Shanghai Jan 30th-31st

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I left for Shanghai at 9pm on January 30th. Operating under advice from a friend, I left for the airport at 5:30pm expecting an hour-long commute. It only took me a half an hour because it was mid-afternoon on a weekend, and traffic is not as bad on weekends. I tried to budget time in the airport for confusion and language barriers, however everything went smoothly, and I was seated in my terminal 2 hours before my flight. Oops. I sat around, read and people watched until it was time to board. My flight was packed, and I sat smashed against the window. Thankfully the flight only took two and a half hours. I arrived in Shanghai a little before midnight, and found my way to the hotel-booking counter. The same friend estimated that I could sleep in the nice airport hotel for 200yuan...totally affordable and convenient since my parents were flying into the same hotel at 4 the next afternoon. Unfortunately, one room for 12 hours was going to cost 600yuan. I opted for the cheapest hotel the airport did business with, and found myself in a back alley hotel. My room hadn't been cleaned - I was pulling long, black hairs out of my bed and shower. It was cold and dimly lit, and there were signs in the lobby advertising hourly room rates which made me a little uncomfortable. I decided it was in my best interest to sleep fully clothed, and covered myself in my coat and sweater (using a pair of sweatpants as a pillow). I didn't sleep well, so I got up around 7, took a shower and then went hunting for food. Two or three blocks away there was a market. Small shacks had been constructed out of pieces of plywood and scrap metal. Each shack had a table set up outside displaying everything from vegetables to freshly slaughtered chicken and pork. I found a quiet stall that had dumplings and tea eggs, and purchased a few. The woman that ladled out my tea egg asked me where I was from...and a small conversation ensued. Here was the synopsis of our talk:

Me: Wo shi Mei Guo ren (I am American)
Them: Ah...Mei Guo
Me: Wo shi Yingyu laoshi (I am an English teacher)
Them: Shenme? (What?)
Me: Wo shi Yingyu laoshi (I am an English teacher)
Them: Shenme? (What?)
Me: Wo shi Yingyu laoshi (I am an English teacher)
Them: Ah Yingyu laosi!!!!!! Ni si Yingyu laosi!!!

I gave up not long after that realizing that they spoke a different dialect than I was used to which made it REALLY hard for us to understand each other. I went back to the hotel after that and took a nap. I slept until 11:30 (I had to check out of the hotel before noon). They gave me a shuttle ride back to the Pudong Airport, and I spent 4 hours twiddling my fingers waiting for my parents' plane to land. I ate at Burger King (which I had not seen anywhere else in China) and went next door to the bar and had half a shot of Baileys for 35yuan... I decided not to go for the full shot. After that, I scored a decent spot next to the International Arrivals gate and waited another hour before my parents finally emerged from customs and baggage claims. We did our mushy hellos and found our driver to take us to our hotel in Shanghai City Center. We stayed at the Li Jing hotel downtown. Considering we were a 5 minute walk from Shanghai People's Park, the room was very affordable. We got ourselves situated and rested for a bit, and then we headed out to find a place to eat. Within seconds of stepping foot outside the hotel we met 2 women who went by JoJo and Linda, (I discovered much later that they were Shanghainese whose job was to push tickets to the Shanghai Acrobats). I asked if they knew of any good hotpot restaurants, and they took us to a great place about 10 minutes from our hotel. We treated them to dinner and (my father especially) had a great time. After that he asked about "hot pot" nearly every place we went. It was raining when we left the hotel, so we stopped in a convenience shop and picked up umbrellas (which got my dad quoting Rihanna's song "Umbrella" the rest of the trip) and some drinks, a bottle of Tsingtao beer, and coffee milk tea for the next morning. When we got back to the hotel, my parents pulled out an airsick bag from their luggage. Inside were 4 small bottles of Baileys that they had gotten on the flight from Chicago from a stewardess who knows a neighbor of ours. We toasted their arrival and our trip together, and then settled in for the night.

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Comments

[aunt annie]

day 1 of your excursion with your folks.
wow. great. so was this a journal entry, or are you now re-capping your trip ? now, i think i see some links, perhaps that is more from your travels with your folks..... I have not talked with your mom and dad yet, but know they are home. grandma leaves tomorrow for florida. we will be in touch, and take care. love you annie

[Allie Peden]

Reading this brought back hilarious memories of your father singing Rihanna's "Umbrella" song while we were at the Iowa State Fair in the pouring rain last year. How awesome that your parents came to see you; there will be no visitors for me in Italy :( I keep getting bits of stories from Grant, who tells me that they had an amazing time. You and I will have to (finally) go shopping and swap stories when we are both home. Miss you!