So much to do and so little time…

I want to start by saying that I have such respect for those bloggers who are able to keep up with entries in a timely fashion. I am forever going to bed thinking I really should be better at this. I have less to do in the day that I have ever had in my entire life, but still I struggle to keep up. I wish someone could create a program where I could just think the posts and they would miraculously appear on my blog. Sitting and typing it, then uploading it while dodging the GFW (Great Fire Wall – here in China) and spending hours waiting for things to upload or publish is just too labor intensive for me. I have so much to say and so much going on, that I just get frustrated. I want to share what is going on with us, but just never seem to have the time or the patience to do it. I used to get mad with dial up, but being in China can be a real pain in comparison. Many sites are inaccessible and require a proxy to see, others just take forever. I have never really had a problem with my blog other than the time it takes to do each post. I am sure it shouldn’t be this hard or take this long, but for some reason it does and it sucks.

Anyway, rather than waste more valuable time moaning about it, I guess I should take this opportunity to actually say something vaguely interesting.

The first thing I want to do is apologize to my parents and family in England. As you may know, we spent this past Christmas in England visiting my family for the first time in about 4 years. It was a great trip and we had so much fun together. I really enjoyed it and the trip was over way too soon. In April of this year, I will have been out of the UK for 12 years – it seems incredible to me that the years have flown by so quickly. I love my family and I miss them all more than they will ever know. Honestly, I probably don’t tell them this enough, but I love you guys. I am who I am because of you, and I am proud of who I am and where I have come from. I have the greatest parents in the world – they are by no means perfect and I love them all the more because of this. We have had our good and bad times over the years, but we are family and that is all that really matters. Why am I apologizing to them this time? Well, the reason is because I was too busy having fun with them to actually blog about our trip. Now it is the middle of February and I still haven’t posted much about the time we spent together. There are so many things to say and great photos of the special times we spent together, that I just don’t know where to start. I want to, but just never seem to get to it. I am getting the impression that maybe they think I don’t want to tell the world about our trip. This is so not the case. Richard, the kids and I had a wonderful time. It was nothing spectacular, or incredible, it was just those simple times that most families take for granted; hanging out with each other, eating, chatting, laughing and playing together. These are the things we cannot do on a regular basis. It was so heartwarming to see my kids sitting with their grandparents and listening to their stories with that look of wonder only a grandparent can instill. Or watching my dad break every one of the rules he so strictly enforced as I was growing up. Why is it that parents have one rule for their kids and no rules for their grandkids? I loved just watching my Mum watching the kids play. The smile in her eyes was priceless. It is obvious how much she adores each of the kids. I wish I could give her that gift more often. Christmas this year was in no way about the presents under the tree. It was all about the gift of love and family. Sitting at the dinner table eating Christmas dinner was so much fun. I don’t even remember the food; all I remember is looking around the table and seeing all those smiling faces. I am normally the one who is taking pictures of everything, but over the holidays I tried to relax and just enjoy the moment.

Of course, once we got back to China I wished I had taken more photos of everyone and made notes of all the little things we did together. But life is too short for regrets, so I am going to content myself with replaying the slideshow in my mind and retelling the events of the trip with the kids. They had so much fun with everyone and seeing where mummy was born and grew up. I don’t miss living in England and am happy with the life I have, I just wish I didn’t have to sacrifice living close to my family. I miss them and love them all so much. I know we would drive each other crazy, but to me that is all part of being in a family; to love each other warts and all. I am sure they would agree that they would have a harder time putting up with me, than I would ever have with them.

So Mum, Dad, Verina, Jason, Tracey, Hayley, Andy and of course Uncle Steve – I am sorry that I did not blog enough about our time together, but please know that every moment was precious and wonderful. Richard, Aimee, Cady, Hansen and I miss you all more than you will ever know. Thank you for the best Christmas present ever – the gift of a family.

Shanghai reports coldest winter in 18 years

After living in South Florida for 5 years, I knew Shanghai would seem cold in the Winter, but this is just not fair!

SHANGHAI -- East China's business hub Shanghai reported a temperature of minus 5.9 degrees Celsius in its downtown Saturday, the lowest for 18 years, as a cold snap swept China from north to south, the municipal meteorological observatory said.
The temperature in the Xujiahui area in downtown Shanghai reached minus 5.9 degrees Celsius early Saturday, the lowest since1992, the city's Central Meteorological Observatory said.

Records show the lowest temperature in downtown Shanghai was minus 8 degrees Celsius in 1991.

The observatory said the city's temperatures would also be below minus 5 degrees Celsius Sunday, the eve of Chinese New Year. But it forecast the city's temperatures would rise from Monday.

China Central Meteorological Observatory forecast the cold snap, which has caused a temperature drop of about 15 degrees Celsius in parts of east and south China, would end Sunday.

(Xinhua) Updated: 2009-01-25 16:46

Shock & Awe!

Those are the words that come to mind when trying to describe the events of last night.

As I mentioned earlier, we had been hearing fireworks on and off all evening and as it got later and closer to midnight the noise and frequency just kept increasing. However, nothing could have prepared us for volume and spectacle that greeted us at midnight. I have never seen or heard anything like it in my life. It sounded like we were in a war zone, but thankfully the gunfire was just huge fireworks lighting the sky. In every direction, all you could see was the beautiful colors and patterns of the many different fireworks. I tried to video and take photos to be able to share, but honestly on looking at them this morning, they pale into comparison of the real thing. You just don’t get the ear-splitting noise or see how many fireworks were going off at the same time. I was really disappointed with the video and pictures, but I will certainly never forget living the moment. It will be one of my favorites for years to come.

Around 11.45pm, as the noise was getting really loud, poor Cadence came wandering into our room. She was scared of the noise (she does not like any loud noises ever) and was looking for a hug. Richard lay down with her and put an Oswald dvd on for her to watch. I have to say Oswald sends me to sleep in minutes, but poor old Cade stayed awake until I finally went to bed around 1am. Lying in our bed, she was more than happy to let her Dad and I continue to enjoy the CNY show outside. Richard called his brother in California from our balcony and I tried to Skype some friends in Florida, but fortunately for them they did not answer so they did not have to suffer the noise. Richard and I continued to run around the house looking out of the various windows for about an hour marveling at the seemingly never-ending display. At one point the guards in our street let of some huge fireworks just up from our house – they were deafening, but awesome. As it got to around 12.30-12.45am, things began to quiet back down, at which point I went to bed to grab a snuggle with my Cady. She has to be on of the snuggliest bugs in the world and I never pass up the opportunity to cuddle with her. We settled down and turned off the light and within minutes both of us were fast asleep. I cannot believe that after being told we would not get any sleep for at least a week, I was finally woken up at around 9am by Hansen coming to look for Cady. Richard got up and took the kids downstairs for some noodles (long noodles for long life) and I continued to snooze. I was rudely awakened at 9.45am by what sounded like machine gunfire outside my bedroom window. On closer inspection it turned out to be our neighbors and the biggest batch of firecrackers I will probably ever see.

Xin Nian Kuai Le! - Happy New Year! 新年快樂

---



I am never going to be able to fully describe how it feels to be in China for our first Chinese New Year.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! – Congratulations and Be Prosperous

For those of you who don’t know, tonight is New Year’s Eve in China. This is the biggest holiday and celebration of the year. It starts tonight and last for 15 days. Here in China the holiday is called Spring Festival and it marks the start of the new lunar year. This coming year will be the Year of the Ox, an animal that symbolizes calm, hard work, resolve and tenacity. Based on 2008, I think the Ox has arrived at the right time. For the past few weeks, all over China everyone has been preparing for this holiday. Traditionally, families will clean their homes thoroughly to remove all the bad luck from the old year and to make room for the good luck of the coming year. Everyone will wear new clothes and get a haircut. New Year’s Eve is spent having dinner with family and watching fireworks. Many millions of Chinese will travel back to their hometowns to spend the Spring Festival with their families. For many this is the only time of year they can spend together since they have often traveled hundreds or thousands of miles from the birthplace to find work.

After decorating our front door with the traditional red couplets and donning our finest Chinese clothes, we spent this evening with members of our local FCC (Families with Chinese Children) family at a local restaurant. The restaurant was completely booked and aside from our FCC group, there were also a number of Chinese families from grandparents to small grandkids. The dinner started with making our own dumplings, which were then cooked for us, and was followed by so many dishes I can’t begin to list them. There were more plates of food than we could possibly eat and we spent the night juggling the plates to make enough room on the table for everything. In between courses the restaurant had activities for all the kids – they included small hand-held sparklers (which Aimee managed to burn herself on!), various types of fireworks and firecrackers, which never seemed to stop coming and the finale was a Pinata! I was quite surprised by this one, but hey the kids loved it. I have since learned that like most other great inventions, the Pinata is thought to have originated from China… When the last tiny little girl took her best swing and burst it, sending candy flying over the floor, the kids went wild. It was a free for all as the kids scrabbled to get loot. It was the perfect end to a great evening. The thing I was most surprised at was the price of all this entertainment. The dinner was 50rmb ($7) per adult and kids were free. We just paid for our drinks, which were 18rmb each. So basically, the 5 of us were entertained and fed non-stop for 4 hours for less than 300rmb ($40). What a great evening. We had a blast. The owner and staff at the restaurant were so nice and so happy to share their culture with us all. We promised to go back after the holidays to sample their regular menu and to thank them for such a great time.


Hansen and his girls - You would think all those beauties would put a smile on his face...


The Choi family celebrating their first New Year in China


Hansen tries his luck on the pinata


Check out Cady's technique - she bagged a ton of candy


My handsome boys - aren't they gorgeous?


Pretty Girl Cady

Adorable Aimee

Hansen finally smiling since he knows the food is coming

On leaving the restaurant it was strange coming home since the streets were pretty much deserted. Normally 9.30pm on any night would see crowds of people wandering the streets and shops, but tonight everyone was already home with their families. Everywhere you looked the sky was being lit with fireworks. It is an incredible sight to see and words will never do it justice.

Right now the kids are tucked up in bed (with ear plugs) and Richard and I are waiting to see the spectacle the stroke of midnight will bring. Huge, loud fireworks have been going off continually since around 5pm this evening, but we are told that the sky and the city will erupt at midnight. The past 30 minutes has seen the number of fireworks increase and I can only imagine what is going to happen in 15 minutes time....


Making the dumplings


Fireworks in the plaza outside the restaurant


Pinata fun

Installing a Husband

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech Support ,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0 .

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as:
· Romance 9.5 and
· Personal Attention 6.5,

and then installed undesirable programs such as :

· NBA 5.0,
· NFL 3.0 and
· Golf Clubs 4..1 ..

Also Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2. 6 simply crashes the system.

· Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate.



DEAR DESPERATE ,

First, keep in mind,
· Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while
· Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.
· If that application works as designed , Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.

However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5 , Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1 ..
· Please note that Beer 6. 1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta.



Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 -program These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0 .

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend
· Cooking 3.0 and
· Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck!
Tech Support

T'was The Week Before Christmas

Thanks to everyone that contacted us with positive thoughts and well wishes after our last post. We appreciate all the love and support and hope that the New Year will bring positive news for everyone.

To catch up on the Choi happenings over the past couple of weeks:

Cadence and Hansen were awarded their class’ ESLR Award for the month of December. The ESLR is an award that is given to 2 or 3 children from each class, in recognition of their achievements for the month. Cadence and Hansen received theirs for their communication skills. We are very proud of them both, but those of you who know Cadence will understand how incredibly proud we are of her. Cadence has struggled with her communication skills since she joined our family. However since June of this year, her speech and confidence has grown tremendously. We often find ourselves telling her to ‘be quiet or stop talking!’ I don’t think Richard or I felt this would ever happen. We should be careful for what we wish for.


Cadence was so proud to receive her certificate

>
Hansen and his 'girlfriend' Rachel with their ESLR awards

All three of the kids made their acting debuts in the school production of Jack and the Beanstalk. The entire lower school each had a part to play. Aimee was a pony, Hansen was a bird and Cadence was a cloud (?). The couple of beers a few other moms and I had before the show definitely improved our appreciation of the extravaganza. I haven’t laughed so hard for a long time. The kids did great. Aimee was nervous, but you couldn’t tell, Hansen goofed off in his normal style and Cady was the cutest cloud you have ever seen. After the show we headed to a local restaurant for a celebration dinner.


Hansen doing his goofing off walk, with his mask on his head instead of his face


Cady being a cloud


Aimee the pony singing her heart out

Aimee recently celebrated her 7th birthday (Dec 13th). It was very quiet day, since we intend to celebrate all 3 of the kids’ birthdays when we are in England with my family later this month. In true Choi style, Aimee still made out like a bandit, with her big present this year being a Nintendo DS Lite in pink; complete with a TT card that contains 20 games. We are hoping this will help us on the long flight to the UK for the holidays.



The week before Christmas there were multiple holiday parties at school for the kids, Aimee and I attended her field trip to Disney English; this is a new project that Disney has recently set up in China to teach English using Disney characters. Since most of the kids already speak English, they gave the class a twist and had the kids learning Chinese instead.

Rich made a quick two day trip to Luizhou, complete with a nasty cold, I finally had my crown replaced by a very delicious French dentist, and I actually managed to sort out all our closets, while preparing to pack for the trip. This was a major task since our ayi, Xiao Liu had very helpfully opened all the boxes of clothes we had brought from the US, and filled the closets. This doesn’t sound too bad, but she had everyone’s clothes mixed up and she had opened all the ‘new’ clothes that we were supposed to be keeping. The good news was that after sorting the clothes out, I ended up being ready early for our trip and all the closets looked great too.

Never in the history of the Choi family have we been packed and ready to go earlier than a couple of hours prior to travel. It was quite unnerving having a full day with nothing to do. The dogs were safely delivered by Xiao He to the incredible kennels they will call home for the next couple of weeks. The kids and Rich finished school/work early on Friday, so with nothing left to do, the girls and I did what all girlie girls should do before the holidays; we went for a festive manicure and pedicure. Cadence had her fingernails painted with tiny strawberries and her toenails were painted pink with little diamond encrusted Christmas trees. Aimee opted for pink fingernails with white snowflakes and pink toenails complete with diamond topped candy canes. Since I bite my fingernails, I settled for a fancy pedicure of dark pink with white diamond highlighted roses. They looked very festive and at less than $40 for all of us, the price was merry too. The girls were thrilled. I really wish I had taken photos, but I was too busy being relaxed!

The final highlight of the week was that Friday 19th December marked our 4th anniversary of Cadence joining our family. It is so hard to believe that 4 years ago we were in China celebrating Christmas with our youngest family member. She has come so far and has changed so much, but even back then she was a beautiful little girl inside and out. We could not imagine life without her. Cadence’s smile brightens the even the darkest days. We love you Cady Mei – You are the Best!

An Urgent Call For Support

I try never to get political in my posts, since I strongly believe that we all have the right to believe the way we do. We all lead different lives and come from different viewpoints and that is okay. But today is very different for my family and for many other families across the US and around the world. Today many of us face a financial situation that could only have been imagined in our worst nightmares.

Unfortunately it is not a nightmare, it is our reality. I tend to lead my life as the proverbial ostrich and not follow many of the issues of the day. I don't believe that I, as an individual can help a situation by worrying about it, if there is nothing I can personally do to help solve it. My poor husband on the other hand is faced with many of these decisions daily, he lives and works out in the real world and provides our kids and I with a cocoon of safety and security. Thanks to him, I can ignore the daily pressures of life and sit back and just enjoy the ride.

However today, I am pulling my head out of the sand, and stepping out of my cocoon of comfort to support my adorable and hardworking husband. We and many families like ours across the nation need your support.

I have copied an email that Richard sent out to a few of you already - he is so much better with words than I could ever hope to be, so I will leave him to explain what is needed. All I ask is that you read the request and if you feel inclined to help, please pass the message on to others you know.

If you don't feel that it is something you can support - that is okay too. Just ignore this message, I appreciate both sides of every coin and will love you just the same as I did before.

Best wishes,
Kim
Who is now back with her head in the sand. Someone, please tell me when it is safe to come out?

===================================================================================
Message from Richard

Hi there.

It's crunch time for the auto industry and I'm reaching out to friends and family in a number of states whose Senators have not been supportive of a loan package to GM, Chrysler and Ford.

I started to write my opinion of the current situation in some stirring words -- but I realize that you all probably have heard enough -- and deleted them. (But if you want some lively discussion, please feel free to email me!). But this email isn't to try to change your opinion. This email is to get those that want to do something an easy way to take action to help the US auto industry.

If you are so inclined, I do need some help. We need to get word to certain Senators that this current loan package needs to be supported. And time is running out.

There are a few ways to do this.

First, this is a website that can send emails to your members of Congress. You can use this to send a support email to your Senators. The website is:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=12211136&type=ML

Second, the message below has a toll-free number to a service that will call (toll-free) your Sentator's office for you. You can leave a message or talk to a staff member. All you need to do is provide your zip code and the service will identify the proper Senate members for your area.

They are both quick and easy to use. If you need some facts about the industry please go to www.gmfactsandfiction.com

Sorry if this message hits you on the wrong side of the issue. And for those that agree, thanks for your support and please take some action.

Happy Holidays,
Richard (with Kim and family)

Subject
URGENT - Please Contact Your Senators in the Next 12 Hours






Dear Employee:

We are at a critical juncture in our efforts to get Congress and the current administration to provide federal loans to domestic auto manufacturers to help bridge our nation’s economic crisis. Your support in the form of phone calls is urgently needed in the next 12 hours as a number of Republican Senators are threatening to block the vote on the Auto Rescue Bill recently announced.

If you are located in the states listed below, please contact your legislators by calling 866-927-2233 and remind them that autoworkers in their districts are counting on them for their support and leadership. Additionally, please share the hotline number with family, friends, business partners or other contacts in these states and ask them to call their Members of Congress immediately. Talking points and other materials to assist these calls can be found at www.gmfactsandfiction.com.

Your efforts to call legislators have been crucial in getting us to this point. Please urge everyone you know in these key states to place their phone calls in the next 12 hours and remind legislators that their vote is about the survival of America’s auto industry and they will be held accountable for job losses in their states.

States and Legislators:

* Georgia – Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson
* Indiana – Senator Richard Lugar
* Kansas – Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts
* Kentucky – Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning
* Louisiana – Senator David Vitter
* Tennessee – Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker
* Texas – Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson and John Cornyn
* Virginia – Senator John Warner

(Additional Republican Senators who have been supportive, but should be reminded that we need their leadership in the Republican Party to ensure that their colleagues do not derail these vital loans to the domestic autos)

* Missouri – Senator Christopher Bond
* Ohio – Senator George Voinovich

What a weekend?

It has been a whirlwind weekend filled with activity and tons of fun. The weekend started with the kids and me spending the morning hanging out at home. This is unusual in that normally Saturday is my day to sleep in. However with Richard in Israel, I was on morning duty. Anyone that knows me knows that I do not do mornings. My poor, poor children, they had to deal with cranky, tired mom. Anyway, little did they know that even thought the morning sucked, the afternoon was going to be fun. One of the larger international schools (where my good friend Cathy Sue is a teacher) was holding their Holiday Bazaar. This has become a highlight of the holiday season and it really did not disappoint. I actually believe that every Expat in Shanghai was in attendance – it was packed with people. The funny thing was that even though we have only been here 4 months, I already knew so many of them. It actually felt very comforting and it was hard to believe we are in the middle of China, as carols were being sung and we were surrounded by Christmas spirit.

Everything you could want was there – Christmas wreaths, nativity scenes, handmade gifts of all kinds, candles, stockings, cotton candy, popcorn and tons of yummy food. The kids were in heaven, but little did they know there was even more fun planned. After doing a quick run around to see what was on offer, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed for the special place.

The special place was a chance to meet Santa and tell him exactly what they wanted this Christmas. With our upcoming trip to the UK this year, I think the kids were a little worried that Santa would mess up and deliver their gifts to the wrong address. I can now report that Santa is fully aware of where they will be and what they need him to bring. We managed to get a nice photo for the scrapbook complete with the mandatory Chinese misspelling in the greeting – It says Mreey X-Mas, it true Chinese style. When I get a chance I will share the official photo - but here are a couple I took from the sidelines.




Cadence did not want her photo taken, but with the promise of cotton candy she will do almost anything - in the official picture she has a big smile. Immediately she returned from Santa’s lap she was heading for the door and that candy stand. We headed home and decided to walk back since there were no taxi’s in sight. We made it half way there before a lone taxi arrived and we were able to catch a ride. Caught up in the spirit of Christmas, I stopped by the dvd store and picked up Christmas in Wonderland for us to watch after dinner. I am mentioning this to for warn anyone who may be thinking of buying or seeing this movie to avoid it like the plaque. It has to be the WORST movie I have ever seen in my entire life. It was terrible; there are just no words to describe it. I paid 10 rmb for it (about $1.50) and I have to say I was robbed. It was not worth one cent of that price.

Sunday started way early- 6.30am when Hansen decided he would wake the whole family with his singing. I stumbled out of bed to find him laying on the couch in the family room singing to himself. No this kid should know by now that 6.30am is not a time to be awake on a Sunday, especially when his Dad is not home. I was less than thrilled, but managed to snooze on and off while he watched a movie and until 8.30am when the girls woke up. The whole day was spent counting down the hours first till Richard was due home, then until Aimee and I headed to the airport to pickup our good friends Mary and her daughter Olivia ‘Livie’, and then finally until 4pm when we were due at Cathy Sue’s home for a good old Thanksgiving Dinner.

Aimee and I headed to the airport around 3pm to meet Mary, and Rich and the kids made their own way to the TG dinner. After a slight hiccup at the airport (where I told our driver we were supposed to be at terminal 1), we made a mad dash to Terminal 2, where Mary and Livie had just landed. Thankfully, they had to wait a while for their bags, so were none the wiser that we had been running around like loonies. It was so wonderful to see them come through the doors. Mary has been an incredible friend to me over the past 4 years and I miss her terribly now we are here in Shanghai. I am so looking forward to our trip together, I know we are going to have a lot of fun. We all jumped in the car and headed straight for Cathy Sue’s. Poor Mary and Livie looked exhausted, but they made it through the dinner and we all had a great time. It really did not feel like we were in China at all. Looking around the room, I felt that I have a lot to be thankful for; great friends from all over the world, an incredible family, an awesome husband and tons of yummy food. What more could a girl want?


The reason he looks so mad is that one of the girls took away his 2nd Barbie doll!!!

THE BEST CAT VIDEO YOU'LL EVER SEE

Okay, I should so be in bed fast asleep, but I am still up watching YouTube!

I doubted this video really could liveup to the title,but I cracked up laughing at so many of these clips. Absolutely priceless.

Roomba Driver

This is way too cute!

Long Overdue

Another thing I wanted to blog about and have just never gotten around to it, is telling everyone how amazing my beloved husband is. In a world filled with uncertainty, he is a steadying rock. I don’t often say much about him that is nice, but I have to say that I am so proud of him, I could burst at times. One such time was a week or so ago. Richard went to work more sharply dressed than usual. Don’t get me wrong, even in the world of business casual, he is the one always wearing dress pants (trousers) a long sleeved shirt and tie, and since the weather has gotten cooler, he often sports a suit jacket too.

Well anyway, he looked particularly dapper this one morning and when I asked why, he reminded me that he was being presented with a long service certificate from General Motors that afternoon (I am such a bad wife I had forgotten all about it). In this crazy, mixed up world of ours there are very few people who are lucky enough to have a job, let alone get a long service notice. I am so proud of Richard. He works so hard for our family and often makes sacrifices to keep both GM and me happy. Although, I am sure I work him harder than GM any day. They are much more sympathetic and understanding than I am.

So how long has he worked for GM, I hear you ask? That is the incredible thing. He started with them in 1983….. Yes, 25 years!!!! I can’t believe he is old enough to have worked for anyone that long. Gosh, I still think we are 25 on a good day, closer to 85 on a bad one.

What an achievement! – 25 years with the same company. Richard works hard and long, but he still loves GM, probably more now than ever. We are so thankful for everything they do for our family, but most of all we are thankful for the opportunities we have through them. We have seen some incredible places, achieved some impossible dreams and have a quality of life that I wish everyone could enjoy. Times are tough for everyone right now, GM included. We know that tough decisions have to be made and belts need to be tightened and I hope that Richard is able to work for GM for many more years to come. Although, of course I am sure that he would like to retire before then next 25 years are over.

Richard, I know you NEVER read this blog (and really why should you, you know what is happening in the World of We5Chois? ), but if you ever do get a chance to take a peak at my midnight ramblings, just know I love you beyond measure. You are one of my true heroes and I am so proud to be your wife and to have you as my best friend. I don’t say it enough, but I love and adore you. Congratulations honey!


This is a great photo of Richard being greeted by General Motors' Chairman, Rick Wagoner. I would love to tell you that Rick is thanking Richard for 25 years of hard work and dedication to GM, but sadly it is not the case. This photo was taken back in September, when Rick was in Shanghai. He is actually saying, Oh you too, are here now!

Only in China....

So I have to write this down before I forget. There are so many little things that make living in China interesting.

One such thing happened this morning at the local grocery store. On arriving at one of the big supermarkets Carrefour, (which is like the Chinese version of Walmart/Asda), I was in desperate need of the restroom (toilet). Anyone that has traveled through China knows all about the squatty potties and you can rest assured that public restrooms in the grocery store are in a league of their own.


This is an example - but note that it is extremely clean and fresh looking. The ones in use around China do not look like this normally.

Anyway, being kinda desperate I headed straight for the bathroom. I was disheartened to see that I was 4th in line waiting, behind two middle aged Chinese ladies and a young twenty-something girl. Oh man! But wait… I see an open stall, with a western style toilet, why are they not using that one? Okay, maybe there is something wrong with it (eeeww! - it’s best not to get too close sometimes). So I continue to wait (after all I am British and we are known for our love of waiting in lines). A minute or two passes and then yay, someone flushes a toilet and a thirty-something exits yet another western style stall. But the ladies in front of me don’t move a muscle. What? Do they need to go? What are they waiting for? Come on, I need to pee! So I wait the polite 10 seconds and then push my way past them to the now open stall. No one bats an eyelid. I do what I need to and I exit, only to find a line of maybe 5 Chinese women waiting, including the original 3. The other western toilet is still free with the door wide open, but no, the 5 ladies are waiting for the squatty potty. How bizarre? They would rather wait in line longer than use a regular, western style toilet. I couldn’t believe it. As I washed my hands in the freezing cold water (there is never any hot), 2 ladies came out of the other stalls and 2 new ladies went in. So I was right, they really did need to go, but would not use the ‘normal’ toilet. Only in China would this happen. I had to call Richard to tell him the news. He seems to think this is perfectly understandable since probably the Chinese are more comfortable using the squatty and probably think we are strange, and unhygienic for actually coming in contact with the toilet seat. I still think it is bizarre, but as Rich says we wait in line for the western toilet, so why wouldn’t the Chinese wait for the Chinese toilet? He is so darn reasonable sometimes. I am sure he does it to annoy me ;-)

Something to remember in these hard times

BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
November 16, 2008

Every day I have less

In my bank account.

Every day I grow scared

As my losses mount.

Every day there is less

To the house that I own

And the equity in it

Like the wind, has blown.

Every day I see less

On my bottom line.

Every day something worsens

That used to be fine.

Every day in my family

There's worry and stress.

Where we once dreamed of more

We now do with less.

Every day I hear stories

Of a company's worth

Sinking to levels

From before my birth.

And places I shopped

Are now closing their doors.

Big firms I grew up with

Are big firms no more.

Every day I have less

Of a once strong sensation

That the leaders we choose

Are good for our nation.

Every day I think less

Of a boss I respected

Who parachutes out

With his own butt protected.

Every day I see less

Of the country I knew

Of the dreams we encouraged

Under red, white and blue.

Instead I see signs

Of foreclosure and sale

And people afraid

Of what comes in the mail.

I see layoffs and cutbacks

No help for the needy

As billions are given

To the powered and greedy.

And this news, it is endless

It burrows so deep.

It shadows my waking

It's haunting my sleep.

Yet every day I have less

I cannot ignore it.

Something grows clearer

That wasn't before it.

If I still have a job

I am luckier than some.

If I still have my house

It is better than none.

If I still have my wits

There are mouths I can feed.

If I still have my family

What more do I need?

If I still have my health

I am mercifully blessed.

If I think I have little

Someone has less.

Every day I discover

More mercy in me.

Every day I find out

Who my true friends will be.

Every day that I stumble

Or say, "I can't do it!"

Is a day I discover

With God's grace, I get through it.

So I learn a new lesson

If I keep a new score

That every day I have less

May be a day I have more.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died
from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.

And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play Stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms........

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell,
or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.

Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!


The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.

They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and
inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them. CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Worth Reading

This is a little long, but so worth reading. I think this Dad speaks for many of us today.

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/I_Didn_t_Vote_For_Obama_Today

(sorry you will need to cut and paste as for some reason, my links don't link!)

A Day For The History Books

I am not often happy to be asked if I am an American, but today is different. Today I would be proud to be mistaken for an American.

I am not going to discuss my politics here, but I will say is that I am so proud of the American people today. They turned out in record numbers to wait in long lines to cast their vote in what has to be one of the most memorable Presidential elections in history. Regardless of which side they voted for, the truly important thing is that the people voted.

This evening I sat and discussed the election with Aimee and tried to explain to her why today was so special and why she should be proud to be an American. I told her in years to come, her children and her children's children will study and learn that on November 4th, 2008, an African American man became President of the United States of America. I remember the excitement when Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won an Oscar. That was great, but Barack Obama; a black man winning the US Presidential Election truly is incredible.

There is still a long way to go in ridding the world of racism, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. As the wife and mother to members of an ethnic minority, I am overjoyed to see the world changing for the better. I am happy that my children are able to see history in the making and hope that their world is more peaceful because of it.

Once the celebrating is over, Obama has a huge job to do. I am sure he will do the American people proud, but he may just need to turn into a Super Hero to get the job done. I just loved this photo, I think he looks almost as good as my favorite SuperHero Batman!

Red Threads

I know I have mentioned this more than once over the past few months, but I LOVE living in China. I sincerely hope it stays that way, but sometimes I think maybe I am still in the honeymoon period. As stressful as it is moving to another country & culture, our move so far has been great. I still pinch myself almost every day because I cannot believe I am actually here. I am sure that the things that bother others about life here in China will eventually begin to get under my skin, but for now I am like a kid in a candy store – my eyes are wide, my chin has hit the floor and I stand frozen in wonder at all that Shanghai and China has to offer me.

One of the greatest joys of being here is finally having some time for me. As I have mentioned before I am involved with the orphan foundation, I have joined the American Women’s Club, I have made some great friends through our local FCC and the kid’s school and I recently started a digital photography class. Anyone that knows me, knows I don’t go anywhere without my trusty camera. Well, I am finally getting some lessons on how to take real pictures – that is out of fully automatic mode and into ‘the creative zone’. I am way out of my depth, but am slowly getting better. Photography is something I thoroughly enjoy and it feels so good to understand my camera a little better. I don’t suppose I will ever take on the masters, but for now I am happy. Actually, I am already looking at getting a new lens (not cheap), so I don’t suppose Richard will be too impressed.

Anyone who knows anything about China adoption knows the legend of the Red Thread.

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances.
The thread may stretch or tangle but will never break.

It is widely accepted in the adoption community that our children are connected to us by a red thread and no matter what the hurdles, we will eventually come together. This is also said of the people we meet during our journey to creating our family. We like to believe that what others may often call destiny, fate, coincidence, the six degrees of separation or the work of God; people are brought into our lives for a reason and that we are connected by this invisible red thread. During our adoption to Cadence and then Hansen, many red threads appeared and I have no doubt that the legend is true.

Now we are living in China, these red threads continue to weave a rich tapestry for me. The most recent of which goes back a number of years.

A few years ago (I honestly don’t remember how many), Steve (Richard’s brother) sent him a greeting card (I believe for his birthday) that had a black and white picture of two Chinese boys on it. The two boys were huddled close together, sitting on some steps and were happily laughing with each other. I fell in love with this card and have kept it since it reminded me of Richard & Steve. One of the boys has shorter, spiky hair and is wearing more casual sporty type clothing and shoes, whereas the other boy has flatter hair and is wearing a buttoned up jacket and lace- up type shoes. One looks like ‘Sporty Choi – Steve’ and the other looks like ‘Business Man(or Geeky) Choi – Richard’. I have often seen this picture, but for a long time I did not know who the photographer was.

Fast forward a number of years and you will find me in Shanghai with time on my hands. About six weeks ago, I received a note from the kid’s school to say the Parents Association had arranged a photo shoot for interested families with local Shanghai photographer Wang GangFeng. I couldn’t believe it, as I had previously discovered that GangFeng was the original photographer of the Choi boys look-a-like photo, he had also become my favorite photographer of China life. How cool was that? I could have my Choi kids photographed by the actual guy who had taken the greeting card shot and my own personal hero. Needless to say, I had signed up before even reading the small print, like how much it would cost to do. The photo shoot would take place on November 2nd.

Then a couple of days later I received a request from the orphan foundation to ask if I could help with a couple of fundraising activities. The first of which was the Eco-Design Fashion Show, which I have blogged about previously and the other was for a new photographer –Liam Liang. The new photographer had recently set up on his own and was looking to offer a portion of his fees to the Foundation. He just needed someone to reach out to the community to offer his services. How perfect! I got to help the babies and also make friends with a real photographer. I was thrilled. I immediately drafted an email and sent it to the local expat mama’s and the FCC group. Liam and I have been in email contact since then and hope to actually meet up and go walking and photo-taking around Shanghai together. This red thread was great, but what I also learned was that Liam used to be GangFeng’s assistant (weird!). Then if that wasn’t connection enough, it turned out that unbeknown to both of us, we were both at the Eco Design Fair. Liam was there to capture the fashion show on behalf of the designers and I was there on behalf of Aimee and the Foundation. Unfortunately, Liam and I did not know that we had both been there until the following day when we were both on an email distribution list of thanks –lol.

In the meantime, having joined the American’s Women Club, I also received an email with their happenings for the end of October. Imagine my delight when I saw that there was a walking tour of Shanghai’s old town with none other than Wang GangFeng. Richard and I signed up immediately, since how better to learn about Shanghai than through the eyes of the very man who had captured life here in China through his lens for the past 30 years.

The walking tour took place on Tuesday 28th October and I will blog about it separately later. It was wonderful and meeting GangFeng was a delight. He is such a sweet guy with a softly spoken voice and a wonderful element of mischief about him.

I know the above story took a while to explain, but I still find it incredible how the red threads weaved their way through the different social circles from me to GangFeng. I hope that in the coming months and years I get the opportunity to learn more from Gangfeng, not only about photography, but also about what his life was like growing up in Shanghai. I have seen his work and he has captured such amazing moments in time.

I will share a couple of his images here including the now infamous Choi Boy shot.

Who knew that Halloween could be so much fun in China?

Unfortunately, Richard was not able to be with us to celebrate since he had some high profile meetings with the Chinese Provincial Government in Nanning and would not be home until midnight (like the proverbial pumpkin).

Thankfully, the kids and I had been invited by our new good friends, Miss Cathy Sue and her beautiful daughters, Janna Mei & Jolene Fei (yes, you guess correctly Cathy Sue is from the South!) to spend the evening with them and some friends from our local FCC. At 4.30pm, I helped the kids dress into their costumes. One thing we had to consider this year, that we have never had to think about before, was wearing regular clothes under the costumes to keep warm. Back in Florida, I was always searching for something cool to wear, so no one got too hot, but this year it was all about keeping the kids warm, not easy in a skimpy polyester devil dress. For the past week or so it has been raining on and off, that dreary wet, yucky drizzle type rain that soaks you through, but I guess the kids constant prayers had paid off, because Friday night was perfect.

Once the kids were ‘dressed to thrill’, our driver, Xiao He (who seemed a little bemused by our attire) drove us to a local restaurant for an early dinner. It was quite amusing as we exited the car outside the restaurant. All over Shanghai there are small stalls selling flowers, watches, books and dvds on the street corners. The local dvd vendors outside the restaurant are our favorite and we have been a regular customers since our arrival back in July. As I got out the car, Jenny & friends (the vendors) said their usual ‘Hi!’, but it was when I was swiftly followed by a beautiful pirate, an impish devil girl and Ultraman, that the smiles and cheering broke out. They all thought it was great and told the kids how cool they looked. All this fuss caused the waitresses in the restaurant to be aware of our arrival and again, as we entered they all cheered and clapped and giggled at the crazy expat kids all dressed up. They then pointed us in the direction of our other crazy expat friends who had already arrived. Janna & Jojo were dressed as twin Hannah Montana’s, complete with blonde wigs, there was a butterfly, another pirate, a bunny rabbit, the most serene little Snow White I have ever seen, plus assorted pumpkins and princesses.









I had warned my kids that if they didn’t eat their dinner, there would be NO CANDY! They took me at my word and promptly inhaled their dinners, while the other kids were coaxed into eating or sitting at the table. Once everyone had arrived and eaten, and we could contain them no more, we hit the streets en masse. Again, the wait staff and the street vendors were giggling as we left. I guess we made quite the spectacle. The plan was that we would head to one of the expat compounds across the street, since they have a reputation for having a nice, safe and easy neighborhood for the kids (houses all on one level, short driveways and few cars around), plus they are known as giving out good candy! These are all important criteria when choosing a Trick ‘n’ Treating location for very young kids, who have no thoughts for road safety, but a narrow minded focus on ‘getting free candy’.

It is hard to describe the actual trick ’n’ treating. It was all quite surreal. Here we are in the middle of Shanghai, surrounded by families of varying countries all dressed in an assortment of costumes, knocking on doors answered by various nationalities, including quite a few Chinese ayi’s (maids) and being given US candy! The houses were decorated with pumpkins and ghosts, but on a smaller scale than we were used to in Florida, but still in a very American way. The kids loved it; they really had so much fun. They missed Daddy and more than once told me they wished how he could be here to have some fun too. We walked around for a little under two hours and were all exhausted by the time we found our way back to the compound front gates. I have to say it was a really fun evening, spent with some great new friends, but the words that describe it best are ‘simply surreal'. I should mention here that our Halloween experience in Shanghai is not how it is all over China. I remember last year with Joyce, back in the US - she thought it was incredible and she had never seen anything like it. I know I for one can’t wait until next year. Parenting is often times quite tough and we can get lost in simply living our lives, but it is evenings like tonight where you stop and take a breath. Nights like tonight are the ones that childhood memories should be filled with. There really is nothing more precious that sharing these moments with young children. I know they will soon be too grown up to be out with Mum, so I for one am cherishing these days.









We said a fond farewell to our assortment of friends and headed home tired and cranky. I had the forethought to take the candy booty bags off the kids in the car and told them we could have them back at home. I have been caught out more than once discovering an empty goody bag on arrival home, so I was not taking any chances. Of course, without the candy in their laps, their cranky moods were all the more apparent. However after a quick goodnight and Happy Halloween to our driver Xiao He, the frivolity and camaraderie returned as we headed to the dining table to check out our loot. The official counts were much less than in previous years (thank heavens), but the kids were thrilled with their treasure just the same. After a quick photo and bagging their candies into Ziploc bags with their names on, it was time for bed. Aimee kindly shared her some of her candy with Xiao He and had set aside a 'corn' flavored lollipop for her Dad. Hansen sweetly asked if he could sleep with his bag of candy, but I told him that ‘No! I was not born yesterday and that ALL the candy would be safe with me until the morning.’ He seemed to be okay with this, although Aimee wasn’t so sure (that kid knows how much I crave for Tootsie Rolls). By the time I had read them a story, they were all fast asleep. I headed upstairs too. Trick or treating is fun, but I fear I am getting too old for it. Thankfully, in a few more years the kids will be going alone – lol.