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.

The Pizza Deliver Guy

Bikes are one of the most common ways of getting around. In fact, I've already owned and sold one. Most road s have separate bike lanes, which each have their own left-turn signals. If you are brave enough to venture out in this 2-wheeled river, the lights are not something you want to get mixed up. There are times when things are coming into the intersection from all directions. One of our classmates has already been hit by a car and knocked off her bike. She was ok, but did hit the pavement pretty hard.

Anyhow, a couple weeks back, we found a pizza place that actually resembles pizza, called, "Hello Pizza." The delivery vehicle was parked outside.

Return Flight... Cancelled

OK, so one more step toward a sense of Shanghai finality... my visa was renewed, which allowed me to cancel my return flight, which was originally scheduled for 9/27/08.

At that moment, thoughts and questions flood through the brain ... what will I do in the next 30 days - (the length of the visa renewal) ... where will I be living ... (somewhere in Shanghai) ... where will I be working.

Alternate Universe...

Music is a drug.

OK, I am still wondering if I'm stating the obvious here, but if that were the case, then why was I so surprised at the extent to which I felt transformed...

The short of the story is that you can chose to put yourself in a different place, emotionally and mentally, by way of your own brand of music therapy. Your choice of music will obviously play a role in the place to which you decide to go.

A couple days back I was walking to a class, and something worth writing about happened. I was listening to some of my favorite US tunes while walking to class.... I was amazed at the way that it transformed my mood, and my outlook. It affected the way I taught my course, how I felt, the way I saw people as I walked down the street. Some fundamental piece of inner energy, mojo, vibe, groove, or whatever you want to call it, was altered based on the music.

In my case, just a few days ago, I had no expectations, and was not necessarily in a bad mood. But perhaps some of this reaction was nostalgic, having been away for a few weeks, and it neing music that is necessarily associated with things from my past in some way shape or form.

I am even still surprised that I was surprised... perhaps evidence that this is not all just a dream... or some alternate universe... though some days I wonder. :)

The music over here is way more diverse than the US. They have US tunes, but so far, I've heard more Chinese lyrics than US, by far.

There is also a Chinese version of myspace or facebook. I've seen a couple profiles. Pretty cool - the main thing is sharing photos and hearing the music that everyone thinks is cool. So, it's a good way to discover new stuff.

Classes, Interviews, Apartments

Our TEFL work will be completed at the end of September, at which time most of us are expecting to begin work. There is a Chinese holiday during the first week of OCtober, so most will start our new jobs around the 2-3 weeks of October. So, it's probably a good chance to do a few sight-seeing trips during that time, though I've heard the prices are elevated during that week since it is holiday. I have been interviewing and doing demos at several different places, and trying to get a feel for different employers, and their expectations. It seems to be going well. I have a couple more this week, and should decide on a job by the end of the month. As for lodging, it depends somewhat on the employment. Some offer housing as part of the package. On the other hand, some people living here at the hostel have been in China for years, and have actually moved into the hostel since it is such a social and livable place. They claim that living in an apartment can get lonely, so the hostel is a good way to keep from puting yourself alone in your apartment every day after work. Very interesting.

Endless, Shiny Shopping Universe

This place is 2 stops down on the metro from our hostel. Unbelievable. I'm not a big shopper, but this place is ridiculous!! 8 floors or endless places to wander into, with everything a credit card company could ever want you to purchase!! Quite an eyeful... a spectacle in it's own right.

TEFLer's Unwind

Tsingtao is the budweiser of China... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsingtao_Brewery the typical size is 600ml bottles, which is about 24oz(?) They are BIG bottles, either way. We buy ours around the corner from the hostel, which are 1/2 price, or 5 kwai, which translates to about .75 cents USD per 24oz beer. Very nice way to unwind a bit, compare stories, and meet new people a couple times a week! This is a picture of Seth and Melinda giving a demonstration in the background of a Tsingtao 24 ouncer. :))

What IS that?!

Can you guess the product? ... tea, detergent, soap, toothpaste, and sugarsmack snack bars....

My new pantry... a quick story, I was in the local supermarket, looking for some laundry detergent. If it weren't for spotting a couple pictures of bugs on the container, I would have ended up washing my laundry in roach killer! The locals must get a kick out of watching expats navigate the local stores. Definitely part of the adventure!!

City Images

It's hard to NOT find amazing scenes in this huge city. The pulse of the volume of people is unlike I've ever experienced. It can not be captured with a picture. See short video of some people, bike and car traffic below. It's pretty wild. These are mostly scenes along the commute to our classes.



There is a large soccer stadium where the olympic soccer was held... it happens to be the metro station we use to get to our class.






Daytime....
















Nighttime!!

My First Class

Everyone in our TEFL class has had several chances to teach live classes - some filling in for the "regulars" who have taken some time off, etc. We use this time to meet the requirements for our TEFL certificates. So far it's been going well. Here are a couple pictures of the group in my first series of classes. They thought Yvonne's camera was the COOLEST thing. :) thnx von von.

Retired Chinese Philosopher from Switzerland

OK, queue breakfast muzak, pour some cereal, find place to sit. None of the students from my class were present, so I asked to sit with an older gentleman, who appeared to be Chinese. He graciously agreed, and started the conversation - "where are you from?" He originally guessed I was from Britain, since a few of my new friends are British, and he had overheard their accents.

It turns out that he is a native Shanghainese, but has lived in Switzerland for 40 years. He is a retired Philosopher, who had studied under a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I can't think of his name, but I'll find it and update later.

His relationship with his former professor reminded me of a similar relationship that I was fortunate enough to rekindle just last year, with a former professor of mine, from Vanderbilt University. My professor had turned me on to a couple authors such as Cormac McCarthy, (The Road) and Jacques Ellul, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Ellul a French philosopher, sociologist and author that my professor has studied for most of his adult life. I mentioned this to my new friend, which seemed to take our conversation to a new level.

We had a great discussion about world issues. He asked me to wait while he went to his room to fetch a 13 page essay he wrote last year about his views. I took about 20 minutes to read his writings, done in English... his sencond language. What a gift. It was a strange and powerful connection, like something from another lifetime. (Ask Heidi) But we seemed to have an instant understanding. Isn't it odd the way that we come across these people? If my other friends were there that day, I would have never met this man.

He had to leave for morning service (Sunday), but I asked him if I could have a copy of his writing. I'd like to make it available for any interested readers... maybe I'll find the time to type it into my blog if my new friend is ok with that.

180 Degrees - Back to NC

In a surprise move, Denisa has returned to the US. Yep, not quite sure what it's all about, but it has all her friends back at DD Dragon wondering what is behind the move. She gave a few reasons the morning she left (Fri 9/12) but I suspect the real reasons are more complex. Either way, we hope she had a good trip back and is feeling better. Keep us posted Georgey.

Breakfast Music

The Hostel serves an all-u-can-eat breakfast every morning. It includes some western-style cereal, milk, both hot and cold, chinese dumplings and relish, grits-type broth, and toast with strawberry jam. They offer a nice cold fruit juice as well. It is tastey, and fulfilling.

Travellers who come through typically seem amazed with how good it is, comparatively speaking. After 2 weeks, it gets old, but it is still a great deal, a comfortable place, relatively clean, and hospitable.

One day, we may look back and joke about the "breakfast" and the accompanying morning music that they play without fail, every single morning. They open the doors, and some "MUSAK" type elevator music chimes out, a bit louder than most would prefer, but in it's own way, I suppose it's somewhat charming. Just the other day, I brought them some mp3s for variety's sake.... but they haven't played it yet. They haven't caught the Jack Johnson craze just yet I suppose.

The music, like most things, seem to improve as the day progresses. The best time to get things done seems to be between 10-2pm when not many are around, and the music volume is kept to a minimum. They turn it up after dinner, and show free movies at 8pm and 10pm.

Upgraded to Better Room

The hostel decided to put Denisa and I in a double, for the same price. So, we now have a room to just the two of us, rather than shared by four people. For about $8 / night, that is about as cheap as you can get in such an incredible city. So, we are quite happy about that. Though we still need to be sure to lock up our important stuff at all times.

One of our student colleagues was robbed in her apartment, so we are all being extra cautious about our belongings. I bought a new cell phone last week, and it dissappeared. I am pretty sure it was pick-pocketed when I was out at a club the other night. I've had a cell phone for about 10 years, and never lost one. So, that one would just vanish out of my front pocket seems unlikely. At least they only cost about $20. I got a new one today. If I could find a phone leash, I'd use it!