Move to Shanghai

Life in Shanghai has been quite an adjustment, especially coming from the sunny beaches of Hermosa Beach! The constant dodging of people, motorcycles (who like to ride on the sidewalks) and cars (who in Shanghai have right of way) are enough to keep you on your toes. We've learned that a green "walk" sign doesn't necessarily mean it's safe to walk; they would rather run you over than be cut off while rushing towards a red light with no where to go. Luckily as an expat not only do you have a driver who carts you around everywhere, but can help you run errands, negotiate prices and most importantly - translate. Everything is negotiable, from night market choch to our rent. We were able to rent our 3 bedroom/2 bath apt for a bargain price of $5K/month located in Xin Tian Di, which turns out may be about right as we found out Yao Ming lives in our building! We love our complex, which comes complete with a gym, pool, laundry service and full service spa on site. Xin Tian Di is an expat haven filled with restaurants and bars so we never go hungry for an westernized meal. We also find that the Chinese are accustomed to small stuff - from our pint sized peanut butter to our washer that fits about 25% of a US washer hence the need to do laundry pretty much every day. Apparently the floors need to be cleaned everyday as dust collects quickly due to the pollution (which is kind of scary to think what our lungs look like) and vegetables/fruit need to be triple washed (with detergent!) before eaten, hence the full-time "aiyi" (maid/nanny) that seems to be the norm around here.

In the last 3 weeks, Josh and I (and Jeanne - who visited this week and "caught" Yao Ming in our lobby) have eaten at more restaurants than we do in 3 months in the States. We quickly learned that Shanghai is abundant with restaurants, bars and shopping. For those of you looking for recos, here is a list of what we've done so far:

Restaurants/Bars:

• Vue restaurant and then 2 floors up to the Vue bar on top of the Hyatt hotel for dinner/drinks - not only amazing views but the chefs there will cook your meal right in front of you
• M on the Bund and Laris, located on the bund with great views and Sunday brunch
• Bar Rouge, it's got an outdoor patio with great views of the Bund - lots of westerners but beware of the local girls who are not your typical girl out to meet up with friends
• Hamilton House located near the bund, good food and yummy drinks, close to Bar Rouge if you want less cabbing for the night
• Origin located on Tae Kang road, a really cute area with shops and art galleries - the Soho of Shanghai. They serve freshly squeezed "out of the norm" juices like pear and green apple & great salads and sandwiches
• Barbarossa in People's Square, great for dinner/drinks with views of the park - makes you feel secluded while smack in the middle of the city
• Crystal Jade restaurant at Xin Tian Di mall, known for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings)
• T8 also in Xin Tian Di - well known but we thought overpriced for average food
• A Future Perfect in the French Concession, cozy garden brunch spot before shopping
• Element Fresh (multiple locations) - great if you want a break from greasy Chinese food and want something lighter

Sights

• Yu Garden - Pretty Chinese style garden area filled with temples and bridges, lots of little shops and food stands right outside
• People's Square - historical city hall with museum and performance theater
• Nanjing Lu - pretty much a crazy busy famous street that you walk down, takes about 25 min from start to finish, drops you at the bund heading towards the river
• ERA Shanghai acrobats show at the Shanghai Center Theater, I am convinced this is where they recruit acrobats for Cirque de Soleil! They have a show every night at 7:30 and you can go there to buy your tickets (range from $30 - $100/ticket) right before the show

That's it for now, we are in the process of finding a place to recreate (knock off) some furniture, our stuff is all over the place as the closets in Shanghai are pretty much glamorized wardrobe boxes.