Okay....for all the whining I did yesterday...I must say that today has been much better....in fact....it is one of those days that I can say...."only in Shanghai" could this happen.

I rode into work and school with Tim and Abi this morning. Tim and Abi do this every morning so I had envisioned them chatting all the way to Abi's school and I was missing out on the fun. This was the second time since we have settled in that I have ridden with them....once last Friday and then again today. Last Friday I was chatting away and asking questions and enjoying their company and every once in a while I would get a "yeah" or "uh?" or "hmmm". About half way to school Tim said "Abi have you noticed how different our trip is when Mom is with us?" Then I realized that they both had their computers open and Tim was checking email and Abi was finishing up homework. We all laughed and I figured out that I have not been missing any "fun". They seem to have their own rhythm to the mornings and that is great with me. So.....this morning was no different....laptops open.....and I really tried to be quite.....tried is the key word here. Most of the noise was from my nervous stomach.....I was on my way to meet my Chinese teacher and have my first two hour language lesson. I had my #2 sharpened pencil, my book, and my nerves. Tim was also taking his first Chinese lesson at his office this morning. We felt like little kids on the first day of school .

We dropped Abi at school and Tim at work and I had time for a quick breakfast. I directed our driver to a little restaurant ( he understands: Starbucks, ATM, Carrafour (market), Shimao (our apartment) and East West (our little restaurant) and I ordered coffee (they have really good coffee) and french toast. In less than 5 minutes I had my coffee and french toast. My bill was Y20 or $2.40.....only in Shanghai.

From there I went to "Debbie's School"...our driver made this up to go with "Abi's school". I am telling you....we are getting to be like a well oiled machine!! My teacher is very nice and patient (thank God) and actually gave me some hope that I might be able to learn a little Chinese. Please pray for my teacher.....she will need all the help she can get.

We picked up Tim for lunch and we went to Pines (import store) to look for vanilla. No vanilla!!! That store was my last hope.....who would guess vanilla would be so hard to find......only in Shanghai . I think I have discovered a business opportunity.....importing vanilla.

We took Tim back to work and headed back to our apartment. I have had enough "fun" shopping for furniture lately so I decided to take a break from that....my sewing space will just have to wait for a while. We stopped at a little flower shop (my favorite one was closed) and I bought a big bunch of Gerber daises (it is raining here and will probably continue for the next week) to brighten up the day. Again......Y10 (I did not even have to bargain today) which is
$1.20....only in Shanghai.

I got back to our apartment....Mr Zhang brought all of my junk (a few baskets, a few groceries, and some school supplies for Abi) up to our apartment and unloaded it from the "trolley"......I feel like a princess!!! Delia helped my put all the stuff away, had dinner already planned and defrosting on the counter, and was ironing Abi's shirts.....only in Shanghai. Okay....Okay....I am sorry I whined so much yesterday.

And here is my final "only in Shanghai" experience today. I called one of the furniture places that I visited yesterday to order a cabinet for our entry. She said "would you like it delivered today or tomorrow?" It was 2:30 in the afternoon.... I said...well....today if that is possible but we live in Pudong (which is about 45 minutes from the store on a good traffic day). She said, "I will call my driver and call you right back". When she called back she said, "We can deliver today but it will be much later....like five o'clock". I almost fell out of my chair. I said "Okay...five o'clock will be fine" I tell you....there are somethings that can only happen in Shanghai.