A Warm Welcome

Scott was on a business trip the last few days, and had a very long day today. It started off with meetings in the morning, followed by lunch of something "interesting" in a chemical plant canteen. Then an hour drive to the airport to catch his flight home. After boarding on time, the announcement came over the intercom that the flight was delayed due to "air traffic control" ... which typically means something is seriously wrong with the plane that you're about to embark to 35,000 feet on.

However, after a 45 minute delay with the benefit of no air conditioning and more flies buzzing around on an airplane than Scott cares to remember (who knew flies have no problems mating right in front of humans ... you'd think they want some privacy), the flight departed for Shanghai.

After landing and retrieving his bag, Scott phone Mr. Chen who informed him he was stuck in traffic 45 minutes away. So off to the cab line, which was 150 people deep and took 35 minutes to wait in ... outside in 100% humidity.

When Scott arrived home, the first thing he did was embrace his kids and told them how much he missed and loved them, and how good it was to be home. After setting Juliet back on the ground and expecting her to respond to his terms of endearment, she turned to Annie and remarked, "Daddy smells like China!"

Welcome Home, Dad!

Big Milestone

Juliet lost her first tooth over the weekend - a huge milestone in her six years of existence. After loosening the tooth for the past 4 weeks it finally fell out with no blood or pain whatsoever - much to her excitement.

The most exciting part of this little development is that the tooth fairy was able to find us here in Shanghai - rewarding our little darling with 100 RMB ($14) - proving that the tooth fairy did REALLY well during the internet boom as it's a far cry from the $0.50 per tooth we got back in the 80s.

Bite Free Plus Fresh Breath

We have had a bit of a mosquito problem lately - the blood suckers are back ... with a vengence. After having received 5 bites on her face overnight, Annie decided today to take action. She had been told that if you spray Listerine around your doors and windows the mosquitoes will stay away (apparently they are opposed to clean breath).


So tonight Annie sprayed all the doors and air in the office of our house with Listerine. Now Listerine has a very distinct taste and odor and Scott and Annie both were a bit overwhelmed by the intense "fragrance" that was penetrating our nostrils. At that moment Lillie walked into the room and in a very deep voice remarked "mama, this smells GOOOOD!"

Scott quickly remarked, "Honey, flowers smell good ... fresh-baked cookies smell good ... mommy smells good ... our office smells like a donkey vomitted up a barrel of vinegar."

A Few Roses for a Special Occasion

Today Anne and Scott turn 9. That's right we have been hitched now for nine years.

In honor of our anniversary, Scott wanted to order Annie some flowers. He asked an administrative assistant if she could call and order some flowers (since he knew the english proficiency of the florist was probably not college level). He gave her the following instructions.

I would like red roses delivered
I have been married 9 years
It doesn't matter what the flowers cost
I want the card to say Happy Anniversary in Chinese

So his colleague took the instructions and ordered 99 red roses. There were so many roses that Annie had to put them in a trash can with water because she didn't have a vase big enough.

Here is a pic of the massive order of flowers:

A Different Kind of Forgotten Toiletry

As we have communicated, Scott travels a lot in China. Many of the places he goes require a 3+ hour car trip after flying to the nearest airport. He gets to see things that are a far cry from the bustling metropolis of Shanghai. Who knew mules were still a form of transportation?

One of the most curious learnings from his journeys relates to the toiletries in the hotel bathrooms. For starters, every hotel room (from 1 star to 5 star places) has complimentary toothbrushes, razors, vanity kits, shower caps, etc. It’s not like walking down to the reception desk at the Days Inn in Kalamazoo to score a razor, only to find a surly 19 year old who charges you $37.50 for a razor with a cutting capability inferior to that of a piece of paper.

However, in addition to the complimentary toiletries, there are additional items available for sale – the proverbial “mini-bar for the bathroom” as we’ve written before. A few weeks ago, while staying in a 4 star hotel, Scott noticed a colorful box on the counter. He didn’t pay any attention to it until he was cleaning up to check out. What looked like a small box of office supplies turned out to in fact be a box of condoms – which could be yours for the low price of 20 RMB (about $3).

This discovery, however, paled in comparison to the find from last month. Scott found a package of his and hers underwear for sale in his room. The sensual underpants were part of the “Romantic Journey” collection. Now, how you’re supposed to have a “romantic journey” in a room that reeks of cigarette smoke and has two twin beds is a bit of a head-scratcher, but probably well worth the 40 RMB to take your mind off the shower mold.

Guests

Scott and the kids (Annie doesn't arrive back home until Monday) rolled out the red carpet this weekend for our friends, Paul and Melisa. They arrived on Thursday and have been experiencing Shanghai for several days.

Paul and his willing bride have been on a quest to try a plethora of exotic foods. Though Paul was devastated to find one restaurant was out of Poached Stewed Yak, we still have been able to give them a "taste of the east."

Here are some pics from Scott, Paul, and Melisa's trip to eat Hot Pot:

Paul's Spicy Hunan pot of assorted mushrooms and fatty mutton. You can see the raw cuisine in the background waiting to be stewed:



Here is the plate of fresh shrimp. When we say "fresh" we mean it. A couple of these poor fellas didn't immediately perish upon being skewed and were still trying to squirm free when they arrived at the table:



Scott trying to "de-head" the shrimp with his chopsticks while the steaming broth wafts through the air:



An excited Paul about to throw down some pig intestine: