Sunday, January 1, 2012

Goodbye to Shanghai



It's the first day of 2012, and we're getting ready to leave. We're looking forward to coming home, but we're going to miss Shanghai. We've been spending our last few days visiting favorite places and packing up.




We had our Christmas dinner at a Shanghai-style restaurant with a fantastic view.


  

One of the downsides of being in Shanghai, no after-Christmas sales! But there's still plenty to buy. At Wal-Mart, the Christmas displays have given way to stacks of Lunar New Year items (Year of the Dragon). Lucky red underwear, anyone?




We were at Wal-Mart to get an extra suitcase to bring home some of the stuff that we've acquired.




Peter's become a pro at hauling stuff around on his bike rack.


   

Parker has been spending some quality time with his new obsession: Warhammer 40,000. Here he is with Mark, who manages the Games Workshop store at the Xintandi mall. The shop (the only one in China!) was one of the chance discoveries we call urban suprises. Parker and Mark really hit it off.


One of the things we'll miss most is the vendors at our wet market. We went to say goodbye and take some pictures.

     

 We saw the lady who makes fried dumplings, and the one who sells us vegetables.




The father-son team that makes meat and fish balls for hot pots.




Our fruit stand owner and his family.


   
 
We also said goodbye to the ladies who manage the Tongji pool. We haven't been swimming for a few weeks, because it's been so cold, but we wanted to see them one more time.




We made a farewell stop at Parker's favorite burger restaurant.




Slurped soup dumplings.




Had a last few cups of tea.




Bought a piece of art to bring home (this is just one corner).


  
        
Then visited a final building project.

On the way home from the project, we ran into a last pair of Shanghai surprises.




A hip restaurant with a mirrored bathroom.




And a street full of sea eels being dried in the cool air. Each eel's tag has the name of the buyer and the price he/she paid. They dry for about a week, and then the buyers pick them up. Ever since it started getting cold, we've seen all sorts of meat and fish hanging out to dry.

We each made lists of the things we'll miss the most.

We will all miss

     bicycle rides
     urban surprises
     street food
     wet markets
     hot pot
     friendly people
     family time

Parker will miss

     MoreCa
     Bistro Burger
     Tang Dynasty
     Shintori
     Tongji pool
     neighborhood cats

Pamela will miss

     tea culture
     soup dumplings
     tiny oranges
     being in a big city
     walking everywhere
     learning new things every day

Peter will miss

     clams
     Parker going out to buy breakfast
     getting lost in the crowd (one of the billion)
     talking to people excited about building projects
     learning about different approaches to rapid growth
     endless varieties of instant noodles



        
We'll be bringing back nine bags, two bicycle boxes and a lot of memories.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas and Other Big Events

 Winter is upon us here in Shanghai.



The trees have bundled up.




Parker and Peter have changed their biking wear.




And Santa is making guest appearances all over town.

In our apartment complex, the only sign that Christmas is approaching is a small string of blinking lights that adorns a single window. Ditto for the street below. But if you venture downtown, or to a shopping mall, you find Christmas cheer galore. 




There's also plenty of Christmas music. The other day we went to a restaurant near the university, a high-end place where we were the only Westerners. But when we walked into the lobby, we were greeted by Feliz Navidad. Various Christmas tunes (mostly bad cover versions) played in the background throughout the meal. It's the same all over town.




We see plenty of approaches to holiday celebration.




A downtown hotel set up this gingerbread house/shop in its lobby.




A department store outfitted its elephants.




Apple dressed its Shanghai geniuses in red shirts.




Christmas pandas, anyone?




 Our local Wal Mart has a good-sized Christmas section, even though virtually all its customers are Chinese. (We went there to get a space heater because our apartment, like most Shanghai apartments, has terrible heat!)




Some of the stuff is familiar.




Some isn't. Dragons or reindeer? You make the call.




We thought we made a sensible tree choice. Expats in the French Quarter were paying big RMB for semi-real conifers.




The main point of all this Christmas cheer seems to be to sell things (surprise, surprise). Our friends tell us that Christmas stuff first showed up in the late 1990s, as China started becoming more capitalistic.




If a billion Chinese people (and their aunties!) could be inspired to buy each other Christmas presents someone would make some serious money. 




Here in China, some people would see that as a good thing. Unlike folks in the U.S., those in China save  huge amounts of money. This means that much of China's economic growth depends on exports – on people in other countries buying the stuff they make. Chinese leaders would like to see more of that stuff sold at home (for more on the challenges faced by Chinese families, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/business/global/households-pay-a-price-for-chinas-growth.html?scp=2&sq=Chinese%20consumers&st=cse). 

If a foreign holiday like Christmas helps, well . . .




Of course for us, the Christmas season also means another important holiday.




Parker started off his 11th birthday with a three-computer Skype with friends (from left: Kiran and Elias, Schuyler and Bradley and Will Gray).




He got a great rendition of "Happy Birthday" (to see the video version, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quarterscale/6542295579/in/set-72157627461266055)





We cycled off for breakfast at one of Shanghai's best dim sum restaurants.




Then it was on to the slaughterhouse for a round with his favorite Formula One game.




Happily, the Ferrari cafe had caught the Christmas spirit.




After some quality time with his new iPod Touch (thanks, California clan!) he donned his new, hand-tailored velvet jacket and we headed to his favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner.




Shintori is a stylish place, and Christmas is no exception.




If you look closely, you'll see that the waiter is wearing a black Santa hat.




A marvelous end to a marvelous day. Happy Birthday Parker!