Advice, please!

Usually, I feel pretty secure in my parenting. I can discipline. I can love. I can teach. And, together, Jarin and I balance each other fairly well. I like to think that we have this role under control.

But I'm at a wits-end with this kid. How do you refrain a child from putting their hands in their pants?

No joke. It used to be funny and cute, but anymore, she doesn't just have the tips of her fingers in the diaper.... it is like waaaaay down there!

The Expat Life

Today I helped my ayi to understand how I wanted my shirts folded and she explained to me the purpose of the Chinese medication that she purchased for my 19 month old daughter. Soon, our driver transported Paisley and I to the doctor for some necessary antibiotics. Of course the clinic was in the 88-story skyskraper, why wouldn't it be? We saw a Chinese internist (because the pediatrician was unavailable) who spoke great English, but subscribed "drinking hot water" as a method for curing her viral infection.

Later in the afternoon a friend and I discovered Old Navy. It was a three story shopping center that I wouldn't have been nearly as excited about if found in the US, but here, it was no problem to spend over 1200 kuai. And they had trick-or-treat bags -- score!

The Reality

Shanghai is made up of 23 million people, a third of which are migrant workers. These individuals  moved their families from the farming lands of surrounding provinces, in order to create this amazing community. Today, it's a massive city that was farmland itself just 20 years ago. Because of the dedication and heart put into building the fascinating skyscrapers, it's easy to find ourselves mesmerized each night by their byproduct.

Being a migrant worker comes with many pitfalls. While they have the opportunity to travel to the city, in attempt to build a better life for their families, they also must live by a very different social system. They are not entitled to healthcare within the city. The children must attend migrant schools, which often are led by non-certified teachers, as opposed to the local schools. And once they complete primary school, the students often must return to their home province to complete boarding school -- not an ideal situation to leave your 14 year old child. To top it off, the living conditions are treacherous, often coming without heat or hot water.

Golden Week - Part II

Our Golden Week continued with a mini-vaca to Hangzhou. The city is located in the Zhejiang province, along the southeast shore of China. We toured Fei Lai Feng, the legendary peak's caves with numerous engravings of Buddha's, as well as Lingyin Temple, where we taught the kids the little we knew about Buddhism. We stayed on West Lake (Xi Hu), and biked the lake, hiked the hills, walked the causeways, witnessed exemplary water shows, and so much more.

We have so many photos of our time there, it was only fair to make a slideshow. In it you'll see many "peace signs" -- something we've picked up from the locals and even taught Paisley to do :) And you might notice the many crowds of people. It's China, folks.

Golden Week - Part I

It's Golden Week! Seven days to celebrate national day here in China. I'm finding that there is some truth behind the words when people tell you to leave the country during this week -- listen! We didn't know any better, and after just arriving two months ago, where is there to run to already? I feel there is so much left to uncover here in Shanghai.

Although, with everyone else off work too, that leaves 1.4 billion people in China exploring with us.