Brrrr!! And other things Shanghai.

It’s been an adventure so far, and I’ve only been here for 2. 5 days.  🙂

After a nice weekend in Cali (where I got to relax with my good friend, Brian, and do some ‘nothing’ for a bit), I hopped on the very large Eastern China airliner with my parents and began my journey into the unknown.  For someone that likes to communicate as much as I do, it’s difficult not being able to speak (or read) the language, but I am learning, and will be able to get around more — without having to rely on other’s speaking English.. I made my first Chinese friend on the plane, Rocky (not Balboa), who was kind enough to teach me how to say “excuse me” and “where is the bathroom” — crucial sayings for any country! He also helped explain WTH I was learning to recite in my Rosetta Stone Mandarin lessons, and cleared so much up in 10 minutes that I actually felt as though I had a better grasp on this small portion of the language that I am trying to tackle.  Yes. It is a difficult language. And yes, I will learn enough of it (hopefully soon) so I don’t feel like an ass when buying a bottle of water or bartering for wonderful knockoff electronics at the Cybermart.

According to one book, I’m still in the “honeymoon” phase, where everything is just awesome and amazing! Well, I wouldn’t quite go that far, I think I’m a bit more grounded than that (though ironically, I did have cold feet waking up a few mornings before I left Denver.)  Still, Shanghai is quite an impressive city so far. Illuminated buildings that almost act as billboards are here and there.. The Nanpu bridge that you take over the Huangpu River when you enter into town from the airport was also illuminated yellow and really just a great welcoming into the city. A large building to the northwest end of it with horizontal bars of colored lights that move and appear to wrap around the building with Chinese characters in white spelling out who knows what in the middle..

Oh, and then there are the taxi rides. If you know me, you know I am not the biggest fan of being a passenger.. Well, I knew before I left Denver that I would need to let that fear go – and fast! (Thanks to Brian for a good intro into riding in fast cars with rally-style drivers, you wonderful nut. You would love driving here, everyone is like you.) Anyway, driving is insane by our American standards, but everyone here drives the same so it works!  Might is right – if you are a bus, you have the right of way, anywhere, anytime. The smaller you are, the faster you have to get out of the way!  Oh, stop lights seem to be a suggestion…or at least a red light means you still have 5 seconds to go through.. busses to bicycles, they all whip around, honking, but it just f l o w s…. my parents keep waiting to see someone get hit, but I think the system works better than that. (tho when you see an old man pushing a scooter through an intersection, against the light, talking on a cell phone, with a bus coming, you do tend to wonder…) I’ll have to video from a good intersection or two to share.. ha. or maybe from the cab ride (note:  front seat is the only seat with a seatbelt.. back seats they are hidden by the nice seat coverings). If this was America, there’d be accidents everywhere and people screaming on their cell phones.. here, they just honk, brake, swerve, merge and speed.

It is pretty damn cold (0 degrees centigrade and 85% humidity currently) but nothing that 24 layers of clothing can’t fix. Underdressed for the past two days, I actually found long underwear in the Gap for a decent price — though I could have purchased on the street for next to nothing, along with a scrunchie, fuzzy toilet seat cover, umbrella, cherries, spring festival decorations and some CDs.  (that was one block.. street vendors that I’ve only seen at night so far.)  I think I am the only person (aside from my Mom) that I’ve seen wearing a hat, too.

Lots more to talk about, amazing that I’ve only been here for 2.5 days.. have certainly experienced a lot already! Have an apartment, met my roommate. Had lunch with my new boss and her husband (they are super nice) and met the research team and other staff at China Bridge (also, incredibly nice people!)  Never in my life have I received such a warm welcome by people that 1) I don’t know and 2) that I will be working with. I actually can’t wait to get started to work after the holiday!! (ok, a day after the holiday  – go Steelers!!!)  Kindly, my roommate – Azure – has invited me to go to some of the spring festival (AKA Chinese New Year) happenings with her and her sister, and maybe to meet her family too.. really, couldn’t have asked for a nicer setup to live (8 minute walk to work) with very nice roommate, cute little dog, and for homesickness: Starbucks just next door (after all, what is more American than reeking like Starbucks for half the day?)

Oh, and my last words for this post:  to get over jet lag, just don’t sleep for a solid day before coming out, and if you can, have a completely irregular sleep schedule to begin with (like me, ha.) Was asleep early the first night (maybe by 10pm) but feel totally in sync with it now.

Over and out, campers.