Spiced Wine, hot water bottles, and the Waldorf Astoria Long Bar

Meet Oliver Knapman. My British colleague, turned workmate, turned friend. This lovely photo of him was taken after a quite a long night of hanging out with friends, listening to live music, and drinking naturally infused ginger and

passion fruit rum, at the Rhumerie Bounty…a.k.a. pirate bar. Intent on adding some “culture” to our weekends, we planned in advance a “culture” day full of museums, art galleries, committed to seeing new bits of Shanghai. However…after a night like the one we had, starting off with brunch was essential. Brunch brought us down to Taikang lu, an area of back alleys, art galleries, restaurants, and shops. Wandering around the alleys after brunch got us a bit lost, but resulted in us happening upon this beach like bar/drink stand. Keeping in mind it was freeeezing, a glass of spiced wine sounded amazing on a lazy Sunday afternoon...and it was. As we took our seats, we were handed hot water bottles to place in our laps to keep us warm while sitting and sipping. What more could you ask for other than people watching, which consisted of watching tons of Asian tourists trying to balance their unnecessarily large cameras with unnecessarily large camera lenses, spiced wine, a bit of sun, and hot water bottles.

Leaving our hot water bottles behind, we found our way to the two museums, which were both closed. Figures. We did manage to go to 18Gallery on the Bund, which was showcasing Miss Van Twinkles solo show, consisting of canvasses of painted naked women, whose chests were all transformed into animals, food, weapons, more than you could imagine but…not my cup of tea. However, it did conveniently place us next to the Waldorf Astoria, which has just opened on the bund. Recreating a gentlemen’s club from the 19^th century, the hotel is gorgeous; art deco large ballrooms, original windows and doors….one of the most beautiful hotel interiors I have ever seen. We sat at the Long Bar, an exact representation of what used to be the longest bar in Asia and ordered ourselves Irish coffees while playing trivial pursuit. The Waldorf Astoria on the Bund to top off our Sunday Culture day….not a bad way to end the day.

Apple for your ride?

Healthy snacks in the subway??

Selection of the days' freshest fruits for your morning commute. Nice alternative to the Dorito and Lays chips that dominate vending machines back home...

brilliant idea

Ms. Li my Ayi

This is my ayi. Ms. Li. More or less, every expat (and thousands of Chinese families) have an ayi, or an aunt…at least in Shanghai. Actually, she was mine until I moved a few months ago and then her sister adopted me, or I adopted her, as my new apartment was too far away. Her sister was out of town the past month we got reunited Evidenced by her huge smile, she was extremely excited when I asked to take her photo.

My ayi is amazing... yes amazing. I think we all know I am not the tidiest person so she helps me in that regard. But, she is also my mom away from home, well a mom that can only communicate her opinion of my behavior to a limited degree, which I am completely fine with. She always make sure I am wearing enough warm clothing for when it’s cold, or that I have an umbrella when it’s raining. She is also one of the people I have known here the longest on the most consistent basis. I use the term “know” a bit loosely as we don’t know a whole lot about each other, due to the language barrier... but we do know each other. In fact, she probably knows more about me and my habits more so than anyone here: What I like to eat, how much wine is, or is not drunk, what days I sleep in… she brings a comforting presence to my cold apartment. Ms. Li, gotta love her.

Shanghai Scene

I don't know what it is with me...I feel like I am wearing a big sign that says "Hey! Have a girlfriend?? Lets get coffee and dinner!"

Dating in Shanghai is unique. Expat women tend to be attracted to expat men. Expat men tend to be attracted to expat women and Asian women. As you can see, the balance is a bit off and tends to fair a bit more positively for men. (I am making huge generalizations here). Not only do expat men have a larger pool to choose from, but the concept of "having a girlfriend" doesn't seem to carry as much weight here as it does back home per say. For example, in the past few months I have been out with a few different people (believe it or not), all who have waited until we are mid way through coffee, dinner, and even post dinner drinks, to tell me they have a girlfriend. Fair enough right...at least they are being honest. But, it doesn't stop there. Uttering those words only appears to clear their conscious and make it easier for them as they all proceed to carry on the date and pretend like everything is Kosher.

Hear me now, loud and clear, when I say I am determined that one of these days I will find myself on a date with someone that in fact does not have a girlfriend. Maybe a year from now, maybe not even in Shanghai, but it will happen. Until then my first question when being approached by anyone will be..."do you have a girlfriend?"

...that won't get me anywhere either....

I'm back and here to stay...

To friends and family,

Well here it is. The beginning of 2011. Where am I? Still in China. I rang in my second New Years in Shanghai with a few friends and drinks, and stayed awake until the sun rose the following day. Haven’t done that for ages but must have been a consequence of the inevitable jet lag…and who am I trying to kid, it was New Years, which is a reason enough. However, waking up at 3pm the next day was not the most productive use of the first day of the New Year, but wandering over to Boxing Cat Brewery with Caroline and stuffing ourselves with pulled pork and reuben sandwiches and washing them down with a few bloody marys was demanding enough. And now, here I am, sitting at Wagas café, and spending the first day alone I have spent in over 3 weeks... feels good. My visit back to the States was filled with family, friends, and tons of good food. It was also filled with lots of realizations; one being that living in Shanghai is like being on permanent vacation. Yes, this can be good, but also makes for a semi-surreal state of being, which was made obvious when I traveled back home. So, as it is the New Year, and I think we all inevitably make some sort of resolution to ourselves whether we would like to admit it or not, I’d like to take this time to make some. Here it goes: Things I would like to accomplish in the New Year.

-Be more present and aware of the lives of my family and friends back home
-Establish Shanghai as my home, not just temporary residence
-Write on a more consistent basis
-Use this time to figure out what fulfills me both in life and work and how I can attain a life that sustains those elements

Wow, a bit deeper than I intended! Anyway, enough with the serious talk. I am headed to Hong Kong on Wednesday for a few days for a visa run…as well as Malaysia at the end of the month for Chinese new years. Recommendations of food/people/places in either of those places are greatlyappreciated!!!
Happy New Year’s and hugs and kisses to all. It’s going to be a good year.
Besos y abrazos