Wrapping up

Our date for returning to the US has been set for July 23rd.  Cynthia and the two younger boys are back in the US now.  Mason and I are still in Shanghai.  Mason finished up his finals at Fudan this week and got mostly A's and some of the highest scores in his class.  He and I have been spending time together going out to dinner each night and just hanging out.  It has been a great bonding time as he decides his next step.  He did not get accepted into Northwestern's transfer program and was quite bummed but he's gotten over that and is looking forward to getting back to the states and pursuing opportunities at Columbia College or DePaul.  He flies back to Minnesota on the 11th and has to attend orientations at each college and get his final transcripts from Fudan submitted to complete his applications.  Currently he has a return flight to Shanghai on the 27th of August and has to decide before then whether he wants to attend Fudan for another year on his own in Shanghai or start college in the US (pending his successful application process)  Another scenario would be to get accepted at a US school and defer his enrollment for a year and attend school in China.  A big decision pending - we will keep you posted. 
Cynthia returns to Shanghai on the 13th of July to help with the move and do some last minute networking, shopping and saying goodbyes.  The movers come on the 19th to pack up the house and we will move into a hotel for the remaining days.  My sister will be coming up from Florida on the 19th to watch Regan and Landon and a combination of my parents and friends will watch them  from the 13th to the 19th.  Mason will most likely be in Chicago during this time.  Once all the dust settles we should all be reunited as a family the week of the 25th -  at which time we will probably take a quick vacation - maybe a camping trip.  That is about all for now. Take care and see you all soon.

Home sweet home

Cynthia and the boys arrived safely in Minnesota on Sunday after the long grueling (but uneventful) trip home from China.  There was a bit of a communication glitch that resulted in her missing my parents who were waiting at the airport to pick them up and they ended up taking a taxi home - not sure how they fit all that luggage into a taxi as there were 6 checked bags and three carry ons!  I am in India this week and Mason is on his way back to Shanghai after a trip to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.  He will be on his own in Shanghai until I return on July 2nd. On the 4th of July I will be meeting with the movers to survey our household good sand decide what will go in the air shipment and what will go in the sea shipment.  We will also schedule the packing date at that time which I am hoping can be arranged for the week of the 18th sometime.  Cynthia will be returning to China on the 13th to help with all the arrangements and finalize the apartment check out and tying up other loose ends.  Mason will depart for Minnesota on July 11th after his graduation ceremony from Fudan University.  Cynthia and I will depart China together on July 23rd at which time our family will be united once again.  Whew!  Lots of details to cover in not alot of time.  Looking forward to seeing everyone back home and getting resettled. 

All good things...

As they say - all good things must come to an end. We found out in early June that our assignment in China was officially ending. After the initial shock wore off we picked ourselves up and brushed ourselves off and said "Okay God. What's next?" the year we spent in China was truly a blessing and a time of expanding our horizons like no other experience could. So - what happened? How did a 3 year assignment turn into a one year gig? It was a perfect storm of sorts (very over used cliche these days but it really does describe the situation well) our China operation was not meeting financial targets combined with a new APAC GM who is a Chinese national and a need in the key accounts organization for someone with experience in the Asia markets. The new GM decided he wanted a Chinese marketing leader which allowed him to cut his expenses by my expat package and quickly help improve the region bottom line. The Global Key Accounts organization needed someone on the team with global experience and I fit the bill. I will be reporting to a great guy who was my stateside sponsor for my expat assignment - so that is a definite plus. All in all it has been a great experience and one that we will cherish for years to come and who knows we might even end up back in the region one of these days.

Hola Amigos! Feliz Compleanos!

Landon celebrated his 10th birthday in Mexican style!  The event was billed as "Stinko de Mayo" and he and nine of his compadres gathered at our favorite Mexican restaurant - Pistolera - for an afternoon filled with fun.  Each of the boys received a hat, poncho and mustache and took photos with the birthday boy.  A lunch of chips & salsa, chicken and cheese quesadillas and virgin mango margaritas was served followed by the battering of the pinata - which was a shark - not sure why a shark but it may have been the only pinata left at the store or maybe the fact that the donkey was PINK!  From the restaurant we headed back to the apartment where a gym teacher friend of ours had loaned us her equipment for games and fun.  We started with tug of war, moved into potato sack races then had a nerf gun session of Capture the Flag followed by the ever popular Show Down at the OK Corral. (and yes the boys all had safety glasses on for those of you safety conscious folks out there).  We also had a parachute and played a game called "Shark" (hey! it goes with the Pinata theme!) which all the boys knew and really enjoyed.  The grand finale was the Smith family traditional water balloon massacre.  Each boy got a dozen water balloons and I got about a 5 second head start.  It only took a few minutes but I was thoroughly exhausted and totally soaked by the end of it.  We moved the party indoors at this point and had cake and ice cream, opened presents and said goodbye to the boys as their parents came to gather them.  Cynthia and I promptly headed back to Pistolera for a real Margarita - which was well deserved I might add.

Busy time

This time of year is quite busy in Shanghai.  The kids are restless with the prospect of the school year ending and getting to go back home for the summer, new friends that we seem to just have met are moving back to the states or on to their next international assignment.  There are moving sales taking place (and Cynthia is taking full advantage of the plant sales) scouting is coming to a close and flag football is underway.  Last weekend was a very full one - we had the Scouts final pack meeting and family picnic, a Cinco de Mayo family party, flag football and speaking at church about our trip to Boracay! The pace of life here in Shanghai is really accelerated - the weeks seem to fly by and the weekends are but a blink of the eye.  Our new ayi, Mei, is wonderful.  I came home the other day and she was in my room and had all my dresser drawers pulled out and was organizing my clothes.  She did this for each of the boys as well.  Now if we can just get her to know whose clothes are whose.  Looking for a shirt or pair of pants is kind of like going on a treasure hunt - they might be in anyone's room.  Oh well, it is a small price to pay for having to not wash and fold clothes.  As I mentioned above, Cynthia is stocking up on plants from fellow expats who are either repatriating or moving to the next assignment.  Our house is beginning to look like a jungle but is does add a very homey and relaxed feel.  Cynthia has done a great job decorating our house and people always comment that it is very comfortable and reminds them of home. 

I am travelling this week to Thailand for a conference being sponsored by one of our major customers.  I'm staying at the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok. (rough duty, I know) I return on Saturday and will be whisked off to a dinner with some friends to say goodbye to one of the families in our small group who will be relocating to Paris. Sunday will have us back on the flag football field and Monday night is Landon's Spring concert then I am back on the road to Qingdao for the first week of our new APAC leader - Robert Chen.  Robert is my new boss and seems like a very good guy.  He is a Chinese national and I am the only American on the APAC leadership team.  His English is quite good so hopefully there won't be too many communication challenges. 

Landon's birthday is coming up on the 31st and we are planning a Mexican themed party and calling it "Stinko de Mayo" or all the refried beans you can eat!  We have moustaches for all the boys and Cynthia will be buying material at the fabric market to make ponchos for each of them.  There will be a big pinata, water balloons (a Smith family birthday tradition) and nerf guns.  should be quite the bash.  I will be sure to post lots of photos. 

Happy Mother's Day

To all the Mom's out there here is wishing you a very Happy Mother's Day!

Last night we hosted small group at our house.  This was the first big gathering at our house and lots of prep and planning went into what turned out to be a very nice evening.  We had 15 people over and started out with beverages and appetizers.  Cynthia made hummus and her famous roasted red pepper dip.  We had fresh cut fruit and vegetables and also made cheese filled phillo triangles but they did not turn out as we had hoped - might have been due to the fact that I was assigned that task.  Oh well. Our group has been studying the book of James via a video/DVD from Rick Warren of Saddleback church.

On Friday we had the difficult task of firing our ayi - Mrs. Jin.  She was obviously not happy and demanded more severance pay than we were willing to give.  Cynthia stood firm, got the key back and said her goodbyes.  On Saturday, our new ayi - Mei - came over to work for four hours helping us get ready for the small group.  What a difference!  I think we will be very happy with this new arrangement.

The weather here has turned hot seemingly over night - I think spring was about two days.  It is in the upper 80's today with high humidity and a forecast of more of the same the remainder of the week.  I am heading off to Qingdao (North of Shanghai) and the weather there will be about 10 degrees cooler but a forecast of rain.  Our president is coming into town along with our new VP of Marketing (a former 3M colleague of mine) and our new APAC leader.  Lots of presentations and lots of pressure.  Can't say I am actually looking forward to the week.

Tonight we will be going out to dinner with Cynthia for Mother's Day and then off to get foot massages with the whole family.  Should be a great way to end the day.

Back to the grind

As they say, "All good things must come to an end", and so has our Spring Break vacation. This will definitely be one that we will always look back on with great memories. I will be posting a web album on Google's Picasa page so that you can view all the photos from the trip.
Yesterday we interviewed a potential new ayi. Her name is Mei (pronounced May) and she has been working for another family for the last few years and is looking for full time work now that they are repatriating to Texas. We learned via e-mail shortly after her visit to our house that she would like to work for us. She will work from 10 to 6 each day and probably cook for us a couple nights per week. Cynthia is looking forward to some Chinese cooking lessons and the boys and I are looking forward to some dumplings! Mei is married with a 16 year old son and speaks some English but not enough to keep Cynthia from having to learn some Chinese (Yea!) Mei will start on a part time basis as she transitions from one home to the next. Now all we have to do is figure out a way to graciously let our existing ayi, Mrs. Jin, go. I'm leaving that one to Cynthia!

Home again

We finally arrived back home in Shanghai after a VERY long day of traveling.  We woke up at 4am to pack and meet the hotel shuttle by 5am.  From there we were transported via van to the jetty port where we caught a ferry to the mainland.  We were greeted by several porters who carried our bags from the beach to another  waiting van which took us on a short ride to the airport.  The prop plane we flew on was operated by Cebu Pacific Air and took us uneventfully to Manila.  We arrived at 8am and now had 12 hours to kill in Manila before the only flight back to Shanghai.  After a breakfast in the airport we were able to check our bags around 11am so then we were free to explore the city.  We took a taxi to The Mall of Asia - imagine The Mall of America but much of it outdoors - and spent the next 6 hours walking around somewhat aimlessly.  We found a bowling center that had pool tables and we had a family competition that was won by Regan - he has become a pool shark and I am not not sure how or where he has picked it up - maybe he is a natural.  The mall also had an  I-Max theatre where we decided (based upon my poor judgement) to watch a "hollywood thriller action movie" call "Sucker Punch" - I mean with a name like that how could you go wrong!  We walked out after 20 minutes of inappropriate material and decided to take in "Under the Sea" which was playing later in the day.  A much better choice - it was in 3D and the effects and photography were amazing.  We had dinner at the Pancake House before catching a taxi back to the airport where we still had 3 hours to kill before catching our 3.5 hour flight back to China.  We finally arrived in Shanghai to the smiling face of our driver - Mr. Dong at about midnight.  Lying down in our own beds around 1am never felt so good.  Today we are picking up Didi and meeting a potential new Ayi who will be able to work for us full time.  When Cynthia and the boys return to Minnesota for the summer we will need someone to look after Didi and take care of Mason and I since I will be traveling and Mason is away at school all day.  Today is a holiday in China - May Day so we have a bit of time to get adjusted here at home before hitting the routine once again.  

The Ati People

The church that we have been working with in Boracay is called "The Church on the Rock" and is led by Pastor Rolando and his wife Teresa.  Boracay literally is a small "rock" in the Philippine sea - a total of 4 square miles in size.  The pastor and his wife have been ministering on Boracay for many years and in the last few years have established over 15 "feeding stations" across the island to serve the women and children whose husbands and fathers are working across the islands.  Each feeding station is visited once or twice per week and often times this is the only full meal that the kids receive.  Recently, on the main island of Panay - a short 10 minute ferry ride from Boracay - they have established 5 feeding stations among the Ati people.  The Ati were the original inhabitants of this area and have been marginalized by the Filipinos much like the aborigines of Australia and are treated as third class citizens.  Their features are different than the typical Filipino in that they have much darker skin and most notably very curly hair.  We spent two days among the Ati providing them with vitamins, food and basic medical care.  To reach the Ati we had to hike into the jungle up a small mountain to arrive at their village that was comprised of about 300 people.  There were about 60 kids at each location ranging in age from new borns to 15 years old.  Upon our arrival the kids would be patiently waiting and once we were all gathered they would recite in unison "Good afternoon visitors!  You are welcome!"  We would then begin with songs leading into a skit or story that would be translated into Tagalog (pronounced Ta Gall Lo).  We would then do some sort of craft, give each child a chewable vitamin and then serve them a hot meal.  During this time they would bring to us those kids who had cuts or bruises that needed tending to.  At one station a man was brought to me that had been in a motorcycle accident three days earlier and was severely cut and scraped and infection had begun to set in.  I tended to his wounds as best I could with our modest medical kit while learning that he was a father of 5 who drove the motor scooter as a form of livelihood.  His motor bike was totaled in the accident (caused by a drunk driver) and his wife did not work.  After consulting with the pastor and his wife we decided to transport him to the hospital and we paid the bill (about $22USD) that would provide him with treatment and antibiotics and then gave him and additional amount of money to provide food for the family for a few days.  There was so much need in all the villages we visited that it was hard not to be overcome by the enormity of it and how little you could really do. The entire experience was really impactful on our whole family - especially the boys who would spend time playing with all the kids, leading them in songs, and just giving them attention.  This is one vacation that we will all remember for a long time.

Vacation with a purpose

We are currently on a Vacation with a Purpose on the island of Boracay in the Philippines.  The vacation part is obvious, the  purpose is to spend half of our time ministering to the various villages alongside the local missionaries.  Our mornings have been filled with working to help construct a multi-function building that will house a medical clinic, school and gymnasium.  We have sifted sand, plastered walls, hauled dirt, demolished walls and helped to level ground.  In the afternoons we head out to a few of the villages and provide food, medical care and activities for the kids.  Our evenings are free and we enjoy the sunsets and rest from the days work.  We are here with 4 other families from our church in Shanghai (they are also in our small group).  In total we are 22 people.  It has been a great vacation so far and it has been fun getting to know the other families.  I will blog more later - off to go snorkeling now.

Formula One Shanghai Grand Prix

Sunday I attended the Formula One race held in Shanghai with a friend, his work colleagues and over 100,000 other fans.  This event really turns out the European expat community and it was the largest collection of Westerners that I have seen since being in Shanghai.  The fans of F1 are very committed and dress up in wildly colored wigs, paint their faces and hoist 1 meter square banners of the racing teams, their home country or the manufacturer logos.  Our seats were at the end of the starting lane as the cars head into a hairpin S turn.  The speed and noise of these machines (its kind of hard to really call them cars) was incredible.  We had to use ear plugs for the entire race of 56 laps and 1.5 hours.  I was rather clueless to the sport and who drove what car for what team and what manufacturer's engine they use but the fans around us knew it all.  I sat with another F1 novice and we tried to keep up with all the info but finally decided to give up and simply cheer when any particular car tried to pass another.  There were no wrecks on the day but there were a couple of spin outs and "paint trading" on some of the closer turns.  Lewis Hamilton outlasted Sebastien Vettel to end Vettel's winning streak at 2 races but Vettel still retained the overall lead on the season.  I have posted some pictures on the blog if you are interested and even a video of the cars coming into our turn. 

Spring in Jin Qiao

Spring is in full bloom here in Shanghai and with Spring comes lots of changing weather. We have had days in the 40s and the next day in the low 80s with humidity.  As usual the sky is a mix of smog, clouds and a general grayness however this morning the sky was crystal blue with not a hint of pollution as the winds and recent rain really cleared things up.  Didi and I went for a walk this morning and I brought along my camera to capture the cherry blossoms and weeping willows around the property in their full springtime display of pink & white flowers and fresh green buds.

Mason arrived home safely from his school trip to Guilin.  They had a great time and he came back with some amazing photos taken with his new i-Phone.  I will try to get him to post a few here.  The train ride was quite the adventure as they were in cabin sleepers - 6 bunks to a room - for twenty five hours one way.  There were no proper seats just the bunks so everyone sat on the lower ones eating, playing cards and chatting.  After about 8 hours of that people tried to get some sleep but not too successfully.  Smoking is very prevalent in China and on the train is no exception - sounds like fun?!  Once they arrived in Guilin they learned very quickly to guard their belongings as the crowds were incredible and the pick pockets and "snatch & runners" were numerous.  One of his classmates got his camera taken but the students rallied and caught the guy and held him until the police arrived.  Once they had their bearings and belongings secured the rest of the trip went very well.  They visited parks, the river and Guilin mountains - which Mason described as Dr. Suess mountains - caves, and local restaurants and shops.  We went out to dinner as a family on Friday night and listened to all Mason's exciting stories and viewed his photos.  He was exhausted but had a really great experience.

I was in Qingdao most of the week and returned on Friday as well.  This weekend the Formula One race circuit is in Shanghai and I have a ticket and will be going with a friend from Schneider Electric.  Should be a fun day as the weather is very nice - not too hot or cold with lots of sun.  I hope to get some good pics and will post them here along with some of Mason's Guilin photos. 

SMP Skate Park

On Tuesday of this week (Tomb Sweeping Day) we journeyed to SMP Skate Park to join Regan and his friend's family for a picnic while the boys rode their skateboards.  The weather was beautiful with clear skies (by Shanghai standards) and temps in the mid 60s.  This skate park is billed as the world's largest and is where they hold the X-Games for skating and biking.  Regan's friend Jarod Baldwin and his brother Parker are regulars at the park.  The Baldwins brought a full picnic spread including BBQ grill with all the fixings.  We enjoyed hot dogs, grilled chicken, veggie kebabs, pasta salad and of course brownies and cookies.  I had to leave for the airport around 1pm as I had to catch a flight to Beijing but Cynthia and the boys stayed until the late afternoon.  For the skateboard fans in the blog audience, I have posted a photo album on Picasa so you can view some of the photos from the day.

Today one of our White Bear Lake friends and neighbor has arrived in Shanghai on business and we are going to join him for some sight seeing as well as pick up the care package that he has transported from the US for us! 

Electronic Weekend

Today, Tuesday April 5th,  is a national holiday - Tomb Sweeping Day.  We have had a long weekend as a result and have enjoyed the time off.  Not sure of all the details of the holiday but in a nutshell the Chinese honor their ancestors and family who have passed away by burning offerings of money (they use fake money now).  The idea is that the burnt money passes to them in the afterlife and provides them with prosperity.  People also burn paper furniture, houses and other material things so that their relatives will have all these things in heaven.  We passed a family doing this ritual on the sidewalk of a busy road on our way to dinner the other evening and while it seemed odd it also seemed very solemn and a good way to remember your loved ones.

This weekend Cynthia finally reached her wits end with her Chinese cell phone which seems to have a mind of its own and randomly places calls to people on her contact list - repeatedly.  Her iPod also died and so now she is without music.  This conversion of electronic anomalies led us to the Apple store here in Jin Qiao where some indescribable force overcame me and I purchased 2 iPhones and a 32G iPad2.  The iPhones were for Cynthia and Mason (whose Chinese phone would randomly reset itself not to mention the micro typing pad which required precise stylus skills and a magnifying glass)  The iPad2 was for me because I needed...to ...um...work...er...well I just really needed it - okay!?  Not to be left out - Regan "lost" his Chinese phone for which I paid a handsome price of 150 kwai ($20)  To be 13 and without a phone in Shanghai is next to insanity - or so I am told - but it is nice to be able to keep tabs on our family's social butterfly - so we headed to Carrefour and bought Regan a new phone.  Finally, Landon was not to be outdone by all this electronic madness and he ended up winning a new laptop at the Scout's Blue & Gold banquet.  Actually, he earned it by being the scout who recycled the most bags of plastic, cans and paper.  Early in the year Landon's den leader challenged the boys to recycle (which is not done in most homes in Shanghai) and promised the winners some sort of an electronic prize.  Well in the spirit of recycling the laptop is a recycled Compaq Presario (the Den leader owns a computer consulting business) and Landon was so proud of his prize which rounded off our family's electronic bonanza weekend. 

Mason's 19th Birthday

For his birthday, Mason wanted to go out and have a steak dinner with the family.  After an exhaustive search online and getting tips from friends and neighbors we decided to make a reservation at Pinnacle Peak. All we knew about it was that it came with high marks for good food at somewhat reasonable prices.  We all piled into a taxi, literally.  Taxi rides with the whole family are quite interesting as the taxis are really only meant for 4 adults.  Landon ends up sitting on a lap and at almost 5 feet tall it isn't comfortable for anyone.  After 30 minutes we arrived at City Hotel in the Jing An district of Puxi and started to pile out of the car.  The bellman was surprised to see so many of us climb out - think of clowns in the circus exiting the little car and you pretty much have the picture.  The hotel lobby was all marble and glass and quite elegant with fresh bouquets of flowers everywhere.  The restaurant was on the 5th floor so we headed for the elevator and punched in the floor number.  As the elevator doors opened we were all taken aback at the sight of western (as in cowboy) swinging saloon doors through which you had to pass to exit the elevator.  The next sight was equally amusing - a full Chinese wait staff dressed in blue jeans, boots, plaid flannel shirts and cowboy hats.  Suddenly we were transported back to our South Dakota vacation in the Black Hills and memories of "eatin' off the chuck wagon and singin' songs".  We all got a bit of a chuckle as we passed the mechanical bull which I presumed was for decoration - but noooooo...it was for ridin'.  After we ordered our drinks and appetizers Cynthia encouraged us to all take a try on the bull.  Regan was the first brave soul and he got tossed on level 2 but not until he's bruised his "left butt bone" as he so delicately put it.  Dad went next and also got tossed on level 2.  Mason was the third rider and made it all the way to level 3 and lasted several seconds before losing control.  Cynthia needed a little help from two Chinese cowgirls to get up on the bull and once there only lasted for one rotation at level 1.  Landon was the final contestant and did a great job hanging on for dear life.  Once back to the table our waiter brought Mason the "lucky" (everything special in China is deemed "lucky") cowboy hat as a reward for his ride.  We all ended up wearing the hat at one point or another during the course of the evening.  The food came shortly after we finished our "riding" and was absolutely delicious.  We shared 2 Caesar salads - one with bacon and one with spicy chicken, a sampler platter of onion rings, buffalo wings and fried calamari and we all enjoyed our own "Little Hoss" 11 oz. marbled rib eye - (I am getting hungry just writing this).  For dessert we shared a creme brule, chocolate sundae and fresh fruit platter.  Getting home in the taxi was going to be even more of a challenge now! On the way home we stopped by the boys favorite game store and bought Mason a limited edition Chinese version Halo game - all the voices are in Chinese so he can practice his language skills while he shoots aliens.  We all had a great night as we celebrated Mason's entry into his final teen year - wow!  Time sure flies!

Regan's National History Day Project

Regan has been working with two other students to create their National History Day project.  Their topic is Communism and Democracy and it takes a look at the origins of both as well as documenting some of the key events related to their philosophies.  You can view his project at the following web address http://nokenhd.weebly.com/index.html

The big night

As I sit here and write this current blog entry I feel obligated to inform all the women reader's of a bit of advice that was learned by experience during the build up to the big Gala Event - DON'T EVER get your hair cut and styled by a new stylist two days before a big night out.  Okay - enough said.  We did make it to the event although we teetered on the edge of staying home a couple of times.  Once we arrived at the Sheraton Shanghai we were greeted by a host of students and volunteers who ushered us into the main display area for the Silent Auction.  There were over 400 attendees at the event and lots of evening gowns and tuxedos.  After perusing the auction items we enjoyed appetizers and a glass of wine as we were seated for the main dinner.  The theme of the night was "A Parade of Nations" and highlighted to diversity of Concordia's student body which is comprised of over 30 nationalities.  They had entertainment of dancers, jugglers and musicians performing throughout the evening.  The big event was the live auction which was conducted by a couple of the teachers from the school.  There were a dozen or so items to bid on and every couple had their own numbered paddle to raise if you wanted to bid.  The item which was auctioned for the most money was for the naming rights of the school library - it went for $23,000!  (and you only get to name it for one year!)  Needless to say it won't be called the R. Scott Smith Library - although I do like the sound of that.  The second highest item was for your student to be Principal for a Day and it went for (are you sitting down?) $13,000!  Again, Regan and Landon will have to get their leadership experience in the old fashioned way - work for it!  The live auction raised over $80,000 and was a very fun if not expensive experience.  All the money raised will be going to several projects to create learning spaces in some of the underutilized spaces on the campus.  As well, 10% of the money raised will be donated to charity in the local community.  The dance floor opened at 10:30pm and we were out there for over an hour before checking out and bringing home our auction items.  I have included photos on the blog of the artwork that we "won" in the silent auction.  We also bid on dinner with friends which was more of a donation than a true auction.  We finally got home about 12:30am and were totally spent.  It was a very good night.

The Fabric Market

This weekend the boys school, Concordia International, is having a fund raising event that is being referred to as The "Gala" Event.  When I heard the name I knew this was going to cost me in more ways than one.  The first order of business for any gala event is to make sure one is properly attired. The school sponsored a "fashion event" for the women by a designer named Stella Lam.  There was "special" pricing offered which was about $500 over our budget for a dress that would be worn one time. This meant a visit to the fabric market in Puxi.  The market is located in a multi-story building and is filled with 2x3 meter stalls that specialize in custom tailoring of all types - from men's shirts, jackets and suits to women's evening gowns, handbags, and accessories.  Cynthia spent time looking at dresses on the internet and ended up bringing in a couple of photos and some articles of clothing that fit her and found a vendor who was able to design and make a beautiful dress for $75.  I decided to give the fabric market a try myself and brought in a shirt that I like and a pair of pants, chose the fabric that I wanted and had two pair of slacks and 2 dress shirts made all for $80.  The next order of business was to find shoes which is a major challenge in Shanghai since most Chinese women have feet the size of a 12 year old.  After LOTS of shopping we finally got a tip about a vendor in the fake market that carries a selection of "American size" shoes.  We were off!  After some searching in the maze of aisles we found the vendor and they had a great selection and Cynthia actually found two pairs of shoes that she loved and so we bought them both.  Next comes accessories - purse, jewelry, foundational support (which has nothing to do with earthquakes) etc.  Finally, I think we are ready for the event when Cynthia decides we need to have dance lessons.  Fortunately, we were able to find some YouTube instructional videos and have been practicing the fox trot in our living room.  To be continued...

Who is in our house?

Friday evening Cynthia and I decided to go out with another couple, the Lannen's, to a Greek restaurant called the Fat Olive.  Our friends have 3 kids and offered to have their ayi (domestic helper), Mei,  come to our house and watch both families' children while we went out.  Mason was going out with friends so he was not available to help.  Our friends' ayi has a cousin who has moved from the country to the city to try and get a job as an ayi and has been training with Mei at the Lannen's house.  The plan was to have Mei come to our house (she lives near us) and the Lannen's would bring their kids over and then we would head to the restaurant. About 6:30 our doorbell rang and I answered the door to greet Mei (neither Cynthia nor I had ever met Mei).  I welcomed her in and tried to strike up a brief conversation in Chinese.  I asked if she was Mei to which she replied "Bu shi, wo jiao ming zi Xun Ye."  (My name is Xun Ye)  So then I thought, "Okay, Mei must have sent her cousin to our house and the both of them would watch the kids"  This made sense to me as 5 kids can be overwhelming to one person and this was probably just another opportunity for Mei to train her cousin.  Cynthia came in the room and quickly said "Hello" and promptly directed me to get her started on cutting up some brownies and washing the pan they were baked in.  I did my best to communicate this to which she quickly responded.  Cynthia continued getting ready and while doing socalled the Lannen's and asked "Why did Mei send her cousin? I thought Mei was coming."  Jill replied, "Mei is coming over - she should be there now".  "No, this is definitely not Mei." Cynthia replied followed by "Jill, who is in my house?" In the meantime, I was talking to our "mystery ayi" in my broken Chinese to realize that she had two children, was originally from Shanghai both of which did not fit the description of Mei or her cousin.  Mason was getting ready to head out and I called on him for assistance to talk to her and find out who she was and why she was here.  As Mason questioned her it became apparent to all of us that she was in the right number apartment - 301 - but in the wrong building!  She politely told Mason that she was going to go out for a "walk" and she left.  Not 2 minutes later did the doorbell ring again and Mei showed up (with no cousin) followed immediately by the Lannen's who happened to see the "mystery ayi" driving away on her scooter.  We retold the story, all had a nervous laugh and proceeded to have a great evening. 

Fix a Flat

Cynthia's Tai Tai Taxi (aka - The Hardly Davidson - the three wheeled electric scooter for those of you new to the blog) was out of commission for a while with a flat tire.  Sunday we decided to try and get it to the scooter repair shop and headed out with tire pump in hand, Scott driving and Cynthia as passenger.  We had to stop four times in the 2 kilometers to re-pump up the tire.  We were quite the sight to all the Chinese out for their Sunday activities and we evoked more than a few smiles and gape jawed stares.  We finally arrived at the sidewalk repair shop which was more or less a grease spot strewn with tools, scooters, batteries and parts situated between a storefront Chinese restaurant and a travel agency.  After communicating the obvious problem we waited for about 15 minutes before a young boy who looked not a day over 12 approached us with a small stool and a couple of tools in hand and began the process of taking out the inner tube. Over the next 30 minutes or so he and I worked on the tire and finally found the leak.  He patched it up and we got the tube back into the tire and we were all set to go.  I asked how much the repair was and the owner said "San kwai"  which I interpreted as 30 rmb or about 4$ US.  I pulled out 30 kwai and handed it to him to which he repeated "San kwai" this time with a bit more emphasis on the SAN portion - which I once again misinterpreted as 30 rmb and stuck out my hand with a 20 and 2 fives.  At this time the owner realized that my command of the Chinese language was weak and he grabbed a 5 rmb bill and repeated "San kwai" and then proceeded to give me 2 kwai in change.  Basically, the entire repair cost me 45 cents US.  Unbelievable.

Home from India

I finally arrived home from India after 15 hours of travel!  Our meeting with ABB was completed by 3pm on Wednesday so I headed for the airport - unfortunately my flight was not scheduled to depart until 8pm.  Nothing like 5 hours to kill in the Bangalore airport.  My next stop was Delhi after a 2-1/2 hour flight.  1hour layover then a 5 hour flight to Hong Kong another 2 hour layover then my final 2-1/2 hour flight from HK to Shanghai.  By the time I got home I was absolutely wiped out.  The next day I went into work to try and catch up on my expense reports as well as interview a couple of candidates for a Channel Management position that we have open.  By the time the last interviewee left I was really not feeling well.  I got a ride home from my colleague's driver and spent the next 14 hours in bed with a 24 hour flu bug.  Did I mention that I love India?!  Spent Saturday with Landon and Regan feeling much better while Cynthia was at a women's retreat with our church.  She had the opportunity to employ her newly found acting skills and perform a 10 minute monologue which she absolutely nailed by all reports.  That evening we attended our friend's 50th birthday celebration (the same one we tried to attend one month ago)  This time we had the date correct and really enjoyed ourselves.  Today is Sunday and we are going to take it easy.  I depart for Korea on Monday - only 2 day trip this time. Whew!  I am tired from just writing about this.  Take care!

Happy Birthday Cynthia

Cynthia and I celebrated her 15th birthday (okay so I am being a bit dyslexic) on Monday night by having a wonderful dinner at M on the Bund.  Her day started with two friends taking her out for a long lunch, then a facial and then out to dinner with me!  We had a great time.  Started our date at the Glamour Bar with "our song" playing on the sound system - "Girl from Ipanema".  We then proceeded to have a wonderful 3 course meal, champagne and a special birthday dessert.  The only thing missing from the evening was - my credit card!  Fortunately, I realized this before we released the driver for the night.  I had to call a Chinese colleague in Qingdao to call my driver and explain to him that he needed to drive home and collect my credit card from the boys then drive back to the restaurant all before our bill came!  It all worked out in the end and we had a great time. 

I am on my way to India for one week where we will have a distributor sales meeting and participate in a global supplier summit for one of our key customers.  Lots of fun!  Take care.

Pack 88 Pinewood Derby

This Saturday was the big day for the scouts Pinewood Derby.  Landon's car took 6th place out of 24 in his age group and missed the finals by only 2/10ths of a second.  Each car raced 4 heats and his won two races and came in second in two races.  Dad worked in the pit crew staging the cars for the races as well as being a "weigh in" inspector on Friday night before the big race. 

Cynthia missed the big race and instead went to have her hair cut and colored which involves several hours and lots of pampering but she really deserves it and now she looks absolutely amazing!  Not that she didn't look amazing before - okay I am digging a hole here so I will just stop.  Her birthday is this Monday and we are planning an evening out on The Bund.  We have reservations at "M on the Bund"  You know that a restaurant with only one letter for a name has got to be very chic!  Should be a good time and we are both looking forward to it.

A new family member

Well, we have added to the number of Smith family members - this time it is a canine brother named DiDi.  DiDi is the Chinese word for "younger brother".  I am not sure how we arrived at this point but I must have had a moment of weakness during which the family took advantage of my reduced mental state to convince me of the need for a dog.  We got DiDi from a rescue here in Shanghai which many expatriates have recommended.  DiDi is a mix between a Pekingese and a Chou which makes him either a Chou-kinese or a Peke-chou.  Regardless he is very cute and very stout.  He has the long hair and ears of a Pekinese but the body, nose and coloring of a Chou.  He also has the thick midsection and solid legs of a Chou.  He is 1-1/2 years old and has been in foster care since he was found one year ago.  He has been with us for a couple days and arrived while I was on a business trip - therefore when I came home he was very leery of "the new guy" and is still warming up to me.  Landon is the "master" and has taken responsibility for DiDi.  Cynthia is the "Mama dog" and has spent the most time with him and he is very comfortable around both of them.  So begins another chapter in our Shanghai chronicles.

Cynthia's dancing partner

Cynthia met this woman while we were walking in Fu Xing park. The woman was giving her friend a back massage (more like a beating) and Cynthia took an interest only to find herself now the subject of the Chinese "beating". Afterwards, the woman grabbed Cynthia's hands and they began dancing. I'm not sure that the old woman was all there but then again I think the same about Cynthia sometimes! (just kidding!)

Scott with a calligraphy artist.

Fu Xing Park

Yesterday we hired our friendly Shanghai tour guide - Lisa - to take us around the French Concession area.  We started in Fu Xing park where every morning hundreds of Chinese gather to dance, debate, draw, do tai chi and basically just hang out.  The majority of people there are over 60 but later in the day the younger generation comes out with their one child to stroll in the park.  The dancing is probably what the park is most known for - they play music on a loud speaker and literally hundreds of couples ballroom dance up and down the paths.  The park is sort of divided into sections depending upon the activity being undertaken - there is the ballroom dancing area, the political debate area, the badminton area, the singing and tai chi area, the tea drinking area, the Chinese yo yo area, and the poker and chess area.  We spent about 2 hours in the park and really could have spent the entire day - in fact, we did come back in the afternoon to let the boys have a second round in the hamster water wheels (see the pictures).  From Fu Xing park we took a walking tour down a typical neighborhood street visiting a wet market, (butcher shop), a vegetable market and then strolling down a couple of the side alleys to see how the locals live.  The highlight was getting to go up into one of the homes and see how little space they really have.  It made us feel very guilty and thankful for the spacious abode we have.  We ended the tour at a local restaurant called Chu Chu Yuan which serves northern Chinese fare.  We enjoyed a beef noodle, some meat pies, and dumplings but we most enjoyed the menu with the chinglish translations of the menu items - like "Burn a pot of meat" or "The hot pepper steams a fish head" or "Literally Soup"  We finally made it home around 3pm.  The boys were exhausted and Cynthia and I were feeling the efffects of all the walking as well and decided to go get a massage.  We ended the day at a friends house playing spades and hearing all about their trip to Harbin to view the ice show.  It was a very good day in Shanghai.

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Happy Chinese New Year!  The new lunar year was brought in with a constant barrage of fireworks that started sometime around 6 pm on the 2nd of February and continued throughout the night and into the 3rd of February.  Just when we thought the explosions were over they began again at about 7am!  Amazingly, however the street cleaning ladies had all the remnants cleaned up by the early afternoon.  Of course, we got in on the action with our own fiery display and thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the celebration.  Over the last couple nights there still have been sporadic eruptions of fireworks and I am told that on the last night of the New Year celebration there is another massive night of explosions.  It really was amazing - there were so many explosions going off that it sounded like standing behind a jet engine - one constant roar combined with the flashes of light creating a strobe effect.  The smoke from all the displays hung in the air creating an eerie sort of "London Fog" effect.  I think we will go buy some more ammo for the final night celebration - like they say "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" 

Shanghai Water Town

Seeing as nearly all the expats have departed China for the New Year's Holiday we decided to take advantage of the relatively unpopulated period to take a tour of one of Shanghai's famous water towns - Zhu Jia Jiao.  We hired a local - Lisa Zhu - whom we met at our Christmas Eve dinner to take us on the tour.  The town is about a 45 minute drive outside of downtown Shanghai and this was our last day with Driver Dong before he takes off several days for the holiday.  The weather was overcast and the temps were in the low 40's but there was no wind and every once in a while the sun would pop out and it made for a warm walk around the town.  The water town is about 400 years old and is filled with small shops selling everything from antiques to local food to live chickens.  We sampled much of the local fare including pork & rice cooked in palm leaves, smoked frog (only minus the head!), pork dumplings, baked sweet potatoes and sesame seed candy.  The boys were pretty good about trying everything with the exception of the frog.  Only Cynthia and I had that and I had to finish Cynthia's portion.  We took a boat ride around a few of the canals and Cynthia even tried her hand at rowing - no collisions or groundings - so it was a success.  On our way home we stopped at a local "junk shop" that Lisa knew about.  It is literally filled with old Chinese furniture, knick knacks, curios, doors, windows, carvings, sculptures etc.  You name it and I am sure this guy has it.  We will definitely be going back there to make some purchases.  He had quite a few items from the cultural revolution period that were engraved with Chairman Mao's slogans - small chairs, stools and doors that people would display in their homes to show their loyalty to the party.  Very interesting.  On Thursday we will be taking a tour of the French Concession in downtown Shanghai in the Puxi (poo-shee) region. 

I have posted a web album on Picasa and added a link on the blog if you'd like to check out all the photos from the watertown.  Take care and have a great day!

Lets party!!

We were invited to a surprise birthday party this past Saturday.  A friend of ours is turning 60 and his wife wanted to have a big "60's  Theme" celebration for him.  Everyone needed to arrive by 6:30 pm in some sort of attire appropriate to the theme.  Well, we didn't have time to get any costumes done so we decided that we would tell everyone that we were confused and thought it was an "Act like you are 60" themed event.  We would tell everyone about our latest "procedure", talk about our newest ache and basically laugh off the fact we didn't have a 60's costume.  We caught a cab to the hotel where the event was taking place and made our way to the front desk across of an extremely empty lobby.  We inquired about the Woodburn party to which we received nothing but blank stares and the repeated phrase "Mei you" (which means "We have no party by that name).  We then tried the equally empty restaurant and had 4 waiters and a manager try to get us a table until we finally walked away wondering where they could be.  We decided to wait near the lobby doors looking for someone we knew to come in but being very careful not to be seen by the birthday boy should he be escorted into the hotel.  After 10 minutes of not a soul crossing the threshold, we decided to call Regan who was at home and asked him to look up the e-mail invitation and tell us where the party was being held.  "Dad, it is at the Parkyard Hotel." "Yes, I know that. We are there".  "It starts at 6:30pm"  "Regan, we know that - it is now 7:15. What else does it say?"  "Dad, the party is on FEBRUARY 26th - you guys are such idiots! CLICK.

And so we were.  After laughing about our situation we decided to make the best of it and got back in a taxi, headed to a local restaurant, split a salad and steak then had a massage and closed out the night with a couple margaritas at the new Mexican place.  All in all it was a very good night.  (You know, maybe Cynthia knew all along the party was in February.  I bet she just wanted a night out!)

Formula One

Over the holiday break the family decided to go to the Formula One track and try our skills at GoKarting.  We all went with the exception of Mason but in his place was Regan's best friend - Jarod.  Jarod has lived in Shanghai for 5 years.  His mother is an executive for the Holiday Inn group and is responsible for their properties all across the region - Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express etc. Jarod and Regan have really hit it off and spend lots of time skateboarding, biking and just hanging out.

The GoKart day was quite a bit of fun - albeit quite expensive.  We all donned facemasks, helmets and racing gloves and really thought we looked the part until an Italian father and and his 7 year old son appeared at the track in matching racing suits complete with sponsor logos!  They even had their own Kart!  The kid took off and his dad was timing him and with each pass giving him corrective instructions.  Ooookaaayyyy!  We took off in order and raced for 10 minutes which was plenty of time for us to make about 5 laps of the serpentine course.  Landon had a great time and did a super job for his first time driving - another couple of laps and he'd  be ready for the streets of Shanghai!

Enjoy the photos and have a great weekend!

On the road again...

Well, my reprieve from travel toward the end of 2010 was soon ended with the arrival of the New Year.  So far I have been to Beijing, Qingdao, Singapore and Lijiang with plans to head back to Singapore, Qingdao and then to India all within the next three weeks.  Needless to say I am getting really good at packing and living out of a suitcase.

I just returned from our National Sales Meeting held in Yunnan province at a city called LiJiang.  LiJiang is located in western China near Tibet and is in a very mountainous region - sort of the foothills to the Himalayas.  The city is 2,400 meters above sea level and you could really tell if you exerted yourself too much.  We stayed in a very nice hotel in the Old Town which is very touristy but very beautiful at the same time.  The weather was unseasonably cold during our stay with temps at or below the freezing point and because LiJiang is in the southern part of China the government does not supply central heating.  The hotel was mostly open air and they only heat the hotel rooms, however, they don't turn on the heat until 7pm.  When I got to my room it was 10 degrees C. (about 48 degrees F)  so I immediately turned on the room heater and cranked it on high.  After 30 minutes of blowing cold air the temp was still at 10C.  I went to the front desk to inform them that my heater was malfunctioning to which they replied "No problem - we turn heat on at 7pm" (it was 5pm at this time)  I asked them if they could turn it on earlier to which they replied "7pm is earlier - last night we turned it on at 8pm"  I decided to walk around the town - if I was going to  be cold I was at least going to be outside besides the walk warmed me up.  Had a light dinner with a couple of coworkers who arrived at the same time as I did and then got back to the hotel around 8pm - looking forward to having had the heat on for a full hour.  Got to the room - 9 degrees C!  I called again and was told that the heat was indeed on and that it might take some time to warm up.  I crawled into an incredibly cold bed with an extra blanket looking up at the ceiling and seeing my breath!  It was like winter camping.  I was finally able to warm a section of the bed with what remaining body heat I had and was able to fall asleep.  However, each time I strayed for my little "cone of warmth" I was shockingly awakened by the ice cold sheets to my left or right.  I woke up about 6 am and the room was 8 degrees C - 46 degrees F!!  It turns out that one of the hotel's main boilers failed and about half of the hotel rooms had no heat, that, combined with record low temps for the region was a cruel combination.  They repaired the boiler the next day and when the maids cleaned the rooms they also installed electric blankets under the sheets - the second night was wonderful at warm 19 degrees C - 66 degrees F.
The meeting went well until I learned that my early Saturday flight to Shanghai was cancelled due to snow in Shanghai!  I then had to take the only other flight available which left around 2pm and arrived home around 7pm - I have never been so happy to return to a nice warm home - finally!

Hello again!

Dear family and friends it has been a while since I have sat down to write.  I am sure some of you thought I made a new year's resolution to stop writing but that is not the case.  Life is just so busy and it is hard to find the time to get everything done that you have to do.  I know, everyone is busy these days - except for you retired folks - but you have earned it!  So enjoy.  The January 1st new year's celebration here in China is something of a non-event for most Chinese.  It is the ex-pats who do most of the celebrating.  Cynthia and I went out for dinner and dancing with a Canadian couple that we have met and really enjoy spending time with.  The boys rang in the new year at home playing video games and snacking on whatever they could find - typical guy stuff.

Landon has now become the second bread winner in the family.  He is a professional model!  One of Landon's friend's has been modeling for a couple of years and his friend's mother recommended that Cynthia send a couple of photos to the agency she works with and low and behold he got the call. The event was an entire day affair and did not begin well but ended great.  Landon's hair has been growing out and so they decided to curl his hair for the photo shoot - in tight pinky finger size curls!  When Cynthia came in to the dressing room they were just finishing the last curls and Landon was nearly in tears and whispered to his mom that he wanted to go home.  Cynthia simply said "No - this is a job and these people are counting on you!"  She then left nearly in tears herself wondering what she had gotten him into.  Once they began shooting things went much better.  The photographer was very good with the kids and they had lots of candy, snacks and soda for them to consume between shots.  The clothes he was modeling were very trendy (Chinese trendy that is) - bright colors, mixed patterns with lots of buttons, strings, zippers and other non-essential accessories.  Cynthia described it as Chinese clown attire.  Over the course of the day Landon was in over 30 outfits each time being attended to by 3 or 4 assistants dressing him, fixing his hair, adjusting his shirts - very professional. He earned 900 rmb for his work (~$120)  The photos are for a Spring catalog and we will get a copy once it is published.  Landon was a big hit with the staff and they really liked working with him and expect to use him for future jobs.  So begins the college fund!