Don't assume anything!!

Don't assume the trip to the bank will be quick.
Don't assume the girls will sleep in the car.
Don't assume the ice cream is vanilla.
Don't assume the dish soap is made for washing machines.

I knew it wouldn't take long, and it didn't. We were wide awake at 6:30 yesterday morning and about ten minutes after that Morgan asked...."can we go swimming?" Well, we were able to hold her off all day. It helped us get through our first full day in Shanghai. We cleaned and unpacked in the morning then headed out for an interesting day. First a stop at the bank. We waited about 30 minutes just to use the ATM.

The off to lunch at Element Fresh. A really great place with delicious salads, sandwiches and pasta. They also have a variety of coffee drinks and smoothies. I can foresee this being a favorite. And....they deliver. Check out Molly in her swanky high chair. She loved it. With no breakfast foods in the house, we were starving. We ordered a plate of hummus with pita and veggies. The hummus was delicious, but not like what we are used to. Different seasonings, I think. Morgan ordered pasta, and Mark & Kristen had sandwhiches.

Then we heard it again..."can we go swimming?" After we get some groceries. Let me tell you, this was quite the experience. You know the feeling of being herded like cattle when you leave a large sporting event or concert trying to get to your car??? We had this same feeling while at Carrefour supermarket yesterday. People, people, everywhere. Aisles filled with people. So we weren't able to really check things out. Instead we just grabbed food and cleaning supplies off the shelves that we thought looked familiar. Needless to say, we'll have to go back soon.....just not on a weekend. Lesson learned.

The girls were pretty tired, and we thought we had half a chance of them sleeping in the car on our way to IKEA for some things for the house. This time we used ice cream to bribe Morgan. Both girls stayed awake on the way to the store but ended up asleep during the trip. Not before getting Morgan some ice cream. We picked a single serving tub of vanilla ice cream. Only to pay for it and discover that it was Green Tea flavored. Hm?! Interesting. Thank heaven she liked it. It was actually pretty good and I wouldn't mind trying it again sometime.

We were definitely being "watched" during our day. We were warned about this before coming, but its a little unnerving. I felt a bit like a celebrity. Honestly!! There were crowds of 5 or so people around us. Mostly staring at the girls. Admiring Molly sleeping in the stroller, and Morgan in the shopping cart. This will take some getting used to.

We thought Carrefour was bad. IKEA was worse. Filled with people. Another lesson learned....no IKEA on the weekends. We made it through with a few things and headed for home.

We headed out for dinner to the Flying Fox. Not sure if was supposed to be English or Irish, but a pub style restaurant for sure. We had a really good meal and made it home in time to for Mark and Morgan to swim before the pool closed.

It was an early night for all of us. We were in bed by 8:30. Overall, everyone is handling the jet lag pretty well. Of course we've been awake since 3:30 am, but we're using the time wisely. In fact we've been cleaning. And the dishwasher soap we bought at the grocery store...turns out its NOT for dishwashers. Mark has been mopping the floor most of the morning. But hey, at least its getting clean.

Nothing on the agenda today except to finish unpacking and cleaning. Most likely some swimming. It will be a quiet New Year's Eve here.

One last thing....we learned that our driver Mr. Song is leaving Shanghai for a new job opportunity. We will miss him. Mark made a real connection with him during his first few weeks here. And in just one day, he and Morgan were quite comfortable with each other. He would lift her in and out of the van and buckle her in her seat. He also escorted her around the van to the sidewalk as Mark and I got Molly out. So today, we will meet Mr. Yu, our new driver. We hear is nice and can speak English. We can only hope he is half as nice and as good a driver as Mr. Song.