Sunday, September 24, 2006

This started out as a pretty calm Sunday, brunch with G-man downtown and then an hour of homework tutoring at the coffee shop. Then the day became decidedly less calm when I was hit by a taxi while crossing the street.

What happened next was illuminating - if not painful. I was standing there waiting for the crossing light to turn green and watching some Western tourists doing the same on the other side of the street and thinking how nice it was to see people actually waiting their turn to cross on the crosswalk. Light turns green, G-man and I are crossing with a bunch of people and I see this taxi turning left and plowing right through the crowd of pedestrians and headed right for G-man. I pushed him out of the way, the taxi hits my side and the jerk keeps right on going. Somehow my fist and arm goes through his side window and the glass explodes everywhere. Taxi stops and this guy that looks like Genghis Khan gets out and we get into a fight. Crowd gathers, buses and cars start honking. Khan tries to take my backpack away but a European stranger comes to my aid and helps me pull it back. Meanwhile I'm bleeding from glass wounds and the crowd is getting bigger. Khan wants me to give him money on the spot.

Khan and the crowd are shouting in Shanghai dialect (which I can't understand) so an overseas Chinese gentleman is translating and telling me that the local crowd is saying it's the foreigner's fault. A group of Europeans that were in the crosswalk and a couple of overseas Chinese are saying it's the taxi driver's fault. It was interesting how all the local Shanghainese were on the taxi driver's side and the foreigners and overseas Chinese on my side.

The police finally come and take us to the police station where I wait for an hour while they take statements. My employer arrives. I'm released and the police are apologetic.

This sort of thing goes on everyday in Shanghai - fortunately not to me everyday.

Friday, September 22, 2006

PJs at the Bank, PJs at the Market

It's been a very busy week of 14-hour workdays so I haven't had time to get to post anything. There seems to be more night-time work activity in Shanghai than most cities. Receptions, banquets, ceremonies etc - it never seems to end.

Every morning, on the final approach to my office, the taxi passes by a hole-in-the-wall shop with a few forlorn items on a shelf and a man in boxer shorts in the doorway. Some days he has on red boxers. Some days blue. On rainy days he wears faded yellow ones with Snoopy cartoons on them. I began to keep track of his choice of underwear and look for correlations with weather, stock prices, and temperature. So far, it seems to be a random choice but if I can just crack the code I have a feeling it could be a step toward discovering the much-sought-after General Theory of Everything.

While we are on underwear - any visitor to Shanghai will notice the large number of people wandering about the streets in pajamas. People go to the supermarket in pajamas. Couples go to the movies in pajamas. I even saw a man at the bank in cartoon pajamas. I'm not sure if this is a fad or a longterm habit of the Shanghainese. I'd be interested in any background readers can offer on why pajamas are so popular in public here.

This just in: Dean forwarded me this article detailing the results of a survey that reveals that the wearing of pajamas in public in Shanghai is both indulged in by a large percentage of the population and irritates a large percentage of Shanghainese.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Kebab Lady Posted by Picasa
Back of a Man in Coffee Shop Posted by Picasa
Movies showing in Shanghai. The building in the background is where the first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party took place. Posted by Picasa I just hope the movie "Snakes on a Plane" comes to China so I can see how it does here. I imagine that it may not do well in southern China. The Cantonese won't understand why this is supposed to be a terror flick. Why would passengers complain if the thoughtful airline distributed free snacks?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

iPod and NPR

I finally succumbed to the iPod fever and got a nano. You can buy them in China but the price is higher here. This is odd, since the things are assembled here. So, I ordered it from Circuit City in the USA. Now I can download all my favorite NPR and public radio programs daily and stay in touch with what's going on at home (and the rest of the world). NPR was such an important part of my day in Peavine that I was having withdrawal. Now I'm ok again. If I could just get the Daily Show.

Sunday, September 10, 2006


As if there aren't enough hazards in the air and streets of Shanghai now we have to watch out for stinging caterpillars that lurk in trees lining the streets of downtown. We were in the affected area on this fine, cool day and while we took precautions it proved a challenge. Walking while looking up at tree limbs put us in danger of tripping over the myriad of holes, parked bikes, fire hydrants, and other objects placed strategically in the middle of the sidewalks. It also put us at the mercy of the shoeshine terrorists - those aggressive touts that sneak up and daub shoewax on your shoes while you walk by (thinking you're stupid enough to pay them to wipe it off).
A Wedding Fashion Show on the Streets of Shanghai. A salmon tux? Posted by Picasa

结婚

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Drip Drip

I miss water. In Peavine I loved living next to the river and being able to wake up and see the big river flowing by on its way to the Gulf. We have a river in Shanghai but I live far from it and besides, it stinks - literally. So I was pleased to wake up this morning and hear rain on the balcony. I slid the glass door open stuck my head outside and enjoyed a little rain in the face.

This evening I started reading a book hot off the press - "Will the Boat Sink the Water?" - an English translation of a Chinese book about the misery of life in the rural areas of China. The subtitle of the book "The Life of China's Peasants" doesn't reach out and grab you but it's a rare book because it is genuine investigative reporting by a couple of Chinese journalists. It's also rare because the Chinese version was published in China in 2004 and was a bestseller for two months until the authorities banned it and erased all mention of it from mainland China. Now it's made its way to the West and is getting a lot of attention. Exactly what the Chinese Communist Party didn't want.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Relativity

I was so busy at work this week that I didn't even notice when the heat and humidity was suddenly replaced by moderate temperatures and breezes. One morning when I was walking down Nanjing Road to McDonalds (Maidonlao) I noticed that the distance from the office to the Golden Arches seemed much shorter than usual. I pondered this over my eggs and English muffin before realizing the walk over had been unusually comfortable. I hadn't arrived a sopping mess for a change. That's why the distance had seemed so much shorter! It's Einstein's Theory of Relativity in action. As the temperature drops time seems to go faster and distances get shorter.

The weather has eased up on us a bit but the pollution is relentless. Nitrous Oxide levels in Shanghai are five times higher than in Los Angeles. That sounds pretty bad but it's nothing compared to Chongqing in central China. Chongqing's NO levels are off the chart entirely.

There have been several international news events this week regarding environmental disasters in China. In Gansu hundreds of people, many children, are suffering lead poisoning from a smelter nearby. In Inner Mongolia two villages have been wiped out by toxic wastes from two paper mills. The stories go on and on - but mostly in the international press - most of these stories are not covered in the Chinese press. The Chinese are not the only ones paying a terrible price for their economic development - the pollutants have been detected in North America after drifting across the Pacific. The whole world is paying the price - whether we want to or not.
Happy Birthday Nathan!

Monday, September 04, 2006

Taxi Driver's Bubble Posted by Picasa China is the only place I've been where the taxi drivers must sit inside a molded plastic "bubble" to protect themselves from attackers and robbers. Use of the shields became mandatory in 1988. Almost every one of Shanghai's 50,000+ taxis are equipped with the shields that fit around the driver's seat. Most are still made out of reground polycarbonate plastic which scratches easily and yellows - thus making it difficult for drivers to see clearly. A few taxis are equipped with a better, US-made plastic called copolyester. It remains clear and doesn't scratch easily. So why aren't all taxi shields made from the clear plastic? Probably for the same reason that all taxi companies in Shanghai are required by the government to buy the same model Volkswagen. It's a system ripe for corruption.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Mongolian Dogs and Shanghai Drivers

My sister sent me this story about a woman in Inner Mongolia (part of China) that was trying to teach her dog to drive when, can you believe it? - there was an accident. The stupid dog ran into a car being driven by a human. Wouldn't you know it - the authorities found the dog to be at fault. And yes, you guessed it - the authorities were human.

The day after I read the story a nurse I know said that there were 45,000 homeless dogs running around Shanghai and almost as many dog-bite cases each year. I was surprised to hear this as I don't remember ever having seen a dog running around without being leashed to an owner. Then I began to put 2 and 2 together. People in Mongolia are training dogs to drive. Almost everyday I almost get run over by crazy drivers in Shanghai. I've never seen any dogs on the streets of Shanghai. Obviously, the dogs must be behind the wheels of many of the cars on the streets of Shanghai! Next time someone runs over my foot I'll look to see if they have a wet nose.