Dear Shanghai, have we met before? You look so familiar.

Greetings to all from Shanghai. This time is just me, Barbara, flying solo (literally) with Bruce staying back home.  I have been here about 3 days, and start teaching a class on dance/movement therapy and trauma today. (the up side of jet lag means that I get up really early and have the luxury of a leisurely morning). 

And it would not be Shanghai without a Bund photo

And of course a Panda.. welcome to China

Returning to Shanghai has been wonderful. Having been here several times already, I have been spending my time wandering neighborhoods and noticing local rhythms and interaction. This time the studio space and hotel is located further from the center of town, in a newer and what appears to be a middle class area.  The areas is filled with tall apartment buildings, on all sides of the streets. Each building complex is surround by a fence with an entrance gate and a laid-back guard and each enclosing a small park or nature area in its center. The buildings are less tall, less ornately topped (more upscale apartments buildings in other areas of the city have roof gardens or architectural design elements that look like ornate crowns) and garbage is more visible.  

At street level, especially on the larger streets are lots of shops- everything from places to buy vegetables (longnans and mangosteens seem to be in season at the moment), real estate offices, dry cleaners, there is even a short street dedicated to all types of pet needs (dog washing, pet foods, pet clothing etc). 
Parents and kids coming home from school


There is also an elementary and high school within a few blocks, that means that in the morning the streets are filled with  younger folks, the little ones- often in uniforms or at least matching neck scarves- being walked to school by parents or (more usually) grandparents, and the older ones striding in synchrony to their classes. One of my students in an earlier class had pointed out that children learn to move to the same rhythm as their class mates from an early age. In my walks and explorations this seems to be true. During recess, the kids in the school courtyards walk, run, skip and jump to the same beat- it makes me wonder if this is yet another reflection of the influence of being a member of a more relational culture. You can tell school is about to let out -which for elementary school means 3:30 pm- because suddenly the streets are filled with adults (younger and older) on bikes, motor bikes and walking toward the school gates. Looking inside I can see the children beginning to line up, and then like an exploding start, groups of children and adults fan out in all directions- the kids eating snacks brought by the adults and running in random patterns, the adults watching them for safety but progressing at a more sedate pace. And then silence (well as silent as is possible in this densely populated city and nation).  


local apartment complexes.. called 'mansions'
Of course, there are multiple places to eat as well- from posh to inexpensive.  As usual, it feels like almost every other storefront is a place to eat and if that weren’t enough the lower levels of all shopping malls have an extensive food court. One larger more upscale mall near me seems to specialize in ONLY Japanese foods, others in various regional Chinese tastes. I actually have not been exploring a lot in my food choices so far. In part that is due to adjusting to the time differences (one place I was going to for breakfast was transitioning to lunch foods by the time I arrived at 10 am) and also because China’s group eating tradition means that as a solo traveler, going to most restaurants means I get to order one thing.. and then get a lot of it.

One place I have gone to frequently, is a buffet type place, I can see the food, point at what I want, and they have small portions. It is also fairly inexpensive (dinner often cost me about $3 for a veggie, fish and rice). In this restaurant, there are a large number of people eating alone or in small groups, and they seem to be all ages- older women, or couples, young professionals as well as single moms with small children. I have had several sweet but mainly non- verbal interactions with other folks sharing tables with me.  Usually they are older, and wave away my translation apps that I whip out, in the hope that we can move to words. They gesture in what looks like using a fork and knife (did they want to know if I wanted easier utensils or just curious why I was navigating food easily with chopsticks?), another seemed concerned that I didn’t have a paper napkin (which was on my lap not on the table as it should be). I also went to a rice noodle place for a yummy soup, eaten with a woodern soup spoon and chopsticks.  It was filled with veggies and mushrooms and delicious. Plus once I finished the broth, they gave me more for free. Sadly, I am still trying to get better at taking food photos.. I usually remember once I am about half way through the meal. Sorry folks !!! 

Outdoor stadium football game
My hotel is actually about a block away from both the outdoors stadium (a huge uncovered playing field resembling an open solid nest) and the indoor stadium. The stadium is well used by the the neighborhood, young men playing football/soccer in the evening, all ages using the outdoor exercise equipment, as well as lots of folks walking or running on the track.  

OK more to say but I want to get this posted Some local neighborhood photos.. plus a few from my meandering wanderings. 

What would a city park be without some group doing T'ai Chi?


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