New desk buddy

This is Ginny. She's sitting under my desk for a bit of the afternoon. Nice to have a new friend.

Gremlin

I mentioned Tilly in a previous post. She's the dog with the ridiculous grimace. We took her out for a bike ride yesterday. This is her smiling. I think.

Chair, anyone?

I've never really considered a chair to be the type of thing you'd buy on a whim. A stool perhaps, or maybe a (very) small table, but not so much a chair. Until I saw the chair man. He tinkles his wooden bell, shouts 'chairs' and people dash out of their houses to purchase one of his wickers. Handy if you've invited people round for dinner last-minute.

When it rains

The macs come out. 

They make the city a much brighter place on a soggy day.

But not always the people. They remain grumpy. Mostly.

Running track

I took some pics today at the running track. But I don't think they get even close to capturing how utterly bizarre this place is. 

First off, 98% of people on the track are walking. And most of them will be walking backwards. Often whilst clapping, or turning round in circles. Apparently it helps with balance and circulation. You can see a couple on the right here:

Then there's the exercise machine area. It looks very much like a children's playground. People seem to pop in and out on a whim. Like this suited gentleman with briefcase.

And then there are the alternative forms of exercise. Like sword-wielding tai chi:

And croquet. They've got a whole gated-off pitch area for the professionals. (In their pyjamas.)

Good morning.

Update from Tesco

Hundreds of feet. Took me back a little.

How I get around

This is my map. It's a photocopy of the back of my Time Out Guide. I made it on my first day here and even though everyone laughs at it, I don't have the heart to make a new one. So it's staying. Rips, anonymous roads and all. 

And it might even come home with me.

T.I.C.

I was cycling home from my massage last night, when I spotted this guy. He was just hanging out with his buddy, having a fag and holding a snake. As you do. 

Someone taught me yesterday that the best explanation for seemingly odd activity such as this is 'T.I.C.'. 

This is China.

An awful racket

There was a huge amount of banging and exploding outside our office window this morning. Everyone ignored it, which made me think it couldn't be gun fire, but when I looked outside the street was filled with smoke.

And then, as the air cleared, a lovely bride appeared!

Apparently they explode strips of bangers and fireworks at the end of wedding ceremonies in China. Much better than throwing rubbish bits of coloured paper, I think.

When the sun comes out

It's a lot hotter than when I arrived. Which is interesting as it means I can watch how the Shanghainese adapt to the weather. The first thing I've noticed is that everything goes alfresco. Like the barber.

The seamstress/(master?)

And the knitter.

I'll keep you posted on any further developments over my remaining 3 weeks.

Hello again

Part of my Chinese daily regime.

Journey to work

I took some pictures on my bike in this morning. This is the woman in front. For some reason Chinese people rarely lift the rest bar when they're cycling. Even when it's scraping all the way down the road. Maybe it's for emergency stops.

This is one of the things I love most about China. You can do things your own way and no one will raise an eyebrow. Like going shopping in your pyjamas.

They were pruning this morning. Which is funny, because when I arrived there were no leaves on the trees.

Onto the pavement. (It's ok to do that here.) I've learnt that you follow the highway code according to size - the bigger you are, the greater priority you have. I'm superior to all pedestrians, but inferior to electric bicycles. (Unless the driver's really old.)

And here I am at work.

Good morning.

One year on

Today is the one year anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake. The coverage out here is pretty much as you'd expect - a service for the victims, acclamations of how brilliantly the rebuilding of the city is going etc. But no mention of any controversies surrounding the school building. It was a slightly different story when I turned on CNN. Apparently Chinese officials are only letting 'approved' press into the area, and are overseeing all interviews. To be honest, I'm not sure who's the more credible source - Chinese media or CNN. Either way, it's a very sad and poignant day here.

I don't think they had a national minute silence - maybe it's a Western thing. But instead people have quietly lit candles at their desks. 

Tipping point

It's very possible that I've reached that moment, when all the seemingly illogical yet 'charming' things about China, are losing their charm. Fast. For example, this was our waiter yesterday. He was standing by our table, picking out the scum from behind his nails and then clipping them onto the restaurant floor. After 5 mins, he wandered into the kitchen to finish them off. 

Nice.

Heaven?

I'm in Korea for a couple of days for research groups. I don't think I'm going to have much time to look around. But I don't really mind because my hotel room is so delightful. Firstly, it's enormous, and secondly it's got lots of little buttons that I can't stop playing with. Like these next to my bed.

And these next to my toilet. They decide how warm my seat should be and what level of water shoot I fancy.

And, to top it off, I just turned on the TV and Devil Wears Prada is on. Perfection.

Really?

I don't think much needs to be said here. I spotted him yesterday looking thoroughly humiliated. And in case you can't see, his tail is purple. 

Everyday stuff

I received a special request from Paul to show where I store my bike. Not sure why. But here you are. This is my bike in front of the kitchen surface. I have to take it up 25 floors in the elevator, which can sometimes be a bit of a squeeze.

The thing over the handle bars is a scarf - it used to be my pashmina but i had a bit of a washing accident yesterday. So now it's a tea towel.

Bathing

My apartment complex has a swimming pool, which I try to go to some mornings. But it's not very nice. So when I noticed the sign today, it made me smile. 

Dogs in bows

No boots this time, just bows. Red ones with gold trim. This is Carol.

...and Priscilla

There was actually a third, but he was a little humiliated about the the hair accessory, so I agreed not to take a photo. 

Dental Missionary

On Saturday I volunteered to help teach Chinese children about dental hygiene. Seeing as I don't speak mandarin, most of my input involved colouring in, but it was still fun. This was my class. They were all very well disciplined. (As you'd probably expect out here.)

And this is a play some other volunteers put on for the school. 

 

It mostly involved holding up giant food types and getting the kids to shout if they were good or bad for teeth. Simple, yet effective. (Dove is Chinese Galaxy.)

At the end of the day we all sang a song to the tune of 'row, row, row your boat', but rewritten as 'brush, brush, brush your teeth' (in mandarin). That was the best bit.

Me, my bicycle and Ian

As promised, here's a picture of me and my new bicycle with a basket. Ian popped himself on the back for the photo. Don't worry Mum, I don't cycle like that on the road.

Office talk

I've been accused of being too food-focused. (It's probably because I spend most of my time out here eating.) So here's a little about what I get up to in the day time.

This is our W+K office in Shanghai from the inside. 

The windows are covered in white vinyls that tell a story, which looks rather lovely from the outside. 

Here's one of the office dogs. There's another one's called Tilly who has a permanent grimace, so she didn't make the cut. Neither of them wear shoes.

And here's why we shouldn't have dogs in the office.

Our toilet cubicles here are quite special. They're painted with a blackboard substance, with chalk provided inside. Here are some words of wisdom I picked up this morning.

Every morning there's a free Chinese breakfast spread. Still not sure what everything is, but I'm working on a trial and error basis. And here's an agency meeting/breakfast double whammy. (Tilly sneaked into the front.)

This is the 'green'. It's a large, hilly, carpeted meeting area with a giant stuffed dragon that people recline on. Here we are, learning about the future of digital.

That's it for today. Perhaps tomorrow I'll tell you about my local running track and the crazy old people who wander round it backwards for a healthy spirit.

Another day, another Chinese breakfast

Pork bun, you tiao (translated as 'oil stick'), 2 x orange slices, one apple and a cappuccino.

Going local

I popped back to Tesco yesterday for some shampoo and came back with a snake. 

Here's the toad tank - was nice to see some familiar labeling.

Tortoises.

And then I noticed a fish flapping about on the floor of aisle 3. It had jumped clean out of its tank. I alerted the snail-monger and she popped it back. Apparently it happens all the time.