This is on Christmas night. We're on the Kowloon side looking at Hong Kong Island. It was packed full of people - we had to fight through the crowds to get this view. Luckily we're tall.

Trip to Yuyuan Garden

Today we took a bus to Yuyuan Garden with some teachers from SMIC School. It's not difficult to get to, but the school provided a bus, so we took advantage of the free ride. Yuyuan Garden is a popular spot for tourists. The garden is supposed to be amazing (we didn't go this trip), but we went for the shopping. The garden itself is surrounded by shops - it's like a maze. We'll come back for the garden when the weather isn't so cold.

The Yuyuan Garden area is right in the middle of Shanghai - about a ten minute walk from the subway. You can see the Jin Mao Tower in the distance.

Trying to track down the Master Shopper. Mandy does all of the bargaining because I don't know my numbers as well as she, and I'm too nice. All of the shopkeepers turn to me in their frustration in dealing with her, and all I can do is shrug my shoulders. She's gotten us many deals over the past few months. It will be funny watching her trying to bargain with salespeople at the Mall of America. She'll definitely get some strange looks.

The area is made up of hundreds of little shops. There are people constantly trying to pull you into their stores to buy things. It's tough keeping up with Mandy in a place like this - she stops all too often. We picked up a lot of souvenirs here - pretty cheap prices too.

We visited this Buddhist temple on our trip. The detail of the buildings is incredible.

One of the many areas for prayer in the temple. Each of these "gods" represents something different.

This is the area where people burn incense and pray.

These types of buildings are becoming a rare sight in Shanghai due to the massive construction sites for more modern architecture.

Even the Macdonald's employees have the Christmas spirit. We've only been a handful of times (it would be more if it were up to me). It tastes the same over here too. There are some interesting differences though - like a bean pie instead of apple - yuck.

Happy Holidays

It's starting to get a bit chilly here - not Minnesota cold, but cold enough. The difference is that it's always cold here - inside and out. The buildings don't have the best heating systems, so you are ALWAYS cold. In the hallways at school you can see your breath. I thought that being a Minnesotan would make me immune to this "mild" weather, but I'm probably one of the biggest wimps here.

For Christmas we get the 25th and 26th off, so we're flying down to Hong Kong to celebrate. From what we've heard, the entire city is lit up in lights and it's amazing. We'll take lots of pictures for the blogs.

We'll keep you updated about our travels. It's easy to get homesick this time of year being so far away from friends and family - you're all missed very much! Maybe packages filled with lavish gifts will help cure that?

A Shangri La Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving night Mandy and I went to the Shangri La Hotel in downtown Shanghai. It was the most incredible buffet that we've ever seen! There were seven different stations with food from around the world. We were a bit overwhelmed at first, but after a quick tour around the place, we dug in. It wasn't quite the same as a home-cooked meal, but under the circumstances, it worked pretty well. Besides the fact that there were no mashed potatoes, the meal was incredible. The desserts were beyond description - we even got gummi bears for the road. We certainly missed our friends and family that night, so we substituted those feelings and concentrated on food. We're very thankful for all of you who are including us in your thoughts and prayers. Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!

This is the dessert buffet - a beautiful sight!

One of the many dessert plates that we filled that night.

What? No mashed potatoes?

A view of one of the many buffet stations.

Thanksgiving in Mrs. Taylor's Room!

Mandy's first graders had a Thanksgiving Day buffet! Each of the kids brought in a dish - we had dumplings, Korean pizza, mashed potatoes, sushi, fried rice, and many other dishes (some we couldn't name). Most of the kids' mothers came in to eat with them. After the feast, the kids put on a little Thanksgiving show - the Thanksgiving A,B,C's and a few others. I was the guest photographer for the day. It was a little taste of America for us!

The impressive buffet.

Luke Miao digging in. For some reason every Chinese person gives the peace sign with their fingers when they pose for photographs. I think it's written into laws here.

Mrs. Taylor getting her grub on!

Some of the gang getting ready to perform.

Chris and Gina putting on a show for the parents.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! No, Thanksgiving is not a big deal over here - hard to believe, huh? We're celebrating by going to the Shangri La Hotel for their buffet. We've heard that it's the best in the city. I'm extremely thankful for all of my friends and family back home. Being on the opposite side of the globe from all of you really makes it obvious how important all of you are to me.

Basketball Fever Hits SMIC

The Sharks (boys team) began their season last night with a win against hated rival Concordia Academy. The team looks very good for only having had six practices. Basketball is king in China. I can't go very far without seeing Yao Ming jerseys - he's originally from Shanghai. The gym at SMIC is pretty run-down and cold, but we filled it up last night for the big win. The students are very supportive and cheer whether the teams win or lose. Shark spirit is contagious.

Min Chen looks unimpressed with my fancy new camera. She's from Boston and this is her first year in Shanghai. The kids are incredible here - they've made all of the new arrivals feel at home at SMIC - including the teachers. It's a very small school, and all of the kids are very close with one another. The support that they give each other is amazing!

Coach Brian Bates looks on dejectedly as the Lady Sharks go down to Concordia Academy. Concordia Academy is sort of the bully as far as sports go. They're the "rich kids" in the area and all of their teams are really good. They got the best of the Lady Sharks this night - to the tune of 48-16. Ouch.

A few Shark fans - also students in my tenth grade English class. Jessica, Gloria, and Min.

Apartment now officially ready for visitors!

We've settled on our living room arrangement - pretty exciting news, I know. You are looking at one of the most comfortable couches ever made.

Here's a random picture of our "dining room". We bought the table and chairs from another couple for about $30 - not bad, huh? We finally bought pictures and plants to make the place seem a little more cozy. Our place is looking pretty good right now.

I'm Back!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I haven't been able to get into the blog page for some reason. Hopefully all of the problems are solved and I can start writing more.

This past weekend Mandy and I ran in the Terry Fox Foundation run for cancer research in Shanghai. It was publicized as a 4K run, but it seemed much shorter than that. We've been running to get ready for it, and it seemed like we had barely begun and it was over. We took a bus with about 10 students and 10 teachers from our school. It had been raining for the entire week, but it held off for the race. Surprisingly, I didn't win it.

Last Saturday the Sharks soccer team held its final tournament at the SMIC campus. It was cold and rainy the entire day and the Sharks did not respond well. We dropped three games and tied one. Not the best results, but we had a lot of fun.

We made dinner for Mandy's TA (Candy Lin - seated on the right) and my Chinese tutor (Rita Wu). We made spaghetti - a real American dining experience! They were our first dinner guests as a married couple - a real milestone.

"The Scene"

Check out CNNinternational.com to a page called "The Scene". This week features Chinese actress Bai Ling showing you the sights of Shanghai. It's a good way to learn a little about the city.

Century Park

Century Park is about a ten minute subway ride from our apartment. It reminds me of Central Park in New York. It's a beautiful park with lakes and streams surrounded by the huge buildings of Shanghai. This month they are holding an exhibit of floral decorations from around the world. All types of flowers are arranged in designs that represent each country.

The exhibit from the US was a Wild West theme. People around us were snapping more pictures of us than of the exhibit.

Attack of the "plant geese" - Mandy remains unfazed as she strikes a pose.

One of the African exhibits. You can see the high-rise apartment buildings in the background. These types of buildings are going up all over Shanghai.

Sharks Win Thriller!

Sharks win! The Sharks won their first game last week over The Shanghai American School. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Sharks nearly choked and gave up the lead. But after some brilliant coaching strategies, the Sharks prevailed 4-3. Our record now is 1-2, and we are well on our way to .500.

A Typical Day At SMIC School

This is our building - door 16, room 402. We usually leave around 7:15. I'm going to take you through a typical day at SMIC School. Enjoy the ride.

This is the start of the day - usually she doesn't get that far in front of me.

This is the path to the front gate of the living quarters. We walk this every morning.

The elementary school building.

This is a look from the bridge over the river that divides the elementary and high school campuses - I walk this bridge every morning after I drop Mandy off.

The middle/high school.

This is the view from my classroom. In the distance are the dorm buildings, the athletic field and track.

This is my desk in the English office. It isn't fancy, but I like it. My chair is really uncomfortable though...

This is my homeroom. Pretty basic, but it's nice and clean.

This is my tenth grade class. A very intelligent group - one of the smartest tenth grade classes ever! That's Rob Purdue on the right - his social studies class is next door.

This is my ninth grade class. One of my all-time favorites already (don't get jealous, Zephs - you're still number one!).

Home Life

This is the view from our front porch. The building with the solar panels is the middle/high school campus.

This is our living room - it's coming together slowly but surely. Check out the psychedelic couch.

This is our second bedroom and "storage area". We don't really have closets, so everything is sort of stacked up in this room. Don't worry, it will be clean when you come visit!

This is our back porch. We have one on the front side of our place too. They are pretty small, but big enough for drying laundry. The front porch has our washing machine on it.

Sports Day

Tomorrow is "sports day" at SMIC. There are no classes and it's a half-day of school dedicated to....sports. Students can sign up for whatever event they would like. The homerooms will march together in an opening ceremony - the homerooms are to wear the same color and have a designated "marching" formation. The 10B homeroom (mine) will be wearing black and be marching in the "serpent" formation. It's something that I've designed to rock China's world! On Saturday the company and school will participate in a sports day as well. Mandy and I will be marching in the opening ceremonies (eye candy no doubt). I guess it's pretty competitive and the people from the company take it very seriously. They've been out practicing on the track all week. I'm going to stick to the marching.....

Hopefully we'll have pictures soon!

Internet Troubles

We've run into some internet trouble in our apartment, so pictures will be scarce for a few days (hopefully not weeks). We're having someone come to look at it today, so keep your fingers crossed.

Jay-Z Cancelled

The big Jay-Z show on October 23rd has been cancelled. I was crushed to hear that I wouldn't be getting a hip-hop fix here in Shanghai. Oh well, at least I have my ipod. I guess the Chinese government didn't think old Jay was a good fit for China. I guess it happens a lot...

Sharks Lose Home Opener

The Sharks (blue team) lost a heartbreaker 1-0 last Thursday in their home opener. Not only was I the coach, but I had to ref also. Not an easy task with 20 fifth and sixth graders. We will be back next game stronger than ever!

Some wedding pictures

Here are a few pictures from our wedding (compliments of my Uncle Bernie). Thanks to everyone for making it the most special day of our lives. We're still talking about how much fun we had that day.

Off to China!