Date Night

It all started with a 10 minute scooter ride to the subway.  Date nights in China are a bit different than in the US and in the course of the evening we drove our scooter for 20 minutes took 4 four subway trains and walked for a total of 40 minutes!

Landon and I got home from the Christmas Bazaar fundraising event in the mid-afternoon after having sold our share of popcorn for the scouts.  Regan soon followed having returned from a victorious Soccer Tournament where he played goalie and Mason - well Mason had just woken up.  I tried to rally all the troops to go out to a Chinese restaurant by my office called Dong Bei Jia Ren (literally - North East Family) that I have been to several times with co-workers.  After pleading my case that it would be an "adventure" and that "No, the food is not spicy" I still had no takers.  Then Mason sprung into action and said "Why don't you two go on a date night! I'll watch Landon and make dinner for the boys!"  It didn't take much thought from Cynthia and I before we made a mad dash to get ready and head out the door before anyone changed their mind or attitude.

After securing the scooter outside of Yunshan station on Line 6 we made our way through the crowds to the first train.  It was rush hour and to get on the train we had to push and shove our way to a place inside the car where it was SRO - sardine room only!  6 stops later found us at Century Avenue station where we changed to Line 2 and headed toward our destination of Jiangsu station.  In total it was about 45 minutes on the subway one way.  You don't see many Westerners on the subway although they are scattered here and there.  It is a great time for people watching and often times someone will try to strike up a conversation with us in Chinese and we try to communicate but poorly and usually it just ends up in mutual smiles and silence.  From Jiangsu station we had a 20 minute walk through the heart of the city - busy roads, honking horns, street vendors selling fresh fruit, roasted chestnuts, and bouquets of flowers, cars passing above on elevated highways and scooters weaving their way along the sidewalks and roadsides.  It really is an adventure and I can see why big cities like Shanghai are referred to as "the concrete jungle" 

We arrived at Dong Bei Jia Ren restaurant around 6:30pm and were welcomed by a host who was waiting for guests on the sidewalk.  Upon the opening of the large colorfully painted doors we were greeted by two hostesses dressed in brightly colored jackets and the familiar "Huan Ling Guan Ling" chant, but here at what seemed the top of their lungs!  We were quickly seated at a table on the first floor and soon had the menu in hand ordering our dishes.  The menu was in pictures (as in most Chinese restaurants) but also had both Chinese and English descriptions - things like Private Place Meat Pie (which we ordered and it was delicious), Would Need a Lake Shrimp and Deep Fried Silkworm Chrysalis (did not order these although I offered to get them for Cynthia)  Besides the meat pie we had fresh vegetables, cabbage & pork dumplings, and a Flaming Dragon Fish which was neither on fire or spicy but did sort of look like a dragon.

After dinner we walked a short distance to a place to have a foot massage.  Cynthia's knee has been bothering her so I ordered the Ginger Paste treatment.  They place paper towels spread with a ginger paste over each knee then put a wet towel over that and wrap the entire knee in plastic.  The heat from the ginger paste penetrates into the joint and is very restorative - think Chinese BenGay.  We also ordered "cupping" which is where they take a glass cup and put a flame inside of it then quickly place it on the sole of your foot creating a vacuum.  They rub the glass cup around your foot and then pull it off with a loud "POP!" This procedure is repeated several times and really feels wonderful.

By 9:00pm we were heading back home and arrived around 10:00pm.  The boys were still alive, the house was in tact and all was good.  Not bad for a Chinese Date Night!