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I didn’t really realize how long it’s been since we’ve updated… sorry, kids. I guess we’ve just been busy. By ‘busy’ I mean we’ve been doing nothing worth writing about. Lately it’s just been a lot of teaching and going out on weekends. I have managed to finish almost all of my shopping though, which is ridiculous considering the sheer amount of stuff I’ve purchased here. Most of it’s knockoffs of course, but who can really resist a Burberry trench for $50? Not me… Not me.

I feel like right now is a great, yet horrible time for me to write since I’ve been feeling really ethnocentric today. It’s an unavoidable feeling that tends to make you feel like a horrible person, but most, if not all, of the expats I know here feel like this from time to time here. I’ve tried to avoid writing when I’m feeling this way just because I don’t want to taint a post with some bias and make you all think I loathe China to its very core. I don’t. It’s just that sometimes I feel like America blows the socks off of China, that’s all. Yes, we owe them a metric ton of money, yes our economy is tanking; however we know where to throw our trash and how to use doorknobs (see previous posts). Just sayin. I did go out and pick up some San Pelligrino, Kettle chips and Annie’s to curb that feeling. I love import markets.

A couple weekends ago we went out to Qingdao. I found us airfare for just under $100 roundtrip, so we packed up and headed out for the long weekend. We stayed in a hostel that was less than perfect, but I suppose you get what you pay for. The beds were rock hard though, I wish Chinese people would figure out that beds = box spring + mattress, not just box spring.

Qingdao was beautiful and quiet and did absolutely nothing for homesickness. We went down to the pier and it was a bit blustery and cloudy with pine trees and little houses on the hill and reminded me a little too much of Ruston Way. The Bavarian architecture which is prominent throughout old town Qingdao was a nice change from the urban sprawl that is Shanghai. Being in a town with hills again was nice as well. Flat land gets old after a while. We went down to the beach where tons of people were flying kites and strolled along for a bit before going out that night for German food. If there is any food that is the polar opposite of Chinese, it’s German. We also went and toured the Tsingtao brewery which was built in the early 1900’s by homesick Germans. I didn’t know it was possible for Tsingtao to taste good but when you’re at the source that stuff is actually fairly delicious. Especially the stout… though it is substantially pricier. The next day I found myself more or less stuck in bed completely ill with some horrible cold. We went out for a bit but I had to bail on going out for dinner since I had a fever and didn’t want to move. I’d like to thank whoever the jerk was who coughed or sneezed on me and got me sick for upwards of a week. Cover your mouths, China!

We managed to get out that Tuesday before heading out to the airport to get some seafood at this slightly upscale place downtown. When I say upscale I mean the meal cost us around $20, complete with Andrew’s pitcher of beer which was ordered by mistake since the he wanted a bottle (yi ping pi jiu) and she asked if he wanted a pitcher and he said yes without knowing. Well done. Everything was delicious. You just can’t get seafood like that in Shanghai since everything is super polluted, and you do not want to eat any bivalve that’s been hanging out in that water.

Despite me being sick it really was a lovely weekend. I’d like to go back in the summer when it’s warmer but that’s also when it’s overrun with Chinese tourists. Frankly, I’ll take the cold.

The last few weekends I’ve been frequenting the markets with friends. We’ve stopped going to Qipu road, because that is the most crowded one with the worst quality stuff. We’ve started frequenting the Pearl Market below the Science and Technology Museum and the Fengshine market out by People’s Square. I’m trying to get all of my shopping done before the Expo descends upon Shanghai and I can no longer bargain for things because all the stupid foreigners going there are willing to pay obscenely high prices for cheap crap. Seriously people, the fake Louboutins are BAD knockoffs and are not worth 1200 yuan! ($200USD) It is quite possible to get an amazing deal on something. I talked a girl down from 800 for 2 purses to 250 for both. My friend somehow managed to barter down prescription glasses from 300 to 170. This means I got prescription glasses in rad red frames for $25. I’ll be getting some black ones this weekend because hey, why not?

I’ve also found that making friends with shop keepers is key to getting good prices. I now have a glasses girl, a purse girl and a pearl girl, all of whom give me awesome deals on things. I also have a different story with each of them. I like to change up my background so I get more practice with Chinese and it keeps it interesting. Also, if you tell shopkeepers that you’re a student they give you much better prices. They always ask if I’m studying and I always say yes. The glasses girl is the only one who knows we’re teachers because we got the deal before we told her our background stories. So far I’ve been a 22 year old student graduating in June, a teacher at the college, and a 21 year old student who’s been here 2 months and is graduating next year. It keeps me entertained. It also keeps me on my toes because I have to remember who I’m talking to.

That’s all I can think of that’s worth writing about for now. It’ll be less than a month before the next one, promise!

Cheers,
Alyse

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