A short distance further down, we discovered M&M World. The number of people, of all ages, spoke to the popularity of the candy and of the animated characters the company uses in its ads.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Nanjing Road
After People's Park, we decided to go down Nanjing Road to the Bund. This is a major pedestrian road that attracts a lot of tourists as well as local families enjoying some time together. As we left the People's Number 1 Department Store, we came upon this display. It was mechanized, which may not be obvious from the picture.
A short distance further down, we discovered M&M World. The number of people, of all ages, spoke to the popularity of the candy and of the animated characters the company uses in its ads.
A short distance further down, we discovered M&M World. The number of people, of all ages, spoke to the popularity of the candy and of the animated characters the company uses in its ads.
Visiting People's Park
Kieran, Richard and I were driven to People's Park Saturday morning. It was incredibly crowded with family groups wandering the grounds, playing cards or chess at tables, or taking advantage of the amusement rides. The lotus were in bloom and were attracting a ton of attention. I had no idea they were so huge!
A pond with lotus blooming at People's Park
We came upon rows of tents with signs (some handmade and others professionally done) hanging on the walls behind and tables set up with books and more paperwork. This is the "marriage market" where those seeking partners can look for a suitable match. Actually, not terribly different than Match.com. Richard did note that most of the people there were older, and presumably were working on the behalf of their children.
As you can see, many of the postings were left on umbrellas.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Part 2
The elementary school has a science garden with a lovely fountain/pool in the middle. The plants in the garden will have electronic tags that kids can scan with iPhones and get information about each plant with. The three new middle school art rooms' floors were poured yesterday. These are large spaces that will have plenty of light. Also in the middle school, the science labs were altered to accommodate clamps and other equipment required for science teachers to integrate STEM standards. Each science room now also has a separate walk-in supply closet. New electronic keys were added to every classroom so we will no longer need traditional keys. One shocker was the scaffolding workers are using as they work around the outside of the building (cleaning windows?). It was made of bamboo and you couldn't have paid me enough to get on it, although it certainly held for the workers.
Scaffolding on the front of the school.
Today we are going to People's Square to do some site-seeing in the downtown area.
It has taken longer than I anticipated to write my first entry since being in town. This is due to the restrictions on the Internet and that Facebook has been banned here. Although Google has not been completely banned they are not in good standing, so logging on is impossibly slow, and you generally time out before actually getting on. I've solved the problem with a VPN, which basically acts as though your computer were in another country. In my case, Denver, CO, USA! It was easy to download the program for doing this, once I knew which one to use.
We arrived an hour earlier than expected on Monday, and were surprised at how empty this major airport was. As it turned out many flights had been cancelled over the weekend to accommodate military exercises. However, I haven't heard of anyone having any difficulty getting in or out. We were met by the school's HR staff and they quickly got us and our many bags into a car.
When we got to our apartment we were handed keys and found the refrigerator stocked, and sheets and blankets on the bed. Rather than head directly to be, we tried to stay up until our usual bedtime. This meant Kieran went more than 24 hours without sleep! It took two nights of no more than 2 hours of sleep before our internal clocks were able to adjust.
We were picked up by a driver first thing Tuesday morning to be taken for our medical exam (required for my work visa and Kieran's visa as a dependent). Once there, we were given locker keys, white robes and blue, plastic slippers to place over our shoes. Once suitably attired, we were whizzed from one room to the next for: blood pressure reading and listening to heart and lungs, EKG, X-Ray (of the torso), a sonogram, blood work, and an eye exam. I'm not sure how or even whether I will learn the results.
Our Ayi (literally means "auntie"), Xiao Wan started work Tuesday afternoon. She is absolutely amazing! Not only does she do all of our cleaning and laundry, she handles workmen (we had a leak), runs errands like buying the correct sim card for Kieran's phone, and gets fapios for us. A fapio is an official receipt for purchases. Although you may have a receipt with the name of the store printed on it, like in the states, it doesn't count for reimbursements. For that you need a "fapio". This requires that you go to a separate counter and get a separate piece of paper with the total price and a red stamp.
Xiao Wan also cooks, although we haven't had a chance to sample her cooking yet. I've asked her to plan to cook Chinese when she does cook as we want to learn about the food here. Frankly, eating local foods will also be less expensive as Western items are imported and much more pricey. A box of cereal costs about $10.00.
We have done a lot of eating out, both alone and with other SAS staff members who have been very welcoming. There are many restaurants within walking distance including Chinese (of course!), Indian, Thai, American, Japanese and Mexican cuisine. There are also a number of grocery stores, a few that specialize in Western foods. Carrefour is much like a Walmart or K-mart, and you can buy quite a bit there at the most reasonable prices. It is a huge store and can be a bit overwhelming on your first visit.
Xiao Wan took us to Ikea on Wednesday. These are very popular in China and and are expanding in this country. Many people go there to get a meal in the restaurant and spend the afternoon browsing. There were people sleeping in chairs, and just hanging out on living room displays as a family group. I had never been to one before and was grateful for a guide. The store is set up like a maze and it is easy to get lost amongst the displays. Then if you buy large items that need to be delivered, you need to get the fapio I mentioned earlier and go to a separate counter to arrange for delivery.
Wednesday afternoon we went to the "Fake Market" next to the Science and Technology Museum. This is underground and connected to a subway stop, and it is a virtual rabbits warren of clothing tailors, watch sellers (let me show you whats in here...), silk, shoes, technology, etc. I picked up a huge painting (maybe 3x3 ft) that fits wonderfully in my dining room for about $90.
I finally went into school on Thursday and Friday to get my office set up and to begin getting ready for teachers. The school is busy over the summer with millions of dollars in renovations going on.
We arrived an hour earlier than expected on Monday, and were surprised at how empty this major airport was. As it turned out many flights had been cancelled over the weekend to accommodate military exercises. However, I haven't heard of anyone having any difficulty getting in or out. We were met by the school's HR staff and they quickly got us and our many bags into a car.
When we got to our apartment we were handed keys and found the refrigerator stocked, and sheets and blankets on the bed. Rather than head directly to be, we tried to stay up until our usual bedtime. This meant Kieran went more than 24 hours without sleep! It took two nights of no more than 2 hours of sleep before our internal clocks were able to adjust.
We were picked up by a driver first thing Tuesday morning to be taken for our medical exam (required for my work visa and Kieran's visa as a dependent). Once there, we were given locker keys, white robes and blue, plastic slippers to place over our shoes. Once suitably attired, we were whizzed from one room to the next for: blood pressure reading and listening to heart and lungs, EKG, X-Ray (of the torso), a sonogram, blood work, and an eye exam. I'm not sure how or even whether I will learn the results.
Our Ayi (literally means "auntie"), Xiao Wan started work Tuesday afternoon. She is absolutely amazing! Not only does she do all of our cleaning and laundry, she handles workmen (we had a leak), runs errands like buying the correct sim card for Kieran's phone, and gets fapios for us. A fapio is an official receipt for purchases. Although you may have a receipt with the name of the store printed on it, like in the states, it doesn't count for reimbursements. For that you need a "fapio". This requires that you go to a separate counter and get a separate piece of paper with the total price and a red stamp.
Xiao Wan also cooks, although we haven't had a chance to sample her cooking yet. I've asked her to plan to cook Chinese when she does cook as we want to learn about the food here. Frankly, eating local foods will also be less expensive as Western items are imported and much more pricey. A box of cereal costs about $10.00.
We have done a lot of eating out, both alone and with other SAS staff members who have been very welcoming. There are many restaurants within walking distance including Chinese (of course!), Indian, Thai, American, Japanese and Mexican cuisine. There are also a number of grocery stores, a few that specialize in Western foods. Carrefour is much like a Walmart or K-mart, and you can buy quite a bit there at the most reasonable prices. It is a huge store and can be a bit overwhelming on your first visit.
Xiao Wan took us to Ikea on Wednesday. These are very popular in China and and are expanding in this country. Many people go there to get a meal in the restaurant and spend the afternoon browsing. There were people sleeping in chairs, and just hanging out on living room displays as a family group. I had never been to one before and was grateful for a guide. The store is set up like a maze and it is easy to get lost amongst the displays. Then if you buy large items that need to be delivered, you need to get the fapio I mentioned earlier and go to a separate counter to arrange for delivery.
Wednesday afternoon we went to the "Fake Market" next to the Science and Technology Museum. This is underground and connected to a subway stop, and it is a virtual rabbits warren of clothing tailors, watch sellers (let me show you whats in here...), silk, shoes, technology, etc. I picked up a huge painting (maybe 3x3 ft) that fits wonderfully in my dining room for about $90.
I finally went into school on Thursday and Friday to get my office set up and to begin getting ready for teachers. The school is busy over the summer with millions of dollars in renovations going on.
Monday, July 14, 2014
First Post
On July 21st, Kieran and I will land at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai. Kieran's father, Richard, will accompany us to help with the transition and will stay with us for our first two weeks.
I have a new position as the Middle School Principal on the Pudong campus of the Shanghai American School (SAS). Kieran will finish high school at SAS. We will be living in the expat community, Jinqiao.
I've started this blog so that those interested in our adventures will have an easy way to check in. I'm new at blogging, so please forgive any mistakes I make as I begin! If you'd like to contact me directly, my e-mail is below. Kieran tends to not check his e-mail, but can be found on facebook.
beckyread66@gmail.com
I have a new position as the Middle School Principal on the Pudong campus of the Shanghai American School (SAS). Kieran will finish high school at SAS. We will be living in the expat community, Jinqiao.
I've started this blog so that those interested in our adventures will have an easy way to check in. I'm new at blogging, so please forgive any mistakes I make as I begin! If you'd like to contact me directly, my e-mail is below. Kieran tends to not check his e-mail, but can be found on facebook.
beckyread66@gmail.com
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