The Circus in Shanghai!

I have to laugh because when Maddie travels, she knows what she is doing and she tells us exactly what to do. When we were in the Shangri-La last week, she reminded us to be quiet in the hallways because people could be sleeping. Today she insisted on having her own ticket for the subway and insisted on standing by herself. She's brave because when she is on her own, she knows that people will always enter her personal space by playing with her hair. She stands out and people stare, point, smile, touch, whisper, yell, take pictures with cameras/cell phones... all of which make her very uncomfortable. She survived the subway ride quite well though and we arrived at our destination an hour later. We had made it to the very authentic Shanghainese restaurant across from the Shanghai Circus World. She tries everything that we try on the menu with no fear. Her favorites today were the chicken (because it was served with the very cute head) and the tofu with clams.

Maddie was anxious to get to the ERA - Intersection of Time show where we sat in the third row from the stage. She sat there for two straight hours, clapping on cue and telling me all about the wonderful things that were happening in front of her. She turned to me at the end of the show and said, "Mommy, I can do that!" So, she can toss four bowls at a time from her foot to the top of her head while teetering on a piece of wood sitting on a big pipe. She can toss 40lb. Ming vases into the air and catch them on the back of her neck. She can do acrobats through moving hoops. She can fly through the air with only a piece of silk wrapped around her wrist holding her up. She can ride motorcycles at top speed in a big (not THAT big) metal sphere. She CAN entertain us for hours and hours on end!