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Arrival
I'm finally here and this is my room. A room with a view on the 20th floor.SHANGHAI, CHINA
Hello to everyone! I arrived in Shanghai on Sunday evening, June 14, and have been delayed starting my blog because of difficulties in finding a website that was not blocked plus I have been too tired and to busy to get start. The one I set up before I left is no longer accessible in China. I will try this site and see what happens. If I don’t have your email and you want to follow along with me you can simply email me your address, I will notify you if I have to change sites again.
My long trip over was just that…..long and somewhat grueling. The last flight from LAX to Shanghai took 15 hours. However, by the time I left OKC, I was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted and so I mostly just escaped into the hum of the engines and sat and/or dozed for 15 hours. I read a little and listened to my iPod a little, but not much. When we arrived in Shanghai, we had to remain in our seats on the plane and a crew from the Immigration Health organization boarded the plane in full hazmat gear including shoe covers,
"Hello Miss "P"
Miss Peabody is happy to see me. full suit, hood, mask, goggles, gloves, etc. It was rather interesting to say the least. They took everyone’s temperature. Fortunately, nobody had a fever or posed a threat of the H1N1 flu so nobody had to go into quarantine. This may seem like extreme measures, but with the population of Shanghai and the close living situation of most, it is understandable.
Let me tell you a little bit about Shanghai. The population…. nearly 20 million people. For comparison the entire state of New York, including NYC, is around 19 million. Shanghai began as a fishing port on the east bank of the Huangpu River which cuts thru the city. Shanghai has always been associated with water and in Chinese, Shanghai means "on sea". On the east side sprawls the South China Sea, while to the north, just 15 miles distant, the vast Yangtze River draws a decisive geographic dividing line between north and south China. To the south lie the tidal waters of Hangzhou Bay, and to the west are the scattered canals, lakes, and marshlands surrounding Lake Tai. I have to look at a map to appreciate the unique location of Shanghai. Over the centuries its location has
brought Shanghai prosperity as a port, but now Shanghai is also the driving force behind a massive and increasingly hi-tech industrial complex centered on the city and the neighboring Yangtze River delta. Shanghai remains the single major engine driving Chinese economic expansion. A quote from National Geographic Traveler: “Shanghai has long been China’s most fashionable city, even if that stylishness has been tinged with more than a whiff of corruption and decadence, thus earning the city at various times opposing sobriquets: the unforgiving (yet strangely appealing) Whore of Asia and the more flattering Pearl of the Orient.” Yes, Shanghai is the largest, richest and most go-ahead city in China. I shall tell you more about my experiences here in the days to come.
Some personal notes from my first few days here. Things which I already knew but will share with you. Shanghai is quit a bit different now than it was just 15-20 years ago. It has come a long way since then. Shanghai, however, is probably queen of smog cities. You don’t see blue skies here like you do in Oklahoma. No, the sky is more like a smog grey half of the time and when the
Bunny
A rabbit enjoying a meal at a street venders. sun is shining, it still doesn’t seem very sunny to me compared to Oklahoma. Shanghai is a somewhat dirty and smelly city! The color of the dirt here seems like a brown/grey to me. There is construction EVERYWHERE! Dust and dirt everywhere. It is no wonder you have to remove your shoes when you go into your place of residence. The streets and sidewalks are so dirty. There are people sweeping and cleaning up trash constantly. (And picking up doggie poo!) You have to be careful where you walk, and do not step onto any wet spots you see on the sidewalk. That would not be rain water on a sunny day! Etc, etc. On the sidewalks, one really nice feature I was not aware of: some of the sidewalks have a path down the middle with raised bars. This is for the visually impaired. They can feel the bars and follow them along the sidewalk. When they come to a corner, the bars change to circles and so they know they have to either cross a street or turn the corner. Very nice! I call it "foot braile". The smells when you’re walking on the streets can change from
Street vender
See the rabbit in middle of the picture. He is in food paradise! block to block, but usually, it isn’t a smell you’ll enjoy as a westerner. Last night I figured out what one of the smells was. We went to a Chinese restaurant and ordered four dishes. I like tofu and so ordered something call preserved tofu. O.M.G. what a mistake! It smelled like garbage and pretty much tasted the way it smelled. I found out it is referred to as Stinky Tofu. That was one of the smells I remembered from walking the streets. (When I say “walking the streets” you do understand my meaning there, right.) I pushed the bowl of tofu over to the edge of the table so the waitress would pick it up and get that smell away from us. When she came by she pushed the bowl back to the center of the table. In spite of all the draw backs, Shanghai is a great city with way more to do than you will ever have time for. The variety of food alone is enough to make one drool. The first night here we ate street food! Noodles from a vender on a bicycle right across the street from the apt. The second night we went
"Noodle Man"
This guy cooks and sells noodles off the back of his bike every evening. They are good and cheap! Only 5 RMB, about 75 cents US$. It is enough for 2 meals for me. to a muslin restaurant, very good. Shanghai is an international city. There are many expatriates here. The majority are from Europe and the Americas. (I have gotten many stares with my blonde hair here.) There are many restaurants and areas that cater to the expats. The stores with imported goods are much more expensive then the Chinese stores. The life style here for the expats is vastly different from most of the locals. I don’t want to bore you too much, so I’ll stop here and tell you some more next time.
I spent the last few days in Oklahoma with my mother and taking her to the doctors and getting her moved to OKC the last day before I left. She is facing surgery for colon cancer later in July. I didn’t have time to pack until 8:30 the night before I left. I was up all night. My mother is back in the hospital now and my sister and one of my daughters have taken over watching out for her, etc. etc. It is a burden of the heart for me, but they are taking care of everything and keep me posted.
I will be adding
View at night
The view from the balcony at night. some video clips if you can stand to see them. It has been a few years since I last used my old camcorder. I bought new very nice one before I left but had no time to check it out. At 3 am I took it out of the box and threw it into the suitcase. I took it out and started shooting without even reading the directions. The first clips are crazy! I've tried to read and study the instructions some and promise you I will do better. That's it a starter. I'd love to hear from everyone or leave me a comment! JL
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ouloves
Linda Love
Able to view!
Hey Bammy, I was able to get into the blog this time!