Shanghai Video of Zeke and his fans

Zeke and I went to Shanghai with Tom on Friday. He had to work there and I'd never been, so with only 9 months until we leave China, I decided to seize the opportunity of a weekend trip. Tom has to be there for 11 days, so we flew down together and Zeke and I flew back on Sunday. Jack, Jed and Huck happily stayed with Ayi. I am sure she was much more fun than I am and she let Huck sleep with her so while I won't say I wasn't missed (they were eager to talk when I called) they were quite happy in her care.

Shanghai is a very interesting city. Its architecture is quite modern mixed with very old. I've heard it referred to as an architect's playground because one can do whatever he/she wants and not worry that it won't fit in there.

My friends all told me to shop like crazy while I was there but really I just wanted to see the city's new and old sites and enjoy a little time with Tom and our youngest son. It was a really nice weekend. The weather was in the low 70s, the sun shone and luckily, Zeke loves to be out and about, so spending the days wandering suited everyone. However, I can't say it was a relaxing weekend since Zeke was not too happy with his temporary accommodations and therefore did not sleep much. Tom and I, on the other hand, were quite happy with the hotel. We stayed on the 25th floor of the new Hyatt on the Bund. The view was lovely once the fog/pollution cleared and service was very nice.

On the first night we were there, we had a work obligation for Tom. A Brazilian ship was visiting the port and they held a reception on board. It was not appropriate to take Zeke so, this being China, the land of the ayis who love children and the land of tight security where nothing goes unnoticed. We asked at the desk for babysitting services for 1 hour. I was not thrilled with the idea of leaving Zeke with a stranger, but knowing that "big brother Wang" is everywhere, I felt more at ease. So, a 50-65 year old woman happily watched our little one for an hour while we walked across the street to the pier for the reception. She even almost had him asleep before we returned but a hotel employee rang the doorbell and startled him so he was crying when we returned. While many things are ridiculously inexpensive here, the babysitting at the Hyatt was not. We paid 230 RMB for 1 and a quarter hours. ($34) This was difficult, considering that if we were not in a hotel like that here, we'd have paid about $2.00. Oh well.

People were very friendly, Zeke was a real show stopper. We spent about 2 hours walking on the Bund on Saturday and were stopped no less than 10 times by groups like the one in the video. I had taken a few pictures of the groups but realized that the only way to convey what it is really like was to take video. This video was taken the final time people stopped us. Zeke had reached his limit by then, as you can hear. You can also hear Tom talking to people in the group. Most of the people who stopped us were not from Shanghai but from areas less apt to see westerners. Still, it took us by surprise each time since the reverse would never happen in America. In America, we have such a diverse population. On any given day we will see people of many ethnicities and races. Here, though, it is more rare to see a face of a different ethnicity. Men and women, young and old were attracted to Zeke. A vendor came running to join a group of onlookers, his table of knicknacks in hand! A 30 something man said Zeke was just like an angel. It was really a unique experience.