Hello, 2012!

Happy 2012 everyone! I can't believe a year has passed already - at this time last year, I had no idea that in a year 6 months, I'd be in Shanghai. So what a crazy year it's been. Super eventful - I met lots of new friends while teaching and traveling, and learned so much more about myself, my family and this country I temporarily call home. I think that you learn so much about yourself and how to really appreciate what you have when you try to carve out a life for yourself in a foreign country. Not that it doesn't happen at home, it's just more noticeable because the learning curve is much higher and you're kind of forced to go with the flow even when you have no idea what's going on. Definitely brings out parts of yourself you never even realized existed. Anyway, enough with my self-reflection, which leads to my resolutions for 2012:

1. Get started on my career. I knew I wanted to get into publishing before I came to Shanghai, but after not doing it for 6 months I am itching to get back into it. Teaching has been great, but I think publishing is just where I'm the happiest. I can't wait to write, edit and lay out again, so wish me luck on the job hunt!

2. Exercise more. Extremely cliche, I know, but while I take public transportation and walk everywhere in Shanghai, I know this isn't always the case at home. I'll definitely have to make a conscious effort to get out and move. Why is staying healthy so much harder at home? (And I vetoed the whole eating healthy resolution because I know for a fact that when I get home I'll be gorging myself on Mexican food, In n Out, and Nutella brownies for at least the first month. Possibly more.) Maybe I should pick up yoga or tennis again?

3. Get back into the cello. After 6 months of no practicing, I am already wincing at the idea of how this is going to go. It's kind of like going through the stages of loss - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance... I can already see myself emoting by sawing away unsuccessfully at some Bach. It's infuriating how out of practice your fingers can get at something you've done effortlessly for years :(

4. Learn something new, or get involved in something new, and hopefully be passionate about it. I'm not sure if this counts as a resolution, since this kind of stuff usually happens when you're not looking, but I don't want to fall into the whole work/eat/sleep rut again that I was in last year.

Time to write this on an index card and stick it in my wallet as a reminder.

Since I'm quite a few hours ahead of most of you who are reading this, have a great NYE, and happy 2012! I celebrated earlier tonight by going to the Bund and Nanjing Road. It was SUPER crowded, as expected. I almost didn't go, but then I figured what the heck, this is probably the only chance I'll have to be in Shanghai for New Year's. Verdict: I prefer celebrating with friends back in good 'ol California. I'd take champagne and sparklers in the backyard over a pyrotechnic spectacular in one of the world's most crowded cities, any day.

The fireworks, car alarms, and yowling cats outside my window finally stopped. Time for bed.

Oh Christmas Tree

There is a Christmas tree right by the subway stop near where I work. Every time I walk by, there are less ornaments hanging on its lower branches. I can't help but chuckle every time I walk by, but it's also a little bit sad - do the people not realize that the tree is there for public enjoyment? I took a picture but the upload took forever and did not work (story of my life), so here is a placeholder for when I return to the land of fast and reliable internet connection (yes, that is my nickname for America).

 8 foot tree missing all its bottom ornaments

Shanghai on a dollar or less

Things you can buy in Shanghai with $1 USD or less:

6.3 RMB = $1

.10 RMB: 1 black and white copy from the copy shop

1 RMB: a pen or pencil, pocket tissues, piece of fruit from the fruit stand, 1 color copy from the copy shop

2 RMB: bus fare, a box of paperclips, sticky notes, an ink pen that will do the job, bottle of water, a slice of freshly baked bread from a street vendor, a pocket protector for my transit card

2.5 RMB: 4 dumplings or 4 soup buns, a bunch of in-season vegetables at the green grocer’s, a postcard (postage not included), a can of coke

3 RMB: an ice cream cone, Chinese breakfast ‘burrito’, a Dove candy bar, a plastic disposable shower cap

4 RMB: one-way metro ticket to most places around the city, Snickers bar, a bottle of soda/juice/gatorade, a baguette from Carrefour

5 RMB: your choice from an endless selection of instant noodles and Pocky, my one-way subway fare to work

6 RMB: a piece of specialty bread from the bakery, a donut, a bag of chips, a notebook, an ice cream cone from KFC

Sure beats the stuff you get in the States. I remember a cycle of laundry at the Muir dorms being 50 cents… but they’ve probably upped it by now. You can’t even get an hour of parking for a dollar anymore :( 

And just because I know you’re curious:

10 RMB: A cup of coffee or milk tea from a bakery/donut shop, average price of a bowl of noodles from a mom&pop shop, 2 potatoes/tomatoes or onions from the 'organic' section of the supermarket, a loaf of white bread

25 RMB: A box of cereal, a package of pork chops from the supermarket

30 RMB: average price of a grande blended drink at Starbucks (yes, they’re everywhere here, too, and the coffee is still horrid)

B's Chinese friends

Hangin' out with some pandas while waiting for our flight to Taipei.

did you know...

Some interesting things I’ve learned about China, gleaned from observation, reading the news and having conversations with my students/relatives/friends:

The imbalance of guys to girls in China is pretty widely known – about 116 boys for every 100 girls (quoting my second grand uncle, I/he could be wrong) – but there’s definitely a preference for boys over girls. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but my class of 30 students only has 5 girls. No kidding. Apparently, many parents are less willing to invest in girls and give them a higher education (past a bachelor’s degree) because they expect their daughters to marry at around 25 years old and then stay home to raise their children. Women who are around 30 and unmarried are called “shen nu ren,” which means left-over woman. Yikes.

You know how in the U.S., women still earn about 78 cents to every dollar a man makes? That doesn’t go on here – both sexes are paid equally for the same job. The U.S. needs to learn something from this. However, foreigners (say, if you are white and from America/England/France, etc.) are often paid significantly more than their Asian counterparts who do the same job.

On gender equality- I find that both sexes still aren’t really “equal” like they are in the U.S. For example, when I went camping (if you can call it that, at the Chinese military base), it was really apparent they expect all the guys to do the grunt work, but not only that, the girls are okay with it—okay with not being given the option to help out, while I was kind of offended. Another thing— I’m helping plan the annual basketball tournament for the students (about 140 students total), and there are 4 teams: all boys. When I was meeting with one of the administrative staff, she said that the girls had wanted to form a team too, but "nooo, we can’t have that." I was shocked and offended when she said that! They would have a lawsuit slapped on them quicker than anything if this was the U.S.!

Native Shanghainese are often preferred over people from outside the city (wai di ren, “outside land people,” basically people from the countryside who emigrated to Shanghai in hopes of making a better future for themselves)  for jobs such as nannying or housecleaning, because they can be trusted (aka tracked down in case anything happens). They have a reputation to uphold because all their documents are in Shanghai, whereas you don’t know if people from the wai di are trustworthy, and if they do happen to screw you over, you might not be able to track them down because they have fake papers (not that they do, but that seems to be the stereotype around here).

Guns are illegal here. No one owns one. Only a specific department of the police are allowed to have them, and they often abuse the privileges (or so I’m told). They are dispatched when there is social unrest, and well, you can probably guess the rest…

There is no minimum age for buying alcohol or cigarettes. Sure, you’re allowed to drive at 18, but when you’re 10 and want to buy some baijiu (white spirit, the stuff is disgusting, kind of like rubbing alcohol), no prob. In fact, the Chinese government owns the China Tobacco Company, whose popularity accounts for about 10% of the country’s annual revenue (read in The Economist) – so of course they’re not really going to educate their constituents in the harms of smoking!

the south bund: my new closet

I went to the cloth market last week in the South Bund, where all the tailors are located, and IT WAS AMAZING. Originally, the errand was to pick up a shirt my mom wanted copied, but it turned into a shopping excursion – not the normal kind, but the kind where you wander a boundless pit where all your fashion dreams come true. The possibilities are endless! You can get traditional silk chi paos made, business suits, formal dresses, winter coats, fur coats, leather jackets, you name it. I got fitted for a wool/cashmere blend cape for the winter, and it was so fun trying on all the different styles, getting measured, and picking out the color and cloth for it – all for about $60 USD! It’s dangerously addictive, and I already know quite a portion of my paycheck will – happily- go to the tailor’s. It’s so much fun, and the price to get it done in the states would be exorbitant. The dangerous thing about this process is that I have to go back this week to pick up my coat, which inevitably means that I will once more need to ponder if I really need a replica Chanel suit for my life to be complete (the answer is YES! - which will then lead me to return the following week to pick it up, and then the cycle will start again). Which makes me very excited.

A sign that I’m slowly assimilating to Chinese culture is the fact that I don’t mind bargaining anymore. Enjoyment is an overstatement, but I have to say that it adds an element of thrill to shopping, and then there is nothing like the elation when you score yourself a pair of black flats for about $10USD. 450* yuan for a leather belt? No way, I’m not paying anything over 150! I have a feeling that the shock of American prices when I go home force me into becoming a miser – but no worries, you’ll be able to find me luxuriating in my closet, eating Poptarts and barbecue (the latest in my list of things I miss. Goodness, I don’t even eat Poptarts at home!).

*note: the exchange rate is about about 6.5 yuan to $1USD, and Wilson is now the proud new owner of a sleek black belt, which I scored for 120 yuan!