hello big, wide world from the disgusting, polluted town of shanghai...normally i love this town...but yesterday and today have been nothing short of GROSS!!! why you ask....well, the pollution levels yesterday broke all records...we were actually above the index of what had been measured previously here in shanghai...by a lot....we went over the pollution index of 500 particles per million....to give you an idea of just how bad that it...generally, in the US or europe, the readings never go above 50....and those are considered high....we were above 500 yesterday....simply disgusting.......this is such a bummer and i am so happy i am outta here for the holiday in just two short weeks....because really, it's nasty out there....
i have a different announcement with this update though...i am actually leaving shanghai at the end of this year...which many of you already know...and i officially signed a contract with a new school...in AFRICA last weekend....i am headed to the lincoln school in accra, ghana....i will be teaching 6th & 8th grade science once again...on my 6th continent i might add....woot! woot! i am so happy not to be in johannesburg as i type this, for the job fair...a. because i hate job fairs and b. because mandela died and i can only imagine what things are like in that country this weekend....so sad....but i am here in polluted shanghai, celebrating my very good fortune of getting a job and not having to worry for the next few months....woot!!!! so consider this an invitation to ghana or somewhere in africa that i can fly to....no safaris in ghana, and i will be going somewhere to do that, i promise....yahoo!!!! AFRICA!!!
this update will focus on the things that have been happening and that i have been doing in shanghai...not this horrible pollution that is so bad that i cannot see clearly across the street i live on....i needed to smile about being here and some of these shots make me do just that....also, i wanted to wish folks a happy holidays for however they celebrate...i am headed to israel, jordan and laos over winter break...so excited and the update after the new year, will focus on pictures from that trip....so on with the shanghai show...enjoy :)
i decided it was high time i made it to the graffiti street here in shanghai...moganshan lu....they have been threatening to tear it down for the past two years, so i figured no better time than the present....it is connected to a gallery spot known as M50, that i previously posted pictures about....it is not long street, but there is definitely some amazing street art here....as you can see from the picture above...wreck 'em ralph....
i loved this this shot of old world shanghai street sale + new world shanghai street art....just a nice combination....they are really going to tear down this street soon...which is a bummer, but here in shanghai, progress must continue....they have been ripping things down left and right in the past few months to build things that are bigger, taller and faster....and there seems to be no stopping in sight....
on that same wandering day around town, i met up with my friend sandy at central perk....yep, it is a cafe that has been built in the theme from friends...everything is the same...from the couch they sat on in the show to the coffee bar...its crazy....but when you look out the windows its not nyc you see....its shanghai....in the cafe they play friends continuously with no commercials...it was a hoot....
my good friend and past student jamie is now living in shanghai....so we have been hanging when we have the time....one of the things i was telling her about was the concrete filled trees near where i live and in the french concession....and as we were discussing this, low and behold, there was one on the street....why do they fill them with concrete???? really, i have no idea....the crazy thing is that this process does not kill the tree....they still have green leaves and are standing....its weird....hypothesis anyone????
some of the fashion in shanghai is just mind blowing....people are really into themes and wearing the same outfits for couples and bright neon colors and just plain bizarre things....right now the puffy, ribbed coats are in style.....but this shot is from earlier in the year....this woman has her kid to her right...but get a load of the wings on her shoes and the acid wash...simply amazing!
this shot above is from a restaurant we went to recently and i loved all of the lanterns...it was a thai place and was rather tasty....the lantern festival and chinese new year are just around the corner...so i thought this would put you in the mood....
this year for my birthday and another friend's birthday, we did something a little different....we invited a bunch of folks to come with us to the new cirque le soir....which is a night club/vaudeville act/burlesque show/magic show/freak show.....it was rather interesting....i had a few favorites from this evening, but really the picture that says it all is above...my friend billy with two of the three dwarves who were there...really, it was quite bizarre....but i am glad we had the experience.....
here in shanghai stuff is always for sale....so there are always lots of big costumed things roaming the street....this shark was was wandering around for an all you can eat salad place....why a shark you ask....who knows....ahhhh shanghai....
a few weekends back i told my folks i was going to spend the afternoon at the marriage market here in shanghai...they of course were wondering what i was doing there....i just went for a look see...no worries....but holy cow....what a random experience....above and below you can see shots from our long walk thru the marriage market....in the picture above you can see the marriage match maker on the phone....she is helping the couple seated in front of her and the lady to her right is her assistant....this is a HUGE money making business here in shanghai, as there are many desperate parents trying to marry off their kids....because if you hit 25 and are single here....you are headed for a life of being a spinster or a bachelor forever....which is a fate worse than death here in china....
some of the ads are handmade and on bags as you see above....so the parents are sitting across the walkway watching who is looking at their ads in hopes of finding their son or daughter mr/ms right....its amazing to watch....
some of the ads are professionally made with a match maker included...here you can see the match maker (the guy in black) working his magic...although i think he was a bit frustrated by the people he was helping...mom seems quite anxious and dad not so much....match maker, match maker pick me a match.....
there were thousands, literally thousands of ads to choose from....there was even a whole section for second and third marriages for men and women who have become widows....it was such a trip to visit this....why does it exist you might ask....well, the shanghainese men and women are extremely busy making money and don't have time to do the whole dating scene...what with their insane work hours, commute hours, familial commitments....finding a mate is hard to do....on-line dating exits...but the older generation does not trust it....so instead they try and get their children hitched this way...some of the sons and daughters have no idea their parents are even doing this....some of them are extremely grateful because they just have to go on blind dates their parents set up until they find the person of their dreams...and finally the population of boys is on the rise....soon there will twice as many men than women of the marrying age here in china...its a HUGE fight to find the women of your dreams and shanghainese women are PICKY and particular... you must have a degree, a car, a house, and be making lots of money...they can be picky, as there are not enough of them to go around....
one of the last advertisements i saw was for someone who was born the same year as me, but was a bit taller...i am not sure if it was a guy or a girl...my chinese is not that good...but i was happy to see others like me are here in china fighting the good fight of looking for a mate.....i say...better them, than me....this is definitely not the way i think it would work....so sorry mom and dad....no marriage from the market has been arranged....
from the marriage market we headed to the urban planning museum...one of my favorites of this city and i just had to get there one more time....in the shot above you can see the buildings of the bund and pudong....the skyline shanghai is known for....it is missing the newest building that is being built at the moment and scheduled to open in 2014....it will be only second to the building in dubai for height....and has been progressing at an amazing pace...i am hoping they get it done before i go...because i really want to go into it....
on the third floor of the museum they have a 3-d model of the main part of shanghai....this city is HUGE!!! i took this shot from where my apartment building and school would be located....we are actually just outside the first ring road of the city and are not in the model...but i am standing from the point about where it would be located...crazy the size of this city....
the model does both a daytime view and a night time view....in this view you can see the newest building being built....its the tallest one on the right....the other buildings i have been in and this new one looks like it will dwarf them....this also has my favorite building in it....down front on the right hand side...the marriott of tomorrow...it has a pyramid on it...and a huge sphere in the middle of the pyramid...kind of reminds me of the tower of sauron...only kind of, but i love this building....
this is the "helicopter" shot taken from the fourth floor....again its the bund and the pudong side of the huang pu river, which runs through the middle of this city....the amount of humans here is just astounding....25 million....with 1 million of us being expats....insane in the membrane....
i just couldn't do an update of shanghai without some funny "chin-glish" signs to share....we sometimes go to a vietnamese restaurant for dinner....but i have to be honest....i have never had the "fresh straight diaphragm juice"....would you?????
recently one of our favorite restaurants here changed their menu...the names under many of the dishes are just plain crazy or not understandable....but for the one above, how the heck did they come up with this...."farewell my concubine"???? with a turtle in the bowl....really???? what????? creativity points need to be given i guess.....
this last shot is plain freaky...it freaked out the kids and me....mo-vember was celebrated in our school with some of the male teachers growing beards and mustaches for the entire month to raise money for cancer awareness among men.....they then had a fundraiser where the kids and women could get involved....and so i did....i bought mine during break and then proceeded to wear it all day....i just couldn't take myself seriously and neither could the kids...some of them were really weirded out....can you blame them????
okay...so that's the update....another will be out after i return from my winter holiday vacation....i hope each and every one of you has a great holiday season with family and friends....i hope you enjoyed this update....and remember, this is an invite to ghana for all of you starting next sept....all the best in 2014 and catch you on the flip side :)
peace out and have a fab day :)
dani
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