Heading Home- Shanghai to Tokyo

Well I’m back in Tokyo waiting for the flight home. Another adventure returning home this year. However due to a Comedy of Errors that really wasn’t funny- Marion (another teacher) and I missed our flight home and Steve (our group coordinator) ended up picking up the tab for a rebooking fee in Economy Class and an upgrade to First Class. For this additional expense, it appears he had access to brown slippers and more alcohol (much needed by this point in time. I was worried but not frantic until I realized I didn’t have an exit form and thought I was headed back through security and guaranteed to miss the second flight of the day. Fortunately for me, it was not Mexico and you do not need to have a stamped document granted at arrival to be resubmitted when you leave. Another story for the collection.

This year in China, I was not able to get on my blog. Due to the number of sites and amount of times I tried, I can only guess that it is due to China’s increased control of the information flow on the internet. I managed to get my hands on The China Daily English Language Newspaper while I was in Shanghai. The weekend edition was a total of 12 pages and the bias of the articles was amazingly transparent. Millions were reported with the Swine Flu in the US and Chinese economic success emphasized.

The influence of the western world in cities is quite evident but other than Caucasian billboard models for advertising, it’s more limited in towns. On the Fuyang River each morning, even the younger people dance to Chinese music. They have just created a massive square where they eventually will put a tunnel under the Fuyang River. It is quite the gathering spot, very similar to Vienna square, close to the Rathaus Nightly from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, there is line dancing on giant screen which is very popular. One night, my Chinese buddy, Hongbo (alias Jane) and I stumbled on quite the production. A huge stage was set up with seating. The first person we saw on stage, I recognized immediately. He is a “famous” Fuyang comedian from local tv. He is on the television in restaurants and during foot massages. His sketch with another comedian involved confusion due to the use of their different dialects. The audience was in stitches. We also saw a scene from a Beijing opera and a Hangzhou opera. People all knew the stories and were obviously moved by the production. You don’t hear western music at all unless you go to the bar frequented by westerners. However we did see one group of belly dancers that Hongbo immediately asked if we danced like that in Canada.

Smoking is far more prevalent in China. I was very aware of trying to avoid smokers during the performances. My custodian, Mr. Wu, at the Education Bureau always had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, whether it was first thing in the morning or after classes. This is quite common for many people and when they put them in an ash tray or toss the cigarette on the ground, they rarely butt out. The smoke just continues to curl its way to your face! Aagh!!! It was most problematic for me when I was eating breakfast or dinner. It gave me a healthy appreciation of our no smoking initiatives!

Consumer culture is well entrenched in China. I always think of it as something plaguing the Western World, but I suppose China has had more to sell for thousands of years. Life is Shanghai is teaming with tourists from all over China and the rest of the world. There is always a throng of people moving in and out of shops. Unfortunately I was sick in Shanghai despite my preventative Dukoral before I left Vancouver. It was inconvenient but not disastrous. I was able to make it to the large mall with the “real” designer clones and fill my quota for pearls. Every shop has a back room and “the best deal”. I shopped until I dropped and then spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room while my traveling mates went dancing.

The Western World has had some impact on the beverage consumption of the Chinese. In our classes at the Education Bureau, we always had green tea and 6 large dispensers filled with boiling water. Green tea was on the go all day. However coffee consumption has become “progressive”. Interesting versions of Starbucks are appearing in China as coffee is gaining in popularity. The prices in Starbucks are about the same as in Canada but to spend that much on coffee is prohibitive for all but the most affluent Chinese.

The best place I went to with Hongbo was Crowne Café in the Old Town of Shanghai. You proceed through a wonderful bakery first and pick up your sweet or savory treats. Then you end up at the coffee counter. To go cups are made in the Italian design espresso machines and then they go into another machine that seals on a metal lid that goes under the plastic lid to ensure the coffee stays hot and doesn’t spill. Cool design. The cost for a latte was 12 RMB(Yuan), tea was 4 RMB and several treats for both of us was about 14 RMB. This is about $5.00, the same cost of one latte at Starbucks. We also sat on the second floor looking at the rain pour down on the narrow and extremely busy Old Town Routes…and far away from the stinky tofu vendors (as distinct from the non-stinky versions).

Hongbo also slipped down to get us “The famous Shanghai dumplings”. Many cities seem to have “famous” versions of pork dumplings. My favorite was definitely the Hangzhou version. But they were also the freshest. We were in a VERY busy restaurant where you push through the throng to order and they grab as it is passed over. Not sure I could have managed myself even with $1.49 training in my formative years.

Well, Marion is back from her chair massage. She reports it was pretty good, but I’ve been ruined by the Chinese massage. This year I expanded my horizons and also had the head massage. For a mere 30 RMB ($5.00 Cdn), you get a dry head massage, lathering massage, rinse massage, hand, arm, and shoulder massage and a blow dry. Although I chopped my hair off before the trip so I would be cooler, there still was a fascination with making my hair as big as possible. Ronnie McDonald and I were in the running for biggest hair first time of all time. My travel buddies were sure I needed to back away from flagging the cab because I was scaring the drivers. Yes that bad! My stylist certainly had fun though. Much to his chagrin, I curbed his enthusiasm next time around and taught him the skill of curly hair control.

Well, hopefully we’re boarding soon. I can’t wait to get home. Three weeks was too long to be away from my little family. Can’t wait to see everyone.