So I have returned to the states, hanging out in LA for a little while. And... being back in the states, I have finally been able to upload tons of pictures! Yay!
Ok, so the pictures are on my picasa site (or facebook)
https://picasaweb.google.com/matthiastm
Enjoy!
My chinese is improving... slowly. Outside of class, I pretty much only use it in restaurants. I can ask for an english menu when the one they have is all in chinese. If they don't have an english menu, I can at least recognize the characters for pork, chicken, and noodles, so that I at least have some idea of what I'm ordering... and asking for rice is easy enough. And while in general I still can't understand what anyone says to me, I can at least understand the price... Pretty much everyone here is very patient and patient when I try to speak chinese, but (like most foreign cities) they are also quick to reply in English. It's understandable, since if they're working at a cafe or something, they have other customers to serve and things with me will certainly get done much more quickly in English, but it makes it harder to practice...
Today, while having dinner at the dumpling place, I saw someone walk in carrying some fried soup dumplings. I tried to ask him where he got them, since the only place I know of where you can get them isn't nearby... did not succeed. In the end, though, I merely succeeded in him giving me one to try, but not being able to figure out where he got them. Oh well. (To be honest, I like the regular soup dumplings better than the fried ones anyways...)
I have not managed to go on any excursions outside of Shanghai yet. Party because there is plenty here to see without leaving the city, and partly because the past few days that I have not had class have coincidentally been the exact same days that it has rained... and the excursions that I would take are all places that would involve a lot of walking around outside looking at beautiful lakes or canals or the such.... not exactly places you want to go in the rain. Oh well. If I don't get out of Shanghai, it will just give me that much more of a reason to come back and visit later!
I went last week to the World Financial Center, the tallest building in Shanghai and, in theory, has the highest observation deck in the world (despite the Burk Khalifa in Dubai being overall ridiculously taller, it's 'official observation deck' is apparently still lower than the World Financial Center). It was a hazy day, with the air pollution and everything, but it was still really cool to go around sunset and watch the amazing lights of the city's other buildings turn on one by one. Other things that I stumbled into include a really interesting market area in the winding alleyways of an old residential area. It felt like an upscale and hip version of a bazaar in India... I also, the other day, found a really cool development area called Red Town. An old industrial complex, it has since been turned into a center of art and design, hosting an art museum, various art galleries, office space for design companies, cafes, and an indoor/outdoor sculpture garden, all mixed in together. I wandered into one of the old warehouses that was full of sculptures, thinking I was in a free museum. It was about 30 minutes later that I realized that all the closed rooms I saw were not simply office space for the museum, but actual offices for individual companies inside this museum/warehouse/sculpture space. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but I have to say I would love to work in a office in a location like that!
I apologize for not posting pictures... I've had some problems with attachments, and google in general is pretty slow right now here. But I'll be out of here in a week, and I'll be sure to post some pictures then!
