Happy Halloween!

Not too many pumpkins in Shanghai... so this is my first Halloween using a watermelon. ha ha Clare was good inspiration for the carving!! We set up our watermelon-o-latern at the front door and enjoyed the surprised faces!

City Rhythm

The north side of our flat overlooks the well known and commercially alive Suzhou Creek, where boats carry sand up and down the river, under the bridge, around the bend, and out of view. Their rush hour also seems to be at about 6pm, when maybe 7-8 boats will make their last trip of the day at the same time, one after the other.

Lining the river in our neighborhood, there is new construction. It seems that since we have been here, a new park and waterfront is being designed and "installed" a pleasant surprise. The "rhythm" of the sity for now seems to be dictated by the traffic on the street, most noted at rush hour, and during the steady flow throughout the day. But the highlighting city beat is the percussion of the contruction of the new waterfront ... they are breaking down the old concrete, shaping, blasting, scraping, shovelling, loading, hauling. It takes on a life of it own from day to day.

It should be a nice area to walk and may even become a popular destination. We have enjoyed watching the daily progress of the tiled walkways and the newly planted trees.

Notice across the river before - no trees, and after, lots of new trees planted along the riverside.

Groceries

Our local grocery store is just about a block or two away. Downstairs and a short walk along the river. Coffee is hard to get. Instant only so far. Rice, noodles and veggies are the easiest ingredients to obtain and cook. Rich and Clare are vegertarian, so this works out well. This is a typical receipt.

China Visa

We have all heard about the complex and convoluted process of obtaining a work visa since the extra hoops had been put in place due to the olympics. Some of it sounded a bit cryptic but we were all fairly certain that we'd find the guidance we needed via our new employers. What is interesting is that not all employers are equal in this regard. Of the 5 of us, 2 of us will have to return to our home countries in order to apply for the work visa. Why this is the case is perhaps for another post. But the reality is that 2 of us will have to head home to complete this application requirement. The employers can't be thrilled about this, as it causes delays in their new hire start times, and also added expenses due to flights, etc. For me, I am planning to make the most of my trip home to the States. The upside is the obvious, seeing friends and family, but also a chance to buy stuff that I can't get easily here in Shangahi... coffee, certain herbs and spices, and my shoe size!

The process apparently takes about 30 days, and upon submitting a few final pieces of paperwork to the employer, they will submit the visa application! It looks like I'll probably be back in the States for the first week of December or so. Mostly up near DC and PA, and if time permits, possibly a quick visit to NC.

Phillie Fever in Shanghai

My flatmate Seth, who is a Phillie fan from the Jersey side, discovered that the World Series would be televised here in Shanghai, and we could watch it "live" at 8:15am! So it was breakfast and baseball for the world series! We missed the last 3 inning "sprint" that was delayed due to the rain ... and was not televised here... so we had to get the reports from the web.

Our other flatmates, Rich and Clare, didn't quite understand all the excitement, but were open to learning the game. They are from Liverpool, and are big football fans... soccer that is... which suits me, since it is also my favorite sport.

But the baseball was definitely an exciting addition to life here at 1501 tower 10, for the past week. Our huge flatscreen tv is like a movie theater. We can hook up caneras and laptops to it and show all kinds of media on our "Big screen." There is a website called youku (youtube knock off) that shows everything you can imagine. So we can watch all sorts of tv reruns, or movies, at any time. Of course, we are all too busy to do that, but the option is there when we want to see something.

Seth and Melinda watching the game with a coffee!

Terracotta Territory

Xian is in the center of China, and is the home to the famous Terracotta Warriors, the Hot Springs, and Li Shan (Mt.). This area has a bunch of history and culture behind it. We went to the top of Li Mt, and met Dujia's grandfather, who hikes the mountain everyday, and gives palm readings to intereted hikers. So, of course, when in Rome...

Xian Hostel

This place was great. On a friend's advice, I booked my reservations at the Xiangzimen Youth Hostel, which is just inside the city wall, near the South gate. It is accessible to everything, and very comfortable accomodations,
for around $8 per night.

Every Friday night they have a party and teach you how you make dumplings, followed by a dumpling feast to sample our creations!

The back entrance - very cool.

And the staff was great.

Welcome to Xian

Stepping outside of this huge Xian train station, I was faced by hundreds of people waiting for those they were picking up. Being the only white guy within 50 miles, all eyes were on me as i approached the large crowd of greeters. Fortunately, my bald, white head, is not hard to spot, and Dujia and Erik found me quite easily.

After a quick stop at the hostel to drop off my bags, we went out for some tastey breakfast snacks in the Chinese Islamic food market... a vital part of the city's delicious quisine.

For lunch we stopped at Dujia's aunt's home which was a short walk up the street. They provided some tea for a short visit, then we all walked to a restaurant for a hot pot, which is a popular social form of dining together where the food is cooked on the table. It was a feast, and a wonderful welcome to their city.

We headed to the South Gate of the city wall, a 14km long, 20m high massive rectangular protective structure that surrounds the city. We rented bikes and took about 90 minutes to cover the entire distance. The red lamps are illuminated at night creating an amazing site.

For dinner, we stopped at a terriffic dumpling restaurant. The meal included beef dumplings, spicey rice noodles, and a bowl of rice porridge with raisins and various beans.

At about 8pm we headed to the Big Goose Pagoda, which is accompanied by Asia's largest fountain and light show. Adding to all of this was the near full moon, which I was able to capture in some great photos.

The entire day was filled with new food, sights, and friends. The next day we would head to see the famous Terracotta Warriors.

T138, Shanghai to Xian... 16 hours

Saturday morning... having made the decision to give myself a couple weeks before diving head-first into a fulltime teaaching job... plans for a trip to Xian began to materialize. Why Xian, you might ask? Long-story-short ... a friend I met in the hostel last month invited me to see her hometown. So I went to the train station to see what I could figure out, and what tickets might be available. As it turned out, just 4 hours later, I was on the train to Xian! The Shanghai Rail station is just 3 stops up from our apartment, so it was not a big production to get back and forth on the metro. We have an amazing location. So I raced home, took a shower, put together 2 backpacks full of stuff, and headed back to the train station. With 30 minutes to spare, I was on the train, and ready to ride.

I had booked a ticket which included a hard-sleeper, which is a mid-priced accomodation which allows you to be horizontal for most of the ride. Outside of that, there is not much extra room to sit, or get around. There are small fold-out seats across the aisle for looking out the window, but my big self didn't quite fit on the seat... so at most I could tolerate an hour at a time, then had to climb back into the sleeper space.

In this particular car, there were 6 beds to one small area. The beds themselves were maybe 2 feet wide, and 6 feet long. Being 6'3", my feet occassionally drifted beyond the end, and knocked a passerby or two in the head. Oooopps!

5 Teachers, One Apartment

We have moved into our new flat... a 15th floor 3 bedroom apartment!! It is near People's Square, which is one of Shanghai's most popular spots on Nanging Rd, and about 1/2 mile from the Bund and Pudong. These pictures are from the first night here. I live with a married couple from NJ, Seth and Melinda, and a couple from Liverpool England, Clare and Richard.

We have signed a one year contract, and had to cough up 4 months as a deposit! This is the view to the south from the master bedroom.

This is the view from the north side - my bedroom. Our building is right on Suzhou Creek, which is very much a river.

Clare and Richard checking out the view on our first night...

National Holiday - October 1

After finishing our courses, and receiving our TEFL certificates, a few of us ventured into the city to partake in the holiday experience. We expected a huge crowd, and Shanghai delivered. An entire part of the city was slammed. We walked down Nanging road to the Bund, and back.

A few notables: This time of year is perfect weather. About 75F and actually sunny. This usually only lasts a few eeks before the cold sets in, so people really come out to enjoy it. Everyone seems glad to be out, and having a break from the heat. I was enjoying my first trip to the Bund!

Also, for such a huge crowd, I was amazed to see so many toddlers, kids, and babies. Most places I've been, people would probably NEVER even imagine taking their kids out in this type of scene. I realized that the entire time we were out, there was not one single episode of screaming or cursing, or throwing beer on anyone, or fighting. Quite unbelievable actually. How they are able to keep things so orderly is another story, but the fact is, that for such a large crowd, it seems quite safe.