Great Ending to 2009, Part 2

Our impulsive Hong King trip was super. Very relaxing, which was in direct contrast to the next day. Everyone was so excited for the arrival of my parents, it was difficult to wind down the night before. Needless to say I left a houseful of sleepyheads and headed to Shanghai with Mr. Liu. Neither one of us had been to the port, but figured it couldn't be that hard to spot a giant cruise ship. He only made one wrong turn and we managed to arrive exactly on time. I began to worry that there was more than one exit, but eavesdropped on a passerby's phone conversation and learned there had been a thirty minute delay. Soon I spotted them coming down the escalator, but they didn't see me until they were almost to me. I was so happy to see them. I was afraid they'd look tired and worn out, but they looked rested. Good thing.
Traffic in Shanghai was relatively light, but no matter how light, nothing can prepare one to the experience. I explained even though there are lines on the roads and street lights, they are more of a guideline rather than a steadfast rule. Car horns and bully tactics are respected more. Also, the bigger your car the better your chances. I've learned to look beyond the cars (mostly) and concentrate on the scenery. Mom sounded like one of my girls when she kept asking "Are we in Suzhou yet?" We arrived around lunchtime and the girls squealed with delight.
There weren't many planned activities. We kind of played it by ear most days. Our intention was to do lots of Christmas shopping, but shopping in China, however cheap things may be and thousands of stores from which to choose, is not an easy task. Back home, a trip to Wal-Mart would do the trick. A trip to Wal-Mart here...not so much. Since all of the children here are required to wear uniforms to school, the choices for children's clothing is extremely limited, unless you want to pay top dollar and shop at the boutiques set up for expats. Toys are kind of the same way. Yes, there is a Toys R Us, but it physically hurts to spend money there knowing the real price of things. We also decided our girls are beyond spoiled. Yep, really. Toys and clothing are literally piled in their rooms. Storage is at a premium here (I'm looking for dressers and desks and bookcases). I asked the girls to name only three things they REALLY wanted for Christmas. It was still undecided as to whether Santa was going to stop at the Whitfield. Syd and Katie are worse than Tom and Jerry, I'd already had to make one call to the North Pole.
We all went to the neighborhood center one day. The produce there is unbelievable. It's easy to get carried away and prices are better than the grocery stores. The fresh chicken counter was really busy so they too witnessed how fresh. Mom and I attempted to shop, managing to find rollar blades for the twins and some other stocking stuffers while Larry and my dad played golf. Wednesday, Larry and I attempted to shop. We found a laptop and basketball/net. Honestly, it takes so long to do anything I should probably start shopping now for next Christmas. Thursday, we headed to Shanghai to the "silk/fake/pearl" markets. Some serious shopping took place. My dad bought watches from the first vendor there. He learned. Purses, DVDs, Xbox games, DS games...fun. We'd about shopped ourselves out and we still had dinner plans at the Financial Center. This place is the third tallest building in the world. 100 Century Avenue is the restaurant on the 91st floor. Larry had made reservations after he'd gone to lunch with the big dogs from Sulzer. When he made the reservation, he'd been told there weren't any window seats, but when we arrived we were seated right up against the glass. Come to find out, we'd been given someone else's table, but we didn't fess up and they simply moved some other tables around. It was foggy, but the view was still pretty awesome. Our waiter was less than competant and the girls meal was served quite late. All in all, though, it was an enjoyable evening. I had to coerce the girls to bed. Sarah fell asleep quickly, but Syd and Katie fought sleep until about midnight. Mom couldn't resign herself to giving the girls just one present each and I think she felt bad as it wasn't a typical "Libby Christmas". Ok, yeh, we're living in China. It's hardly typical.
Christmas morning came early, a little before seven. Sarah snuck down before anyone and informed us that Santa had come because the milk and cookies were gone. The twins were thrilled with the rollar blades. Katie couldn't believe she had gotten a laptop and the exact robe she'd seen in Shanghai. Larry had actually bought it for her in Hong Kong and I'd never seen the one she'd picked out in Shanghai. They, of course, fought over who the basketball net was for. I tried to hint it was for all, but that didn't go over well. We spent the early afternoon making cookies. A long standing tradition we managed to continue. I think this particular batch had a bit more flour than necessary, but it only added to the fun.
We'd been invited over to Terry (another one of Larry's co-workers) and Wendy's for Christmas dinner. The girls played with her daugher and the Sollars' kids. Six squealing girls. The rest of us lounged around and enjoyed traditional Chinese dishes.
Larry was invited to play in Taihu Golf Club's annual tournament on Saturday. I took dad to Auchen, one of the many mega grocery stores. It's one thing to go there during the week, but an entirely different experience on the weekend. We were looking for a few specific items and once we had those we got the heck out of there. He did catch a glimpse of the produce and meat sections and was as awestruck, disgusted, amazed and bewildered as I was. Larry called to say there was a dinner/ball that evening at the Taihu Golf Resort. I panicked as I thought not about what I was going to wear, but that I was leaving my parents with the girls in China. Not really panicking, but you know, I tend to imagine all kinds of crazy scenerios. Larry had shot a 78 and been told he'd finished second and had won the closest to the pin. There was one other westerner, Carl from UK, who had us convinced Larry'd won a car or set a clubs or money. The hotel had been transformed into a 1920's movie. There were dancers, singers, ladies selling roses and cigarettes, craftmen selling their trades and a casino. Before we ate they gave away the prizes. Come to find out the tournament was actual the Club Championship. Larry, Carl and a few others were the only non-members there. The members thought Larry was a professional golfer and handicapped him at 2.2, which means his actual score slaughtered the entire field. He was,therefor,placed in the non-member, not-so-great-gift category and walked away with a too small sweater,(which fit Mr. Liu nicely)a plastic shoe bag, a putting tool, and two "Atta boys". The trophies and nice prizes went to the members. We got a good laugh out of it and a really nice evening.
Part 3 coming soon