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.