China As We Know It

"We are now in March, next month we head to Thailand for a nice beach holiday and then....we should be gearing up to leave China."

That is what consumes my head in the quiet moments of the day. Usually, as I'm pushing Carter in his stroller on the way to the grocery store or to McCafe (I refuse to call it McDonald's) for a coffee. So I'm going to try to write a bit more about our lives in China.

So here we go....

First of all, I have to say, we have LOVED living in China. This country is so cool in so many ways. More times than not, we don't really talk about all of the wonderful things. I don't really know why, maybe we don't want to rub it in! Ha ha. Or maybe we feel the need to vent about the struggles more. Who knows!

The people here are SOO friendly. They LOVE foreigners and LOVE babies. Having a little one here, you are constantly told that you have a beautiful baby. (As if you didn't already think so!) It really boosts every parent's ego. Ha ha.

The younger generation is learning English starting in 1st grade. They know so much! Sometimes they are too shy or embarrassed to use it. But it is VERY impressive. Sometimes when they see a foreigner, we don't really blend in, they want to speak English to you! Other times, you will be frustrated trying to communicate to someone like at a restaurant or store and out of no where, a random person comes up and helps to translate! They are so friendly!

Shopping! I have to say, it is addicting. This needs bullets of it's own:

• Furniture: This is a reason I'm not ready to leave and am willing to do another round in China. Seriously. I feel like I have more furniture to be made, fabric I want to buy, and random antique accessories. Addicting. I just got a new dining room and chairs made and am now looking for a big antique Chinese drum to be made into a coffee table or ottoman. If you show them a picture of something you want, they make it, but with REAL, solid, wood and for about a third of the price!!!! AMAZING! You also get to pic out the fabrics, wood color, finish, knobs, etc! Ahhh....I may have him throw in a little apolstered couch/bench, and an old shutter screen.
• Fabric: I want more table settings for all kinds of fun future family events and pillows to match!
• Jewelry: if you bought some that I've brought back to the US, you know the addiction. REAL stones and REAL pearls for a few bucks! I have them copy cool designs from stores I like. But the stores at home use plastics and charge about $40-$120. CRAZY! I'm going to miss having jewelry made and all of the people I've met doing this.
• Fakes: I love the fake markets. Big shopping malls full of designer goods for a few dollars. I've really learned lots about this business too. Ha ha. People here study hard in this business. This isn't some slum shop. It's huge. There are several big malls around Shanghai (and other cities) and the copy business is serious. There are good copies and bad copies. ALL...look amazing. Even the bad is just used with not as good of a quality of leather. You wouldn't know. Trust me. We even had a "hand bag guy" who lived in a hidden apartment complex. So fun! Ahhhh, I can't leave this place!!!

We've also made so many wonderful friends here! I love them all and want to take them with us where ever we move next.

Last thing for today, we have learned so much Mandarin! Did I ever think in my life I would be able to have a simple conversation in Chinese? Or be able to give directions in Chinese? Negotiate prices??? I would love for Carter to learn Chinese too. But sadly, he will miss the boat on this one.

Okay, I could go on and on, but I don't want your eyes to get tired.

That is all for now!