Happy New Year

View from our window

Sunday was the beginning of the Chinese New Year. They pretty much take the entire week off for this holiday. It's like a ghost town out there. Almost all businesses are closed and that means food for our tummies. Tomorrow will be another day of shopping for us. Oh, I forgot to mention our other shopping trips. I can report that the prices improved once we left our little haven. We first ventured to a place called Carrefour. I was able to find my coffee maker, hair dryer and a toaster- all for $90 or so. I also bought a wok. The lady saw fresh bait and ran over to try and sell me the $400 one! I settled for a much cheaper one. We then went upstairs to the grocery level. Mayhem. Maybe it was because people were gearing up for the CNY, or maybe it's the norm. All I can say is that, me no likey. People couldn't stop staring and touching Noah and Eliana. Both kids have been great sports about the whole thing. After we paid, Bob and I got separated for a hour and I almost began to panic. God-willing we found eachother. The problem with not having a way to communicate yet. (we are currently working on that). We then went to another grocery store- City Shop. That will be our place to shop...and they DELIVER!! We were so excited to see Borden cheese ($6 for 8 oz). Bob did a happy dance when he found Best Foods mayo ($12 for 9 oz). Needless to say, we can find what we are used to at this store- at a price (which we are willing to pay). We also opened up a bank account here and signed up for a cell phone account too. We made another to trip to IKEA and things are starting to settle down for us.  

Eliana's room

Noah's room

It's hard to believe that this day has arrived. The day where we call Shanghai, China are home. Our flight was amazing! We were blessed to have an entire section of first class to ourselves and a flight attendant to call our own. Noah and Eliana proved to be quite the world travelers. We all managed to get several hours of sleep and more food than we could have asked for. We made it through customs quickly (thanks to our stroller) and then we had the task of collecting all 9 pieces of checked luggage. That was in addition to our 8 carry-on bags. Unfortunately, we lost one box and have yet to find it. Praying for a miracle that it will show up. Needless to say, we looked ridiculous wheeling our possessions out of the airport.

You can imagine the chuckles we heard as we walked by people. I should have taken a picture of Bob steering them, but I was too focused on getting out of there in one piece and Bob not running over Noah. Oh well...maybe next time.

We made it to our temporary apartment and are trying our best to make this home for a month until we are moved to our permanent unit (that one was not available until mid-Feb). We are within walking distance to the clubhouse where there is an American grocery store, a gym, an indoor pool, an indoor playground and a couple of restaurants. There are families of all nationalities living here. Noah made a friend last night from Denmark. Who knows, they might pick up a couple of extra languages while we are here.

We found IKEA and decided that they might be the cheapest place for us to eat out at. Unfortunately, all of Shanghai has discovered that too. That was Bob's first IKEA experience and he was having a hard time with the crowds there. I quickly reminded him that he was the one that moved us to a city of 30 MILLION people and he should get over his issues with crowds. :)

Tomorrow we will need to grocery shop for a week's worth of food since we don't know what will be open during the Chinese New Year. I can't wait for that bill...

Oh, speaking of bills. Want to take a guess on how much all of this cost?


Minus the Oatmeal Squares cereal (because they couldn't find a price for it)- $90. I about had a coronary. My frugal days are over and no, they do not accept coupons (I asked).

The Countdown

I surprised myself the other night. I got all teary-eyed watching my minivan drive away for the last time. Maybe I'll blame it on all the emotions that I feel for our move to China in two weeks. Maybe it's hormones. But either way, I still cried over a minivan! Earlier that day, Bob's car drove away to a new owner too. Watching both our cars leave on the same day made our next adventure a reality. So the countdown begins...two weeks from today. We leave for Shanghai, China. I hope to allow you all to get a glimpse into our daily life and experience everything right there with us. So, come join Bob, Noah, Eliana and myself as we take our steps in faith in this new country we will call home.