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Published: June 15th 2009
Rain:
Environmentally speaking, Shanghai is very similar to Angers, France--well, all of Brittany really (upper-west region in France). In both cities, it is dire for one to carry an umbrella. Naturally, depending on the umbrella, it can be a bit of an annoyance--one more thing to put in a purse or backpack. Nonetheless, if one hopes to avoid the acid rain (thanks to pollution), it is absolutely imperative to include it along with other daily purse necessities. I mean let's face it...in China...ya just never know. It might be a beautiful, sunny day when you leave for work, but by evening, it's an entirely different story. It hailed, for example, a week or two ago in the afternoon while I was at my internship, but it was gorgeous outside by dinner time. Only in China? Not quite.
Something to keep in mind: When it rains, amazing things can occur. What occurs in Shanghai, China when it rains? Taxis fly through puddles thus splashing dirty water onto poor bystanders; businessmen walk down the street with their nice, Armani suits completely drenched; and the most interestingly bizarre thing...dog owners. Some dog owners are relatively normal, they don't put sweaters on their dogs or feel the need to add more bling--basically, the animal is beautiful as is. The other day, I ran into a dog owner who cared for her dog a little too much in my opinion. I walked into Family Mart to grab some juice--all very well and good-- and after having paid for my drink, I then headed for the exit door and voila!!! There laid an opened umbrella on the ground with a little sweatered dog sitting there just waiting for its owner. Only in China? Well, that's a "HELL YES!" for me.
Bottled water:
Bottled water is insanely inexpensive in China. In fact, I might be the super-annoyed traveler when I get back to America and have to pay $3 for water or more depending on where I buy it. In Shanghai, it's about 50 cents or less. Pretty great, right? There is one thing about bottles in general that I'm still getting use to: liquids filled to the rim! Vicky, my Mandarin tutor, filled my tea cup all the way to the rim one day--to the point where it spilled all over the table.My first thought was: "Uummm...What the $&%^?" However, I used my social/verbal filter and kindly asked, "Um, Vicky darling...is there a particular reason why you over-poured the tea??? You crazy Chinese woman!" Hahaha The last bit I didn't say. 😉 But according to her, the Chinese fill all liquids to the rim because it means "wishing good things onto someone" or something along those same lines. As a result, ALL FREAKING BOTTLES ARE FILLED TO THE VERY TOP. So...Attention...Cuidado...Be Fucking Careful...I've spilled water on myself several times and it can get a wee bit messy.
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Haris
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Hey, I've been following your blog for a while as I'm planning to do an internship with NSC within a month in Shanghai. It's really fun reading them :) Keep the updates coming!!