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| E's 1.5 year *half* birthday! |
E officially turned 1.5 years old and is as mischievous and adventurous as ever. He is simply amazing, and if I was ten years younger and able to still teach at the university I'd adopt 5 of these little mischief makers. He has made the Shanghai experience both a challenge and a delight. With his grip fist style waves and wide smile he breaks down cultural barriers like a Kung Fu master. His one fatal flaw is that he doesn't travel light; his required accoutrements rival that of a Bollywood celebrity.
Last night we celebrated the half-birthday milestone with some street food - a bowl of vegetarian dumplings for 50 cents and a whole watermelon for the same shocking price. The dumplings were delectable, stuffed with tofu and greens, then spiced with red chili sauce after being lifted from a vinegar bath. I'm afraid there is just not enough time to sample the delicious sesame balls and dumplings in Pudong, let along Puxi, in our remaining weeks in Shanghai. The food is so delicious here that I've entirely abandoned m and m consumption (a notion I never thought possible) in the hopes of saving gastronomic space for Chinese fare.
The other good news is that we've secured our overnight sleeper train tickets on the K23 (buying train tickets is painful) and are headed to one of the world's great democracies (featured prominently in the film, "Babies"): Mongolia! We'll be staying at the LG hostel in Ulaan Baatar ($25!) and then catching transport out to Terelj National Park, where we'll bundle the boy up for a few nights in a Mongolia ger. I wish Kiwi could join us. We are craving open, rolling, breezy spaces and while we don't understand Mongolian, the good news is that Russian is widely spoken.Who says studying pa ruski for no logical reason wouldn't come in handy some day?
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| Source: www.graphicmaps.com |
7 comments:
PS - Please, please, please don't hate us for such good fortune. We realize how lucky we are and don't mean to be obnoxious self-indulgent braggarts. The Engineer and I have had some not-so-perfect years, too, but have decided to ride this wave of fortune while we're still healthy and able. Love!
Another awesome post! Totally fabu about going to Mongolia! Definitely touch base with Timo as I know he had a conference in UB in 2006. :)
And I am totally jealous (in a good way) of getting to eat street food. Awesome!
Happy to have lucky friends to share so many stories. I see Beijing as part of itinary... That is also exciting to see a northern city. But of course Mongolia is just pure fancinating. Load up all vegetarian food you can get, I think the Mongolian diet leans more toward the other side. I wonder if the Mongolain BBQ here actually do any justice for its name sake... Let us know.
Am real real curious about Mongolia. Gotta hear about that BBQ. Somehow I suspect The Engineer will ensure that it gets sampled.
I'm told by one who knows that the secret to a big family and a career is to have them raise each other ;) The older ones take care of the younger, so all you have to do is get one or two big enough to herd the rest ;)
Great post. I so admire your courage. What a great way for E to celebrate his 1.5 birthday.
XXOO
GTia
Hey, Folks! I'll make it quick since I'm using the university's VPN. We're hold up in Beijing (you were correct, WCC) after an overnight sleeper train from Shanghai. What a trip! I'll post pictures ASAP. Love to all.
Wow what a trip and a fantastic expeience. Glad you all have cast iron stomachs. Eli looks healthy and real happy. Too bad he won't know hnow lucky he is when going to all these places. I am not surprised about the amount of people. I understand the China countryside is beautiful. You are so lucky to be able to do this an d your still healthy! Have lots of fun.
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