Weekend Update

One full week of school down and we have a three-day weekend this weekend.  No school on Monday.  It's the mid-Autumn Festival.  I have no idea yet what that really means but my mom says it's equivalent to Thanksgiving in that everyone goes to be with family.  Typically you give a "moon cake" as a gift to teachers, friends, help, employees, etc.  It's not really of 'cake' texture but anyway is called a cake and they're about 3-4" in diameter and round to symbolize the moon.  We have received so many moon cakes.  I love them but am now so sick of them. :*)  

Saturday night we had dinner at a place called The Cook (and that's the real name - not an English translation!).  It's a fun little place to eat and we discovered it's where a lot of expats go.  We saw many caucasian or other ethnic groups there.  I really had this strong desire to go chat and hug every caucasian person I saw.  Just want something more familiar - chatting about US stuff and speaking in English...  I really want to go up to them like we're kindred spirits, but to them, I think I probably look like the millions of Chinese they see each day!  :*(

I think our luck with taxis has run dry.  We have been specifically asking for these minivan-ish looking taxis - they're a bit smaller than my old bread box on wheels but they feel roomier when we're all in.  Plus, with 6 of us and my mom, it's a bit tight in those VW sedans.  However, in recent days we've had a few drivers hesitate to drive us because it's too many people. Today we finally got one who refused us.  We eventually got one but on the way home, another driver specifically said to us in a stern voice that if he gets pulled over, we must pay the fine because apparently the law says only 4 passengers - otherwise it's not safe.  I laugh because you see many people on bicycles here and on the back, where you might put a backpack or some small packages, you usually see one or more adults sitting there.  My kids keep telling me, "Mommy, that is NOT safe!"  Then quite often you see people on mopeds riding against traffic.  So I guess safety here is rather interpretive.  

Lastly, my humor-ish outlook about Shanghai . . . the other day when we were walking to school, we saw lots of people walking their dogs.  Sammy and I both agreed that oddly, some dogs look "American" to us!  I don't know exactly why . . . 

Some pics:
This is Eva with her snazzy custom designed onesie by our sweet friend Haven!  "Wild Child" she is:  Eva is now walking . . . probably only 30-40% - she still prefers her gorilla type (one arm, one thigh) crawl but does it well.

Here, Stephen is at The Cook with his mega-size "bao-tze" or steamed bun.  Normally they're the size of a kid's fist but this one was huge!  Not clear in the picture, but that is a bowl of alfredo pasta next to him.  The kids choose American food any chance they get.

Ran into this billboard in the subway and was so fitting for my girls!  Not sure why Ella was making goofy faces.  By the way, that's not the same character as our last name.  Bummed I didn't get this domain name now . . .