Bust Roller

Dear Friends,

Even after reading the back of the package I'm not exactly sure what the "Bust Roller" is supposed to do.

Love,
H

Cover

Dear Friends,

Surprisingly enough, we did not purchase the fuzzy toilet seat cover.  Yuck!

Love,
H & B

Bird Cages

Dear Friends,

We walked through the park wondering what all the older gentleman had under the cloths.  One look to the trees solved the mystery. There were dozens of birds in cages all through the park.

Love,
H & B

Liquor Grenade

Dear Friends,

Saw these liquor bottles at the bus stop.  Can only imagine how tasty the liquor is.

Love,
H & B

Chips

Dear Friends,

There is quite a variety of chip flavors here. Have not tried these  yet but will before we leave.

Love,
H & B

Shanghai Skyline

Dear Friends,

The skyline is beautiful.

Love,
H & B

4th Floor?

Dear Friends,

Good thing we were not looking for the fourth floor.  Guess it is an unlucky number here similar to the 13 at "home".

Love,
H & B

Shook

Dear Friends,

We went out to celebrate a friend's birthday on Tuesday. We had dinner at a fabulous place right on the Bund.  The upstairs patio had an amazing view of the Shanghai skyline.

Love,
H & B

Bamboo Forest

Dear Friends,

The walk through the bamboo forest was a great ending to a fun day!

Love,
H & B

Countryside

Dear Friends,

It was so great to get out of the city and see a little more of China. We had a beautiful walk back to our bus from the raft trip.

Love,
H & B

Huh?

Dear friends,

This is typical of signs that are "translated" into English.  We think this was actually a changing room at the end of our raft trip.

Love,
H & B

Chinese Smores

Dear Friends,

Our colleagues who organized the raft trip and BBQ even brought along smore ingredients.  Of course, they were the Chinese version of smores... graham cracker-like crackers, chocolate pieces and pink & white stick marshmallows.  Our new friend Darby shows off her carefully crafted creation.

Love,
H & B

Ah! Got ya!

Dear Friends,

This group of locals just got off the rafts and were having a great time blasting each other with the Super Soakers.  Love the gals on the left.

Love,
H & B

Rain Ponchos

Dear Friends,

Last weekend we went on a rafting trip down a river about 3 1/2 hours outside of Shanghai.  We didn't take our camera on the actual raft because we were told we would get wet. (You might notice the woman in the middle of the boat filling up her supersoaker.) And...we did!  It was funny to see the differences between the Western and Asian attire. We were all in bathing suits, the Asians all in rain ponchos, pants and even booties.

Love,
H & B

Mooncakes

Dear Friends,

A kind parent gave us some mooncakes to celebrate our first Mid-Autumn festival in China.  They are definitely an acquired taste.

Love,
H & B

Scooter

Dear Friends,

We have seen many interesting bike/scooter contraptions around town. This was one of the more interesting. No one is getting wet on this ride!

Love,
H & B

Chicken Delivery

Dear Friends,

These guys just gone done unloading these two crates of live chickens from the back of a truck stacked with other cages.  They were making their delivery rounds.

Love,
H & B

Motorcycle

Dear Friends,

We have seen many of these motorcycles with the sidecars around town. This was by far the most well kept.

Love,
H & B

Florist

Dear Friends,

As you can see, some florists come to you.

Love,
H & B

Noodle Bar

Dear Friends,

The noodles, veggies and beans looked great at this street stall. The chicken feet and other poultry bits didn't look quite as appetizing.

Love,
H & B

Matching Outfits

 Dear Friends,

Couples just love dressing alike here.  This is NOT something we are going to pick up.

Love,
H & B

Phone Cover

Dear Friends,

I definitely would NOT lose my phone in my bag if I had this cover.  Of course, nothing else would fit in my bag.

Love,
H

Newspaper

Dear Friends,

Outside the local market, you can stop to read the news.

Love,
H & B

Rest Time!

Dear Friends,

When I originally went to take the picture of the overloaded bicycle, I didn't notice the man taking a snooze next to it.  He must have been worn out after peddling this bike around all morning.

Love,
H

Saturday in Shanghai

Dear Dani,

Thanks for showing me some of the more useful places around town. The pre-lunch veggie buns were yummy!

Love,
H

Contrasts

Dear Friends,

Just one of many contrasts in Shanghai. Sure the photo would have been better if it was a clear day. But...this is Shanghai.

Love,
H & B

Hair Salon

Dear Friends,

You can do anything on the street here, including getting your hair colored. Think I will wait to go to a more private venue.

Love,

H

Apple

Dear Friends,

Found this little gem in the large mound of apples I was sorting through at Carrefour.  It looks carved but wasn't.  I am not exactly sure how this design came to be on this apple. Would love to find out.  Any ideas?

Love,
H

Line Up

Dear Friends,

You might think this is a line up for concert tickets or a special give-away.  But, you would be mistaken. This is just your regular Saturday morning line to get into the grocery store.  The best part is in the produce section. Be sure to ask about the celery story the next time you see us.

Love,
H & B

Cruise

Dear Friends,

A busy first two weeks of school ended with a boat cruise. The view of downtown Shanghai was colorful!

Love,
H & B

Plastic

Dear Friends,

I just spent the last ten minutes unwrapping all our produce from the plastic it was in.  I tend to think of myself as environmentally friendly so China's love of plastic is a bit much for me.  I am working on finding some more earth friendly places to shop and patiently waiting for my cloth bags to arrive in the shipment.

Love,
H

Roses

Dear Friends,

I have been feeling a bit under the weather the last few days with "Shanghaitis", my first encounter with the pollution related respiratory issues.  My sweet husband decided to get me some beautiful long stemmed roses to cheer me up. Each was individually wrapped in cellophane and then the entire bunch was wrapped as well.  (Sorry I missed the shot of that.)  The beauty of the flowers almost masks the plastic starfish cup I had to use as a vase.  Looking forward to the day our shipment arrives and I have 6 vases to choose from!

Love,
H

Tory Burch

Dear Friends,

We spent some time the other weekend checking out one of the markets near the school.  As we left the US, our friend Stacy wanted us to keep a look out for Tory Burch bags. Guess we can check that off our list.

Love,
H & B

New Classroom

Dear Friends,

Here it is. . . my new classroom.  Got in with less than a week before kids arrived.  YIKES!!! Check back in  a few weeks to see how it is coming along.

Love,
H

Pizza Delivery

Dear Friends,

I was out for a walk the other day and came across a Papa Johns. They have quite a delivery fleet.

Love,
H

Corn Juice?

Dear Friends,

Saw this in the juice isle at the grocery store.  From the picture, we are guessing it is corn juice.  Have you ever tried it?

Love,
H & B

Watts

Dear Friends,

One of the best things about our move to Shanghai...the Watts. Greg and Di worked with us in Romania. Having them here has made our transition much easier and way more fun!

Love,
H & B

Transport Bike

Dear Friends,

By local standards, this guy is carrying a small load on his bicycle. We are amazed at some of the things we see people carrying on bikes.

Love,
H & B

Dragon Fruit

Dear Friends,

The fruit basket in our apartment when we arrived was a welcome sight.  These two beautiful dragon fruit were inside.  As pretty as they are, no matter how hard we try, we just cannot convince ourselves that they taste good.

Love,
H & B

Tea

Dear Friends,

Sorry for the grainy shot on this one... had to quickly pull out my camera to get a shot of this guy pouring our tea.

Love,
H & B

Flower Tree

Dear Friends,

Saw this interesting "flower tree" on one of my morning runs. Sure brings some color to the park.

Love,
H

Flies Head

Dear Friends,

Saw this delicacy on a local menu.  Not sure what it is.  Maybe next time we'll give it a try.

Love,
H & B

Chair Store

Dear Friends,

Ran into this chair store on the side of the road. Not sure where the owner was.  Good thing we weren't in a buying mood.

Love,
H & B

Yuyuan Gardens

Dear Friends,

Spent a morning at the Yuyuan Gardens or, more accurately, trying to find it.  It was worthwhile. The gardens were a peaceful break from the bustling city.

Love,
H & B

Red Bean Scone

Dear Friends,

I am sure none of you will be surprised to hear that there are plenty of Starbucks in town.  The do have some unusual items. I had to give this red bean scone a try. . . pretty tasty!

Love,
H

Woks

Dear Friends,

We went to Carrefour  to do a little shopping. Guess we know where to go in case we need a wok. They had quite a selection.

Love,
H & B

Shanghai

Dear Friends,

We made it to Shanghai.  We've been getting settled in and even took a day to explore the city. Think we are really going to like it here!

Love,
H & B

Lake Huron Sunrise

Dear Friends,

Just love getting up for an early morning run in Oscoda. I get to see these beautiful sunrises over Lake Huron.

Love,
H

Robin's Nest

Dear Robin,

Sorry we didn't get to spend more time at your "nest" this summer. Hopefully we will see you more next year.

Love,
H & B

Tawas Harbor

Dear Friends,

We enjoyed our last two weeks in Michigan.  It was great not to spend everyday in the car. Instead, we rode bikes, walked around town and took the kayaks down the Ausable.   We enjoyed every minute of the fresh air and green space.

Love,
H & B