From Shanghai Daily:
"Temperatures may reach 39 degrees Celsius this weekend as the ongoing heat wave will likely continue until the end of the month, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau forecast today.
Today's high will be 37 degrees and overnight the mercury may dip to 29 degrees, the bureau said.
A sub-tropical high pressure system is responsible for the heat wave that will keep temperatures around 37 degrees until the end of this month.
The bureau said it will not rain this week."
ooh, down to 29 at night, brr... not.
shanghaiist says:
(i don't believe in wind chill or heat index BUT because i know some of my friends are ardent followers)
"Thirty-six degrees outside but, according to our weather page, it feels like 44 (that's 111 degrees for the Americans out there). And we'd say that sounds about right. Just miserable."
I am excited to be going to India during the second month of their first female president's term. I finally booked my flight successfully yesterday; I will be flying from Beijing to Malaysia to Chennai on September 8th. This route is much longer (and cheaper) than a direct flight but it's just as well because if the plane goes down, it won't be in Afghanistan or Kazakhstan, where everyone loves American women.
I had a dream two nights ago that the director here was kidnapped by a rebel group. They proceeded to slit her throat in front of me and it was gushing blood everywhere.
The last few days at work have been spent editing the approved versions of the magazines, including "translating" the Listings pages from "Chinglish" to English. Pre-edited examples in all their curious-spacing and -capitalization glory:
Men's shopping night and modeling to showcase
Don't forget to buy something that you think she would love. Think about what she wears already.Now, we provide the modeling to showcase the lingerie that you wanna buy for her, whether it will be for herself or "her man". Lingerie & Me 6253 3076
Mythology(ies) of my neighbour-Independent short-films showing
A series of mostly French independent short-films.A series of these different films has been built up in order to reach a wider audience.These films all share a certain freedom of speech. They are testimonies of the filmmakers' special look at the world. English substitles. 6:30pm. 6F, Alliance Française de Shanghai. 6357 5388
Popcorn Party
No Explanation Needed Here. It's a Party and There's Popcorn. Zapata's 6474 6628
August Babies
Complimentary bottle of Champagne for BIRTHDAY BABY before midnight.(ID will be needed to prove).Free entry for people in dress code before midnight, Dress code: Funky Hat. RMB150 after midnight including 1 standard drink. Attica, www.attica-shanghai.com 6373 3588
Adidas Master Class launch party-Street Hop class
Fall/Winter 07 Adidas brings you the hottest street hop class with their master instructors. Members who attend it will get gifts&products provided by Adidas. Book your tickets now! iDancing 1:30pm-2:30pm www.idancing.cn 6271 4952
Goes To Hollywood
Hit songs from Hit Movies with Art-6 live on stage. Just like the Oscars, but with Beer. Malone's 6247 2400
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Dice queen
Last night, I went out with Michelle, Mike, Gail and a new kid, Jason. I knew I would just freak out again if I stayed home so I decided to go. Mike is a high strung, funny 20 year old from California. Jason only 17, from Long Island so he got pretty drunk even off the weak drinks that grace open bars. I haven't hung out with someone that young in a long time! They're both Chinese Americans and can speak some Mandarin. Makes it much easier to go out. Gail is 26, from France, very nice and sweet. We went for dinner at a dumpling place (18RMB each=$2.75) then to some bar called "Windows." Pretty standard fare: loud, popular music (Lil Jon, Will Smith, things I didn't recognize) and the dice game from Pirates of the Caribbean (apparently) movie. All the Western bars here have the dice game.. it wasn't crowded because it was Tuesday but there was a 30 kuai open bar (=$4.50) all night. So, we played the dice game and the loser had to answer a question truthfully... which quickly degenerated into dropped jaws when my turns came around. Mike goes, "She is, like, the coolest person EVER." Ah.. I don't know about that.
Yeah, right. Signs limiting the age of purchase of alcohol/cigs to minors are starting to crop up but no one ever checks or pays attention. My 13 year old cousin would be able to come to the bars here easily.
We left at 1, took a taxi home with 4 of us squished into the back for about 5 miles (40RMB=$6.50). I sat on the porch awhile when we got home and everyone else went to bed.
I almost hurled on the metro this morning.
Look at this picture I took last week of a girl eating corn:
I think corn is like candy here but not very popular. All the corn cobs at the grocery store look seriously anemic-- nothing like the hearty sweet corn of the great Midwest! There's also some kind of frozen corn on the cob treat that's stuffed in with all the ice cream cases that I haven't been brave or interested enough to try yet.
I lost my wedding ring! Shit!! It's for when I go to India and Ghana, to fend off marriage proposals. I think I will just tell them my fictitious husband and I are Buddhist and don't want to support the diamond slave trade.
Yeah, right. Signs limiting the age of purchase of alcohol/cigs to minors are starting to crop up but no one ever checks or pays attention. My 13 year old cousin would be able to come to the bars here easily.
We left at 1, took a taxi home with 4 of us squished into the back for about 5 miles (40RMB=$6.50). I sat on the porch awhile when we got home and everyone else went to bed.
I almost hurled on the metro this morning.
Look at this picture I took last week of a girl eating corn:
I think corn is like candy here but not very popular. All the corn cobs at the grocery store look seriously anemic-- nothing like the hearty sweet corn of the great Midwest! There's also some kind of frozen corn on the cob treat that's stuffed in with all the ice cream cases that I haven't been brave or interested enough to try yet.
I lost my wedding ring! Shit!! It's for when I go to India and Ghana, to fend off marriage proposals. I think I will just tell them my fictitious husband and I are Buddhist and don't want to support the diamond slave trade.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Random
There is a roller rink in Shanghai, somewhere. Unfortunately, from what I can tell, all they host are disco nights called "Shanghai Roller Revival". DAMN. I can stomach Blondie, which is on their list, but not Donna Summer.
I may have mentioned this before, but about 0.00001% of Shanghai's huge two/three-wheeled vehicle (bicycles, carts, motorbikes, scooters, motorcycles) population wears a helmet. Those I've seen that do are usually men in their 60s wearing black women's equestrian helmets. Speaking of the older generation, there's a certain class of women who dress and wear their hair like it's 1954 middle America. They are generally very gruff and unsmiling but sure as hell know their way around the AquaNet.
I've officially been censored and it's the very first article I wrote here. Awesome... not really. The August magazine was submitted to the "publishing bureau" for approval over the weekend. My book review and author interview for Madame Chiang Kai-shek did not get through. My guess is because it mentioned Taiwan (a province/territory of mainland China according to China, they REALLY do not like it when other countries acknowledge Taiwan as a separate state) and pre-WWII ruling government Nationalists (defeated in post-WWII civil war by Mao/Communists). World War II politics are certainly alive and well in modern day China.
Gratuitous photo of the day... I don't know if you can see, but this guy is holding a bell in his right hand. All of the junk bikecarts like this ride around very slowly dinging their handbell INCESSANTLY. They get off occasionally to dig through piles of trash.. they collect cardboard and bottles and other little random things. I'm really unclear as to what they're doing because they ring it even when no one is in the vicinity.. such as the deserted street behind our flat. I took it on the way to the metro this morning. This is the point of the walk where I think, "thank god, it's almost time to descend into the air conditioning."
No smoking at work=sad cigarette (except in the hot stairways and in your office with the door shut):
Hey kids.. ride the TELETUBBY FROM HELLLLLL
I may have mentioned this before, but about 0.00001% of Shanghai's huge two/three-wheeled vehicle (bicycles, carts, motorbikes, scooters, motorcycles) population wears a helmet. Those I've seen that do are usually men in their 60s wearing black women's equestrian helmets. Speaking of the older generation, there's a certain class of women who dress and wear their hair like it's 1954 middle America. They are generally very gruff and unsmiling but sure as hell know their way around the AquaNet.
I've officially been censored and it's the very first article I wrote here. Awesome... not really. The August magazine was submitted to the "publishing bureau" for approval over the weekend. My book review and author interview for Madame Chiang Kai-shek did not get through. My guess is because it mentioned Taiwan (a province/territory of mainland China according to China, they REALLY do not like it when other countries acknowledge Taiwan as a separate state) and pre-WWII ruling government Nationalists (defeated in post-WWII civil war by Mao/Communists). World War II politics are certainly alive and well in modern day China.
Gratuitous photo of the day... I don't know if you can see, but this guy is holding a bell in his right hand. All of the junk bikecarts like this ride around very slowly dinging their handbell INCESSANTLY. They get off occasionally to dig through piles of trash.. they collect cardboard and bottles and other little random things. I'm really unclear as to what they're doing because they ring it even when no one is in the vicinity.. such as the deserted street behind our flat. I took it on the way to the metro this morning. This is the point of the walk where I think, "thank god, it's almost time to descend into the air conditioning."
No smoking at work=sad cigarette (except in the hot stairways and in your office with the door shut):
Hey kids.. ride the TELETUBBY FROM HELLLLLL
Monday, July 23, 2007
Partying with money
More eventful than last weekend's sickfest, anyway. On Friday, I attempted to go to that Guangzhou folk performance at "Live Bar" but when I got there, it was a tiny room with a bar. One woman was talking alone on her cell phone in the dark. She looked very surprised to see me and I didn't have the Chinese skills to even say, "Music?" nor did she have any English so we just kind of looked at each other and said, "oh oh sorry sorry." Then I went home. Sucks as I was looking forward to that show for the last 3 weeks! The good thing of the evening was that the bar was in a somewhat far off neighborhood and I could hear the difference in the dialect of the people on the street-- they were speaking Shanghaiese as opposed to straight Mandarin. It's much faster and more mumbly, everything runs together.
Marilyn Manson graffiti on the way there?
On Saturday, I met Maggie at 5 and we went to dinner with one of her Chinese-only speaking friends at a Hong Kong chain near People's Square. After dinner, we walked around window shopping and sat outside the Coffee Bean for awhile then went into a mall for shopping-shopping. Generally, I despise shopping, especially at a mall (walking!) but this was ok because it was new and different. The shopping malls of America all have the same stores so if you've seen one, you've seen them all but the stores here are new to me so it was more interesting. I didn't buy anything but Maggie got a top for "jam" as she says-- meaning gym. Very confusing for me at the beginning! "Jam? What jam? Is that a club?" "Yes, a club." Then we walked some more and sat inside KFC to cool off where it was revealed to me that the other great mystery about me is my hair. Every Chinese person I meet who can speak English thinks I have Asian in me somewhere because of my hair! Ha... cool.
After the mall we went to an event for work, a party at the Royal Meridien hotel near all the flashing, shiny lights of Nanjing Lu. The party was certainly interesting and we were mightily underdressed and overly sweaty by then. Story of my life. It was on the 65th floor, so the view was beautiful. It was an event for the young and fabulous, total jetsetting crowd. When we got there, the promoter, whose English was a little iffy, said, "The theme tonight is James Bond. The party is for men; we offer them free drinks, cigars and women." What? Free women? Because of the "James Bond" theme, there were leggy French chicks playing "Bond Girls" in tight black dresses all over the place. Maggie said, "It's all foreigners!" and it was... the only Chinese were the magazine/promotions people!
We met two guys from the UK, one who trades securities in the Chinese market and a headhunter who looked like a young Michael J. Fox with nice eyes. He was 33 and went to Cambridge U., lived in Hong Kong for 6 years and Shanghai for 5. I was a bit taken aback by his profession and thought he might be lying just to have fun but upon detailed questioning (How do you get recruited for something like that? was one), he didn't hesitate at all with his in-depth answers so I think he really was a murderer. Or at least, a former murderer. He sold his company in January so perhaps not anymore. On the way out, there were some Middle Eastern men coming in and they STARED at me for a good long time, it was very creepy. Even Maggie said, "Why are they looking at you so much?" I took a taxi home and didn't get cheated on the fare-- lucky! 30RMB.
Oh, so fabulous
James Bond + girls
Maggie and me at the party
Shanghai from above
On Sunday, I went to Shiji Park but didn't go inside because it was 10RMB entrance fee! Lame. I came home and sat on the porch for 5 hours, from 6 to 11. Didn't realize it was so long but oh well. Though I think Michelle was wondering what the hell I was doing out there. She was in the room fiendishly reading Harry Potter. It was storming by 8 so my clothes were blowing crazily in the wind.
Shiji Park
Storm rolling in at 6:50pm
Last week, there was heat lightning.
______________________
Now, some other odds and ends that I've been meaning to mention...
There are fewer beggars here than NYC, Detroit or Ann Arbor. While the homeless in the States tend to be people with either mental problems or severe substance abusers (crackheads of Detroit), there are pretty much only 4 types of beggars here: children, the disabled, the elderly and blind musicians. It makes it much harder to ignore them, as there's no mental exercise to make you feel like they put themselves into that position. Last week on the subway, a very dirty/smelly boy of about 12 walked on his knees from person to person then bowed down in front of them at least 5 times before moving on to the next. I also saw a kid with a severely burned head begging. It's far more personal as they go directly from person to person. The elderly beggars tend to stay on the steps of the subway entrances and shake the change cups to attract your attention while the musicians either stay in one spot all day or are led around by a woman to the doors of shops where they might get some money. Enlightening article on child beggars in China.
Speaking of the subway, at the newer stations there are two tiers of doors that must be opened/shut before the cars move. There are the doors on the subway cars themselves, and doors on the platform. The platform doors are supposedly to prevent suicide/homicide, which I am in huge favor of as my newest revived fear is being pushed into the tracks. However, last week the news filtered down that a man got caught between the two doors, the clearance official didn't notice and he was dragged to his death underneath the car as it began to move. Now I'm a bit torn as to the existence of the double doors. At any rate, duly noted: don't smash onto the train! It's not worth it!!
Call me on the phone and talk to tomorrow (12 hours later here). Dial: 00 86 21 5089 4056. Buy a phone card. Please!
Marilyn Manson graffiti on the way there?
On Saturday, I met Maggie at 5 and we went to dinner with one of her Chinese-only speaking friends at a Hong Kong chain near People's Square. After dinner, we walked around window shopping and sat outside the Coffee Bean for awhile then went into a mall for shopping-shopping. Generally, I despise shopping, especially at a mall (walking!) but this was ok because it was new and different. The shopping malls of America all have the same stores so if you've seen one, you've seen them all but the stores here are new to me so it was more interesting. I didn't buy anything but Maggie got a top for "jam" as she says-- meaning gym. Very confusing for me at the beginning! "Jam? What jam? Is that a club?" "Yes, a club." Then we walked some more and sat inside KFC to cool off where it was revealed to me that the other great mystery about me is my hair. Every Chinese person I meet who can speak English thinks I have Asian in me somewhere because of my hair! Ha... cool.
After the mall we went to an event for work, a party at the Royal Meridien hotel near all the flashing, shiny lights of Nanjing Lu. The party was certainly interesting and we were mightily underdressed and overly sweaty by then. Story of my life. It was on the 65th floor, so the view was beautiful. It was an event for the young and fabulous, total jetsetting crowd. When we got there, the promoter, whose English was a little iffy, said, "The theme tonight is James Bond. The party is for men; we offer them free drinks, cigars and women." What? Free women? Because of the "James Bond" theme, there were leggy French chicks playing "Bond Girls" in tight black dresses all over the place. Maggie said, "It's all foreigners!" and it was... the only Chinese were the magazine/promotions people!
We met two guys from the UK, one who trades securities in the Chinese market and a headhunter who looked like a young Michael J. Fox with nice eyes. He was 33 and went to Cambridge U., lived in Hong Kong for 6 years and Shanghai for 5. I was a bit taken aback by his profession and thought he might be lying just to have fun but upon detailed questioning (How do you get recruited for something like that? was one), he didn't hesitate at all with his in-depth answers so I think he really was a murderer. Or at least, a former murderer. He sold his company in January so perhaps not anymore. On the way out, there were some Middle Eastern men coming in and they STARED at me for a good long time, it was very creepy. Even Maggie said, "Why are they looking at you so much?" I took a taxi home and didn't get cheated on the fare-- lucky! 30RMB.
Oh, so fabulous
James Bond + girls
Maggie and me at the party
Shanghai from above
On Sunday, I went to Shiji Park but didn't go inside because it was 10RMB entrance fee! Lame. I came home and sat on the porch for 5 hours, from 6 to 11. Didn't realize it was so long but oh well. Though I think Michelle was wondering what the hell I was doing out there. She was in the room fiendishly reading Harry Potter. It was storming by 8 so my clothes were blowing crazily in the wind.
Shiji Park
Storm rolling in at 6:50pm
Last week, there was heat lightning.
______________________
Now, some other odds and ends that I've been meaning to mention...
There are fewer beggars here than NYC, Detroit or Ann Arbor. While the homeless in the States tend to be people with either mental problems or severe substance abusers (crackheads of Detroit), there are pretty much only 4 types of beggars here: children, the disabled, the elderly and blind musicians. It makes it much harder to ignore them, as there's no mental exercise to make you feel like they put themselves into that position. Last week on the subway, a very dirty/smelly boy of about 12 walked on his knees from person to person then bowed down in front of them at least 5 times before moving on to the next. I also saw a kid with a severely burned head begging. It's far more personal as they go directly from person to person. The elderly beggars tend to stay on the steps of the subway entrances and shake the change cups to attract your attention while the musicians either stay in one spot all day or are led around by a woman to the doors of shops where they might get some money. Enlightening article on child beggars in China.
Speaking of the subway, at the newer stations there are two tiers of doors that must be opened/shut before the cars move. There are the doors on the subway cars themselves, and doors on the platform. The platform doors are supposedly to prevent suicide/homicide, which I am in huge favor of as my newest revived fear is being pushed into the tracks. However, last week the news filtered down that a man got caught between the two doors, the clearance official didn't notice and he was dragged to his death underneath the car as it began to move. Now I'm a bit torn as to the existence of the double doors. At any rate, duly noted: don't smash onto the train! It's not worth it!!
Call me on the phone and talk to tomorrow (12 hours later here). Dial: 00 86 21 5089 4056. Buy a phone card. Please!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Love and Communication
Last night, I went to the French Concession for an art gallery opening. They had mostly oil paintings and it was pretty small but the real reason I am glad I went is because while I walked 20 minutes in the wrong direction, "Love and Communication" by Cat Power came into my head so I decided to listen to it on the ipod. Previously, I had only heard the acoustic version and thought that was the only one there is, but apparently it is on "The Greatest" which is the version I happened upon on the ipod. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not but then I listened another eight times and now I am obsessed with it. In the background, there are murderous violins and it fit exceedingly well into the streets of the French Concession area of Shanghai. I felt like I had stepped back into 1890 and that Jack the Ripper was around the corner. This feeling of death in a humid environment was compounded when I happened upon this statue in a small park on the way back to the subway:
I don't know who this is but I stood and stared at it for at least 10 minutes. I love it. I have never felt so strongly about a statue in my entire life. It is extremely inspiring and creepy. This is the best statue of my life, by far. I am 95% positive I will never come upon another statue that I feel even remotely as strongly about. The French Concession is marked by a neverending canopy of trees I've never seen before and a gigantic mansion. The mansion is the first house I've seen in Shanghai. The French Concession is my new favorite area of town and it seems haunted. Or, at least it does when you are listening to a lonely murderous ballad and can't speak to anyone around you.
I don't know who this is but I stood and stared at it for at least 10 minutes. I love it. I have never felt so strongly about a statue in my entire life. It is extremely inspiring and creepy. This is the best statue of my life, by far. I am 95% positive I will never come upon another statue that I feel even remotely as strongly about. The French Concession is marked by a neverending canopy of trees I've never seen before and a gigantic mansion. The mansion is the first house I've seen in Shanghai. The French Concession is my new favorite area of town and it seems haunted. Or, at least it does when you are listening to a lonely murderous ballad and can't speak to anyone around you.
indie film and food
Last night, I went to the first meeting of the Shanghai Independent Film Association. It was on the third floor of a warehouse behind a lane and I am shocked I was able to find it, especially given that the directions were extremely vague: “30m into the lane then turn right. Go left after 10m and up to the 3rd floor.” Oh, of course. By 30m, I think they actually meant 300m because it was at least 200! Being the only white person in an area usually makes it a little bit easier to find where you are going. Even though I don’t speak a lick of Chinese, the locals almost always know where I am trying to go and keep pointing me in the right direction, even for something “underground” like this. It was very hot as there was no AC so I left after an hour and 15 minutes… the DVDs were skipping in the computer because of the heat so that made it even less enjoyable. What we were able to see, though, was pretty cool. The best, I thought, came from a young French guy who transposed a drunk Asian woman in sepia tone talking about worrying about other people onto a carefree little girl in a lane and other images of Shanghai. There was one from a student in Beijing that featured a traditional Chinese family all living together and the mother-in-law shaming the wife into suicide despite her son being the one that was unemployed. It was darkly humorous. The venue was obviously also an independent theater of some sort and had all sorts of props everywhere.
When I got home, a bunch of British people were there and they all went out in search of a KFC. When Michelle and Reagan got back, I had a nice chat with Reagan about the differences in American and Canadian health care and schools. He wanted to talk about the insanity over sports in American high schools. He also said he thinks hockey is more popular with girls in Ontario than guys, who prefer American football.
Today, Maggie and some of the other office workers took me out to lunch at a Chinese place down the street. I know there is great interest from those of you who know me well in what I am eating here. WELL, FYI: I had rice mixed with eggs for 8RMB (=$1.15; much better than the 36RMB the sandwich delivery place costs!), which came with a little saucer of tomato soup with onions and garlic, a dish of something I couldn't identify and iced tea in a juicebox. Generally, anything I can identify as not having meat in it is what I get, regardless of other ingredients. This is not a big deal to me so I hope it is not to you, either.
Anyway, it was fun and I quite like our receptionist. She and Maggie were the only ones who could speak English, the smart IT guy and another woman I don't know also came. Only a little awkward being that they all blathered away in Chinese while I had little idea what was going on, but for the most part it seemed they were making fun of the IT guy... easy enough! Haha.
Everyone here also thinks it is crazy that I'm going on this long trip around the world but with more of a twinge of jealousy, I think... very, very few Chinese are able to travel outside the country due to its high expense. Estimated average daily income is around 40RMB, so it is even less of a possibility for the average Chinese than the average American to do something like this. The other main reaction I get here is, “You don't eat meat? Even chicken? What about beef? AND no fish?! Wow.”
I finally have plans, as tonight I'm going to a gallery opening for work (free cocktails!), a Chinese folk show tomorrow night and out with Maggie to a jazz club on Saturday night. Don't know much about jazz (compared to other genres, anyway), but why not.. certainly better than seeing a DJ.
New busker, Jing'an Temple, guitar. Some guys selling bootlegs thought it was very funny I was bothering to take video of this fella:
When I got home, a bunch of British people were there and they all went out in search of a KFC. When Michelle and Reagan got back, I had a nice chat with Reagan about the differences in American and Canadian health care and schools. He wanted to talk about the insanity over sports in American high schools. He also said he thinks hockey is more popular with girls in Ontario than guys, who prefer American football.
Today, Maggie and some of the other office workers took me out to lunch at a Chinese place down the street. I know there is great interest from those of you who know me well in what I am eating here. WELL, FYI: I had rice mixed with eggs for 8RMB (=$1.15; much better than the 36RMB the sandwich delivery place costs!), which came with a little saucer of tomato soup with onions and garlic, a dish of something I couldn't identify and iced tea in a juicebox. Generally, anything I can identify as not having meat in it is what I get, regardless of other ingredients. This is not a big deal to me so I hope it is not to you, either.
Anyway, it was fun and I quite like our receptionist. She and Maggie were the only ones who could speak English, the smart IT guy and another woman I don't know also came. Only a little awkward being that they all blathered away in Chinese while I had little idea what was going on, but for the most part it seemed they were making fun of the IT guy... easy enough! Haha.
Everyone here also thinks it is crazy that I'm going on this long trip around the world but with more of a twinge of jealousy, I think... very, very few Chinese are able to travel outside the country due to its high expense. Estimated average daily income is around 40RMB, so it is even less of a possibility for the average Chinese than the average American to do something like this. The other main reaction I get here is, “You don't eat meat? Even chicken? What about beef? AND no fish?! Wow.”
I finally have plans, as tonight I'm going to a gallery opening for work (free cocktails!), a Chinese folk show tomorrow night and out with Maggie to a jazz club on Saturday night. Don't know much about jazz (compared to other genres, anyway), but why not.. certainly better than seeing a DJ.
New busker, Jing'an Temple, guitar. Some guys selling bootlegs thought it was very funny I was bothering to take video of this fella:
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Blind busker, fireworks, a star and sun
I ran into another busker yesterday, this one was a blind old man at the metro station I leave work from, Jing 'an Temple.
Around 8:30 last night, some folks behind us started setting off fireworks. I'm not sure why they were doing it but it felt like a late 4th of July for me! There were quite a few for about 30 minutes. I had a nice view from our kitchen. As soon as they stopped, you could hear all the car alarms going off within a 2-block radius and all the barking dogs that got freaked out.
I saw a star last night! I forgot to miss them till I saw it and remembered they are there.
The difference between the heat here and the heat at home is that the temperature spread over the whole day is usually no more than 5-10 degrees, so even at night it's quite warm. Today is probably the hottest it's been since I got here because it's 95 and sunny; this is the first time it's been sunny for more than 15 minutes. Pant.
Trying to cool off in the creek garden outside the Shanghai Police HQ (near my office)
Around 8:30 last night, some folks behind us started setting off fireworks. I'm not sure why they were doing it but it felt like a late 4th of July for me! There were quite a few for about 30 minutes. I had a nice view from our kitchen. As soon as they stopped, you could hear all the car alarms going off within a 2-block radius and all the barking dogs that got freaked out.
I saw a star last night! I forgot to miss them till I saw it and remembered they are there.
The difference between the heat here and the heat at home is that the temperature spread over the whole day is usually no more than 5-10 degrees, so even at night it's quite warm. Today is probably the hottest it's been since I got here because it's 95 and sunny; this is the first time it's been sunny for more than 15 minutes. Pant.
Trying to cool off in the creek garden outside the Shanghai Police HQ (near my office)
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