They are my LiFe

Tuesday through Saturday are my chinese babies. I teach ages 0-3 years old at Gymboree. They call me lao shi (teacher). My chinese is yi dian dian (very little) but we get by:) I've learned to communicate in other ways. They love to dance to the never ending music with me.

Sunday and Monday are my english kids. I got called to be a nursery leader in my branch. Even though we only have 100 people in my branch we average about 14 kids every sunday. On mondays Annie my roomy and I watch the Olsen kids Alia and Seth. They lost their mother last year and we love to spend time with them they are so sweet!

The salt is sold out in Shanghai because everyone thinks the iodine in salt will protect them from the radiation. My lovely sister once told me drinking 1/2 a cup of bug spray won't kill you, but a 1/2 cup of salt will. It would take 700 lb. of salt a day to get enough iodine you need to protect you against radiation poisoning. Hum...

Jade Buddhist Temple: can't go anywhere without people asking for a photo with us:)

Shanghai Zoo: How can you be the only two people at a place in a city of 14 million people?

I like to think of it like the series of unfortunate events.. We only go to the beach on rainy days because then it's empty. Maybe I should be normal and not go places when it rains.

Tsunami in Japan

As you all have most likely heard, there was an earthquake near Japan at a scale of 8.9. Largest for Japan, and 5th largest in the world! It's all super devastating and it breaks my heart, If you don't know all that happened because of it, look it up it's insane! But what you probably don't realize is what I didn't till this happened, that the Chinese people don't like the Japanese people, not all of them but it really caught me off guard on sunday as i was sitting on the subway heading home from church and on the news was the footage from the tsunami, it almost brings tears to my eyes as I watch so many peoples lives destroyed, but it shocked me to see two men sitting across from us laughing at the tv. How in the world could someone laugh at something so tragic? This all stems from WWII in the sino-japanese war, apparently Japan brutally killed many Chinese, and though the governments have forgiven each other, many of the older generation have not. Even my coworkers don't find great sadness or even curiosity in the event, they act as if it didn't happen. Fortunately I have not felt any of the effects of the earthquake, the radiation is being monitored, but so far there have been no abnormal effects, and my house is still intact:) I find it quite bizarre though because geologically Shanghai is a lot closer to Japan than Hawaii or California. It still makes me nervous for a natural disaster to happen here, we've been surrounded now with the earthquake at christchurch, southwest china, and now Japan.

OPEN THE DOOR IT'S THE POLICE

Two nights ago Annie my roomy and I were getting ready for bed and the telephone rings... dun dun dun!! (by the telephone I mean the doorbell It's like the same thing, people can individually ring our apartments doorbell and we have to answer the phone to let them in) So Annie answers the phone and we hear, "open the door it's the police!" Well maybe it wasn't that demanding, but I still wanted to pee my pants! We let them in and luckily the police officer woman spoke fairly good English and explained we weren't registered to live where were living... I was told we were suppose to do that when we first arrive in Shanghai but no matter how many times I told my center director he just brushed it off and said it wasn't important. Communication is so poor here, and language has nothing to do with it.

So last night we took a taxi to the police station and worked everything out. I find events in my life like these quite hilarious now for some reason. As bizarre as it is to have people randomly intrude in your life or just your personal bubble, it happens all the time.

I've been in China about two and a half months now, and yes i'm just barely starting a blog! I will try to make it interesting for everyone but I forget the weird things that happen because it's like home now. So let me know what questions you have for me and I will tell you all:D I miss America and all my family and friends, but i'm having so much fun here in Shanghai and it's already half way over it's going by so fast!