We are writing this while in the air over China just an hour from landing in Shanghai. The day has been largely uneventful though started with the alarm going off at 2:00 a.m. back in Dallas for a 6:00 a.m. flight to Chicago where we boarded the flight to Shanghai at 10:55 a.m.. There was snow on the ground in Chicago, not surprising for February, and a warm up, I mean cool up, for China. It was a balmy 71 degrees when we left Dallas. We will be working our way north from Shanghai, first to Beijing, and then on to Harbin. Just easing our way into the subzero climate in Harbin.
It is now Tuesday evening and we are checked in at our hotel in Shanghai. The weather in Shanghai is similar to Chicago, hovering around freezing and some snow, thought not as much as Chicago, on the ground. Customs at the airport was very easy. Customs officials checking passports were very courteous and we sailed right through. Once we had retrieved our luggage we just had to run a gauntlet of very stern looking officials as we bypassed their “items to declare line” to the “nothing to declare line.” We were met by our lovely guide, whose name is also Ann, and our driver as soon as we exited the baggage claim and customs area. Our guide is very easy going and a lot of fun. We still seem to loose certain things in translation though. She was warning us that it would likely be impossible to eat at a Chinese restaurant tomorrow, Wednesday, evening, Chinese New Years eve. David was lamenting that we hoped we were not keeping her from her family during the New Years celebration. Somehow we ended up with an invitation to eat with her family on New Year’s eve. Afraid that somehow David’s lament was misconstrued to solicit such an invitation, David said he did not want to impose on her or inconvenience her. Unfortunately the meanings of impose or inconvenience did not seem to be easily translated for her. She was laughing and giggling saying “I hate you, I hate you” presumably meaning “you guys seem to be OK but I sure wish you would use words I understand.” Ah well, perhaps we will better be able to convey our sentiment tomorrow. We arrived at the hotel, the Panorama Shanghai, and our guide stayed to get us checked in and the left us to an evening of rest.
We got settled in a room on the 25th floor and went up to the bar on the 30th floor of the hotel to take in the view of the Huangpu River and the Pudong section of Shanghai, where many of the city’s new high rises are located. The bar was a bit too well lit and the weather a little to hazy to get a great view, but still a pretty dramatic view. Our plan to stay up as late as possible soon fizzled out and we all retired by 7:00 p.m.
It is now Tuesday evening and we are checked in at our hotel in Shanghai. The weather in Shanghai is similar to Chicago, hovering around freezing and some snow, thought not as much as Chicago, on the ground. Customs at the airport was very easy. Customs officials checking passports were very courteous and we sailed right through. Once we had retrieved our luggage we just had to run a gauntlet of very stern looking officials as we bypassed their “items to declare line” to the “nothing to declare line.” We were met by our lovely guide, whose name is also Ann, and our driver as soon as we exited the baggage claim and customs area. Our guide is very easy going and a lot of fun. We still seem to loose certain things in translation though. She was warning us that it would likely be impossible to eat at a Chinese restaurant tomorrow, Wednesday, evening, Chinese New Years eve. David was lamenting that we hoped we were not keeping her from her family during the New Years celebration. Somehow we ended up with an invitation to eat with her family on New Year’s eve. Afraid that somehow David’s lament was misconstrued to solicit such an invitation, David said he did not want to impose on her or inconvenience her. Unfortunately the meanings of impose or inconvenience did not seem to be easily translated for her. She was laughing and giggling saying “I hate you, I hate you” presumably meaning “you guys seem to be OK but I sure wish you would use words I understand.” Ah well, perhaps we will better be able to convey our sentiment tomorrow. We arrived at the hotel, the Panorama Shanghai, and our guide stayed to get us checked in and the left us to an evening of rest.
We got settled in a room on the 25th floor and went up to the bar on the 30th floor of the hotel to take in the view of the Huangpu River and the Pudong section of Shanghai, where many of the city’s new high rises are located. The bar was a bit too well lit and the weather a little to hazy to get a great view, but still a pretty dramatic view. Our plan to stay up as late as possible soon fizzled out and we all retired by 7:00 p.m.
2 comments:
WOW, this is soooooo exciting....God Bless you one and all...
David and Ann,
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Welcome to parenthood!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for the 3 of you. You will have many happy moments watching your daughter grow up.
Ellen O'Connor
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