Easter Weekend in Shanghai

We have been very lucky with the weather lately, and Easter weekend proved to be beautiful and spring-like in Shanghai.

On Saturday morning, I took Carleigh to ballet, and then Bill, Carleigh, Brennan and I, went to Brennan's first baseball game. As you can see from the photographs, Brennan likes to play catcher, and how can we blame him, it may be the safest job on the field! He was obviously well protected. He made two hits, brought in the tying run for the team, and in the end they won the game. It was a lot of fun, and it was great to finally get back into the sports scene. We really enjoyed going to the kids baseball games at home, and have missed the joy and pride that it brings us.

On Saturday evening, Bill and I attended the First Annual Shanghai American School Gala for the Endowment. It was held at Yongfoo Elite, which was originally built by a wealthy family in the 1930's, and was the home of the British Consul General for 20 years. It was absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful fountains and gardens, and a 200 year old magnolia tree. It had plenty of outdoor and indoor seating, as well as tables on the veranda, and since it was a lovely evening, Bill and I chose a table for two on the veranda.

We feasted on Shanghaiese food, and sipped red wine, while listening to a young lady play music on a "guzheng." This is a traditional Chinese instrument that is plucked to create a very soothing harp-like sound. It has over 20 strings, and lays horizontally while the musician sits behind it. After dinner, we watched a performance by a Chinese face-changer, who was dressed in opera-like clothing, and could change the mask on his face, without notice, in a matter of a second. Following this, we sat down to have our profiles reproduced by an amazing paper cutter, and finally, we headed over to the free blackjack table, where Bill raked in enough chips to win us a free "Enjoy" card (like an entertainment book), and a new Shanghai Urbanatomy book. We were also given gifts on the way in; for Bill a set of cufflinks with the Chinese character for "wisdom," and I received a pearl necklace, also with a small character for wisdom. On the way out, a box of chocolates. We had a great time, and will definitely go back for dinner sometime.

On Sunday, we slept in, much to the distaste of our two youngest, and finally brought out the Easter baskets around 9:00am. At lunch time we headed out to our favorite Brazilian grill, Latina, and had an early Easter dinner, then followed that up with Easter egg coloring at home ( the two very dark colored eggs, were "brown" eggs, the others were closer to white.) Later in the afternoon, Carleigh, Brennan and I, went outside to walk and play for a little while. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day, and I much preferred being here, over our previous compound, where I felt like we were more isolated.

Tomorrow, Carleigh and I go on a field trip with her class to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. It is like a zoo, but better, as there is a bus ride through open habitats, and there are also areas where you can walk around to see the animals........ some you can even feed, for a very small fee. When we went as a family last spring, we had a great time feeding the lemurs.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!