Hanging out in Shanghai was fun. Nanjing Road was a shopaholic’s Mecca and a moving mosh pit. There are so many stores of all kinds and types and at least a million people shopping and walking in the street. We walked up and down one street multiple times and managed to step foot in or purchase something in every store or maybe almost every store. Shopping in the stalls was an adventure we happened upon and so much fun that we even went back for more the next day. What is the stall you ask yourself? Stalls are hidden rooms behind the wall of the store (closet-size, four American-sized people can comfortably fit into) where they sell all the knock-off brands. You only get into these by knowing the “special code” or nonchalantly inquiring about name brand products (Rolex, Coach, Gucci, Chanel, Longenes and the list goes on). The best food we ate in Shanghai was at Mi Terra, a Mexican restaurant, with chips and salsa, tacos and fajitas. Best meal of the entire trip hands down! We felt like we were in America again. Luckily the trip home was uneventful expect for the last minute gate change at O’Hare in which we booked it from terminal C to F with plenty of time to spare.

It feels good to be home again, to be around familiarity, have clean clothes, sleep in a soft bed, ride in a car that stays in the right lane, eat with a fork and knife, not have to use a plastic card to get into your bedroom and understanding what everyone is saying around you. But...it was hard to leave knowing that the programs that we visited and the parents that we talked to want and need more support, information, training and advocacy. It is exciting knowing that the Teacher Exchange Program at Heartspring is only growing because there is such a need not only in China but in many other places too. We have given them tools, resources and information and are confident that they will begin to utilize what they have learned in their programs, schools and with their children. I hope that someday they will be able to come to America and Heartspring to experience the services we provide for children with autism. But more importantly I hope that everyone everywhere will respect children with autism and see them for what they can do, not what they cannot do.

Kara