I think this will be my last post. We'll see how long it gets and maybe I'll bail and tack on a "p.s."
Ben was given a going away party with his coworkers he knew the best. These are the guys we lived close to and hung out with often. 2 Brits and 5 Americans.
Tong, John, Ben L, Dev, Vahid, Russel and Ben VP.
They went to a popular Chinese restaurant, Hot Pot. I went there once. It was a bit too Chinese-tasting for me. What does that mean, exactly? Usually it means there is a strong fishy odor to whatever is being served. It's actually quite similar to fondue cooking, only everything is cooked in a fishy broth, so....there ya go.
The Hot Pot place they went to happened to be in a mall. And look! There is a stage set up in the mall. Given, the mall was close to closing so there were very few people around. So why not cut a rug and strut the catwalk?? Sooo wish I could've been there to fully witness this with my own eyes.
Yes, this is our best friend, Ben Lawler, break dancing in the middle of the mall. That's normal. ;)
I have no doubt that everyone felt great the day after this fun evening out. I know Ben did! ;)
A little over a week before we were scheduled to leave, this opened within walking distance to where we lived. I was SO excited until we actually ate there and, sure enough, it tastes like Burger King. So that was gross and we never went back. Ha! Guess I don't miss every part of America. Heehee...
The last weekend all of our friends were in town, one of our friends held a mustache party. We had so much fun with it! Mine was stick on. Ben's was real, although embellished with of my mascara. ;)
My best friend, Liz Lawler, Ben's wife. We didn't mess around, people! Amazon China is awesome!
Ben, Matt, Ben, and Herwig showing off what they could grow (and wear). Some of us take this dressing up thing more seriously than others, as you can see. ;) I love any chance to be goofy!
Alice, me and Sally showing off our mustaches (that we stuck on our fingers cause mustaches itch and are annoying and I could only handle it being on my actual face for like an hour). :)
The next day we headed downtown for some last time fake market shopping. The bus we took from the Racquet Club would always drop us off within walking distance from this mall area where there were some super tasty restaurants and fun landscaping. Sophie would always play on this fishing guy and this was the first time I ever thought to actually get a picture of her hanging out with him. ;)
And, yes, it was by a Starbucks. They really were everywhere. By far the most common Western restaurant-type place in Shanghai. Coffee is universal, people!
Took a cab ride home and my babies fell asleep. Don't judge, people. I know we have covered the fact that taxis don't have seatbelts. By this point it is so common place to just hop in there and hang on for dear life. Hopefully they will quickly acclimate to being strapped down again soon!
Ben's last day at work. This was the team he was in charge of while here in Shanghai. They were hard workers and very kind people. The tiny lady next to Ben told him, in the elevator on the way out that day, "I'm going to miss your face". To which Ben replied, uhhh, I'm going to miss you guys too.
They gave him a model of the plane he was working on while here in Shanghai.
We had a going away party with all our best friends at our favorite local hangout, The Monk. This is the bar where Ben learned to love fajitas and all that comes with them. Is it a Mexican place? Absolutely not. Who knows what made those fajitas taste so amazing. Don't ask. Just enjoy...
To the far right you will see our favorite server, Sarah. Yes, we know that's not her real name. ;)
John and Alice, the back of Sally and Liz.
The kids playing with the band's instruments. This would NEVER happen in the US but here they could get away with almost anything because they are cute Western kiddos.
Time for the packing up of the house. I don't feel like we came with this much, but we did buy a lot of stuff we're bringing back home with us. It was crazy how efficient the packers were. In only a few hours everything we were taking with us was packed up and ready for the movers to take the next day. We won't see this stuff for more than 2 months. Weird....
Cooper doesn't like change and all this chaos likely means change. He spent most of the day here.
Our last trip to Cafe Du Village. I have spent so much time here, people, I cannot even tell you. So much coffee. Meals and smoothies and time chatting with friends. We bought our elephant picture from here because we saw it hanging on the second floor wall and fell in love with it. My British friend from Bible Study, Mary, painted it. This teeny tiny coffee shop held me up many times.
A walk through the grounds of the Shanghai Racquet Club. Our last chance to see all the bits and parts of the place we called home for 18 months. I loved living here and never regretted not getting a house. An expat community that made our life here enjoyable and gave us lifelong friends.
Our building, 2G. We were the top condo up there.
Gonna miss our tuktuk! Changed the way we got around and was the best investment here!
Our last day with our Ayi, TaiPing. I love this picture for so many reasons. When I looked at it after we took it I asked Sophie- hunny, why do you look almost angry? Are you upset we're leaving? No, she says. I know Cooper wouldn't be smiling and I didn't want him to be the only one. Uh. Be still my heart.... she is the best big sister to this little man.
The next morning, on July 13, 2013, we flew home. With 12 suitcases and 4 carry-ons and 2 purses. You should've seen us loading this all onto the van that brought us to the airport.
A 16 hour flight then a 1 hour flight and we were welcomed home by our US family and friends.
So that's it. That was our journey. I wanted to get all of this down for so many reasons, to fill in others in the US about what we were doing, to get it down so I can remember it all better later, to help me look back at early entries and see how far I'd come and how much better we were doing.
And then, snap, it was done.
I'm so glad we did this. I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. But Ben did and I put my trust in God to help me through the bad and see the good. Guys, there was so much good.
I feel like I could mush on for a while about this, but I'll stop. You guys get it. You've been on this journey with me. You've prayed for us and commented on these posts, encouraging me and supporting me.
So thanks.
And hopefully I'll see you all soon! Let the jet lag begin.....
