I have a bit of catching up to do. My brain has not been in the "writing" mood this past week and at the end of the day I collapse into bed feeling exhausted. I think this may have something to do with Chinese lessons three days a week and trying to remember from one day to the next what I learned. Two steps forward...two steps back....I think that means that I am still in the same place. A women who has lived in Shanghai for four years said to hang in there....it will just sort of come together. My exciting language moment this week......drum roll.....I said thank you in Chinese and the lady in the store said bu keqi....which means no problem or no thanks needed. AND....I understood what she said!!! I almost hugged her! I know this seems simple but it is these little baby steps that keep me going back to class. Here is a little tidbit about the Chinese language. One word can have different meanings.....for example the word zuo with the fourth tone means "to sit" and "to make something". The word is the same but it has two different characters so if you write it people don't get confused. But...if you say it....there can be some confusion. So if you ask someone if they would like to make a turkey sandwich they may think you are asking if they want to sit on the turkey. The context of the sentence is supposed to clarify any confusion but so far I am lucky if I recognize one or two words in a sentence. This is also what keeps me going back to class.

Here is a little "catch up" on our adventures:
Last Sunday we scootered to Yu Garden. We rode the scooters to the ferry landing, rode the ferry across the river and then rode to the garden. BTW...the Yu Garden has a famous Tea House and Temple and is surrounded by a whole bunch of shopping "cubbies". Every time we go there we discover a new area. This time was no exception....we discovered a three story building with more shops. I tell you China is just one be adventure.....you never know what you will find around the next corner. Our scooters are great fun....but the traffic is very scary. We try to stay off the back rodes and find other scooter riders that can lead us through the maize of traffic. On our way home a man on a bike rode up next to us in the "bike/scooter lane. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw foreigners on scooters. First it was shock...then it was amusement...then he smiled and gave us a thumbs up. We waited until he went across the intersection and then followed close behind. This particular intersection is huge....it has three lanes of traffic running all directions (so it is six lanes wide) and it always seems very chaotic to me but somehow it makes sense to the locals. This is why I like to ride with a pack ....you just get in the middle of the pack and do what they do.

Tuesday morning I braved going to IKEA. We have learned never ever ever ever under any circumstance go to IKEA on the weekend so Tuesday morning seemed like a good choice. I went looking for an adjustable office type chair for my sewing area......this was the last item I needed to be able to start creating again. I found the perfect chair....very comfortable and every part of it adjusts. Success!!! After IKEA I went to a very fun store that makes custom lamps. You can bring any item to the store and they will make it into a lamp. While I was in the store I met two other moms that have 10th grade girls at Concordia.....what are the chances?? The third stop was a home decorating store. We past this store last Saturday when we were doing other errands. I directed Mr. Zhang to it without an address!!! I was so proud!! The store was sort of Pier One meets tacky Chinese Plastic stuff. It was an interesting place to say the least.

Yesterday I met a friend at the fabric market. This is a different fabric market then the one where Tucker and Tim had their suits made. I will call the newest fabric market....fabric market B. That is really clever don't you think? Anyway....market B is much less "touristy" and less crowded. So.....I am going to try a few vendors and check out the quality of their work. I ordered two new shirts...one short sleeve, and one long sleeve. This will match the weather we have been having....warm.....cool....warm...cold....warm. I also purchased several different pieces of silk so I can start a new quilted wall hanging.

Today I went to an SEA (Shanghai Expat Association) quilting group. My friend Teresa invited me to go with her and I felt like I finally found "my people"! The group is an international mix...Turkish, Australian, American, German, Dutch, and probably a couple of others nationalities that I missed. They meet every Thursday and I can't wait to go back next week. Hey....I got the chair.....got the fabric......got the quilting buddies......Yippee!!! It has been a great week.

Tomorrow Tim leaves for the US and he will be gone for a week. Bummer!!! This will be the first time Abi and I will been alone in China. I consider myself to be a pretty independent person but it feels a little scary to be here by ourselves. I think I know how Tucker felt when we moved to China.