Shanghai nights

Chère Eleanor,

I am returned from a fulfilling voyage to Shanghai, where I spent my four days free from classroom woes traversing that great metropolis. I shall soon present you with an accurate retelling, but first, here are a few Reasons why the Good People of Shanghai may now think me Slightly Insane:

1. Having received Harry Potter, I unwisely begin discussing a certain matter with Jenn on the subway, she having already finished the book. Inadvertently, she lets slip that a certain FAVO(U)RITE CHARACTER of mine DIES, causing her to begin whimpering slightly--reliving the pain of the loss--and me to start angrily berating her, all while Kenina--having barely begun the book--walks away from us, plugs her fingers into her ears and begins humming. Surreptiously, the man who began the journey facing us shifts ever-so-slightly stop to stop until by the time we exit (still weeping, yelling and humming, respectively), he has his back turned to us.

2. While waiting in the train station to return to Shanghai from Suzhou, Scott turned to me as we were playing cards and asked, "What would you do right now if I gave you a raspberry?" And without further ado, he promptly seized my arm and thus did--loudly--causing me to shriek piercingly above the clamo(u)r of hundreds of Chinese waiting for trains. I swear at least a third of the waiting room fell silent and turned to look at us.

3. On the plane leaving Beijing, we played word games to distract ourselves from boredom. So we played GHOST for an unnecessarily long amount of time, leading us to dispute--loudly--the correctness of words such as xenograph, Ptolemaic, and how sexpot could be used to make Scott lose.

Yes, well, I'm sure you understand what it is like to travel in a foreign country with five loud Americans. Here begins my narration, which will doubtless take me a while to compose, but I shall read Harry Potter for breaks when I tire.

Wednesday: we set off at promptly 3:11, eleven minutes behind schedule, our eager faces shining with anticipation... We got to the airport before 4, and were told we were not allowed to check in until 5 (our flight was at 7). We returned at 5 only to be told 5:30. We returned at 5:30 only to be told our flight had been delayed--do we want to try to get on an earlier flight? Yes? Well, then go to that ticket office at the other end of the airport. We went, and there were no other tickets. We went back, checked in (fourth time's a charm), and passed through security.

We settled in the waiting room for about an hour, munching on food and playing cards. Then, at 8 o'clock (our plane still not having arrived), we were told to move to another gate. We followed the swarm of travelers downstairs to another waiting room, where we stood aimlessly, crowded up against each other, for another ten or fifteen minutes before we were allowed to pass through a gate and onto ... a bus. ("They're driving us to Shanghai!" we shouted). By this time it was well past 9 o'clock. We crammed onto the bus, luggage and everything, like state prisoners off to work camps. I was pressed into Trevor's back, and I tried to move my head and ended up poking some guy in the head with my hair sticks... twice. Apparently seeing this as an opportunity to strike up conversation, he BEGAN TALKING TO ME. Much as you described how you managed to freak out and make little outward appearance of it, I was thinking this, in time with our conversation:

Random Man I Cannot See: You speak English? Where are you from?
Me: (answering in Chinese) America. (Why are you talking to me? I can't turn around or I'll take out your eye!)
RM: You... um, traveling?
Me: (answering in Chinese) I'm studying at Beida. (This is not the place for new acquaintances! My face is shoved in someone's armpit and you are uncomfortably pressed up against my back! Where is this bus taking us? ARE THEY GOING TO KILL US?)
RM: blah blah blah
Me: blah blah--oh look! airplane!

We then exited the bus and walked up stairs to a sturdy 737, where we found our seats and settled in. After another few minutes, we received news that... there was no news. They had no information about our departure time, though we did receive full meals. See above for how exactly we killed time. And then... finally... our plane took off... at MIDNIGHT, five hours after the planned departure, and over eight hours after we had reached the airport.

Finally, we reached Shanghai after two in the morning. We walked outside to get a taxi, and let me tell you my first impression of the city: heat. Not just heat, either, but a smothering blanket of humidity and stale, stale air. If you think Atlanta and other Southern cities were bad, if I think Beijing was warm on some days, multiply it by three and then drench yourself in water to mimic the sweat oozing out of every pore--that, my friend, is Shanghai.

Then, having to split into two taxis, we told the drivers the address of our hotel. This then led to a wild ride through the streets of a sleeping Shanghai by two taxi drivers who obviously had absolutely no clue as to where our hotel was located. My car decided to be adventurous and wheeled away from the other one, claiming he was driving to the wrong place; we then passed through developments and warehouses and places where bodies could easily be stashed and never found until experts are needed to come in and run tests to analyze what the age, sex, race and last meal of the rotting bones were. But I digress. We arrived, weary, tired and with nearly a 100 kuai taxi fare to our hotel. We promptly cleaned ourselves of the dust of travel and collapsed onto our nice, freezing cold beds.

Thursday: Waking up late, we decided to walk around Shanghai. In the evening, we went to the Bund, where you can see a great night view of the "modern" city on the other side of the river. We met up with another Georgetown student, Brian, who is working in Shanghai for the summer.

Friday: We decided to take a day-trip to Suzhou, a small city outside of Shanghai that was described as "the Venice of China." I would call this a bit liberal of a description (we found two canals, and by the time we found the beautiful scene, it was time to rush back to the train station), but it was a rather lovely place, with beautiful gardens and temples (I prayed to Confucius in one for good study skills, and to my astrological god (兔子) in another, having paid 30 kuai for the ability to do so; as one of my many asides, I must keep track of Kenina now and fear retribution, as she accidentally prayed to the wrong god). There used to be more canals, I believe, but like everything else in China, commercial development over the past fifteen years has changed things remarkably quickly, even just from one year to the next.

Saturday: Originally we planned to wake up at 6 in the morning for the opening release of Harry Potter (coinciding with the release in London), but, tired from sweating and walking for hours the day before, we instead left at 9 and purchased our lovely, shiny books. I bought the English one simply because the American one was almost 30 kuai more expensive; I regret it slightly as now it will not match my other books, but I shall think fondly of this decision when I try to buy dinner tomorrow night. We then spent the day reading while walking into people, and traveled to the Old City and the Yu Gardens (I took many pictures of rocks), and the French Concession (which is not very French anymore, thanks once again to commercial development). And then, declining invitations of clubbing, Kenina, Jenn and I returned to our hotels late and read JK Rowling's latest book with fervor until sleep.

Sunday (being today, to clarify): We woke up early and went shopping, where I managed to finally find clothes that fit me, a feat truly extraordinary in a country full of tiny, skinny women! Our time was cut short, however, as we needed to leave for the airport at one o'clock. We had time for a last meal (not of dim sum, but rather Japanese food--and truly it is bizarre to go to a Japanese restaurant and order in Chinese) before heading off for the airport. The trip passed pleasantly because a) I had my book to read, and b) the flight was perfectly on time, and thus I have returned safely, if a trifle poor, to Beijing, and it feels cool comparatively and also as if it's been ages since I've been here.

And, this being unnecessarily and even painfully long, I will now go take a shower and finish You-Know-What and then try and complete homework before tomorrow morning drags me so abruptly and carelessly from my bed. Your friend,

Alison