Brief Rest

One by one, our rather large party has left. Fathers, Uncles, Aunts, roomies, and now my brother have been dropped off at the airport. Sabrina and I are the last ones standing (along with her brother) and even we leave for Tokyo Tuesday morning. This changes the pace and today feels very relaxing.

We've attended so many amazing events during the past few days. Let me tell you, these are not your usual tourist trappings. It ended up that we attended an elite K-3rd grade graduation (three hours worth of costumes and singing at Shanghai's answer to the Disney Concert Hall), a surreal, extremely elegant ballroom dance club, (straight out of the 30's except with highly talented Chinese performers), and the teenybopper and Asian pop star filled Radio Music award show/concert at Shanghai Stadium (the big star was the tomboyish/androgynous China "American Idol" winner, Huang Yali. I'd post pictures but Flickr doesn't seem to get past the Chinese censors.

With a week remaining until I return to LA, I'm already inspired to live life slightly differently when I return. I've met so many wonderful and impressive people from walks of life that are completely foreign to me; it has been rather humbling and exciting as well.

Surreal Shanghai

It's no exaggeration that 15 years ago, the big city we explore each day used to be farms and bicycles. Now it's crazy taxis, fancy malls and of course, big time money making.

All the excitement (and pollution) has taken a toll on the party. A tickle in the throat here or an acid tummy there... we soldier on. Having fun is hard work, you know.

Alive, Sticky, and Well Fed

It's been a few days now. The first 24 hours or so had my senses working overtime but now things feel more familiar. We can get around pretty well now. Having developed a general sense of the layout around the Yangtze river, I even feel a distant familial tie with the local population. I instantly see recognizable Chinese facial features and body types all around me. They might as well be third or fourth cousins of people I know. In fact, they probably are.

After our first night, we immediately joined relatives for a meal and have also seen Sabrina's family a lot. While we are here on pleasure, everone else is doing business. It's the wild wild east here and quite naturally, eyes are fixed on the many market opportunities. This is quite an education and I'm glad to see everyone doing so well. Spending so much time with people who know where to eat has also left us well fed and quite impressed with the cuisine. And despite the many warnings we've received, our party has been blessed to not have any stomach problems thus far. I may even roll the dice and get street vendor food (I'm thinking that if it is seriously fried enough, maybe it'll be ok).

As for activities, I enjoy getting a lay of the land early. So early highlights have been the Oriental Pearl (or space needle as I call it) for views and the elaborate Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall (six stories of storytelling and all). Both are impressive grand statements despite what they might lack in detailed execution. Most of what we've seen has been similarly touristy and enjoyable (e.g. Old Town, the Bund). Interestingly enough, the rest of the week seems to be lining up with some expat/local type festivities. Whatever we do, I'll be sure to post about it soon.

Shanghai

The arrival went without a hitch as Matthew met us at the airport and Sabrina's family drove us to our lodging. The Cham boys are living like high class businessmen at a swank hotel in the financial core of Pudong. The room is about twice as big as my humble one bedroom apt and maybe ten billion times the size of my brother's place in Japan.

Tired from the travel but excited to get our first fill of Shanghai, we ignored the advice of the hotel clerk ("Everything is closed") and braved the immediate area looking for snacks. It wasn't looking too good at first. The urban scale was like walking down a dark, empty Vegas strip. Everything was huge and took forever to get around. There were a few young couples and the occasional group of shirtless boys walking home, but other than that, places were indeed closed. We explored the train station and tried to follow the aroma of food and/or bright lights, which oddly took us to a foot massage joint. But around the corner, we discovered a "might as well be in Monterey Park" establishment where I was finally able to rid my stomach of the memory of airport cuisine. Pork fried rice, wonton soup and beer, just what the doctor ordered.

June Book of the Month

June has been One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm not even halfway through but with all the flight time ahead of me, I'm sure to finish on time.

The Future

How is it that there is a Shanghaiist.com and not a Tokyoist.com? Not to make too much of this, but maybe people are right when they tell me that Tokyo is the past and Shanghai is the future. Japan still has a sweet spot in my heart though. I'm leaving for both this weekend. Maybe I'll have some good blog material when I return.

Home

It's only been a few days but so far living in the new apartment has been incredible! Even without a dining table or much of anything it has made a world of difference.

Crescendo

The new place, the vacation, waiting on an interview, the land use plan and the waterfront project... everything is building up to quite a crescendo. Its great as long as I don't shoot myself in the head first. One problem is that when I don't do things right the first time, I have to run back and cover myself (aka passport renewal).

Still, I'm excited about this whirlwind pace. I think I'm squeezing a lot before school. Gotta strike when the iron's hot anyway.

Furniture

I'm moving in a week but still don't have furniture picked out. These things can't be rushed I suppose. Brown-black or birch? The Ikea website looks different today too. Was it relaunched just yesterday? I'm kind of liking this Be brave, not beige feature.

Now Playing: Whatever You Want - Club 8

Hi

Podcasts for This American Life has got me in a reflective mood and obviously back on blogger.

It was almost a year ago that I thought I'd try graduate school, hoping to shake things up. I had too much time on my hands and was generally in need of new dreams. Moved to Long Beach with the cats and took a prep course. After the exam, I found myself living with some old college friends. They got married and I finished my applications. Amazingly, I'm now enrolled and waiting to begin in the Fall. With all this and more (not to mention a swank apartment a few blocks from school which is going to cost me an arm and a leg), I'm back to opening the boxes that were packed away with each successive move. Opening each box feels kind of nostalgic and kind of awful. They were packed for good reason but never should have been stored away in the first place.