No Rose Scones For You (a few Shanghai Pics)

It seems that part of me would be completely satisfied with sleeping the entire weekend away, but lowwwww, how low would it feel to wake up only for work again? The second cup of tea (on top of the morning coffee, natch), plus a bit of couch laying hasn't mollified the would-be dormant. Could be Fall. Could also be a couple hours spent this morning, using the noxious Chartpak markers to hand color the "After the Snake, Before the Bite" prints I pulled a couple weeks ago. Also a thought -- the slow arrival of which would certainly support a nice chemical dumbing-down. In any case, here we are, in the cold air, a rainy Saturday perfect for Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley.

Life has begun to assume a familiar shape. Had a handful of sales at Etsy over the past couple weeks, which was heartening after a dry spell (well, mostly because I had to close the shop while I was in China). One excited customer bought the Destiny Llama print for a friend of hers, who has a llama farm on a mountain, "I can't wait to give it to her!" How rewarding to have one's prints chosen as that special something!

One of these things is not like the other.

Still, not everything has fallen back into place. I was at the hospital for a doctor's appointment this week (which, for a nice change did not snowball into additional appointments) and carefully fished around the Canadian dollars for quarters to hand the parking attendant. The woman looked through the coins before plunking one back in my hand, muttering, "I don't know what it is, but that ain't American." Not actually sure how the Yuan got into my coin purse, since I didn't take it to China, but that's kind of it in a nutshell: little things keep popping up. Maybe they're just nice reminders. I'm not going to profess to be profoundly changed for having finally left U.S. soil for a month, but there was also a certain amount of stepping-outside-of-one's self -- or at the least, one's life -- which has not yet settled back into everything else. I don't know how to talk about it more than that.

Well, let's get settled in, shall we?

This was the view from my apartment-within-a-hotel.

Before I started doing early morning work before heading into the office, I loved to begin the day by sitting in the window bay, looking out.

View from the kitchen.

I always intended to walk a few blocks over, so I could see the water at ground level. Didn't.

Since clothes dryers aren't really used, you'll see clothes hanging outside numerous residences

Barges large and small slowly drifted in and out of view.

Storms on the outskirts of a passing typhoon made everything but the near buildings disappear

While not technically legal, a strip of girlie bars faced the hotel. The X-TRA-SEE Bar!, The Happy Sisters, Blue Angel, Spicy Girl, and most unfortunately, The Naughty Beaver. Predictably, they were shut down during the day (or at least gave the appearance of being so), before coming to neon life each evening. A handful of bored women occasionally sat out front. For all the neon (which, every self-respecting business has a neon sign, no matter what it's selling), things remained quite on the outside. No drunken men careening across the street or being tossed out for poor behavior by burlier men.

Inside, the owner of the apartment was clearly keen on the POWER of DECALS. It was amusing and mystifying. One of my neighbors from home repeatedly urged to add more decals before leaving. While the idea held appeal, time flew by and my Chinese never advanced enough (read that: barely at all) to say, "Excuse me please, I am in need of decals. Where is your selection?"

I actually grew fond of the flowers above the desk, which was good because I woke up seeing them each morning.

a little waterscape.

Are decals more cheering or depressing atop ailing baseboards?

Bonus Snoopy and Woodstock beneath the bathroom sink.

While welcoming, the dogs did not help me to understand the vexing heating system panel.

The space was serviceable, and a five minute walk from the metro --with only two stops to get to work -- so it was perfectly located. Within the first week, I started hearing an electric saw, which I initially attributed to street construction. But no: it was actually on my hall. The sawing and nail pounding would have been aggravating, were it not for being extremely sporadic in the late evenings and weekends. SAW-SAW-SAW!!! The beginning was startling. But then, after a few minutes it would stop. And that would be it. Same with the nailing. What exactly were they doing? They seemed to be there throughout the entire month. Seemed liked the slowest work pace ever, judging by the noise. Occasionally I saw men wander by in dusty coveralls. To be fair, maybe they were whizzbang busy during the normal workday. It just seemed like so much of my experience, with not speaking the language. Even mundane things are rendered mysterious. Something is going on: you know that much. But what exactly is being done or how it will shape up will only become apparent in time. Most likely it doesn't concern you, as you are not really part of this equation. Best to keep your eyes and ears open, just in case...

In any case, the view outside was much more interesting.

People setting out to work each morning

 

The normal crush of cabs. If a cabbie picks you up but needs to be going in the opposite direction, he will simply make a uturn into oncoming traffic. Simple enough.

 

A guy across the way, practicing with a staff.

 What's one of the first things most people do when in unfamiliar circumstances?

Reestablish familiarity. Luckily, this was in my office's building complex

At home, I go through alternate phases of visiting and ignoring Starbucks. But coffee was hard to come by in Shanghai. Even the coffee here tasted different, but was good -- the espresso was less sharp than the U.S. roast. I enjoyed the similar-yet-different experience, with everything naturally tweaked for regional tastes. One of the few benefits of looking entirely different: the second time in, one of the more chipper baristas beamed at me and sang out "Ehsoy Lahhhhtay!!" Hahaha, yes, please and thank you. My to-go cup was always labeled "Lady"; the departure from drink details to shorthand for "white woman" or "foreigner" cracked me up each day. 

Not to give a chain too many props, but in a sea of really embarrassing U.S. exports, which people assumed I'd like, I was pretty pleased with them. The red bean scones were FANTASTIC.

....Bested only by the rose scone. I SO ARDENTLY WISH THE U.S. PUBLIC LIKED FLORAL TASTES MORE. I counted the days I could eat this. I would have hoarded if it would have done any good.

All for now. Back to present day Ann Arbor, where I have just stopped skyping with my neighbor a few houses away -- a habit we picked up when I was half a world away. Maybe I'll try my hand at baking a batch of rose scones tomorrow...

Shanghai Orientation, Birdsong, Blessed Coffee

Greetings, Fine Folk.

Well, I never got the opportunity to write a post while I was in Shanghai, so I missed out on greeting y'all from China. But here I am, back on my cozy little street, sitting at my deck table, even though it's a little too hot* -- mainly because it's novel. A friend who's briefly crashing at my house introduced me to the ease and wonder of wireless. Why on Earth would I NOT have succumbed to this lovely convenience before now??? Chalk it up to the same silliness that kept me from getting GPS the moment it came onto market. In any case, I'm enjoying the wealth of birdsong, the hum of insects from the undergrowth, and the valiant attempts by a dog to break the neck of his squeaky toy one yard over. I met up with Compatriot last night at local fave Casey's, for fried artichoke hearts, g&ts, burgers with blue cheese & bacon; and heckling from the waitstaff (only me, never Comp; this time he variously accused me of being socially awkward and called me a "Nancy" for being slow with my drink). Which is all to say: I'm happily settling back in.

*less, less, less hot and humid than Shanghai, most assuredly. You take a shower, make yourself presentable and then are hit with a wall of humidity upon leaving the hotel.

But what of Shanghai?? Let's start small, shall we? A few notes to orient the armchair traveller.

Things You Will Encounter:

Yu Garden Teahouse, with Jin Mao (l) and

Shanghai World Financial Center (aka the bottle opener) (r)

1.) The Juxtaposition of Old and New, natch. As we all know, China has been booming for years, in terms of pretty much everything. In some places old has been uprooted/decimated in favor of newness; in other places, the two coexist, as they do in so many places the world over. At left you have the super touristy Yuyuan Garden teahouse (Huxingting Tea House), which one arrives at by walking a wooden bridge with nine zigzagging turns (to foil evil spirits, which apparently can't do 90 degree turns, despite their vaporous form). I didn't actually go inside for tea, being sufficiently stimulated by wandering past hundreds of vendor boutiques; watching the crowds, the fish in the water, and confusing the closest stranger by telling him I was from the U.S. and from Michigan. He scowled, turned back to his fried snacks.

 2.) Construction (see also: #1).

Building in process, Pudong area, near the Lujiazui metro stop.

ALERT: Impaling Machines on Site.

 3.) Municipal Workers.

Everywhere there are guards, street cleaners, various slow moving people in uniforms. They are official in some capacity. Possibly invented, but I get the feeling for most that it's a job one will have for a rather long time, will return to it every day, and therefore what's the rush? The street and metro cleaners, especially. The street brooms always seem to be the like the one pictured, from some dried plant which is just as likely to momentarily stir dirt up as to whisk it away. (Usually older) workers walk along, with a longish metal spike or pincer-thing to pick up random rubbish. Once I saw a worker using her broom as a seat on the sidewalk, while she listened to an ancient transistor radio, intoning something from within a beaten up cardboard box. Oddly pleasing.

In the metros, expect to submit any laptop bags to a conveyor belt security scan; the guard at left, in her snappy cap, stands straight and raises her hand or gives you a pass to refrain from adding your possessions onto the belt. The guard at right peers (or gazes listlessly, depending) at the monitor, acknowledging no one. Shortly before each metro arrives, the metro line guard in his short sleeve pink shirt and stiff cap gazes toward the coming train. He blows short and sharp on his whistle once the train has stopped; and waves a green flag to signal its departure. I can't imagine standing there all day, every day. Though I shouldn't type such a thing, with train enthusiast relatives. It would be a joy, a thrill~~~!

How to reconcile this perception with the business world, where it is a workers' market~~? People schedule interviews and then don't show. "Can we just do a phone interview? I don't feel like leaving my place." People work three, four months -- just long enough to claim new job skills on the resume -- and then demand pay be doubled, or leave for greener pastures. Mystifying to hear about, given the astounding lengths Americans have to go to, to secure a job these days...

4.) Enterprise of All Kinds.

Add to that, outside of offices or government workers, people are just trying to get by. Lots of street vendors,at the mouths of metros, prospering businesses, tourist traps, busy sidewalks. Selling anything from pirated DVDs, shady medicines, dubious bottles of water, sunglasses, windup soldiers (camouflaged, armed and shimmying along the ground), light-up spinning things, SIM cards, ipod headphones, mass-made and handmade tchotckes, wicker baskets of fruit; or, on one occasion, tiny, happy houseplants.

Outside of the -- get ready -- Shanghai Bund Soft-Spinning Material Market

also at Shanghai Bund Soft-Spinning Material Market. Tucked up shirts on men also frequently spotted. With respect to the latter, following what I assume is parallel to nudist colonies: the ones who do this are rarely those you'd like to see. That said, it's rawther hot. People deal as they can.

An esteemed colleague from work pointed a similar kind of stamping out, on a tree. "This is illegal. They are saying they can, if you haven't gone to a school or gotten a certificate, they can make the papers for you." Not reading Chinese, this may be for something entirely different. Haircuts. Babysitting.

5.) Heavy Loads. I won't lie, I wish I had snagged LOTS more photos of these... Huge loads on all conveyances. During my one failed sightseeing day, wherein I got off at a station, where none of the signs were in English and I walked in various directions for the afternoon, before giving up, exhausted, a tiny truck drove past me, with a bundle of aluminum strips lashed together with ropes. The mass was larger than shed, but smaller than a garage; the strips juttered against each other, sounding like an army of angry children's toys.

6.) Signs with Hidden Meanings: Traffic.

Many of these will look familiar. But do not be fooled.

This means: Don't Walk. You will most certainly be flattened. So far, so good.

This means: Walk.
It also means: You may not be recognized as an impediment to vehicular speed. Cars making left hand turns will not slow down. Cadres of mopeds and bicycles who don't like waiting for the red light to change will suddenly shoot across the intersection, gunning straight for you. Buses turning right against the light, will blare their horns** at you.

People hustle or stroll. I mostly hustled. By my last work day, the month had clearly taken its toll when an oncoming bus blared at me and I merely glanced at it. Whatever, bus. I did, however freeze when a moped almost ran me over; the driver stared at me as he zoomed past -- which seemed to be because I had halted my walk. His look queried, "What is WRONG with you?"

**Shanghainese drivers love their horns. Usage is liberal. Some simply lay it on, blanketstyle, as they approach intersections.

This means: Lots of pedestrians, ambling from the metro to their business parks.
It also means: periodic cars, barreling down the walkway, with people scattering. The cars barrel until they reach the cement no-outlet poles, a few blocks in. At which point they back up the entire way, going a bit too fast, causing a secondary wave of scattering. 

7.) Beloved Imagery: Dragons. Pandas.  What else to say? We all have our popular images.

Pudong, By Lujaizui Metro Stop, SuperBrand Mall

Yu Garden Bazaar Shop

I gave in to a panda backpack. Though not at this store.

Outside Huxingting Tea House. And pretty much everywhere else :)

A random place to stop, but I have been outside a while and there's simply too much to say. And so much I don't think I have processed yet. I was so very happy to be there. And grateful to be back. A few things I definitely missed: being able to easily understand those around me; the ability to make coffee in my own place; not being stared at; the luxury of personal space in public spaces; printmaking, my house, not being at a 12 hour remove from my friends and family...Not having done much beside armchair traveling, some things I didn't even realize I missed until I got back home. The sound of birds every morning. Lawns and plentiful trees; rabbit sightings and the knowledge of neighbors in their homes.

Happy end of August, Everyone.