After training ended yesterday, a group of us made the daily trip to TrustMart. I had an organized list (for the first time) and actually managed to get all that I needed. I purchased a glass to hold my set of chop sticks, a sheet set, a cutting board, a food basket, some wall hooks, a pillow, some hair gel and a hand towel. The sheet situation here is pretty confusing, and I guess that they have a nearly endless combination of possible bed measurements. I needed a sheet that was 200x180, which (after some dramatic hand gesturing) I found out they didn’t have. I got Devon to help me because she had successfully bought sheet as Ikea the other day. I wound up with 220x230, which was somehow both too short and too long. Lengthwise, it was too short and widthwise it was too long. The impossible becomes possible quite quickly here in China.
Another interesting thing about Trust-Mart is that in each section they have a worker who watches that section, and that section only. This has been documented in Tiffany’s blog with my difficulties in attempting to buy a hair dryer, and yesterday I had a similarly amusing experience trying to pick out hair gel. I found the isle, and started looking for brand themes that looked familiar. The woman in charge of the hair gel isle saw me looking, and decided to come over and tell me (in Mandarin) specifically which one I should get. I smiled and thanked her, but attempted to motion at another type that was more similar to the kind I left at home. She kept pointing to the other one, and then made me smell it. When I pointed to the one I wanted to buy, she pantomimed that it would make my hair too stiff. So, I figured, hey . . . this lady is the hair gel isle lady. She has to know a thing or two about the hair gel selection on this isle. I decided to trust her went with her suggestion (read insistence). Turns out, she knew what she was talking about because it calmed down my fizzed out hair, but didn’t make it heavy, oily, or stiff.
On the way back from TrustMart, Brian W. informed us that he and Chris had planned to go out to get drinks somewhere downtown at 7, and invited us to join. Devin, Devon, and I agreed, and we planned to meet at 7 to catch a cab and go downtown. By the time we finally left, the group included myself, Devon, Devin, Tiffany, Brian L, Brian W, Chris, and Josh. We caught two cabs right at the front gate of the school, and off we went.
The cab ride was an experience in itself. Devin is hilarious and made conversation with the cab driver without knowing any Chinese. They were laughing together in the front seat. It was pretty amazing, and quite amusing for the three of us in the back. Then the cab driver started playing Whitney Houston and trying to sing/hum to it.
In the cab, as we drove through the sprawling city, I began to realize even more significantly than I previously had the sheer girth of Shanghai. I feel like I could spend years here and never really get to know it.
I was extremely excited because the bar that Devon knew about was off Nanjing road, which is THE road in Shanghai. It’s a mixture of Rodeo Dr and M Street at the scale of New York City skyscrapers. Escada. Burburry. Emporio Armani. Omega. Cartier. The money on this street is outrageous. If you follow it all the way east, it takes you to the Bund, a major tourist destination in Shanghai. It took us a lot of wandering around, but we ended up ducking into a bar called Blue Sky.
It was a surreal experience. I am not sure what theme the bar was attempting, but it looked like a confused version of Americana mixed with a European hostel. We drank Tiger, my first time having that beer, and sat at these high round tables. Some real life “Shanghai Sleeze” were there too, which was both intriguing and disgusting to watch. We drank for about 45mins, and then decided to try and find this bar that Devin remembered from her previous China experience. She found it, in a new location from the last time she was there, right next to the Hagen-Daas on Nanjing. The vibe there was kind of strange as well, but the beer was really cheap (about 10-15 kuai). We drank and danced and talked. Around 11:30 we decided to head back to the street to grab a cab and go back to school, since we had an early day today. Devin, once again, provided cab ride antics in the front seat on the way back.
Today’s training was long and arduous, with a lot of information being thrown at us at one time. The principal of the school came and spoke to us, and there were some sessions on what to expect culturally and otherwise in the classroom. We ate lunch in the school cafeteria. A rather impressive notion is that I managed to eat ribs with chopsticks.
We were in training until 4ish, and then I came back to the apartment, sat on the balcony and started this blog post. I took a break and went with Josh to the Pizza Hut by TrustMart. Pizza Hut here is a fine dining experience. In fact, families dress up to eat at Pizza Hut. As such, we just went to the pickup/take out window, which was furnished like the concierge area at a five star hotel. Granite counters, waiting chairs, fashion magazines to read. They had a picture menu, which made ordering really easy. It wasn’t cheap, like 45 kuai for personal pizza, but it seems worth it for the occasional splurge, when you are looking for a taste of home. Josh and I brought out pizzas back and ate out on my balcony and watched the darkness take-over.
I really haven’t had too many problems with the food here, and have been able to eat just about everything given to me. I also really haven’t missed Western food too much. I particularly like the random breakfasts we are served at training. Today it was what looked to be a honey bun with a salted piece of ham on top. Not quite as charming or delicious as the leprosy cake, but a fun surprise to say the least.
I have noticed that most of my logs are just facts and figures about what I have been doing/eating/buying. I really want to make some of these posts more descriptive, even story-like. I think in the rush of arriving and training, time has been a factor. I realize that if I am going to write anything at all, I first have to go out and experience things, which also takes a great deal of time and energy. Catch-22. It is my hope to take a few instances/ events/ experiences and write them using great detail and description. For now, it seems that pictures will have to suffice. Perhaps at the end of each week, I will write a review of sorts of the week, putting a lot of focus into describing in detail the nuances of Shanghai life.
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