It's been a long time

First Friday staying in. I know if i hit up a club i would be coaxed into breaking my detox a mere week into it. At least i know I have no will power. Headed to Tao Li and what should I find but Super G breakdancing with Huynh Seok, two other Koreans, and Kev. Horsing around, playing grab ass, philandering Filipino, shooting the shit, whatever it was we were having a good time with no cover charge and no alcohol. Dialed the number of a Chinese girl named Emily, it had been hanging from a tree. She picked up, we all met up, and now she will be our friend and guide in Shanghai. Kev needs a language partner!!! The nuhaizi are too much, but I feel very healthy working out regularly so maybe i can keep up.

I was worried Doug was mad at me, then I heard he tore ligaments in his arm. Gonna visit him tomorrow at Libby's to patch us up now that he's patched up. Before that, it's time to lead an entourage to cheapu lu and buy fake stuff. Gotta get fake stuff, and lots of it. Still like it a lot here. Still in the process of getting that laptop. But I have priced them at least!!! Tony two tone is checking for better deals. These names must be annoying for anyone reading this, but I have this weird inclination to not use real names. Dui le! I just realized that I have no camera and no photos. This blog must be quite boring then. Aiya. Next time. Zaijian

time to get serious

Woke up about 11 in the morning yesterday but probably totalled about five hours of sleep the whole weekend. I missed my basketball game with Doug and the Shanghai OGs (Foreign Experts, hot shower division) 2nd week in a row. Sorry for that, gege. I went with Solomon and his Japanese JET friend Cathleen to get famous Xiao Long Bao around the Yu Yuan Gardens. I was tired and blurry eyed, but I could still appreciate just how Chinese this part of SHanghai was. This may sound stupid, but Shanghai isn't exactly the most Chinese of cities. Yu Yuan gardens had a lot more traiditional buildings that reminded me of Beijing, Hangzhou, and other cities I have seen.

It's insane, I am listening to G's Filipino music, eating American style hickory bbq bacon, and feeling like I am in the NYC of Chinese cities. I miss Hangzhou, Yangshuo, Xian, and China. That's funny, that's insane, that's MATH. I'ev decided to go under dtox to not only take care of my liver but also because I feel like I am clubbing and bar hopping when I should be taking care of my health mentally physically and spiritually. Think i'll make a trip to Jing An temple. To the Baby, I'm still being "bad".

Started training with JT and Kev. JT is a combat loving Singaporean with an interesting past and knowledge of street food. It's fun to work out with guys who are just as dedicated as you are about excercise. Wow that sounded rather queer of me, and yet it's true. Kev knows a whole bunch about no-gym-needed workouts and I am loving it. Almost makes me regret joining a gym.

Ever Justin has somehow become my hunter. Everyday he learns new English phrases to insult me with. Two nights ago it was "It doesn't look good on you." Yesterday it was "You are greasy." Last few days are a blur. Time to see tings clearly. Zaijian

I have bought one of three electronic items i NEED in Shanghai: english>chinese dictionary. Now I need a digital camera so i can take pictures of the people and places here (and post those up) and a laptop. Then, I will be free to spend my money on clothes that I want. The desire for nice looking clothes at reasonable prices was buoyed by my time at Urban (shout out to the UO spence, rorraine, will, dro, mike sizzle, and the always delicious taco bell). Also, the cheapu lu market has so much fake stuff, and good quality fakes, so it's hard not to want to fill my little room with the fabrics of Asia.

Besides the dorm guys, my class (who I'm meeting for dinner tonight), the Shanghai OGs, Doug, and the locals I meet, I have made friends with a crazy Korean Jung Jae. We call him Justin. He calls me crazy. Some way or another we have become study buddies and brothers. I'm actually using Soloman's computer while Justin plays PSP. He just said "Gege xie xie" for putting him in my blog. Unfortunately, while it is his way of joking, he introduces me to people with "He is a player". All in all, he is a very happy go lucky guy who studies HARD. I think that I have learned that Japanese study hard, Koreans study harder, and Americans study when they feel guilty about not studying. Damn, I should study.

I am tired though. Growing my hair out for the first time. Natalia and Elaine say it will not go with my face, but they can cram it with walnuts. I really want to try, and maybe when I start my real job someday I won't be able to. Besides, long hair on guys is more common in Shanghai. I am very easy to talk to, kind, peaceful, vain, selfish, and lazy. Time will tell if these traits are compatible with my goal of learning Chinese, as well as if they will change.

"Everyday I am ignored by Dawei, ta hen you yisi."
-Justin

"I'm too drunk, to taste this chicken."
-Col. Sanders

My Liver, my class

I got my passport, after 3 whole weeks during which i learned to appreciate its importance to me, and my medical report back. The passport had the X Visa (sounds cool, oh) stamped, while my medical report had everything checked in the right place. Except my liver. "Infiltration of fatty something". Lipids maybe? Something to do with drinking less. I felt a pain in my stomach region which I suppose could have been my liver. Like my main man Bas Rutten said, "Stab, in the liver." Or maybe he said stab and deliver.
Anyways, it made me think of the last time I drank, a couple weekends ago at Club BonBon. Mostly Trance, BonBon has a pretty cool layout including a Hip Hop (or as some stupid foreigners call it, Rn B) Room. A group of friends, some old but mostly new, treated me to all I could drink and reserved a table at the club. I wasn't ashamed to tell them that this was the first birthday party I had ever had at least in the post cake and bday hat era. It felt something warm stir in my heart as we toasted with assorted drinks in hand. This something was quickly washed away for though the drinks might h ave been assorted, all of them were made with the cheapest, harshest liquor ever. I forgot parts of the night, including some of the people I met. But I can attest I had a great time.

Until I saw that medical report about my liver.

Anyways I'm trying to eat right, drink less, excercise, bla bla bla. My Chinese classes, the reason I came to Jiao Da, are verrrrry challenging. I had to drop down a level for while my reading is comparitively good, my comprehension and speaking are embarrassing. It is quite frustrating, and makes me really wish Gu Laoshi had taught the Eckerd course entirely in Chinese. Cuz that's what I'm getting now. Though this is immersion, almost all of my friends at school speak ENglish pretty well. It makes me think that I should not hang out with them. But then, even the chinese I meet speak English better than I speak Chinese. Aiya. I have been putting in the hours studying, but I find myself concentrating on new words and grammar, and less on spoken. It's like the evil elephant in the room that I must acknowledge, wrestle with, and master. Indeed, if I do not ride that wild beast what's the use in being here? Zao Gao.

On the plus side, the weather here sucks. It's so dry! I need moisture like a bug or a plant does. Hayato is the man, and the guys in the dorm remind me of college days. We saw the 300 a couple nights ago. Not bad, a poor man's Gladiator. I think Maximus would take out King Leonidus, but that is just my personal opinion. Pay attention at the end, it's the same exact freaking song as Gladiator ending. I've been watching a lot of movies lately. Being half Chinese is still totally awesome. Bwahahhaha. I think this jiao zi is making me delirious. Or maybe it's just the air here. Zaijian

Settlin In to a Nest

While still getting used to the new country, new tiny dorm room with terrible bathroom, funky water, and pushy people, I made new friends fast.

I met Elaine, a lawyer from Malaysia, totally by chance the day of registration when I was starting to give up mentally. What a wimp, I know. But I went to the manager's office, we smiled at each other, and then went out to explore. Besides my already established contacts, Elaine is my first official friend at Jiao Tong and at Shanghai, and she's been busting my balls ever since.

At the Bank of China, where the wait for a teller was over 2 hours, I met Yoon from South Korea. Turns out, he studied in the States for 9 years, and five of those years were at St. Alban's High School...right down the street from me in good old Washington, D.C. Small world. Yoon is my guide, my buddy, and the general manager for the Jiao Tong International Students Women's Farm League. Obviously fluent in Korean, he speaks English like an American, and his Chinese is high level. Hanging out with him feels like cheating, as I jsut let him do the ordering and talking. We eat, drink, play basketball, and have a good time

I thought I would never be able to distinguish street names (it took me at least 4 days to get the name of our International School building right..."Tao Li Yuan") but my bubble has been growing. Already I am getting tired of the places to eat around our campus. There are multiple gates to exit the school, and the closest to my dorm and Tao Li Yuan is called Panyu Lu Kou. There is a Korean restaurant that serves as fine dining for Yoon and I, a xiao long bao place that gets hit up all the time and at all hours, and many cheap Chinese rice places. Oh and one Cantonese style restaurant that is a little more expensive. Walk down Hongqiao Road, a much bigger Lu (Street) than Panyu, and you will see the bright lights, graphics, and people at Xiu Jia Hui. This place reminds one that Shanghai is very modern, high end, and technology oriented. It's a bit of a rush for me compared to the few blocks around Jiao Tong. And that is kind of funny, because Xiu Jia Hui is really only a few blocks from Jiao Tong. I figure I will be somewhat overwhelmed when I venture further out to places like the Bund; I've seen Shanghai before but it's different when you think of a place as your new home.


This blog already is kind of random, because I started it several weeks after getting here. CURRENTLY, I have a fever and have missed two days of classes. My bathroom is broken, but Doug is letting me stay at his place. Clos, Spence, and Chloemon have been keeping in good contact, and lil Wong as well. It surprised me a little, but Dad has been the best at keeping emails, and now two CALLS, flowing. Miss everyone, and maybe I'll post again later tonight considering I think I will be under house arrest and liquor is the last (college kids would say first) thing I need. Zaijian

My first Impressions of Shanghai, and Jiao Tong

Angry and solemn-faced strangers pushing their way through a dense network of metal, concrete, and cigarette smoke. It is easy to feel alone in a new place, and I feel like a little kid being dropped off by his dad, Day # 1 of Kindergarten, when Doug waves goodbye after telling the cab driver where to go.

This is not like last spring. Last spring I would venture out into Chinese cities alone knowing that I had a group of Americans back at the hotel, and yet feeling like I didn't need them because I was a traveler who liked to experience things away from other Americans. It is a lot easier to walk a tightrope with a safety net below. My confidence now is gone, I dread having to speak Chinese after having not practiced. The smiles and wondrous stares I remembered getting from Xian to Xiamen aren't here in the most modern city in Shanghai. Jiao Tong University didn't even give us info on where to go for registration. A feeling has set up shop in my gut. And as I find myself looking at signs for building all in Chinese characters, the feeling opens his round mouth and is saying "What the Hell am I doing in this place?"

So i get into Pudong Airport, Shanghai...

And I realize that there is a good possibility my checked bag was left in Beijing. Maybe it was just that things were going a little too well, or that I felt like I had energy even after the 12+ hour flight, or that I had assumed that my bag was going from San Fran to Beijing automatically. Well, I wait around and no bag. I find a decent English speaking airline worker and get it sorted after about a half hour (hoping my contact isn't getting impatient). I have to come back to the airport tomorrow to pick it up in the Xia Wu (afternoon). Cool. So I walk out of the baggage claim...

And my contact, Doug, is nowhere to be found. Doug is my gege, my older brother. He is one of my two best friends in the whole wide world and one of the reasons I chose to study in Shanghai. He is also somewhat of an irresponsible goof. I don't panic until I realize I NEVER got his phone number. I am somewhat of an idiot.

Finally, an hour after we agreed to meet, I get access to the internet and contact Drek. He is a Shanghai OG and knows Doug, and finally the connection is made. Dougie was waiting with his girlfriend at the INTERNATIONAL arrivals, even though i had sent him a message i was transferring at Beijing. Well, I was all smiles and happy not to be lost on my first night in the big city.

P.S. - we get back to Doug's apartment and he accuses me of not giving him information. We log into his facebook account and see that he never looked at the message i sent him in the first place. That's my bro.