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I just discovered that there were some restrictions on comments in this blog. Sorry! I've fixed that now.

Things to do

I also defrosted the refrigerator.

List of things to do today

At home
1. Call Charlotte.
2. Dishes
3. Sweep and mop.

In Qibao
1. Look for shoelaces, a transformer for the DS, and a street map of Qingpu.
2. Buy some more cereal.

At the Olympic Garden entrance
1. Get a Bank of China remittance form to apply for a demand draft for the $18 for the FBI background check.
2. Buy some more milk.

Looking for a hospital and finding Staples

We're frantically trying to learn Chinese, but for now we need a doctor who is familiar with American medical terms, who speaks fluent English, and most of all, whose receptionist speaks fluent English. Wednesday I asked Patty what I should look for next in my scouting outings, and she said Staples or Parkway Medical Services. Then she said it should be Parkway first.

I found approximately where the address should be on the map, and took the metro to the station nearest that location. There was a very appealing shopping area nearby, so I decided to explore it a little. One of the first places I saw was Staples. Actually, it's Staples/UPS. I went in to look around a little, and I asked about an adapter plug. We bought a dual-voltage hair dryer before coming here, but we can't plug it in because the plug has one prong wider than the other, and none of the receptacles here, and none of the adapters I've been able to find here, are made for that. Staples does have them, but the cheaper one was out of stock.

I saw the name of the hospital I was looking for on my Shanghai map, so I went there, forgetting that I had an address and not noticing that the hospital on the map was on a different street. It was a long walk from the metro station, so I decided to practice using buses. I spent ten or twenty minutes deciphering the signs at the bus stop to decide which bus to take, and still got on one that didn't go where I thought it was going. I had to get off and walk about as far as I would have without the bus, about twenty minutes. Good thing I was riding the bus for practice and not to save time.

I went into the hospital and looked around. No English anywhere. Most places have signs in Chinese and English. Not here. Strange, for a place where I thought I would find English speaking health practitioners.

I finally found an information desk and used my phrasebook and the guide book from the school where Patty works to try to explain what I was looking for. They told me to go to building 38. At building 38 I found out I was at the wrong hospital. The nurses explained where the other hospital was, and while I was walking there, I remembered I had the address! It turned out to be just a few blocks from Staples.

Shopping list

1. markers
2. shoe inserts
3. cleaning products
4. neutral shoe polish
5. fan
6. shampoo and conditioner
7. balm for mosquito bites
8. mosquito coils
9. ice cube tray
10. cloth napkins
11. sugar bowl
12. vaseline
13. wire brush
14. Goo Gone
15. passport protector
16. magnifier
17. caulk
18. nutcracker
19. pocket notepads
20. agenda
21. map of Qingpu
22. battery for electronic dictionary
23. tables for computers
24. coasters
25. light bulbs
26. small file box
27. seam ripper
28. funnel
29. toilet bowl cleaner
30. plug adapter for hair dryer
31. printer paper
32. glass cleaner
33. CD-Rs

List of things to do later

1. Find out about supplemental insurance.

2. Update our address with all our accounts.

3. Give our mailing address to people who want it.

4. Get our medical records in the US released.

5. Send photos to people who want them.

6. Mail license plates to the Department of Motor Vehicles for partial refund.

7. Study documents related to my projects.

8. Organize our photos.

List of things to do now

1. Convert Patty's RealPlayer files from old CDs to MP3 for her iPod.

2. Fedex signed letter to the Credit Union asking for my replacement cards to be sent to my China address.

3. Wire some money to our Bank account in the US.

4. Buy a stepladder to use to replace our light bulbs.

5. Call Charlotte.

6. Read phone manual, which is all in Chinese.

7. Add minutes to our cell phones.

8. Rosetta Stone Chinese lessons.

9. Set up printer.

10. Help Patty with her needlepoint.

11. Put together the booklets that Patty printed out for her Kindergarten class.

12. Find a way to get a cashier's check to send with her fingerprints to the FBI for a background check, required by her employer.

13. Go through all the stuff I threw in the top drawer when I unpacked, that needs to be taken care of.

List of some current activities and interests

1. Sweeping, mopping, dishes, laundry

2. Private English lessons with videos and skits
- listening, speaking, reading, writing
- moral and spiritual issues
- harmonious society

3. Scouting for outings with Patty
- line 9 bus to other metro station
- supermarkets and other stores at Xujiahui and Zhongshan Park
- buses to Qibao and back
- Doctors

4. Learning Chinese.
- preschool writing book
- children's stories
- Tintin

5. Cards.
- Bank of America: check 9/30
- VACU: fax request for cards with signature
- Bank of China: check 9/24

6. Moving.
- call Lee Tanner
- fingerprints
- to-do lists
- clean up and organize floor and drawers

7. Internet projects

8. Working with Chinese people and government.
- read about harmonious society and religion
- learn about desertification control and related initiatives (agriculture and forests)
- Sheshan Mountain