Meeting on Zhapu Bridge

My Yahoo Weather Widget said it was going to rain today so I went for a five-hour walk in the sunshine. I guess I also forgot that sunshine causes sunburn so I didn't wear a hat or use sunblock. I wonder how many years I have to live before I remember to do that. I can almost be forgiven because we don't have many sunny days in Shanghai - the sky usually has that rubbed-out grey hue caused by diffused sunshine bouncing off chemicals suspended in the atmosphere.

On my walk north of downtown today I ran into a friendly 50ish fellow that asked me where I was from as he dismounted his bike on the Zhapu Bridge. "America," I said. "Oh, America very good!", he responded. "Japan very bad." Then he proceeded to whip out a pair of scissors and a piece of paper and cut out my silhouette. I've been here, done this, I thought to myself. "Please", I said. "I don't want to buy anything." He looked at me then smiled and said there was no charge. I had met this same fellow three years ago on a business trip to Shanghai - before I moved here. We had had the exact same conversation then. America good, Japan bad. But back then I was naive enough to feel obligated to pay him for the cut-out. One thing Shanghai has taught me is to push back.

The funny thing is, the silhouette he did of me was exactly like it was in 2005. I wonder if he puts huge noses on all the foreigners?