Site of the First Disney School

About 10 days ago (I'm still behind in my posts, but have been recently discovered a way to post from my own computer so that should help me to keep more up to date) we took the kids to see the site of the first Disney School (165 Maoming Road).
It's about to undergo a big renovation.
Nevertheless, the kids thought it was pretty cool to see what Daddy's working on (and it's a concrete thing, unlike all those days he was just valuing companies)!


It's in a great neighborhood. Here's a view of the street.

Hurray for Hot Lunch

Have I mentioned that one of the great things about SCIS is they have hot lunch every day? After volunteering in Rebecca's class I got to have lunch with her, and then went back to the cafeteria with Allison when it was her turn for lunch.

Chickens and Mattresses on the Lane

Revisiting our recurring themes of chickens and mattress....

This Chinese woman was washing her chicken at a sink on the street. (I didn't see a head!)

BTW, after the tour, I did finally get some chickens (uncooked) from the Portman Ritz deli and they were much better and did not come with a head.

When I saw this mattress I thought that Eric and I had better stop complaining about ours...

More Scenes from the Lane

Look at the contrast between the drab and run-down lane and the beautiful wooden staircase inside one of the old houses.

Lane Walk with Gangfeng Wang

The last week in February I went on a tour sponsored by the American Women's Club and led by Gangfeng Wang, who is also the photographer who took our family photos when we visited Shanghai in November (when my bag got snatched by the guy on a bicycle!). The tour was of the area around the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Shanghai (also where our photos were taken). The group met at the Four Seasons and then took off around the neighborhood. Nestled amongst the high-rises in what appears from the street to be a modern part of the city are these lanes where life is totally different.

Gangfeng explained that in the early 1900s, the people living in Shanghai lived in "shikumen" or stone gate houses. During the cultural revolution, the wealthy city property owners were told they no longer owned the property and the government resettled into the houses multiple families from the villages. Over the generations, the families continued to grow and remained in the same space with no improvements. The buildings had many nice architectural features, but had not been maintained at all. In many there are no toilets or running water. The families share a kitchen and each family has its own wok. Many of the shikumen have been razed and according to Gangfeng the only people unhappy about it are the tourists. The families are all given bigger more modern apartments plus cash payments. The government is happy to get rid of the poor conditions the people are living in, and the real estate developers are given the opportunity to build big projects. The houses themselves were in really poor condition.

Eric drives the motortrycle

One evening, when we needed vanilla from the Super Store to complete a chocolate chip recipe, Eric saved the day on the motortrycle (appropriately wearing his leather jacket)! Doesn't he look tough? Did I mention previously it even has a headlight?

Sword Fight

Henry was inspired by his studies of Medieval times and recruited Rebecca into a battle.