Monday, August 20, 2007

One Dinner, No Kids!

Today I taught a lesson again (my 3rd of 4 lessons), and Sue stayed back with the kids. 

Tonight, Theresa came over and offered to baby-sit so that Sue and I could go out by ourselves for dinner!  It was such a welcome break that we took to calling her "Mother Theresa!"

We ventured out to a new place where we had eel, beef and peppers, kung pao chicken, a spinach dish, a bean dish, a green salad, drinks and tea, all for about $12 U.S.!  We spent about $8 U.S. for the 5 of us to eat lunch.

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One thing I really enjoy about China is the lack of tipping.  I offered a tip to our bus driver who had been driving us on our wonderful excursions.  He thanked me but refused to take the money. 

The streets of Shanghai remind me of New York City, as the streets are always bustling with people.  People walk everywhere, and it is extremely rare to see someone who is overweight.  The only fat people we have seen are little boys, probably single children, who are spoiled by their parents.  They call this "Little Emporer" syndrome.  It is amazing after Disneyland, where 1 of 3 people were quite overweight to seeing NO one over weight here!  It's not for lack of eating, as the restaurants do a very busy business.

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There were many street vendors out tonight selling all kinds of articles. Clothing, bootlegged dvds, pets, prepared food, fruits and veggies, purses, belts, shoes and flowers were just a few items we saw on the way back from dinner.

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Here are a few rabbits available for sale.  They come in cages that they can barely turn around in.  They apparently last for about 3 weeks.  The perfect pet life span!

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A local fruit stand...

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Notice all of the people walking in the crosswalk, in FRONT OF A BUS, though the crosswalk sign is red.  Clearly not something I would risk!

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Here are some old folks, socializing in their night gowns, boxer shorts and other night wear, on a warm evening.  Ah, the small comforts of life!

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Tomorrow - Sue teaches, Tim stays back with the kids and plans his lesson!  We move from Shanghai in 5 days!

2 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Sue and Tim,
My first time signing on to your blog, what a wonderful tour. It brings back so many memories of my time spent in Malaysia. Enjoy every minute...you can sleep when you are dead! (My mantra when I was overseas!) Great exprience for the kids and you as well.
Cheryl

julie said...

I think you all are looking skinnier each picture! Are you walking or sweating it off? If I were eating chicken feet, I'd lose weight fast. Hope your lessons are getting easier to do. Not much more practice left!!