esprit de l'escalier

No more Frank and beans and photos from China

Little Franklin Pierce finally got neutered. No heart murmur. He's doing fine. He was the last in surgery today and apparently spent much of the morning pacing his cage due to the unrest of the other cats. He's a little wobbly but for the most part is fine. Though he's spent most of the time home in the bathroom sink getting wet. He doesn't feel much like cuddling and I don't think I'll get a purr out of him for a while.

He also weighs a whopping 9 lbs 4.5 oz! Looks like we've got a bruiser on our hands!

In other news, I have FINALLY uploaded all of my China photos! Feast your eyes for the entire set here. I have comments for almost all of the photos, should you want some direction on what the photos are.

View of Pudong from the Bund:

Me at the Yuyuan Bazaar in Shanghai:

Some photos up

Slowly I'm going through my photos and putting some up on Flickr, I just don't want to overload it. Plus I'm trying to put captions on everything, so you can have a virtual slideshow. Check it out here. I'll add to it daily and try and add more vignettes here.

Above is a classic photo of West Lake in Hangzhou. West Lake is thought of a very romantic tourist destination for Chinese tourists. Historically poets and painters came here to find inspiration. The first full day I had I wandered one edge by myself and the next Elaine, Amy and I rode bikes around the other side.

Below is one of the sights of the lake, the Jade Belt Bridge in Rainbow Formation.

Dense humanity

My big joke when people are asking about how my trip was is to retort, "There are a lot of people in China!" Which isn't very funny, but it was something I thought about a lot while I was there, beyond just the crowds. Part of my interest in traveling to Shanghai was its growth and to see in person what that meant.

I had an abbreviated conversation with my mom tonight while waiting for the L this evening about China and urban planning. I was telling her about my visit to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Its main feature being a huge scale model of the master plan of Shanghai. My guidebook joked that it's where the old Shanghaiese go to see what is going to be built over their old homesteads. I was interested to see it because I'm interested in urban planning and was curious to see what the plans were like. How do you accomodate for hyper-dense populations? I'm not sure if the overly optimistic signage has the answers. It seems like the planners of the future Shanghai are trying to find a balance between urban and nature, with lots of different levels of parkland spread throughout the city. Because can you imagine the heat of hyper-cities if some amount of greenspace didn't exist? I can't imagine how people could live in the heat and the smog.

Can we balance such a large growth of dense population and nature? Is it possible on that scale? I guess time will tell, but it seems like such a delicate balancing act, one I'm unsure that government can make. Is there the political will to see through the difficult decisions that need to be made?

Being in Shanghai also made me think a lot about how necessary sustainable architecture is, especially with the growth of huge cities and dense populations. The smog was terrible in Shanghai. I wondered if they ever had blue skies there. One day would have been clear, and there was the faintest blue beneath the gray sheen. I bought a book about the environmental hurdles in China, ironically called The Greening of China by Geoffrey Murray and Ian G. Cook. It looks interesting and (according to the back flap) doesn't discount the enormous hurdles China faces.

Anyhow, this post does not fulfill the photos and/or stories requirement that has been requested, but I'm getting there. I promise.

Home to spring

I touched down at O'Hare last night around 5:45 or so. I was home by 7pm. After a good cuddle and chat Frank seems to have forgiven my lengthy abscence (he has grown even more and now resembles something of a MAC truck). I pottered about, doing laundry, sifting through the strange grouping of things I bought on my trip, telling my roommate various snippets. I awoke at a ridiculous hour, partially due to jet lag, mostly due to the cat, and couldn't get back to sleep. So I finished the fourth book of my journey and then got up, made some tea and cleaned the kitchen.

I have no idea how to arrange my stories or photos for general consumption, and know something of that effect is expected. I uploaded the photos to my computer and need to spend some time sifting through them, but I just don't feel like doing it today.

The rest of my Shanghai went well. I spent the morning of my last full day at the Shanghai Art Museum. I fell in love with a Chinese painter, Luo Erchun. He uses bright colors and thick brush strokes to depict rural China and modern portraits. I bought the companion book for the exhibit because for once I could afford it. (The photos above are pieces of his work. The painting of the girl was my favorite and I wish I could have a print of it and the second photo is of a detail of one painting. Don't worry, no flash was used to take the photos, but I couldn't help myself.)

I exhausted myself in the heat and crowds walking Nanjing Road again, down to the Bund for a final peek. My last evening was spent reading in the lounge area of the hostel and then drinking large Tsingtaos and chatting with fellow travelers in the bar area of the hostel.

I left for the hotel a little early, taking the metro (very clean and efficient) and a high speed train to the airport (we reached 431 km/hr). And now here I am, listening to music, trying to get grips back on my normal life, hoping that jet lag doesn't completely throw me for a loop.

Books read on trip:

• Sara Paretsky, Tunnel Vision: This was great, as usual; I finished it in Hangzhou


• P.G. Wodehouse, Sunset at Blandings: I didn't read the back of the book when I bought it and didn't realize that it is the last and unfinished Blandings novel. I have now read the first and the last of the Blandings. It was funny, but a little unfulfilling because it ended midway.


• Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep: I loved this book and can't believe it was a first novel. I personally passed it on to an American who teaches English in Nanjing, who I hope reads it.


• Philip Davison, The Long Suit: This I just finished and enjoyed.

Movies watched from cramped airplane seat:

• Dreamgirls: This was too long. There is no reason why it should be over 2 hours and should have cut at least a half hour from it. I wasn't overly impressed.


• Stranger Than Fiction: I had already seen it, but enjoyed it on the second viewing and still found it funny.


• Dr. No: I hadn't see this one and really enjoyed the sets of Dr. No's underwater lair.


• Casino Royale: I want to watch this again when I can hear it better, and really enjoyed it. It was a good deal more brutal than its predecessors.


• Night at the Museum: I watched snips of this and found it fun, though the Ben Stiller schtick was a little unnecessary at times.

It looks like it's going to be cold and rainy today, which makes me want to put off my breakfast at a favorite spot til tomorrow and burrow back in bed.

In Shanghai

Yesterday I spent wandering the Bund and the Yuyuan Gardens and bazaar in Old Town. Have I said this already? You are never NOT aware of how many people are in China. It's also really smoggy here, and I'm afraid my photos along the Bund aren't too impressive. I'm almost nearing the 500 mark with photos. Which is ridiculous. I'll have to decide the best to put up on Flickr when I get home.

My explorations yesterday left me exhausted. I think I'm too Midwestern to be a good haggler and bought a bunch of crap I did not really need or want (those getting gifts brace yourselves). The Yuyuan Gardens were really neat, but that whole area was too crowded. And I was there early in the day and on a weekday! God help whoever goes there after noon on a Saturday.

Today I walked much further, to the far end of the French Concession and back. Really really far. My feet are very tired. I really enjoyed today, though. I didn't blog yesterday because I came back home in a fairly foul mood. I was sick of being asked to buy watches, purses, dvds... It's the only time I wished I had brought my ipod, because I just wanted to sink into the oblivion of music. Today was better, though warmer. The crowds were less and I bought things I actually liked for people and myself. I also cheated and ate at some western-styled places. I was very stinky when I got back. My jeans and black boots have seen better days. They are both being retired on this trip. Tomorrow I'm planning on an easier day. I'm going to spend the morning at the Art Museum (around the corner from my hostel) and then maybe go to the Bund again to pop into some of the Art Deco hotels. Then I'm off Friday.

Karaoke and more travel

I am currently typing this in my funky hostel off of People's Park in Shanghai, not off of the Bund as I originally thought. I got my hostel confused with another by the same company (with v. similar names) and spent a lot of time in cabs when I first arrived here. The keyboard I am using is worn away and many of the keys are sticking, so I apologize for any typos.

I left dear Elaine and Amy this morning and found my way to the bus station in Hangzhou and somehow managed to buy a ticket and get on the correct bus. It was sad to leave my friends. I've had a really great time exploring Hangzhou with them.

Before I get on to telling you about Shanghai, let me tell you about our karaoke experience at KTV yesterday. After lunch on dumplings in a mall basement and fresh gooey donuts made of rice flour, we met up with Ivy, one of the girls' translators at the hospital, and a couple of her friends for some karaoke at KTV. They had rented a room for us and bought snacks (like Lays potato chips flavored in tomato and cucumber). They sang great and it was fun to watch all of the Chinese pop music videos. The English selection was hilarious for several reasons. One the options were very random and two though some of the songs worked, many had their tempos slowed waaaay down and not in even ways, which made singing VERY difficult. We had a blast, though. To end we all sang 'Happy Birthday' followed by 'Moon River,' because they were two songs we all could sing.

Today, once I found my ACTUAL hostel and plopped my things in my locker, I headed out to People's Park to see what I could see. My hostel is very close to the Shanghai Theatre/opera house (I can't remember its actual name at this moment), and the theatre is shaped like a traditional Chinese hat, with big sloping wings on the roof. I walked past it and found the Urban Planning museum. I went in a looked in awe at the huge scale model of the future of Shanghai. It was interesting looking at old photos of the city coupled with recent photos. And looking at photos of famous houses from the 1930s reminded me of Shanghai's history, of which I read about in December, but it's faded a bit.

I was set to go to the Shanghai museum when I was stopped by a cry of, 'Hello! Where are you from?' coming from a trio of Chinese college students, two guys and a girl. They were visiting from Nanjing and wanted to know all about me, and to practice their English. They invited me to join them for a tea ceremony and I did. It was fun meeting them and having a tea ceremony. They translated for the girl performing and we tried 7 types of teas. I bought some of a very fragrant jasmine. It was a lot of fun and the group walked me back to the park when we were done.

After the tea, I spent a couple of hours at the Shanghai museum, soaking up a LOT of Chinese traditional arts. I spent most of my time looking at the huge exhibit of pottery. I was really taken with some of the monochromatic pieces and took some not-so-great photos of favorite pieces. I also enjoyed the calligraphy and painting exhibits. I had wanted to spend more time in the museum, but you have to just go with life sometimes.

It started raining on my walk back and has been raining ever since. I ate at the cool lounge/restaurant the hostel has and plan on turning in early. Tomorrow I plan on visiting Yuyuan Gardens and the French Concession. Hope you are all well!

My adventures in China, part two

Hi everyone, thanks for all the comments and well wishes! I spent the first day in Hangzhou solo while Elaine and Amy were in class. (They practice Chinese medicine in the states and are in China to learn by observation in Chinese hospitals.) I walked to West Lake, what Hangzhou is most famous for, and explored part of it all day yesterday. West Lake is a national park and is a huge tourist attraction. The walkways were full of people, but even more so on Saturday. One of the first things I found Friday, as I walked across a causeway that bisects the lake, was a bunch of people flying kites. The day was overcast, but mild, with just enough wind to keep a couple dozen kites aloft. It was great and had me humming Mary Poppins under my breath.

I walked all over, stopping to rest in scenic spots, scribbling in my journal. It's funny to compare this trip with my trip to Doha, especially because in Doha I was completely ignored but here I get lots of curious stares, often accompanied with a, "Hello!" It makes me feel like a mild celebrity and fairly uncomfortable. People are friendly, just nosy. One point an older woman, who had been watching me for a while, came over and stood over my shoulder to see what I was writing. Not that it was very illuminating for her. My polaroid also brings lots of attention. It's noisy and makes whoever is standing near want to wait and watch the photo emerge. I've been trying to be more covert about it.

Yesterday we traveled along the lake in the opposite direction by bike. Elaine and Amy have an extra bike that Elaine's husband George bought while he was here. I can't tell you the elation I felt to be riding a bike in Hangzhou! Lots of people travel by bike and there are special lanes and traffic lights dedicated to the bicyclists. When we first started out I felt like I was twelve again and loved seeing the city from this vantage. I was lucky to be with people who knew the traffic rules and where they were going. Though my elation wore off as the day went on, more because my butt started to hurt and I was still a little jet lagged and tired. It was fun though.

As for food, we've been eating lots of noodley soups, once at Rosy Cheeks and another at another street vendor they like where you pick what you want in your soup from an arrangement of ingredients. Friday we breakfasted on baotse (sp?), little floury dumplings sold down the street from the hostel. We ate ones filled with pork and vegetables. They were good. My first day on the lake I lunched on corn on a stick (not sweet corn, though, which was a little disappointing) and bubble tea. Yesterday we had lunch at an Indian restaurant (the ladies are getting a little sick of Chinese food) and we took our chances at this restaurant in the university area. We walked in and someone ushered us to the register, behind which was a menu in Chinese. Damn, we said. We had hoped on a paper menu we could study. We quickly drew a crowd as Elaine tried to get some understanding about ordering. Amy is vegan, too. They found her asking for vegetarian food funny, probably because they expect Westerners to eat alot of meat. The crowd got larger and then a little 9 year old girl, her English name was Bonnie, became our saviour. She helped us order some food and then we made friends with her and her mother.

Another thing I absolutely love is how everyone dresses. The women where crazy color combinations with layering and mixing of textures. Their boots and shoes are fabulous and I love their bags. It's great and will only improve in Shanghai. I keep trying to take covert photos of people, but think I'm going to just start asking. Elaine and Amy have taught me "cute" and "beautiful" in Chinese, and I'm thinking of saying that and miming with my camera. We'll see. The kids are dressed great, too, and are all around adorable. We made friends with several little kids yesterday.

So things are going well, sorry for my disjointed rush of information. My brain is still a little overwhelmed and I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts together coherently. Tomorrow I leave my dear friends and head to Shanghai. I hope all is well for all of you! Cheers!

Greetings from China

I'm safe and sound among friends in Hangzhou!

My trip was extremely smooth. I got to O'Hare early and spent very little time getting through security and then, once in Shanghai, I was quick through customs with my bags. I am taking Scarlett's advice to heart, though, and have definitely depended on the kindness of strangers to help me get on the right bus to Hang Zhou (a three hour trip from the airport) and get me into a taxi once I arrived. Thank god I had all sorts of addresses and instructions written in Chinese characters, because I seriously only know "hello" and "thank you".

If anyone is wondering what 14.5 hours feels like, get on a direct flight to Shanghai! I was very lucky that there was room for my seatmate to move so I could stretch my legs. Actually, besides the atrocious food, the flight wasn't that bad. Shanghai from the air is a sight to see. You can tell how monstrously large it is. And there are clusters of identical apartment buildings dotting the landscape as we closed in for our landing. I didn't think to dig out my camera, but I'll try to take some aerial shots on my way home.

Once I arrived at the hostel, all was easy as well. Elaine made sure I was staying on her floor, just a couple of doors down. She's studying acupuncture here and is staying with her friend Amy. They took me to a restaurant down the block that they refer to as "Rosy Cheeks." The name became apparent when we entered and were greeted by rosy-cheeked waitresses (it's very warm in there). You are given a list of ingredients that you check off and they bring you a bowl with broth and you add your vegs and meats. Elaine and Amy showed me how they use their Mandarin guides to navigate as best they can through the menu. They did make a mistake and had a funny conversation with the wait staff trying to explain they didn't want lettuce but spinach. The broth and vegs were good on my stomach, which is fairly freaked out from the amount of time I've been up and the terrible airplane food.

Tomorrow the girls are in class til 4, but I've got a bike at my disposal, a map and my Mandarin guide to get me through the day. Wish me luck! You should see the bikers here in Hangzhou! There are so many! The city is quite alive and bustling with lots of bright, blinking lights. I hadn't realized that the city was the size of Chicago. Everything seems large here in China!

Travel plans

I found my horoscope auspicious today:

To ensure that your latest travel plans get launched with as few complications as possible, you'll have to put planning first today. There is real value in taking your time to double-check itineraries and to take one last look online to see whether you can get there (or stay there) less expensively. You might get some confusing information on how to get to where you need to go, so today is not the time to finalize any transportation reservations.

I had lunch today with my friend Irma who was in Shanghai in November. She gave me some tips on some places to visit and to eat. And now I have much better ideas of what reading material to bring with me, thanks to you all. I'm going to hit the Brown Elephant Saturday, and possibly Myopic, and pick up some paperbacks.

My cat is currently curled behind me, partially on my neck, with his little muzzle snoring softly in my ear. He's too fricking cute. And now I'm going to watch some basketball and make a list of what else I need to get together.