without saying that we'd love to hear from you all on the blog, in one last comment 'for-the-road'!! (and afterwards and always, of course😊
PPS...and a short update this time around would be greatly appreciated...the pic diary that follows is ours😊
At the Lion
Leslie...thanks for all the timely updates from the home front!
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:eslie Jeanneret
non-member comment
What a journey!
Dear Amy, How wonderful to be included in your and Roel's thank yous! It was amazing for me to be included in your two year journey. I loved your blogs! Looking forward to seeing you in TO soon, Leslie