Where in the World are the Richardsons?: Fashionable…or not so much?

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Fashionable…or not so much?

One of the real curious fashion differences between Shanghai and Dallas is the way men here carry their cash, credit cards, and personal belongings. Instead of opting for the very popular “wallet” they instead opt for a very large over-the- shoulder attaché.

It’s not just ultra-hip, metrosexual, 20-something men who look like they just stepped out of the J Crew catalog – it’s everyone. When you get on an airplane, every aisle has at least two of these bags hanging from the seat in from of them. Mr. Chen (our driver) even has one. We never imagined we’d say this, but the “man purse” is alive and well here in China!

1 comments:

Anonymous said...: Wow, I never would have guessed that China would be so supportive of the murse! You learn something new every day! Miss you guys!
- Em; April 30, 2008 at 7:44 AM

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And so my prayer is that your story will have involved some leaving and some coming home, some summer and some winter... My hope is your story will be about changing...about learning to love a child...about learning to love others more than we love ourselves... We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?... And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don't worry. Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.

-Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts

Juliet's Quotes (Seeing China through the eyes of a 5 Year Old)

“You have to sit up front and you CANNOT talk to me.” – Instructing Annie the other day when she had to ride the school bus with Juliet because she had a meeting at the school.
"Huh, yea, we have rice every day." - responding to Annie's foolish question, "Did you have rice with your hotdog today?"
"Well, you didn't tell her you were my mom, so I think she thought you were the cleaner ... you know ... of our house." - when talking with Annie after she had met one of Juliet's new friends at school.
"It's hotter than Hell here, Gigi!" - when explaining the extreme heat and humidity of Shanghai to her grandmother (we don't know where she hears these things...)
"We just need to end all this nonsense and stop going out at night." - referring to our latest shopping excursion (see "Searching for a Princess Bike")
"What's a bidet?" - questioning the other toilet-looking contraption in the bathroom
"Ahhh that feels good" - said in a deep rumbling voice as she was referring to our massage chair the landlord left for us.
"Man, it's like these people have never seen a girl before" - referring to the hundreds of people gawking at her during an IKEA outing.
"This guy drives really slow" - referring to our driver, Mr. Chen, after 3 minutes in the car with him on day one.

By the Numbers

3 - number of stays in a Chinese children's hospital
2 - Number of Typhoons we've weathered
1 - Number of lightning strikes in our front yard
41 - Number of stoplights between our house and Scott's office
10 - Number of thermostats in our house - one for about every 380 square feet
3 - Number of English words our driver speaks (Hello, OK, Bye-Bye)
8 - Gallons of sweat secreted by the three of us during the first five minutes of arriving in steamy Shanghai
96 - Number of keys we have to our home