My First Full Day in Shanghai

Shanghai, October 14, 2007 (Sunday)

4am. I awake ravenous. Of course I would wake up and want food when NOTHING is open. I chug boiled water and scarf down the energy bars I packed. Never has an energy bar tasted so good.

5am. Shower, unpack. Check for free wifi. Piggyback on an unsecured network briefly before battery beeps again. I try to use my cool Kensington international travel adaptor in the outlets but it doesn’t work. Grumble grumble. Stoopid product.

7am. The breakfast buffet is open! I present my breakfast voucher and hit the buffet. I pile my plate high with noodles, rice, sausage, dim sum. I grab a couple of Danishes, a bowl of jook, and a cartoon of yogurt (called sour milk) that you drink with a straw. And coffee. Lots of coffee. Oh yeah, life is good.

8am. I consult my map, and decide to explore the area. The school is a ten-minute walk from the hotel, so I decide to swing by to make sure it really is a ten-minute walk. Well, kiddies. You know me and maps. I promptly walk 20 minutes in the wrong direction before realizing it, and then hightail it back. Thirty minutes later, I locate the commercial building where the school is located. Even better, I locate the awesome 6 story mal/supermarket Carrefoure. (Think China’s version Target). The place sells everything…from housewares, electronics, food, toiletries. And it has its own produce section, hot prepared foods section, and bakery. Heaven! I prowl the place for hours, sampling free BBQed squid and pork, ala Costco. Can I just live here, like Al Bundy? I stock up on tissue, instant noodles, snacks, drinks, etc., and also buy an adaptor. I am so proud of myself. I actually spoke with a sales associate, in mandarin, and we figured out which adaptor I needed. And I managed to not get suckered into buying a converter, since my laptop and other chargers are dual voltage. Yay me. I am astounded at how packed the market is. People everywhere, hungrily consuming. Consumerism at its finest.

12pm. I buy a cooked meal from the prepared foods counter (BBQ pork and squid) and take my huge load of stuff back to the hotel, where I plug in my laptop and have lunch. The hotel has HBO, so I watch The Lakehouse. Uh no comment. Wait, comment. WTF?

3pm. I make another sojourn into the neighborhood. I find a park, an art museum, a couple of schools (one for the visually impaired, one a dance academy) along with a hospital, and a pub. I am proud to say that I have already picked up the secret to navigating as a pedestrian in Shanghai. Just walk fearlessly. They will stop for you. If they see you pause, they will proceed. Now, that’s a little simplistic, but accurate for the most part. People obey lights, though if they can cheat, they will. Another tip: When crossing an intimidating intersection, shield yourself by walking behind a scrappy old lady. She knows what’s what.

5pm. My sleep pattern’s all shot. I want to sleep NOW. I force myself to stay up for a couple more hours before drifting off to sleep.