Field trips and Friends

The last week was a busy change of pace as Ben hit the road for the annual week-long field trip and Kara's close friend from Century, Judy, came to China.  Judy and her husband, Bill, made the rounds seeing the Great Wall and other famous sites before making their way to Shanghai.  We loved getting to spend time with them.  Some highlights include touring the ancient water village of Zhujiajiao, exploring the interior architecture of several buildings along the Bund, enjoying a river cruise cruise, and seeing a couple museums.  Their travels and past experiences abroad provided excellent perspectives and thoughts about Shanghai.  The week went too quickly.  We are grateful that they visited!

Ben was one of many teacher chaperones who took a group of 8th graders to the Fujian Province in Southeast China.  He learned a lot about tea making, the Hakka people, Tulous, and the city of Xiamen.  It was a great trip of fun activities, lovely weather, biking, bug bites, and laughter.

Thailand

With China's Golden Week holiday, we traveled to Thailand.  It was one of our most laid-back trips and definitely more kid-centered as we didn't explore as much; we were content to sit by the pool and in our hotel rooms more than usual (partially because it was so darn hot with temps around 97°).

We started our trip in Bangkok where we got to try some street food, plenty of fresh fruit, and what is considered one of the best Pad Thai restaurants in Thailand.  We also made one small excursion to the Golden Mountain, tried a canal boat, and got one of the handmade Monk's Bowls that are becoming more and more rare as the art form fades.

Next we headed to Pattaya where we stayed at a resort that included two pools, a private beach, and a restaurant with an amazing view.  On Tuesday we took a day to visit Nina's friend, Lettie, who was vacationing down the road at a different resort.  Wednesday saw us at Cartoon Network Amazone waterpark where the girls had a fantastic time.  They loved using the GoPro to film their rides and they continue to watch the clips on repeat.  Thursday we visited the incredible Sanctuary of Truth which is an exquisite temple made solely of wood.  The girls got to feed and ride an elephant!

On our last day we visited the island of Koh Lan to try some beach life.  We took a ferry out to the island and proceeded to not do much other than enjoy the beach and sweat too much.

It's funny because, as a child, Kara used to get Thailand and Taiwan confused and now the girls have both caught themselves confusing the names.  The trip went quickly and now we're back in Shanghai to celebrate Kara's birthday and readjust to the time change.

Kara actually came down with shingles during the trip, but didn't realize it at the time.  Upon coming back to Shanghai and visiting the local western clinic, she was diagnosed and given two prescription medications.  It was a painful 10 days or so, but she's thankful she responded to medicine, and now she knows the symptoms in case there's a future episode.  Plus, she wasn't too affected on vacation and had a week to recover before Ben's EOTC trip & Judy's visit.