A Day in the Park

We finally felt settled enough to get out of our neighborhood and do a bit of sightseeing with the kids. We took a taxi to Zhongshang Park, which is about 30 minutes from our home. One of the best parts of living overseas for me is to see new and interesting neighborhoods and this is definitely a neighborhood I would like to visit again. We had the kids with us, though, so we headed straight into the park and started looking around. We first went into a climbing/playing area which was indoors. The kids did not want to go to the climbing area, but they were happy to play a few of the games. After this, we wandered around outside and watched all of the people enjoying the day. There were groups dancing to music, flying kites, riding on the lake in boats, and playing games. The kids and Michael went on the carousel and Molly spent quite a bit of time in a bouncy castle. There were not a lot of expats in the park and it was fun to hang out and watch people on a typical Sunday in China.

Girls' Day Out

At the end of October we had a much needed girls' day out. Jenn, my upstairs friend, and I headed out with our daughters -- Molly and Jaya. We took the WWG shuttle into a neighborhood nearby and had coffee and breakfast. Then we climbed into a taxi and Jenn told the driver where to go -- it is nice to know someone who has been here a while and speaks Chinese. We headed downtown to H&M to try to find some sweaters and fall clothes for Molly and me. The little girls even stayed calm enough for Jenn and I to try on some clothes. I actually left with a few purchases for me and even more purchases for Molly. Then, the four of us headed to lunch nearby and ate and chatted. Finally, when the younger girls seemed like they had had enough, we headed home to show off our purchases.

Kris and Molly
















Jenn and Jaya

Halloween in Shanghai

We had a great first Halloween in Shanghai. Molly's school was closed due to Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease so her party was postponed. Luckily, she was able to come to SAS with me that day and watch the parade and attend much of Benjamin's party. For costumes, we headed to the Children's Market which is downtown. This market is full of shops of toys and clothes for kids. We found a costume store and Benjamin was very excited to see two Ben 10 costumes hanging on the rack. He chose to be Heat Blast and was thrilled. Molly looked at all of the beautiful princess costumes and chose the slightly dirty dalmation costume.

School started with a parade around campus. We were supposed to go all over the school, but rain forced us to stay in the elementary building. The kindergarteners started the parade and headed through the halls. I stayed with Benjamin's class as we walked by all of the classes. Then, we headed to a party in Benjamin's room where they played games and made Halloween projects.

That afternoon we headed to Shanghai Racquet Club for some trick-or-treating. This was the first "real" trick-or-treating the kids have done. We went to over 10 apartments and then headed to a party at the Monk -- a bar/restaurant in the neighborhood. The place was filled with families and there was food and drink for everyone. It was a fun and exhausting day.

Pictures from the Day

Molly's Field Trip

Molly had her first field trip the last week in October and I was very happy to be able to go along. We went to the Shanghai Organic Farm which is about a 45 minute bus ride from her school. It was fun to sit with Molly on the ride there and look out the window and talk about what we were seeing. It was also nice to meet some of the other moms. When we arrived, we toured the farm, planted some seeds, fed some goats, had lunch and even did some vegetable shopping. We left the farm very tired, but with lots of great organic vegetables to eat.

Benjamin Learns to Ride a Bike

After a month of riding around town on training wheels, Benjamin has learned to ride a bike all by himself. It was very exciting to see him take off the training wheels and begin riding with Michael by his side. As time went on, his confidence grew. It was also helpful to have his new friend, Aidan, by his side encouraging and helping him all the way. Now, Benjamin rides all around our community and can even ride his bike to school and into town. We have a bike with a seat in the back for Molly so the whole family can go out and ride together. Bikes are a necessity here as that is how we get around the neighborhood. It is such a great feeling to go out and ride in the cool fall air. I am sure it will not be so thrilling in the winter. When I met some friends for dinner a while back I had to laugh as we all pulled up on our bikes. It was hard not to remember the Dubai days when we all pulled up in our SUV's. Our life has definitely changed.

Pictures of the School

I finally left my office and took some pictures around the SAS campus. It is one of the most amazing campuses I have seen, with 3 distinct buildings for elementary, middle and high school, a cafeteria divided into two sections for older kids, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, performing arts center and lots of play areas and fields. If you look beyond the field in one of the pictures you can see our apartment complex in the background. We are across the street from the elementary gate so it is an easy commute for Benjamin and me. Michael has to go to the other side of campus, though, which can take five minutes to walk.

Holiday Weekend

We had a three day weekend for the Moon Festival in the middle of September and took this opportunity to finally do a bit of sightseeing. On Sunday afternoon, we had Jessica, our first babysitter ever, come to our house at 3:00 and Michael and I headed to the Bund. We took a taxi to the nearest subway station (about 20 minutes away) and then took the subway to the Bund. This seems to be the easiest way to get into the city. Michael and I spent a couple of hours wandering around the Bund shopping area and then walked to the viewpoint and looked at the Pearl Tower and buildings in the Pudong area across the river. It was raining and fairly miserable, but it was nice to get out. We then stopped at a local Chinese restaurant where no one spoke English and had a disappointing meal. When we arrived home, the kids were in bed and the house was clean.

Heading to the Subway Station














Nanjing Road East -- Pedestrian Shopping Area















Pearl Tower in Pudong














On Monday, Michael participated in an SAS golf tournament so I decided to take the kids to the Shanghai Zoo. It rained on the way to the zoo, but stopped by the time we arrived. The zoo is quite big and has a lot of animals. We saw pandas, snakes, lions, tigers, and we even attended an elephant show. After two hours of wandering around, we were all hot, tired and cranky so we slowly made our way to the exit and fortunately found a quick taxi home.

Elephant Show














Pandas at the Zoo














The Duck Pond at the Zoo
















We arrived home just in time for a huge storm to start. There was heavy rainfall, lightning and thunder. The storm caused Michael's golf game to end early and also caused a power outage in our apartment for three hours. The kids took a bath by candlelight which was a new experience and the power went on just in time for bed.