Shanghai to Beijing

Today is ms. Evelyn’s birthday. She was in the shower when I left for the community center but I saw her when I came back a little later. I gave her a few gifts mom and I had picked out before coming and then was off to Concordia again. Today was my last day promoting the paintball event that goes on tomorrow. I sat at my table and watched some of the kids play basketball outside and talked to the people who walked by. It amazes me when I see this elementary, middle, and high school expat kids attending school in Shanghai. I think living in their shoes for a day would be fascinating. I have to say I have had the privilege to travel near and far and have plenty of stories to tell from each of my trips but seriously these kids LIVE here… the girl from Wisconsin, the boy from Texas, the kid from Tennessee, Washington, Mississippi, and so on. That may bore you but I find it interesting haha.

It was an extremely hot day today, I walked from Concordia to Carrefour and was ordering a frappuccino and a wrap when Kristen came over and said hi. We ended up going upstairs and chatting for an hour before walking back the community center together. I talked to Ron for a sec after giving him the signup sheets. I then bought a coke and headed home to finish packing. Ms. Evelyn gave me a small suitcase to use and so I threw in all the stuff I thought I would need and was ready to go. Ms. Evelyn’s parents were coming in at 2:30 and so she couldn’t come with me to the airport. My driver took me and was kind enough to show me where to go and to help me with my bags; he is such a nice guy! I was walking through security and going down the halls looking for my gate and thinking: Oh goodness what was I thinking, China and me seem to do solo a lot and I don’t like that…. I don’t know these people I am staying with, I wish a friend was with me, and I still feel sick and want to be in my comfy bed at home hearing the boys play drums and guitar downstairs!

I got on my flight and the man next to me was a bit nerve-racking… he kept sitting there with a weird look on his face pounding his knuckles together and then rubbing the back of his neck till I thought it ought to be bleeding!! Some odd man in 53L was not sitting in his correct seat and when asked to move by a woman he got up looked around and sat in the next available free seat… hmmm WEIRD! Throughout the flight he did odd things that made me a bit nervous but hey I’m still alive so it’s all good haha. I was feeling sick to begin with and fell asleep before the plane took off, woke up after about 40 minutes and had a cup of jasmine tea. I made notes of where all the people I heard speaking English so I knew who to ask a question if I had any. We landed and I got off the plane onto the tarmac, there were busses and I just got on one! I had a couple of people ask me if it was the right one and if I was from Beijing or Shanghai… haha little did they know haha! So I guess that’s a good thing that people think I live here because I am obviously doing something right, or looking like I know what I’m doing!

Our bus stopped and I followed the Chinese people to the baggage claim because there were about 15 different ones that ALL looked the same with no English. I soon realized I hadn’t looked at the bag ms. Evelyn gave me and didn’t really remember if it had a tag on it!!! Whoops! Guess I was a bit pre-occupied. I remembered something green and I found one with a green tag with Gary Sun written on it, haha so I was good! I made my way out into a sea of Asians looking for Cameron and a piece of A4 paper with my name on it. I didn’t see her or the paper… I called her and she said she was 20 minutes away!!! Well I looked around and found something familiar – a Starbucks! The taste, the smell, the environment! It was like I was back in Pudong, or even back in Charlotte. I ordered another cold drink, I felt like I stepped into a sauna when I landed. It felt so good going down my throat, I sat there and waited, trying to comprehend the fact that I had made it here and was starting a slew of new adventures. Cameron arrived and we hopped in her car and headed for Lily’s house. I thought the pollution in Shanghai was bad, the sky here is gray; I can feel the thickness of the air as I breathe it in.

We finally arrived and climbed to the fifth floor. She has a nice apartment but I must say I have been spoiled by living in one of the top three most prestigious compounds in Shanghai. Lily wasn’t due home for another hour but her i-ee made us dinner. It was interesting and Cameron didn’t like it, neither did I for the most part so I filled up on rice. Lily arrived halfway through and I am looking forward to getting to know her better. We finished eating and did a few other things. Cameron left to go home and Lily went to bed – which I was a bit grateful for because I am tired and I wanted to get ready for bed. I have an early morning tomorrow, my itinerary is listed below.

1. Temple of Heaven
2. A visit to the Tian'anmen Square .
3. Forbidden City
***Quick lunch break.***
4. Summer Palace



Goodnight!
-Chels

Catching Up

I charged the battery on my bike all last night so I could ride it today. Had some teddy grams and apple and headed to the community center to meet Ron and Allie. I got all the information about paintball and headed to Concordia, one of the American schools here. Set my table up and sat throughout the lunches trying to get kids to sign up…. You would think a bunch of middle school boys would jump at this inexpensive opportunity…. I only got a couple kids to sign up. I think we have 20 total right now but seriously?!

On my way back to the community center I decided to take a detour to Starbucks. One of the nice things about Starbucks, aside from their coffee, is their smell. All Starbucks whether you are in North Carolina, Pudong, or any of the other places I have been they all smell the same. You open up the shop door and the deep, strong smell of fresh coffee envelopes you. I got my coffee and made my way upstairs to sit and look out the window. It was like I was back home again, the taste, the smell, even the look. The only difference is that if the only seat available is one at somebody else’s table, here in China you could sit there without a weird look or having the other person leave. I thoroughly enjoyed my drink and then hopped on my bike and headed back the community center. On the way back my bike decided to die on me so I had to pedal the rest of the way.

After a short nap I woke up with a sore throat, ate a quick dinner, and headed over to Lee’s house. Lee, Kristen, Natalie, Adrienne, and I all went out for desert at “The Kitchen,” a nice place next to the water. We had a wonderful time and ate delicious deserts! Sadly Adrienne is the first to leave and so this was a kind of farewell to her as well. We said our goodbyes and all headed home after a fantastic evening. On a side note I have to say that I have never felt more comfortable being a woman and walking around somewhere. Even back home in my own backyard or in Charlotte I don’t usually feel safe. Here I have no problem walking around our compound late at night or being with a group of girls downtown, I feel and am, safe. Don’t worry I am still cautious J haha.

Anyways I got home and had a very sore throat, attempted to go to sleep and my throat got worse. I went through my bags looking for some of the Halls I brought but they are missing. I noticed once I got here that some of my stuff is missing… I know they went through my bags at the airport but I’m missing a few t-shirts, Tylenol PM, Halls, and a few other things – A bit odd! By about 2am I had a fever and my whole body ached. I went downstairs and made some tea and looked for anything to take. Without luck I came back upstairs and attempted to sleep. I was up all night and then had to help out at one of the schools so I headed off to SCIS with Ron. We were there for a couple of hours then headed home. I got home and came to lie down, Ms. Evelyn wanted to take me to the doctor because I didn’t look well and I was burning up but I told her to give it another day or two. I took some Chinese remedy stuff and some more Dayquill and went to bed. I slept the rest of the day and Ms. Evelyn kept checking on me, I have the best Chinese mom ever! I slept until about 1am got up managed to eat something and drink a bit, and then fell back asleep and didn’t wake up until this morning.

Today my driver took me to SAS which is actually the school Andrew and Bryan attend. I met up with Ron and we found a table, he had a meeting to go to so I sought out kids to come play paintball. To my surprise Andrew and Bryan both said hello to me and came and talked to me!! I thought with them being in 5th and 8th grade they might be embarrassed to have me talk to them… but nope! Even their friends who I knew said hi to me! SAS is about a 45 minute drive from our house so my driver waited for me to bring me back. Ron came with us and we stopped at Johnny Moos for lunch – I had an amazing cheeseburger. My driver dropped Ron off at the community center then took me home.

I dragged myself up the 5 flights of stairs up to our house and got some more meds. Ms. Evelyn and I then headed out to the fabric market to pick up our dresses. Hahaha what an experience!!! We went to the one making the summer dress first. Well he held up a sheet and told me to try it on haha. So I slipped off my shirt and pulled the dress over, only to find out it only covers half my chest and one strap is crooked. For the record this was a new guy we were trying and will NOT go back to. He dropped the sheet to see and he was like “Its ok its ok, and started trying to move it around.” One thing here is if you don’t like it they try to tell you its ok. Hahaha even if it obviously is not ok! By now an audience has formed as this guy is trying to make it fit. I couldn’t stop laughing, good thing I’m never going to see these people again hahaaha. Then ms. Evelyn tried her dress on…. Well it looked great but she wanted a thing or two changed so she went to take it off and couldn’t get it off! I had to help her and between the two of us and all our giggling we finally got it off. She told him she wanted the zipper longer and he told her she shouldn’t rush to get her clothes off hahahaha. I’m sorry but sometimes you can’t take forever to take your clothes off. So we left laughing, our dresses supposedly will be fixed and ready tomorrow. I was a little weary to go to the second place… We got there and they handed us our dresses and shoved us behind in an actual curtain dressing room and we tried our dresses on. They both fit perfectly!!! I love mine so much, now I just need some cute heels and accessories to go with it. As we were leaving a fabric caught my eye and I had to get a dress made out of it! I explained what I wanted and showed them a couple of the already made dresses and how I wanted this of this one and that of that one and this like that and so on haha. I got measured and it will be ready Tuesday when I get back from Beijing. I convinced ms. Evelyn to get another dress made as well.

We headed to Super Brand Mall, 10 stories of everything imaginable, to look for shoes. I found a few pairs I liked but nothing in my size and nothing I absolutely loved. Ms. Evelyn bought a cute pair that will look darling with her dress. We are now home and I need a lot of rest and some more meds haha. What a day!

Well apparently I seem like a local now! At SAS today one of Bryan’s friends asked him if is mom was white haha. And at the fabric market today a couple of white people asked me if I lived here and how long I had lived here. The guards at the community center all smile and ask me how I’m doing when I ride my bike in and out. I love it!

I am feeling much better today; I think the worst is over with. I have little to no fever today and have been taking lots of Dayquill and I have some sort of eardrops that I have been putting in my ears which started hurting, and Advil for my head. I will be fine and hopefully ok for my flight to Beijing tomorrow.

Oh and I got good news the other day. JJ has been matched with an autistic boy in Tampa FL. He will be his companion dog and go everywhere with him and assist him in many ways. JJ must notice the signs that the boy is being over-stimulated and guide him into a calmer setting. Sometimes pressure is needed to calm the boy so JJ will learn when to lie down on the boy or press up against him to calm him. I don’t know about the boy JJ has been matched with but some autistic children are known to bolt, so he may be used to keep him from running away as well. Sometimes people who are autistic have difficulties figuring out which sounds are important, whether it be a fire alarm, a piano, or a cricket, so it’s JJ’s job to alert this boy of important sounds and get him to focus on what he is telling him. I’m very proud of my little boy and am so glad he is changing this family’s life. It really makes it all worth it, and when I am down in Florida in a couple of months I might get to see him and meet the family, if they are willing.

Unforgettable

Lee, Kristen, and Adrienne, picked me up around nine and we were on our way to the orphanage. We were on the bridge to Puxi when Lee’s driver slammed on the breaks and we all braced ourselves- we don’t wear seatbelts here remember- and hit into the truck in front of us. The driver jumped out of the car and he and the other driver agreed to drive off the bridge and discuss the situation. We all put on seatbelts and drove off the bridge trying to figure out what happened. We came to a stop and the Eric said “I get you taxi.” We got out of the car and Lee's car was a bit bumped up. Nobody was hurt, so it's all good. Lee was pretty shaken about it all but I think she is ok now. We got in a taxi and were a bit sensitive to all the fast stops and stuff. I am actually a bit surprised this is the first time I’ve been in the car when something like this has happened, with all the taxis I ride in and their driving we have come close more than a handful of times per trip!

We made it to the orphanage in one piece and headed up three flights of stairs to one of the rooms. It did not smell good and the ladies working there didn’t seem to have much love or patience for the kids. It was a sad sight, and I wanted to take them all home with me – what made it worse is that this is one of the better orphanages, some they don’t let foreigners in. The kids were precious and it broke my heart to see so many of them rocking back and forth with anxiety, some even hitting themselves. We had the opportunity to name some of them and we got to play and hold them as well as feed them lunch. Some of the names were, Rosey, Heather, Tom, Eddie, Emma, and Audrey. I don’t even know what to say about this experience other than I can add it to my “unforgettable moments” list.

Kristen, Adrienne, Suz, and her friend and I went out to lunch afterwards. We had an American waitress!!! Haha who knew something like this would excite all of us. We walked around Watsons afterwards – a CVS – and I couldn’t help but laugh at the “Skin bleach” become whiter creams, the beer shampoo, and the packaged chickens feet.

I got home and ms. Evelyn and I headed out to look at new houses. The first one was disgusting – mom it needed your staging skills! The landlord was living in it and we walked in and the place stunk. There were dirty walls, clothes everywhere, dirty socks, unmade beds, trash everywhere. ICK. We headed to the next house both unpleased and the lady couldn’t get the door open. They have keyless doors here and they take a 4 digit number and the lady kept trying 6 numbers. She then left us there for about 20 minutes while she tried to find another code. In the end we couldn’t get in and so we went home. I took a nap and then we had a wonderful dinner.

Andrew wanted to dye his hair dirty blonde so I took him to the store and we got the lightest color we could find. Not many let me tell you the best we could find was a ginger brown color : (. We bought it and got some mango drinks and headed home. I dyed his hair and his mom didn’t want it too light so she made him wash it out after 15 minutes. It would have been better had we of left it in longer but it looks gingery. I hope the color is better in the morning. I will probably dye it back to black for him before I come back to the States. It was quite the experience and we had a lot of fun!

Heather

Emma

Tom

Rosey


Another busy day tomorrow so goodnight.

Chels

Century Park

Well today I was supposed to help out with the middle school kids but turned out 180 was canceled today. So Andrew and I took a taxi to Century Park and explored before meeting up with his parents later. We decided to head first to go feed the pigeons, it took us about 30 minutes to find the place where they were – I swear the signs we would pass kept telling us a different direction to go! We finally arrived and I asked for two bags of feed, then I handed the lady 2 rmb and was getting out another 2 and she gave me this look like “Oh my why would you want two bags of feed!!!” I wish I had my camera out, the face was priceless! I handed a bag to Andrew and I think she understood. We fed the birds and chatted then made our way to a carnival section. Along the way we passed a guy fishing and decided to watch him for a little bit. He had a net full of fish but never caught anything while we watched. After that we decided on bumper cars. Let me tell you Chinese bumper cars is intense!!! Every time I was hit I felt like I was in an actual car wreck haha. No seatbelts and little bumpers and high speeds. This gave an American bumper car place a run for its money! I was zooming and crashing into people, I have a huge bruise on my knee as proof that this should have been called Extreme Bumper Cars. I had to post a picture of the rules which number one was : Dunkards and people with sickness or psychopaths are not allowed to play this game. Whoops don’t know how I got on – in America psychopaths are allowed on rides haha. After that and another ride which I swear I almost died on we headed to find I taxi. We were waiting for one to drive by when some guards were eyeing me and then asked Andrew in Chinese who I was to him – haha – Andrew told them I was his sister and they look pleased and thoroughly confused! Right then we hopped in a taxi and were off – what an adventure!

We went out to dinner later and then picked up a movie from the store. I managed to lose my phone or maybe it was stolen, I don’t know, at Century Park so I had to go get a new one. I needed some “fresh” air, or really just toxic cool air, so I took my motorbike to Carrefour to get a new phone. It was about 9 at night I had a black jacket and black sweats on and had the light on my bike on. I’m driving down the road signing and just for the record - I don’t look at the Chinese funny when they sing on their bikes! They give me the oddest looks to begin with and singing just brought out more looks of befuddlement! Anyways I’m riding along and am going through an intersection trying not to get run over, I passed somebody quite quickly and recognized her, and then I heard somebody call my name! Seriously I am in Pudong and somebody is calling my name as I zoom by, and I am wearing all black in the dark night!?!! Haha I think it was Matt, the guy whose bday party I went to, still not quite sure, I will have to ask him next time I see him. But I couldn't turn around to say hi because I was already in the middle of the intersection.

Came home and watched a movie with the family and finally got around to doing some laundry :). Tomorrow I am off to the orphanage and then the rest of this week I am shopping and helping recruit middle school kids for paintball. Night.

Chels

Downs and Ups

Well I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. My brain seemed to go into overdrive and keep me up until about 4am. I finally fell asleep and slept till about 11, and then checked my e-mail. Sad news was waiting for me in my inbox…. JJ the guide dog I raised has been career changed and is perusing a career in law enforcement. He apparently became food aggressive at the kennel; this came as a shocker and was a bit frustrating to say the least. I realize not every dog is meant to become a guide and that only %60 of SEGD’s pups become them, but it’s still disappointing. If he makes it in law enforcement he will do great, I’m happy if he is happy and it doesn’t take much for Lil J to be happy : ) .

After showering and taking my time to get ready for the day I headed downstairs to do some more e-mail and get some coffee. Friends and part of the band were at our house playing away in the family room. I grabbed a scone and brewed a pot of coffee and opened my laptop and sat enjoying the music and singing. We had some really good Thai food from Simply Thai, for a late lunch. We all got ready and packed into our car and drove to Matt’s surprise birthday party.

Matt is the youth’s drummer and he is leaving in July to go to Taiwan for college. It was a wonderful party, and so many people got up and spoke, he has really changed so many lives in his 18 years of living. I wish I had more time to get to know him! It made me really look at my life and think about how I am affecting others, about where I am going, and about what I want to do. After the party Andrew and his friends were showing me how to pass a rugby ball, this is not easy my friends! Haha. We played keep away throwing the ball rugby style hahaha. It was a lot of fun and I was worn out by the time we headed home! I had my camera with me but realized halfway through the night that I left my memory card at home in my laptop… whoops!

Ron asked for my help tomorrow at 180 with the youth so that should be fun. Well I am going to attempt to sleep, good night!

Shopping

Today was May holiday, aka Labor Day. Ms. Evelyn and I headed to Puxi to one of the fabric markets and walked around. I swear there was every piece of fabric and material imaginable and then some. I had in my mind that I wanted a black cocktail dress and a summer dress to start. If I was happy with what they made I would go back and get more stuff custom made. We walked around and talked about the design and style I wanted, and of course bargained. They both should be done on the 7th, I can’t wait, and they are going to look amazing! Ms. Evelyn ended up getting two dresses made as well, guess it’s contagious!

We headed home and took Bryan to a birthday party then went out to go purse shopping! I was given the address of a hidden place and so we hopped in a taxi and went to the location. Walked down an alley and down a set of stairs, a man asked us what we wanted and we told him. Very suspicious he asked how we had come to find them, and we told him through a friend. A lady came out and then they walked us down a dark hallway with many doors and no lights, you could hear the water dripping and there was some horrible stench. The man looked at us again and unlocked a door and flipped on a light. Inside were bags, sunglasses, belts, watches and more! Some were fakes others had fallen off of trucks or were stolen apparently. We didn’t buy anything in the end but laugh the whole way back at the experience. After that we headed to a local purse place and I bought a couple handbags and Ms. Evelyn bought one. I must say we make an AMAZING bargaining team!!!

Came home absolutely exhausted and had about a half hour of downtime before heading out to dinner. Bryan and Andrew are spending the night at their friends’ houses. I spent the evening helping Ms. Evelyn with a PowerPoint presentation she was working on and am now getting some rest before heading out to shop again tomorrow!

Oh and can’t forget, I passed this bathroom and had to take a picture. Here is what the sign said outside: Women 0.5 RMB, Men free, elderly and children free. night!

Chelsea

2 Weeks

Today was my last day at HSH. I did a bunch of little things, including giving a group of people a tour and answering questions. It was bitter sweet, I hate saying goodbye and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to teach these people and really be taught by these people. A group of 3 expats were there today helping teach and they offered to have their driver take me home. Before I left Christina, the head of HSH, gave me a letter with a picture of everybody and a signed card from everyone – Definitely something I will keep forever! I hopped in the van and we were off, the ladies were all very nice and we chatted as though we had been friends for years.

I had planned on helping Ms. Evelyn watch her 3 year old niece this afternoon but turned out last minute we didn’t have to. So I spent the afternoon watching movies and taking a nap.
We headed out for a pretty western dinner at Blue Frog. On the way home we picked up Andrew from a friend’s house and stopped off at the movie store. I bought Slumdog Millionaire -16 RMB!!- and just finished watching it, what a movie! I now know why it won so many awards.

Haha so funny story.... Mr. Gary was teaching me to drive the motorcycle tonight… haha A friend was moving back to the States and gave it to them, he had never driven it before and was having difficulties. He almost hit a car and the guard saw and was like watching and was not looking happy that he came about an inch from the car and almost crashed a few other times. haha so I hopped on and was doing great and Andrew and Mr. Gary both said wow your doing great and well… Mr. Gary had told me to try using just the foot brake and I did and I didn’t let off enough on the gas to turn and brake and I crashed through a fence! haha I wasn't going fast and the fence is about 3 feet tall and wooden. We all couldn't stop laughing! Nobody was hurt! Mr. Gary went and told the guard who actually thought that Mr. Gary did it. It was in the compound so it wasn’t a big deal, the guard was actually shocked and speechless that somebody would report themselves rather than running away. What an adventure that was! The guard thought Mr. Gary was blaming me and kept saying to him, ok but YOU be careful! Haha we all laughed until we about cried. Don’t worry mom when I buy my own motorcycle when I get home it will be lighter and have good working brakes, and I will buy a helmet!

Tomorrow Ms. Evelyn and I are going shopping and possibly to the fabric market as well. I am going to get some things made so that should be fun. Miss you all!

Chels