The title is somewhat deceiving, as our experience is not nearly as dramatic as it suggests. ;) It was just too good not to use!
A typhoon was scheduled to hit Shanghai over the weekend, with Ryan's co-workers warning us to not even go outside, as the wind would be strong enough to knock you over, or things might be flying and hit you in the head. So, we were prepared for the worst, and decided our plans to go look at paint on Saturday morning probably wasn't the best idea.
Ryan came home Friday just as I was about to cook taco meat for supper, saying "Do you want to leave and go now?" Thankfully I had a few leftovers I quickly heated and packed, and we supplemented with McDonalds from the subway station, packing and leaving as quickly as we could. We've learned it's impossible to get taxis on a Friday evening around supper time, so did a quick 20 minute walk to the station, about keeping up with the stop-and-go traffic anyway.
Hadassah handled everything extremely well, as supper was delayed (other than a few bites popped in her mouth while we walked) until we, thankfully, got seats together on the subway. Eating really does occupy her while traveling, so the trip didn't seem too long to the end of line 5. The rain had started, complete with wind, by the time we were walking to the mall B&Q was located in, but we thankfully have invested in large umbrellas after learning our lesson with small ones no match for Shanghai gusts.
The store was deserted, we quickly found the paint friends had told us about, took pictures of the different cans and supplies to decide what we needed to buy later, grabbed a color sample sheet, and headed out. Things aren't regulated in China much, and especially not nearly as much as in the US (living here has definitely taught us to appreciate most US regulations!) so we were thankful for friends who had researched and found a good, safe, lead-free and low-VOC brand of paint. A little more expensive than some, but worth it health-wise.
Ryan let me look, while he took care of Hadassah. We didn't like having to drag her out on the subway and to a store on a Friday night, but when you have a daddy that dances in the aisles with you and then sits and plays copy-cat (cutest site ever!) you have a fun time no matter where you are!
We also picked up a cold treat (amazing mango/watermelon and chocolate popsicles!) and trekked back to the subway. The wind and rain had picked up, so we really did feel like we were racing the typhoon! It turns out chocolate wasn't the best choice for a treat to eat on the subway, especially when two of you were wearing white and it had partially melted by the time you ate it, and the subway was so crowded, we had to stand.
Hadassah decided sitting at Daddy's feet for a while was preferable to being up where she was surrounded by people staring at her!
We dutifully stayed inside most of the day Saturday, though Ryan took a restless Hadassah out twice with an umbrella, as the wind and rain wasn't nearly as bad as predicted. Thankfully the typhoon stayed more out at sea than originally predicted, so other than some cool wind and a few small branches down, we didn't see any damage. We also enjoyed seeing our neighbors more that day, going over in the morning and them coming over in the evening, which helped both restless children a lot. We will definitely miss them when we move to our new place...
The typhoon seems to finally have gotten rain out of the weather's system, but now it is just hot. Super hot. Combined with a slight cold for me and a slight fever for Hadassah, indoors with A/C is definitely preferred right now. But we may need to go out and get a treat sometime too...
This is from a while ago, but Hadassah sure enjoys when we splurge on a 50 cent strawberry popsicle. Mommy likes it too, and ends up eating most of it, but don't tell her! ;) We were celebrating that day because she was finally better after a week of diarrhea. I love my little companion!
This week marches on with trying to get the new apartment painted, cleaned, and ready to move in. Today is a quiet at-home day, though, where I'm hoping we get over our slight sicknesses soon!
A typhoon was scheduled to hit Shanghai over the weekend, with Ryan's co-workers warning us to not even go outside, as the wind would be strong enough to knock you over, or things might be flying and hit you in the head. So, we were prepared for the worst, and decided our plans to go look at paint on Saturday morning probably wasn't the best idea.
Ryan came home Friday just as I was about to cook taco meat for supper, saying "Do you want to leave and go now?" Thankfully I had a few leftovers I quickly heated and packed, and we supplemented with McDonalds from the subway station, packing and leaving as quickly as we could. We've learned it's impossible to get taxis on a Friday evening around supper time, so did a quick 20 minute walk to the station, about keeping up with the stop-and-go traffic anyway.
Hadassah handled everything extremely well, as supper was delayed (other than a few bites popped in her mouth while we walked) until we, thankfully, got seats together on the subway. Eating really does occupy her while traveling, so the trip didn't seem too long to the end of line 5. The rain had started, complete with wind, by the time we were walking to the mall B&Q was located in, but we thankfully have invested in large umbrellas after learning our lesson with small ones no match for Shanghai gusts.
The store was deserted, we quickly found the paint friends had told us about, took pictures of the different cans and supplies to decide what we needed to buy later, grabbed a color sample sheet, and headed out. Things aren't regulated in China much, and especially not nearly as much as in the US (living here has definitely taught us to appreciate most US regulations!) so we were thankful for friends who had researched and found a good, safe, lead-free and low-VOC brand of paint. A little more expensive than some, but worth it health-wise.
We also picked up a cold treat (amazing mango/watermelon and chocolate popsicles!) and trekked back to the subway. The wind and rain had picked up, so we really did feel like we were racing the typhoon! It turns out chocolate wasn't the best choice for a treat to eat on the subway, especially when two of you were wearing white and it had partially melted by the time you ate it, and the subway was so crowded, we had to stand.
We dutifully stayed inside most of the day Saturday, though Ryan took a restless Hadassah out twice with an umbrella, as the wind and rain wasn't nearly as bad as predicted. Thankfully the typhoon stayed more out at sea than originally predicted, so other than some cool wind and a few small branches down, we didn't see any damage. We also enjoyed seeing our neighbors more that day, going over in the morning and them coming over in the evening, which helped both restless children a lot. We will definitely miss them when we move to our new place...
The typhoon seems to finally have gotten rain out of the weather's system, but now it is just hot. Super hot. Combined with a slight cold for me and a slight fever for Hadassah, indoors with A/C is definitely preferred right now. But we may need to go out and get a treat sometime too...
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| Falling asleep during room play time... shows me she's definitely not feeling well! |
Sounds like you guys are having some fun (and unique!) experiences over there in China! Looks like your sweet little family can flourish in any circumstances. =) Exciting to read about how you found your new apartment - I'm sure you'll be turning it into a cozy home in no time!
ReplyDelete~Jessi