Tag: travel

Making a house a home

On By Travels with MelindaIn Shanghai4 Comments

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We weren’t able to bring very many personal items with us to China.  We chose to leave our furniture in the US and will probably buy a home in Boise, Idaho to be near our family in the future when we visit the U.S.  That means we will have to try to make our new house our home without many of our favorite items including most of our family photos, the wall hanging of the Flat Iron building, the Noblesville throw, our autographed photos from the many concerts I’ve been to with my job, and so on.  We saw a beautiful old phonograph (see left) but we couldn’t pull the trigger to buy it despite haggling the price down to $200 US.  WP_20131101_005

So, as we set out to take this blank canvas of an apartment, I am wondering how to quickly make it our own and make it feel like home.  On moving day, crazy me made our driver go to Ikea and help me load a huge floor plant into the mini van (picture at right of the leaf-filled van).  The Ikea security guard got a good laugh out of our efforts to stuff it in without damage.  I know having lots of plants will help with the air quality (in addition to our large Blue Air cleaner) and give color to the white walls and marble floors.   I had to give away all the plants that I had managed to keep alive for years, truly a miracle, and our wonderful dog, Izaak, went to stay with our daughter due to cost and the anticipated stress.  Boy, do I miss him!

I splurged on comfy plaid sheets and duvet cover from Muji, a Japanese store that is one of the few places to carry quality linens.  I had no idea it would be so expensive and so hard to find good sheets but very few places carry any except Ikea which primarily has scratchy cotton.  We also bought LOTS of candles to help with the strange odors that pop up with regularity from somewhere.  I got some lovely silk pillow covers including a Mao classic head shot–when in China!

Over time, we will go to the antique alley markets and buy what speaks to us.  Thom takes beautiful photos and we plan to get those blown up and put on the walls.  Over time, it will start to feel warm and inviting like our other homes.  Now, what to do about the lack of man’s best friend???  Time will tell…

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One Republic Rocked Shanghai!

On By Travels with MelindaIn Music1 Comment

hats at concert

One Republic rocked Shanghai Saturday night! We were front and center to experience a concert, Shanghai style. The arena was packed with a young crowd who amazingly knew all the lyrics and sang along all night. And they came dressed to the max with quirky and stylish outfits. Check out the hats on these girls who had on pearls with their proper dresses. There was even skin showing on some teens with skimpy outfits. Quite the range of fashion statements!

As far as concert behavior, yOne republicou can tell they are just now getting rock concerts from the US here. Finally standing when the band took the stage, the crowd didn’t know quite what to do when the band stopped for a pause before the encore. Fortunately, I knew from past experience that there would surely be an encore so leave it to my big mouth to shout out, “Encore!” and start clapping, which then rippled throughout the arena as everyone joined in with me. Yea, that’s me–inciting crowds is what I do best!

Hopefully, the band will come back soon and won’t be banned. Ryan T. was pretty sassy with his comments on not being able to access YouTube from China and some other “freedom” references and his joking about his “security” force, i.e. the government guards by the stage. The crowd loved when he spoke a little Chinese and told a story about going to the Armani Store in the “fancy” mall next to their hotel (the Four Seasons) and how he loved the smell of the store which turned out to be a car fragrance tag hanging by the air vent vs. a fancy candle or perfume. That’s China!

Shanghai to Seattle

On By Travels with MelindaIn ShanghaiLeave a comment

Seattle hipstersAfter flying all night, I arrived in Seattle this morning for a quick layover before moving on to Las Vegas.  I’m going to be in the US for a month on business, just one day after moving into our new apartment in Shanghai.  Thom is staying behind to hold down the fort and hopefully get the hot water working before I return.

Already I am sitting in Stumptown coffee on Capital Hill in Seattle and reflecting on the immediate and striking differences between Seattle and Shanghai.  First, the internet is blazing fast and I don’t have to VPN out to get on social media.  Yipee!  You don’t realize how buggy and slow wifi is in China after awhile-you just get used to it.  So, score one for Seattle but, wait because Seattle falls short in cleanliness–the streets here are just dirty.  In Shanghai, there are government workers on every block sweeping up debris.   Here, the leaves have fallen (and it is much colder here!) and no one seems to care.  Clean up your act, Seattle!!!    Then, there are the Seattle hipsters, dressed in skinny jeans, scarves and facial hair, bringing their large dogs into the coffee shop.   What?   I can only imagine the tirade that would cause in China–dogs might be the entrée but they certainly aren’t allowed to be customers in restaurants.

I haven’t driven in China, obviously because I value my life, so getting behind wheel of my SUV here was weird and the drivers here actually follow the driving rules.  That’s just crazy talk!  I immediately went into a grocery store and was shocked at all the cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, etc.–no wonder Americans are so fat!!!   Honestly, I was brave enough to go to WalMart and Carrefour this week in Shanghai and their few bakery items are in the back of the store not upfront like in the US.  No, in China, they feature fruit up front-weird, crazy ass fruit that can smell just awful but I am sure is better for your health than red velvet cakes galore like here.

Street scene

Seattle seems like such a small, quiet place now.  There aren’t hundreds of apartment skyscrapers housing millions of people.  There aren’t scooters and the bicycles you see in Seattle are very techie and not outfitted with baskets for groceries.  In Shanghai, the bicycles are used for commuting but also for commercial business-it’s incredible what they can haul around town. Thom and I saw the bike pictured above hauling a household of furniture on the streets of Shanghai.  Amazingly balanced!

I’m excited to experience the US now through a whole new lens.  I will appreciate many things that I have taken for granted I am sure.  I have a weird feeling though that this is no longer my home. I miss Shanghai-even with all the chaos, I can’t wait to return  and continue our great adventure.  That is, if Thom can get the hot water working….if not, I may have to extend my stay here…

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Dancing in the Park

On By Travels with MelindaIn Parks1 Comment

I am in awe of the ability of this delightful crowd in Fuxing Park to embrace their dancing selves on this sunny October day. I envy the joy on their faces as they are clearly having a blast dancing the day away. Maybe I’ll get up the nerve to join them some day. Now that would be a fun video!