Time:1030am
See Suits, if nothing else.
Weiqi Lunch
In my Chinese Culture course, we've been taking field trips. The first one I wrote about was the Peking Opera (Beijing Opera) This past Wednesday all 30+ of us went out to lunch on the Shanghai Jiao Tong University budget. We caught our coach bus from our hotel. After 40 minutes, we arrived in an older part / touristy type of area. Aside; It's hard to tell how big the city is since everything is in minutes and kilometers - it's big, but I still can't scale it to something. We arrived at the restaurant and we had our own dining room. This leads well into the next section.
Odd Food (again)
Theres was plenty of food served in the traditional Chinese way, using a spinning center plate - lazy susan style. It started with some cold things - this part of the mean is particularly surprising since most of the stuff they serve cold - I would have at least steamed. Pumpkin was served with a small round ball that.. wasn't doing it for me. Then there was a warm Lotus root stuffed with sticky rice? It wasn't so bad. Soon after, the "1000 year old eggs" came out. I think they're called leather eggs too. It's a hard boiled egg that is soaked in vinegar and soy, if I was told right. The white is brown - and clear / gelatinous. I did not partake. Then came the Phoenix Feet. Don't let the name confuse you - they're chicken feet. They were served cold and appeared shiny, so I suppose they had been soaked in something. Either way, I was't about to eat the skin off of that. The few brave enough didn't give any raving reviews so I stayed clear.
Then came the onslaught of half normal food. Noodles and pork, beef and bamboo, some other vegetables. There were also a couple of decent surprises. They served something very much like a potato cake, hash brown, fried something. It wasn't potato based - it just had that shape and texture. It tasted a lot like an unsweetened elephant ear / funnel cake. That was something that was completely eaten. They were also very small shrimp served in a large plate of seaweed, perhaps to make them feel more at home. The small shrimp are eaten in one bite - legs, eyes, shell, the whole thing. If you can get past that part - it's pretty good. My big test of the day was being served small fish. Small fish was a delicacy because they're hard to cook and easy to eat - or so I was told. The idea is that small fish have very small bones so you can eat the bones and still be good. You know, I believed them - that was my biggest mistake. I took a bite from the tail end and it wasn't so bad. It was that next one that got into the rib cage when I kinda wanted to spit it out. I choked it down and considered that test over. Next time my grandpa wants to eat fish, this experience will come back to mind and I will decline.
Living Situation
It's been nearly 3 weeks since I arrived in this dwelling and I don't think I've talked about it much on the blog. We're located in the heart of the city. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the nearest subway stop and can take 30 minutes to get to the river. Theres plenty of expensive shopping in the area, Burberry, Swarovski, and the likes. Best Buy is about 10 minutes away, lots of tall buildings. The hotel we're in would be like living in the Purdue Memorial Union. It's the on campus hotel. Each room is fitted with two beds, 1 bathroom, 1 desk, 1 tv, etc. There is a maid service that comes through each day and makes the bed and changes the towels. My room has a particularly good view, when there is no smog - which is about as rare as a full moon. It's a nice place, very comfortable and took little adjusting from the american lifestyle. The biggest inconvenience is only one internet port in every room. Some people bought wireless routers to solve this problem. I told them that wouldn't be the best idea since we're in China - the routers would come in Chinese. Many people bought them anyways - and setup unsecured networks. After I told them how much of a very bad idea that was, I offered to help secure it.
As many of you know, I don't speak chinese - and I definitely can't read hieroglyphics. However, it just so happens I've setup so many routers I pretty much know most of the name brands well enough I don't need the words. So - I secured a few routers and now I've got the passwords. This way I got a free wireless connection that is secured. :)
The other large internet problem is it appears that the internet is a 1.5 mgb connection. This is divided between 30+ american students and .. it really sucks. Combine that with the Chinese Firewall (google it) and the whole experience kinda blows. Takes minutes to load pages and they often fail entirely.
Fruit on a stick man
A very simple business. This guy stand outside the university and for like $0.60 you get the picture above. He just puts fruit on a stick, then has a wok there full of water and sugar. He runs the fruit through and caramelizes the crap out of it. It's a pretty good treat.
Super Bowl
I'm excited. I'm beginning my search to find a restaurant that will be showing the game live. I heard it'll be starting at 630pm est, which is 730am monday. I think I may have to miss part of my morning class to watch the game - and I'm okay with that - I just want to watch it live.
Lack of Driving / Foreign Money
As I said earlier, it's been almost three weeks since I've gotten to drive a car. It's like being fifteen again. It's hard to believe that people in New York City don't own cars and the same is true over here. I just miss driving. I really would love to be on a motorcycle too. There are a lot of scooters, mopods, and bikes over here. Other than the occasional police yamaha, I'll see one very poorly kept up motorcycle a week. I can't even imagine the chaos a loud bike could cause over here. A bike like a Harley-D would maybe be able to drown out the excessive use of horns.
Horns
Sitting in my room right now with the window closed, I can hear the horns of passing motorists. It is difficult to go more than 10 seconds without hearing at least one horn. To say it in another way, at night - motorists will forgo having their headlights on occasionally, but I don't think anyone would drive without their horn working. In America, horns are a warning of a hazard or to tell someone you're upset with them. In China, horns are more of a announcement of where the driver is. A train does the same thing in America - they blow their horn when they get to a crossing. Mopeds, Scooters, Taxis, Buses, Bikes - they all have horns - and use them liberally. I likely won't be able to sleep when I get home without a sound therapy machine honking all night long.
Bike Ride
Theres a great opportunity next weekend, that is kind of expensive - but anyways. There is a local group, unaffiliated with the school program, just a Shanghai group that will be going 2 hrs away by car to go on a Mountain Biking / Hiking trip. It's like 80 usd, for transportation - bike rental - lunch - water.. etc. I hope it's fun, it'll be cold and rainy.
Suits
This is the most important topic of the week. I went to the fabric market for the first time yesterday. This is the place to go to get tailored suits / coats / shirts on the cheap. A full suit of silk/wool blend is about 80usd from scratch. I'm really looking to capitalize on this opportunity. I also have NO idea what to get. I'm reaching out to people in the know here - please send me an email of a good looking suit. I want business suits and maybe a nice casual suit (pimp suit). I'm looking for suggestions on color, cut, material. I can get just about anything it seems - silk, wool, cashmere, ... felt. Just please please send me suggestions with pictures (to my email). I don't know how I'll get these home yet, but I'll figure that out when the time comes.
Coat
I also can get a pea coat for relatively cheap. I found on that is pretty nice looking. I was told it's "Korean" style. It's very plain and fitted. The buttons are hidden, theres a high collar, and on the left shoulder theres an extra flap. I think I'd get my initials embroidered on it. If I were to get a black coat or very dark grey, what color should my initials be? Are putting my initials on it tacky? I'm not sure. Your comments would be appreciated.
Look forward to your suit suggestions,
JBiber (at) g m a i l [dot] com
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