Don’t Burn The Day

Yep… 1st of 100 franchise locations in the next decade, opened just yesterday…

Friends at Reuters say:

Dunkin’s Shanghai shops will feature — in addition to its regular fare — items tailored for local tastes including honeydew melon doughnuts and mochi rings, which are similar to doughnuts but are made with rice flour.

Address:

546 Fuzhou Lu, near Hubei Lu
福州路546号, 近湖北路

Not that I’m a huge donut-person, but I will probably check this out at some point to compare tastings, as well as get my donut-fix, when deemed necessary. And ummm mochi rings?!?? … Really??!!!?? Of course, I’ll let ya’ll know how this all goes down when I do. But I’m proud of the Massachusetts’-based company!! :-)  Even though, they’ve got a bit ways to go behind the Seattle brand; Starbucks is a beast!

. . don’t burn the day. .

A bit of a random destination, but I went along with it. Last weekend, the school offered staffers a mini-trip - an approximately 4-hour ride out of Shanghai to seaport-city, Ningbo (means, “Tranquil Waves”).

I was one of two foreign teachers who tagged along on this trip, so I relied on my fellow local colleagues in my (international) department (who speak English) to translate most of what was going on!

Friday, November 7

We hit the road, taking the World’s Longest Bridge route — the $1.54 billion dollar Hangzhou Bay Bridge, recently built to connect Shanghai to the industrial city of Ningbo — cutting the distance between them from about 400 km to just 80 km.  Too bad, it was dark and rainy, making it difficult to see anything!  And then on the way back to Shanghai on Sunday, I fell asleep mid-ride…so technically, I didn’t get to really experience the bridge… but! here’s what it supposedly looks like….

We then checked into our hotel, which was fabulous….and bed was magnificent!!! It reminded of how much I miss my 1000 thread count sheets and awesome comforters at home!  But seriously, this bed was amazingly comfortable! I wish I could’ve packed it up with my return to Shanghai.  (Generally, beds in China are hard, even though, fortunately mine isn’t too too bad here…I would’ve traded it in for this hotel bed.)  Soooo if ever in Ningbo, I do recommend the Haijui Wangfu Hotel. Plus, it is a brand new hotel, service is great and provides a hearty breakfast in the morning!

Saturday, November 8

We headed out to some rainforest/canyon/valley spot… Why so vague? …Because I cannot recall the name of it; I was told a few times in Mandarin, but of course that just went in one ear and out the other. (I know, so bad.. but ah well.)  It was drizzling rain that day, and typically that sets me in a not so chipper mood, however this day was an exception as since it made the valley experience that more enjoyable… adding to the “natural” ambience… The water was so beautifully (and surprisingly) green! Check the flicks!

“Raindrops keep falling on my head”……. Ahhhhhhhh! Refreshing!!…….

The colleagues….

This sign is for a reason…

And with signs like the following, you can’t blame me for tuning in enough for it to enter one ear and exit the other…

Then night time… I was pleasantly surprised with this little city and its’ metropolitan’ess and general cleanliness as well!  (Cleaner than Shanghai for sure! But then again, Shanghai’s 18 Million population is incomparable to a “small” city as Ningbo of 2 Million!)

Sunday, November 9

Off to Dongqian Lake!

Yup, that’s some sort’ve fish…

A satellite. Quite random if you ask me…but I was told, this was a prop that Hong Kong actor, Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, etc.) used while filming on this lake.

And Ningbo is known for its seafood…

. . don’t burn the day. .

I know, pretty odd combo for a title! … But!…..

This weekend was totally awesome in that…..

A) It kick-started Friday night with a lovely wine and tapas affair at Enoteca with a random bunch of expats from all over the globe, gathered together by an Obama supporter who I had met at the Obama Party….and ended at Barbarossa where I met another DJ (this time from Amsterdam) who knows his music!  It was refreshing to hear some Jamie Cullum (”Frontin’” cover), Brand New Heavies (”Sometimes”), Jamiroquai and the likes. Basically NO Souldja boy!!  I’m working on getting some flicks from this night…

B) I actually had time to catch up with folks stateside!  From Boston to New York to Detroit to Atlanta to Dallas to Los Angeles, record-breaking for one weekend (at least for me in the 4 months I’ve been abroad)!….. various voice/video chat programs were put to great use!! Love ya’ll…and MISS ya’ll! But I gotta share with the masses a great new addition to the “stay connected” methods… Introducing Gmail Video/Voice Chat!  This was just released earlier this week to my fellow Gmail users; I had my first of a few sessions over the weekend and it totally rocks!  Almost even better than Skype quality…. and Skype and iChat are both pretty good as is.

Here’s a snapshot of my first video chat with Gmail …. I got to see LES streets in action… the very streets I had stomped on oh so many times. Thanks Jeff for the snapshot tutorial!!

Hope to SEE more of ya’ll soon!

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Last night, the Shanghai chapter of Democrats Abroad, an official arm of the Democratic Party, held an Obama victory party at the fanciful and fashionable Glamour Bar on the Bund. I, of course was there with bells on!

But let me first break down my November 4/5th to ya’ll…

Eve of Election: I was bouncing off the walls in anticipation. My roomates thought I had lost a few screws, but I could’ve cared less. Something special was about to take place. Eventually, I went to bed - giddy, with a mere few hours of sleep; I woke up at 5:30am as per usual, (aka 4:30pm EST), rolled over to my side to where my mac purposefully sat bedside, logged onto the net, checked to see what was happening on the home front, ended up chatting with some folks back at home to hype me up even more (not that I needed it!) … while at the same time, getting myself together for another day with the kiddies. I got dressed… BLUE shirt and blazer was in order!!

I packed my mac with me, just in case my pc’s streaming connection would decide to act up. Once arrived at school, I immediately hooked up both computers and created Obama Headquarters in Shanghai:

I was serious! Working both technologies, earbuds in tact. I was conducting midterms in the day…though my head was soooooo NOT on “Circle the nouns in the sentences below….”  Instead, I was shuffling in/out of the classrooms, anxious to to see what updates were being fed to me from trusted sources back at home. I was rejoicing to myself and through the wired lines…. I hated feeling so suppressed. Aside from the handful of foreign teachers in the office who knew of the “big day,” the local teachers carried on their day, midterm-minded. I guess what sucked the most was being the only real hardcore Obama supporter in the office. (Anti-American Canadians and a “red” are my colleagues. Do you feel my pain now?)  Though, I trucked on and continued my hype via phone, text, email, IM’s…

At approximately 11:45am, I got word: multiple news stations had called the Election a wrap in favor of Obama. I lost my mind! Way too surreal and way too easy!! I typed feverishly and hard on the keyboard. I got a call from the Canadian colleagues who invited me to their dorm to view McCain and President-Elect, Obama’s speech. A little reluctant for the whole Canadian connect, but I put that aside, headed over… and witnessed history!!! Hat tip to McCain’s concession speech and absolute admiration for Obama. Choked up with goosebumps, I couldnt’ believe my eyes.  From then on, I can’t recall where my head was. So many emotions ran through me…..and I counted down till the ring of last school bell…..

Evening, I met up with some folks at Glamour Bar and forewarned them that this was gonna be MY night…. They definitely understimated and were ill-prepared…..ha!

I wasn’t lying about Obamatini’s!!!!!

Towards the middle of it all, I was found jumping off from what my friends call, “my stage area”…. HAAAA!!!

In the last 4 months that I’ve been out and about in this part of the world, I will go ahead and say last night’s party was the best party’ve I’ve attended!!!  Not only because I was among other American expats, I mean you find them all over here and not just because it was multi-culti, and so it reminded me of home (– which I doooo miss), and not just because it reminded me of how “easy” I had it back in the States (I mean last night…being able to talk to people in itself, was a major plus. Especially when talking to dudes!)… but moreover, because I was amongst like-minded heads!! Liberal, worldly and hyped!!!! LOVE was spread! An amazingly memorable time was had by all! Folks from all corners of the UNITED States were loose, lively and again, liberal. I chatted up a storm and rocked out at that party as if it were birthday! ….Props to the DJ for being on point with a meaningful playlist!!

Next morning….

First song played on ipod = “Beautiful Day” from album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind by U2. Just a little message to the New First Family:

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
Beautiful day

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

. . don’t burn the day. .

p.s. I’ll be away this weekend for a trip to Ningbo (more on that later).

Where there’s a Will, there’s a Way!

Last weekend, I got me my s n’ p meal in the swanky area of Xintiandi…(I feel like I’m in Europe whenever I walk through this area.)

About Xintiandi:

Near the site of the First Conference of the Communist Party of China, Xintiandi (means “New Heaven and Earth”) is a car-free, shopping, eating and entertainment area of Shanghai. Composed of an area of restored traditional shikumen (”stone gate”) houses on narrow alleys, a modern shopping mall with a cinema complex, and some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, (indoor/outdoor) cafes and restaurants,  art stores - Xintiandi is considered one of the first lifestlye centers in China.

Mmmmmm…..

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My first familar-face visitors!!  I know I am slacking on the Inner Mongolia flicks, but that’s due to yet another hiccup - namely, our wireless router died on us the day AFTER I returned from my trip. Sooooo, consequently, the uploading process to an online gallery has suffered.

But! While I’m getting that sorted, I want to take this opp to share some photos of what really topped off my trip. Immediately upon touching down in Shanghai from huts, grassland and desert-living, I scooted out of my apartment to meet up with my of my bestest friends (since high school days) as she and her fam were visiting the ‘Hai!  It was perfect timing!

Here we are at a grand dinner at Shanghai Uncle:

The C Fam…

Then, we hit the Bund for some “At Night Shots!”

In this trip, Kristin topped all birthday celebrations by celebrating it in 3 different countries in one day: China, Japan and US (Hawaii)!!  Happy Birthday again! GREATTTTTT seeing you babe!

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One of the greatest upsides of the life abroad experience is the opportunity to meet globally like-minded folks and sharing “what brought you here”-tales.  But to be honest, with the great expat community here in Shanghai, it has proven to be quite challenging to find expats with substance. (But then again, I guess you can say that is the same stateside as well, of just regular folks.  But here, it’s even that much more difficult especially with the limited community that does speak English.)  And then, when you do find those who you vibe with… farewells are in order… just a matter of time…

Which brings us to… the downside of living abroad and befriending other expats, as schedules are seasonal. Many expats are contracted for a certain period of time (myself included) - some, shorter/longer than others; some are given the option of extending, and others, not so much. Granted, I’ve only been in China for just a little over 2 months but it has seemed so much longer. I was fortunate to have found a solid group of buds by the end of my first week who have made the last 2 months very much memorable for me…but sadly, their time in Shanghai has been up!  First, E made his exit and now Cubes and Max… sniff!  Simply irreplaceable! Here’s a shot of our farewell dinner to C and M:

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Lonely Planet China says it best:

If Hong Kong was a person, she’d be a difficult woman to understand. She’d be constantly changing, without losing touch with her heritage. She’d be superstitious, but scientific when she wanted to be. She’d love dim sum, and pizza too. She’d be exotic, but familiar; sexy, but never easy; a gambler, but she’d always know the odds. She’d be immaculately dressed, but she’d know how to let her hair down. She’d be all of this, a contradiction and a conundrum, but more than anything, she’d be a lot of fun to be around.

Can I get an Amen?? AMEN!!! Hong Kong spoke to me in volumes! - figuratively (as above) and literally, as since I was able to understand and put my Cantonese to the test!… I believe I passed! Oh how wonderful it was to be placed in public and actually COMPREHEND what the hell was going on around me and/or what was asked of me!

About Hong Kong:

• Along with Macau, Hong Kong is one of two special administrative regions of the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong was a dependent territory of the United Kingdom from 1842 until the transfer of its sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. The Sino-British Joint Declaration and Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulate that Hong Kong operate with a high degree of autonomy until 2047, fifty years after the transfer. Under the “one country, two systems” policy, the Chinese government is responsible for the territory’s defense and foreign affairs, while Hong Kong maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, customs policy, immigration policy and delegates to international organizations and events.

With that preface, Hong Kong was simply fabulous to me!! It was totally awesome to enter a territory in which streets were impeccably clean (automatic fines of 1500HKD/ $200USD are handed out for littering, spitting etc.), people were very much courteous, (please and thank you’s were frequently heard and folks were actually willing to lend a helping hand), civilized (none of that pushing and shoving business that happens in the mainland), plenty more speakers of English if needed if ever Cantonese proved to be an issue (but not for me, thank goodness I grew up in a household that enforced the importance of picking up the language). The pinyin itself in Hong Kong was much more efficient and followed Western sounds vs. Mandarin pinyin where letters are trickedified, ie. “q” makes the “ch” sound — No wonder mainland Chinglish is a level below Hong Kong Chinglish. In fact, as a result of the Brits footprints in HK, some natives there speak with British accents! But enough about that… I can honestly go on and on but will save it for some live talk if you’re interested in finding out more, you know where to find me; for now, I’ll cut to the chase and show a fraction of some flicks I took in my travels.

First off, I dim summed everyday! Love it! Love it! (Back in NY, my friends Joy, Jeff, Edric and Kristin would always invite me to dim sum excursions so that I can order for them…. guys– we gotta do it up in HK!!) So here are food shots… Mmmmmmmmmmm I miss it already!

Now, for some lovely sights of HK:

They drive on the right side!

Off the pleasant shores of Kowloon:

Hong Kong Dollars:

CLEAN streets!

Rode the tram to Victoria Peak for a splendid view of all of Hong Kong!

I love sunsets:

To be continued with Macau, Zhongshan and Shenzen … shrug…

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Tones Tones Tones Tones! That’s what the language of Mandarin revolves around. The actual pinyin (standard mandarin romanization system based on sound) is a helpful tool, however that is only half the battle. The more challenging part is to pronounce it correctly by hitting the right tone. (Mandarin has 4 tones.)

So in my first few weeks of extreme ignorance, I would hop into cabs and hand over my cheat sheet card of my address in both Chinese and English, and just hope the driver wouldn’t take me for a ride. After a few days, I opted to attempt to direct the driver verbally in addition to use the cheat sheet card… And of course, this laid out the welcome mat for mass confusion.

See, the area in which the school is situated is the “Green City International Community” or … “Jin Qiao” in mandarin…..

It took me a while to get the pronunciation correct… “Jin” has a super high tone. “Qiao” has this downward hook tone, and for a while I was mis-pronouncing the area to the likeness of asking the driver to take me to some beer - Tsingdao Beer to be exact. (I now invite you to share my dizzying pain of getting around town over here… Le Sighhhhhhhhh)

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Allow me to backtrack a little bit….

In (what has become) our little mission of hotel bar hopping, E & I had checked out The Four Seasons Hotel for an afternoon sidecar sip on one Sunday afternoon. Interesting as since this is the first sidecar that I have had that was served with brown/greenish tint. I mentioned its uniqueness in color to the waiter, however he took my observation the wrong way and double checked with the bartender to see if he made it correct. LOL. The waiter returned and informed us that the bartender admitted to following the recipe. LOL.

A few evenings later, we upped it a few notches by hitting up the luxurious Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. OMG -this place smells delicious!! I have never walked into a public place that smelled sooo wonderful!! Candles, flowers, whatever it was - the entire hotel was pleasantly perfumed. Anyway, we headed up to the “avant garde” Jade on 36 restaurant/bar on… you guessed it, the 36th floor… So, it wasn’t as high as I had thought it was to be. But an OK spot … view could’ve been better had the Oriental Pearl Tower been better lit….

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