Fun Weekend of Family and Friends

This weekend was quite fun, as it was filled with a lot of time with friends and with family. We spent Saturday morning playing outside with the boys on the soccer field in front of the clubhouse. While we all left our house a little on the tired side (okay, I was exhausted and I believe Dustin would have said the same), running around in the crisp cool air (in the 40s here) really made us all feel better. I was bundled up in my fleece and my crazy guys had all stripped off their jackets but kept their hats on (the one part I made sure was required). It was so cute to watch Danny and Josh chase after their soccer balls and Danny repeating drills he learned in his class.

We all headed back home for hot cocoa--they just brought in marshmallows--a huge find, so how could we resist. We had lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Then Dustin and I got ready to head out with some of our friends. We are so blessed here now with two things--great friends, and an ayi I trust and speaks good English--thus making a night out possible.

We drove with one of our newer friends. They arrived this past fall, and are actually from southern Indiana. We arrived at a Middle Eastern restaurant with belly dancers. I would say only in Shanghai, but I think the true answer is that only in Shanghai would I ever end up at a restaurant such as this. The attitude we, and our friends have taken is that while we are on this adventure here in China, we might as well be adventuresome with our choice of restaurant as well.

The food was actually very good--lots of humus, great salads, unleavened bread and kabobs. Okay we stayed far away from the lamb testicles--you can only be so adventuresome--at least I think so. Yes, this was really on the menu. I know because thankfully the menu was in English and Chinese--if it was just pictures, as most menus in the city are, we may have ordered it by accident--meals based on just ordering from pictures is filled with prayer that you are not eating anything crazy.

So our first belly dancer came out (there actually were three of them and they did two dances and left you to eat in peace for a while. This was good as they blasted the music so loud you would not be able to carry on a conversation otherwise), and our table either paid too much attention as it being our first time, or, I will phrase it kindly as, "too polite to say no" marked on our forehead (you can fill in something else if you would like). I say this as I somehow got pulled up to dance along side our first belly dancer. So, I was beat red, completely uncomfortable, trying to follow this Chinese belly dancer, all while my friends were laughing hysterically and taking pictures and video (thanks to all the fancy phones everyone has over here). This might not have been so bad if I had the talent of being able to move my hips, but alas this is not my gift or talent. So, after what seemed like an eternity on earth, I was able to return to my seat. The great news in this all, is that we some how had been marked as a table and I got to see all my friends (minus the guys) up dancing throughout the dinner. We had a great time that evening, but I cannot say that I will be returning to that restaurant anytime soon--unless I do not make eye contact with anyone but those at our table. :)

Sunday came fast and early, with the boys being excited about our plans for the day--Disney on Ice. Our family and a group of our friends (many of those at dinner the night before) had bought tickets together and planned to go to the one English performance. We met our German friends, Markus, Danni, Angelina and Timo and headed first to Starbucks (did I mention the night before had been late?) and then onto McDonald's to pick up food for the road. We then caravaned over to the auditorium. When we got there we saw what can only be described as a good portion of the expatriate community here in Shanghai--at least those with children. It was a nice performance and all the children really enjoyed it.

After the show, we headed onto church, where I helped in the nursery and Dustin enjoyed a group of musicians from Michigan that were visiting the city and played with our praise team.

Overall, it was a great weekend, and reminded us how we are blessed.