Anticipation
A week ago, Iwona sent me word that her and Elena were planning a trip to Shanghai. Excited, I notified my boss, and schedules were thankfully shuffled so that I could be excused from my Saturday commitments.
I didn't really have any expectations for Shanghai...other than it would be a massive, metropolitan city with loads of shopping and high rises.
Setting off
My Chinese friend Lydia was actually going through Shanghai that morning and suggested we travel together. However, she was going to be leaving a bit later than desired (9am) and besides, I wanted to complete the journey without a friend/crutch. So I went alone and took only my cell phone, a very basic image of the layout of Shanghai, a piece of paper with two phrases ("Take me to the train station" and "I need to go to Shanghai"), and an anticipation of the adventure ahead.
I woke up at 5am and caught a cab. (Sidenote: cab rides double as one-on-one conversation opportunities. I think I improved substantially in my small talk skills during this trip; one parlay lasted for a solid five minutes.)
Upon being dropped off at the station, I wandered a bit before I determined where tickets were sold. Waiting in line, I psyched myself up for the buying of my ticket.
I don't know exactly how the conversation went, but in hindsight I am sure it went something like this:
Foreigner (enthusiastically): Hello!Lady: Hello. What time would you like to depart?
Foreigner (with great confidence): I want to go to Shanghai.
Lady: Yes, all tickets are to Shanghai. What time of departure would you like?
The Foreigner is less confident now - it becomes apparent he doesn't really know what she just asked. However, he quickly displays a sign that a Chinese friend has obviously written out for him that says "I need to go to Shanghai".
Foreigner: Shanghai. I go.
Lady (patiently, but starting to get a bit exasperated): OK. Yes. Everyone else is too. Departure time?
The Foreigner stares back with a semi-blank expression, but it is obvious he is using all of his mental faculties to try to process and translate words he has probably never learned. The man behind him shifts his weight anxiously and impatiently.
After a few long, painful seconds, the Foreigner finally begins to deduce the meaning from the context of the situation.
Foreigner (Still hesitant and unsure): Six...six o'clock ?
Lady: Its 6:20 right now. 6:20, see? (Points to a clock).
Foreigner (sheepishly): Right, right, right, right...Sorry. Ummmm...Seh...ven. Seven o'clock.
Lady: 7:15 is the next time. Here's your ticket.
I've got to be honest - I'm pretty much amazing at speaking Chinese.
Once on the train, the ride was fairly uneventful, except that I couldn't understand the instructions on my ticket and just sort of chose a random seat. As the seats around me filled up and no one challenged me, I thought maybe I would get the "oh-he-is-just-a-dumb-foreigner-and-its-easier-just-to-let-him-be" treatment. But alas, I got kicked out of my seat at the next stop.
Complications Arise
Flying solo had gone fairly smoothly. Then I got off the train.
What I hadn't realized is the cell phone I had purchased had a local Hangzhou SIM card - which meant that it didn't work in Shanghai (I needed to have an international SIM card for it to work both places). Which meant that I had no way of contacting Iwona to determine a place to meet. Which meant that I could not contact Michael or Helena if I was in trouble.
In hindsight, it was not as dire as it seemed then, but you must understand all my plans sort of assumed a working phone.
So I wandered around the streets of Meilong (the suburb of Shanghai with the particular train route I took) for a cell phone shop. OK, its like all the cell phone shops waited for me to really REALLY need their services, and just for a laugh, they all simultaneously switched their merchandise to home improvement hardware. Every shop and vendor in that part of town was selling sink fixtures. (I finally found a shop after about an hour of wandering.)
The next complication: Iwona got stuck in traffic for like 3 hours (but to her credit, she was positive and upbeat about it as always - that girl has a great attitude with life). So once I finally could contact her, I learned that I was left with the rest of the morning to explore the city by myself.
Having hung out late last night with friends and operating on little sleep, by 1pm I was exhausted from all my wandering. I found an empty bench at this garden area by the Bund, curled up, and fell asleep. That must have been a sight. As if I don't stick out enough.
The day was great; we had a long list of places to check out, although Iwona and I mostly just soaked in the sights and sounds and energy of it all. We were going to sightsee as a larger group - but we did not meet up with Elena and her boyfriend until Saturday evening.
Observations
Shanghai is fun, but perhaps Shanghai is not "China." This previously unformulated idea became concrete as I had a discussion with a Chinese-Canadian girl at the Mexican bar that night (and further verified in later talks with Chinese and foreign friends). Shanghai was historically the "whore of Asia," a seaport full of opium, whorehouses, and sensuality, the "fully-fledged bourgeois decadence of the early 20th century" (Source). It was never an ancient capital like Xi'an or Hangzhou or Nanjing - therefore lacking a lot of the historical and architectural significance you'll find in other major cities in China. Not to discredit it - it is the economic center of China. That means lots of banks - and lots of money. Which means lots of investment. Which means Western bars, clubs, restaurants, and hotels. The pace of life is phrenetic and high-paced compared to the slower, relaxed feel of major cities like Beijing (or so I've been told). In the future the whole country may head the way of Shanghai, but presently it is quite an anomaly in the wide world of China.
There are way too many gorgeous Chinese girls with geeky-looking foreign guys. I began to notice lots and lots of rather good looking Chinese women - but always with some geeky guy attached to them (of course, their beauty may have been enhanced by the stark contrast of their male partner's lack of charisma). At first, I had difficulty figuring it out. It just didn't make sense. However, I learned that this too may be a sign of Shanghai's relative decadence. When I came to Hangzhou, one thing that impressed me about Chinese girls was their emphasis on commitment - they (those that I've met, talked to, observed) want real relationships and certainly not to "hook it up" for just one night. In Shanghai, so I've been told, girls are very forthright in finding out a man's salary and social position (the standard questions on a first date) - and sexual behavior between relative strangers is more consistent with that of, say, Manhattan.
Even in China, there are a few bad apples. Iwona and I met these two Beijing students on Nanjing Road, and we thought we became friends with them. They helped us order authentic Shanghai cuisine in a nearby restaurant - and even invited us to check out their art gallery later that night. At the gallery, after showing and explaining some of the works, the artist of the two turned to me and subtlely put the pressure on me to buy. This of course, threw me a bit off guard. When it became evident I really wasn't interested, he totally flipped out, like I mean, borderline psychotic rage. Like dropping the F-bomb like it was going out of style. Needless to say, we got out of there quickly. (His type is definitely the exception, not the rule; all the Chinese friends I've made are genuine and honest - and usually honest to the degree it can be painful - but it does show that even China has a few bad apples.)
Some foreign kids go to China...and go wild. We met Elena at this Mexican bar (they were the real deal...enchiladas and fajitas on the menu...but alas, I had already eaten) and we got acquainted with some American teachers and workers our age. Afterwards we went to this house party, and there I felt like I was in college again - that is, if I had gone to a different college, one where people drink and smoke and dress immodestly. Anyway, it was good to meet some new people, although I would have preferred a different location. But it was interesting; some of the kids didn't look like the stereotypical partiers - there was something unnatural about their mannerisms. In coming to China, no one knows your past or personality, and I think many people reinvent themselves. Sometimes for the worse. (Side note: Don't worry Mom, I'm with good friends in Hangzhou and I have stuck to my principles.)
Hostels are great. Seventy yuan and we were right off the Bund. Thats like staying right by Times Square for eight bucks. (I really didn't mind the snoring, I just thought it was funny.) I don't see myself going to Shanghai as much as I had earlier envisioned, but when I do go, I know where I'll be staying.
Aftermath
Although I had thoroughly enjoyed the trip - it was such a blast! - I left Shanghai strangely anxious to return home to Hangzhou. I think part of me reacted against the cultureless and souless side of the corporate, brightly lit facade of Modernity (that can be disheartening in any context, but perhaps more so here because I see much of China as fresh, developing, hopeful, well-rooted in culture and values.) However, most of this anxiousness to return should be attributed to the fact that I had slept less than four hours the past two nights (and hadn't showered).
I was exhausted, and I barely made it from the train station to my teaching commitment on time.
Of course it was at this moment that my boss had planned a quick video shoot of Michael and I promoting the Babel summer program. I'm sure I looked absolutely dashing with my three-day stubble, unkempt hair, and baggy eyes. Jenny even said they would give me a copy of the commercial for me to keep! Yes. That is definitely thirty seconds of my life that I want to treasure always.
Eating - Sugar cane. And way more than is probably good for me. You buy a long stalk of it (which they'll peel for you), bite off chunks of it, chew and extract the juices, and then spit out the remaining pulp. Oh man, its good I didn't know about this stuff when I was younger and had even less self-control.
Watching - Supersize Me. I found the DVD on a vendor in Shanghai for 6 RMB ($.73 US) which actually has the special features on it. Anyway, I had seen it a couple times before, but I really enjoyed the running commentary feature.
Wondering - ...who the heck is in the Netherlands? I was looking at my web visitor stats, and I guess I have some Dutch friends out there. Rock on.