First real outing in China!

A bunch of us headed over to the Xinglong Outlets the other day.  It is a 4 story mall.  The ground floor has a Chinese grocery store and some food vendors.  The 2nd floor had some shopping and a play area.  The 3rd floor had a restaurant and more shopping and the 4th floor had a food court.  It was my first shopping experience in Shenyang and everything went well.  I was a bit nervous, kept imagining a dirty shopping mall with a gazillion people.  It was actually the opposite.  The mall was very clean (it's new) and there were not many people there at all.  We first hung out at the children's play area.

My first thought was, why do we not have these in the States?  They would make a fortune from all the stroller moms!!  Yes, the major malls have little play areas for kids.  But this one was completely enclosed, had several attendants on hand to help with crowd control (not that they needed any) and cleaning and it was more than just a few plastic structures for the kids to climb on.  It included a sandpit, ball pit, several rotating rides, slides, a kitchen area, and many climbing structures.  We did have to pay 60 RMB (which is about $10) but you had the option to buy a pass which would come out to about half that.  Everyone was required to wear socks, except in the sandpit, where they provided little rubber boots for the kids.

 J's first sandbox experience. 

 I was especially happy about rule #3.  I was worried how they'd keep up with the split pants accidents.

 Such a bright, happy place!

The 2 ladies in the ball pit were cleaning the balls one by one.  Now THAT is dedication.  How they knew which were clean and which weren't, I don't know. 

 

 

I let the boys play upstairs while my friends watched them and went down to the grocery store to get a few items.  I'm still trying to get familiarized with what's all available in Shenyang so I didn't really have a list.  I just grabbed things as I saw them.  I had K strapped to me and people kept walking by and saying something to me.  I'm assuming they said that she's not dressed warmly enough or wondering why I have her strapped to me.  The only one who spoke English to me just pointed at her little arm and leg sticking out and said, "Oh, a baby in there!"  Not too many babies in Shenyang hanging out in Ergos or other carriers.  I really wish I knew more Chinese.  There were some awesome looking dumplings and other ready made foods but you had to order them from the people behind the counter.  And I just wasn't confident in my charades and pointing skills to go for it.  Next time, I just need to do it.  It's either that or miss out on dumplings. 

 

Which reminds me, I need to start my Chinese tutoring lessons asap.

 

All in all, my first grocery shopping experience in China was a success!  It was fun looking at everything.  I will have to take my camera with me next time.