Kale O.K.

8.31.2010

Figuring out how to make an American styled ‘quick’ breakfast of cereal in tea in the apartment I spent my morning in the apartment. Then I headed to Chinese class, which I decided can be pretty fun. I can make an absolute fool of myself and walk away my confidence unhurt. We are still learning pronunciations and how to count.
When class was over I headed over to have xiaolongboa at a favorite restaurant among students. Xiaolongboa are steamed pork buns with a soup like center that are a specialty in Shanghai. My friend Takako and I liked the dumplings so much we ordered seconds.
After lunch I went for an excursion into the city. My sought after destination was a district in town friendly to window shoppers (lots of shops, lots of people who don’t have too much money, like me). In trying to find the subway stop I ended up getting horribly lost. As the city’s heat pounded down on me I ducked in and out of department stores trying to soak up some air conditioning. It finally dawned upon me that I was near the Fudan campus. I trekked over familiar areas of the school and came to realize that I hadn’t actually gotten that far—I was within a mile of my apartment; I had been walking in circles. I did end up finding a shopping center at the mall close by but by the time I found the place I was too tired to enjoy my time there and I took a bus back home.
At the apartment Kevin had invited friends over to make dinner. We made pad thai and prepared to go out for a night of none other than karaoke—or kale OK as it is translated here.
Getting out of the cab in a blitz of neon color and millions of Chinese shoppers Marx took us to a huge multi storied building where we climbed only to the third floor. Getting out of the elevator it was as if we arrived in a drinking location that was crossed with a sleazy bar and a clean hotel. The walls were crowded with cheesy ads and metal finishing. After paying we were shepherded over to a small room in a maze of other carbon copy small rooms. We—the seven American students and Marx—found the living room like area to be just the right size to have a good time. All night long we sang Aerosmith anthems and pop hits to a teleprompting TV screen. At one point we were invited into another room full of drunken Chinese men. Although I missed it I heard that the American students’ rendition of Jay Z’ empire state of mind was unbeatable.
I can say that next Tuesday it is likely that we will be back singing karaoke—it was a great time. I see it as the perfect place for Chinese to let loose. The typically withheld populous only come to life in enclosed areas with close friends nearby. It’s not a bad way to spend the night at all.
Tuesdays are nice nights to go out because most of us don’t have class until 1:40pm on Wednesday which means we can take full advantage of an empty night seen. My American friends continued to another bar after our time had expire at the karaoke den but I headed for home so I could call Yuri.

Attached are some pictures of my apartment that I have always been meaning to put up. One of the photos (the one with the buildings in the background) is a picture of the view from my shower.