Emily's Escapades

Life in Shanghai, China

Holler…

by emily on March 12, 2010

I love the friendliness and quietness of South Dakota!  We were getting some new vinyl for Grandma’s Creta’s bathroom which is being remodeled, when I noticed this sign.

The hardware store is big, like many other places.  We were the only customers in there the whole time.  Just give a little shout and the friendly men will help you with whatever you need to find.

Lots and lots of home-building/remodeling materials.  It makes me excited to build a house when we get back to the US.

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Posted in South Dakota 17 hours, 58 minutes ago at 8:00 AM.

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Cows in Frost

by emily on March 11, 2010

It’s the last frost post, I promise!

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Posted in Animals 1 day, 17 hours ago at 8:00 AM.

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More Frost

by emily on March 10, 2010

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Posted in Animals & Nature 2 days, 12 hours ago at 1:06 PM.

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Frost on Trees

by emily on February 24, 2010

I finally got out of bed early enough to catch the frost hanging onto the branches before the sun melted it away.

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Posted in Animals & Nature 2 weeks, 2 days ago at 4:03 PM.

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Bald Eagle

by emily on February 23, 2010

We were driving down this road near the house when Jon spotted a bald eagle.  We went back to the house and grabbed my camera and 300-mm lens.  He flew off, and we followed.

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Posted in Animals 2 weeks, 3 days ago at 6:27 AM.

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On the other side of the world

by emily on February 16, 2010

Last night, Jon and I were driving his dad’s big pickup truck down the empty highway underneath a sky full of stars, listening to country music.

I couldn’t help but think of what we might have been doing in Shanghai.  We’d be squished in the back of a taxi, veering around hundreds of other taxis underneath the city lights and skyscrapers, listening to the blaring of horns and some loud Chinese yabbering on the radio.

I’m pretty sure that not many people have “homes” both in a city of 22 million and outside of a town of 200.  Each of our homes has upsides and downsides.

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Posted in South Dakota 3 weeks, 3 days ago at 5:02 AM.

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More Australian Animals

by emily on February 12, 2010

Emus, Tasmainian Devils, Lorikeets, etc.

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Posted in Animals 4 weeks ago at 8:00 AM.

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Our Family

by emily on February 10, 2010

Too cute!  You can make your own stick people here.

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Posted in Family 1 month ago at 8:00 AM.

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Kurrawa

by emily on February 9, 2010

We drove from Brisbane to the Gold Coast (Surfer’s Paradise.)  Dan and I took a dip in the ocean and then he dipped Alex’s feet in.  He didn’t really like it and pulled his feet up.  We also held hands with Wendy’s mom and walked out a little so the waves could splash up to her knees.

We ate at the Kurrawa Surf Club.  It was awesome to sit outside, have a beer and enjoy the view!

I was holding a sleepy Alex while Wendy ate (and the girls at the next table oohh and ahhed all over).

He was not so thrilled when I shifted positions on him.  (Notice his little finger.)

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Posted in friends 1 month ago at 3:53 PM.

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Kangaroos

by emily on February 4, 2010

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Posted in Animals 1 month ago at 12:56 PM.

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Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

by emily on February 3, 2010

Cuddling a Koala was the only thing that I REALLY wanted to do in Brisbane (other than seeing the Smiths.)  I was super hot and sweaty, but Dan did a decent job of getting a photo anyway!  He was really cuddly, just like a teddy bear.

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Posted in Animals 1 month, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM.

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3 Days, 3 Continents

by emily on February 2, 2010

Monday I was in Australia.

Today I am in Asia.

Tomorrow I will be in America.

Gotta love how easy international travel is.

I was visiting Dan, Wendy and their new baby Alex in Brisbane.  I’ll be posting  more photos of that soon.

Last week, Jon’s grandma Creta broke her hip.  The next night, his mom Jenni was knocked down by a door caught by a massive gust of wind.  She broke her collarbone, fractured five ribs, and punctured a tiny hole in her lung.  I’m going home tomorrow to help out, and Jon will come next week.

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Posted in travel 1 month, 1 week ago at 10:20 AM.

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Lost Heaven

by emily on January 31, 2010

Lost Heaven is a well-known restaurant that serves food from the Yunnan province.  We’d never been so I suggested we go there.

We had a bottle of wine and some drinks at the bar on the top floor.  There was a nice roof top bar that would be amazing in the summer.  (We all are wearing the new glasses we’d gotten that day.)

Hanna mentioned something about singing, and we decided to go to karaoke around 2 AM.  Really, it is a totally Chinese cultural experience!   Here they are rocking out to Queen.

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Posted in friends 1 month, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM.

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Hanna and Henrik’s Honeymoon

by emily on January 30, 2010

Hanna and Henrik stayed with us for a week in January, after three weeks in New Zealand for their honeymoon.  All of these photos are from their travel blog.  Here is their Shanghai entry.

Hanna’s post about the week:

Having a wonderful time with Jon and Emily. Daily schedule:
Wake up
Eating
Shopping
Eating
Shopping
Eating
Drinking
Sleeping
= Vacation i Shanghai.

They went on a shopping tour I lead, along with 3 people from Spain.

We’re really stylin’ at the glasses market.

Jon finally bought a remote control helicopter like he’s wanted for 2 years (which is now broken.)

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Posted in friends 1 month, 1 week ago at 10:41 AM.

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Boots playing

by emily on January 25, 2010

I bought a new toy for Boots in the US.  It’s just a ball that can be filled with food.  As she plays with it, the kibble falls out one piece at a time.

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Posted in Boots 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM.

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Hanging Meat

by emily on January 24, 2010

Now you see meat hanging outside all of the time.  These were on our roof.  I don’t think it’s cold enough to keep meat fresh.

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Posted in street scenes 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM.

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McDonald’s delivered.

by emily on January 23, 2010

In America, we have drive-thrus.  We can get any type of food, do our banking, or pick up a prescription at the drive-thru.  The concept hasn’t been heard of here.

Instead, we have things delivered.  McDonald’s included.  You see the McDonald’s guys on bikes everywhere (petal bikes, not scooters. McDonald’s must be cheap.)  I read how to do this a while ago, and Claire and I decided to test it out.

We called the number…. ordered…  and 16 minutes later a guy was at her door with our order!  We were amazed.

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Posted in Life in Shanghai 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM.

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Dropping fish from the bridge

by emily on January 22, 2010

Supposedly, it is lucky to drop a few goldfish from the top of the bridge into the water below.  I don’t think it can be so lucky for the fish as you must drop them from the highest point!

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Posted in China 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM.

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People in Zhujiajiao

by emily on January 21, 2010

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Posted in China 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM.

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Zhujiajiao Scenery

by emily on January 20, 2010

Franz and Vivi from Germany couch-surfed with us (well, Jon was in the US) in December.  Franz had studied Chinese here for a while, and had been to Zhujiajiao.  It’s the closest water town to Shanghai.  He wanted Vivi to see it and they invited me along.  I hadn’t been to any of the water towns yet.

Getting there and back was a bit of a hassle.  On the way, we took a taxi almost the whole way.  It took 1 hour and 34 minutes to get there, and cost 178 RMB.

On the way back, we took a taxi to the nearest subway station (She Shan) which took 38 minutes and cost 68 RMB, and then took the subway back into town.  I think that the subway also took well over an hour (but only cost 6 RMB.)

Tours online start at about $100 per person, so I guess it was good to do on our own!  The only annoyance was that at lunch they tried to keep us from ordering off of the local menu… they wanted us to order all of the expensive stuff (which was the only food translated into English.)

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Posted in China 1 month, 3 weeks ago at 4:55 PM.

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Store in the Subway

by emily on January 10, 2010

I’ve never noticed this store before, but it is right in the People’s Square metro station, by exit 7.  I was waiting to meet someone and noticed it.  Check out the cute little “hats” the little “men” are wearing.

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Posted in Life in Shanghai 2 months ago at 8:00 AM.

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Bathhouses

by emily on January 9, 2010

I’ve gotten into the whole Bathhouse thing.  First, I went to one with Casey and Helen, and we spent an all-too-quick 5 hours there.  (Helen needed to do research for this article previously, so knew the whole routine.)  The next week, I went to another one with Claire and we spent 6 hours there.  This week, I took Hanna and Henrik and we spent about 7 hours there.  Today, we soaked in the baths, got a body scrub, then an olive oil “body beauty treatment” and cucumber face mask, showered, got a shoulder massage, took a little nap, ate a few dumplings at the restaurant, then got a head massage.  It cost about 350 RMB.

New Star is the one I like best so far.  It’s actually Korean (there’s even dog meat on the menu) and they have some interesting things, like sweat-lodge type things that have special crystals in them.  It’s no-smoking, which is the best, and also headphones in the room where you can lay and watch TV and get a foot massage.  It’s much more relaxing that Xiao Nan Guo.

I feel kind of like a puddle when I get done.  Very loose and relaxed.  Ahhhhh……

Claire and I in the pajamas they give you to wear around.  At New Star, the floors are heated so there is no need to wear slippers!

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Posted in Life in Shanghai 2 months ago at 12:00 AM.

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From Speaker to Trainer

by emily on January 8, 2010

Last week, CAT (China Advanced Toastmasters) help Yingdan Liu put on a training.  It’s a Toastmasters program called From Speaker to Trainer.  You can see more photos here and read Yingdan’s comments about the training here – part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

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Posted in Toastmasters 2 months ago at 8:00 AM.

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Demolition

by emily on January 7, 2010

I always carry my camera around with me for moments like this – when something interesting is happening on the street!  This was about a month ago before Suzy and I did a tour.  Look at the purple and orange rooms in the torn-down house!

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Posted in street scenes 2 months ago at 8:00 AM.

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Stuck in the Mud

by emily on January 6, 2010

The boys got a little crazy off-roading with their sidecars.

Jon S. thinks Oh S*#$!

Oops.

It took Li a couple hours to fix his bike.

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Posted in Sidecar 2 months ago at 8:00 AM.

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Jon’s Sidecar Trip

by emily on January 5, 2010

Here are a lot of Jon’s photos from the sidecar trip he took with Steve and Jon in November.  They had a lot of fun!!

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Posted in Sidecar 2 months ago at 8:00 AM.

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52 Weeks, 52 Streets – Anfu Lu

by emily on January 4, 2010

On Friday, I gave my friends KC and Erica a photography lesson.  We discussion composition at my house, looked at a few examples from my photos, and then all went out to Anfu Lu to see what we could find to shoot.  There is always something – you just have to look for it!!  I realized that I could also probably do “sculptures around Shanghai”, “Shanghai Dogs” and “Shanghai’s Dirty Laundry” for photo books too.  Plus a book of textures.

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Posted in street scenes 2 months, 1 week ago at 8:59 PM.

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52 Weeks, 52 Streets – Anhua Lu

by emily on December 31, 2009

This year I am going to do a photography book.  It will be “52 Weeks, 52 Streets.” (or something similar.)  Each week, I’m going to take photos of a small street in Shanghai.  I just went out and did Anhua Lu.  Next will be Anfu Lu or Anren Lu.  I’ll go down the alphabet and concentrate on streets in the Jing’An, Old Town and French Concession areas.  At the end of the year I should have a nice coffee-table book!

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Posted in Photography 2 months, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM.

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Dragon Dance Ceremony

by emily on December 30, 2009

This is one of the most interesting things to watch!  The dragons dance all around, jump up on their hind legs, and are fed and get eyes painted on.  Very interesting!

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Posted in Shanghai 2 months, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM.

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Christmas Day

by emily on December 29, 2009

Our little tree – Boots and I shopped a lot while Jon was away so we’d have lots of things to put under the tree!

Boots is a really good shopper, but I had to wrap them for her.  You know… the whole “I don’t have opposable thumbs” deal.

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Posted in Boots 2 months, 1 week ago at 10:54 PM.

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