fuxing park

it is pronounced fushing park in case u were wondering :) my friend tara and i wanted a mellow day of just cruising around the city and doing something free.  so, i met her at the metro right near my work and we walked around the french concession and fuxing park.  it is so refreshing to be around green trees in this giant city!  it was super hot out...so it was nice to have shade.  there were tons of old people playing cards and drinking tea all through out the park.  we for sure got lots of stares from them!

much needed night out

this was after we all finished our first week of teaching the kiddos. one of my awesome waterpolo parents has a cousin living in shanghai.  he is a lil older than me and works in the catering industry.  he got my friends and i vip passes to the opening of d10 a new bar/club.  it is in the shape of an airplane.  we headed over to the metro and it was insane.  our metro is a big area that connects to some of the line that go out to the world expo.  we started walking down the stars and there were tons of ppl just standing and not moving.  so, we turned around and knew we needed a cab.  the streets were packed as well, but somehow my friend jack talked this guy and his wife in their mini van to take us to the bar.  so, we all piled in.  i felt like were in a clown car as we were getting out b/c there were 8 of us crammed in.  so fun though!!!  we got free drinks all night and danced the night away!

lauren and i nervous in the back of a random guys mini van

free champagne on the way in

it's a plane

sweet lights.  if u look all the way forward, it is the front of the plane with clouds ;)

all the girls working at the bar were dressed up as stewardess's.  they gave us hats

i am disgusting and sweaty from dancing.  but, this is inigo who hooked us up!

simple things make me happy

there has been blue sky and sunshine the past 4 days here in shanghai!  i don't even know what to do with myself.  it's a little depressing to either have rain or hazyness all the time.  the blue sky...and yes very hot temperatures are actually quite nice.  i took some pics walking home from work on sat night.  i saw the moon, a few stars, blue sky..wow!

today, tuesday is the start of my weekend and it is sunny again today.  hoping to get to an outdoor with some co-workers.  yes, the key word is outdoor pool!

chinese acrobat show

here is a video i put together from the chinese acrobat show on saturday night.  enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWavE0yuXF4

settling in

as of today i have been in shanghai for 3 weeks....which has gone by fast, but slow.  i have done so much in 3 weeks!  i am now working for disney english full time.  i get my own classes starting on sat.  i am teaching kids ages 2-7....ahhh!  yes, i know...me, teaching little kids...super scary.  but, the curriculum is made for us and i have an assistant.  i subbed a  few classes last sunday..it wasnt too bad.  the kids are so cute and are very easily entertained.

i found an apartment near ji'angn temple.  it is about 5 min from the metro...tons of shops, restaurants, bars and a grocery store all near the metro.  i didnt want to have to walk all over the place once i get home after work.  they are finishing renovations on my place, so i will get my keys next friday.

tuesday night a bunch of us from work to all u can eat/drink indian food and then we went go karting.  it was a nice way to meet alot of ppl in my company.  the indian food was super yummy. i had about 4 pieces of nan :)  go karting was soooo fun.  it was indoors, so i think we were high off the fumes....oh well.

sat night a bunch of us went to dinner for our friend abby's bday.  we then went to an acrobatic show.  it was a little cheezy...but it was awesome!

i have turned in my passport to get my visa..i will pick it up next week.  coming over here i had a temp 30 day visa, so once i passed my health check, i turned in my paperwork to get my real visa for a year ish.  cant wait to see it!  life is good.  please come visit.  i am here til sept 2011!

graduation from training

ladies night

amazing dinner down the street from our hotel.  super cheap too!

lunch at the hostel around the corner from us.  great view of the bund

dinner for abby's bday

my school..its in the french concession.  super cute neighborhood with tons of trees

this is pumpkin..my friends found her on their walk home.  

lauren and i with our hair nets on at go karting

this temple is down the street from my new apartment

life is good.  please come visit.  i am here til sept 2011!

expat

Noun

1.

expat - a person who is voluntarily absent from home or country;

i am now officially an expat.  the summer camp program wasnt as full as they had expected and they were in real need of some full time teachers.  so, with a lil enticement of a sign on bonus...i switched over from summer camp to being a full time teacher.  summer camp doesnt even start until this monday..which is cool.  so, i am now working at a school in the french concession (huge expat community)  it has tons of trees, which is really refreshing.  i am just observing and subbing in classes right now.  i think i get my own classes in about a week.  the kids are so cute..i think i might be okay teaching 5 yr olds.  they are entertained so easily....its hilarious!

all is well in china.  will update more later.  off to bed..long day of work tomorrow.  by signing on full time my weekends are now tues/wed.  oh well..things are less crowded during the week, so that is good.  hoping to get to a sweet city pool this week to get tan and relax in water and not sweat!  also, i will be apartment hunting in the next few weeks.

please come visit!  its alot cheaper in the fall and winter!

yuyuan gardens

old town shanghai is about a 20 min walk from my hotel.  some of us went to the gardens on wed after our health check.  it was soooo effin out hot.  we were dripping sweat the entire time.  the gardens were built during the ming dynasty(1550's)...freakin old!   there were a few spanish tour guides around, so we listened to them to get some info about the gardens.  after about 1.5 hrs we were over it since it was so hot.  i brought my fancy big canon rebel to the gardens.  had a blast taking pics..despite the heat.

lauren, me, meghan, amy, lindsay and renee

so sweaty and nasty!

medical check

wed we did not have work.  we all got picked up in the disney van, oh joy, and we were taken to the hospital for our medical check.  in order to get our proper work visas we had to do this.  good thing i am already friends with my co-workers.  we all had to wear these lil robes, walk into about 6 different rooms and wait around as well.  it was actually super fast and efficient.  pretty funny sitting around waiting to get all these tests done with all 16 of your co-workers.

med check:  two vials of blood drawn, vision test, chest xray, ultrasound, ekg, blood pressure!  good times had by all!!!

here i am outside of the hospital.  it cost me 700 rmb (work will reimburse us later)  it's about $100.  very cheap for all the tests that were done.  would have been way more expensive in the states! we get our results in a few more days.  then, in two more weeks i will get my actual real work visa in my passport.

interesting lunch...

monday was our first day of training.  for our lunch break we went to lunch with our group and the chinese group.  we went to a local chinese restaurant.  everything was pre ordered and kept coming out one by one once we got there.  i tired eel for the first time...yes mom and dad...be proud! however, i drew the line at whole fish and pigeons and pigeon heads.  it was quite a comical experience.  here are some pics:

started off with some fish

this was scary looking, but it was radish root.  not too bad

tofu....so good!

pigeon, and yes there are heads

not so excited, but the prawn crackers on the plate were good

crispy beef, with some sort of sauce...and yes there were sprinkles, like cupcake sprinkles on top!

not okay

my favorite

our food on the lazy susan

cant complain about getting free lunch.....but it was interesting!!!