Valentine's in Paris

Aaah, Paris! I’m not normally a big city person, preferring beaches, forests and mountains to concrete jungles, yet, somehow Paris captivated me. I think it has something to do with the city’s energy and balance…Parisians seem to balance their busyness with a knack for taking advantage of life’s simple pleasures. The busyness is typified by the hustle and bustle of the streets, the relentless traffic and scores of cyclists, while the countless cafes and restaurants bursting with life at all hours (a sharp contrast to sleepy Brussels) speak to the other side of the coin. As we sipped coffee (it’s growing on me!) in a café on Sunday, it struck me that many the things we consider a treat - croissant breakfasts in cute cafés, jogs along the river or past middle aged churches, and lingering, delicious dinners - are part of daily life in Paris. Given the short train ride from Brussels, I just might become a part time Parisian over the next few months!

Saturday, Jerel and I created our own walking tour of Paris. We started the day breakfasting amidst joggers in Jardin du Luxembourg, then slowly wound our way through the streets to the very gothic Notre Dame cathedral. Jerel and I had both visited Notre Dame nearly 10 years ago but had no trouble appreciating the majestic flying buttresses, ornate columns, and rose windows for a second time. We next headed past the Louvre courtyard, through the Jardin de Tuileries to the busy Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. We concluded our tour at the Tour d’Eiffel where we witnessed spectacles including a Valentine’s Day proposal and college girls sporting “free hugs” signs. The extremely long lines forced us to postpone our trip up the tower for the next day.

That evening we attended a unique musical show, starring our Brussels apartment landlord - Jean-Felix Lalanne – who had kindly invited us as his guests. Jean-Felix was a childhood guitar prodigy is now a top classical guitarist (though his repertoire is much broader). The setting at Théâtre du Petit Hébertot was intimate (~100 people) and the performance was part concert part play. It was a timeless autobiography with three cast members: present day Lalanne, in the flesh, feisty 10-year-old Lalanne and nostalgic 90-year-old Lalanne. His younger and older selves spoke were presented as, believe it or not, holograms. The show was both touching and musically impressive.

Sunday, we awoke to another beautiful day and headed directly to the Eiffel tower…stumbling along the way upon an open market with delicious crepes and also making the requisite café stop. When we finally made it to the (almost) top of the tower, it seemed possible to behold all of expansive Paris. The long lines, the pushing and even the overpriced, bad food were definitely worth it. From the tower, we made our way along La Seine to the Musée d’Orsay. We did the ‘best of’ tour, which essentially means you don’t leave anything out, including plenty of Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh…leaving just about the perfect impression from our weekend in Paris.

For more photos of our weekend in Paris click here.

Bienvenue à Bruxelles

Time flies when you’re eating chocolate… We’ve been in Brussels for about 3 weeks now and are already quite settled – we have not only obtained an apartment furnished to our taste, cell phones, and gym membership but are already cultivating guanxi (à la Shanghai) at our favourite local shops and cafes. I think I’m finally getting the hang of the relocation business!

Jerel and I have both been pleasantly surprised at how much Brussels has to offer, managing to be simultaneously international and cozy. The city is full of grand old buildings, impressive squares, and pleasant parks (two of which are very close to our new apartment!). The vast maze of cobbled streets offers an endless selection of cute clothing boutiques, flower shops, cafes, chocolateries, pubs, and restaurants (and a notable abundance of hair salons!?).

The predominant language here is French, which makes interactions with the locals a little challenging at times but also more fun. I am loving being able to finally put all those years of French schooling to use. More often than not, I can get the job done and have even garnered a few compliments on my French, (which, I admit, make my day). Still, I clearly have a ways to go as to my chagrin, I sometimes receive replies in English. Jerel arrived with almost zero French but thanks to his background in Spanish and his aptitude and enthusiasm for languages he is learning quickly.

Here are a few other first observations on Brussels and Belgians:

1. The people are very friendly. Strangers frequently converse, or at least exchange greetings that seem very sincere. Jerel loves riding the elevator in the morning at work for at each floor there is a chorus of well-wishes (“Bonne journée!”) between those exiting the elevators and those continuing up.
2. A balanced lifestyle is a high priority. In contrast to the workaholicism of North America (and China), Belgians seem to protect their personal time. It can be very hard to find anything open on a Sunday or after 7pm on a weekday. Even IKEA is closed on Sunday! I am still in denial about this and find myself frequently shocked when things are closed at what I consider normal business hours.
3. Chocolate is a food group. I guess you can’t blame them with so much good chocolate around, but I was floored when I first entered a large supermarket and saw that more than half of the adult cereals have chocolate. Who ever heard of special K or granola with dark chocolate?! I will never forget the hot chocolate that I had while watching the Obama inauguration (in French). Simply divine!
4. Specialty shops are the norm. While this is certainly not unique to Belgium, I nonetheless find it baffling that people find time (before 7 pm, no less!) to go to separate shops for cheese, bread, produce etc. Also, chains are out - I have yet to see a single Starbucks (although I did spot a few McDs and Haagen Dazs).
5. Pedestrians are king/queen! I would have taken this fact for granted before living in Shanghai, but I now truly appreciate not having to worry about being run over when I cross the road…Brussels is clearly on the opposite extreme from Shanghai when it comes to pedestrian rights.

Not a bad place, eh? The only downers so far are the weather, which seems like a colder version of Vancouver, and the prices – not crazy, just a bit of sticker shock after China. I must confess that I really miss the affordable luxuries of Shanghai!

Homecoming Three – San Francisco

When Jerel and I left Shanghai with our possessions in tow, we didn’t know what to call home. Thankfully, our friends and family consistently opened their homes to us, reminding us that in fact we have not one but many homes. We kicked off our third homecoming with an action-packed weekend including an evening at Alicia & Christian’s new home in Berkeley, a forested hike to Barnabe Peak (Marin County) with Jed and the girls, and a visit with the Poppers in San Francisco. We had a busy but satisfying week, catching up with friends, working (Jerel) and preparing for Brussels (Chana). Just as we were beginning to feel settled again, it was time to pack our bags for our new home… Brussels.

Homecoming Two - Malibu

Our next stop was Malibu, where we visited with family and with as many local friends as we could squeeze in over a week. Among the many fun memories are: Guesstures with the Davises and Shores (women won!); day trip to San Diego - helping Josh keep his cool following the mysterious disappearance of his truck (an illegal tow) and cooking up a storm at Jan’s place; visiting the Getty museum with Tyson on a glorious ‘winter’ day; meeting Emily and Chad’s son for the first time; and moving day with Cyndi – beginning with moving furniture from Malibu to Pasadena and culminating in six firetrucks swarming her new house (long story…no major damage!). Never a dull moment, that’s for sure!

New Year’s Among Giants

From icy Vancouver, we migrated south to San Francisco en route to our New Year’s destination – Sequoia National Park. We road-tripped to Sequoia in comfort and style, thanks to the latest addition to the Deans’ fleet of bargain buys, a snazzy Dodge Caravan. We ventured on daily hikes amidst the magnificent sequoias, and as always, the Deans impressed us by not letting the kids slow them down – as if snowshoeing isn’t hard enough, try doing it with a 3 year old on your back! The Davises (Steve, Janet and Cyndi) joined us for New Year’s and we greeted 2009 with plenty of good food and good cheer. The rest of the week was filled with more beautiful snowy hikes, this time with the Davises, who also deserve accolades…Janet asked only that we keep her dry and get her home before dark yet kept her cool when we failed on both accounts on day one!

Homecoming One - Vancouver

After bidding a bittersweet farewell to Shanghai, Jerel and I arrived in Vancouver for the first of several homecomings. Vancouver felt completely deserted compared to Shanghai, and we eagerly soaked in the open space and the ‘sound’ of silence. We were also both struck by how much easier life is when you can understand everything going on around you, and know the rules of engagement. Although it was a real treat to communicate freely in English, I have to admit that my ears perked up whenever I heard Mandarin spoken around me (not that I let on!).

We soon headed up to Whistler for few days of unusually chilly, snowless ‘skiing’ (and socializing), returning to the city just in time for a spectacular snowfall, bringing one of the whitest Christmases I can remember! Jerel built goodwill with his in-laws with his snow-shoveling prowess and ability to drive coolly on unplowed roads (unlike a certain truck driver who hit our (parked) borrowed car!). A definite highlight of the trip was an improvised toboggan session with all the sibs and significant others (except Ami’s Mana) - see Ami's Facebook page for a video!

Top Ten Things I WON'T Miss About Shanghai

1. Incessant noise – Outside the sanctuary of our apartment, quiet was very hard to come by in Shanghai. Most of the time my ears were inundated with the sounds of honking horns, noisy scooters and lively debate.


2. Aggressive drivers – Pedestrians are the lowest life form on the streets of Shanghai. Even on a green walk sign, it was normal for cars to cut right in front of pedestrians, even honking at them for getting in their way. It wasn’t much more fun to be a passenger - I had quite a few near heart-attacks as we wove our way across lanes of traffic at high speeds with no seatbelts.


3. Lack of green – By the end of the week, I was inevitably climbing the concrete walls, scheming of a green getaway…somewhere I could walk or jog in peace, hear birds chirping and see squirrels scampering.


4. Relentless solicitations – My most frequently uttered Mandarin phrase was ‘Bu Yao’ – translation: “Not want”. The touristy streets by our hotel were full of overzealous vendors of fake goods and shoe-shiners who would go as far as squirting cream on your shoe. Apparently, when I wasn’t around, Jerel received other solicitations as well…


5. Crowds – People, people, everywhere! Whether on the street, in the mall, in the metro, it seemed I was always fighting for personal space. On the streets I had to fight to not be knocked over by other pedestrians who seemed to always expect me to get out of their way instead of vice versa.


6. Language barrier – Despite my rudimentary mandarin, I still suffered occasionally on account of the language barrier, especially with taxi drivers taking me far from the destination that I thought I had clearly pronounced.


7. Tiresome bargaining – A little bargaining can be fun, but it becomes quite tiresome when virtually every purchase involves a long, drawn out exchange. To make matters worse, I often left the exchange feeling that I had probably been taken for a ride, while the vendor was trying to convince me of the opposite!


8. Rigid rules/processes – While the service industry always had the best intentions, it seemed that process often trumped outcome. My best example here is that when we lost our ATM card, we were unable to withdraw money from the bank in person, even with a passport. We could, however, fill in a form for a new card to be ready in a week!


9. Unpleasant odours – Sometimes, walking down the street, an innocent inhale could turn into a very unpleasant olfactory experience. I’m sure that this is not unique to unique to Shanghai but it’s nonetheless something I don’t/won’t miss!


10. Feeling huge – I was told matter-of-factly more than once that I was “too big” or that large would not do, I would need extra large!