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Before I even set foot into the country, I was reminded by the China Embassy of being an Alien.
1. Aliens who do not lodge at hotels must go through registration at police station.
2. Aliens holding visas z, x, or J shall within 30 days of entry, apply for residence permits to the ... blah blah
3. Aliens shall not be employed in China (bummer) without permission of the competent authorities of the Chinese Government.
4. Aliens who reside or stay in china shall carry with themselves passports for possible examination.
Anyway, I let this incident slip, and since I had some time to kill at the airport, I tried to eavsdrop - but to my biggest disappointment, I couldn't understand them since they were speaking some funky dialect I have never heard of. So ya speak Mandarin for 27 years, and you get to China and can't eavsdrop. Where's the fun in that! Later on, Clara explained that they were speaking Shanghainese (so of course I would've never heard of it).
My first stop was the People's Park. I'd barely gotten into the park when 3 local girls started speaking to me - they were fascinated with
my eyes (?). I spoke to them in Chinese, and a crowd gathered to stare at this 'alien'. Argh. I hated the attention - they weren't even discrete about it! The girls invited me to attend a tea ceremony with them. It was really nice! We tried 6 different types of chinese tea, they were all delicious. The lady who did the ceremony explained how to hold the cup, how to drink the teas (each time is different with a different meaning), and what to do for good luck, love ... etc. She explained how different teas may be for love, health, skin .... etc. I liked how the chinese have reasons behind everything. Gives you the feeling of hope.
The girls thought I was 19 - because I'm so white. The whiter you are, the younger you are ... that explaines why they are always running around with umbrellas.
I hated the attention from people in the street, but as the days went on, I began to really get into the spirit and enjoy freaking the locals out with Chinese. I had noticed that when I walked into a shop, the attendants would divert their eyes, probably
thinking 'oh, dear .. how do I deal with her', and I liked seeing their eyes just about pop out of their heads when I spoke to them.
Shanghai is, well, like Singapore, just a hell of a lot more chaotic, loud, hot, dirty and tons of people. The cars still kept driving acros red lights - this I didn't find amusing. The place is dirty - not as some South American places, but people, even women, tend to spit any and everywhere. They'll have a lot of cleaning up to do before the world Expo 2010.
I went to many many places, which I won't list, but I did visit Yuyan Garden which was beautiful, in which also lies a Pearl Market. I looooooove pearls! Afterwards I got lost and wandered into the local's living area. This definitely wasn't meant to be a tourist attraction, as I was the only Alien there. The streets were covered with people who'd layed out clothes and were selling fruit, vegetables, meat. Live chickens, pigeons, EELS were kept in boxes ... ducks were left sitting on the street. I saw squaking ducks with the seller and his knife ... I looked
away when he sliced their throats. Motorcycles, bicycles were everywhere ... and people were clearing their throats and spitting next to the stuff. I have sometime gone for days without a shower, really roughed it on this trip ... but this spitting business I still find downright disgusting.
Due to traffic jams, motorbikes were driving on the footpaths, and the drivers had the nerve to beep at the pedestrians. I certainly didn't find this amusing at all.
I found Shanghai interesting to say the least, but not one of my more favourite cities. I am looking forward to Beijing, because although I think it will be similar in terms of environment, I hope to see more culture.
Thank you Jon and Clara for letting me stay at your place, and Clara for being the most WONDERFUL host!! I enjoyed all the eating eating eating ... I haven't been this heavy in 2 years. eeeks.
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Fook
non-member comment
You speak Mandarin???
I didn't know that! I knew you could understand and speak a little, but I didn't know you could actually *speak* speak it :D Haha, you're so totally un-asian, and yet you're more asian than me :D I remember when my workmate first met you (he's ABC), he was trying to figure out which strange European accent you had, took him a whole day and a half to realise it was a Singaporean accent :p