Sheng ri kuai le Chad! (Happy Birthday!)

The great thing about being in China during your birthday is that it lasts about 3 days.  Due to the time change, Chad was able to drag it out from April 20th (Pacific time) until the 24th, when actually his birthday is April 22nd.  

Our weekend began with a bunch of our co-workers surprising Chad at Grandma's Kitchen, a popular restaurant which specializes in typical Hangzhou food- The amount of food you get for what you pay for is astonishingly cheap.  After, we proceeded to Medusa, a bar owned by a Hungarian man.  

With three hours of sleep, we begrudgingly caught a cab and hurried to catch our train to Shanghai for our first weekend away.  Unfortunately, I think Chad has had better train rides :( The train was surprisingly so clean and even left on time!  It was like being in Switzerland all over again! Using the few words I know in Chinese (Ni hao) and hand gestures, the Chinese man, I was sitting next to, happily moved over so Chad and I could sit with each other and sleep our way to Shanghai.  

First thing you notice upon arrival... 'Wow, there's a lot of people here'  I thought Hangzhou had a lot!  But really- I was floored!  I finally understood what everyone who has been to China kept telling me.  In Hangzhou, yes, there's a lot of people- especially around the West Lake but it didn't even come close to the train station... or the streets.... or the metro.... or everywhere else in between.  We eventually found the metro station- right across the way- just took awhile cause I couldn't see in front of everyone- it was that crowded!  

Second thing you notice upon arrival:  Wow!  There's Ping Yin!  (the Chinese's alphabet that has only recently been created- normally the Chinese all read Characters-they can't read the Ping yin)- Anyways, their Ping Yin is like reading English for us- it's a savior for when you don't know where you're going or where you are.

Third thing: After getting off the metro and you have no idea where you are- and after you use hand gestures and the few words you know in Chinese to ask where a certain street is, they reply to you in English.  Again... wow.  It was like we were back in the States.  Well, not quite but close enough for us.

We stayed in a great, little B&B, called Quintet.  Ultimately, we were sold on their pictures of 

breakfast that was included.  Yet regardless, it was a great place to stay for the week.  The beds were so comfortable- unlike the hardwood mattress we're used to everywhere else in China.  No complaints thou- it's good for you yet I know Chad would offer a different opinion though.  Our room was quite tiny, we even had a hard time getting around with just the two of us but I loved it.  It was quaint and the loft really made the room unique. 

We hurried out after checking in and dropping our things off all by the time of 10:30 AM- there was afterall an International Auto Show that was awaiting our arrival!  We met Chris, Chad's good friend from high school who is living in Shanghai for the year, at our metro stop (we still hadn't gotten over how easy it was to get around with all this Pin Yin surrounding us!)  Chris led the way to where we would eat lunch- we ate at a little hole in the wall, that specialized in Shanghai dumplings.  These dumplings were like soup inside that needed to be slurped out and then finally, after your mouth is numb from burning it and cleaning up the new stain on the person's shirt who is sitting next to you, can you enjoy the actual dumpling- a pork infused piece of heaven.  The only problem being that I now owe Chad a new shirt.  

Chris recommended that we take a taxi to the Auto Show.  However, he did not mention that we would be going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.  Coming from Hangzhou, it was hard to believe the driving could be any more hairy- but in Shanghai, it's a whole other ball game- I'm afraid I might have bruised Chad's knee from all the squeezing.  Getting in a cab there is like playing Russian Roulette.  The lines on the street seem to be just for decoration and honking is like another language-every car communicating with each other for every reason.  Cars are constantly coming within one or two inches from the car you may be riding in.  It's an experience all within it's self- and one that no one can avoid partaking in when in China.

Chad says he will write about the Auto Show- let me just say, it was his 'Shangri-la'

Almost five hours later...haha... we found ourselves a very, lovely western restaurant.  Like my

grandfather says, 'It must be good because no one's talking!"  And it was!  We were happily welcoming all the Westernness we could afford.  The restaurant even put a sparkler on Chad's birthday dessert!  

After dinner, Chris took us to a very unique lounge, called People 7, where there is, in fact, no door.  Most people walk right by not even thinking it's anything but a wall... but once you walk up the stairs you are faced with 9 holes in a wall with light behind them. There's no door knob that allows you to enter but rather a secret combination one must figure out to open this apparent 'door'.  Chris instructed us that we needed to put

 our arms in two holes and hopefully one of the combinations will work.  To our surprise, the wall to our right slid open and after taking one step forward did I finally notice that there was only a mirror behind the door.   A floor to ceiling mirror!  Chad and I continued to strike out until finally, the wall to our left slid open and behold, the bar! The bathrooms also required some thought. There must have been 7 doors... some had door knobs, some didn't but it didn't matter, the ones with the door knobs never opened from that way anyways.  It was quite entertaining and a great way to end our first day in Shanghai.

The next day was the happiest we had been while eating breakfast since arriving in China.   After licking our plates clean, we felt relived to know we had one more good breakfast ahead of us and we headed out to explore the city.  Somehow though, we never even made it over to the Bund!  We just walked and walked.  We

went to a great hand painted Blue Nankeen cotton shop- walked to Xintiandi, a famous outdoor eating area that caters to many 

Westerners.  Chad and I also walked to Tikang, an area that resembles Venice with it's narrow alleys and cute boutique shops and tea restaurants.  

For dinner, Chad and I met Chris at Cantina Agave- a mexican restaurant!  Who'd a though?! And it was delicious!  Following dinner, we all went to an old WWII nuclear bomb shelter, which is now an underground club featuring a jazz band and an international DJ.  

Chad asked me if I wished we were living in Shanghai instead of Hangzhou and as I thought about his question, I realized that yes, if we lived in Shanghai, we wouldn't get as many stares, and we could enjoy food that we're used to,  yet it is not 'China' as we know it.  Although, life is occasionally frustrating and trying in Hangzhou being that there is NO English and western food is hard to come by, I feel it would not be rewarding if it was easy.  In Hangzhou, we are forced to learn Chinese (my main goal), we are out of our comfort zone and in result, have to acclimate to a new life.  All in all, I am thrilled we have decided to come.

Friday morning came too soon- we fought the crowds and made it onto the train- where we created a tentative travel plan for the rest of our time here so we can experience more of China and hopefully have great weekends like we just did, in Shanghai.  

Congratulations! I wish I could be there!

Unfortunately, the 6,000 miles that lie between us and California feel like 100,000 at the moment. It might as well be so far that any mode of transportation will make the journey home inaccessible.

I feel this way because it is a very special day for my family, and I cannot be there to participate in this rare, most incredible celebration. Today, April 8 2009 marks the 70th, I repeat, 70th! wedding anniversary of my beloved grandparents. At 90 and 92-years old, it is still so evident that they are the loves of each other's lives. It is inspiring, motivating and I am so proud of everything they have accomplished-together.

I share day with everyone because if I was home, I would be giving a toast to them at dinner and since I am only a few miles from where they are right now-at dinner, writing on here is the next best thing- so everyone can hear.

A little background: The scene begins at Galalio High School in San Francisco where my grandmother was in the cafeteria buying cookies (of course :)- she had seen Ralph 

Borgeson before since he was in fact one of the star football players at the school but more importantly, she needed something from him. She was, in fact involved in a high pursuit with her friend to see who could get the most signatures in their yearbooks- Barbara, my grandmother, was missing Ralph's- and that was the first moment... Ironically enough, my grandfather already had a Barbara of his own on his arm- my grandmother now lovingly calls his ex-girlfriend a "foul ball". It must have been my grandmother's sense of humor that won Ralph over :)

Several years later in 1939, my grandmother married at 20. However, she did not shed tears of joy as she walked down the aisle arm in arm with her father- no but rather she was giggling out of control due to her father's knee's cracking as they made their way toward the alter. Again, my grandmother's personality paved the path for their future together.

Their lives have been anything but routine or dull. Being a pilot with the Flying Tigers and a colonel in the Air Force, they lived all around the world. From Alaska where my grandfather had to leave in a moment's notice after Pearl Harbor had been bombed to Asia where my grandmother was hardly recognizable when they finally docked after a week's + journey on a boat to meet my grandfather already living in Japan. She has never done well on boats and to this day refuses to go on them.  However, shaking hands with JFK I'm sure made up for her bout with sea-sickness

After finally moving back to Marin County, and being stationed at Hamilton Air Field, my grandfather retired from the Air Force and became a Firefighter in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco.  As if living around the world, fighting in the war and flying for the Flying Tigers wasn't exciting enough!  I have been very fortunate in that my grandfather has shared many of his stories from his 'glory days' while being stationed at the firehouse.  The contributions he has made and the lives he saved have also propelled me to follow his footsteps.  

Although my grandpa no longer surprises my grandmother with pink convertible Cadillacs or do they need to write each other long letters across oceans that separate them, they show their love to each other everyday.  From the moment my grandmother wakes up, she is handed coffee in bed that my grandpa has made by feeling his way around the coffee maker.  Coffee in bed has been a ritual for them since before I was...every morning.  After my grandmother gets up,

she prepares the fruit for breakfast, usually papaya and together, they lean over the small sink and eat- as if we don't have plates to spare :) Their day is completed together-without one, the other is lost- from figuring out how many Motrin pills fell out of the bottle, to getting the mail and reading it together, to watching Lawernce Welk, to sharing a milk shake and even to baking cookies for my grandfather-the thing that brought them together over 70 years ago.

With two children, Phil who will retire soon and Heidee, who has just retired after 34 years of teaching, my grandparents also have three grand-children: Marnie, who lives in Oklahoma, Jessie, who lives in Sacramento and me, in China.  Finally, they have three GREAT-grandchildren: Alexandria, who will graduate high school in Oklahoma this year, Hope who also lives in Oklahoma and has a few more years of high school, and Francessa, an aspiring model/actress who lives in Sacramento- my poor grandfather is surrounded by women!

Grandma and Grandpa, Congratulations!!  I am so proud of you both and what

 you have achieved!  You have been my example all throughout my life and I am so very sorry I wasn't able to be there for you both on this special day but like always, you are in my thoughts.  Cheers to you both!! (Chad says you need a glass of  champagne for him!) Have a wonderful 70th anniversary!  I love you and miss you both.

Pictures of the new apartment and the West Lake

Just a quick update with some pictures of the new apartment and the West Lake.

New Apartment

West Lake