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I'm sitting on the bus heading to school for the last teaching day of my second cycle. It's just after 7am and the same Chinese radio show is playing; I can now sing along with a couple of the commercials- ba-ling-ling-er-ba-liu-ling-ba- I know it's a phone number, but have no idea what they're selling. I promised that I'd write about the good stuff, but to be perfectly honest I'm still kind of cranky. Living and working somewhere is not at all the same as back-packing and travelling around, and while I theoretically knew that beforehand, the experience has absolutely proven it. But let's see what sort of positivity we can drudge up.
Things I like about living in Shanghai:
Getting my hair washed: Quirky and enjoyable and great for when you're feeling dirty and grimy (since smog has a special way of just sticking to you). I wandered into a "hair salon" where fifteen people greeted me at the door dressed like flight attendants. I pointed to the words "dry clean" and then they sat me down in the middle of the room and took out an oil-can-esque type thing- no sink. They lathered me up and gave a wicked little head massage in the process. After about twenty minutes of this, they led me to a sink with a reclined couch and they rinsed the soap out of my hair. Five men gathered and got lost in long conversation about how to dry my hair. Apparently the "foreign mop" is not a style they're accustomed to, but they did a good job regardless. Not bad for $4.00, I think I may never wash my own hair again!
The "knock-off" mall: That made me very happy! I bought Converse, Crocs, Uggs, a Burberry purse, a Diesel bag and Cloe sun-glasses for less than $50. How awesome is that!!? The place is underground attached to a subway station and just goes and goes forever. In this environment, bargaining is a competitive sport, and one which I excel at. On a couple of occasions I actually found myself haggling over 50 cents, yet I just couldn't concede; you see, it wasn't about the money, but about the thrill of winning. Exhilarating and exhausting and oh so much fun, I just can't wait to go back there!!
The night life: It's not that we go out a lot, but the places we've been are interesting and unusual. Barbarossa is a funky lounge with fascinating Moroccan décor, a good dj, hookah pipes and over-priced, delicious drinks. TaiKang Market is where we spend a lot of time and you can sit in an alley and sip sangria whilst trying not to get run over by passing scooters. And of course I love the excuse to play dress up and look like a fool. That makes me smile a lot!!
The signage: There's never a lack of amusement when reading the English descriptions on menus, walls, doors and products. I've learned new words and get to take random wild guesses about what we're actually ordering to eat. I've started an extensive T-shirt collection with my most recent acquisition stating that I'm a "dynamic musition"- and since I quite agree that I am, I thought it apropos.
Well we've just arrived, and we've got a talent show to get going. My class will be performing the great Chinese classic- Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You…better get up there and help them practice. Four weeks down and two to go!!!
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