The movers will be coming a week from today to once again collect all of our belonging and ship them to our new home in Shanghai.

The puppy dog paperwork will soon be underway as the no man or furry left behind rule will take the gremlin to his third country.

The one way plane ticket has been purchased and I’ll be using it this coming Sunday as I head off to sign leases, buy cell phones and start off once again in the Shanghai office.

I say once again because my time as the new kid on the first day of school has already passed. As T previously mentioned I set off about two weeks ago now to Shanghai to start the always awkward transition.

It was of course, awkward.

From the not knowing whether or not to offer a handshake (the Chinese typically don’t shake hands) to trying to remember the names of the people on my team (how the nice Chinese boy on my team decided to call himself Gino, I have no idea) I have now survived the strangeness which always accompanies the first few days at a new job.

I even managed to survived first getting locked out of and then getting locked in the ladies room.  I possess talents few can match.

All in all the trip went quite well even with a few minor hiccups.

By this time next week our names should be on the lease of a lovely two bedroom in the Jing An area of Shanghai.   In the end we decided to go the compound route as the apartments I saw elsewhere were a little less secure seeming and there wasn’t nearly as much space for the gremlin to roam around in.  The Olympic sized pool also may have played a factor but with three karaoke rooms and plenty of green space to wee on, I’d argue there’s something for everyone in our little family in the new digs.  I’ll let you guess which of us will be using which of the above amenities.

With the bloodtests done and the apartment seemingly in place, the only thing I can do for now is to enjoy my last few days in Japan.   I may return to China a little chubbier but we’re gradually making the rounds to our favorite restaurants and just taking in the close of my time here in Japan.

Sunday will mark the close of a great adventure for me but once the wheels touch down in China, the next adventure starts.

All I need now is my boys to hurry up and join me!