Shanghai Nights

We are home in Australia after a wonderful trip to Shanghai. I should write a long detailed report on our adventures, but I am far too lazy now that I am on holiday mode. I will put all my photos on this post and give you a brief run down.

Two very excited little travellers.

The street outside our hotel.

Cruising the River.

Market Shopping

Claudia's feelings on market shopping.

The Old Shanghai.

Claudia watching the world go by.

One sleep left.

Well the day has come, we are leaving tomorrow. It doesn't help that I am now sick as a dog, sinus and no voice (which Paul loves), but I am determined to enjoy Shanghai no matter what. I just wanted to share this photo with you of Emily. I can't understand where my little baby went and when did she turn into a big kid!

My Clever Daughter.

My ever so talented daughter got the school music prize at yesterday's End of Year Concert.

Here are some snaps.

One very proud Mum!

Happy Birthday Marina for the 18th!

Claudia's Un-Birthday

Claudia has been very worried that she will not get a birthday this year. Mainly because we won't be in Korea for her birthday and she wanted a party with her school friends. We had an un-birthday today for her. She had cupcakes and presents and her wish came true, she got a birthday in Korea.

A smile like that makes the 36 cakes I made all worthwhile.

Chocolate cakes? I haven't been eating chocolate cakes.

My new camera.

I am so excited, it arrived today, my new camera. Paul bought me an Olympus E-510 for Mother's Day and it came today. I have been playing with it all night. We will need to get another lense, but I am a very happy woman.

Here are some shots I took with it tonight. Emily is practising her American Top Model poses.

Then of course the required group pose.

I mentioned this morning that Claudia was sick, well she got worse and by lunchtime I had to take her to the doctor - I could not get her 40 degree temp down. Apparently she has a viral infection and now is on medicine - man it is amazing the difference it makes.

I have popped a photo of a painting we bought a few weeks ago. One of the aides at school is an artist and she had this one for sale. It is an etching and the photo is very misleading, it huge, 1.5m X 1.5. No idea how we are going to get it home, but oh well.

6 sleeps to go.

I am writing this at home today as Claudia is sick on the couch. She has really high fevers and is eating nothing. Normally I would be quite excited about the fact that I have a day off, but as we only have 6 sleeps till we leave for Shanghai and then home, I am a bit nervous. As we know when the Corky gets sick, she doesn't do it simply. I am especially annoyed as it is hot as in the aparment and I am not allowed to have the air con on as she is freezing -mind you she is in winter pjs, under a blanket and it is at least 27 degrees in here!

I've just popped in some snaps from our journeys. I love each of these shots as they are so typical of Korea and the images we see here. It is busy and messy and dirty and yet beautiful and exciting all in one. Paul thinks I am crazy and I can't explain it, but there is something here. in Korea that I makes me feel comfortable and at home.

It is summer fruit time and that excites me no end as we have been living off bananas for weeks. I am not sure why but here they only seem to have maybe three different types of fruit available at a time in the shops at at a time. Forever it was apples, grapes and madarines; now bananas, grapes and Korean melon (yummy), but I was so excited the other week when I found cherries and rasberries. The rasberries weren't too expensive, but the cherries were over $20 a kilo! Oh, watermelon is here too at the moment, but I paid $15 the other day for a smallish one - not cheap! It is really expensive to buy fruit and veges at the supermarket, most people go to the markets, or buy them off the back of a truck. It is so funny beacuse you will be walking down a street and behind you there will be someone yelling at you in Korean. It took me a while to realise that they were selling fruit. They usually only have one type, and it is the cheapest method for getting your fruit. It is usually good quality though. You will also often see old ladies at the train station or a major intersection selling fruit in buckets. It is usually fruit they have grown themselves.

I have at times bought from street sellers, but I then panic and worry the whole time that I will get sick from it, so I do't often do it.

Where the old dears grow their veges is amazing. Along the side of the road, next too foot paths, everywhere there isn't concrete. On our walk to school there is a lady who grows all these veges beside the footpath. Paul and I liked to watch what she planted and how it was growing till one day we saw what she used for fertilizer - lets just say she made it herself! Anyway that put an end to me buying from the ladies on the street!

2 weeks to go!

It has finally hit me that I only have two weeks left of school and then it is holidays. I have to admit when we started this year I was concerned would we last? I mean 180 teaching days with less than two weeks holidays (yes I know that is what normal people work), well we have lasted and we are on the downward slope. Praise God!

We decided we needed a relaxing weekend this weekend, so we headed off to Seoul. Because we work in a christian school we are considered missionaries (stop laughing) and so we are able to stay in missionary housing. The benefits of this is that we can stay for less than $40 a night in a nice apartment in Seoul. It was just what the doctor ordered. We caught up on sleep, ate out and just had fun together as a family. Seoul is about an hour from Suwon by subway. Riding the subway is not as easy as it may sound. It is impossible to get a seat and they are crowded. Most people will offer the girls a seat or sometimes old ladies will grab Claudia and put her on their lap - much to Claudia's disgust! But an hour standing in crowded conditions with lots of Koreans squashed up against you can seem like a very long time. Most Koreans have perfected the art of sleeping whilst standing - I am too scared to try it as I am worried that I may wake myself up snoring or fall over. However, the subway is the quickest and cheapest way to get around in Korean so we endure it.

This time of the year is visually a stunning time in Korea, it is rose season.

I have never seen so many full and beautiful roses. Everywhere you look they are growing.

Apparently these are called Memorial Roses.

While we were out on Saturday we came across a lady selling roses. 20 roses for $10. She had hundreds of them and they were stunning, the picture below shows just some of her roses.

Koreans seem to have two fascinations there bums and roses, hence the billboard ad I saw on the subway. If you buy this special butt washing toilet seat, you to can have a bum that smells like roses. Hmmmm......only in Korea!