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This day was great and also exhausting — normal day for Shanghai. We went to People’s Park and walked in the perfect shady nature area in 72 degree weather. Lots of people sitting on benches, some playing cards, some with their babies in strollers Some women were dancing to the music of their boom box: traditional choreographed Chinese dancing with colorful orange cloths in their hands. This was near a large pond of koi/goldfish. Just beautiful and relaxing.

Then we went to lunch at Yang’s Fried Dumplings. It’s 2 blocks down the urban, older streets filled with restaurants, apartments, shops, and hotels. The boys liked the dumplings. Shrimp or pork, they have soup inside and are fried almost black on the bottom and cooked in a ton of oil. Greasy.

Then we headed for the Shanghai Museum. It was 82 degrees by this time and we were walking in the sun and the city blocks were loooong. We were exhausted when we arrived but the tea room was lovely. After coffee, we checked out the more than 6000 years of ceramics that have been well preserved. You see the pictures in my other blog post.

Perhaps the most popular  activity to do with Chinese friends is to eat out. The tradition is to treat the visitor the first time, so we have been treated to a lot of great meals lately while we catch up with friends from last year.

Today we had lunch with Dr. Ma here at Xuhui campus. It was great food with lots of vegetables in great sauces.

Last week my former student Adeal treated us to Chinese hot pot at a restaurant with great service. Everyone liked the food. You can get a pedicure for free while you wait. There are many tables where you can sit and wait also; it is so popular.

 

Also last week my colleague Shelley took us out to a great dinner at a Yunnan restaurant that is more vegetable focused ( a bit less meat maybe). It was great to see her and Sophy again. We spent time with them last year, and she and Sophy were at Highline in 2015.

Ben got his hair cut here, at a salon where about 6 men work. You mostly see men in the hair salons. He liked it and decided to get his hair colored red in front, so here it is — though this is the day he was sweaty from tag.

This Friday we met Kate and her boys, Peter and Isaac again. We took a 1-hour metro ride to a trampoline place. The boys jumped and climbed and used the slide for awhile, then the rest of the time it was tag with foam blocks and balls and foam battering rams. They were sweaty and red faced the whole time, and loved it.

I met an American, Kate, on the teacher bus a few weeks ago. Her boys are 8 and 11, so we agreed to get them together. They go to a bouncy place each weekend. Last weekend we went on a Sunday afternoon. It was packed with mostly little kids, but Ben and the boys had a great time and got very sweaty. This was followed by pizza and a visit to Awfully Chocolate which had an amazing salted caramel brownie!

 

As it got into the 90’s we returned to the Shanghai Museum, which was so cool we actually had to put on another layer. We saw the traveling Tate Britain collection of British nature paintings from 1700-1960. We saw ancient to modern jade carvings from 6000 BCE to about 1800.  We also saw a collection of traditional clothing and master craftsmanship from the many ethnic minority cultures in China, mostly around 1900’s. Then of course we re-visited the tea house which has good lattes and treats, and is necessary for sitting in between viewing collections.

 

We also visited the Pudong area of modern skyscrapers and malls, across the river from the traditional Bund area.

We went up in the Jin Mao Tower to the 56th floor where you can have lunch while seeing the view; the whole restaurant exterior walls are windows; even the restroom has a larger window. This was very nice. We viewed many fancy restaurants and a plush hotel as we made our way to the our restaurant. Afterward, we walked back along the beautiful elevated pedestrian walkway and stopped in at a mall, since you have to walk through it to continue to the Metro. We found many restaurants there, including another chain of Awfully Chocolate. We made  plans for a return visit. However, across from that shop is a custard shop. Choices, choices.

 

Today after class (April 19) I rented a bike (with help from my former Chinese student) and rode slowly from my job at the Foreign Affairs Office to the bus terminal. I could look at the beautiful park setting of many parts of Minhang campus with trees, grass, and a large winding river. The breeze was gentle and perfect in the warm sun. Riding the practical European-style bike was so pleasant: one gear, soft seat, hand brakes and a bell. I arrived early so I rode back to the lake. I watched the small black and silver fish swim under the willow trees and chase each other and occasionally jump. It was peaceful and calming and just what I wanted. I then slowly rode back to the bus terminal and parked and locked the bike (cost 15 cents per ride). I am so thankful my friend Adeal got me the app for this on my phone! 

Most people here will ride a bike to get from A to B. No one wears helmets, and traffic of every kind is constantly flowing around, cutting across your path, following no discernable rules. There seems to be an understood “flow” where people time their own travels so they can skirt around pedestrians and bikes and cars without anyone having to stop or start or even change pace. I go slow and keep an eye out, since I don’t have the flow feeling.

As an American I feel it is dangerous to ride without a helmet, but the alternative is a 25 minute walk on the side of the road in the heat, carrying my books. I will pedal carefully, but keep riding.

We were given the same room we had last year, which we requested. Once here, we remembered all its charms. The bedroom window is a about 10 feet from the public sidewalk, which is fairly heavily trafficked during the day and evening.  Passersby in groups can be very loud at times. The large street is also regularly trafficked all hours of day or night, with busses and cars and trucks that make all kinds of loud noises on occasion. Then there are those who work here and the guests. If the guest is VIP, the staff will open the large, metal gate any time of the night to allow the guest car to enter. The gate scrapes VERY loudly when it opens and closes, and the metal chain used on it clinks loudly. At 1 am, you can hear energetic birds chirping outside the window, and after dark, you can hear some ongoing cat fights with long, loud wailing. Lots of homeless cats live in our bushes.

In a way, it was a charming little reminder that we were back in Shanghai, a city that never sleeps, and never considers that you might be sleeping.  It only took us about a week to become de-sensitized to these many random noises. When we are awake and hear them, we look at each other and laugh because it is rather ridiculous. It’s a good strategy to walk every day so you are good and tired and sleep well at night. Whenever you wake you are almost sure to become immediately aware of the current noises outside.

On weekends guests (older Chinese faculty) will drink and carouse in the hallways and repeatedly slam doors. Ben and I seem to be able to fall asleep with no problems despite these on goings. Paul stays up later and it bothers him because it is rude and obnoxious, but I don’t think it bothers our sleep. Funny what you can get used to.

The maid comes every day, somewhere between 9 and noon, and often does a cursory wipe of all clear surfaces and a mop of the main walkways. She is sure to not mop or dust the corners or underneath anything. Last year I left a cheerio under the sofa for a month just to check. She brings bottled water and clean towels and wipes down the bathroom every day, and gives us more shampoo sometimes.  She also fixes the internet if we have any problems. We like her and she likes us, but we have no communication at all. On her day off another maid comes and just empties the trash. They often speak to me, and I try to shrug  and show I don’t understand, but they just explain it more. Their confidence in my ability to understand Chinese is solid.

We decided to spend Friday at the Wild Animal Park, which we visited last year. It was only supposed to be 79 degrees today, so much cooler and less humid than last year. We were going to leave early, but instead left around 10 am.  You take the metro line 11 for 11 stops, then transfer to line 16 and go 5 stops, but the stops are really far apart on line 16, going through farm land and some towns in between, and there are no free seats on the small train. And everyone is happy to try for a seat. Young people do not give up their seats for anyone. It takes more than 30 minutes to get to the metro stop for the Wild Animal Park. Then you get a taxi and in 5 more minutes you are there.

It cost 130RMB for adults just to get into the zoo part, and 65RMB for kids. It’s about 6.3 RMB per dollar now. We went to rent a covered cycle cart. It’s very hard to tell who is in charge and how to buy one. We “asked” one person who pointed to someone else who pointed to someone else. Two people old us it is a 300 RMB deposit. I thought “oh great, it’s half the price of the sign.” But really they were telling me  they were going to give me a tiny cart where 3 of us would try to squeeze our butts onto one bench and only 2 of us would peddle. I think the Chinese try to help people save money. But last year we had the big one and that is what we wanted. It took awhile to convince them of that and find the right person to rent it from.  Finally we got the cart and drove to check out where to get on the caged bus that drives through the wild animal locations.

We found it, then drove back to catch the 1pm Russian Circus for 1 hour. It’s was pretty good. They had 6 big horses, one big tiger, and 6 cats and 6 dogs that were all well trained. Don’t worry, the tiger only made a brief appearance in a large container where a woman was put in the container, the container was covered, and when uncovered, the tiger was there.

The cats were well trained to climb and jump onto things including the top of an umbrella and the underside of a long horizontal stick. The dogs did various cute tricks that required lots of balance. I think the animals quite enjoy it. They get treats immediately following each trick.

There were also acrobatic feats which were great.

We drove through and saw lions, tigers, white tigers, cheetahs, wolves, giraffes, zebra, rhinos, hippos, antelope, brown bears and sun bears, all in open grassy areas where the busses drove through. It was very nice to see them. They all looked healthy. The bus feeds them tidbits so they approach the bus.

We arrived rather late so could not ride the elephants, but we did feed the elephants and zebras, which was really nice.

Each day is different here for me. Some days I have to take the bus to campus and teach. That means preparing the lesson the day before and refreshing that morning before class. Then on other days we can go out and explore and enjoy Shanghai. It’s hard to change gears sometimes between when to work and when to relax.  With my family here it is important that I spend time with them, while also finding time to do my ongoing work for Highline and for my SJTU lessons here.

Today we were going to go to the JinMao Tower 55th floor to look at the city and eat, but it was already booked. We booked this Saturday, and have to hope the weather will stay clear. Today we will go see a photo museum. Then I will return later to prepare tomorrow’s lesson on writing news letter items.

Last night we went to a Mexican restaurant. I like Chinese food but find I cannot eat it 2-3 times a day.  We often eat at the student cafeteria which is typical Chinese food. It will soon be time to go to a noodle place again, which are Ben’s favorites.