Happy Valley

I can officially say I've ridden a roller coaster in China....and survived! Shanghai currently has one theme park, Disney is breaking ground as we speak and building their own theme park set to open in about two years! We decided to join our friends from Florida, Todd and Rebecca, who happen to work for Disney on a trip to Happy Valley. The park has monthly themes and we went the weekend after Halloween, and naturally we were curious to see China's interpretation of Halloween, it did not disappoint. We went on two roller coasters and participated in this "Western" gun shooting attraction. Where we each sat on a mechanical horse and had to shoot at bad guys on a screen it was hilarious! Trent came in first place and Todd came in third place for number of bad guys shot. Theme parks are not really something I go to often because I get motion sickness, but the non-drowsy dramamine really helped and we had a blast. My favorite of the two coasters we rode, was the wooden one called the "Fireball" which Trent pointed out is a curious name for a wooden roller coaster, TIC (this is China)! We had to fight for our spot in the hour long line because some of the people in line didn't feel like waiting and started pushing their way through to the front. Now, the Chinese were fine with it but we couldn't stand it! So we formed a human barricade which worked for the most part, there was a moment where Todd and I got goosed by the same girl trying to wriggle her way in through our arm pits. We've discussed this experience with a lot of other people and while it's hard for the ex-pats to understand but one of our friends explained it that Chinese people are really good about just letting something go. Maybe it makes them mad when it happens but after they get shoved out of the way its over and they don't care. This explains why they don't have road rage, and I think it is a trait I could learn to live by.

We walked around and you'll see some photos from around the park, there were all of these signs that said no taking pumpkins but everyone was walking out of the park with a pumpkin in hand. Trent attempted but I told him I didn't want to get kicked out of the park. There was also a KFC on every corner. We followed the path around and discovered an indoor area called Ant Valley or something like that for kids, where we discovered a tea cup ride. Now, I should mention my history with tea cup rides. My mom couldn't believe I was going to a theme park when I told her because as a small child at a county fair I decided to ride the teacups and spent the entire time crying. Which, my mom found pitiful and hysterical all at the same time. So naturally I included photos of me laughing and then wanting to cry at the thought of riding the tea cups again. You're welcome Mom :) We stuck around until after dark waiting in line for the Fireball and got to see the park all lit up, including this funny little show with acrobats and fire throwers. All in all it was a truly Chinese experience and we enjoyed every minute of it.

South Bund Soft Spun Fabric Market

There were many things I was looking forward to before moving to Shanghai: eating authentic Chinese food, learning a new language, discovering a new culture, teaching English, living with Trent. However, one of the things I was most looking forward to was having clothes custom made at the fabric market. Luckily, the South Bund Soft Spun Fabric Market has been everything we hoped it would be and more! It is three floors of stall after stall of tailors specializing in different items and fabrics from linen and cashmere to tweed and jersey cotton. Trent received a recommendation for a tailor from his relocation consultant so we frequent his booth and another booth that I discovered regularly. Almost everyone here speaks English which makes the process easier, we can demonstrate that we are from here by speaking Chinese to them so they know that the typical foreigner price won't work with us.

We go once a week to pick up the items we were fitted for the previous week and to pick out what we want made the following week. I have befriended a girl named Niu Niu at a stall where her sister makes beautiful modern dresses and skirts from jersey cotton. She gives us the best prices and she considers me to be a friend, which for me means a lot since I know very few people in Shanghai I really do look forward to visiting her and picking up my latest creation! Her sister made the blue, black and green dresses that I modeled for Trent so I could share the designs with you, my adoring fans. Okay, I'm kidding but really a certain Heather Wilson has been dying to see these creations and I'm not going to lie, I'm very excited to share them with you!

In China, the concept of personal wealth is still a relatively new and exciting concept so it is much more meaningful to Chinese people to be able to buy clothes off the rack to demonstrate their wealth or status than to have custom made. As my US readers know, it is an expensive luxury to have clothes custom made in the US so no one here is all too impressed with my custom made clothes, not to mention you can and must barter to get good prices at the fabric market which is obviously not an option at the neighborhood Louis Vuitton store. I'll give you a sampling of what we pay: Trent's dress shirts are RMB 100 or $17, (he refused to model for me but maybe I'll pester him into a fashion shoot later fingers crossed!), I paid RMB 120 for my purple button down for my satin polka dot dress shirt (which as of yet it has been way too hot to wear to work but I can't wait!), I have a deal with Niu Niu for dresses to be made for RMB 200 or $34. So as you can see these prices are better than off the rack US and what keeps us coming back week after week. When it gets cooler out I plan to invest in a cashmere coat, more photos to come as our custom made wardrobe grows!

The last outfit I'm modeling for you is what we fondly refer to as my 'Teacher Taylor' outfit, Trent said it the first day I wore it and then one of my co-workers also said the same thing once I got to work. I love the linen skirt its very comfortable and apparently very teacher-ish. I have been wanting one of the tie neck dress shirts very badly, and Mom you will cringe at the fact that Trent and I had to google a video on how to "tie a bow tie" because we could not successfully do it otherwise. Here's some photos from in and around the fabric market, followed by some of the clothes I've had made so far. Come visit, friends and family and add some custom made creations to your wardrobe!

N Tangfang Road near Lujiabang Road

Trent and I have been going to the South Bund Soft Spun Fabric Market pretty much once a week since I got here to have clothes custom made. It has been really fun, the haggling can get old really quickly so we try to visit the same tailors, set our prices and build a relationship so the haggling is kept to a minimum. I have been looking for places to buy fabric for crafting and read online that the neighborhood surrounding the market sometimes sells fabric. We have also been on the hunt for a commuter bike for me to ride from our apartment to the train station on Middle Yanggao Road. So we asked the people at our favorite stall, Jackson's and they told us about a Giant bike shop in the area so we wandered through with a map on a sticky note in Chinese and somehow managed to find the shop. Unfortunately, since I'm a good 6 inches taller than the average Chinese person, there was literally one bike that fit me but they wouldn't deliver it for a reasonable price and we just aren't willing to splurge on a brand new bike that will sit in the elements and stands a good chance of being stolen. The neighborhood was really neat though, and as we were walking along a guard pointed out the post office that you see photos of and there was a sign saying something about it being one of the original post offices in Shanghai, we didn't really pay too close attention but it was neat to see! Along with all of the other little home improvement shops in the back alleys behind the market. Its nice to just wander sometimes and see where we end up, it is definitely more enjoyable when the entire country is not on holiday, more recently some of the crowds we've been experiencing have been so completely overwhelming. We're learning where to go and not to go though sometimes we just have to learn it the hard way!