Sweltering

I have literally never sweat so much anywhere.

Shanghai in August: 101 degrees, humid to the point of death, always.

Glory Be!

I have seen a Dunkin Donuts in downtown Shanghai.

Shanghai

I've finally arrived in Shanghai, and gotten a bit settled in. It took me forever to find a proxy server that wasn't blocked by The Great Firewall - which seems to have gotten a bit more extreme since I was last here.

I landed in Pudong on Sunday night and was thwarted by Paidui Day THREE TIMES within the first half hour - at customs, at the luggage carousel, and attempting to catch my bus. China rage begins early on.

My apartment is AWESOME. Way bigger than my digs in DC. I feel pretty guilty when my language partner comes over though, I've been to her dorm and it is much more typical China. I'll most likely be getting a roommate, a foreign student not in the program I work for, but I don't know when they'll arrive. In any case, that should be fine as the apartment is two bed, two bath, a "full" kitchen and a generous living area.

I've spent the last few days getting used to my new neighborhood, which is pretty busy for a residential area, but I guess this is China. I just have to get reacclimatized to the people everywhere business. I'm finding that I'm not homesick for home, but rather for Beijing. Beijing is a China I know. Here I feel like a first time visitor to the country, and I'm having trouble even working up the nerve to go to the newspaper stand to buy a phone card. But, I've only been here three days, so I'll just have to shape up and stop missing Bei Wai. I hate being a laowai.

Got a bike today, crucial first step in life. It is purple and glorious, and feels like China. Also biked in a downpour today. Shanghai has the most fantastic thunderstorms. Every day. Torrential. It's mind blowing. Note: do not bike in white skirts in downpours.

I've been keeping pretty busy being jetlagged, prepping for my students to arrive, doing random training, and relying on my language partner to show me around. Sun Zheng, I would probably have been run over by a bus and/or be starving in a corner without you.

I'll write a much more interesting/descriptive post later when I've conquered jetlag and exhaustion inducing humidity and have taken some photos.

Look Casey!

I posted in June.

London I

This morning I went to the Southwick cathedral and wandered a bit. Walked by the Clink and the Globe but didn't go in 'cause I'm too cheap. I spent most of the morning at the Tate Modern, which is pretty incredible. As much as I like abstract impressionism for an aesthetic appeal, I think I'll always prefer classical enlightenment/renaissance for intellectual appeal. The Tate is nice, though, in that the captions for each work explain the symbolism and what it's trying to accomplish. Really helpful for people like me.

Met Emma for her lunch break and took a walk along the Thames. It seems all of London is under construction. So many cranes! We walked from London Bridge to the Eye. Danced with street performers and played games in the book market.

..London to be continued

Køpenhaven IV & Stanstead & Suzy B

Wednesday morning Arden and I went to the Carlsberg factory. They have the world's largest bottle collection, and they were not kidding - it was pretty crazy. There was a self-guided tour through the history of brewing etc. At the end there was this neat smell test where you smelled samples of beer flavoring ingredients and market your favorites. Then a sheet told you which Carlsberg beers you ought to like. My favorite scent was the prunes, which is apparently only used in the Christmas beer. I could go the rest of my life never smelling the corn or licorice ones again. So, for one of our free drinks, Arden and I split the last bottle of the Semper Ardens Christmas beer. It was easily the best beer I've ever had - complex with a citrus aftertaste. For my second, I got a Tuborg originally produced for Children. It was really sweet, but I liked it. It was based on caramel flavors and you could tell - it tasted like candy. Girliest beer ever - I was clearly judged by the bartender - but I'm ok with that.


Then I rushed back to the hostel and got my stuff, made a quick iconic stop at a hot dog stand (bun with the fixings, actually a normal, numbered order - my kind of hot dog cart), and then hauled to the train station. Just made my flight, off to London.

Stanstead is about a 45 minute train ride from teh city surrounded by idyllic farms. Super cute. Small airport - I had to walk on the tarmac. I was a bit panicky because there are legit no payphones in the Stanstead airport, but I hedged my bets and hoped Tony and Emma would think to find me at Liverpool.

Eventually found Emma at the train and went to her family's house in West Wickham. A bit far from the city - 20 to 30 minute train ride - but beggars can't be choosers, and I love them. Oh, Suzy B!

Køpenhaven III: Danishes are delicious, better in the sunlight.

Lots of stuff today! Slept in till 8:30, which was nice. Did some internet and then left in search of weinerbrød, ie danishes, for breakfast ('cause clearly - about time!). Took me a while, but I found a place. Usually I don't like danishes, but it turns out I don't like American danishes. This one wasn't sticky, it was flakey and buttery and delicious. Like a creme filled version of those croissants I love from the farmer's market.

I caught the first canal tour boat at 10:15. It may be hokey, but it really is an excellent way to see the city. The weather today was finally sunny and gorgeous, so I'm sure that helped. It really was lovely out. I saw Nyhavn, the opera house, the sea barricade, the mermaid, Kastellet, Amalienborg, Christianshavn, the black diamond, Slotsholmen and H.C. Anderson's house. Not to mention there were pretty good views of some more distant places as well.

Then I waslked over to Amailenborg and the Marmokirken to redo my photos in the sun before lunch at Ida's. This place is apparently famous for having the best Smorebrød in all of Denmark. It was a bit fancy/pricey, but necessary. And delicious. I had boiled eggs with tomatoes and cucumber and hollandaisesque sauce. Danish food - definitely not good for you.

After lunch I walked through Kogens have to retake my photos of Rosenborg and then went to the State Art Museum. The museum was pretty amazing. Some of the paintings were absolutely breathtaking. It's too bad I couldn't stay longer.




I was supposed to meet Arden when she got out of class at 2:45 by the Rundetårn, so I figured I ought to climb it before she came so she wouldn't have to do too many things twice. The tower has a wide ramp all the way to the top, which is a bit odd, but much easier to climb than stairs. It was built as an observatory. The view from the top was fantastic! You could see all of Copenhagen and because it was so clear you could even see the bridge to Sweden! But, it was insanely windy. I'm pretty sure I was physically blown into the iron railing (thank God it was there).

Met up with Arden. We tried to go to the erotica museum, but it was closed indefinitely - sad times. Then we tried the Theater museum, but it closed as we walked up the steps - lingered too long chatting with the crepe stand guy. We went souvenier shopping instead and then sat in a tea house chatting for a few hours. From the tea house we were lucky enough to catch the saddest St. Pat's day parade I have ever seen. So somber!

Note: before I forget, I saw a Danish girl wearing grey tights with blue jean pockets sewn on the back! Best pants as tights attempt, ever.

As it was St. Pats, we went out with Arden's friends to the 3 obscenely crowded Irish pubs in town. It was funish, but mostly awkward, as everyone was in a couple, and while one extra friend that was brought along was a perfectly nice guy, I didn't appreciate the sneaky (unintentional?) setup (sorry Heinrich). Eh, weird.