Sunday night was New Years Eve, so we went to our neighbors (fellow Spartans) for a little gathering. They have two daughters, Isabelle (8) and Brooklyn (4). Another neighbor also joined us with three daughters. (Drew was a bit out numbered) We hung out waiting for the 'real' firework show to begin. AND did it ever! At about 11:45pm, the sky lit up like I've never seen before. We ran to their rooftop deck and were amazed that you could see fireworks in EVERY direction you looked. There is no way to describe it. AND, it's continued all week. I've learned that you do NOT have to wait until dark to shoot off fireworks. We hear them 24 hours a day. Amazingly, the kids can sleep right through them.
Here is a link to a short video of the fireworks...
Monday we ventured out to a local water town called Qibao Ancient Town. They say it has a history of over a thousand years. Unfortunately we didn't see much of it. There were tons of people there lighting incense and praying to the Buddha statues. Drew's comment "Why are all these people bowing to the fat guy?" This led to a great discussion on how God can use us to share our faith.
Our visit was cut short due to the very unique smell as we walked through the streets. We aren't sure what the smell was, but my gag reflex was working overtime! We were happy to get back to the car without any incidence! Maybe we'll try another water town in the future.
Tuesday we tried to go to a museum, but it was closed for the holiday. So we ended up at our favorite store...Ikea! We spent more money in the food department than the actual store. I can honesty say I have never been more excited to find hot dog buns! I guess I need to add Ikea to my list of frequent grocery stops.
Wednesday we went to the Yu Yuan Garden and Bazaar. We made it through to several of the shops, but not to the actual gardens. The crowds were unbearable. We were being shoved in every direction. I now know what it's like to shop at Walmart on Black Friday! I guess we'll wait until after the new year holiday to visit again. It was neat to see the bazaar area all decorated for 'The Year of the Dragon'. As we took pictures of the decorations, the Chinese people took pictures of us. Talk about bazaar!!
After the garden attempt, we went to the Shanghai Exhibition Hall. This was a really cool. We learned a ton about the history of Shanghai and its people. The highlight was a scale model of the city. The kids had fun trying to find our house. We weren't much help since all of the street names were written in Chinese...so we guessed.
Thursday was an 'Only in China' kind of day. We went to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. And boy, was it WILD! Who knew for a few RMB you could actually ride the animals. It started out quite tame with the girls and Ed riding a camel.
Then we found a spot where they let you hold a tiger cub. Seriously!?! We didn't even have to sign a waiver.
Hannah was the only one of us thinking rationally and chose to forgo the elephant ride for a much shorter llama.
After all of our rides, we headed to the buses for a tour in the 'wild' area where the animals run free. It was pretty cool to see the animals come right up to the buses. This looks more like a man in a costume than an actual bear.
Even after all of the excitement at the park, the only thing Drew could talk about on the ride home was how the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder. Some things never change!!
What an incredible experience. I'm glad you are having so much fun!
ReplyDelete