Yesterday I found myself in a tricky spot for a few hours. While there are so many moments like this when your current job is a parent of a two year old, living in China sometimes makes me feel like I’m in a sitcom.

I don’t usually share these kinds of stories online, sure I’d talk about them but I wrote the following to a group of friends and they all appreciate a job well done! So here’s a travel story, a mother story, a parent story, a toddler story, a pooh story. Don’t read this over your dinner. Also…

And a Bunch of Photos From a New Shanghai Person

The winter in China was very slowly stretching to welcome springtime, each day a new flower bloomed and there was a little tickle of fresher air through the streets of Shanghai. It was our first Chinese New Year holiday in the city, but not the first time we were overwhelmed with age old traditions and passionate decorative celebrations.

From a New Shanghai Person.

When we arrived in Shanghai last September, I could only say ‘thank you’ in Mandarin and I was puzzled by the variations of pronunciation.

Then I quickly learnt ‘Hello’ and kept hearing different ways to say that as well. But mostly, I became a little stuck on ‘Am I speaking Mandarin?’ or ‘Am I speaking Chinese’ and what’s the most politically & culturally correct? Mandarin or Chinese as the language? But, I’ve gone mostly with what people ask and say to me. ‘Can you speak Chinese?’ they ask. ‘Oh you can speak Chinese! Very good!’

Things are picking up pace and almost making sense here in Shanghai.

Together with my Husband and two year old, I moved to Shanghai last September. Yesterday was our 5 month anniversary, and so why not recap all the things I’ve learnt while living here, because the Chinese lucky numbers are 2, 5, 6 and 8. And maybe 9 as well. Actually I think Chinese lucky numbers are every number except for 4 as it sounds like “DEAD” to quote my Mandarin teacher.

Speaking of luck…

There Are a Lot of Lucky Things in China!

It is lucky to wear red, but not all white. 88 is very lucky…

It will always surprise me how quickly buildings and roads are made in Shanghai. And it all can be brought crashing down just as fast.

We’ve been living in Shanghai for only 5 months, and there’s always a lot happening.

I go weekly to mandarin class, and one time I arrive to see the entire footpath is ripped up and metre-deep and two-metre-wide holes are all along the path to my Teacher Lin’s door. How fast do the workers dig? What are they doing that needs such a big hole? The next week I go and it’s still there but…

Why do I feel like I’m in a Monty Python scene while hanging out in Shanghai this December?

We visited a German Christmas Market at a large festival ground near the river. It was 8 degrees when we got there, and while we queued to get in (there was also a queue to buy the tickets at a different spot) a large noisy brass band piped up all dressed in red uniforms and they marched around while their sidekicks threw sweeties for the children. The sidekicks who also fell into the march once their sweeties were thrown were: dressed with…

A small collection of streetscapes from my two months living here, and I’m overwhelmed by the calmness in such a gigantic metropolis.

One Step At a Time. New Life Motto.

Transport in Shanghai is AMAZING

Yes, after two months, getting around the city has been just so impressive! I love all the options and having a two year old in tow most days, I need to have these options to be flexible. So we walk (with the pram), we taxi (easily, and I’ve recently learnt to ask my apartment’s receptionist to call one for me, so we’re not waiting on the street) with the pram or the baby carrier, we train (with most subway stations having some sort of access for the pram, after I found an…