You see, Denali's pet snake, Nagini, escaped from the cage. Notice that I refrain from using his or her since we do not know which it is. I know it is still in the living room somewhere, because our dog won't go in there. I think he was attacked by it. Off, I go to petco to see if they sell snake traps, food that my lure a snake out of hiding, or just have a suggestion on how to catch the thing. I think they were trying to tell me to stand there with my mouth open and hope that the snake finds this warm moist spot. That is what they had to be saying as no words came from their open mouths.
You know that guy that lives with me, well he suggested that the workers might not have the ability to speak. Fine, can the write? If not, they should not be working the front counter. Is that to harsh of me? Well, I have a snake loose in my house and my dog will not come out of his cage and my children call me a mei guo hater. Mei Guo is America in Chinese. So one can figure out their implications....
I am not a mei guo hater. I love America. I just think that someone at Petco should have some advice on catching a snake - Afterall, they sold my husband the thing. I also am very mad at Verizon Wireless - Not America. Although America is letting Verizon get away with it. I bought my cell phone them. I fufilled my 2 year contract with them. I pay my bill on time. Why then, can I not get the pictures I took with my camera off my phone and onto my computer using my USB connector without paying them $1? It's not like I am sending it to anyone!!! It's robbery I tell you.
Alright already, let's get on with our Shanghai adventure. It is Chinese New Year and everything in Qingdao is closed. Not a restaurant open anywhere. We are five hungry people. Chris does not have to work, so we had to Shanghai for a few days. If a Westerner is going to live in China - this is the place to be. Some signs are actually bilingual. Some people even speak English. It is very easy to find familiar food. We actaully went to dinner on the Bund and met an American family that had three children. Not only that, they used to live in Henniker, NH. What are the odds of that? 5000 people live in Henniker and 18 million live in Shanghai. We even had a mutual friend! The odds are actually a bit better then expected, if you consider it was an arranged meeting with a friend of a friend of friend of a friend....but it is still a story worth telling!
In Shanghai we meet Alex. (Chris's translator) He is from Shanghai so he was home for the Lunar New Year, hui jia. Day 1 we spent at the Aquarium without a camera. My pictures are on my cell phone, but Verizon wants to charge me $1 per picture to get them off my phone. Can you believe it!!! There were far more Westerners there then we had seen in months, but far fewer then I had expected. Apparently there were also alot of visitors as people still wanted to pose for pictures with my children.
Day 2 we went to the zoo. It was a wild animal zoo, with a safari section. The safari included a bus ride. We saw every kind of animal you can imagine...kangaroos, cheetahs, lions...They even had a liger - lion father and tiger mother - pic below. Chris thought it to be an abomination. I thought it was gentically pretty cool. Outside the bus window we saw some yaks. Everyone thought it was a cow. I told them that cows are girls, they laugh at me and ask if I have ever seen "Back to the Barnyard". No wonder milk tastes so different in China.
Day 2 we went to the zoo. It was a wild animal zoo, with a safari section. The safari included a bus ride. We saw every kind of animal you can imagine...kangaroos, cheetahs, lions...They even had a liger - lion father and tiger mother - pic below. Chris thought it to be an abomination. I thought it was gentically pretty cool. Outside the bus window we saw some yaks. Everyone thought it was a cow. I told them that cows are girls, they laugh at me and ask if I have ever seen "Back to the Barnyard". No wonder milk tastes so different in China.
At the panda cage, Jackson has his picture taken as much as the pandas!!! For a fee, you could pose for a picture with an elephant and/or Jackson - He has started charging at this point. So we did...charge, I mean take a picture with an elephant. I have posted a video. The girls got on top of the elephant and Jackson got to sit on the trunk and get lifted. Never in America!!! Listen closely to the voices in the video. I am nowhere to be seen or heard - I was hiding from fear. Chris is telling the elephant that it is OK to eat Jackson and all the Zhong guo ren (Chinese people) can be heard yelling "Mei You" - Never!!!!
We went to the Yu garden. Apparently this is a must for the Chinese people to do over New Year and during their life. One must also walk across the bridge for good luck. This place was so crowded, that when I lifted my feet, I was still suspended. The kids pick out some traditional Chinese clothes. For the next three days, I could not get these outfits off of them!! Denali dress size was a women's Large - Obviously I wasn't buying anything for me!!!
If you look right under the camera in the center of the picture, you can make out Jackson's eye!!!
We also went for a drive across the longest bridge in China. It is 30km long. there is no turning around either. Once you are on the bridge you are committed to getting to the other side. The weather was quite bad, but we perservered. I wondered aloud to where the bridge lead and was told that it went there - with a point in the direction we were heading. What is there I question. "That is where we are going." Hey, at least it was an answer, which is more than I got at Petco!!!
After arriving there...it turns out that this bridge leads to an island that is in deep water so that cargo ships can load and unload. The weather is terrible, but the is a huge set of step that will take you to the top of the island to get a better view. We all say it is to cold and wet to climb, so we head up the steps. The view was worth it in the end and the weather began to clear.
We had spent the day with Alex and his family. Alex's dad kept calling Jackson "Tiao Qi". I thought it meant cute. Actually it meant naughty. Someone to see thru Jack's cute facade.
Down the hill we go so that we can drive the 30km back across the bridge and into Shanghai where we all went to a fairwell dinner. The next day we were flying back to Qingdao, to pack and get ready to go home!!
