Shanghai Nights

8.27.2010

Jetlag seemingly gone I got out of bed at around 7 on a mission to find some breakfast. Most Chinese people seem to grab a dumpling on the go along with some hot soy milk. I walked down the street aways until I find a woman in a stall selling buns out of a wicker steamer. I pointed to which ones I wanted and I ended up with one bean paste and one boiled vegetable—the vegetable was to die for.
After breakfast I headed over to the university with my colleagues. We had our first day of orientation in a class room that was lead by the program’s director. We learned about things to watch out for while living in China and that our program’s trip will travel to Qinghai lake, a place in central China that is said to be more Tibetan that Tibet—sounds good to me.
Once orientation was over Kevin and I went out to eat with our Chinese roommate Marx. We ate dumplings and cold bean soup. Then we headed to the mall so that Kevin could buy a phone. I found that electronics are somewhat more expensive here than in the States. Most of what you could buy here in China can be found much easier in the US except for Chinese replica phones (you can buy the same phone design of any major maker but from a Chinese company) and there was a huge selection of Sharpe phones, my favorite was the solar powered cell phone.
Our next stop was none other than Wal Mart. We needed to get things for out apartment and as Americans we can think of no better place than Wal Mart. The three story megastore is situated inside a huge mall—where one can eat anything they want and shop at any major clothing store in the world in the same place. Even though the idea of Wal Mart is more American than anything else on the planet, most of the products are distinctly Chinese. With that said, we had no problems finding the dishes, the wok, the cleaning products, the iron and the other stuff we needed for about $40. Too many people swarmed the tight aisles and after I climbed to the 11th floor of my building where my apartment lies with my arms full of newly purchased junk, I had to take a rest.
After the break Kevin and I headed out to eat. We patrolled the restaurants close by for a little bit until coming across a small place decorated with bamboo that had plenty of people inside. After we had ordered I noticed the traditional clothing on the wall and realized that we were eating at a Mongolian eatery. We had shredded beef with chili and rice—it was delicious.
We had to eat fast because we were meeting the group to go to a performance of Chinese acrobats. After taking 40 minutes to get there we arrived at the American Center in Shanghai, where they had several American establishments circled around a Ritz Carlton. After the fleets of tour buses and cruise ship limos excreted their stock of white shoed tourist into the theater it was time for all the American students to take their spots in rows one and two.
Initially I thought my seating position would disable me from seeing the show in the entirety of its awesomeness but luckily I was wrong. Being right up front I could see acrobats fly over my head, I could see that the card tricks were truly flawless and I could see the beautiful color of all the performers. Although this wasn’t the quality of traveling Chinese circus—like Cirque d’Soulay—I did enjoy the amazing performance.
As the acrobatic affair came to a close and tour busses evacuated the American enclave, feelings of Friday night mayhem began to take over the imaginations of my fellow American students. It being only 10, we knew we would have to wait around a while to go out. At around 12am I got in a cab with Kevin and another student Alex and we headed to a night club called shelter. It took the cabbie forever to find the place that was tightly tucked into the French Concessions but upon arrival we realized that it was very hard to locate. Shelter, after all, is a club in the sight of a former bomb shelter in the basement of a residential block. The cover was expensive—as was the beer—and there was not a whole lot of dancing going on in a place mostly populated by American expats and foreign students. I showed up late and left early. Shanghai nights I know will be fun but I have to find the right hang out first.