sep 17 (3 of 3) - Why pay for a gym membership when you can go to a public park gym? All those Playskool-looking toys are actually serious workout machines. As you can see, the gym is packed!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Please check your Street Smarts at the door.
Sept. 17- Zach
So I'm always wandering the streets of Shanghai in a bit of a daze, with my camera, iPod, map, Chinese/English dictionary and cell phone at the ready. The other day I got a rude reminder that all big cities have a few universal rules. One of them is Don't Be Stupid. Basically, I was jammed onto a subway train and left my iPod and cell phone hanging out of the sidepocket, uncovered on my backpack. I've been doing this the entire time we've been in Shanghai. The people here have just been so darn friendly that my guard has been let down. Sure enough, I got smacked upside the head for it. Both my iPod and phone were stolen; I didn't even realize it for another few hours. Luckily it wasn't my wallet, so while it was a costly mistake, it wasn't devastating. I did feel very let down by the Shanghainese for the rest of the day, though. On an interesting side note, my chinese teacher blamed it on rural Chinese hicks, or Thai immigrants, who she claims are all a bunch of criminals. So discrimination is alive and well even over in this part of the world!
So I'm always wandering the streets of Shanghai in a bit of a daze, with my camera, iPod, map, Chinese/English dictionary and cell phone at the ready. The other day I got a rude reminder that all big cities have a few universal rules. One of them is Don't Be Stupid. Basically, I was jammed onto a subway train and left my iPod and cell phone hanging out of the sidepocket, uncovered on my backpack. I've been doing this the entire time we've been in Shanghai. The people here have just been so darn friendly that my guard has been let down. Sure enough, I got smacked upside the head for it. Both my iPod and phone were stolen; I didn't even realize it for another few hours. Luckily it wasn't my wallet, so while it was a costly mistake, it wasn't devastating. I did feel very let down by the Shanghainese for the rest of the day, though. On an interesting side note, my chinese teacher blamed it on rural Chinese hicks, or Thai immigrants, who she claims are all a bunch of criminals. So discrimination is alive and well even over in this part of the world!
Friday, September 16, 2005
anti-Dryer but pro-Pajamas
It's Tiffany again, I thought I'd share a few observations about the cultural differences between China and America I've noticed over the past few weeks:
It seems to be very common to wear pajamas out in the open at any time of day. It's quite entertaining to see people at any time of day on the subway or walking down the street going about their business in full on PJ attire. You've got to give it to them, at least they're ready for a nap at a moment's notice! Pictures of this to follow.........
Clothes dryers don't seem to be 'the Chinese way'. Even though the city air leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of cleanliness, Chinese people feel the sun 'sanitizes' clothes. As we are in quite a crowded city and few people have yards or balconies to hang their clothes on, you often have to duck when walking down streets to avoid getting hit in the head with a melange of boxers and bras. I haven't gotten the guts to hang our personal items on our balcony yet, as I have nightmares about my underwear being blown about the city. Needless to say, I think we'll choose the 'less sanitizing' option and dry clothes by hanging them inside our apartment.
Considering the lack of modesty displayed by their laundry habits, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that their bathroom habits are also quite 'open'. But I was still surprised when I walked into the ladies' bathroom today and found an older woman sitting on the toilet with the door wide open. I immediately apologized (for what I'm not quite sure) but she just started talking normally and continued to speak to me while I used the other stall (my door closed of course, hers still wide open even while I was washing my hands). My co-workers told me that this is quite normal with the older generations, as they see no real need for privacy and rarely close the door even in public restrooms.
Other things that seem to be different in normal daily life include a lack of ovens, microwaves, and dishwashers. Apparently, they're not big into reheating food unless it's on the stove!
So that's it for now, Happy Moon Festival and have a great weekend!
It seems to be very common to wear pajamas out in the open at any time of day. It's quite entertaining to see people at any time of day on the subway or walking down the street going about their business in full on PJ attire. You've got to give it to them, at least they're ready for a nap at a moment's notice! Pictures of this to follow.........
Clothes dryers don't seem to be 'the Chinese way'. Even though the city air leaves quite a bit to be desired in terms of cleanliness, Chinese people feel the sun 'sanitizes' clothes. As we are in quite a crowded city and few people have yards or balconies to hang their clothes on, you often have to duck when walking down streets to avoid getting hit in the head with a melange of boxers and bras. I haven't gotten the guts to hang our personal items on our balcony yet, as I have nightmares about my underwear being blown about the city. Needless to say, I think we'll choose the 'less sanitizing' option and dry clothes by hanging them inside our apartment.
Considering the lack of modesty displayed by their laundry habits, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that their bathroom habits are also quite 'open'. But I was still surprised when I walked into the ladies' bathroom today and found an older woman sitting on the toilet with the door wide open. I immediately apologized (for what I'm not quite sure) but she just started talking normally and continued to speak to me while I used the other stall (my door closed of course, hers still wide open even while I was washing my hands). My co-workers told me that this is quite normal with the older generations, as they see no real need for privacy and rarely close the door even in public restrooms.
Other things that seem to be different in normal daily life include a lack of ovens, microwaves, and dishwashers. Apparently, they're not big into reheating food unless it's on the stove!
So that's it for now, Happy Moon Festival and have a great weekend!
This is Belinda, another friend from my office. She's native Chinese but studied in Australia so has the coolest Australian/Chinese accent when she speaks english! She refers to herself as the 'office drama queen' and loves picking up english slang from me and Brian (the other American in my office).
Here are a few of my (Tiffany's) friends from work. These are the girls that are fully responsible for navigating me through life in Shanghai. They provide me with lots of mandarin vocabulary, shopping tips and do the majority of my ordering in restaurants. They're great, except for the first 'hazing' day where my lunch included jellyfish and pork blood cubes! Since then, the meals have gotten A LOT better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)