Soo before even coming to Shanghai, I had planned on hitting up Hong Kong during my holiday before the commencement of the new school year. But of course with a few hiccups of visa-waiting (school had to apply for my foreign expert visa and residence permit) and toe mishaps, I’ve been kept hostage - hence, I was left to just explore and wild out in the ‘Hai. (I was accused of “hob knobbing” today by my stateside friend, Alison… and you know what, I can’t blame her. I stand contently guilty. LOL) Anyhoots, all this doesn’t matter, because I purchased a roundtrip flight today, that would put me on a plane tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow! I’m feeling a bit adventurously spontaneous, despite the fact that the prospect of this trip has been looming over my head forever-long now. But still, I did it. I pulled the trigger. All this out n’ about-ing has been fun for sure, but with my crew slowly dissipating by the day. (Lisa is back in the States at the moment, E returned to Austria this past weekend, Cubes will head back to Germany this coming weekend, Max will too head back to Germany at the end of the month, and R is Thailand-bound this weekend on business.) I figure, it’s about my time! (Plus, my toes are OK per the doc.) And really, the ‘Hai is sorting getting to me because I now feel comfortable enough here, that I’m ready to capitalize on “free time” before I hit the lesson plans and such.
Soooooo, after getting quotes from a good handful of travel agents, I booked at approximately 4PM. But get this, agents here SEND COURIERS OUT to HAND DELIVER your E-ticket, Itinerary and Receipt, all the while collect cash from you for payment - at NO ADDITIONAL charge! (Some agencies don’t accept foreign credit cards and/or will add a 3-4% surcharge for use of credit card, period. This country is very much less plastic, and more paper-driven.) Poor dude had to come all the way from the west side of Puxi allll the way into Pudong for the transaction, but he made it nonetheless at 6:30PM! Totally awesome! (Now let’s just hope that this is legit!…. ha! But Lisa has recommended this agent, so her word is under the microscope right now… but it should be fine… I think… )
Look at what they actually deliver:
Looks official… It’s got the all-important “red stamp” on it, so that’s a plus. The “Red Stamp” is superly duperly highly regarded here… consider it the government-approved stamp or something like that. Everything that has any legal/approval significance MUST have an original red stamp, or else call it null and void. Head shake and shrug.
So, if you don’t hear from me for a while… don’t get all too worried, I’ll be in Hong Kong with some extended fam-a-lam for 10 days. Looking forward to some chill time in addition to actually understanding people when they speak!
“Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” from self-titled album by McFadden & Whitehead (1979)
Disclaimer: I’ll be weaving through the Forest of Randomness in this one.
Soooo the Olympics! Yes, big story. Yes, everyone from the States is asking me about it. And my answer: “Yeah, it’s happening, but it’s not like it is happening IN Shanghai (with the exception of a few games), so it is ‘life as usual’ here with the exception of every public television screen is pretty much guaranteed to have it on.
(Something like this from my yesterday at Barbarossa… I caught China v. Spain in basketball. Quite intense, Spain hustled for comeback, bringing the game to OT and eventually pulled for the W. But yeah, restaurants are very much equipped with these projection screens.)
Next, why am I not at the Olympics? Answer: “Though I was invited to see the Boxing matches there, my logical side kicked in - this country is already overpopulated as is; Olympics is in invitation to overpopulation to the infinity exponent. I don’t do crowds nor drama.”
Anyhoots, we (as in the Benetton crew: me, Ralph, Cubes and Eugen) were invited to an apt party to fill our tummies with dumplings while watching the opening ceremony. Here’s our classroom-like photo..
My favorite part of the ceremony were the human block/cube thingies. I/We were all fixated and trying to figure out if they were mechanical or human … and then we saw feet… and then men unmasking themselves from the blocks, waving at the end of the performance. Super Bravo!
Here’s a synop clip of the ceremony for those that missed it:
After sticking it out till the torch was lit, we took our butts over to nearby night spot, Muse. Place was aight. Two floors. First floor was filled with southern crunk crap with pushing and shoving and oh but wait, they did actually play one Arrested Development track, “Everyday People” - which I appreciated amidst Lil’ Wayne and other Lil’ people from the south. Shrug. The upstairs was a bit better. Less crowded and seemed to be more older, mature folks. Live cover band, though vocalists were terrrrrible, I still appreciated music in live form. (Sorry no pics this time around.)
Saturday, we rose and shoned- and decided to culturally do up The Shanghai Museum…
But because we arrived so late (4pmish) on a weekend day, apparently the museum was filled to capacity. Here are the fellas, disgusted by rejection:
So we were forced to march onward through People’s Square Park. Look at the perrtiness:
We then split ways as since Cubes and R had not visited the totally awesome Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibit and we highly recommended it, E and I decided to hit the afternoon sips at the JW Marriott at Tomorrow Square.
Nice aerial view of People’s Square from the 38th floor:
Including a shot of Barbarossa, where we would later meet back up and dine with the fellas…
It was also E’s last night in Shanghai… so… yeah…. he decided to light fireworks on the Ascott lawn?!?!
Eventually we got ourselves down to the French Concession area; But since we had to wait for our 2nd cab (E and Max) to arrive, R, Cubes and I decided to explore the strip and check in on the handful of ..well, frankly, whore houses. Cubes said it best in his unique German accent, “I don’t think these places are proper.” These places were absolutely YUCK as the female waitresses attacked us upon entering. We “checked for the drink menu” while observing its patrons: old, gray haired, yuck men surrounded by asian women workers. Here’s Cubes and R outside one of them. (The girls began to scatter as they saw me break out my camera… Gee, I wonder why??!!)
Then finally, we hit our destination of Velvet Lounge. I dug this spot the first time I came, and I dug it again this time around. This says a lot folks!
Some randoms…
Getting sleepy tired…
So we dipped to a venue new to us, but have heard so much about, called Babyface.
Upon arrival, I immediately had flashbacks of the infamous Richy experience and catfight. And why wouldn’t it be, especially since Richy and Babyface are under the same managing umbrella. Anyhoots, it was late in the night..and folks were already acting up outside of the club. We headed in anyway: two massive rooms, one hip hop, the other techno. SUPER PACKED, lights, smoke machines.. you know the deal….
By the looks of the crowd and (lack of) space above, you guessed it. I made for a quick exit, and will probably never step foot back in there again.
OK and moving on … Sunday came. After a much-needed and filling lunch meal with E, we met up with Max for an afternoon Thai Massage at a local massage parlor. The experience was quite interesting as we 3 were placed in the same room, with me in the middle. This place (sorry no pics) was truly… “you get what you pay for.” (One hour Thai massage for 88rmb = $13usd) Lights were kept on, and the workers (or at least mine and Max’s) kept chatting throughout the entire time in Shanghainese, while E was getting chopped and slapped - Not the most relaxing environment. The only time they grew quiet with the chatter was towards the end stretch of the massage session, when I was asked if E and I were an item; I responded, “Yes, actually they are both my boyfriends.” HA!… As a society that is seemingly accustomed to having men (especially foreign) pimping the women ratio… (remember the KTV experience), they became confused and silent to think that women can pimp too. LOL.
Anyway, it was also E’s last day (you’ll be missed!) in the ‘Hai and he had wished to have his farewell dinner at a restaurant most famous for its Peking Duck, called The Duck King. Max had dined here before with his pops, so it came highly recommended. We ordered 3 ducks, fried rice, dumplings and fried spring rolls. The servers wheeled a cart adjacent to our table and carved away…. boneless ala Thanksgiving turkey style. “Peking duck” is served with soft-tortilla-esque wraps, sliced cucumbers and duck sauce… Delish!
This also served as a “Welcome to Shanghai” meal for our latest addition, another ABC from NYC… Wan Hing! WH is slated to be in Shanghai for two years, to teach English at a different International school from mine, however also situated on the Pudong side. We started talking a few months back of our plans to live abroad in the ‘Hai, and wow, here we both are in flesh! Welcome!!
At the end of each meal, the restaurant issues a certificate with the duck number served since its 1989 establishment… In my case, I got Duck # 1,080,800.
So my little oopsie from the pool party got me eventually checked into the Shanghai East International Hospital VIP Clinic. Yes, that’s right. V-I-P. (What exactly happened is still a big question mark, but rumor has it, my foot must’ve dragged on pavement or something before being thrown in the pool… leaving a couple of nasty cuts on my toes… but I’m FINE.) Here’s the story:
After a day’s worth of swollen discomfort on Sunday, and learning the my Neosporin tactic wasn’t really doing much for my cuts, I checked myself in on Monday of last week - along with the aid of Lisa and school logistics admin lady, Patty (who speaks a little English, meant to be my translator.) Patty is a giggly, sweet lady who reminds me much of Olive Oyl from Popeye. Anyhoots, we went to the hospital and amidst all the rushing around of folks, Patty heads over to security personnel to ask for info, and she turns to ask me… “Special or Regular?” And OF COURSE, with a question like that, I responded, “Special.” Sooooo then I was lead to the VIP Ward. Pretty nifty as since apparently Lisa had visited that hospital before but NEVER received the treatment in the VIP section. Ahh well… that’s how I roll. And as my friend Kym from home reminded me, “You have a GLOBAL VIP pass anywhere you go!” … DUHHH!!
Ok so here we are, signing in…
Then waiting for the doc… I think I was the happiest, injured person in there. I couldn’t stop laughing for some reason. See, doesn’t Patty remind you of Olive Oyl??
Got x-rayed…. NO FRACTURE!
I got cleaned and wrapped up…
Then Dose 1 of Penicillin came via IV injection. I guess they don’t believe in pilled penicillin over here.. unfortunately… because I ended up having to return for 2 more consecutive days in order to get 2.5hours worth of penicillin injected - to tame my infection.
But I am ALL OKAY. I’ve been walking. No complications… aside from the stupid bandage on my toes, to allow for the cuts to heal.
But I’ve learned, definitely get checked in as “special / vip” because we had to walk through the “regular” waiting room in order to exit our first night as it was late…and to quote my friend, Eugen: “If you walk in without any diseases, you are bound to walk out with a handful.” It was a room full of all sorts of ailments, folks with different IV pumps, various beds etc. - all waiting to be seen. In a sense, it is very sad to think of the disproportionate treatment amongst the ill - the rich/poor divide. But personally, I was glad that I was admitted in the more “westernized” section where doctors/nurses were able to speak some English. Though, I’m sure the bill came out to be higher as well; you get what you pay for.
Overall, I am still in disbelief in my 6 weeks here, I’ve already seen the police station and hospital. Just simply unreal. But! No worries.. I’m still kickin!
One of the first things I was tipped on upon arrival in Shanghai by colleague, Thomas, was the breakdown of taxi tricks. Basically, certain colored-cabs are legit and others…not so much. All sorts of shady stuff can happen… from looping, to meter jumping etc etc. So take note:
RED = THE WORST; AVOID RED CABS IF YOU CAN
Actually, my taxi from the airport to the school, when I first landed, was red and the total came out to something like 175rmb. I gave him 200rmb and he had the nerve to ask if it was OK to keep the change. (Tipping is NOT common here at all.) At 2AM in the morning, I muscled my hand motions to ensure that I wanted “two - five” back. Bastardos! So yeah, the red cabs are not legit ones… and they are more prone to take what they can get out of a foreign face.
Next BAD = DARK BLUE. (Though, I haven’t had any real incidents to report.)
Then it gets BETTER with the WHITE AND YELLOW. (But others may beg to differ.)
And finally, the BEST BETS would be GREEN AND TEAL. (I feel comfy in these.)
But! Despite saying all of this, ya still gotta watch yourself, check the meters, acquaint yourself with the roads etc. no matter what color cab you find yourself in. And I’ve been told, IF for any reason you do find yourself in a dispute with the charge and/or the driver is being mcshady, then whip out your camera and take a picture of his Driver ID Card (that sits on the head board); Supposedly, the driver will give into your wishes as he/she does not want to be reported… They end up paying 4 times as much back to the rider… something to that effect.
Tones Tones Tones Tones! That’s what the language of Mandarin revolves around. The actual pinyin (standard mandarin romanization system based on sound) is a helpful tool, however that is only half the battle. The more challenging part is to pronounce it correctly by hitting the right tone. (Mandarin has 4 tones.)
So in my first few weeks of extreme ignorance, I would hop into cabs and hand over my cheat sheet card of my address in both Chinese and English, and just hope the driver wouldn’t take me for a ride. After a few days, I opted to attempt to direct the driver verbally in addition to use the cheat sheet card… And of course, this laid out the welcome mat for mass confusion.
See, the area in which the school is situated is the “Green City International Community” or … “Jin Qiao” in mandarin…..
It took me a while to get the pronunciation correct… “Jin” has a super high tone. “Qiao” has this downward hook tone, and for a while I was mis-pronouncing the area to the likeness of asking the driver to take me to some beer - Tsingdao Beer to be exact. (I now invite you to share my dizzying pain of getting around town over here… Le Sighhhhhhhhh)
OK so there is this architectural piece around my area that reminds me a little bit of Chicago every time I see it; namely the Jay Pritzker Pavilion aka Pritzker Music Pavilion. For those who haven’t a clue as to what I am referring to, here’s a lil lesson:
Frank Gehry, winner of the National Medal of Art, applied his signature style to this revolutionary outdoor concert venue, located in Chicago’s Millenium Park. The Pavilion stands 120-feet high, with a billowing headdress of brushed stainless steel ribbons that frame the stage opening and connect to an overhead trellis of crisscrossing steel pipes. The trellis supports the sound system, which spans the 4,000 fixed seats and the Great Lawn, which accommodates an additional 7,000 people.
My flicks:
And thennnnn there’s this contraption near the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in Pudong area of Shanghai:
It is totally random and I can’t seem to find the proper English name of the thing for the life of me. But! I learned that it is basically a steel structure of a sundial… I’m sure there is some historical significance of the thing, but unfortunately I can’t share that with ya’ll just yet.. because, frankly, I haven’t a clue!
So, while not so much a performance venue, but the design itself has a bit of resemblance. Anyway, it’s late; I’m tired, so be happy with my random gibberish and flicks! Yours Truly~~~~
Yesterday, I was graced with a timely and insightful program called, Culture Matters, on the ICS (International Channel Shanghai).
About:
Culture Matters is China’s first cross-cultural bilingual talk show. Its target demographic is aimed at well-educated Chinese audiences interested in western culture, as well as foreign expats living in Shanghai. Unlike other talk shows or interview programs, Culture Matters sets its sights on comparing and contrasting various aspects of eastern and western culture. The show’s host and guests will draw upon a vast range of cross-cultural topics to discuss in a lively and insightful fashion. Topics include differences in education, adventure, food, housing, cultural symbols, etc.
This particular segment greeted two guests: Ms. Carolyn Choy of NYU Shanghai and Mr. Peter Gainey of The Scholar Ship. Both proponents of introducing and immersing young adults to the global community, I took an extreme interest to the show’s discussion… especially since Ms. Choy is repping my alma-mater and all. (NYU Holla! )
Ms. Choy first broke down the “semester abroad” experience, dropping historic factoids such as, as the U.S.’s largest private university, NYU’s former president (at my time, my president), Dr. Jay Oliva, founded the “League of World Universities” in 1991 - whose membership now represents nearly fifty of the world’s great urban universities. NYU’s first site - La Pietra, is a cluster of five magnificent villas in Tuscany (also my alma mater, holla!) bequeathed to NYU by the late Sir Harold Acton and the Lillian Vernon Center for International Affairs at Washington Square, serve as hubs for international activities that draw scholars and students from around the world. Moreover today, NYU has study abroad locales in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, Ghana, London, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Shanghai and opening this fall: Tel Aviv… in addition to opening up a satellite campus to mirror NYC’s Washington Square campus in Dubai!
Mr. Gainey’s Scholar Ship, on the other hand, offers a global experience via a cruise ship, enrolling students from around the world 16 weeks at a time, while traveling to up to 8 different countries.
Of course debates between both approaches were heard over which method allowed for a more complete immersion within foreign cultures, and Ms. Choy totally put Mr. Gainey on the spot since while his approach sounds fabulous, it also almost sounds like 8 countries in 16 weeks is a wham-bam experience… but in any case, both agreed upon some major points when it came to inter-cultural competence while living in a foreign land. And it is THIS that brought me back down to ground level with my own experience here in the Far East. Just a few random points touched upon from the show, as I am rushing through this particular post:
Generally speaking, Americans are quick to boasts of its mightiness, multi-cultural society yada yada. But in actuality, many are left to only learn “global perspectives” within the confines of the US borderlines. Not to say that this is wrong or inadequate, however establishes itself as an oxymoron. For one thing, yes, English is the more powerful language to date in the global business sphere, however this backfires as it makes Americans “lazy” or “too good” to pick up another language (figuring, there’s no real need to). Well then, how multi-culti / global can you be, if you’re mono-lingual?
The greatest lesson to learn while living abroad is the value of “acceptance.” Experiences good and poor (note: not bad) are bound to occur. Different ways of viewing/doing things is most definitely going to be a part of everyday life, however getting over that hump with an open mind; to limit constant criticism in order to open arms of acceptance is key to surviving with sanity.
In (what has become) our little mission of hotel bar hopping, E & I had checked out The Four Seasons Hotel for an afternoon sidecar sip on one Sunday afternoon. Interesting as since this is the first sidecar that I have had that was served with brown/greenish tint. I mentioned its uniqueness in color to the waiter, however he took my observation the wrong way and double checked with the bartender to see if he made it correct. LOL. The waiter returned and informed us that the bartender admitted to following the recipe. LOL.
A few evenings later, we upped it a few notches by hitting up the luxurious Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. OMG -this place smells delicious!! I have never walked into a public place that smelled sooo wonderful!! Candles, flowers, whatever it was - the entire hotel was pleasantly perfumed. Anyway, we headed up to the “avant garde” Jade on 36 restaurant/bar on… you guessed it, the 36th floor… So, it wasn’t as high as I had thought it was to be. But an OK spot … view could’ve been better had the Oriental Pearl Tower been better lit….
My friend JJ had recommended this spot as a “must check out”…so I took his word and have to agree, it’s one of my favorite places thus far!!This sophisticated and intimate lounge has amazing views of both the Bund and Pudong. This two-floor bar at Hyatt on the Bund features an open jacuzzi on it’s rooftop!!
Despite amidst typhoony conditions, we went anyway… it was so windy! Look at my hair!
Meet Lisa below. Another fellow ABC!! and also a teacher at the school; this will be her 2nd year. Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, her rather thick NY accent cracks me up, all the while, make me feel right at home!! We’ve also concluded that she gets the “Chinese Pass” - meaning, she can blend in and be mistaken to be a local Chinese around here, while I, still get the foreign treatment. In my one month stay here thus far, I’ve pretty much learned that I am not Chinese by way of reasons: a) I don’t look Chinese. b) I don’t dress like a Chinese. c) and I don’t speak Mandarin, but have been told I have “perfect Cantonese pronunciation.” GO FIGURE!! However, what I do get is…. Are you mixed? Hawaiian? Spanish? Singaporean, Malaysian? Philipino? …..Lisa, on the other hand, can speak broken Mandarin, and this.. I definitely appreciate!! Many people either think she is my tour guide and/or my hired translator. HAAAAA! It’s GREAT for me! Bwahahhahaha!
“Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” from self-titled album by McFadden & Whitehead (1979)
