Ok, so some of you have heard about the typhoon headed into Shanghai. Right now all we have seen is elevated winds and some rain. The typhoon landed south of us, so it probably won't be a big deal here. Just more rain and more wind. The bonus for the kids is that instead of having a snow day, they have a typhoon day! The government called off all school today in Shanghai. I'm not sure what the kids in boarding schools do, maybe they just hang out? Anyway, I haven't blogged in awhile, so here are some of the things that have happened to me...
- The drain for the bathtub/shower in my apartment was partially clogged. Whenever I would take a shower, the bathtub would end up half-full of water. When I asked to have it fixed, the response was that I was very lucky to be able to take a bath and a shower at the same time! (It has been fixed; however, fixing it lead to the shower curtain rod being broken. Typically you have to be careful what you wish for because you never know what the repercussions are going to be...
- We bought Natalie a new bike at the Giant store. It is the Shanghai city cruiser for women. When we tried to fit it into the van to bring it home, the handlebars stuck up too far for it to fit in the van. After trying to get it into the van for about five minutes, I decided to ride it home. As I pulled up to the red light and fought for position, not a single person stared at me on my quite effeminate bicycle. As a matter of fact, I believe a few of the men were jealous they didn't have it. Once more it goes to show that sometimes form over fashion still holds true.
- I have learned from the local girls at work that light-colored clothing makes me look younger. The flip side to that is they also think it makes me look gay. So, my wife has now decided that when purchasing my clothing it will be light-colored so that I look young (the gay thing to keep the girls away is just a bonus!)
- Time truly does not matter here in China. I lost my watch for a couple of weeks, and didn't notice that it was gone. Pretty much the sun wakes you up in the morning, and you go to bed when you are tired. It seems to work. Here is a picture of a square in ZJG that shows just how important time isn't (I took the picture at 7:30pm):
- I am starting to see why it is acceptable to urinate in public (I think this advertises the "Aim high, you are good archer!":
- Can anyone explain this picture? It's been like this in my ZJG apartment since I moved in in May. I just noticed it two weeks ago....
- The tycoon part of the title: An email went out at work yesterday warning us about the tycoon that was coming and what we needed to do to be prepared. Apparently Commun**m is still alive and strong here.
That's all for today! Have a "feichang hao" (very great) day! Mark
6 comments:
OO-OO-OO! I get to be first again!I know that's not what it's all about, but I love checking your blog and seeing what's new. Needless to say, it's now in my morning routine to see if "the Berg's have anything for me this morning" - it's like a child waiting for the mailman. Things are going well for you. Love that! School is in full swing here, we get Friday off for a Professional Day for teachers. My Beka is marching at the football game as an 8th grader - fun. Take care, stay dry, and it's always good to ready your blog. Notice I'm making NO COMMENT about the toothbrush - eeewwwwwwweeeee!
I don't remember a song called "Typhoon, Tycoon, Whatever" Was it by America or maybe the Go-Go's? Anyway, glad you guys aren't going to be washed away. Keep the updates coming. By the way, can you get us cheap tickets for the Olympics??? And if so, can we sleep on your floor? :o) I won't tell the kids Elise has replaced them with other children. They seemed to think she would "never babysit again until she could babysit for them" (now THAT could be a 70's/80's song -- maybe by Olivia Newton John or Laura Brannigan)
Love to all,
Lori & the rest of the pack
Hmmm. If you had boys living with you, I'd say they were doing the efficiency thing of brushing and going at the same time. Which, of course, we mothers highly discourage. But since this is YOUR apartment, I'm rather at a loss to explain it. Because everyone knows a grown man would never, ever do such a thing.
Right?
:-)Betsy
Hi - Glad I checked the blog because I have gotten a couple of emails from friends wondering if you were in the typhoon. Now I can report back to them that you were not.
Since Natalie now has a new bike the two of you can bike around town together.
It looks to me like a tube of toothpaste on your toilet. YUK! Or, could it possibly be sometime of caulk?
Hope the kids enjoyed their day off.
Nice to hear from you again.
Love, MOM
Whew - glad everyone is okay and made it through the typhoon. I'm sure the kids for the day of "no school". Hope everyone is doing okay.
We were out to the B&N Book Store tonight and picked up a couple of small books on China and the Shanghai area.
We're looking forward to having Ryan with us this week-end - he's planning to come up after his work day in Chicago tomorrow.
Hello to everyone - love, hugs, and kisses,
Grandma R
You do a great job blogging, Mark!! So I can see the next time we see you, you will be in very pastel clothing and looking quite young!
Leave it to you to ride the bike home. It reminded me when the riding lawn mower was broken down at Gateway years ago and Ed decided to have fun with it. He got a bunch of walk behinds and took Gateway kids out and they all mowed side by side and had a great time. There is more than one way to skin a rabbit.
The idea of a bath and a shower must have sounded good to them. Think of it--it was an extra plus!!!
Aunt Carol
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