Good to Be Legal: Our 1 Year China Anniversary

We arrived exactly 1 year ago in China, and found out today that we are officially approved for a 2nd year in China. For some odd reason, we had to submit legal paperwork separately. Karl’s went through a week or so ago. Today Lila got the good news. With a renewed apartment lease and work visas – we’re good to go for year #2.
During last night’s dinner, we reminisced about everything that’s happened in the past year…

• Moved to China, with 2 new jobs
• Traveled to Vietnam, Portugal, Switzerland, the Olympics, Hangzhou, the Silk Road, & 4 water villages
• Started to (try to) learn Chinese
• Navigated Shanghai’s silk market, fabric markets, multiple wet markets, and our friend’s favorite: the fake market – as well as learned how to buy DVDs, how to negotiate in Chinese, and how to order food
• Celebrated our 1 year anniversary
• For work, Karl traveled to Singapore, Japan, and around China; Lila to Italy (country#66), Portugal (country#67), Chile, Panama, & Mexico
• We both got to be more active in the World Economic Forum

It’s been truly amazing!

Karl’s Bike Race @ Yellow Mountain, Lila’s birthday, & Our 1 year China Anniverary

Today we celebrated Lila’s birthday, 17 year Intel anniversary, and 1 year since leaving the US. Highlights included Lila taking the day off, lunch wih her friend Mae-Ling, going to the gym. Lila also worked a few hours at a Pacific Coffee -- her favorite brand during Hong Kong days that has only 2 branches in Shanghai - 1 only open on weekdays). For dinner, we went to Lila’s favorite sushi restaurant (Haiku) – continuing our “celebrating over sushi” tradition.

Karl also just completed his first bike race by China’s Yellow Mountain about 6 hours from Shanghai. He went for 3 days with a group of friends from Shanghai. The race went well. Karl’s especially proud that he didn’t finish last and didn’t fall off the bike during the race (something 8 of 9 of his friends couldn’t say). Lila was proud that Karl was able to do the race without training. The next day, before returning to Shanghai, Karl took the cable car up to the top of the Yellow Mountain only to find he was fogged in. Luckily the race didn’t kill him, so he was still able to hike up and down the mountain in the fog. We look forward to going back together to actually see the beautiful mountain top that is in almost every Chinese watercolor painting!

While Karl was at Yellow Mountain, Lila spent the weekend in Shanghai. She spent time at the gym, wandering the city,and getting the apartment organized with some new furniture that had arrived as part of our lease extension. She also enjoyed 1 girls’ night out with her friend Wendy. After a spa visit, they went for Mexican food at our favorite restaurant (Maya), then had drinks out on a bar’s balcony during an unusually warm March weekend. Two great 3-day weekends in a row!

Lila’s Adventure with Chinese Medicine: Magnets, Cups, & Pins with electrical current – oh my!

About 1 month ago, I started acupuncture treatments – something I’ve wanted to try well before moving to China. I was both excited and nervous. Top priority was to find somewhere clean & an English-speaking doctor to minimize any confusion over what was going to happen. I chickened out and made an appointment at the health clinic that caters to foreigners. I knew it would be more expensive, but thought it was safer for me to understand what the process is all about.

Session#1: What did I get myself into?! The first session was interesting. She felt my pulse in 3 areas on my wrist, checked out my tongue, and asked me a lot of question. The doctor said first she would “reset” me, and then we’d work on my problem areas. I was told to lie on my stomach while she lit this torch and held a glass cup. It was a bit intimidating and I wondered what was going on!? Before I knew it she had put the torch in the glass to burn off air, and then quickly suctioned the glass on my back. It felt like a tight suction for the 5 minutes they were attached – nothing painful but definitely an odd feeling. This is called “cupping.”

Next up: the acupuncture pins. I don’t remember how many went in, but they didn’t hurt – except for one on my foot. I had to lay there for 30 minutes which seemed to be tolerable until she pulled out this little machine with wires. I never realized they put some type of electrical current through your body during this process?! It was hooked up to my stomach & right above my knees. It felt like I could feel my heart beat in those areas. Again no pain, though it felt awkward until my muscles relaxed. Apparently some very tiny current is the modern equivalent of a doctor massaging various points to stimulate specific points. The final step was applying 8 small acupressure magnets (covered in skin-colored adhesives) to my ear. She told me to keep them on until the next appointment and press regularly on them.

For the next few days, I had purple circles on my back – none of which hurt. I applied pressure on my ear magnets which actually seemed to help. I did wear my hair down as many days as possible to hide the magnets. You actually see people with these magnets on their ears a lot. We just never knew what it was all about. Overall, I felt more sluggish than usual. Was it the stress at work? The rain? My body’s energy being used to heal/reset? Not sure but I wasn’t ready to give up.

Session#2: Continuing to reset with the addition of fire
Again, out came the cups – this time 10! They were in different areas than before, making my back look polka dottish now. In the summer, you often see people with circles on their back – I guess we know why now. It’s interesting that each one is a different color with only 1 really purple (most toxins being released in that area). Next up: the pins. This time 17, 4 connected to the pulsating machine. Again, my foot and this time the area above my knees pinched a bit with the pins going in. Not sure what that means. The real surprise was the addition to a pin on each arm to help with my super cold finger tips. On top of the pin, she put something that looks and burns like an incense cone. We closed the 1 hour session with magnets added to my left ear. After dinner I was allowed to remove the ones on the right. I notice the left ear hurts less and the day after I felt my insides a bit more (perhaps just aware after the pulsing).

One Month Later...
After 2x/week for the past month, the doctor has started adding in a needle to the top of my head and removed the ear magnets. I’ve noticed I sleep much better since. The cupping is going well, and is my favorite part of the treatment. Although the back tissue drawn into the jar appears to bruise the skin –it doesn’t hurt. The amount of dark red or even purple blood drawn to the surface indicates the degree of stagnation (darker = more toxins in blood). I have gotten to the point where I only have light purple on 2 cup areas, and the remaining 6 leave little to no mark. Progress! Aside from that, I’ve noticed some changes but it’s hard for me to assess how much is related to the acupuncture. I do feel more aware of my body, and look forward to the 2 hours each week laying there doing nothing. I also really like the doctor a lot. She’s my age, and told me how she entered University in the late 80s as China was opening up. Less than 10 years ago, she did a 2 year rotation in Morocco as part of bilateral agreement the 2 countries have. Let's see how I feel a month from now.... !

Nanjing Weekend Get-Away

To celebrate Lila’s birthday, Karl had planned a weekend away in Tangshan and Nanjing. Tangshan,about 3 hours from Shanghai, is famous for its hot springs. The resort, owned by a Balinese company, has around 20 private villas, each with it’s own private lap pool and hot spring jacuzzi, and stocked with your choice of music CDs. In each room of the villa, there were at least 2 walls of floor to ceiling windows – giving the place a very open feel.

We arrived on Saturday, with driver Peter. Upon checking in, we ate at a very local restaurant before sending Peter back to Shanghai. We then ventured out for a 45 minute bike ride through the countryside (Karl’s first time on a bike in three years and his ‘offical’ practice for the upcoming race), hung out in the jacuzzi, and figured out how to make use of the 24 hour butler service. We discovered they made really good (& complimentary!) fresh ginger-lemon tea (Lila consumed about 10 pots over the weekend) and had nice afternoon tea sets delivered to our villa. We also found the butlers very handy in filling the hot tub. They would drain it and put in new water … at just the right temperature! Without any typical spa chemicals, we enjoyed the fresh refills. Between the service and the atmosphere, we quickly relaxed and settled in. To top off a great start to our weekend vacation, Karl had arranged for a candlelit dinner in our villa.

On Sunday, we went into Nanjing city, about 45minutes away (the resort provided transportation). We were very surprised by Nanjing. For a city of 6 million people, it felt small with mountains, lakes, and greenery. Our only experience with Nanjing was knowing it means "South Capital" (as opposed to Beijing = North Capital) & the Japanese occupation as outlined in the movie "Rape of Nanking." Needless to say, the day was a pleasant surprise.

First stop in Nanjing was Purple Mountain, full of trees. Most of this area had been build up in the early 1900s. Highlights included the Sun Yatsen memorial/masoleum and an old Buddhist temple. From there, we went into town – visited the shopping area which we mistook for something completely different. It felt too much like Shanghai. We finally made our way to a beautiful Buddhist temple on a hill in the city. They gave out free prayer incense sticks. Upon watching others, we figured out what to do. The temple was very peaceful – a mustard yellow against the blue skies. We accidently stumbled across the old city wall, and walked that with kite fliers and a few other people, until it ended and we were forced to walk along the shores of the lake. We ended the day with a 30 minute massage and more time in the jacuzzi under the stars. Yes! We could see stars, very special scene which we can’t appreciate in Shanghai’s brightly neon-lit nights.

Monday we had a 2 hour massage appointment to end the long weekend. Driver Peter picked us up around noon, for the 3 hour journey back to Shanghai. We were able to get a lot of work done in the car – very important as Karl left later that evening for a 2.5 day business trip to Beijing. We both really enjoyed the weekend away. Note to selves: was amazing ...need more of these relaxing escapes!

Lila’s US Trip

A quick 6-day trip to the US went well. Our team is going through an organizational change and moving to another group. After nearly 17 years at Intel, I’ve come to realize that changes are part of the norm. It has been just 1 year since my team was formed by combining 2 groups, and now we’re moving more-or-less entact to another group. The good news is we have strong business results, and are well positioned for growth. My trip to California and Oregon was to meet my new peer group, spend time with my new boss, and meet with some of our executives. I’ve returned excited about this change, though sad to leave the old team behind. Although the trip was extremely short, I managed to get in a few personal things too. Aside from the 1 day power shopping for foods/errands, I was also able to get in 2 gym sessions with trainer John. Could hardly move afterwards, but it felt GREAT! I spent the night with Melissa and Hai (who’s a cutie!), hung out with Nabeel (including our 10 year tradition of catching up over Mexican food), spent some time with Susan & the kids, and had happy hour with my old pals in Oregon. It made the trip very action-packed and no time for jetlag! However, I was thrilled to have some personal time. Hard to imagine nearly 1 year has passed.

Two Months Without Travel!

A major benefit of the current economic slowdown is that most travel has cut. We are really enjoying being in Shanghai for weeks without travel. Granted, Karl had a 3 day trip to Tokyo & Lila’s about to leave for a 6 day trip to the US…but relative to our past months, this is nothing! We’ve really enjoyed socializing with some of our co-workers. We had drinks one Sunday night with Glen, Justin, & Eugene. Dinner with Wendy and Darren. Mae-Ling stopped by one evening for a girl’s chat. We enjoyed celebrating Caroline’s birthday, as well as a catch-up dinner with her. When we found out a few friends from work were at a restaurant nearby, we swung by. We have even gotten into a weekend morning routine – gym and return home to cook brunch together. It’s really wonderful!

Mexico’s Montezuma’s Revenge, Egypt’s Mummy Tummy. And in China? More painful!

It finally happened: we ate something we weren’t supposed to. The payback was terrible. We’re not quite sure where or how it happened, but it’s likely to be some meat or vegetable from the market. After a fantastic weekend, Karl started feeling ill at dinner out with friends. By midnight, both of us had spent more time in the bathroom than in bed. The night continued quite terribly. Monday we could barely move from the couch. By the end of the day, we managed to eat a bowl of oatmeal and a banana. The weekend continued like this. Karl recovered more quickly, but ended up over-exerting himself to the point of being weak for a week. Lila recovered by Friday’s flight to the US. We have to admit – it was nice to have our clothes fit us a bit better, but it was a truly painful experience.

Expiring Lease: Where to live for the next year?

In China it’s quite common for people to move around apartments after their one year lease expires. With inexpensive labor, it’s easy to move your belongings to a new neighborhood full of unexplored activities. It also provides renters with more negotiating power. You really have to be smart about what you get covered in the lease – far moreso than in the US. With our lease expiring in March, we have been looking around to find a place with more storage, different living environment, or better rent. The reality is that we love our apartment and location, but were curious what else is available in the slowing Shanghai housing market.
We really wanted to live in an old mansion that was split into several apartments. We had looked at one when we first moved to China. It was a gorgeous old French mansion. The problem was that the renovations were being finished and the place looked more like an easter egg than a 1930s home. They wouldn’t let us paint, so we opted for the place we live now. Despite our efforts to find a similar place, we had no luck. We looked at a few old mansions but the apartments were small or not in the condition we wanted.
We also looked at several Lane Houses. These are like multi-story condos with 2 side neighbors. Most of these were built in the ‘30s-50s and have been remodeled and updated. There are usually at least 5 floors – each one about half a flight up stairs with 1 or 2 rooms. We saw many beautiful ones, though they weren’t so practical….too big for 2 people and too cumbersome with all the flights for visitors.
We also looked at a few apartments – but nothing as nice as we have now. We even looked in our building, one floor up. The renters had just moved out of an end unit (there are 3 apartments on each floor). The layout was a bit odd, and we were shocked at how torn up the place looked. So in the end, we are signing a new lease in our current apartment with about a 15% decrease in cost. We also negotiated a few things – like increased shelving/storage, cleaning of area carpets, buffing of floors, some extra pieces of furniture, air filter renewal, etc. It is actually good for us as our neighborhood has an increasing amount of new, hip places as well as the diversity of western comforts and Chinese charm.

Chinese Antique Hunting

Many of our friends are returning to the US this summer. As they start their preparations for the move home, we’ve noticed a common theme: they’re all having furniture made.
We decided to spend a weekend day investigating this "furniture making" craze. We started with Chinese antiques, including new antiques which are basically custom made but look like the old style. We got a bit distracted as it was rather fun looking at all the Chinese styled furniture – dreaming up ideas for shoe cabinets, garden furniture, dressers, etc. Four stores later, we made our way to a store which we’d heard so much about: Elm Workshop. They use Chinese Elm, American Oak, and (recycled) Burmese teak to make any of your favorite wooden furniture. Imagine catalogs upon catalogs of famous brand name furniture: stickley, pottery barn, etc. They can reproduce any of that in the stain you want. We spent a lot of time looking at photos from our California home,trying to identify what we want made. We have to admit – after less than 9 months in the house, we had forgotten a lot about what we needed. We still have some homework to doon where and what to make, but are excited by the prospect of coming home with some well designed custom pieces! :)

Davos Adventures

(Overdue on posting. It's 3/29/09 and I found this in my draft box!)

Lila’s blog updates for work are here:

• Thoughts from Davos: Crisis creates opportunity
• More Thoughts from Davos - IT industry as Magnet and Catalyst

Karl’s update to his family and friends:

We just finished the trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos. What an incredible time to be with all the world leaders. The discussions were so global in scope: the current finance economy and what to do about the recession, the effects of the recession on: political stability, country protectionism, education, global warming, donations, the digital divide, developing nations, etc., and the overall globalization of everything we do. I only participated in two days of the conference, but watched all the major debates/discussions in the hotel room after my days on the slopes. The weather couldn’t have been better – it was uber perfect - sunny, wind still, and just around freezing.

Since all the hotel rooms were booked with world leaders and CEOs – the slopes were basically empty. No lift lines and very few people to have to ski around. Lila was extremely active in all the events and the evening networking & social events. I had my friend, David, visiting in from Boston so we skipped most of the conference events while he was there for four days. However on the two other days while David wasn’t there, I met many extremely cool people. I don’t do very well in the overcrowded, cocktail type, meet & greet engagements. These social buttery fly type introductions are just too much for me to handle for more than a few hours (I prefer the smaller, more intimate and focused discussions). However Lila was totally in her element, networking with all the worlds movers and shakers until the wee hours of the morning. Overall it was quite exciting to spend multiple days thinking about the global, macroeconomic environment we live in.

Before the WEF event – our trip to Sonoma County was wonderful. It was a great three days of Lila and I getting to spend some quality time together. The fresh area was a wonderful change from China & the Vegas conference settings. We enjoyed some great food and wonderful wine. The tours of the micro wineries was very special since we were 1:1 w/ the wine makers or overall vineyard manager. It provided great insights into the wine making business, as well as some great barrel samples of upcoming wines. We even had a nice stop with our personal sommelier at Ledson. He pulled out a $150 bottle of cab for us to try (probably the most expensive current vintage wine either of us has ever tried). We called just about 1 hour before we arrived, but everything for a private wine tour was setup perfectly -- > meat, cheese, chocolate tasting plate, a private room w/ every available wine available for our tasting, and our favorite wine buddy. They even printed a special welcome invitation/letter for us. It was just the cherry on top of the great overall weekend!

We are on the flight from Switzerland back to San Francisco now. We have a overnight layover, then back on a plane to China in the morning. Our total flight/transit time in airports is 35 hours! Overall, a great few weeks of travel for work and pleasure.

Karl’s Birthday

Karl’s bday marks the end of our 3 day weekend. We woke up to the last night at Duchamp B&B. The beds are comfortable but the concrete furniture and stainless steel is still a bit too post-modern for us. Our preferences are somewhere post-Victorian and pre-post-modern.
Nevertheless, a fabulous stay. We spent the day trying out Zinfandels at the top wineries in the region, including Rafanelli, Bella, and Mazacco. The tasting was fun – “sip & spit tour” as Karl calls it. However, it turned into more of a guzzle & gulp tour. Who can say no to high end wines!?! We continue to enjoy both the lighter, drink-now Zins from higher elevations and the intense jammy/peppery ones from the warmer climates. Apparently, we’re a couple of extremes. Lunch included a quick stop at a taqueria. No matter how great California Wine Country cusisine is, we still can’t say no to a good burrito!
It was so nice to drive thru beautiful Dry Creek Valley, and (somewhat jokingly) talked about trying to find a winery to buy. No luck yet – we’re debating whether to invest in a winery (=farming) or island (=lazy beach time). We haven’t talked to Dad yet, but think he’d be the perfect “winery manager” with his expert farming skills.
We ended the day at Ledson. We decided we couldn't be in the area without a slight detour to Ledson.This is where we were married in June 2007. We really enjoyed the 2.5 hours in the private tasting room, snacking on the complimentary cheese & fruit platter and wine tasting with our personal (and 1 of 4000 official worldwide) sommelier Chris. He pulled out a $130 bottle to top off the all the other incredible tastings from our visit. What a spectacular finish to the day!
Now on our way back to the Peninsula to prepare for tomorrow’s Swiss adventure.

Healdsburg Welcomes Karl & Lila

After our sales conference, we decided to take an early weekend. Afterall, we've lost most of our '09 weekends to work so far this year - including this Sunday which will be spent on yet another plane, going to yet another continent.
This morning we took a gentle cruise up Highway 1 to introduce Lila to Point Reyes and Bodega Bay. Sad that this has been in our backyard for so long, and she'd never been. Just north of San Francisco, we enjoyed the fresh ocean air with the windows down and heat turned up. We’re convinced the amount of fresh air from this 2 hour journey added days back to our life, after Shanghai-air.
The first stop of our 3 day weekend was Hoggs Island Oyster Company. This is where you shuck your own oysters right next to the mud flats, and enjoy the freshest oysters you’ll ever eat! We selected 3 types, our favorite was Kumamoto (or something like that), tiny oysters slightly larger than a man’s thumb. The highlight was Lila doning the shucking apparatus, proving that women can shuck oysters without chipping a nail. :) After a few, she let Karl finish the rest. After our aphrodisiac-inducing lunch, we continued on to Healdsburg for check-in at Duchamp, a 6 cottage post-modern B&B. Later in the afternoon, we visited Seghesio, Simi, and Wilson for some Zinfandel tasting. Made it back just in time for a refresh before dinner at Bistro Ralph. Dinner was lovely, and we finished with a walk around the old and charming town of Healdsburg.
Friday at 10am we were off in our own private tour of micro-wineries with Joe, our driver. This was the first wine tour we’ve ever done, and gave us a chance to not worry about where to go or about drinking & driving. Joe took us to 5 micro-wineries in 5 hours. The first stop was to visit Peter who owns Duchamp. His winery was the largest West Coast slaughterhouse in the 1800s. Today he runs art exhibition and wine tasting out of the very unique building. Next stop - Medlock-Ames, a bio-diverse winery that you won’t find on any map. The winery was 360 acres, planted with 100 acres of grapes. The 2 former college buddies have created a gravity-fed, spare no expense wine production facility. Ames spent quite a bit of time helping us barrel taste a few varietals. Then it was on to WF Wines, where Edith (a former HP exec), has a great taste for wines and a keen understanding of the wine business. We really enjoyed sitting around the dinner table with her & husband Tony discussing the pros/cons of asset-light wine production.
After just 3 stops, it was clear we were running behind. We were having such a wondeful time talking with the owners/wine makers. Joe finally fed us phenomenal sandwiches from Jimstown deli, while we drove to a few other wineries. We made the mistake of telling Joe we liked Zin’s, so we went off the planned tour in search of Zins. While the final 2 places were good, they were not as charming or memorable we where Joe took us at first. We’ve learned our lesson! The 5 hour private wine tour ended with a short rest before dinner.
For dinner, we went to Cyrus (Chef of Year '06). We sat at the bar area and ordered a la carte since we didn’t think we could manage a 5 or 8 course tasting menu! We stuck with 2 fantastic courses, including the best foie gras Lila has ever had (& she loves that stuff). Whether you’re a foodie or not, Cyrus’ mixologists have to be among the best! We ended the evening with a walk around the town searching for a low-cost dessert. We accidently got seduced by the Gratitude Café, with their fancy dessert names. Little did we know that it was vegan, a feel good hippy hang out. We tasted our vegan ice-cream while playing a self-discovery Gratitude game that had us in hysterics. When karl pulled the card, “What are you grateful for?” He immediately answered the “cashmere & silk sweater I’m wearing.” We soon questionned whether this was an ethical response at a vegan hang out while everyone else wore hemp & tie-dye. Needless to say, it was an offbeat & fun way to end the night.

Efficiency Redefined: 80 work hrs, 4 days, no sunlight since Sunday

It all started Saturday, when we flew from SFO to Vegas. One might have called it the “Intel Shuttle” given all the employees on this United Flight. We were all heading to the same destination: Intel’s International Sales & Marketing Conference. 3500 employees, countless countries, and an extremely intense schedule. Quite frankly, the conference is a blur. We do remember a few things…

• We returned jazzed - even with a down economy, teams were upbeat about the technology and positioning for ’09
• Homecoming --- we had a chance to catch up with former teams and folks we know from our cummulative 30 years (yikes!) at Intel
• We heard we got a new American President, but completely missed the innauguration. There were playback videos, but we were too focused on meetings at hand. Quite a shame, especially as Lila had an invite/tickets to the Huffington Ball. She sent her team & instead dedicated herself to ISMC (what the heck was she thinking?!)
• Supposedly, Vegas is full of wonderful things. We only saw the Venetian, occasionally the Palazzo. We didn’t have any fresh air, no sunlight, and little contact with non-Intel-ites during the 4 days. We'll be in counseling for a while. ;)
• We finally escaped the chaos thanks to Karl’s good friend’s extreme performance in ’08. It landed him (David) a limo ride to the airport. We were so excited to be treated like royalty and have a few extra breaths of fresh air. Thanks David!
• The night before ISMC, Lila got girl’s night in with Deanna, Lisa, Kathy, & Becky. It was a rare & much needed treat!

US Stop-Over

Greetings from the US! We arrived for a few days in California, on our way to Vegas. Karl was really popular because he brought special gifts from China, in the form of purses, pens, and watches. Based on reactions, we think we have potential for an import business! After the fun, it was all work. Lila’s team is restructuring and she has a new boss. Most of her time was with her team & new group in California and Oregon. Karl spent the days networking with former & current colleagues. All in all, an intense yet productive stop over from a work perspective.
The evenings were just as exciting as we caught up with colleagues/friends. Lila was able to catch up with Jean Ann & Gail for a much-needed relaxing night out. She saw Mel & Hai, who’s growing way too fast but still remembers Auntie Fishlips. we joined the Hockings, Navin, Chengs, & Derek for a new Palo Alto restaurant. Another night we went out with David, who graciously pulled out a ’00 Bordeaux with some of the best beef we’ve had in the past year! Wine & red meat -- ahhh! Things we miss about the US. Friday night was spent in San Francisco enjoying city life with Ahmad and Becky. The dinner at La Mar, a hot new Peruvian restaurant, was fabulous! We had a fun night out afterwards, dancing the night away. There never seems to be enough time, but we are thankful for the opportunity to reconnect with friends, colleagues, and share a few special memories. It’s what we miss the most about living so far away.

Welcome 2009: Red Lanterns Floating Over Huangpu River

Our first New Year's in China. You might think there are huge parties in a city of 25 million people. However, the start to the year has been pretty low key. It’s an official holiday from the 1st to the 3rd and the streets are empty. Yet last night wasn’t much of a party scene. Most Chinese spend new year's eve with family at home hanging out. Nothing special. The real celebration comes during the Chinese Lunar New Year later in January.
We followed our tradition of Japanese food for New Years Eve dinner, after a full day of work. It all started back in San Diego when we didn't make big plans, but rather went down to our favorite sushi restaurant. This year we selected “Sun over Aqua,” on Shanghai's riverfront/Bund area. The restaurant was relatively empty, and we were surprised by how few people seemed to be celebrating the holiday. The blue fin tuna was fabulous. In fact, we did a tuna sampling as part of our menu.
After dinner, we joined thousands of young Chinese friends/couples walking along the river front. Music played and trinkets were being sold. We’d share photos, but somehow Lila’s digital camera disappeared that night (pick-pocketed?!). What a lousy way to end 2008.
The real highlight was watching the red lanterns float away. Groups of people would light a candle-like base of a red-paper balloon. Think of a hot air balloon, fueled by its base. The kids would write on the lantern. Our Chinese is limited but we could tell a few of the “loves” and “luck” messages. The base would be lit, and the kids would release the float/lantern/balloon, and it would float up into the sky and down the river. Magical! (of course, not quite envioronmentally friendly!)
We got back home around 12:10. We were hitting our limit of staying out, so we spent the final minutes of '08 in the car with Peter the driver, counting down with the radio in Chinese. Once home, we watched fireworks surround our home from our balcony. Over here, private citizens can purchase fireworks – and not the whimpy American kind. One of our neighbors put on a full 15-minute pyrotechnic show. It was amazing, but we were happy to watch afar. Our apartment is on the 7th floor with low rise neighborhoods surrounding, so we had a lovely view across several small fireworks shows. Apparently Chinese New Years gets really crazy with firecrackers and fireworks.
Today has been running errands at the tailor and fabric market. The streets are empty. Western restaurants are closed. It’s a nice, slow way to start 2009. Here's to a fabulous year ahead!