Starting over?

Well, we are now through our second night at the new apartment. This really is a second start as we had just settled into a routine at the Marriot hotel. On the day we took possession of the apartment we spent about two hours with the service team reviewing all of the furniture we ordered, making sure all the appliances worked and documenting any damage or other pre-existing condition. The apartment has a master bedroom with a balcony, three bedrooms (one for each of the boys), 2-1/2 bathrooms, a family room, kitchen and living room with a balcony. It is about 2500 sq ft in total. When it came time to hand over the keys I was a bit dumbfounded by the process. In total they gave us 37 (not a typo) THIRTY-SEVEN keys. Now, I had trouble keeping track of my house keys in the US and they were only two in number - not sure how I will cope with 37!! We had to sign off on each "set" of three keys and the entire process took about 15 minutes. The key situation is as follows: 5 for the front entry, 3 for the master bedroom, 3 for each of the boys bedrooms (12 in total) 3 for the kitchen balcony, 3 for the back door, 3 for the living room balcony, 3 for the MB balcony, 2 for the mailbox, and three for the family room. I am going to look like the high school janitor with the key ring I will need. I might even have to start wearing suspenders to hold up my pants due to the weight of the keys. As we started unpacking our air shipment which arrived on Friday evening we realized that we had failed to pack any bath towels, utensils, dishes, and other very basic necessities. Our first few showers were interesting as we had to use t-shirts to dry off or simply walk around in our birthday suits for the drip dry method. So it was off to IKEA for a shopping spree. We found some nice pillows, comforters and other niceties.  We also made a trip to Carrefour for other essentials like an iron, ironing board, cleaning supplies, trash cans and other miscellaneous items.  We heard from the shipping company that our sea shipment will arrive into port on Monday Sept. 5th but that we should expect it to be unloaded and cleared through customs until sometime around the 15th. (again, right in the middle of a business trip so Cynthia and the boys will have to unpack)  Mason is off to Fudan University this morning (Sunday) for the Opening Ceremony for the semester. The Chinese seem to be big on Opening Ceremonies - Expo 2010, The Beijing Olympics etc. but I don't think there will be 1000's of choreographed dancers and 3 hours of fireworks but I could be wrong.  Will keep you posted.  Classes begin for him on Monday and should be an good substitute for the boredom he has been experiencing over the last week or so.  Well, I am off to B&Q (think Chinese Home Depot) to buy a screwdriver and wrench so I can assemble our IKEA bar stools.  Wishing everyone a great weekend and don't forget to save those pennies for your trip to Shanghai! 

It's been a busy week.

Sorry that I haven't gotten to the blog in a couple of days but it has been a little bit hectic.  I had a trip to Qingdao, Mason had registration at Fudan University, we took possession of our apartment, the air shipment arrived, Cynthia had to make a visit to the hospital, the school had a 4 hour open house and we are moving out of the hotel today (Friday).  Cynthia is fine and I didn't mean to "slip one by you" amid the flurry of activity.  She had been having a headache and stomach cramps for several days in a row and none of the usual meds were able to alleviate the conditions.  She went to the hospital and the doctors diagnosed her with dehydration and possible salmonella poisioning.  They gave a\her a couple of IV drips and an antibiotic to knock out the stomach issue and she is feeling much better.  Mason has had similar symptoms but he is "needle shy" and after hearing about mom's treatment wants nothing to do with IVs. He is toughing it out and we are keeping a close eye on him.  He seems to be doing better and we have stocked the fridge with Gatorade and are encouraging everyone to keep well hydrated.  Please take a few moments to remembers the Smith's in your prayers. Zai jian! (Good bye)

The Clapping Ladies

We have come across an interesting phenomenon the we have named "The Clapping Ladies". This is not a very original name as it very much describes the behavior and gender of the person to whom the moniker is applied.  The real question is "Why?" and it's natural corollary "Do they know what they look like?"  Before I continue, let me try to explain the behavior in a bit more detail.  The first indication one has of a Clapping Lady (from here on known as a CL) is the tell-tale sound of a very rhythmic clap.  Upon looking around one will notice a CL (they are always older Chinese women) within a short distance walking at a brisk pace, arms straight and swinging - up "clap" and down, up "clap" and down etc.  There are variations on this basic move.  Sometimes the arm swinging and clapping is done parallel to the ground - known as the "Horizontal Clap" (imagine arms outspread like a gymnast on the rings in the Iron Cross position) where the arms are brought together in front of the person at chest height and parallel to the ground.  The final and rarest variation is the most complex and is called the "Front & Back Clap" which results in a double time rhythmic clap.  We have only observed this one time and think that she might have been a former circus performer due to her extreme flexibility to be able to clap behind her back.  You might imagine that the CLs create quite a scene when out on the street conducting their "business" however no one seems to notice them and they don't seem to be in the least bit inhibited in their activity.  So back to the question of "Why?"  One theory is that this is a form of excercise as the clapping is always done at a brisk walking pace.  Perhaps the clapping promotes blood flow and invigorates the system.  Another theory, is that they have recently lost their way from a percussion ensemble in a street parade, however we lack any evidence of random street parades in Shanghai.  Finally, they may just want to have a little space in this very crowded city.  This seems to be the most likely explanation as there is always about a two meter sphere of space around them regardless of the number of other fellow Shanghainese in the vicinity. To date we have yet to engage with a CL with the exception of imitating their clapping rhythm which did not seem to bother them at all.  One of these days I will try to inquire as to the reason but for now we will continue to listen for the sound of a CL and simply smile at this strange but somehow endearing phenomenon.

Trouble posting

For those of you who prefer pictures to reading I had some technical difficulties in posting photos to the blog from Beijing.  I think the government must monitor Google activity a bit closer in the capitol city.  Anyway, we are back in Shanghai now and I was able to post the Great Wall photos.  Mason and I head to Fudan University today to get him registered. He starts school this week.  We will also be moving into our apartment in JinQiao PuDong.  Should make for an exciting week.  Stay tuned for more.