Desperately seeking.....

A couple of months back, NZ and I were in Shanghai near People's square, and found ourselves in the middle of the most perplexing "fair" we've ever experienced. To be quite honest, we weren't actually sure what we were in the midst of, but I can tell you there were literally thousands of people sitting side by side- many with upside down umbrellas that held fliers with what we thought to be personal information--because we can read mandarin and all-not! 

But, we could make out phone numbers, birthdates, ages...that was enough to get us thinking...

Were these people all aging parents looking for long lost children? 

There are tons of orphans throughout China, for many different reasons, but mainly because of China's strict one child per family rule and the extreme fines for anyone who breaks the law. This is what I thought, at least. I couldn't stop thinking about those pictures and the people squatting in the park with their fliers all afternoon.

NZ on the other hand, suggested that perhaps these people were looking for mates for their children. 

It took us a few months to show the pictures to his assistant for translation, but NZ was in fact correct. The thousands of people squatting out in the brisk November air were all parents looking to find mates for their children. 

For me, as a westerner, this just seems crazy, but for a culture like China in which social standing is key to survival, this is just a way to try and better one's life. When a couple marries, they often take on the responsibility of caring and providing homes for their parents. These parents are taking things into their own hands, hoping for a better life.

Shanghai day trip

On Friday, my friend Mrs.Georgia and I took our boys to Shanghai to see a pediatrician who was recommended to us. We boarded the train midmorning, each carrying half ton backpacks filled with bribes to keep the boys manageable for what was cut out to be a verrrry long, napless day.

Taking the G train

The train to Shanghai main from Wuxi takes only 45 minutes or so....this is a vast improvement over a two hour drive. From the train, we hopped on the Metro and headed towards People's square and the xintandi area. I'm so thankful that I had Mrs Georgia with me, as she navigated those crowds and lines like a professional. We swerved and curved in and out of the masses with our boys and even carried them up umpteen flights of stairs when escalators weren't available.

We got to our appointments right on time. She and her son went first, while I filled out paperwork and gave our insurance information. Once we were done, we were whisked away to triage, where accurate measurements were taken (don't even get me started on where I had been taking him..he would shrink in height and noggin circumference each month) and the nurses treated him like he was the cutest thing on earth. The pediatrician was a super nice, younger guy, with a great bedside manner and sense of humor. He had a list of questions for me to answer, and told me what milestones to be expecting soon. This is much more than I have received as far as advice in the last 8 months. This was exactly what I was looking for in a pediatrician. He also explained to me the immunizations, and pointed out that ours are a little screwy due to some being done in the US and some here in China. He's going to get us back on track, but it will require one extra visit. No big deal.

Both my friend and I left our appointments feeling so much relief having finally found a pediatrician that we're comfortable with. Yes, it's in Shanghai, and will require some travel to see him, but a good doctor is worth the train ride. I can't even explain how relieved I am to finally have a doctor I trust over here.

After successful appointments for the boys, we treated ourselves to lunch at a place called Fresh Elements. And as with the theme of the day, we had to carry our strollers up not one, not two, but three flights of stairs to the top floor to eat.

It was worth it.

I had the best sandwich I have eaten since moving here. A big juicy open faced Italian sub on fresh ciabatta bread. Oh em gee, I died and went to heaven eating that thing. Just delicious.

We headed out from lunch to do a little window shopping at all the high falutin' shops like Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana and such. We ended up seeing a sign that said "import groceries", and having limited access to western goods over here in Wuxi, the grocery store called our name more so than drooling over diamonds.

I've never been so excited to be in a grocery store. I found some hard to find items to stock our pantry- green died chiles, jalapeño kettle chips (a treat for NZ), jelly beans and some dried fruit chips for Sal.

Lights out. Two tired boys.

The boys hung tough, finally falling asleep just before we boarded the metro back to shanghai station. They both caught a few zzzz's until we boarded the train, and at that point they had enough energy to fuel an army. Never mind the treats we took as bribes, they wanted to play with the barf bags on the floor of the train....so easily entertained.

All in all, it was a great trip to Shanghai with two of our favorite friends. Healthy check ups for the kids, and a super delicious and fun lunch/shopping day for the moms.

Looking forward to Sal's next pediatrician appointment in April cause I'm going to drag my sister along for a day in Shanghai!

Two more months til she arrives!

Snow saves the day

Well, as with everything here in China, nothing seems to go as planned. A friend of mine and I were planning a trip to Shanghai this morning to have our kids see a pediatrician and have immunizations. We had arranged for her driver to be here to pick us up at the crack of dawn, and drive us into the city for the day.

I think we had both been preparing ourselves for the early rise ( departure time 6:50 am) the last few days, and I had my diaper bag and "dining out" bag ready to go, along with money, passports, jackets and immunization card.

Then the weather report came in last night indicating snow. Heavy rain and snow.

Zero degrees.

Snow.

We decided to sleep on it and see what the weather did overnight. A drive to Shanghai in good weather is sketchy enough, add snow to the mix and you're playing roulette. The Chinese are not the best of drivers in fair weather, I can't imagine what it would be like in snow.

Anyways, we woke up at 5:45 this morning....

To snow.

Lots of snow.

We decided to reschedule our appointments and try again another day.

Instead, we met up early this morning since the boys were already up, and played in the snow before braving the un-plowed sidewalks and a walk to buy fruit and veggies.

I guess you could say that the snow saved the day for both boys.

Playing in the snow instead of getting shots?

What kid wouldn't be happy with that?