China is exhausting!

I've been meaning to start this blog since before I left so I figure it's about time I actually create it and make my first post. WARNING - it's a long one since I've tried to include everything that's happened over the past few days.

Packing for an entire year is hard! Especially when you try to bring an entire pharmacy and closet with you. It's hard to fit all this:

Into this:

Especially when a 15 pound Wei Wei wants to come with you! My luggage was definitely overweight even without the fat cat.

Here's a run down of my time in Shanghai so far. My favorite part about Shanghai is how random everything is. In China, anything goes including:

Old men hanging out in the street in their undies
Women wearing socks with strappy high heels or sandals - quite the look! If I had remembered to bring any socks with me I might have been willing to give it a try.
Men carrying sparkly hot pink purses that look like they were borrowed from their girlfriend's/wife's/sister's/mother's closet - I think I'll get my Dad one for Christmas when he visits. He'll love it!!
Dogs wearing neon colored furry shoes
Starring at foreigners - people will run into stuff while they're starring at you so intensely
Chinese people are REALLY good at squatting and will do it just about anywhere
No traffic rules - Pam and I have nearly died crossing the street several times thus far, even with the green walking man telling us it's safe to cross
Cocker Spaniels seem to be the dog of choice for police in the subway stations 
Hannah Montana comes on every day at 6pm just after the Spice Girls TV show - YES!

Some stuff China frowns upon:

Talk of the 3 T's
Social networking online
Pointing - apparently it makes people think of death so it's a bit of a no-no which is a big bummer because I find myself pointing at random stuff 100 times a day. I need to glue my hands in my pockets!

Anyway, back to what I've done so far:

Pam and I arrived in China late Saturday evening after a number of delays in Toronto thanks to a missing push-back crew and some problem with the oxygen masks. It was worth the wait however as we each had an entire row to ourselves! If you're going to take a 14 hour flight after getting up at 3am, I highly recommend an empty plane. I pretty much slept through the entire flight - in fact I don't even remember taking off. I swear they put something in the air in planes!

Upon arrival in Shanghai we met up with another soon-to-be EF employee while we waited around for Apple, our escort to the hotel. On a side note, I have met 3 people named Apple since arriving in Shanghai. Apparently it's quite the popular English name here in China. I'm willing to bet that most of you have never met a Falcon or Cactus but I now have. I can't wait to see what English names my kids pick when I start teaching the beginner classes.

Anyway, we made it safely to the hotel. We have teeny tiny rooms but I must say there are advantages to having the toilet 2 feet away from your bed in the middle of the night.

On Sunday, Pam and I found our way to and around the subway. Venturing out into the subway for the first time was when it really hit me that I was in China - for real. No one speaks English which makes me want to learn Mandarin even more. Anyway, we managed to explore People's Square (one of the central areas of the city) for several hours. I must say that the Chinese are very good at naming things as People's Square does indeed have lots and lots and lots of people. It's a bit like Times Square on Steroids.

Shanghai is all about the malls - I think I've been to more malls in 4 days then I have in the past year which is saying a lot since we all know how much I love to shop. My first purchase in Shanghai was a straightener since mine does not work over here and unfortunately I cannot survive an entire year without one (I sound so high maintenance right about now). Poor Pam - she probably was thinking "what have I gotten myself into?" as I dragged her around from store to store trying to describe to the shop owners (by acting out of course since I know ZERO Mandarin) what I was looking for.

Here are a few photos from People's Square:

 

 

I think I mentioned to a few of you that I was worried about getting my haircut in Shanghai for fear of ending up with a mullet...not to worry I can always get extensions!

 

Sunday night, Pam's friend Brad, who has been here for about 2 months, took us around the neighborhood near our hotel which is what I have been referring to as "real China." No luxury apartment buildings or malls here.

I was feeling brave and even tried some street food including octopus and green beans. I should have taken a picture to prove it! It was actually fairly tasty. Then we went to his neighborhood (Jing'an Temple) to eat at a Japanese restaurant. We went back to this area Tuesday afternoon and found a little park with a cave which I was totally freaked out to go into (because apparently I'm a wimp). Pam used this opportunity to practice her squatting skills (she's a pro!) so that we could blend in with the locals.

 

  

 

Monday we had orientation at the EF main office which is also in People's square. The main office is a little hard to miss:

During orientation we headed out to the bank to open up accounts and to purchase cell phones. I got really excited about a new bank card with a cute little bull on it! Then we had a new employee lunch where they ordered SO much food. I think out of the 30 or so dishes they ordered I tried about 10 of them - pretty good for me! I had pumpkin, spicy pork, noodles, and some other stuff. There are 9 new EF employees so it was nice to meet some of the people I will be working with over the next year.

Tuesday, Pam and I headed out to the Minhang district which is where our schools/offices are located. At first it seemed very busy and chaotic so we originally decided against living there. We went to check out the Old French Concession neighborhood which is a lot quieter, a little less urban and more green. We called a few estate agents in an attempt to find an apartment and wandered around a bit.

By Tuesday night we were so tired we both fell asleep watching Gilmore Girls around 8! We're lame - I know.

Yesterday, we met up with the directors of the schools where we'll be teaching in the Minhang district. On our second visit to this area, we liked it much more. I got to see a few apartments and I think this is where we are going to end up living or at least I hope it is. It has a lot of nice complexes with trees, areas to go running, a yoga/pilates studio nearby and lots of restaurants/shops. Plus it's so inexpensive to live in this area - 3000 RMB/month for a 2 bedroom which is just about $220 a person. I also got to eat with my director at this hole-in-the-wall restaurant that had some yummy spicy noodles. It was pretty much the best thing I've eaten since arriving in Shanghai!

Today was the first real day of work. Pam and I left the hotel early to look around the Minhang area a little more. After getting off the subway, Pam spotted her new boss waiting for the bus we needed to take to our meeting but we weren't feeling very friendly so we avoided him by hiding behind some mini-billboards (real mature, I know) until the next bus came.  It's never too early to start playing hide and seek with the new boss!

After a couple of meetings, my boss and one of the local teachers at the school (who is SUPER nice!) where I'll teach took me to look at some more apartments while Pam had a few meetings at her school. I found a few nice places so hopefully we'll be able to decide on a place tomorrow. After apartment hunting, I stopped by the yoga center which is just a couple blocks from my work. They have pilates classes! YAY! I'm going to start on Monday morning since I don't have to be at work until after lunch.

Whew! That was a lot of rambling. Just a few more things:

I guess this is why most people in Shanghai don't wear flip flops in the city - disgusting. That will teach me to make fun of the weird sock sandal combination anymore!

Who says China has an environmental problem - check out all those bikes and trees! While the city certainly has a pollution problem, I have been impressed with how clean the subway is and how there are quite a few parks and green areas in every neighborhood.

The view from my hotel balcony is one of contrasts. In one direction there are lots of newish high rises and in the other it's all run down - typical urban area I suppose.

 

 

That's it for now - I'll update later once I have some pictures of our new place and my new neighborhood. I'm looking forward to settling into a routine and learning lots of Mandarin. Most of all, I'm really excited to start teaching a few classes!