Happy New Year! We celebrated by spending a couple days on the other side of Shanghai, in Puxi. The kids love it! We stay in a hotel with a view of the Bund and they get to swim as much as they can. I don't have to cook or clean much so it's a win-win!
The outdoor temperature lately is between 28 degrees F - 34 degrees (sadly, I am too lazy to convert myself to Celsius) and while the pool was heated, it was still chilly. Plus, pools in China require that each person (even my 2 yo) wear a swim cap. Littlest E got into the packed suitcase and kept playing with her swim cap that I didn't notice she had not put it back so we were short a swim cap at the hotel and thus I sacrificed myself (ha, ha) to not swimming with the kids. So, I spent most of my "pool" times at the hot tub instead. While lounging in the hot tub one time, I opened my eyes to notice that an older woman had entered the hot tub with me. As I tried to come back from my relaxation state to reality, I realized there was something odd with what I saw - like one of those puzzles where you have to figure out what's wrong with the picture. Hmmm, what was it ... what was it ... (my eyes suddenly dart away) uh, that would be the fact that she was not wearing a swim suit top. Ok, I can deal with that ... just close my eyes and go back to relaxation ... hmm, 'is she wearing a swim suit bottom then? Surely she is ... yeah she has to be ... I'll pretend she is'. A little while later she hopped out and I peeked an eye open - Oh crap! She was not wearing a bottom. Ugh. I don't get it ... why can a person not swim in a pool without a swim cap but it's ok to be buck-naked in the hot tub? One of those mysteries I think I will not be able to even answer in the time I am here.
Lately the youngest E is learning to say "Waiter!" in Chinese. In China, it's very common to yell, and I mean yell, "Waiter" for any reason - you need a fork, a napkin, the bill, etc. You say it loud and commanding; I still haven't quite mastered it as I'm not a yeller, at least outside the home. :*) So different than the quiet wait-for-the-waiter-to-pass method in the US. On Christmas Day, we ate at a restaurant and Sammy raised his hand to get the waitress' attention rather than yelling (restaurant was pretty quiet). Little E, looked at his hand, turned around in the direction of the staff, and yelled out loud, "Waiter" (in Chinese). We were all so surprised and then cracked up laughing. We never taught her the word but she has been observant enough to figure out when it's used and why. She amazes us. So the other night at a restaurant, she needed a bowl. I told the waitress to get one but E must not have seen me so she continued to whine and I said to her that I already asked them to bring a bowl. Nope, not good enough for this 2.5 year old - she was not in the mood to wait. So she yells out "Waiter!" and when no one came running, she got down from her chair and went looking for a waiter. I have no idea what she told the waiter but she did come back with a bowl. :*)
Here's to an adventurous 2013!
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