Updates...Happy Thanksgiving....settling in....

It's been a while since I updated this blog. a testament I guess to how busy life is no matter where you are.  Everyone is settling in and settling down.  It really does feel like we finally are starting to get a little rhythm here, which will get undone again in a few weeks when we break for Christmas.  But until then, we're enjoying feeling more at home and less like tourists, wrapping up sports and other Fall activities, and frantically trying to tie up christmas presents so we can brave the lines, customs forms and language barrier at China Post to mail boxes which may or may not make it home in time despite the self-imposed DROP DEAD mail date of December 7th.  I have no particular reason to believe the boxes will make it back to the U.S. by the 25th, but I am hopeful and counting on it.

Thanksgiving weekend was a fun one for us here.  Thursday was a schoolday for us, but we had a beautiful Thanksgiving all-school chapel, followed by a "feast" in the Elementary school.  We were invited to dinner that evening night at the home of our friends Gary and Yucca, and had a fun evening with 3 other families. I tried to make an apple pie, but had to settle for an apple crisp because I could not find a pie pan anywhere in Shanghai.  In fact, in one store the sales person asked me "why so many american women ask me for pie pan this week?"

We also had a really fun karaoke night on Friday with our friends Dave and Kara and their friends who we have come to know.  They are all International School teachers who have lived in Shanghai for 5+ years and celebrate Thanksgiving together each year.  It's amazing how you can wake up and suddenly realize that you have friends you really like and memories you are creating on the other side of the world.

On Saturday morning we woke up and boarded the bullet train - destination Hangzhou, about 110 miles southwest of Shanghai.  The Shanghai train station is ENORMOUS and brand new...everything is sleek and clean.  Even the platform sparkles.  The train is quiet, smooth and fast.

The trip took us just under 45 minutes on the bullet train, passing through farmland and small towns before arriving in this city of over 8 million that dates back to 589 AD. There is a Chinese proverb that says "in heaven there is paradise and on earth there are Hangzhou and Suzhou," and Marco Polo once described this place as, ‘the most beautiful and magnificent city in the world’.

"Heaven Above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below." (上有天堂，下有苏杭)  This phrase has a similar meaning to the English phrases "heaven on Earth" or "God's country".

We lucked into glorious sunny weather and rented bikes to tour West Lake - a UNESCO World Heritage site and the most famous part of Hangzhou.  It's stunning, with willow trees, historic pagodas and parklike grounds surrounding a clear lake. As always, lots of requests for photos with the kids...we are going to be miffed when we come home and no one asks for our pictures...

John believes he has discovered a new fashion trend...the glass-less eyeglass!  You have to see it to believe it, but people wear these empty frames in all sorts of colors....you heard it here first and if this catches on, I will have to give John credit for his unique eye for fashion as he insists this is gonna be BIG.

Lots of temples and Buddas and incredible carvings and gardens...beautiful architecture...

As an aside, in this photo, Jeb has just recently hip-checked Hope into a wall of bushes and you can see his delight in himself and Hope's misery...

A fun weekend and a beautiful city. We have a lot to be Thankful for this year.