Language swap and "the wave"

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So I went to Jing An to meet A and his friends for dinner! Jing An, which looks close on the map, is actually a 20 RMB cab ride (with a little traffic). I haven't learned bus lines yet, so it's a bit hard to go across town.

Anyway, there were 8 of us at dinner, and most of A's friends were his teachers at the Mandarin school where he was taking classes at. All of them speak Mandarin as their native language. A is leaving for Taiwan tomorrow to start a new job, so I'm glad I got to see him before he leaves. It's too bad one of the only people I know in Shanghai is leaving! 😞 A has been really nice and giving me tips and easing my anxiety. All his friends were very nice, cheerful, and just seem to have a great sense of humor. One of his friend's (J) asked if I wanted to have a language swap with her. I was so pleased! J seems outgoing and good at connecting with other people. She teaches Mandarin so her English is already pretty good; plus, she has experience teaching! What a bargain for me! Anyway, we decided we'd meet twice a week at a library, bookstore or coffee shop. I'm looking forward to our conversations and sharing of cultures.

A treated all of us to dinner. When we sat down, A picked up the menu and picked all the dishes. I asked if it was customary for the "invitor" to pick the restaurant, pick the dishes and to treat the "invitees" (btw, I invited myself, haha!). He said that typically people don't go dutch here. That's good for me to know for future reference. A said, "Basically, if you ask someone to eat, you do all the work." 😊

It started to rain really hard during dinner. Last night there was so much thunder and lightening. I was a little startled.

After dinner, A said good-bye to his friends from school, as they are parting ways tomorrow. All his 7 friends waved in unison. No embracing, no hugging, no handshakes. People have warned me about embracing, and told me about "the wave". It's true. They only used the one hand wave though. Someone told me that the double waved is used if there's confusion about whether to embrace or wave (I guess more used in the context of dating). Anyway, their waving made me smile and it was cute. I'm glad I know that - I wouldn't want anyone to misunderstand me if I tried to give them a hug!

It was difficult to find a taxi since it was raining, and we walked backed to A's apartment at the Portman. The Portman is actually the Ritz Carlton hotel in Shanghai. I read a lot about the "Portman" online and in travel books, which state that the Portman has all of the Western needs - supermarket, health clinics, dentists, etc. And now I know why! The people there are 80%!w(MISSING)hite (hotel guests and apartment residents)! I hadn't seen so many Cauasians in days! Make sense - why would a Chinese person stay at the Ritz Carlton? Anyhow, A showed me his service apartment and it basically feels like an oversized hotel room with a kitchenette. A bit sterile feeling... but it is very modern, clean, secure/safe, and people who work there speak English and appear professional. It was still wet outside, so there was still a long queue for taxis at the hotel. A got me into the priority taxi line though since he's a resident. 😊 I hugged him good-bye and wished him well in Taipei.

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Comments

[TFC]

Waves
What's a "double wave"? Where you flap your hands twice or use 2 hands?

[lks]

countdown
you just got there! no need to countdown the days until you're home! sounds like you have done so much since you've been there. love the blog!