Have a happy weekend

What are you doing this weekend? Yes, I really want to know. 

Tomorrow morning, Mike and I will be discovering our new 'hood with Sandy, a woman I had been set up with through my mom's friend back home. Sandy has lived here for about 10 years, and now that Mike and I have moved, we're neighbors. She'll be taking us to the local bakeries and coffee shops and fruit stands, including the famous Avocado Lady about whom we've heard a lot from other expats. Her shop caters to foreigners and carries hard-to-find Western items like peanut butter, raw almonds and yes, avocados. After having some terrible guacamole at a Mexican restaurant last night, I have high hopes for the Avocado Lady.

LaterGram: Goods for sale at the Avocado Lady

Lessons Learned (so far)

We're well into our second month here and I'm starting to compile a list of lessons learned living in Shanghai (reminds me of my working days and having to create a "Lessons Learned" PowerPoint after every event; funny, I don't miss those that much).  

• First and foremost, pedestrians do NOT have the right-of-way. I learned this quickly. And you will too if you come to visit. Walk with confidence and give dirty looks when necessary.  
• And speaking of traffic, honking is commonplace. Instead of "watch out", here it means, "FYI, I'm coming through," or "FYI, I'm behind you," or "FYI, I'm turning left." You get the idea.  
• "Excuse me" doesn't exist; touching and bumping into strangers is perfectly acceptable. 
• You don't really let passengers get off your subway train if you want to get on it.  
• Locals hack up loogies and spit them out. When you hear that lovely sound (and you will hear it), steer clear. (By the way, picking your nose in public is no biggie either.)  
• Carry tissues. Restaurants don't always provide napkins (and if they do, some charge for them!).  
• Any Western anything (groceries, meals, clothes, shoes) is at least three times as expensive as its local counterpart. 
• Yes, the pollution is that bad.  

This is a preliminary list as I'm sure there are more lessons to be learned.  

Vacation's over

On my walk to school this morning (yes, I can walk to school from our new place!), I had a freak-out moment. This extended vacation -- during which I sometimes felt like Eloise (even though I was at the Ascott in Shanghai instead of the Plaza in New York City) -- is over. I live in China now. Permanently. Or at least for the foreseeable future. My place of residence, my "home" is in Shanghai. When people ask me where I live, I'll have to tell them, "Shanghai, China." Madness. 

And then I walked by the Jing'an Temple; I took a deep breath, and felt a sense of awe and calm. I live in China! The feeling was very similar to how I felt in San Francisco every time I laid eyes on the Golden Gate Bridge. I used to say (sometimes aloud), "I live in SF!" The view never got old, just like walking by the Jing'an Temple every day on my way to class will likely never get old.  

Some of you have requested pics of our place, but I think I'll wait until we get our shipment from the States to take some (it's due to arrive on the fourth of July; fitting, no?). Right now, the apartment doesn't look much different from a hotel room filled with bland furniture and ugly lamps.

In case you don't know, this is Eloise. She is six. She is a city child. She lives at the Plaza.

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via Claire on Pinterest

"Home"

We're in our Shanghai home! It's been an exhausting day, moving more than seven pieces of luggage from the hotel to our new apartment and communicating in Chinese at a one-year-old's level. And did I mention Mike is on his first business trip to Hong Kong and Beijing? Off to shower and snooze; more tomorrow. 

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

As if this week weren't exciting enough with Go Skateboarding Day, today marks the start of China's Dragon Boat Festival. Sounds cool, right? Don't you imagine boats with a dragon head at the bow and a dragon tail at the stern racing down the Huangpu River?

But we haven't seen anything like that just yet. In fact, I'm not sure what the locals do to celebrate other than take a day off and eat zongzi -- a pyramid of sticky rice inside of which hides a piece of meat (usually pork) or red bean paste, wrapped in a bamboo leaf. Some are tastier than others, we've learned. Neither one of us likes the ones with red bean paste (although I like red bean paste in other things!), and some shops make their zongzi with too much rice and too little meat.   

pinterest.com/pin/165296248796293910

In other news, I got myself a little job. I'm helping a French woman (or she may be Belge) with the English version of her website text. It's kind of perfect. I meet with her tomorrow to discuss her needs.  

What are your plans for the weekend?  (I suppose we'll also be on the lookout for dragon boats...)