Happy Holidays!

right now we are in shanghai. we are having a great vacation so far! the first few days we both admitted to feelings of anxiety - coming here from mongolia is a little overwhelming - there are endless options for food, shopping, things to do, and there are tons of people everywhere! the typical amount of people walking around (or riding bikes) is equivalent to the crowd you wade through leaving a stadium after a big football game. And its everywhere, all of the time! Surprisingly, despite the fact that there a loads more people here than in Ulaanbaatar, they somehow manage to not to push us, touch us, or ram into us with their shoulders.

we've done a bit of sightseeing, but i have to say our main activity so far has been eating. we've eaten at pizza hut twice, and had something from mcdonalds every day. i've also had sushi twice! We have enjoyed having hot water in the bath whenever we want, and most days have taken 2 showers! The beds are comfy, and the electricity doesn't go out. one of the best things is the weather. we wear jackets, but don't need the longjohns, mittens, scarves and hats.

so here is a list of some of the things we have enjoyed since arriving that we haven't had in over a year:
- a swimming pool
- reading lamps
- riding the subway
- parmasean cheese
- pizza hut
- cheesecake
- potato chips
- oreos
- fish fry
- shopping malls

Photos will come later, probably after we get back home. We are here until Sunday, and then we will take the train up to Beijing. We are excited to see the great wall of china. We will fly from beijing to ulaanbaatar on the following Saturday.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season at home. Our Christmas day activities included visiting the aquarium, some shopping, going to dinner at a pub (fish fry!) enjoying some live music and then going to a nightclub (really busy for a tuesday night) for some dancing. Nothing like christmases past, but unforgettable all the same.