Hongbao

[MaryAnn]

Chinese New Year is right around the corner, so now seems like a good time to take a quick look at one Chinese customs you may have seen but may not fully understand: Chinese red envelopes, or hongbao.  Our dear friend Natalie introduced us to hongbao several years ago when we joined her family's CNY dinner tradition, but I was interested in more of the details.  Luckily - there were lots of great articles, crafty tutorials, and memes available in the days leading up to CNY. :)

Origins

There are several legends as to how the hongbao came to be. One of the most popular talks about a demon that terrorized a village by sneaking into children’s bedrooms while they were sleeping. The children would fall dangerously ill as a result of the demon touching their heads. One worried couple prayed to their god for protection who, in return, sent fairies down to help. The fairies disguised themselves as coins and were placed under the child’s pillow at night. When the demon approached, the coins emitted a bright light and scared it away. Upon hearing this, the rest of the villagers began placing red packets containing coins under each child’s pillow.

Over time, this tradition evolved to be less about warding off evil and more as an expression of good will and prosperity.  Thank goodness!

Occasions

During Chinese New Year, elders will give the younger generation red packets to signify their blessings. Those already working will also gift their parents and grandparents hongbaos to wish them good health and longevity. They are given during weddings and birthdays as well, either in place of or in addition to presents. In the workplace, employees may sometimes receive red packets as a form of appreciation for their hard work (unrelated to the annual bonus).

Different blessings are inscribed on red packets for different occasions, so keep this in mind when shopping for one.  (I have no idea if the hongbaos I've been giving are inscribed with a general "Have a good luck year" or  perhaps "Have 12 babies and buy a new house".  My apologies!)

Amount

There is no hard and fast rule to how much should be in a hongbao, though it is agreed that the closer the relationship between giver and receiver, the higher the sum should be. It should also correlate to your income–the higher your salary, the bigger the hongbao you’re expected to give. Beware of inauspicious numbers like the number “four”—it’s a homophone with the word “death” in Chinese. Odd numbers are also discouraged because of their association with funerals. (I wonder if someone would really rather have 500RMB instead of 4444 RMB?)

I Long to be a King

[Christopher]

English Translation...


I am ground glass opacity (GGO) in the lung,

A vague figure shrouded in mystery and strangeness,

Like looking at the moon through clouds,

Like seeing beautiful flowers in the fog.

I long to be king,

With my fellows swimming in every vessel.

My people crawl in your organs and body,

Holding the rights for life or death, I tremble with excitement.

When young you called me "atypical adenomatous hyperplasia",

Then when I had matured, you declared me "adenocarcinoma in situ",

When fully developed, your fearful denomination: "invasive adenocarcinoma".

You forgot my strenuous journey to become the king.

From tiny to strong,

From humble to arrogant.

None cared when I was young,

But all fear me we when full grown.

I've been nourished on the delicious mist and haze,

That sweetly warmed my heart,

Always loving when you were heavy drunk and smoking,

Creating me a cozy home.

When I was less than eight millimeters, I was so fragile,

Waiting for a chance to grow up.

Now, more than eight millimeters, I am more mature,

And considered worthy of notice.

My continuous growth gives me a chance to be king,

As I break through layers of obstacles,

Spanning the mountains and waters.

My fellows march to every corner and occupy every region.

My quest to become king was full of obstacles,

I was cut until almost dead in childhood,

Burned once I'd matured,

And poisoned when older.

Happiness after sorrow, rainbow after rain.

I faced surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy,

But continued to chase my dream,

Some would have given up, but I will be the king.

I long to be king, with fellows and subordinates,

I long to be king, to have people's fear and respect

I long to be king, to dominate my domain,

I long to be king, to direct your fate.

NPR article. 

01/28/2017

January 28th, 2017. Heretofore known as the day we decided to go to the Natural History Museum with every single other Shanghai inhabitant who didn't take part in the world's largest human migration this weekend.  #becausechina  #20kstrong

 

The BIG fake market!

{Caroline}

We went to the big fake market a day or two ago. It was a super fun and good experience. The fake market is located in the metro station underneath the science and technology museum. You walk around to the back of the museum where there is a entrance. But outside, there is a big open concrete slab where there are about 25 or 30 skateboarders. They were all skating and doing tricks at the same and encouraging each other. It was neat. We stood out there watching them for maybe 20 minutes. At one point, they started to play a skateboarding version of the basketball game "horse". One person goes first, and does a trick. Then, everyone has to do it. Whoever cannot, or messes up, is out. They inspired Everett to ask for a skateboard continuously the whole time we were in the market.

We went down the escalator, and at first it just looked like a normal subway station, but you turn a corner or two, and.....wow! There are rows and rows and rows of booths chocked full of stuff. There were many kinds of booths. Some booths were toys, clothes, shoes, coats, scarfs, cosmetics, souvenirs, purses, suitcases, and sports to name a few.

The thing here is that the people working at the booths will totally try to rip you off. You have to bargain. They give you their price, you counter-offer, try to work the price down, and if you can't, you give them your final price offer, and start to turn to walk away. Then is when you will make or break a deal. The people hate to lose a deal, but are also stubborn. If you start to walk away, they will either call after you that your price is fine, or they won't, and you just have to find the exact same thing at a different booth that you can work down to your price. Another rule to remember is that you shouldn't get heartbroken that you could not make a deal on something that you had your heart set on, because it is almost guaranteed that another booth will have the exact same thing for a better price.

I walked in not expecting to buy much if anything at all. But being classic me, I ended up buying something from the first booth I saw. A shoe place. My weakness. I found a fake pair of gray high top converse, and fell in love. They lady wanted 260 RMB for them(260 RMB is 37.94 in U.S dollars) , which is insanely high, considering they are fake, and are worth not much more than maybe 100 RMB. We got some advice that when you bargain, you should start at about 30% of what their first price is. I originally offered 75 RMB, ($10.94), bargained up to 130 RMB($18.97), which is still a bit high, but I was in love with them, and that is still cheaper than is the U.S. I have worn them almost everyday since. Mom got some Toms, and Dad tried to bargain for a cowboys jersey, but did not end up with it. We took a break and got some steamed buns and a sprite zero. They were yummy.

We got back up to walk around for a few more minutes before leaving. We went to the tailoring part of the market, where you can get a dress or coat made for you for incredibly cheap. We got two hover-balls. They are plastic, look like half a soccer ball, blow air out the bottom to made it float on hard surfaces, and has foam around it so if it runs into the wall or anything during play, it does not make a mark. We got one for a birthday present for one of Everett's new friends, and one for us in the apartment. Everett kept asking for a skateboard, and wanted on so bad, that we looked and looked, and tried to find one for cheap. We found several that were really overpriced. Dad and I eventually found one that was still overpriced, but less than the others. We worked it down from 350 RMB to 110 RMB for a bigger one so I can ride it too. We got it, and Everett was so happy.

We were done, and went back outside to wait for Bob, and there were many more skateboarders than before, and Everett was on his hands and knees while trying, because he did not want to put his feet on the skateboard. he gave me a turn, and I got going. It was so much fun to be able to skateboard right along with all of the others. It reminded me of all the turtles in Finding Nemo. All going fast and doing the same thing. I would totally be the hippy turtle ;)

Sunday Brunch

[MaryAnn]

On Sunday, we decided to have brunch together. We received a few vouchers from the hospitality group when we moved into the apartment, so we chose to eat downstairs in a restaurant called Element Fresh. (There are a few of them located around Shanghai, and they are very popular for their fresh food and juices.)  

While we thoroughly enjoyed spending time together and the food was good, I have to admit that we left hungry, and we went back upstairs to prepare more food as soon as we walked out the door. When have gone out for dim sum or noodles, we cannot finish the entire bowl and we always have leftovers, but NOT TODAY. :)

 

 

 

 

Work Lunches

 After 7 years of bringing my lunch, I'm now having lunch "out" everyday until we switch offices and have a lunch area again. 

Today Julia took me to "Chinburger" and the Xi'an style noodles were AMAZING. I definitely want to have it again, so I've started saving my receipts and circling the items I like most. Then, I show the receipt to the cashier and they know what I want when I'm without a translator. 👍

The Price of NFL Fandom

[Christopher & MaryAnn]

It's the NFL playoffs, and we bought the CBS live monthly plan to watch NewEngland vs Houston.

Today we're up at 5:30am, already dipping into precious reserves of Pike Place (Christopher) and Limeade Spark (MaryAnn) to watch the Dallas Cowboys vs GreenBay Packers. 

Christopher is far more invested in the outcome of the game than MaryAnn (MA is more of an NCAA fan), but it's fun for both of us to get up really early and sneak in some time together before the busy work week begins. Actual dates will be rare if we don't find a part-time ayi, so we'll take what we can get. :)

 

Staying Active: Swim Class for Everett

[MaryAnn]

Our apartment is part of a residential and commercial complex that also includes a nice hotel. The hotel has a gym, spa, and indoor outdoor swimming pool. We found there is a beginning swim class on Sunday mornings, and ever attended for the first time last week.

The class is geared toward 4 to 6-year-olds, but we are finding right away that there is a much stronger emphasis on core strength, technique, and conditioning than in beginning swim classes in the US.

 

Last Sunday there was only one other student in the class. We don't have any grand aspirations, but it would be great for Everett to be a strong and capable swimmer when we return in the summer During pool party season.

Laundry

Laundry in Shanghai is a bit different than I'm used to. The washing machine is about 1/3 the size of a normal machine and the dryer is a bit on the slow side but they get the job done. After we had been here for one week and the jet lag had finally worn off and it was time to wash some clothes.

It made me laugh, that although I couldn't remember any times during the first 7 days that Everett had been in anything resembling a routine there were 6 little pair of underwear for the 7 days. Not too bad, little dude, not too bad. 

Celebrating 1st Day w/ HOT POT

[Caroline & MaryAnn]

A few nights ago, we decided to celebrate Mom's first day of work and my first day of hybrid homeschool.  We went to a hot pot restaurant with Bob (or driver and best friend at this point) and one of our family friends from Texas, Zach. He was visiting for his business, but stayed in the Ritz-Carlton hotel that is connected to our apartment.

When you go to a hot pot restaurant, there is a big bowl with two sides to it, sitting on a burner in the middle of the table. You can choose from several types of cooking broths; on one side, we chose a spicy oil with lots of different peppers in it. On the other side, we chose a broth that is more like a chicken stock. It has peppers and greens in it.

The first thing that you do while you are waiting for the oil to heat up, is to walk up to the ingredient bar, and grab a ramekin. You use a spoon to put the things you want in your sauce into the little bowl. Some of the options are crushed peanuts, MSG, bean paste, salt, pepper, various spices, cilantro, basil, and chives. That is really only half of the list.Then you have to add a liquid to make it an actual dipping sauce. Your options are soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar. You can use all three if you wanted.

The waiter turns the burner on, and when both sides are boiling, you can begin. You order different items to cook, set, or dip into the bowl, such as lamb, ox tongue, greens, beef, rice rolls, quail eggs, lotus root, noodles, and several types of tofu. You put the items that need to cook, such as the meat (since it is raw), and the noodles in for longer. Since the foods such as the greens and the tofu are already cooked, you do not put them in for as long. Just long enough to soak up the flavor of the oils & spices.

When the item is finished in the oil, you use a communal pair of chopsticks to get it out of the hot bowl, and put it on your plate. You can then use your own chopsticks to dip the item into your sauce and eat it. It is very unsanitary to use your own chopsticks into the bowl since your mouth has been on them.

Once you cooked the item you wanted, you take it from the hotpot and dip it in your sauce, and eat it.

For dessert, you get a fried sticky rice roll. It is pretty much liquid sweet rice fried into a roll shape. It is more liquid-y at the beginning, and when it starts to cool, it hardens. You dip it into some sort of sweet sauce served beside it. This is the only thing you will be served in this restaurant that you do not have to put in the pot of oils.

 I was curious about the history of the hot pot restaurants, so I decided to do some research, and this is what I came up with.

• The Chinese hot pot has stories and a history over 1,000 years old.
• Hot pot started in Mongolia with the Jin dynasty.
• In the beginning, the usual ingredient was usually beef, mutton, or horse.
• It spread to China during the Song dynasty.
• Hot pot is usually eaten during winter at dinner.

IKEA

[Caroline]

Today we woke up, took much needed showers, and called Bob to come pick us up. We drove to IKEA. For those of you who have never been to an IKEA, I am sorry. For those of you who have, well, this should be interesting. We pulled in and parked in the underground parking garage. Bob maneuvered into a tight spot very expertly, and we took the escalator upstairs.

Upstairs, in the lobby, there were benches that Everett, Dad and I sat upon while Mom tried to activate some sort of card to get us discounts. When Mom was finished trying (unsuccesful!), we all took the escalator upstairs. We started with lunch so we would not have to interrupt our shopping by having to eat. (Someone was HANGRY, and her name starts with an M and ends with an aryAnn.)  

There were many more food options than in the IKEA's back home. You had the world famous meatballs from Sweden, but then you had the noodles, chicken legs, fried pork chop, and the egg drop soup. There were also pastries, and these little sausages wrapped in bacon. We each got one of the little bacon sausages, thinking it looked and sounded amazing. I am not sure what everyone else thought, but by the time I had taken the second bite, all I thought was, " Congratulations Shanghai IKEA, you've ruined bacon!". (And I did not get that from the movie inside out. I thought of it first, so ha-ha.)

Then we started to shop. We walked and walked (and walked and walked) until we got to the single section that had everything we needed.

I bought an alarm clock, a fake plant for my dresser, and some organizers for my home school stuff, all for about 70 yuan. (I'll write more about this in a future diary entry, but the yuan is a type of currency in China. The ratio for U.S. dollars to Chinese yuan is 1 dollar=6.92 yuan.) So I got all those things for about 10 dollars.

I also got a huge yummy ice cream cone for 2 yuan. (29 cents). We fit all of our stuff into the van, and drove home. (It's hard to say "home" because it really isn't. So I'll just say "the apartment") Everett fell asleep on the ride back, per usual. We got back to the apartment, and unpacked and found places for our new household items. That's all for now. More soon!

Arrival in Shanghai

[Caroline]

Our flight went well, and we arrived in Shanghai safely. I watched several movies, most of which casted Tom Hanks :) Everett was all over the place toward the end, but that came as no surprise.


We got off the plane, and then went through immigration. The immigration agents checked all of our passports, and we also had to have a special permit called a visa that showed we have permission to be in the country for more than just a vacation.  You're not allowed to use a phone or tablet or anything while you're in line for immigration, and we were getting VERY tired at this point.  My mom has been in immigration lines that lasted 3 hours, but this one was only 30 minutes so we were very lucky!  After we went through immigration, we had to chase down and hustle 3 big carts to stack our 8 totes + 4 suitcases...


Our driver named Bob, that my mom's work hired was there with a van for us, and another driver with another van for all of our stuff. Bob will drive us most places for the extent of our trip. He has an extremely contagious smile.

The drive to the apartment lasted around 45 minutes, and was very interesting. We saw buildings that looked upside down, about 1,000 apartment buildings, (Almost everyone in Shanghai lives in an apartment. They are packed very close together.) an IKEA, and so many cranes that were building buildings you would not believe.

The traffic in Shanghai is interesting. Everyone drives a nice car. No cars in need of a tune up or paint job. They all are fairly new as well. I did not see any older looking vehicles. There was not much honking at all, everyone drives right on the bumper right in front of them, and NO ONE uses blinkers when they switch lanes. But no one gets mad, speeds, or crashes.

We got to the apartment, which is like it's own little village. On the ground floor, there is a parking area, a grocery, many restaurants, clothing stores that are insanely expensive and fancy, and an open roof. www.shanghaicentre.com

Our apartment is small, but dainty. There is everything we need, but smaller. A living room, kitchen, dining room table, 2 rooms, and 2 bathrooms. Everett and I will be sharing a bedroom, which will be tough, but so are we, and I know we can figure it out and get through it. It will be kind of easy, because we have our own bed, dresser, and night stand. The only thing for me to do now, is make him learn that it is not okay to jump back and forth from our beds. Especially not when I am asleep in the bed.

We immediately started to unpack, and are already 90% done as we get ready to go to sleep in our new apartment for the first time.

The Leg That Counts [Chicago -> Shanghai]

[Caroline]

(Early Hours)

We woke up early and dressed quickly. We loaded all of our tubs into an airport shuttle. We checked the totes, and took our suitcases inside. We had TSA pre-check, so we got through security fairly quickly.

Before the flight we got to stay in the Admiral's Club, which is a place with WiFi, power outlets, and lots of comfy chairs, and it was amazing! We drank complimentary coffee, fruit, juice, drinks, coffee, bagels and much more.



I had a bagel and a made-by-me Cappuccino.

Everett watched airplanes and had about 14 cups of orange juice, and no one said a word about it like it was completely normal for a 4 year old boy to be drinking so much orange juice. Enough about orange juice. We soon were called to board the plane.

We had business class and I was so excited! I have had first/business class before, but not on any  international flights. We each got our own little room-like spaces with a TV screen, remote, lights, (with controls) seat that lies all the way down, pillow, power outlets, blanket and trays. It was absolutely super duper crazy cool!!!

(Later hours)

 Everett has his headphones on, and is completely oblivious to how loud he was being. It was hilarious, almost like a TV show right in front of me.

 I noticed earlier that the overhead bins are different than those on a smaller plane. They open top to bottom instead of vice-versa. I am not much of an airplane food person, but this trip was different. They served lots of food that I could not pronounce, but my favorite thing was the duck option. I had never had duck before, and this was amazing! The banana pudding was quite good as well, I can't lie.

The First Leg [Indy -> Chicago]

[Caroline]

Today we drove to the Hilton hotel right on the Chicago airport. For the WHOLE drive it rained.

This morning we got off to a late start, but the reasons were worthy. This gave us extra time to spend with the dog and our neighbors. Our dog, Ruby is staying with our neighbors. It was very hard to say goodbye to Ruby even though I know she will be in good hands.

We then left the house and made a quick stop at Panera to meet with some friends of ours.

We got back on the road, and I fell asleep quickly. We arrived to this hotel that I am writing from around 8:30 p.m.  We can see the runway from our window, and Everett is loving the airplanes and the tram/train that whizzes by every few minutes.  We're preparing for bed now because we leave for the airport shuttle around 6:30 tomorrow morning, then we fly out at 10 a.m.

The flight tomorrow is 15 hours long, so I am interested to see how Everett, my 4 year old brother will handle it.

We'll see.....

Packing System

[Caroline]


Today we are focusing on packing and vacuum sealing all of our clothing so that we can fit more into all of our tubs. We each get two of these tubs; one tub for all of our clothes + one tub for supplies/schoolbooks/sportsequipment, plus a carry-on suitcase and a backpack.

The past couple of days have been focused on cleaning the house thoroughly so we come back to a house that is clean and does not smell badly. We can come back and unpack easily. We have had to try on all of our clothing and purge what does not fit so we only pack clothing that fits.

We have been wearing the weirdest outfits also because we cannot wear things that we are taking to China. For example, yesterday I had to wear a flowered shirt, ripped jeans, and silver hi-tops. I felt ridiculous, but you have to pay the price!

Having a 4 year old brother around is not exactly the biggest help with the process either. He has been un-packing everything as fast as it is being packed. It is a continuous circle that is quite exhausting.

Our eating habits have also been altered quite a bit. We are working to clean out our refrigerator and pantry. Our meals have been a little mis-matched lately. It has helped that our close friends have just moved back to our neighborhood from being in South Africa for 15 months. We have been able to give lots of our perishables to them instead of having to toss them.


[MA's update]

I cannot praise highly enough the greatness of the vacuum-sealed packing bags.  They're about $4/bag, but we were able to buy just a few and happy take some off the hands of neighbors and dear friends.  We felt pretty good about our decisions for what to bring clothing wise but by using the vacuum bags, we were able to free up valuable space for extra toys, books, coffee, and nonessential toiletries that we hope will enrich our "quality of life" over the next six months. :)

We spent our NYE watching McFarland USA and packing up our totes.  It was a special way to spend the evening - we enjoyed watching the movie and reflecting on the Westlane Cross-Country seasons while we worked together as a family to accomplish a BIG task.

It's Getting EXCITING Around Here!