Chapter 20: Hello, China!

leaving soon

2011-08-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

So, looks like I'm leaving Shanghai soon. If I elaborated further, I'm not sure I could capture my sadness accurately enough.

lack of things to say

2011-08-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

Please refer to these other brilliantly written and insightful blogs which capture the essence of HCF culture and adventures (and mostly madSTRUGGLES): misadventures and struggle bus. The latter entered the blogosphere relatively recently, but hit a homerun with his last post which accurately depicts the complex language of our group. It's also his birthday -- happy birthday, John!

post twenty-seven in which I travel to M50 and Yu Yuan Garden but end up collecting memories of past rainstorms

2011-08-02T22:41:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was highly productive: I went shopping, bought new glasses (crappy though they may be), visited M50, the Urban Planning Museum, and Yu Yuan Garden area.

M50 is the art district of Shanghai. It's a block of art galleries which are more representative of present-day China/what I see in China -- paintings of construction work, building cranes, large Chinese faces peering at you from behind counters, and paintings mocking the Party with pacifier-sucking Mao's. Anyway, it was refreshing to see modern art not reminiscent of Communist themes.

Urban Planning Museum had a room solely dedicated to a model of present-day Shanghai. There was also a floor of pictures from the early 19th century - it's amazing how much Shanghai has changed. The photos from the 1940s showed wide streets with people sitting on curbs in front of small shacks - now it's all skyscrapers and malls.

I just saw the most amazing lightning bolts hit the very top of the building across from I work (it acted as the lightning rod). That's actually a lie. I thought about all the times I have seen rain and lightning and thunder and I can remember some specific memories which were more impressive than now.

1. June 3rd, when my family was celebrating my dad and grandmother's birthdays and the most insane lightning/thunder storm started. We shut off all the lights, lit some candles, and drank tea/ate dessert while watching massive lightning bolts shoot across the night sky. There was one about every second. It was the most amazing storm I've seen.

2. Rain reminds me of the time my mom and I went to DC to get my passport renewed and the cloudy sky was intimidating us all day, though actual rain was lacking. We made it to all the touristy stops in the National Mall and when we had an hour left before our departure time, it finally started raining. By that time, the museums were closed as well (it was around 5PM), so we made our way to the airport, happily unscathed.

3. Back when I used to go to Latvia for the summer to visit my grandmother, I would meet up with my friends every day at 4 and we would run around the neighborhood. We would play badminton, soccer/football, go to the beach, play this weird game similar to squash, or just sit around and talk. Summer, however, brings unexpected rainstorms, so there were always days when we found ourselves running to the nearest entrance to some flat to play cards (some weird form of poker or durak).

4. Bermuda rainstorms are really nice. Salt water, wind -- very pleasant.

5. That whole month or two of rain that began in March/April of this year - not pleasant.

It looks like the rain ended - maybe ?

sixteen days to go

2011-07-28T01:22:00.000-07:00

Not that I'm counting down or anything. I really like Shanghai -- it's a city I've grown familiar with. I like the food, the vibrant city, my job, the people I've grown close to. But I also wouldn't mind spending a day at home, running up my staircase to my room, shuffling down in the morning for some granola and yogurt (or cereal or grapefruit or oatmeal), cooking and sitting around in the kitchen, etc. I would really enjoy one or two days -- after that I'd be ready to go back to Shanghai! Or elsewhere. No point in staying in one place forever.

A couple of us went to Beijing this weekend and crashed with other HCF-ers (HI, IDA !!). We toured the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, and Olympic Stadium. We had Peking duck (SO DELICIOUS) and drank a lot of CoCo bubble tea. On Saturday night we went out to experience BJ nightlife. We ate scorpion and silkworm. We were constantly drenched in sweat (especially when climbing the Great Wall). It was great seeing new (old?) faces and I'm so happy that the other BJ HCF-ers went along with us on some of our adventures.

Maybe I've become too accustomed to Shanghai, but I REALLY prefer Shanghai over Beijing. Beijing was super smoggy (we couldn't even see the Olympic Stadium across the street...), really hot, and too crowded (the metro was way more pushy and really inefficient in its walk-a-gazillion-miles transfer system). It was very different -- even the people looked different. There are definitely more historical/cultural sights to see in Beijing, though... Meh, I still like Shanghai more.

Back in Shanghai, I've finally realized bao zi lady has been replaced by bao zi man. Initially, I had thought this would be a temporary thing, but bao zi lady has been absent for far too long. I don't mind -- he's friendly enough and tries to speak Chinese to me even though I clearly indicate that I don't understand through my blank facial expression and confused nodding/shrugging. The other day he motioned for me to hand over my whole wallet several times as a joke which I mind only so far as to make note of it in an online blog with a readership of at most, like, ten people.

I guess the latter rant demonstrates the lack of happenings in my life. Beijing was fun. I like Shanghai more.

new friends and happiness

2011-07-20T02:38:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the past week, that I feel intimidated to even begin writing about it. First things first, though: Beijing this weekend is a go! After days of dealing with Giggles and a hectic hour at the train station ticket office, a group of us finally has tickets to Beijing! Great Wall, here I come.

In other news:

Last Wednesday, Rena, Rachel, and I went to Mural, where we saw our favorite band and were invited to a club party on Saturday by a shameless club promoter. So, Saturday was rather ridiculous. The party at the club, conveniently located in the middle of nowhere, was 80's themed -- a strange theme to have in China. The people we met were even more strange (some guy from cambridge who hangs out at Felipe's, the extremely ginger guy who invited us, his friend who dropped out of school to come to Shanghai because he loved it so much, etc). The bassist from our favorite band (The Gooda Boys) made a showing! The bartenders were interesting to talk to, though their internship of marketing the club aka bartending was a bit weird. I'm not sure what customers they're ever going to get since their club is located in North Shanghai, in the basement of a business office (?) which was pitch black and freaked all of us out when we accidentally began climbing the stairs in search for the party.

Anyway, that was just a minor part of the week. Saturday was also devoted to seeing 1933, an arbattoir which has since become a shopping/restaurant area (and has the Ferrari Owners Club of China!). The building is really interesting -- the place is made of some weird stone which winds in little paths and bridges. It almost feels like being in this computer game I used to play called Myst. Picture attached for clarification of description.

Somewhere in the past week I have also been to Taikang Lu, which is a market of very narrow winding alleys, with shops selling trinkets and pricey restaurants selling drinks all around. It's very cute, though it has a bit of the touristy feel (who am I kidding? A LOT of the touristy feel). Picture!

On Sunday, Rachel and I went to Suzhou, which is nicknamed the "Venice of the East." It was really nice to finally get out of Shanghai. We went to a beautiful garden which reminded me of the villages we visited during orientation. I didn't see many canals; or, rather, I saw one which was probably the main one because it flowed along a street contained a vast market place/shopping area/temple. The bridges along the canal were really gorgeous (yes, you're going to have to tilt your head).

One of the best parts of the trip was purchasing tickets, ordering food, and getting around Suzhou -- there was NO English anywhere, so the fact that two white girls who speak no words of Chinese managed to get there, explore, and come back is quite an accomplishment. At least, I like to think so. The miming helped, as did the countless people who came up to us, without solicitation, to help us. Apparently, we were very approachable that day.

I also made a new friend on Monday after walking into a Muslim noodle place and looking at the picture menu on the wall with uncertainty. It must have been uncertainty or some other readable expression of not-knowing-what-I'm-doing, because a Chinese woman sitting on an orange stool by me asked what I wanted and then proceeded to invite me to dinner with her. She had just returned from work with her coworker, who sat across from her. We talked for a while, she paid for my meal, and went back to her home on the corner. Although she lives on the same street as me and I am eventually going to invite her out to lunch, I am uncertain about our friendship. She was super kind, spoke great English, and told me a bit about where she came from and what she did in Shanghai -- however, she also made the critical mistake of THINKING I WAS TWENTY FIVE. This is five years older than I am. Do I really look that old? How do I look younger? Advice appreciated!

Sigh.

I'm really enjoying making new friends in Shanghai. It's so funny to think that speaking to The Gooda Boys at The Boxing Cat Brewery initiated this chain of events which led to Mural on Wednesday, ginger's party on Saturday, and becoming rather good friends with the bassist. It feels like we've burst into the Shanghai social scene. Or at least into the very tangential reaches of the social scene. Or maybe not at all. Regardless, it's been nice meeting new people.

Also, I feel happy all the time nowadays -- so many adventures! HAPPINESS.

things I have learned

2011-07-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

When I came to work and live in China, I expected to learn more about my future, but I find, instead, that this trip has given me more perspective on the past. Long train rides to work are good for that. I think about this past semester and the choices I made, my family and my attitude, who and what I considered important and how that has changed. I can see how some things I did before were silly; I also think about things I regret.

Being in China, away from family and close friends, meeting new people and discussing new topics, is a good environment to be retrospective. In fact, the division between life before China, and life with this new perspective, is almost palpable. I'm so glad I have this opportunity to be ("in a sorts of sense") away from everything and everyone from before just so I can understand more about what it all means. It's like being on an island, separated from the rest of the world, with only your thoughts and memories.

I wonder what it will be like to come back after this. I wonder if I will ever change or what I'll do with this new understanding of the past. Long train rides are good for that.

a very Chinese weekend

2011-07-11T06:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend was a very Chinese weekend in that I did not frequent many expat-infested places.

There was a dinner party at Joe's on Friday (with Shelter, a club that played strange/dubstep music, after), Science and Technology Museum (and an art gallery near the Bund) on Saturday, and visiting children of migrant workers at their school on Sunday. So, maybe it wasn't a completely expat-free weekend, but the fact that M2 and Zapata's didn't make an appearance is something new.

The Science and Technology Musuem was extremely large -- we visited the Animal Kingdom, Tropical Rainforest, Spider exhibit (where we witnessed spiders mating to a soundtrack that included the Beach Boys, Queen, and Tina Turner), the Robotics exhibit (where we saw dressed-up robots..dancing), and the Light of Wisdom room (which blew our minds). The last room had a crazy misaligned vertigo room and MIND GAMES where we challenged each other to a brain wave competition. Each person wore a headband which calculated brain signals and you had to push a marble that was in front of you toward the other person while your opponent did the same. I don't think I stopped laughing the whole time.

Visiting the migrant children was loads of fun! They were really sweet. Some looked smaller and some looked larger than their age of 12/13, but all seemed to enjoy learning the Hokey Pokey. We also learned a choreographed piece by the HKU kids featuring a bouncing heart and other emotion-inducing dance moves. Later, we presented about "Things in America" (which included the BALD EAGLE, CHEESEBURGER, and BARACK OBAMA) and took way too many pictures. As we were smiling for one with the HKU kids, the director of the HKU program, who also started the migrant school we were at, said, "Smile..it's the Chinese way. Propaganda." Apart from this remark, he seemed really attentive to the kids (especially his shy son, Arthur). He started the school three years ago after he heard how a child had died in a fire in her home where she had been locked up. Children of migrant workers can't go to regular schools, so they usually stay at home. This school, built especially for migrant workers, was for 1100 students. The school itself was not very large and quite primative in classroom structure (though not the shabbiest I've seen), so I'm not sure how it fit that many school children. Nevertheless, the kids seemed fine with being there on a Sunday, uniform-clad, red scarves around their necks, sitting with perfect posture. I played games with the cutest little boy and got to do the Hokey Pokey; I was content.

I was still content after street food dinner that night, so I took a walk around the neighborhood. I walked to a huge stadium and bridge near our hostel and then the other way toward Lancun Lu. For 7/8PM there were a lot of people on the streets. The hair salon was extremely busy, as were the shops selling shoes, clothes, and fruit. So many street food vendors lined the street that I regretted not bringing money with me for more treats. The best part was seeing what people in China did on a Sunday night: they danced in a square (though this happens every night), sat around tables on the street to eat their dinner, and watched television. Pretty normal. They were as content as I was, sitting on wooden stools outside their shops, watching passer-bys. The scene I saw felt so comfortable that I was sad that parts of it were being taken over by construction and progress. I wish they could sit there forever. I wish the moment could be captured with a painting or a photo. Maybe that's a bit selfish -- maybe they're not as content as they look. But I can't help thinking that this is all just part of a culture...and a culture that I don't want to change. If I ever saw that scene imprinted in a drawing, I wouldn't ever want to change it. I wouldn't want to place them in a KFC or a five star restaurant; that wouldn't be authentic. Many organizations seek to induce progress in other cultures, but sometimes I wish things would remain as they are. Everyone is happy in their own way, and I'm sure they're happy in theirs. Of course, this is all coming from a white girl who lives in Boston. What do I know?

I am also watching a show on a Chinese TV channel that is teaching English -- by teaching Chinese teenagers about CAMPING.

"Camping is catching on in China too! I hope you all get a chance to go camping and share stories around a campfire."

I'm having a difficult time imagining this.

good morning!

2011-07-07T19:27:00.001-07:00

How you doin'?

some more realizations and the misfortune of becoming a "regular"

2011-07-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks I began to become a little complacent with my stay in Shanghai. Since I've seen most of the categorized parts of the city (Jing'an, West Nanjing, People's Square, French Concession, East Nanjing, Bund, etc), I began to think that my further explorations would be similar. And, thus, I settled into a routine of su bao lady, work, dinner, sleep. However, the other day, I realized that there is still much to explore! There is still a trip to Beijing, a trip to a water village, and endless excursions to museums and ancient streets that I had not considered. Unfortunately, I only have five weekends left to see more of the city. AHH.

Also, to continue my last post's realization and explain why I'm not enjoying consulting:

Businesses request consultants to help improve their company. I'm not fond of the idea of working to improve a money-making machine. I would rather be working at the business.

Management consulting is a lot of surveys, interviews, databases, productized services, powerpoints, charts, and creativity. It's very analytical and, in a way, touches on psychology. That's not really my thing. If I did turn to consulting, I would rather do environmental consulting because it works with companies to make them more environmentally friendly; the environment is a "real" thing. Management consulting helps employees of companies grow as laborers and insures they get adequate benefits/remuneration -- that's very important...but not something of interest to me. I guess it's the area of consulting, not consulting itself, with which I'm having a problem.

Yesterday, I wanted to get a different breakfast food because it is getting too hot for bao zi and they seem to be getting worse every morning. Unfortunately, because I am now a "regular," my food was prepared for me the moment I stepped up to the door of the small shop. Today, though, I was assertive and asked for a strange rice congee-like substance in a bubble tea-like cup. It was, in fact, rice congee; it was refreshing.

Another realization: most people don't know what they want to do later in life. A handful do (PREMEDS) -- but not all. And that's OK. So, I won't worry about it too much.

Also, I saw a family living under a bridge the other day. They were doing laundry in a dirty river. Hmm.

not really sure what to write about anymore

2011-07-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we celebrated the Fourth of July with burgers (and AMPLE KETCHUP) at The Boxing Cat Brewery. Listened to American hits played by a live band surrounded by guys wearing American flag capes and bandanas. Go America! Made friends with the band, consumed potato salad.

I'm realizing I don't like consulting very much. I can't explain specifically why at the moment, but when I figure it out, I'll tell you.

Ready for lunchtime -- come here soon, pork fat!

Mr. Pancake House

2011-06-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today has been made loads better because

1. Just took the co-interns to Mr. Pancake House and had delicious banana walnut pancakes. C0-interns loved it.

2. Taught the co-interns how to use a fork and knife. YESS -- finally the reversal of the "Oh, you know how to use chopsticks/let me show you how to grab the super slippery sea cucumber with those chopsticks" trend. Chopsticks, you did not see that one coming, did ya.

Sigh, just glad I was able to teach someone else something that seems so simple.

Happy 90 Years CPC!

2011-06-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hey, CPC, I know you're celebrating today, but maybe you could also make the metro trains run on time? Playing the Chinese version of America's Funniest Home Videos on the Metro TV is not going to make me feel better. And, thanks, Dixie Chicks, for belting about "Wide Open Spaces" while I'm stuck between a guy in a face mask and a man the size of and wearing the same color scheme as Barney, the Purple Dinosaur. THERE IS NO PERSONAL SPACE.

!!!

Back to my bao zi and Excel. -.-

realization one

2011-06-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Realization: Being rich wouldn't be so bad. I have always wanted to be "financially comfortable," without being overly caught up in riches. Recently, though, I've realized that I would prefer to be rich so I could be comfortable/excessive/poor whenever it struck my fancy. Plus, I would have more opportunity for whimsical exploits...like inventing random contraptions...or helping other people.

Also, I think the Communist Party has an office near my inn (big surprise, right?) because the other day I saw a group of middle-aged men and women walking around my neighborhood, wearing those red "90-years-since-1921" shirts and carrying red stars on sticks.

Discovery! thanks to AW: I want to go here! Alas, back to work aka catching up on world news.

hasma

2011-06-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I ate the fallopian tubes of frogs for lunch and they were delicious.

Also, one of my suggestions for a slogan at work was chosen as the final one! Yay! Yes, work consists of brainstorming slogans, making powerpoints, and spell-checking.

[insert a Rena-five-minute-toast here]

2011-06-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

The Shanghai weather has been beautiful lately -- warm, blue skies, light breeze. The city is really growing on me. I really like walking around in this strange place and observing the people and their habits, especially on summer days like this. It's very relaxing.

Friday was Ligo, so Katie and I celebrated by drinking sangria and eating pizza at Dr. Wine (we dismissed our earlier plans of Noodle Bull as below par). Both food and wine were delicious, as expected. After, the HCF girls all went to Constellation Bar 3 -- pricey drinks, but worth it for the excellent taste and mix.

I woke up around 7AM on Saturday with zero plans. After finishing watching Somewhere, which I really enjoyed, I took a walk around the neighborhood. Su bao lady was still out, so I munched on my usual breakfast as I strolled the streets. There are many more street vendors on the streets deeper in the neighborhood; I also discovered a marketplace full of fruit, fish, and jumping frogs for sale! Too bad I can't speak enough Chinese to buy frogs, or else I would surely have bought some and cooked them (also, if I had a kitchen).

Once back at the inn, I took a failed nap and read a bit. I became hungry around noon again, so I walked to the mall for sub-par Italian food.

On the way back, I ran into Liren who was going to People's Square. Without any plans, I joined her. We enjoyed trying different street food at People's Square (and I learned how to say "how much?") before heading over to People's Park. It's very large and has a "waterfall," a fitness area (with non-electric ellipticals -- so caveman like), a lotus pond, and two museums. Two women from Beijing stopped Liren and me to talk with the familiar pick-up line of, "Hello!! Where are you from?" Of course, no one ever believes Liren is from America. On the other hand, I get unusual and unnecessary compliments of, "You are tall and slim...Are you a model in America? Your hair is so curly!" After briefly talking to them, they told us about the marriage market happening in the park.

The marriage market might be the most unusual thing I have encountered so far in China. A large amount of parents sit in the middle of the park with signs detailing their son's/daughther's height, age, income and what their son/daughter is looking for. Other parents and perhaps potential suitors walk around and choose if they would like to speak to the parents or call their potential wife/husband. We met a man from Shanghai/Canada who was looking for his future wife -- he said he was looking for someone he could support and someone he could take back to Canada with him. He didn't have a sign but rather had gone to the park every weekend for the past two months to look for other females. We also met a professional paper-cutting man (he makes silhouttes out of paper) who was apparently praised by President Nixon -- that was just plain weird.

The sad thing is that most of the signs were for people born in the 1970s and 1980s. That seems like a very late age to be looking for a husband or wife.

Later that evening, Rena, Rachel, Jasmine, Liren and I went to Vegetarian Lifestyle Restaurant at Nanjing Xi Lu. Highlights included a creamy fish broth and "spare ribs" which were actually lotus covered in barbecue sauce.

The night ended with a celebration of Paul's birthday: Windows Scoreboard and M2. Those should speak for themselves. M2 was smoky as usual and had way too many old and sketchy expats. I also realized what a difficult job the girl who has to dance the whole night on stage has. It's a great workout...but she also gets hit on by so many disgusting white guys (she wasn't even scantily dressed -- she's just a great dancer). Keep dancing, girl.

The end of the night, beginning with Vegetarian Lifestyle Restaurant, kept reminding me of somewhere. As I sat and watched our group and the people around us, I realized how scenes similar to those in the movie could easily be filmed from our night and the nights of most other expats living in Shanghai.

Also, I keep remembering various memories which I had never thought I would ever think of again. Maybe it's the foreign location or the fact that I'm always tired, but these long lost memories keep coming back: the time my friend Emily and I had a a sleep-over and her mom made clam chowder and we woke up to the smell of breakfast or some random moment in time when I was riding my bike back when I lived in an apartment complex or that time I woke up early and watched Digimon on our couch at home or just the picture of fresh tomatoes and sour cream vividly appearing in my mind. They are all such strange moments to come back to, especially in China. I don't quite understand how forgotten memories have a knack of indiscrimanately returning to me while I'm sitting at my desk in the office or waking up in the morning.

Maybe, it's the influence of Murakami and "sitting in a well." Or, maybe, it could better be described by Owen Meany: "Your memory is a monster; you forget -- it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to our recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you." I don't mean for that to sound ominous or deep -- it just baffles me.

Pictures later.

interesting evening and a dismal photo essay

2011-06-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

A walk after work led to many interesting occurrences. I wouldn't quite call them adventures, but it was a warm summer evening -- a combination which often lends optimism and an agreeable disposition. And so, with my mind buzzing from hours of scouring Bureau of Labor Statistics data and university Concentration requirements, I set off on a solitary adventure. I decided to take a leaf out of Rogier Maaskant's book and take many photographs (and no, I don't read Saatchi Online Magazine daily -- I learned about Saatchi from one of my best friends who visited his museum in London this summer -- shout out!).

Saatchi: What role does the photographer have in society or do you perceive it this way?
Maaskant: My idea is that the ‘role’ I play is to point out things that surprise me, that seem important enough to look at it longer than an instant. It could be triggered by a particular sensitivity for a certain kind of beauty or by an intriguing moment or person. If I am touched, or mildly mesmerized by him, her or something, why wouldn’t others be?

I took many pictures of what "mesmerized" me and what struck my sensitivities. Unfortunately, my amateur photo essay were victim to my poor photography skills and limited knowledge of how to actually use my camera. Nonetheless, photos and story are attached.

After a dinner of Happy Lemon and a ham and cheese croissant type pastry from neighboring Ichido, I walked to Jing'an Park. Google maps displayed it as rather large, with a body of water, so I decided to see if it was actually worthy of the term "park." Indeed, it was. Man-made, but still refreshing. It was like a piece of Central Park -- a small jungle surrounded by an even more larger jungle of neon-adorned skyscrapers and honking traffic. I sat on a small dock across from a restaurant and read for a while. Nearby, two women ate a pizza and sipped on wine as they also sat on the dock. It wasn't quite a dock since the body of water was more of a small pond with koi fish and a frog that I only heard and never saw, but that description should suffice.

That tall building is where I work!

Jing'an Temple on the right.

As dusk set in, I began my walk down Nanjing Xi Lu. For once, I took off my watch and let the city sink in. I visited many small streets and shops as I walked. One of these was Serenata, a small shop that sold antiques. I saw many paintings and teapots for sale which were quite affordable and devastatingly beautiful. I might have to make a trip back to purchase an item.

This tiny girl captured my sensitivities -- alas, a terrible photo.

Along the way, I saw a narrow street where Zheng Xiaoqui, a famous actor from the mid 20-th century, lived. Unfortunately, my photos are of bad quality, but I will attest to the street's quaint character.

My stroll also consisted of many visits to various bakeries -- I'm not sure what it is about bakeries and pastries, but they are usually very pleasing to the eye. Perhaps one of these mornings I will leave early to go to the Nanjing Xi Lu metro stop and purchase something from a bakery.

Upon arriving at the Nanjing Xi Lu metro stop, I was still craving more walking. I saw a white couple purchasing fruit from a street vendor and, upon realizing they were Russian, asked them what a certain strange fruit was (in Russian). Though obviously tourists just like myself, they respondedto my question quickly and dismissively and I continued down the street (though we ended up walking near each other for quite a while).

At People's Square, I saw a tiny (TINY) man with very large (LARGE) glasses. It made me giggle. Not much else happened in this area.

People's Square and monks.

Finally, I reached Nanjing Dong Lu, lit up in bright lights as always. Here, I realized that if someone offers cheap watches and you respond by lazily saying, "Bu yao," while apologetically half-smiling in a way that says, "I've gotten this so many times before - you know I'm not going to buy anything," the seller will also half-smile apologetically, nod knowingly, and stalk off. It's an art - you have to really speak through the eyes.

At one point, I approached a crowd that was singing with an accompaniment of a flute player and an accordian player. This might be the best picture I took today.

Nanjing Dong Lu.

Maybe, the next step in my photo essays should be:

Saatchi: Your images are very intimate. How do you get close to your subjects?
Masskat: I doubt if my images are intimate at all. Most of the photographs are ‘stolen’ moments. Or, I try to get close to people, just by making very direct contact. Saying ‘hello’. Or, with a smile. Sometimes only by looking someone in the eye after I’ve made the picture. To make sure they are fine with it. It is not always as easy as it sounds, but I’ve only been threatened twice, and got away with it unhurt.

In any case, yesterday was an interesting evening.

post twelve in which I develop a routine and contemplate adventures

2011-06-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Last night some of us took a trip to Brown Sugar, an alleged jazz club in Xintiandi. I say alleged because the music consisted of fake jazz for about the first fifteen minutes and then progressed into some style of jazz/rapping/hip hop. Still, the music was great and ladies' night champagne (plus refills) was delicious. The crowd was pretty diverse -- or, rather, it was a diverse mix of expats. Some "regulars" kept coming up to the bar and giving the bartender (mohawk, edgy) strange handshakes for drinks. All in all, a very hip place -- if my stamp of approval means anything, I say go for it.

In other news, I have developed a morning routine of waking up at 7:30 and turning on my computer to listen to music and scroll through emails. This is one of my favorite parts of the day because I recieve so many lovely emails from my friends. I love how interested they are in what I'm doing in China and how my life is going. Hopefully, they know that I love them as much (if not more) and want to know how their summers are going as well!

I have also been contemplating the origin and evolution of adventures. It seems some people have greater affinities toward crazy occurrences than others. Most of the time, these people:

a. have an indifferent/IDGAF attitude

b. aren't afraid to break the rules or get in trouble

c. are attractive

My resolution is to be around people like this more and maybe gain a greater affinity toward craziness (through osmosis?).

three things

2011-06-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

1. Su bao lady knows me by face and knows what I want in the mornings -- I am officially a regular!

2. It is sunny, warm, and the sky is blue-ish.

3. I guess umbrellas are a necessity anyway because just as many people have them on sunny days as on rainy days.

how the other half lives

2011-06-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

Our delicious brunch on Sunday -- mushroom and bokchoy dumplings, "sheep" dumplings (actually vegetarian, but translated wrong), donkey meat dumplings, spicy tofu, and scallion pancakes!

One of the places we encountered on our trip to Fete de la Musique...

I thought it was an interesting part of the city.

See the contrast?

It was all behind this huge billboard advertising the Expo...

Another view of the street...

Cool advertisement, no?

Observing Chinese men play Chinese chess...

...and then there's glamorous Xintiandi.

A couple of us went to H2 yesterday in the French Concession -- it's a great meal for someone who misses Western food! Sandwiches, pizzas, quesadillas, salads, and pasta for affordable prices (all mostly 14-16 rmb, except for the pizza and pasta which were around 24rmb). The interior design is very cute with corks artistically decorating the walls. Just note that seating maxes out at 6 people (the place is super tiny!).

周末

2011-06-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Note to self: when traveling to a foreign country, be sure to pack clothing which allows you to gain a few because this will inadvertently happen.

The theme of this weekend was a perpetual search for the Fete de la Musique which turned out to be impossible to find. Nevertheless, the adventures which resulted as byproducts of this quest totally made the weekend worthwhile.

Saturday was a day like any other weather-wise, meaning it rained constantly. Liren and I took a trip to South Shaanxi Road where it was rumored there was a stage for the Fete. Alas, our time was spent eating Malaysian food samples from a food tent outside the Metro stop and wandering one of the many malls of China with Rachel. One of the more interesting foods was the bird's nest soup which is made by boiling (? or maybe a different cooking verb) a swiftlet's nest with sugar. Apparently, it's a rarity and is sold for 38rmb/gram. Personally, I thought it was a bit tasteless and had the consistency of yolk. Plus, the fact that the nests are so sticky that sometimes the birds become glued to the cave walls until they die of starvation was somewhat depressing.

The mall trip(s) culminated in us wandering into a Howard Johnson hotel where we spent some time sitting in the lounge area, eating free candy and watching Britney Spears music videos on MTV. We are really good tourists.

But, actually, we really are. At one point, we wandered off into a park and sat in a little беседка. There was a group of men across from us that was playing Chinese chess. It was a really nice non-touristy moment where we could observe a couple of Chinese men become really intense about a Chinese board game while we sat peacefully, away from the rain.

Saturday was also the day we went to a fake market -- on Liren's quest for a fake Longchamp bag, we were led from room to secret room to secret room inside the secret room. The whole fake market enterprise prompted a lot of questions: How could there be such an obvious building for fake items? How were the fake items designed? What if the designer of the fake items teamed up with the real designer -- could magic happen? What exactly was the floor plan of this building full of secret doors? Where in the world were the items made? Was this all part of one business or was each little store its own rented-out shop? How long would it take for the fake item to fall apart?

Saturday night consisted of a trip to Club Angel, where two guys from our group felt slightly uncomfortable (perhaps googling the name will explain the reason), and Zapata's, a Tex-Mex place full of great music (GYPSY KINGS!) and persistent expats. My favorite moment at Zapata's, though, was of a girl who challenged an Asian guy to a dance off only to thrust herself at him and do some strange tribal-like contortions -- girl's got guts.

Sunday was less eventful, though Katie, Rachel, and I took a long trip to the Bund in search of another of the Fete stages. By this time, I wasn't too surprised that we didn't find it, but I was glad that we visited the Bund and its views again. Later that night, we had dinner with the Hong Kong students who are staying at our hotel and who also have internships in the city. They are all very smart and down-to-earth and I'm glad we are getting to know them better.

At work, Joe and I have been assigned to make a proposal powerpoint for Hay Group's new client. I'm rather excited because we'll be doing actual work (not editing, proof-reading, etc).

In other news, I think my lungs are going to collapse soon. It's either all the second-hand smoke around here or the mildew in my room burrowing into my lungs. I think I might go to a bakery called Baker and Spice for dinner today -- I keep thinking of the bread and pastries we saw there yesterday. Rachel and I took a moment to sniff the granola to ascertain that it was real.

I am also dreadfully tired today because I was terrorized by a mosquito until 2am yesterday when I finally destroyed its tiny blood-filled body. Great times!

accomplishments & misadventures

2011-06-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's accomplishments included:

- work meeting at 6pm (makes me feel professional)

- meeting the two edgiest (and attractive) people in the office

- interacting with many new people, including Jun(e) from Japan and and his girlfriend, KiKi

Failures:

- deciding to visit Rachel's apartment and taking the metro to the wrong stop right as the metro is closing, finding out the actual stop is across the city once we've been taxi-ing for twenty minutes, and taxi-ing back to the inn after realizing our failure -- thank goodness Liren speaks Chinese or we might have been kidnapped by sketchy rickshaw ladies

The failure came with a price tag for 235rmb...hello, budgeting for the next month!

post seven in which I analyze expat motivations and feel like a yuppie

2011-06-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

I have been quickly learning the subtleties of navigating the Shanghai metro system on my way to work; I now know where to get on the metro for easier transfers between lines and which metro car to get into so that I'm not a sardine in a can. I guess I forgot to mention how packed the metro can be (though there is no person who has to push as in that one Youtube video from Japan where the commuters are packed into a train car by a metro employee).

In the mornings, I see a good number of expats going to work and I'm always stunned by their age. Perhaps this is in juxtaposition to the young Asian workers, but the expats usually look around mid-30s (read: old, bearded, sometimes bald, unattractive). Yesterday while I was waiting for the elevator at work to take me down to the first floor, I overheard some from the company next door talking about going out, getting drunk, and picking up the ladies. Upon closer inspection, I realized one of them was stout, had a ponytail, and glasses. It seems as if Shanghai is party central -- you come in as a Westerner, make money in the booming market, and celebrate your waning youth at night. It's very Great Gatsby-esque in that the expats have a lot of the money and go to the stylish and elaborate clubs while the Chinese villagers labor a la the Wilsons who owned the garage in Gatsby. I think I've mentioned this several times, but everything here seems excessive.

I probably need to see more of the country and Shanghai, though, before I can make more solid conclusions.

In other news, I have finally figured out how to make soluble coffee at work and met two other interns from local universities (having lunch with them today!!). Yesterday, I had delicious bok choy and mushroom jiaozi with Katie, and shared free champagne (yeah ladies' night!) and a drink called "Belvedere Mr. Right" with Katie, Liren, Rena, and Rachel -- we ladies are so classy. I also met some of the Hong Kong students staying at our inn who are also interning in the city; they are super friendly and I can't wait to get to know them better!

Times when I feel that I am in a foreign country

2011-06-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

include riding on the metro with no Harvard accompaniment while Chinese people continuously glance at me and waking up at 4am only to realize that I am in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, and in an unfamiliar country. The latter makes me crave my room at school (which I'm all too excited about decorating this year!).

On the bright side, I had a brilliant dinner of noodles, eel, and shrimp with Rachel and Rena in East Nanjing yesterday. The little hole-in-the-wall place was delicious -- thanks, LonelyPlanet! East Nanjing looks very much like Times Square and since it's a Times Square-like plaza in China, "excessive" would be a great understatement. So many lights!

first day of work

2011-06-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

First day of work went really well. After a one yuan breakfast of su baozi, I took the metro (which is very clean and much nicer than the T and New York metro). Given that it was the first very clean thing I have seen in China, it was a great beginning to my day. Liren, Katie and I got off at Nanjing Road West, only to walk for about half an hour to our workplaces. The area the offices are in is great! It's a very central part of the financial district and has a plethora of name brand stores -- it looks very much like New York.

I work on the 22nd floor of a building that was built last year. It is gorgeous and has a great view, albeit a bit smoggy. There is constantly a dense yellow cloud outside the window; darkness set in around 3 PM (smog accumulation from the morning commute?). I don't believe I ever saw the sun.

Nevertheless, the inside of the office is very nice (no surprise since it's new). I enjoyed meeting my new coworkers (memorable names were Fish, Harrison, and Huxley, the manager of the Shanghai office). Joe (the other Harvard student I'm working with) and I came in on a special day because we were present for the bimonthly lunch video conference call with the Beijing, Hong Kong, and Schenzen offices. A new consulting product was presented while we ate pizza (yum!); this was followed by cake to celebrate June birthdays (including the most senior manager's who rules over all the Chinese branches). All in all, it was a very Western experience (who else eats pizza and cake?).

Actual labor consisted of editing powerpoint slides, though we will receive more work later.

It was a very positive day and I am looking forward to continuing to work there. It seems as if the company is genuinely excited to have us there and to teach us through new experiences. Moreover, this would mean spending as less time as possible in the inn I'm staying at. It's not completely horrible, but the design is rather strange. My room is mostly taken up by the bed and stick figure fish decorate a part of my wall. This inn also continues on the theme of glass doors for the bathroom. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though, because apparently one is allowed to rent rooms for four hours in this hotel..hm. I guess the one redeeming quality of this inn is the lounge on the second floor with foosball tables, a pool table, and an area to watch a huge flat screen TV on comfortable couches.

Today was exhausting. I am sad that I saw no sun and I miss using forks. However, I am very happy about the pizza for lunch because that was just what I needed after this past week of HCF bootcamp.

Plans for the week include going to the Shanghai International Film Festival! I'm really looking forward to that, especially because we might be joined by the other students living in a different part of Shanghai. Perhaps, there will also be more trips to the Chinese Wal-Mart (which can only be compared to an amusement park).

Bus blog post using the ancient method of typing in notepad and copying into the interwebz at a later time

2011-06-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

At the moment, I'm on a bus driving through the Huangshan mountain range in Anhui province. We are driving through an extensive mountain range which is very difficult to describe with just words. I'm not even sure photographs (if my camera were even charged) would give the scenery justice. My friend, Rena, sitting next to me, compared it to hte ancient Chinese scroll paintings one sees. I think that's the best way to describe it. Whenver I look at those sketches I can never imagine the actual scenery; it always seems as if someone haphazardly drove a painbrush over papyrus and ended up with shapes which resembled mountains and clouds -- but that's exactly what it looks like. The mountains can barely be seen because the misty clouds (sometimes little wisps) sit on the lush mountains. I have never seen so much green. The peaks of the mountains are at very high altitudes and rise above the cloud cover. Sometimes there are stone steps leading up the mountain but those also eventually burrow into the clouds.

The sky is very..white today. Strong rain storms were on the schedule today, so I'm not surprised. Typically, this would be a good day to listen to Cat Power, but the classical music I'm listening to in accompaniment to the scenery is more fitting.

post three in which I crave a PB&J sandwich

2011-06-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to preface this blog post by saying that I am currently in a hotel room with a bathtub separated from the rest of the room (the beds) by a glass window. There is a pull down curtain, but the fact that the glass wall exists gives this hotel room so much potential.

I have two more minutes to relax before we are off on a tour of a farmer's land in China. Lying on this bed makes me realize how soft Western mattresses are. I have never been on a bed this firm and merciless. After our four hour bus trip to here, though, it's not so bad. There's a light breeze coming from the open window and constant honking of cars outside. It would probably be annoying if they were intermittent honks, but because the honking outside is so consistent, it actually becomes soothing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip to the village was my favorite part of the trip so far. It was raining when we arrived (though still +24) -- we walked from where our bus parked to the actual village area through the downpour. Our shoes were soaked, as were our shirts -- it was impossible to escape the heavy rain rushing down the mountains and around our umbrellas.

In the village we saw what an official's house looked in the Ming dynasty. It was gorgeous.

Large rectangular arches separated three separate courtyards and the house contained two floors. The construction and artistry were beautiful but the whole house was even more splendid in the rain. The water rushed down the curved rooftops like a waterfall. We all took pictures of course (though I didn't because my camera's battery died a while back).

After that, we visited an one hundred year old school. It's for grades one through four (plus pre-school) with nine students in each class. The children were very excited to see us, and especially Michael from our group, who is white and has long hair. There was also a library -- quite small -- which smelled just like the library I used to go to in Latvia. It's a comforting smell.

We saw more of the villagers and their homes. One man we met was a 77-year old basket weaver who has been working at this job for 60 years. He sells his baskets for 120 rmb and it takes him half a day to make each one. Most of the people in the village either grow rice or tea. The average pay is 9000 rmb.

What surprised me most about the village was the village head's job. His role is to receive instructions from the government official above him and distribute the work among the village committee. He doesn't actually get to make any laws himself. When I asked whether he could or had decided to build the brand new playground by the school, I was told that the government official had the budget.

The village head also works on a farm. His "government position" is just another job he holds. We visited his house afterward; it was grand. It had three floors, three bedrooms, a large living room, and entry room (among other rooms) and was extremely clean. I felt bad leaving rainwater and dirt on the floor of his home.

We're back to the hotel to take a rest before dinner (extremely rare). It's thundering and raining outside. This should alleviate the heat which has been so dense and heavy on our skins throughout the day. Our shoes, however, are another story.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Since I have been doing a poor job describing the trip on a daily basis, I have compiled a list of highlights from the trip so far.

DR. TEA

We went to the Dragon Well Tea Village where Dr. Tea taught us the process tea-making and proper preparation of green tea. It's a really beautiful area, especially in the evening with mist covering the mountains of tea bushes.

G+

Clubbing in Hangzhou with crazy Lady Gaga-esque Asian lady who belted lyrics to bad American pop-rock songs. Hipster Asians. Dancing. Etc.

WEST LAKE

The body of water Hangzhou is famous for is deserving of its infamous beauty. Apparently there are ten views which one must see when one goes there but they are somewhat arbitrary in their locations. They are loosely described by Chinese poetry (loosely is accurate because Chinese poetry contains no verbs) and as one wanders around the huge marsh-turned-lake, one may see the beauties of China depending on what sense one gathers from the poetry.

We also saw West Lake show which was AMAZING. It took place on a stage under an inch of water so it looked like the people performing were walking on water. The performance included dancing and told the story of the White Snake Lady. The music was my favorite part.

STATE STREET BANK

Investment bank full of young (23-year old) female interns. We learned about the different challenges ex-pats and Asian workers face in the workplace. The Asian workers apparently (and unsurprisingly so) have an extremely great work ethic; they're very proud of their country.

This is understandable, but it also makes me a little sad. As someone whose life goal was to work in Europe, the plan becomes defunct. It seems Europe and the United States are falling behind. And if they aren't behind yet it's only because Westerners come into China a la colonialists and extract the resource of the Asian work ethic. They rule over them as managers though ultimately it is the Asians who do the greatest, and maybe most important, amount of work.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Man, all I want right now is some PB&J. People really built up the suspense concerning Asian food, but most of what we've eaten has been the same taste every meal (bland). The texture has been interesting, but eh.

in Shanghai!

2011-06-06T08:19:00.001-07:00

Shanghai has been very interesting so far. We landed two days ago and have been touring every day with our HCF program leaders. We've visited the CCTV Tower (and stood on the glass protruding floor over the city!), Yu Garden, Harvard Shanghai Center, and many other very cool places. Everything is very big -- a bit excessive, actually.

Today we heard lectures at the Harvard Shanghai Center from two professors. One talked about China's economic growth ("It'll keep growing...Many people disagree with me, but I'm right") and the other about Chinese history and culture. It was really interesting, though kind of funny how confident the first professor was in China's growth despite throwing constant statistics at us and very little reason for why he was correct.

Other things I have learned: the only way to get around by vehicle is to beep constantly when crossing lanes or rushing toward pedestrians (the lines don't seem to matter very much).

Also, I love the contrasting buildings -- there are the really tall skyscrapers (sometimes in weird shapes like a saucer or rocket) and then there are the really homely places (like Soviet era housing). So far we've mostly been around Pudong which has the grand buildings resulting from China's recent growth, but what I really want to do is go inside the old buildings with the gates in front or one of those flats in the high rises.

Tomorrow, we're off to Hangzhou; I'm super excited because it's supposed to be the most beautiful place in China!

pre-departure

2011-05-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Three days to lift off and my packing is almost complete.

I can't wait to begin my adventures in Shanghai. So far I have received conflicting opinions and advice on what the city is like and how well I speak Chinese. In no particular order:

1.a. "I love/hate Shanghai!"

1.b. "Chinese people are too loud."

2.a. "Make sure to try all the foods."

2.b. "The food is great."

2.c. "The food will give you diarrhea."

3. "Visit the Bund."

4.a. "Wow! Your Chinese is great!"

4.b. "What are you trying to say?"
4.c. "Your Chinese is good for a white person."

4.d. "No one will understand you -- they speak a dialect native to Shanghai."

5.a. "China is really cheap!"

5.b. "Shanghai is the most expensive city."

So, I will definitely visit the Bund.

I guess I'm as lost as ever about what I should expect from Shanghai and from my job. I should be most concerned about my job. I have yet to find out what I will be doing specifically on a daily basis despite emailing the person in charge of my internship and the program. Not too worried about it, though -- I'll figure it out when I get there.

Hopefully, though, this "laissez-faire" approach of figuring everything out when I get there will end soon. I'm pretty sure my whole life has passed by with me figuring everything out when I get there wherever that is. This summer I want to become more ambitious. I want to embrace the world, new cultures, etc. This sounds like a lot of white-person-discovering-self-BS -- and maybe it is. But I'm too tired of being recalcitrant; I think it's time to give in to (my Caucasian roots?) the world and having ambition and making goals and such.

I don't know if I'll be able to access blogger in China but I hope I didn't write this post in vain -- hopefully there will be follow-up posts.