Bucket List item...check!

Don’t you HATE it when people set up blogs, and then never post on them?

Us too. It’s so inconsiderate.

In any case, please choose your favorite reason for the recent lack of news from the Middle Kingdom:

a)    A wild panda attack left Hannah without the use of her thumbs and forefingers.

b)    The recent UFO over Shanghai/Beijing did, in fact, capture us for 38 minutes and we have been forbidden to speak of the incident (and really everything else is boring by comparison)

c)    In a fit of rabid frustration at not being able to watch the Michigan State season opener, all electronics in our apartment became the victim of a tennis-racket wielding John.

d)    Hannah tried to go to the gym, fell off the treadmill, and has been nursing injuries (and dignity) ever since….wait…that may have happened…

So, moving on!

Since arriving in China, one of the permanent features of our “Bucket List” has been a trip to see the Terra Cotta Army in Xi’an. For those who are staring at their screens blankly, here’s the gist:

A farmer digs a hole in 1974 and uncovers a perfectly preserved, larger than life, statue of an ancient Chinese warrior (Qin dynasty). Upon digging a few more holes, he realizes that beneath his feet is an entire ARMY of warriors, each with incredibly detailed armor (depending on rank), hair styles, weapons, etc. Estimates now claim the site to contain 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. All made by hand. All arranged in perfect battle formation. And all buried 2,000 years ago. Wikipedia can take it from here.

The site is, without exaggerating, breath taking. Moving among the three leaves you with the same wide-eyed, how-is-this-possible feeling a small child (or Hannah) gets when they come downstairs on Christmas morning. It is also, to be honest, a bit unnerving as there is a voice in your head whispering “Get out. You’ve seen this movie. They all come to life and kill the unsuspecting, camera-toting tourists.”

Please check out our pictures on Flickr (linked from this site)…but here are a few of our favorites…

The rest of our trip to Xi’an was relatively uneventful, consisting of the usual explorations…with particular highpoints marked by the discovery of beer apparently sponsored by the NBA, and dumplings shaped like the animals inside them. Oh China…

Let's take this show on the road!

Yes yes, we know – it’s be a while since we’ve updated. Our apologies.

Since last you saw us, riding our bikes, we have become quite the traveling duo. First, there was the weekend trip to Hangzhou – a place Marco Polo once named the most beautiful place on earth. Easy does it Marco… But the scenery was indeed beautiful, and our trip up a mountain to a Buddhist monastery was all that it promised: Beauty, peace, serenity and melon-on-a-stick. At the foot of the mountain is a stunning lake (West Lake, for those of you following along on Google Earth) that offered wonderful, mist-laden vistas and some equally great people watching. Granted apart from the lake and the monastery, the city itself left a bit to be desired – but that could be because what we desired was to find the railway station, and what we got instead was a WALK down a busy highway…sans sidewalk. Where are those iPhone navigation apps when you need them?

But we made it back, safe, sound and dusty. And invigorated by our adventure, the following weekend we jumped on the chance to head to Beijing for 5 days. You’ll find posted on our flicker page (links to the right folks) our treasure trove of pictures, courtesy of John’s never-ending photographic talent. We managed to capture all the sights and sounds, from a walk through Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City, to a hike up the Great Wall. And yes, we do mean “hike up” not “leisurely walk along” – because in case you didn’t know (we did not), the Great Wall is most often a vertical climb upwards. Combine 45-degree steps, with approximately the population of a small town in New England…and you’ve got quite the afternoon.

Our trip was made possible by our wonderful guide, Jenny, who complemented each excursion with history lessons, demystifying so many aspects of Chinese culture and architecture. For example, when Hannah asked with great interest and sincerity what the gold characters above the doorway to an ancient Buddhist temple meant, Jenny looked at her with the wisdom of the ages and said “they mean BUDDHIST TEMPLE.’" 

Here are some highlights, but for the full experience – see our Flickr stream.

Now…what shall we do THIS weekend? 

When in Rome...

The phrase “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” are undoubtedly words of wisdom…in some cases. For example, in Rome. Yes, when you are surrounded by beauty, culture, history and pasta, living your life as a Roman seems just fine indeed.

In China, however, the mantra should be followed sparingly. We have decided to be a bit more choosy than we would be, say, in the hills of Tuscany. For example, while we are embracing the art of bargaining, we are steering clear of public spitting. Chinese food, if eaten every day, would produce two extremely plump Laws. (As it is, Hannah already finds herself a disturbing “XXL” in Chinese boutiques, with unforgiving sales girls pinching arms and saying “You. Too big. Go home.” Excellent.)

However, as we started this adventure with the promise that we would dive into it wholeheartedly, we took a big step this weekend towards keeping that promise.

We bought bikes.

Riding a bike in Shanghai is an interesting mixture of a seemingly death-defying stunt…and a realistically practical mode of transportation. Not to worry (mom, dad), the city is remarkably supportive of the biking population. Bike lanes abound, and cars are constantly on the lookout for us. Let’s just say, you are never more alert, and mindful of your life, than when crossing an intersection in the French Concession.

Biking to our Sunday errands, and learning the ways of the road, dare we say…we’re starting to get the hang of things! 

Looking for love?

Who said love was hard to find in China? After careful examination, we think there are some pretty impressive opportunities for the young, nimble and, well, open-minded.

Exhibit A:

Every city has some form of “missed connections” – you know, the girl you saw on the subway and a life with dogs, a house and children flashed before your eyes. Unfortunately the conductor failed to catch this meeting of souls and closed the door before you could make that critical first move. So you publish your loss in the local paper.

Well...this wins (especially for those who remember our lady on the bike from a few weeks ago...).

Exhibit B:

What do your parents do on a Saturday morning? Ours usually start with some coffee, read the paper and do some errands. It’s not that different in China, except for the parents whose weekly Saturday ritual includes posting their deplorably single sons’ and daughters’ resumes, health information and personal selling points in the park. And not content with passive advertising, these parents will also bargain and negotiate with other parents for the right to win a first date…for their children.

Let us just say – Thanks Mom and Dad, for sticking with the Saturday paper.

Tourists!

A truism of living in an amazing city such as New York or Chicago is: If you live there, you haven’t seen anything. Hannah feels quite sure she didn’t see the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building until at least the age of 20, and neither of us have ever stepped foot inside the Sears Tower (there was one unfortunate Architecture Tour experience…but that is another story).

Committed to turning over a new leaf in Shanghai, we spent the past weekend being tourists in our new backyard. Under the tutelage of a tremendous guide from Abercrombie and Kent, we were able to experience many of the sights, sounds and, yes, smells that have put Shanghai on the world stage. Interestingly, the weekend simultaneously pushed us out of our comfort zone, and helped us to feel more relaxed, and more at home, in this truly incredible city.

At one of our stops, the Yu Garden, we discussed the Chinese art of Feng Shui in planning green space. Not just about an optimal “flow” of energy, Feng Shui here means designing a small space into a big experience. And so in the spirit of this 2000-year-old art, we offer you a brief glimpse into our wonderful weekend, and hope that it inspires you to use your imagination, and realize that what was on the surface a minor weekend excursion, turned into a monumental chapter in our understanding of Chinese culture and the spirit of Shanghai.

Downtown Pudong – across the river from where we are living – is truly a city of tomorrow! The “Pearl” TV tower on the right has a beautiful story behind it; the design wass inspired by a poem in which the poet sat on a river bank listening to a tune so beautiful that it reminded him of “large and small pearls dropping into a lotus leaf.”

A magnificent picture of The Bund at night from our restaurant:

Yu Garden - the inspiration for this post. A quiet spot of tranquility and surprise amidst the bustling city:

One of our favorite details in the Yu Garden were the “Vase Gates” that were positioned to look like painted vases – when in fact the design was the landscape through the gateway. Stunning:

Let no one ever say that Hannah doesn’t know how to use the color function of her camera! But this is a wonderful picture that captures the history and the “old-world” atmosphere of the traditional water village that was the last stop in our tour:

Just for fun...

Remember when we said the simplest of tasks can cause anxiety? Well, as it turns out, they can also provide tremendous amounts of amusement.

We thought you would enjoy some sights from a typical, run-of-the-mill, lazy neighborhood walk.

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On your right you’ll see a woman, just trying to get around town with a few things on her bike…

And let’s make a quick stop at the bank. Yes, you are correct, that is an ABACUS the BANK TELLER is using. AN ABACUS.

A drink at the local bar is nothing new. Beer, liquor, CATS. And not just cats, but the world’s fattest cat taking a snooze on the Guinness mat.

Given the cat with his tail in your beer, you might then be slightly surprised to look over at the “health code score.” Why have a complicated system filled with letters and numbers, when you can simply have a cartoon smiley face for a job well done. (Of course the natural question is, if the bar with animals gets a smiley face…what has the Starbucks with the sad face done to deserve it?).

As we continue to explore, and as we get better about bringing the camera with us when we leave the house, we’ll add to this list. Because a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. 

Welcome to Shanghai!

So what can we say after 6 days living in China? How about “pass the blood pressure pills.” Indeed. Those daily tasks that for 29 years have been so easy and taken for granted, are now the stuff of minor anxiety attacks. Both of us have had moments where we need to come back to the apartment, and have a quite minute to “recharge”….in other words, hide.

John’s moment came when opening a bank account. Never again will we fault Chase for being “too complicated” or “not user friendly.” Compared to this experience, dealing with Chase is like having tea with Mr. Rogers. From trying to explain the intricacies of what we needed (a bank account), to what we wanted to do (get money), this was an exercise in patience and pure, unbridled trust in the one person who spoke English.

Hannah’s moment came when trying to buy the most basic of household staples: sheets. After a harrowing hour of trying to communicate what she wanted, the size of her bed, and what in the world a “bottom sheet” was, she finally was home and ready to make the bed (an oddly calming nesting activity for Hannah). Turns out, they are all the wrong size. So should you come and visit, and find that the guest bed you are sleeping on has an oddly sized (and shaped) “bottom sheet,” just smile and nod.

We are learning new things every day, and getting stronger in our ability to navigate this very different culture every minute. It is overwhelming when the simplest of tasks become the most difficult part of your day. But as any good adventurer knows – it’s not important how far you have to go, what matters is how far you’ve come: We have found a great apartment, in a fun expat-filled neighborhood (pics to come later), we’ve survived embarrassing and frustrating “foreigner” moments together, and most importantly…

Neither of us have gotten sick. Yet. 

Departures …

Are you wondering why it has taken us a week to post another blog entry? Well, if you know either of us at all, then shame on you - you know better than to ask such questions.

No really, as it turns out among the myriad lessons we are learning on an hourly basis, one at the top is certainly “never assume a website is available.” In truth, we have been amazed at how many sites are, in fact, censored. While the social media sites were obvious, others such as our blog, Amazon purchasing, Hulu and YouTube were a bit of a surprise.

But Goonies never say die! So we’ve found some loopholes. Don’t ask questions, suspend disbelief with some post-dated entries and just enjoy.

Our one-way journey to China hit Hannah a few weeks before it hit John. Both during and after her academic years, Hannah made a point of “changing things up a bit” and making drastic “my car is packed and you won’t see me for 4 months” sort of moves. Therefore she was able to recognize the panic that sets in when you realize that you are proactively ending a chapter in your life. In other words – what comes next might be entirely your fault.

John’s travels have moved him around in a slightly tighter radius. Moving from Northville to East Lansing, then up to Ann Arbor and finally to Chicago. Each step was taken piece by piece, a little at a time, to really make sure it was the right move to take; sort of like strategically throwing a lot of stones on a frozen pond to make sure you won’t fall through when you start to run out.

And so today came the day when all of this would come together. MOVING DAY. As with many things in our lives, these process was a soup of invaluable contributions from each other, our beloved friends and family…and of course the nice man at the airport who helped us navigate how to get 9 bags and 2 slightly scared people out of a car and into a terminal.

Together we take what we know we can do because we’ve done it before, and we jump ahead with eyes wide open armed with…

• 7 (yes 7) checked suitcases, each of which could likely fit a person
• 6 Facebook posts (cumulative between us) to say good bye
• 5 teary phone calls to friends in other cities.
• a 4am wake up call
• 3 phone calls home to ensure loved ones that they do, indeed, have doctors and water and food in China
• 2 carry on bags

And one glorious champagne toast mid-air.

(It really deserves a song - insert “Fly Me To the Moon”)

For your viewing delight – we have included pictures of our packing accomplishment. And for those “packaging engineers” in our group…well…what do you have to say for yourselves NOW? :)

Getting Ready...

Following several “fare-thee-well” dinners with friends over the past few days, I have been informed that I am being remiss not to start documenting our adventure IN China with the glories (read: excruciating pains) of actually getting ourselves TO China.

Very well. Our move thus far can be broken down, I believe, into the 5 stages of grief:

Stage 1: Denial – “China won’t be THAT different”

Thinking about moving to China, a culture and a geography that is so foreign and unknown to both of us, is somewhat akin to trying to paint wind. The tools simply do not exist. There are, as of right now, no familiar touch-points or landmarks we can use to guide our expectations or understand of what daily life will really be like in 2 weeks. Therefore – and for those who know Hannah well, this will come as no surprise – we began March with the calm, cool and collected certainty that nothing would really be changing.

Of course, by March 2^nd, we realized that “nothing” actually means “everything from your food to your socks.” How disruptive.

Stage 2: Anger – “No, GoldenEye cannot come. Yes, my shoes can.”

Anyone who has every packed more than 2 apartments in the span of 2 years or less will tell you the same thing. Don’t do it; it is not fun, it is not healthy, and it is not enjoyable for anyone within a 5 block radius of you. One reason for this unpleasantness is that inevitably you and your significant other will have differing ideas about the importance of certain objects, and the necessity of bringing said objects with you to foreign lands. For us, this can be summed up by the following scene:

Hannah: “John, who is going to take all your video games”

John: “Um – why wouldn’t we take them?!”

Hannah: “Because we are supposed to only take the necessities to China. The things we can carry that we absolutely cannot live without for the next two years.”

John: “…..what is your point?”

Hannah: “We do not NEED video games”

John: “Well you don’t NEED all those shoes, but you get to bring those…what is the difference?”

Hannah: “Right. Same thing. Go away please.”

Stage 3: Bargaining – “I will give you $1 MILLION if you will be my friend.”

One of the most overwhelming and nerve-wracking parts of our imminent move to Shanghai is the departure from our family and friends-who-have-become-our-family; those go-to people whom we share wine-nights, wing-nights, game-nights and movie-nights with on a weekly (if not daily) basis.

How to make friends in China (definitely the title of a book at some point) is a scary thought, and we’ve discussed several ways of going about this:

Option 1: Dive into Alumni Clubs and Expat Associations

Option 2: Get involved with volunteer organizations, such as Amnesty Intern’l

Option 3: Go to the bar, tap someone politely on the shoulder and offer them a case of wine if they will have dinner with us every night for 5 days straight.

If you don’t know how that story ends, this blog may not be for you.

Stage 4: Depression – “What do you mean we won’t get Cubs games?”

In addition to leaving our friends, another shock is sure to be the absence of certain familiar traditions: the bleachers at Wrigley Field on a sunny day, a marathon of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Top Chef the following day…these are the things that will make this trip, and the distance from “home,” that much more real for us. Jet lag is one thing, but the real measure of distance will be watching March Madness at 2am on a Sunday.

Stage 5: Acceptance – “We are going to have the time of our lives!”

Without a doubt, John and I are more excited for this step in our lives than anything either of have ever experience, both apart and together. Through all the trials and tribulations, the denial through the depression, we have the clarity and conviction that the next 24 months will change the next 50 years of our lives, making us stronger, wiser, and certainly more humorous, than we possibly could have been without it. 

Granted there have been other highs and lows in our preparation time - including losing both a treasured pet, and a seemingly confirmed apartment - but we stand ready to accept everything that comes our way, and hopefully be diligent about sharing it in turn with all of you! 

And so we'll leave you with a favorite quote, to be our mantra for the next few years.

As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it. 

- Antoine De Saint-Exupery.