你好= Hello (IN CHINESE)

Nihao everyone.....YEESSSSSSS, we found a way to get on my Blog. After a week looking at a 'black blog-page', we managed to find a way to keep you posted. Thanks Loeke for helping !!!!

After we said good-bye to the Anema's, we had a problem at the checking-in station. They were weighing our HAND LUGGAGE in stead of our suit cases. So we all had over-weighed hand-luggage mainly due to the books and laptops. We had to take everything out and put it in our big suitcases which we had to open up, so find the key, put stuff in, than close again and and open again, cause still more had to be lifted over to the suite case etc etc. Finally it was still a 1/4 kilo over-weight!!! (THEY ARE SOOOO FUSSY). We went from Australia to Singapore and had a transit flight straight to China. When I wanted to work on my computer in the plane, one of the crew/airhostes had put my bag somewhere and I could not find it anymore. I had to look in every cupboard of the airplane and after an hour of trying to find it. I finally found it at the back of the plane.

Finally we landed in Shanghai, China, the country that my dad chose. Some people told us to go to China and some people advised us not to go; so we were very curious!!!!.
The first week we were staying in Shanghai, the largest city in China (24 million people). When we arrived in Shanghai we thought it was bad weather with a lot of mist, but after few days, the mist was still there and we found out that it was actually the smog of the pollution above the city. The many high buildings were all fading in the smog, but at night the many lights and colors were very bright and beautiful to look at from our apartement on the 22nd floor. We were overlooking the CBD (central business district), the rivers Huangpu and Suzhuo River, the bridges and of course the Bund (the famous riverbank where all the old buildings are). The best view we had was during our dinner in the Revolving restaurant on the 45th floor of the Radisson Hotel.
The center of Shanghai was very crowded with big shopping streets and malls, huge parks with many exercising people, many many many many small shops and eating places, taxis racing and hooting (when we went with the taxi, we always had a competition who guesses how many times the driver hoots; the highest score was 36 times in 13 minutes) through the streets and running you over while you cross the zebra-crossing. Also I saw many babies who do not have nappies, because it's expensive and therefore they have a hole in their pants, so the parents just have to hold them above the toilet or bin or gutter when the baby needs to go.(eeeew!!).

eating at the Radisson

Nothing is strange here.......everyone seems to clear their throats, spit, burb, walk in their pyjamas, talk and argue extremely loud without minding that we all hear them (but don't understand them anyway).!! After washing they dry their clothes all over the streets, hung over the lamp poles, on lines in between the traffic signs.
The only thing the Chinese seem to find strange are........ tourists and /foreigners!!!!! When we walk over the streets, we are being looked at with curiosity and often they turn around or ask us where we are from??
If you want to become a model and don't want to stand in line and hand in cv's to model agencies, then  come to China.....you will be instant famous and people take pictures of you left, right and center.
I am not sure why, but it seems that they are not used to see foreign people, since it was not allowed for foreigners to be in China. So, now it is catch up time!!

Now China is open to the whole world and the Chinese can do whatever they want. They have expensive phones, clothes from Zara, watches from Swatch and bags and shoes from Prada.
BUT, they can't go on Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, Linked In. You found out by looking at my black screen.

In their pyjamas

For now 'ZAIJIAN (bye) we will fly to Beijing. See you there.
Kreefts

The laundry

Walking through the Chinese streets

Our apartement view

Chinese writing