Kristen, Aiye, Jen and William. The Aiye or maid who helps Jen 3 times a week is a sweet lady. She rides her bicycle 1 hr each way and works about 5 hours. She is an excellent cook and likes to hold William while Jen eats dinner.
This is the driver Taylor hired to drive us wherever we needed to go in Shanghai. He was a taxi driver for 7 years before he became a personal driver. It is best to have an experienced driver since traffic is very congested and traffic laws are a mere suggestion. The vehicles get very, very close to each other and whoever gets their nose in first wins. It is not unusual to see a U-turn in the middle of a busy street. We didn't see any accidents probably because the average person doesn't drive just "professional drivers". Everyone else rides a bike, scooter or public transport. The mini-van is not the car they usually use, but Taylor rented a bigger one for our visit. It was so nice to have the ability to go and see things whenever we were ready. This was especially helpful with the new baby.
Another view off the balcony of their apartment. They have windows on each side of the building.
This is the back side of the apartment. We hung a blanket on the railing so we could identify their unit on the 22nd floor.
More views from the balcony. The lower buildings are in very poor condition and the individual living spaces are very small and dark.
You can see the balcony behind Steve as he relaxes on the sofa.
You can see the balconies of other units from this view.
Very nice shower in guest bathroom.
Stackable washer and dryer on enclosed porch off from the kitchen. The Chinese don't use dryers much. They hang clothes off from the balconies and everywhere they can.
The master bedroom is pretty spacious and there was plenty of room for William's pack and play where he sleeps.
The chrome knob on the top of the toilet is what you push to flush it. Toilets are awesome and so much better than the public squatters.
Steve liked their square toilets.
Nice master bath with a deep tub that was great for soaking.
Here at the dining room table Jen peels a pomelo (spelling?). This fruit was very good so we ate one every day that we could. It was a lot of work extracting the fruit but Jen is an expert.
Guest bedroom where we slept. They have one more small bedroom where Taylor has his home office and the treadmill.
Jen works in their nice but small kitchen.
Living room with the TV and the new Ikea bookshelf that Steve and Tay put together. It looked so nice they decided to put it in the living room instead of the office.
Sectional sofa in the living room. Taylor works on his computer while I enjoy the baby.
This is the driver Taylor hired to drive us wherever we needed to go in Shanghai. He was a taxi driver for 7 years before he became a personal driver. It is best to have an experienced driver since traffic is very congested and traffic laws are a mere suggestion. The vehicles get very, very close to each other and whoever gets their nose in first wins. It is not unusual to see a U-turn in the middle of a busy street. We didn't see any accidents probably because the average person doesn't drive just "professional drivers". Everyone else rides a bike, scooter or public transport. The mini-van is not the car they usually use, but Taylor rented a bigger one for our visit. It was so nice to have the ability to go and see things whenever we were ready. This was especially helpful with the new baby.
Another view off the balcony of their apartment. They have windows on each side of the building.
This is the back side of the apartment. We hung a blanket on the railing so we could identify their unit on the 22nd floor.
More views from the balcony. The lower buildings are in very poor condition and the individual living spaces are very small and dark.
You can see the balcony behind Steve as he relaxes on the sofa.
You can see the balconies of other units from this view.
Very nice shower in guest bathroom.
Stackable washer and dryer on enclosed porch off from the kitchen. The Chinese don't use dryers much. They hang clothes off from the balconies and everywhere they can.
The master bedroom is pretty spacious and there was plenty of room for William's pack and play where he sleeps.
The chrome knob on the top of the toilet is what you push to flush it. Toilets are awesome and so much better than the public squatters.
Steve liked their square toilets.
Nice master bath with a deep tub that was great for soaking.
Here at the dining room table Jen peels a pomelo (spelling?). This fruit was very good so we ate one every day that we could. It was a lot of work extracting the fruit but Jen is an expert.
Guest bedroom where we slept. They have one more small bedroom where Taylor has his home office and the treadmill.
Jen works in their nice but small kitchen.
Living room with the TV and the new Ikea bookshelf that Steve and Tay put together. It looked so nice they decided to put it in the living room instead of the office.
Sectional sofa in the living room. Taylor works on his computer while I enjoy the baby.
3 comments:
Thanks for the virtual tour. I was always hoping they would post more pictures/explanations of the Chinese experience. It's interesting. It's very far from anything I've ever known.
I am so glad that you and Steve were able to go! I'm sure Jen appreciated the help and company. BTW, this is Jenny Fidler! :) I found your blog from Taylor and Jen's. My blog is private but why don't you shoot me an email and I'll add you to my list! My email is jenspace@yahoo.com
Thanks for these pictures too. I am jealous that someone cleans for Jen three times a week!
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