last full day...for now

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June 1. We are coming back in 2 months, so I don't feel that I wish we didn't have to leave feeling. I will be back very soon. Tons to see and do in Shanghai, and of course all the places we want to visit while in China/Asia.

We shopped today and went to many areas of the city to do that shopping. We did do some haggling for beads/stones per my sister, Laura's request. I will see how well we did when she gets a look at the goods. It was hard. They tell you a price by showing it to you on a big calculator. You react and say it's too much (“Tai Gui le” pronounced “Tai (as in ‘Tai’land) Gway lar” and you are expected to counter with your offer. So you type that into the calculator. Then they react like you have insulted them greatly, but still they come back with a counter offer. And so on. Finally, if getting nowhere you walk away and they quite often chase you and agree to your last price. We did this a lot today. It was hard work! Mark has a much better poker face than I do. I get all excited and smiley when I want something which is not the best strategy when bargaining. He is also prepared to spend quite a long time in the haggling process, while I (in typical Suzanne fashion) want instant gratification.

We took metro and cabs and walked a lot again. The subways are just so great here. I am glad we plan to live near a station. We took our first crowded elevator ride. We got on on the top floor of a mall and crammed in last...then were smooshed til the exit on the first floor. It was not great, but we did it without incident. The mall we were in is across from our likely apartment building. It has about 5 floors of restaurants (and more floors of shops). Seems we will be well fed while here. We saw one place where you could get a plate of potstickers for $1. I might not need to cook much! Food is pretty cheap.

One last night in our soon-to-be hometown and then back to our real hometown. Can't wait to see everyone.

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Photos

shopping area we loved
relaxing, quaint stores with nice merchandise in lovely displays...no haggling here.

Mark pretends to enjoy shopping
Mark dreaded the shopping day...but he rallied and did a fine job with the haggling!

more vendors
so many people! tons of vendors all vying for our attention...high stress shopping

Comments

[Linda]

Enjoyed the description of the haggling process with the calculator. I'm with you..."instant gratification" and all. Will you continue blogging while you're home, getting ready? And when do you FOUR take off? Love to all of you...what an adventure!! Linda