It has been 12 days since we first touched down in Pudong. This photo was taken the morning after we arrived on the 25th of March. We went to Jim’s office and Jim sat down on a chair that broke as soon as he leaned back. Jim’s boss said, “This is why we are here.”
Our lives are falling into a good rhythm here in Shanghai. Last week I attended a playgroup that was introduced to me via a friend I met at the grocery store. It is amazing how friendly the expat community is here. When you meet another expat, it is assumed that you have very few friends here and no family in the area. They therefore do everything in their power to introduce you to people, networks and share information with you. I have yet to meet another expatriate who was not welcoming and informative.
Friday evening we ate at a fabulous Greek restaurant in Thumb Plaza. There are so many international cuisines here that you could live in Shanghai for a year and never eat Chinese food. Although who would want to do that? At dinner Jim ordered a Tsingtao beer and Jameson piped in with his first Chinese word and tried to order a “ding dao” also. I had been working all week with him to say “nehow” as a greeting and the first word he picks up is Jim’s favorite beer. We laughed so hard that the waiter did not know if we wanted another beer or not.
Yesterday, we attended Shanghai Community Fellowship in HongQiao with four colleagues from Jim’s work. The church was held at the HongQiao Marriott where 3000 expats gathered together to lift their hearts and voices in praise. After church we went to a Thai restaurant with Jim’s colleagues. It was fun to get to know them a little better. Jameson loved being the center of attention at lunch, but to my knowledge, he did not order another “ding dao!”