Laowai

Well we’re here for our two months but so far it’s been a bit of a struggle. Brian is having a hard time because his project is not going well and he can’t seem to find any humor in the crazy China ways like he used to. He is very worried about me and number 3 even though I tell him we’re fine. It’s so sweet it breaks my heart and I can’t stand to see him struggle. We’ve had some sleepless nights because of jet lag and because we’re up talking about frustrations. I just keep saying let’s take it one day at a time and see how we feel in a few days.

I feel like I’ve been eating enough and feeling fine (other than the jet lag). I’m able to see some humor and find our surroundings interesting. It makes me appreciate little things about home.

So here are a bunch of photos of our place in Shanghai. You can click on the photos for a bigger view. We’re on the 16th floor of The CELEBRITY SERVICE APARTMENTS (they don’t know we’re not famous celebrities):

Here’s the view from the kitchen. You can see the quilt that I’m working on sitting on the chair.

And a view from the patio.

Our bedroom.

Sleeping.

The washer and dryer are in the kitchen – they have cartoon characters on them and they are tiny like toys. I think maybe I can put one pair of B’s jeans in the dryer at a time.

How do you use this washing machine? No english. I pushed a bunch of buttons this morning and it filled with water and then made and awful loud sound while it swished around. Hmmmm. I’m going to have to figure this out somehow… Maybe I should have some ice cream like the little character on the front of the washer.

Here are a couple views up and down the street. Notice the green roof on a building next door. The street noise is really loud. Lots of honking. It’s been rainy and cool since we got here. It feels much better than the hot and humid weather that we had when I was here in June.

When we first got here we bought a few groceries at the nearby Family Mart. We grabbed up all the brands that we recognized. It’s amazing how those brands can be so reassuring when you’re away from home.

Last photo – It was so nice to see Jenna and Jennifer and Mom right before we left Evanston. Jenna can’t seem to smile without sticking her tongue out now. So she always has a giggly-goofy look on her face. It felt so good to give her a squeeze and Uncle Brian even got to spend some time with her.