It's Monday morning, July 26, 2010. I haven't written in several days because there simply has not been enough time, so I will catch up in these early morning hours when I have the peace and quiet to do so. Of course that comment is taken with a grain of salt as Shanghai like any city has the din and clatter of an urban space 24/7. It is both an intoxicating sound for those of us who like the pace of the city as well as a reminder to me about how fortunate I am that I have the beauty and tranquility of my peaceful and quiet home in Monson (remind me that I said that when February comes and I am complaining.).

While I certainly am not doing it justice, I am starting to stumble by in my broken Chinese. Adding to the hello, goodbye, my name is, and numbers, I now have picked up more vocabulary from pronouns, to simple verbs. I am lousy at memorizing and Rebecca is patient but rolls her eyes at my poor attempts to speak.

Wednesday, Rebecca gave me a couple of places to go visit. She needs to get work done, and I feel comfortable enough to maneuver my way around armed with my map and guidebook. I's another steamy day, so I arm myself with a water bottle and head out. The subways are neat, clean, and the routes are really understandable. Signs are in both Chinese and English as are the verbal instructions on the loudspeakers and the visual prompts that flash on the screens on the subway cars. Did I mention that you can also talk on your cell phones on the subways and watch the tvs that are set to a sort of cnn station?! I'm heading off to see two different historical must-sees...a Shikumen house and the location for the first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party. As usual the trip over proves to be as much sightseeing as the specific location itself. I wonder if Rebecca is testing me as she has routed me through the Shanghai Railway Station. It is a mad crush of people, even more than one usually sees on the subway and you'd better know where you are going because it's easy to get caught up in the swell of the crowd and be redirected by the streaming human tide. Again it's like Grand Central Station at rush hour on steroids. All manner of people are there, women in flouncy dresses carrying parasol type umbrellas, men in light cotton pajamas, couples sporting their "lover's" matching t-shirts, women wearing what can only be described as bloomer shorts, men in business attire. One thing is for sure, to escape the heat of the city, the subway provides a perfect venue. There is an entire subterranean metropolis existing below the high rise building and tenement houses. You could travel for days underground subsisting on fast food and or snacks and buying whatever you needed to live. The bathrooms are clean, but the subways are not 24 hour operations. They shut down from late evening until the morning, so for several hours a day one would have to hide out someplace else. Well if my daughter is testing me, I pass, because I find my way into the French Concession area of Shanghai and walk towards the Shikumen house museum that is my destination. The museum is a restored 2 story house decorated with period furniture and acoutrements of the 1920s. There is a sort of mezzanine room between the 2 floors by the stairwell that was often rented out to artists or writers for a small fee. The influential and controversial author, Lu Xun lived in one such abode. Every detail is apparent. One could believe that the inhabitants of this house are just out for a stroll and left the house open. What is striking is that in this area of the old French Concession, which has been largely renovated on the street level to house shops, cafes, museums etc. all with a very chic, hip feel to them, still is a "working" neighborhood. Tucked away behind the shops in the alleys and above are real homes of the inhabitants. It's much like the French Quarter in New Orleans, but the "locals" here live i much more cramped quarters and the back alleyways still sport the outdoor sinks that are the norm in these parts. Yet trying to get a meal or cup of coffee in one of these chic cafes proves to be an expensive proposition. Yet another one of the remarkable contrasts of Shanghai. I skip refreshment, swill on my water bottle and head for my next stop, the site of the first national congress of the Chinese Communist Party. According to the guidebook, "No.76 Xingye Road, next to Shanghai Xintiandi, a fashionable pedestrian area, the two-story Shikumen building was completed in 1920 as the residence of two Communist Party members. On July 23, 1921, thirteen members held their first national congress of the Communist Party of China here, marking the birth of the Party." It was, in my humble opinion, a flag waving, exhibition touting, of course, the ideologies of the party etc., but very interesting and informative for those of us not well schooled in Chinese history. I cannot wait to do some more reading about the history of this vast and diverse country. It will take some time before it all makes sense to me. Our short U.S. history is really a blip compared to China's. After my tour of the museum, I returned to the plaza between the Shikumen Open House Museum and several of the shops to reflect, chill out and cool off and people watch, of course. This is a real touristy area and a woman started talking to me who was originally from Mexico, but now is from Utah of all places and on a tour. When she found out I was from New Orleans, she was thrilled as she is a huge Saints fan. We chatted a bit before I started to head back to the metro to maneuver back to the apartment. If I thought that this morning was busy, I was mistaken, it's even busier later in the afternoon, or maybe it just seems that way as I am tired. Without much hassle I make it back. Rebecca has had a productive day doing research on the computer. I rest for a bit before showering as we are going to meet friends for dinner at a medium priced (by Chinese standards) family restaurant. As there are four of us, we get four dishes plus rice...kung pao chicken, sweet and sour chicken, fried potatoes, and an eggplant dish. The first two dishes are good but nothing spectacular, but the last two are remarkable. The fried potatoes are coated in carmelized sugar and served with a dish of water to dip them in to cool them off an harden the sugar...delish...and the eggplant is fried in a light tempura style batter and served with julienned strips of chicken in a light sweet sauce. The dishes are plentiful and as there is no tipping ( it is evidently considered improper to tip) our meal costs us around 20 quai about $3.50. I hit the pillow early, but Rebecca goes to a friend's apartment to watch a video. Thursday arrives and Rebecca plans more sight seeing for us. We are off to Lu Xun (loo shun) a/k/a Hongkou (hong ko) park this morning. As a special treat Rebecca gets us a ride in one of the little tuktuks to get there. They are the sort of three wheeled motorized rickshaw vehicles that taxi people for short distances. They are cheaper than taxis, but bargaining is the norm and Rebecca argues with one driver before turning away and finding another to get us to our destination for 10 yuan a/k/a quai about $1.40. There's a reason they are cheap...the ride is crazy and let's just say that I saw my life flashing before my eyes on more than one occasion. About 2 blocks from where we were picked up the driver pulled over and talks to another driver, they switch vehicles, tag team style and then he commences to careen us down busy streets and back alleys to the park. Seriously it feels like roller derby. Anyway upon arrival at our destination, Rebecca gets out money to pay and he wants to charge us more for the ride, the classic take advantage of the lao wai, but Rebecca was having none of it. She stood her ground and told him that the deal had been made for a certain price and he responded with the fact that the other driver didn't know how far it was. Rebecca countered with, I'm not bleeping stupid...do I look like I'm Japanese? (Which in China is a HUGE insult as they have not forgiven the Japanese for the atrocities that were done to them starting in the early 1900's.) I'm a Meiguoren (American), I'm not stupid. Long story short, they dickered and she gave him about 35 more cents and then walked away. As inauspicious as the ride over was, ( of course it's all part of the flavor and intrigue of this experience) our entry into the park , which is free, is lovely. We happen across some groups of ballroom dancers practicing accompanied by boombox. We observe and I sway to the music. One of the Chinese men pulls me over the the dancing area and I dance several waltzes with him as two women nearby offer instruction and encouragement to me. Rebecca takes a photo for posterity and after a bit we thank them and move on. There is a lot going on in the park and it is shady and pleasant as the temperature is climbing again. I am armed with my fan and water, so I am prepared. We stroll around stopping from time to time to observe someone doing tai chi, and people singing somewhat karaoke style but not pop tunes, either Bejiing or Peking opera accompanied by musicians playing the accordion and the erhu ( a stringed instrument about the length of a large violin but played more like one was holding a bass). It looks kind of like a large soup ladle. We stop to sit in a stone gazebo and listen to a trio, two singers and an accordionist. They are good and we are sitting opposite 3 older ladies with great faces who seem as pleased to see us as we are to see them. They are kind enough to allow us to take their photos too. We spend a bit more time there before continuing our exploration of the park and happen on a fellow who is hand lettering painting fans for sale. I select one that I like for a souvenir and he paints my Chinese name and Lu Xun park on it. It's really beautiful with peonies a traditional Chinese flower on the front. The artist knows a little English and we chat as he calligraphies the characters. Later we come across some badminton courts at one end of the park and stop to watch some serious contests. Wherever we stop, we are a curiosity and if anyone knows English they attempt conversation. I understand more and more what Rebecca meant when she said that in Shanghai, she is a treated like a star. While she finds it tedious now, I am amused. Next stop is the museum in the park devoted to it's namesake Lu Xun. It gives details of Lu Xun's life. He was a prolific left wing writer who planned to become a doctor, but dropped out of his medical studies to focus on trying to fuel the spiritual side of his compatriots. He works were translated into at least 12 languages and he was very influential if sometimes controversial. On our way to grab a bite to eat we see couples strolling, card games, and mahjong being played. We decide to eat at the lunchroom in the park which is not fancy, but caters to locals and order tea as well. Our lunch comes on a metal school cafeteria tray: it consists of rice, a small beef chops in a thin brown auce, cucumbers in a broth, sauteed squash with chicken and cooked potatoes in broth. Our tea is served in glasses with loose tea leaves floating in the boiling hot water. It is accompanied by a well worn thermos of steaming water as well. Rebecca explains the tea drinking scenario to me. First of all there are all sorts of teas...leaf teas and flower teas. The best teas are from the first harvest as the new tender leaves are the best; they are referred to as daughter teas. The next harvest is good, but not as special and they are referred to as the mother teas. Finally the last harvests are called grandmother teas. Those are the ones that are more bitter and the ones that we get most often to drink in the US. When drinking tea, you are supposed to pour hot water over the leaves once "washing" the leaves then dumping that water out and pouring fresh hot water over the leaves thus rendering a drink that is less bitter. By the third round of hot water, the tea flavor is optimized. It is served plain without sugar or cream which were added by the English to mask bitter tea. After lunch, we linger over our tea. Rebecca reads and sketches and I people watch and read as well. There are a group of 4 men in the lunchroom playing cards and puffing furiously on cheap Chinese cigarettes. A man at another table snoozes, taking his afternoon siesta brought on by the heat of the day and a full belly. Other patrons read or chat and watch us as we look at them. A group of summer camp children march by perhaps on their way to the amusement park section or to get snacks at the kiosk next to the lunchroom.When we have rested thoroughly we head home and grab vegetables at the market so that we can make spaghetti sauce for dinner. You cannot find fresh basil anywhere, but we have dried and that will have to suffice for now. It proves to be okay and and we share dinner with one of our roommates. Now if only we had a good glass of John's homemade red wine and a hunk of romano cheese... Earlier in the day we get a call from Arty Burack. I found out that he has been in China, but because we have been having internet problems, couldn't get in touch. He plans to come to Shanghai for an overnight and we make plans to meet on Saturday.

Friday morning we spend taking care of laundry and puttering around the house. We plan to get a bit to eat close to the apartment and find a little dive restaurant and order noodle soup with what Rebecca thinks is chicken and fried rice. The soup is good, but the bones in it look like a smaller bird complete with head and feet...kind of weird to our Western eyes. As we eat we watch the quick fingers of one of the assistants as she stuffs and closes the seams of the dumplings that she is making in deft precise patterns. We eat our fill and stop in the convenience store on the way back to get water and kiwi juice for later. For dessert we stop at a Happy Lemon franchise to get my favorite frozen smoothie drink, mango flavored. It's cool and refreshing as well as delicious. Around lunchtime we get a call from the young woman that I am supposed to be giving lessons to nest week. She is going to be delayed, so i won't teach her until the week after. Rebecca is disappointed, but that's life...we will think of something else. The afternoon is spent readying for the weekend and relaxing. Will write more later...I'm off to go salsa dancing with Rebecca...