Emperor Once A Week

Before I begin, please keep in mind that $1 CDN is about $5 RMB and $1 US is about $8 RMB.

Since I currently don't have a job, my cash is relatively limited while I'm in Shanghai.  To save money I really try to skimp on my meals here in Shanghai.  I eat like a peasant day to day having nothing but crackers and water for breakfast, a sandwich and bubbletea whenever I can for lunch, and finding the cheapest dinner available.  Thankfully, I think I've found my favourite restaurant to dine at in the evenings here in Shanghai.  It's about a 5 minute walk from the school and serves a mean dish in the same amount of time for less than $15 RMB ($3 CDN).  Often, my dinner costs about $7 RMB and includes a soup of the day and tea.  It's a Cantonese style restaurant, very clean, spacious, and most importantly cooks food that is not very oily.

Most food you find in Shanghai is EXTREMELY oily.  Actually, using extremely is quite an understatement, there definitely is no food this oily in Toronto.  The same plate of greens that sit in a watery substance in Toronto sits in a plate full of oil in Shanghai.  Everything from rice, to chicken, to bread.  Oil oil oil.  For some reason, it is a rarity to find a restaurant that doesn't serve food in this manner in Shanghai.  And as sexy as I think the glossy lips look is on women, I'm beginning to suspect that the women here who display this attribute just don't wipe their mouths after a meal... haha... but seriously, it's THAT oily.  So you can imagine how happy I was when I found a restaurant that not only serves food that is unoily (is that a word?), but does so at a very cheap price... and it tastes damn good too.  I think my friends are getting annoyed at me insisting to go there all the time for dinner, we go about 4 times out of 7 days, sometimes even for lunch, but I think they like it there too because they never complain.  If any of you guys come to Shanghai, I'll be sure to take you to my favourite restaurant.

Sunday's are usually the exception to my frugal eating habits.  On Sunday's I live like an emperor.  Relative to Canada, food is very cheap in Shanghai and every Sunday, Zhang Ayi takes me out for a meal.  She insists on showing me how great everything is in Shanghai but I think she's a little lonely because her kids are all grown up and needs company.  Zhang Ayi knows every nook and cranny of Shanghai. 

The first time we went out for a meal here, we went to this hole in the wall joint that served the best Siu Long Bao I've ever had in my life, I had 30 that day and the meal cost less than $30 RMB.  I swear, the seating area was no bigger than my kitchen at home.  With Zhang Ayi I've had so many different Chinese dishes from many different regions of China.  Dishes from Hangzhou, Suzhou, Sichuan, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo you name it.  And do be jealous, it is sooo good.  Chinese food in Toronto never gets that specific.  Of course there's your Sichuan or Cantonese food, even your Shanghainese food, but seldom to you find a Ningbo or Suzhou dish.  Here they use the right ingredients grown in the right soils and areas and cook it in the right conditions, the way it's supposed to be cooked and consequently tastes all that much better - it doesn't get more authentic than this.  We usually go to fancy restaurants on Sunday's and Zhang Ayi always orders at least 7 or 8 dishes for the two of us.  We never finish so I always end up bringing the remainder home.  The great thing is that the meal never costs more than $200 RMB, often hovering around the low $100 RMB area.  The same meal would cost at least $80 CDN in Toronto.  Damn cheap, eh?  When any of you come to Shanghai, we will also dine like Emperors and Empresses.

Foreign food in Shanghai is quite expensive though.  A McDonald's combo costs about $17 RMB, only a little bit less than that in Canada.  And considering can get a lot more food for about $7 RMB, McDonald's isn't really a good deal.  Pizza Hut and KFC are also popping up in many areas of Shanghai, but I've never been because their prices are similar to McDonald's here, and probably taste just as bad.  But here, as expensive as it is, often you'll see a line-up outside of Pizza Hut, maybe it's the cool thing to do.

To top off my Sunday's, Zhang Ayi always brings me something, she never comes empty handed.  Last week, she brought me a laundry bag and some fruits and took me to my first ever massage.  Not one of those shady places though, so don't ask me about them... Andy and Ming (esp Andy) will have a better idea if you are at all curious, I hear they frequent those kinds of places hehe.  Actually, the place I went to had two blind men doing the massaging and for $40 RMB I got an hour of relaxing massage.  If that's how rich feels, then I can't wait till I'm rich.  If any of you come to Shanghai, we will live as if we were rich in Canada.  Facials, massages, you name it.  If you insist on a rub and tug, I'm sure I can find one if I ask around.  I wonder what's in store for me this Sunday...

Most of my friends here are foreigners, and many are very well travelled.  Through our conversations I learned a couple of neat things.

Did you know that Vodka (basically any high alcoholic substance) does a great job at killing germs?  You might know this already (since they put alcohol in things like mouthwash) but I didn't realize how effective it was until a friend of mine who travelled to Nairobi and parts of crazy Africa told me that the best advice he received prior to going was to buy a bottle of vodka and drink two shots every night before sleeping while there.  On top of that, they rinsed their shavers and toothbrushes in the vodka while they were there too because the water was so unsanitary.  Because of this advice, he was the only one not to have stomach pains while there for 2 weeks and had no diarrea.  I've been getting the shits lately here too, I think I'll need to buy some vodka.

Also, in Cambodia + Vietnam, they let tourists fire guns at targets out in the open fields.  Not just any old shotgun like Elsa and Yvonne are used to firing though, I'm talking AK47's and the shit they used during the world wars.  Did you know that for $25 US you can fire a bazooka?  My friend did it.  He also told me that for another $25, they will put a cow in the middle of the field for you to aim at.

Simon is getting eaten alive by mosquitos at this Internet bar.  FACK! 

Me, Chris, Gao, Rich and Yasu Posing at the Bund

Shanghai is located at 31 degrees 14 minutes North Latitude, 121 degrees 29 minutes East Longitude.   She is at the frond of Changjian Delta, on the east of East Sea, to the south of Hangzhou Bay, on the west of Zhejiang and Jiangsu Province, in the middle of China's north and south coastline.  She has transport facilities and a favourable geographical position.  She is a world famous port.

Shanghai has a semi-tropical monsoon climate with four distinct seasons, enough sunshine and rainfall.  Shanghai's spring and autumn are shorter, winter and summer are longer.  The average temperature of the year is around 16 degrees C.  In spring (Mar - May) and automn (Sep - Nov), people usually wear jackets and sweaters.  In summer (Jun - Aug), people usually wear shirts.  In the winter, if people go outside, they usually wear overcoats.  In the transition from spring to summer and summer to autumn, there is usually more rainfall and people usually take a raincoat and umbrella with them whenever they go out.

The total area of Shanghai is 6340.5 sq km.  The 3rd largest island of CHina - Chongming Island is in Shanghai.  Wangpu River is the most famous water system in the Shanghai area.  It originates from Tai Lake.  It is 113 km long and flows right through the city area.  It is very wide and deep, never frozen, and is an important water channel.

Bye the end of 1997, Shanghai had a population of 13,054,600.  Shanghai's birthrate was 4.9% and death rate was 7%.  She is the first city in China to have negative population growth.

In 1997, Shanghai's GDP reached 336 million RMB, 4.6 times that of 1978.  From 1979 to 1996, the average growth of each year was 9.4%.  In the recent five years, the GDP of Shanghai has been increasing by over 13% each year.

Shanghai has all kinds of industries and is in the lead in terms of technology.  Automobile industry, telecommunication industry, steel, oil and chemical industry, complete sets of equipment for powerplants, mechanical and electrical products industry, and household appliances industry are six pillar industries of Shanghai's economy.

State-owned banks are the main part of Shanghai's financial system; other kinds of financial institutions are coexisting with it.  Shanghai contains the largest stock exchange center in China.

Shanghai's  transportation extends in all directions.  Shanghai's railway transportation holds a vital position in China's railway transportation.

Shanghai is the biggest harbour in China.  Her water transportation can reach more than 160 countries and 400 harbours worldwide.

Shanghai has two airports: Hongqiao International Airport and Pudong International Airport.  The air transportation from Shanghai reaches 31 cities in 18 countries.

Shanghai's highway transportation has strong capacity.  By the end of 1997, Shanghai had altogether 1078 highways and the number of passengers were 2.378 billion.  Shanghai had altogether 41,000 taxis.

As early as 1995, Shanghai had set up an eight figure number telephone system, the first one in China.  Up till now, Shanghai has opened international phone call service with 31 countries and districts, and international express mail service with 96 countries.

Since the 1990's, the Chinese government has given Pudong New Area a series of preferential policies.  Pudong has very positive prospects.  The foreign investment to Pudong is increasing year by year.  By 2010, Shanghai will have been developed into one of the top economic, financial and trade centers in the world.  Pudong New Area will become a world first-rate, multi-functional, modern new district.

Growing vigorously and changing with each passing day, Shanghai has built up a group of first-rate of cultural and visiting facilities, among them are Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Yangpu Bridge, Nanpu Bridge, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai Library, Shanghai Art Gallery, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai History Museum, etc.  Shanghai is a famous cultural city with a long history.  There are many historical relics with architectural characterisitics of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty.

The above is an excerpt from a leaflet the school gave us.  Full of propoganda yes, but I believe there is a lot of truth in the promise of Shanghai's future.

Some Appo?

Learning Chinese from scratch must be one of the hardest things to do.  The second week of classes here have just ended and already, I have a lot to do!  The foreign language students here have 18 hours of class each week, and in my class, I learn about 20 new characters a day.  I should know about 200 by now, and although I can read most of them, I can probably only write about half.  In China, the students are taught simplified Chinese, which basically means that the characters have less brush/pen strokes than traditional Chinese characters making it easier to learn.  Yeah, whatever!  But I will tell you that the world around me is slowly starting to make sense.  It's a bit frustrating though, because I can only make out maybe 1/2 or 1/3 of the signs here, perhaps in 3 months enlightenment will come.  Jane, your note (from what I can understand) is very touching!  Thank you, and the day that I can read everything you wrote, I will write you back in Chinese.

Learning Chinese here is probably a little easier for me than many at home though, there are many resources available to me.  A common thing to do among foreign students here is finding a language exchange partner.  The desire to learn English is very strong here, especially North American English and for one hour of conversational English, one hour of conversational Chinese is taught.  It's quite easy to meet a language exchange partner here.  The local students just hang around the gates of the Foriegn Students Centre and look for white people to pair up with.  I met with one of my language partners for the first time yesterday and it was a helpful 2 hours for both me and her.  I think I know what I have to do to improve myself.  Our initial introduction last week was quite awkward though.

"Hello, you looking for partner?  Maybe we can study each other?"

"Uhh... (apprehensive because she was pretty aggressive), sure but how does this work?"

"Well, we can do sex-tions (I swear that's what I heard).  We can take turns, one time you first, then next time I go first."

Well, you can pretty much imagine what was going through my head at this point, I was quite scared actually because I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into.  But things worked out fine, she's actually a very 'nice' lady.  And thankfully, she is married.  Her name is Carol, and if you like, you can learn about her in the Sept. 16 post.  I have taken on some other language parters as well, because one hour is just not enough.  A group of three girls I will take on Monday, and a new friend (Margaret) has agreed to help me out, and maybe teach me a little Shanghainese.  Margaret's English is really good (she really is too modest) and I am actually ashamed to be learning from her.  I honestly don't know how much more I can teach her.

Friday is my favourite day at Fudan.  Not only because the weekend begins after class though.  The reason is quite funny.  At Fudan, the 18 hours of class are divided up into 3 sex-tions.  12 hours are for reading and speaking, 4 are for grammar, and 2 are for writing.  We have a different teacher for each section and I think I have a crush on my writing teacher!  Haha... the last time I had a crush on a teacher was in grade school (No Rob, not at St.Henry, they were pretty bugly there), a grade 2 teacher named Miss Keating.  But back then, only good thoughts were in your mind, perhaps buying your teacher an apple or something.  But alas, age has corrupted me, and bad thoughts seep in like water into the Titanic.  Bad boy!  Haha... ah well, too bad she is my writing teacher, I see her only 2 hours a week.  My Chinese would probably improve substantially otherwise, haha!

I got my favourite Nike's stolen the other day.  I'm so pissed, damn people here will steal anything they can get their hands on!  My roommate and I have so much crap that we put the shoerack outside of our door.  One morning I woke up and my shoes were just gone.  My roommate lost 2 pairs of his own shoes and now everything is inside our room.  I'm pissed not only because I paid so damn much for them, but because Nike's are my favourite shoe brand and are quite costly here.  Actually, any imported brand here is pretty expensive compared to local prices.  The prices are about the same as Canadian and US prices and I feel quite ripped off paying for stuff like that, considering a local brand is much cheaper.  I will have to survive on my sandals for the time being.

Tonight I am going to the restaurant where Linnete and Carol work.  They are waitresses and work Fridays and Sundays.  They're going to give us a 10% discount on all drinks, and want to go clubbing with us after work.  I think I might call it an early night though, I'm quite exhausted and have a lot of work to do tomorrow.  Margaret is also meeting me on campus tomorrow, she is going to introduce me to some area on campus that might give me exposure to people who are willing to pay to learn English.  Maybe I can make some extra money to buy more junk for my room.

I was hoping to write a bit more about Shanghai and Fudan for those of you interested in travelling here or perhaps just learning about the two.  I have recently gotten some literature on them and will type it for you next time.  It's quite interesting actually, Shanghai is definitely a city you must visit if you plan to travel to Asia.  Well, until next time...

Simon is missing his friends a lot more these days.  Miss you guys!  Have fun at the QSEAC dance, and Happy Birthday Kirb!  Alex! 

Introducing...

I decided to repost this on another date, I think the list might get a little long and don't want to detract readers or confuse anyone.  It's an introduction of the new characters in my life.  Will never be the same as my friends in Toronto, but again, I must stop comparing.  They're roughly in order of when I've met them and by introducing them you won't be confused when I speak about them in my posts.  I'll update this whenever I meet a good friend.  I'm sorry if this gets really long.

Margaret C. - Although I only just met her, I have learnt a lot about her.  She is studying Journalism (2nd yr) at Fudan and speaks excellent English.  She writes for the Fudan Youth paper and strongly favours the Communist Party of China.  She has a very inquisitive mind and I'm sure I could talk to her for hours.  She's agreed to teach me Chinese too, but I doubt I will be able to improve too much on her English.  We'll have to see.  Single and I think she likes me... crap.

Venus - I met through Caroline and Linnet.  She is Korean but grew up in HK.  She speaks English, Korean, French, Cantonese and Mandarin.  Also in Journalism, cool chick, but doesn't party much.  From my short history with her, I've been able to figure out that she is obsessed with some guy named Alan.  Single.

Linnet J. - I met with Caroline.  She's Chinese but grew up in Japan so she not only speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English, but also Japanese.  Cool eh?  I think so!  She is a cool chick too, and is also 4th yr, Journalism.  Japanese boyfriend.

Caroline - I met the other day, she was the girl I overheard speaking Cantonese.  She's been at Fudan for 4 years now and is graduating this year with a journalism degree.  Fun girl to chill with, speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English fluently.  She rooms with Linnet and is 22 yrs old.  She grew up in HK I think.  Boyfriend in Vancouver.  But she is going out with Jeff now... drama???

Nick - Some white dude from Ottawa.  He reminds be of a a druggie because he uses words like dude, rad and totally awesome.  He's 24 and has no idea what he's going to do in life yet, very similar to me.  He's just kinda drifting looking to be rich one day.  Pretty funny guy, always cracks me up.  Single.

Joan - Lili's and Summer's friend who was also at Rojam.  Don't know her as well, but she seems pretty cool.  I think she's 19.  Single.

Lili - One of Summer's best friends who also happens to go to Fudan.  She is also 20 and seems like a very generous girl, always offering to pay.  Still slightly skeptical of alterior motives, but she is a really nice girl.  Can't speak any English whatsoever.  First year com sci at Fudan.

Summer - Well, we all know about Summer.  If not, please refer to Sept. 09.  She actually smells quite nice now, and she has a killer smile.  She's 20.  Single?

Kazu - Jap dude that sits beside me in class.  He works for Mitsubishi and is being paid to study Chinese here at Fudan.  He is a very diligent student and whenever I'm confused, I look at his notes.  He also lets me borrow his eraser all the time.  He must be annoyed at me.  Married.

James - Taiwanese guy that lives on floor 3 of my building.  He hangs out with us, sings great but can't really cut rug.  Single.

Ryuma - Cool Jap guy from Osaka.  He has a shaved head (like Tyson) and speaks both broken English and Chinese.  He likes hip hop and we get along great because it's pretty easy joking around with him.  He's in class C.  He can't really drink though, I caught him puking after one bottle of Carlsberg.  Yes, I drink Carlsberg here.  He has a famous DJ friend in Osaka, if we go there, we'll definitely get hooked up.  Girlfriend in Osaka.

Yasu - Friends with Ryuma and also Jap.  He has a girlfriend also studying in Shanghai but at a different university.  Cool guy, 20 yrs old and really polite.  Just broke up with girlfriend.

Soong - Is my Korean roommate.  Clean as a mofo this one.  If you ever want to move out with someone, make sure he/she is Korean (maybe fob).  It's his 1st yr studying TV Broadcasting here in Shanghai, speaks fluent Korean and Mandarin and is 20 yrs old.  His program has about 170 students and only 20 are boys.  Korean girlfriend.

Chris G. - This guy is from Denmark.  He took a 7 month stint in Shantou working as one of those DJ guys and liked China so much that he decided to study Chinese.  He went back to Denmark, worked for a couple months, saved money, and then came here.  He's 22, cool guy to hang with, knows more about Chinese music than me and is the token white guy in my group.  Single.

Zhang Ayi - Is my dad's friend.  She is a supernice lady, about 59 years of age.  She takes me out every Sunday for lunch or dinner, I think she is lonely and enjoys the company.  She has been so great at helping me get settled here in Shanghai.

To be continued...

Life Goes On

So I finally found a place to wash my stuff.  There is a small laundromat downstairs and across the street.  But gaddamn is it expensive.  It cost me a bit over 20 yuan to wash my clothes (they counted it by item).  20 yuan is about $4Cdn.  It might not seem much, but considering that 20 yuan can buy me 4 meals, that is a lot of friggin money to spend on laundry.  I even had to talk the guy down, it was going to cost me at least 30 yuan, but I was like, come on dude, you don't have to iron my stuff.  Cheaper!  (Who needs their underwear ironed?)  So they washed 3 pairs of pants, 9 pairs of underwear, 9 pairs of socks, 10 t-shirts and 2 towels for a bit over 20 yuan.  Out with the tighty whities.

I had a shitty time at a club last night, it is called Pegasus and is another commercial club like Rojam but smaller.  It sucked because it cost 60 yuan to get in (let's divide by 5 again) and all they played the entire night was dance music.  I'm an R&B Hip Hop kinda guy when it comes to clubs, dance music I can bear for about 30 minutes, but after that, please shoot me.  I was there for 3 hours last night.  I hate Pegasus!

After that, I went Karaoke for the first time with my friends here (they call it KTV - sigh, Loveboat memories).  The place we went to was unlike any Karaoke place I've ever been to.  It was in this posh hotel, beautifully decorated, mirrors everywhere, leather seats, huge screen TV and computerized selection system.  I can only sing English songs so I sang As Long As You Love Me, Say Nothing At All, More than Words and A Whole New World.  It's not the same here though but I have to stop comparing my friends here with my super awesome friends in Toronto.

We sang til 7 in the morning, another all nighter.  I drank quite a bit last night, for 12 of us, the tab came to 722 yuan, not too bad I suppose considering the time we spent there and the amount that we drank.  There were a couple of Cantonese people there (Carnic, Caroline and Linnete) so I was able to play drinking games.  I won most of the time!  =P   Ming, you would kick ass here.

I regret drinking so much last night this morning though.  I had to take a wicked beer shit, most of you know how THAT is.  I'm actually starting to enjoy my visits to the crapper now though.  It's a bit peaceful, and I'm getting used to it I suppose.  But definitely, my skin touches nothing.  I'm not sure if I'm squatting the right way though, but I don't care.  The stall is about 3.5 feet wide and 4 feet deep.  The wall on the sides go up about 5 feet so when people walk in, and I'm standing and wiping my ass, I try not to make any eye contact because it just feels wierd, and like anyone at work, I have my favourite stall.  Kirby, I know exactly how you feel, except here, I know exactly where the people live.  Being here has reinforced my notion that beer shits are never fun.

Since it is 4:30 am, Simon is tired.

Woodies and Wedgies.

Well, shit, I'm almost out of underwear.  I have one more clean one pair left and if I cannot find any decent ones soon, I might have to go commando.  I have already been reduced to using my emergency tighty whities, man am I glad I brought them.  Please don't laugh, instead feel sorry for me.  When I lived with my dad's friend here in Shanghai, a maid would come and clean my clothes.  Since I've moved into the school however, I have not had that luxury. 

The weather here in Shanghai is very hot, at least 24, 25 everyday and upwards of 30+ during the afternoon.  I sweat almost all the time and must shower frequently (I hate feeling sticky).  I have tried to look for new underwear at the stores, but nobody in Shanghai sells boxer briefs.  The only underwear I've been able to find are usually speedo-like light blue and have that elastic waist and leggings.  I've been looking for a place to clean my clothes, but they all seem very shady.  Narrow alleyways, dark rooms, some even without washing machines.  I know people can hand wash, even I myself could but I wouldn't know where to begin, or how to do so in such a way that would effectively clean them.

The only place I can wash my clothes in my rez is by buying a bucket and washing them in the bathrooms.  I suppose I could scrub my clothes along my washboard abs but then I would be dirty.  But in all seriousness, to do so would basically have me crouch in front of the shower scrubbing my clothes while the shower is going sprinkling above me all while I'm naked.  Attractive, huh?  Not only that, but I don't think I've been able to get across how nasty some of the facilities here are.  Although I've had some firsthand experience while on my Loveboat trip, nothing can prepare you for the first time.  My skin touches nothing, no floor, no walls, just my shoes and my linens.  I'm reminded of my house in 2nd year at Queen's.  Rodge, Alastair etc. and even Jascha can attest to the poor condition that our house was in.  Basically, my shoes never came off until I went to bed.  Thankfully, my roommate is immaculately clean (Koreans are soooo clean!).  And our room remains the only sanctuary for me and my sensitive body.

I want to wait till the weekend and go to my dad's friend's place to have my clothes washed, but basically I have 3 more days to use one pair of underwear.  And no Kirby, re-using is completely out of the question.  Might have to go commando!

School started on Tuesday, I'm in class level B.  There are 6 levels, A - E and A is the lowest.  I'm already a little lost, I've learnt aver 50 characters already, but am determined to be as studious as ever.  It didn't quite work today though.  Why you ask?  Well, today, I met two new friends.

I overheard them speak Cantonese while I was studying and said hello.  Cantonese in Shanghai is music to my ears, and I'm always curious to know why they are here.  The two girls I met have been studying at Fudan for four years now, both in Journalism, both very nice people.  A friend and I ended up spending most of the day with them, lunch and then dinner.  Still haven't done any work yet!

I also just found out about that whole NYC thing.  I hope nobody I know was injured.  It's really weird here because the news stations in China have kept its coverage to a minimum.  I did not understand the gravity of the situation until a classmate of mine from California told me what had happened (he caught it on Hong Kong cable news).  Although I would like to go about talking about the ramifications of such an incident to world politics, I think 'big brother' is watching.  All I can say, is that this shit is phucked up.

Hi, what's your name?

My exposure to nightlife here in Shanghai is quite different from Toronto.  Although there are some clubbing districts here (as I am told), the main ones don't seem to be concentrated all in one area (like Richmond Street).  I have been to three clubs here so far, it definitely felt like an obligation to go out to one since I haven't been able to explore the nightlife here until now.  But it's definitely not the same as home.

I live in an all boys residence right now, so the closest friends of mine are guys.  Four of us on Friday went to an area of town where foreigners hang out to drink.  The club we walked into was on Ming Mao Lu, perhaps a version of HK's Lan Kwai Fong?  It was called Judy's Too and we were there for about 5 minutes.  All these suits there, white rich business men who had only one thing on their mind.  The music also didn't seem that good so we just hung out at a pub right outside of Judy's and drank.  I was able to grab a copy of That's Shanghai, a foreign publication that lists all the goings on in Shanghai and found a club that played all hip hop.  The advertisement claimed that it was the only all hip hop joint in Shanghai so I convinced my friends to come so that I could get a little taste of home.

The club was called Club Milk, it's a much smaller club, kinda like an Una Mas and was located on Chang San Lu, an area just on the outskirts of the Bund.  There were only about 50 people in the club, it definitely looked like it needed help.  The music they were playing was hip hop of all types.  Korean, Japanese, Chinese and American.  It wasn't until I heard Missy's Get Your Freak On being played did I get really pumped up.  Unfortunately, a huge element was missing in my yearning for a taste of home.  Everytime I club at home, I'm with Marv, Fred, Ken, Kirb etc.  My gin and tonic didn't taste the same that night, it just wasn't right, I really miss you guys.  My new discovery of a link that bonds many of us Asians here in Shanghai's Fudan University is the love of Hip Hop.  I was hit by a great idea and was able to convince the manager that I could help him promote Club Milk at Fudan to the foreign students, it was quite apparent that he needed the help.  He thought it was a great idea and took my number down.  I told him that he'd have to increase the bass a little bit and add a couple songs to his playlist.  I also told him that I could help him get the people there, but it would be up to him to get them to stay there.  If things work out, I should be getting a VIP card to Club Milk.   Kev, Stan, Sush, Marv, I'm trying to network, so wish me luck so that when you guys come we can have a crazy time.

Speaking of networking, last night's festivities brought me to Rojam(we got there at 11:30).  It's about the size of Helium, maybe a bit bigger witha higher ceiling and has the stature of a Whiskey or Guvernment (very commercial).  It was there that I met my first local friends.  Actually, they're not that local, one is from Shanghai and the other two are from Hangzhou (sp?), about an hour or so North or West or North West of Shanghai.  I'm a bit confused because they cannot speak English and our entire conversation was probably a painful experience for them.  I actually noticed one of them first, smiles really hit me hard and one of them had a really nice smile, dimples and all.  The Chinese here dance really wacky (as compared to what I'm used to in North America) flailing arms, awkward body gyrations... I'm reminded a bit by Elaine's dance in Seinfeld.  Well, I noticed them looking at me (or maybe they were looking at me because I was looking at them?) haha... Regardless, I gathered the courage up to say hello to the one with a nice smile at around 12:30 or so.  I asked her in English and she told me in her best English that her name was Summer.  She introduced me to her other two friends, one who also happens to go to Fudan!  Cool eh?  Well, her friends and my friends ended up partying till 7am in the morning last night.

After the club, they took us to the Bund... looking into the Huangpu river across to the Pudong commercial area at night is truly breathtaking, I wish I had a camera.  I learned a bit about Summer last night, but communication was extremely difficult.  She had to repeat almost everything she said, and sometimes we had to ask my friend (who can speak  Mandarin) to help us translate to each other.  I'm not sure if girls here try to take care of their body odour though but if they do, and unfortunately it was quite apparent that Summer hadn't.  A woman's fragrance is extremely important, a major turnoff is stinky women or people in general.  I'll have to try to figure out a solution for that one.

By the end of the evening though, I think she was getting annoyed at having to repeat everything that came out of her mouth.  Even I was getting tired, I don't think I've ever partied all night for quite a while.  Well, my first encounter here has been interesting.  The three girls are really nice people actually, and the one that goes to Fudan lives pretty close to us.  My mom warned me about the selfish and evil Shanghainese girls here, but the ones we met seemed very friendly.  They paid for a lot of the stuff last night, so it doesn't seem like they are using us foreigners for money.  (Or perhaps they ARE selfish, evil and deceitful... maybe this is an early and inexpensive investment for future and much more costly plans they may have for us haha).  Whatever the case, I definitely had a pretty decent time, and was even happier that I had made new friends.

Today, I woke up at 2pm and had dinner with my dad's friend that lives here.  I also noticed that I'm almost down to my last underwear... I will tell you about this next time, but I think I might have to go commando for a day or two if I can't buy any soon.  Let's just say that I've already started to use my emergency tighty whities.  FACK.

Simon is still enjoying Shanghai, and hopes that he stays smiley.

Namae wa desu ka?  Watashi wa Simon desu.

Fudan University is one of Shanghai's top universities.  It ranks in the top ten (I think 7th) in China and has an immense and beautiful campus.  Although not as picturesque as Queen's University (my alma mater), Fudan is definitely much larger.  In the center of its main garden is what looks like a 30 foot statue of Mao Tse Tung standing proudly head high and all.  Surprisingly to me though, is that the majority of the foreign students are Japanese (about 60% of them).  Many are also Korean, I room with one of them.

With a student population of over 13,000, I am but one of many.  I am also placed in the foreign student area of the school, an area enclosed by its own gates with 4 large residence buildings.  I room with one other person, I call him Soong (his name is too long for me to remember), and he speaks fluent Putonghua and Korean but no English which is good since I won't be tempted to speak English to him.  Our room is quite ghetto though.   It's about 10x12 with two beds, two desks a 6 foot high dresser, and a 6 foot high bookshelf.  There is a window that spans the entire width of the back wall, a phone, a fan and two electricity jacks.  No Air Conditioning, no heat.  I live on the fourth floor (thank you Daphne for warning me that the lower levels are quite shabby) and pay $3.50USD a day.  The entire floor shares a bathroom and kitchen, and if it weren't for my exposure to Loveboat (Taiwan's overseas study tour) I'd be horrified by the restroom's facilities.  You ever take a shit on a squatter?  Thankfully, there is hot water for the shower.  However, there is no shower head for the pipe, so the water just comes out like it would for a garden hose without a head.

I have met a couple Europeans and Americans (about 7 or so) and am quite ashamed that some of them can read and speak more Putonghua than I can.  What is also interesting is that the bond that links me with many of the Koreans and Japanese here is the Chinese language.  And definitely very shocking, for me anyways, is seeing big black dudes speak fluent Putonghua.  I'm reminded of Chris Tucker and his unsuccessful attempts at asking for directions in Rush Hour 2 yet see these black guys busting it out as if it were their mother tongue.  Definitely really cool, I could never picture Keith or Eastman doing that!

Although we are all here learning Chinese, it is already apparent that the different cultures stick together.  The Japanese and Koreans all have their little cliques.  There are a few Brazilians that chill with each other, and the blacks hang out together as well.  I somehow doubt there will to much co-mingling.  I will have to try to work my charm into some of these groups.  The Japanese and Koreans here, seem to party it up pretty much.  At night, a few of them have their stereo's on full blast with the latest hip hop or dance music offerings.  It was good to hear some Tupac last night.  A lot of them seem to have quite a bit of cash and have bought little mopeds and rev their engines late at night while driving around the street just outside our residences.  Their fascination with Western culture has prompted a few to approach me, they want to practice their English.

Class starts on Tuesday, and since I've been able to make some friends since moving in yesterday, it looks like tonight will be my first night out in the town... woo hoo!  Mmmm... beeeeeer.... (Mental note: must watch money!).  Well... until next time.  Sayonnara!

Simon is adjusting to Shanghai pretty well so far and is thinking of boogeying down tonight

Organized Chaos

The transportation system here in Shanghai is... chaotic - to say the least.  At least as a foreigner used to signalled and orderly lane changes, pedestrian right of way, obeyance of traffic lights and street signs, people driving about two chevrons apart, smooth traffic and everyone driving in their own lanes and in the right direction etc. (well all the above happens most of the time anyway), the absence of almost all the above in Shanghai seems a 'little' choatic.

This is not to say that people don't do any of the above here in Shanghai, rules are followed, just not all the time!  In fact, it makes me wonder how a transportation system here that mobilizes 13 million people on a daily basis would survive without this chaos.  Here people don't just drive, they race through an obstacle course.  Everyone, from pedestrians to cab drivers to bicycle riders to buses to trucks and scooters, everyone here is playing a fancy little game on the roads that have buses dodging and weaving as if they were on a small bicycle.  There is no such thing as two chevrons here.  Space around any given vehicle is limited to less than a foot.  I could reach out the window in my bus and touch the person seated in the next bus over at practically all times.  Bicycles face the daunting task of fighting with hundreds of people alongside traffic veering left and right with only a little bell to warn people and cars of their presence.  There is no such thing as passive driving here, you don't wait for the gaps to emerge on the roads before you move, you just go and everyone just kinda moves out of the way keeping their one foot or less personal space around them.  Everyone is so aware of what's going on.  Old men with canes run across the street and big buses test oncoming traffic in the opposite lanes on a daily basis.

The roads here all contain a bicycle lane, it's about  two meters wide.  Major roads are about 4 lanes of cars wide each side and the lanes are roughly the same width of those found in Canada, maybe slightly thinner.  The art here, is the ability to fit 5 or 6 vehicles, when necessary, at any given point across the width of these roads.  This culture has engendered a very alert cadre of people, everyone honking their horns or flashing their high beams signalling each other.  In Toronto, the horn is used very sparsely, and whenever used, people kinda turn their heads because it seems as if an accident is about to happen.  Here it is a common occurence, but I'm still caught in my old ways turning my head whenever a horn sounds (like every 2 minutes).  I'm getting better at it though.  There are still accidents every once in a while, I've only seen 3 or 4 but for so many vehicles on the road, I would have to argue that it's a pretty good rate.  One important thing is definitely to stay with the flow of things.  No abrupt moves, when someone honks behind you, looking back to see could put bike marks across your face.  Everyone just goes by a code here, abruptness screws everything up.  Get with the jive if you wanna survive.

There are many buses on the street, so getting around is pretty easy, much easier than I had anticipated.  In any given kilometer of a major street, there are over 20 buses, all average size.  Bicycles are always plentiful and every road here in Shanghai, has its English pin yin version written underneath every road sign.

This chaos is much better for a city like Shanghai, too much order would create a very passive cadre of people, much like Toronto's.  I think most Toronto drivers are too passive, I myself, could practically fall asleep at the wheel for 10 seconds and still be okay.  But Toronto has such a small population, nearly a fifth of Shanghai's.

People always complain that Chinese drivers are bad, well, I'm sure that when one visits Shanghai (or other major Chinese city) and understands the level of skill the drivers here employ, they will eat their own foot, shave their ass hairs, run naked on the streets etc.

Simon is bored right now.

Racism... Egads.

I've had quite a bit of extra time today, so I decided to call one of the English language schools here that operate hoping to teach Chinese students wanting to learn English.  I'm hoping to make some money on the side so that I may do more than survive, so that I may drink and party my ass off - but it looks like my social dreams may be shortlived.

The company I approached is called English First.  They have two schools in Shanghai, one in the Pudong side, and the other is in Puxi side (Puxi is district I just learned of, kinda like North York, not quite as far west Etobicoke).  The area coordinator there met with me for about 45 minutes and briefed me on the feasibility of being able to teach a class of students there, part-time.  They are looking for part time teachers to teach between 6 - 9 in the evenings every other day and offer between 240 - 320 RMB depending on your teaching experience, of which I have none of =(

He then proceeded to tell me that the Chinese here, aren't too keen on learning English from another Chinese person.  No matter how long I've been in Canada, no matter how well I can speak it, they'd much rather learn from a foreigner was what I was told.  He then proceeded to tell me about the subtle intricacies of teaching English, and the questions you are commonly asked.

What is the difference between:
1) I will take my umbrella tomorrow.
2) I am taking my umbrella tomorrow.
3) I'm going to take my umbrella tomorrow.

Well, I was kinda stumped there.  He then showed me a book on superlatives and how they are used.  And then he asked me:

What is the difference between how 'much' and how 'many'?

Well, that one is an easier one, do you know the answer?  How would you answer a student if you were asked that question?

How the hell am I going to buy drinks at the bars?  Aiya....

Simon is discouraged.

I've witnessed many firsts here in Shanghai.  I'll add to the list as they come.  This is going to get messy.

Simon's Shanghai Firsts

Aug. 31 - Meeting a fellow Torontonian.  Meeting the head of advertising for Gucci.
Sept. 1 - Seeing the grandeur of Nanjing Lu.  Mastering the Metro system in Shanghai.  Seeing pajama people.  Seeing a hot Shanghai girl that grossed me out with armpit hair.  Then noticing that she didn't shave her legs either (this is very common here, i'm going to puke).
Sept. 2 - Eating at a hole in the wall joint and having the best xiao loong bao ever.  Having dinner at the luxurious Grand Hyatt hotel later that day. Travel to Pudong area.  Zhang Ziyi look alike sighting (twice!).
Sept. 3 - Walking on the street and seeing a little boy take a shit into a bag while on the sidewalk.
Sept. 4 - Meeting two Japanese hottie twins!  (Okay I didn't meet them yet but they go to my school!)
Sept. 8 - Meeting, for real this time, three hottie locals (Okay not extremely hot, but hey let's not be mean here) and hung out all night with them.
Sept. 10 - Zhang Ziyi sighting again!!!  Shitting in the squatter.
Sept. 12 - Mr. Underwear man on the street.  Nothing but underwear.
Sept. 23 - Real massage (totally legit).  Gaddamn!
Oct. 8 - First job in Shanghai.
Oct. 11 - First Blurrrrghhhh....
Oct. 19 - First trip outta town (to Nanjing).  First encounter with females outside of SH.