Under the Weather

And this time, it's not a metaphor. Shanghai is experiencing the outer edges of a local typhoon today, which means heavy rain and winds not even Nevada can equal. I tried venturing out for my daily baozi during a break in the rain, but ended up getting stuck in a torrential downpour with a broken umbrella. So now I'm confined to my room, which actually isn't so bad because I might get bored enough to actually spend some time studying. Unfortunately, it also confines my diet for the day to the culinary offerings of the convenience store in the downstairs lobby, most of which consist of Oreos and oddly flavored potato chips. The sushi and cucumber flavors have garnered the most attention here, though I can't personally vouch for them. I did try the green tea flavor - whether out of curiosity, bravery, or stupidity I can't really tell you - and found them decidedly not to my liking. They tasted like really crispy seaweed, just in case you're wondering.


Mmmm....baozi. The best food in China.

Carol and I went go-karting yesterday, which seemed like such a culturally backward thing to do in China that there was no way I could pass on the opportunity. The original plan was actually bungee jumping, but after John voiced concern as to the quality of most Chinese products and the general Chinese lack of attention to safety procedures, we decided that delivering our lives into the hands of a Chinese bungee cord didn't sound quite as intelligent as it had in the beginning. In the end it turned out that go-karting was quite the adventure in itself. The track was in a warehouse deep down a back alley somewhere in the heart of town, and the entryway to the building reminded me of an abandoned carnival in a horror movie, all peeling paint and broken statues. But once we revved those engines, man, we were hopping. We were getting funny looks from the guys who worked there; I can only imagine that, what with the slightly different cultural outlook on the separation between the sexes, they don't get a lot of business from girls. Especially girls who aren't accompanied by guys. Even more especially, girls who are wearing skirts and have to keep stopping on the track to tuck the hems up so they can keep their clothes on as they're flying around the curves. But Carol and I are both big car lovers, and we had an absolute blast. Fast cars, even the miniature ones, are super sexy.

So Kwai Mei left on Thursday morning, which makes me sad. I have no idea who I'm going to eat vegetarian meals with now. There are a few people who will grudgingly accompany me, but they spend most of the time asking, "where's the beef?" and giggling like it's a really original joke. Carol is also no longer living at school, though her parents are in town and she's staying with them at an apartment near Norman's place. But it's faaaaaaar.

Speaking of Carol, I met her parents and the rest of Norman's family when I went to dinner with them for Carol's family birthday party. It was fascinating; they have all these little Chinese birthday traditions, and it was the first traditional Chinese birthday party I've ever been to. Well, almost traditional: we did have a big very western-looking cake. I think Norman's dad had difficulty remembering my name or something, because by the end of the night I had a nickname. He kept addressing me as Meiguoren laowai: American foreigner. Or if you want to get even more literal, old American outsider.

Shanghai only continues to grow on me the longer I stay. It's not that there aren't flashes, brief nano-seconds of time, where the clean air and the personal space in Seattle seem a little too far away, but those moments are few and far between. All in all I'm fascinated by Shanghai, by the people I've met here and the experiences I've had. I'm learning as much about myself as I am about Chinese culture. I think this is what life is all about; the little experiences that make you up as a person. I am so, so blessed.