Snapshots of Shanghai

Shanghai Culture

April 26th, 2013

Istanbul, Turkey

Song of the Day: Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by Nat Simon

Mood: Relaxed

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Shanghai

One of the craziest things that the DJ Busy Bee and I did was go to MOCA. The MOCA is currently featuring work from artists in their 20s and 30s. Some of the works were interesting and some were just crazy.

Interestingly enough, the sign says "Keep infirm people away". In America,
legalization started with those seeking marijuana for medicinal reasons

Exercise

Old people love to exercise in Shanghai. People wake up very early to do tai chi and other exercises. it is a very communal activity and the streets are filled before 7 am. I particularly enjoyed seeing the geriatric dancing club.

Nanjing Lu

Nanjing Lu is where all the main American brands set up shop. There are always thousands of tourists and locals shopping and people want to be seen carrying the luxury bags.

We went on an extremely quiet day. Normally it is packed
 shoulder to shoulder across the whole path

White people are often approached by sketchy looking guys who say,
"Massage? Lady massage? Sex?" We declined their generous offers.

All the people provide an opportunity for some good photo-ops:

Piggy back rides!

Jing'an temple

The city maintains a  Buddhist monastery in the middle of the city.

The temple holds many different images of Buddha

This silver Buddha is made of 15 tons of steel and is 8.8m (28ft) high

People came to burn incense during their lunch breaks

People throw coins into the tower for good luck

After watching many people attempt it, I can proudly say that the 

Minnesota boys were the best. Mustangs represent!

The temple contained many Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings. Depending on the tradition, instead of reaching nirvana, they altruistically decide to stay in the universe to try to help other people reach nirvana.

Shanghai Swindle

Off to work!

Many Asian firms want hard-working, educated Americans. Some want them just for show, a phenomenon known as "Rent a White Guy" and some explicitly want Jewish men. Others actually value Americans for the work they can produce. However, many of my friends have fallen prey to the "Shanghai swindle" where companies use exciting job descriptions to lure high-caliber employees. Unfortunately it's a bait-and-switch as the responsibilities promised never materialize. When they can't stand being glorified personal assistants or college counselors any longer, they leave their jobs and return to friendlier shores.

White man in a foreign land

April 24th, 2013

Lisbon, Portugal

Song of the Day: Evolution of Music by Pentatonix

Mood: Saturated

White man in a foreign land

As I travel throughout Asia, strangers treat me differently because I am white.

The good

People are often kind to tourists and foreigners. If I ask a question, people generously help me. When some of my American-born Chinese friends have visited China and asked questions, people look at them like they are mentally challenged and chastised them if they are not fluent. On the flip side, if I try to say "hello" or "thank you" in the local language, even if I have bad intonation people smile and get excited.

For a short time, it is fun to be treated like a VIP. Many people came up to me because they want to take a picture with a white person. I even received autograph requests.

I have no idea who any of this guy is (Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar)

A local cafe owner in Bagan, Myanmar, has a business in which she
brings locals to monuments to take pictures with white people

It has happened often throughout Asia such as at Nanjing Lu in Shanghai:

The bad

While it is fun to be a novelty, it would be frustrating to live there long-term as a white person. Even if I was involved in the community for years, strangers would continue to assume I am an outsider. I would feel powerless and judged by physical traits that are outside my control. It would be hard to feel like I belonged. DJ Busy Bee has lived and studied in China for years. Even when he would ask someone a question in Chinese, they would respond in grunts and hand motions instead of Chinese because he was white.

The ugly

My experience as a white person living in a 92% black neighborhood in Detroit informed me of the difficulties of living cross culturally long-term. Most people treated me kindly, but I never felt like I belonged or would be accepted as a full member of the community. Over time, the little things get to you like when I walked down the street and a girl asked if I'm a vampire. Or, when my friends and I host a movie night for the neighborhood youth, and the older kids tell the younger kids, "Don't talk to white people. We can't trust them." Luckily, one of my black friends said, "It's okay. These white people are our friends." Still, I get upset at other times such as when people call my friends and threaten to kill all the white people from our church.

Simply, feeling like people are always judging you for something you can't control gets tiring and frustrating.

Reasons to live cross-culturally

Recognizing the difficulties, I would have to find a compelling  combination of the following six reasons to willingly live in a culture vastly different from my own:

1. Calling - If God leads, one should go

2. Opportunity – If I had a skill set that is not as developed in a different culture, I could make a relatively larger impact. This could either benefit my career or the positive difference I can make. This is why many Americans go to Asia.

After a successful NBA career, two-time all-star Stephon Marbury moved to
China where he plays for the Beijing Ducks. He also writes a column: Starbury News.

3. Fascination - diversity is often interesting and intriguing

Market in Shanghai. We don't have these in America 

4. Understanding – one can reflect on one's own culture in new ways by experiencing other cultures

Buddhists burning incense at Jing'an Temple

5. Exposure ­– Different cultures and ways of being can transform a person and lead to unique learning

Shanghai Museum of Contemporay Art 

6. Comfort – People can find a deeper sense of belonging in cultures outside the ones they grew up in such as due to their personality and life experiences

Overall, it's important to not glamorize living in a culture different than your own. There can be good reasons, but it is difficult.

Just as important, we need to realize how difficult it can be for people from underrepresented groups to acclimate into the culture of power. Society benefits when everyone's potential can be unlocked, but so often  people who are different are not empowered.

Jesus is a fascinating example in that he lived with people like him (12 Jewish dudes), but he frequently broke cultural norms to provide for the needs of the poor, the religious and ethnic minorities, and others who were often overlooked by society.

Food in Shanghai

April 22nd, 2013

Lisbon, Portugal

Song of the Day: I won't give up by Jason Mraz

Mood: Tired

Food in Shanghai

I had many great food experiences in Shanghai. While I ate some traditional Chinese food, my best memories were at foreign restaurants.

Why settle for a food pyramid when you can have a food pagoda?

Pizza Hut

DJ Busy Bee and I were starving after our adventure at the Museum of Contemporary Art and we saw a familiar restaurant: Pizza Hut! I fondly remembered personal pan pizzas from my youth and I wanted to see how Pizza Hut in China compared. In China, Pizza Hut established itself as an upscale, authentic Italian restaurant complete with commercials praising its gourmet food (similar to how Olive Garden markets itself in the US). Let's just say that American and Chinese Italian are a little different.

Of course the hostess should wear bunny ears and mad hatter hat

A ham salad came with ranch dressing

Oh wait, it's not ranch, it's mayo. Yum!

Nothing says upscale Italian quite like salmon wasabi pizza

Reconnecting with G-Unit

My favorite restaurant was going to Kota's Kitchen with my college roommate, G-Unit. It is a Beatles themed Japanese restaurant.

Besides the awesome ambiance, there was great food.

I'm not sure what everything was, but it was all delicious 

Although everything was amazing, of course the best part was reconnecting with G-Unit

What better way to follow up a Japanese restaurant in China than with chocolate mousse?

I was invited to join G-Unit and his friends for Wednesday night dinner club. I originally heard we were going to eat at Monkey Meat and was much relieved when I saw it was a Thai restaurant named Monkey and Me.

The guy in the goggles in the owner/manager

Small world moment: the girl on the far end on the left was one of G-Unit's flatmates. She went to high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma with my good friend from my dorm/summer program/badminton team. Her boyfriend (across from her) grew up in Chartres, a small town outside Paris that is home to the cathedral where my mom spends many months each year. We're going to meet up there in May.

Friends new and old

Zhujiajiao: The Venice of Shanghai

April 20th, 2013

Lisbon, Portugal

Song of the Day: Mo Money Mo Problems by Notorious B.I.G

Mood: Unsettled

Shanghai

After Taipei, I spent two weeks in China.

My first stop was in Shanghai.

Venice in Shanghai

My friend, DJ Busy Bee, decided to take me somewhere less touristy than downtown Shanghai. As a result, we went on a fun adventure to Zhujiajiao, the "Venice of Shanghai".

We walked along a river that snaked through the town. According to wiki, this town was established nearly 1,700 years ago. 

It's customary to do a celebratory jump at the gate. By customary, I mean
we did it, the girl in the sign did it, and everyone else should too 

A boatman paddles up the river. Unfortunately he said we were too heavy to ride. 

Every so often there are bridges that you can cross 

Near this sign you can cross the bridge to a bow and arrow stand.

Unfortunately for us, the owner of the archery stand didn't want to cross the bridge to supervise us so we couldn't use it. I found the people in China to be quite industrious so it was surprising he didn't want our business.

It's okay, we found these hats instead:

My favorite stand was the ancient China photography stand. There I was able to channel the mighty emperor-warriors of the Geoffrion dynasty.

The warrior and the scholar

I rule by the might of my blade

Expert trip: Make sure you have an exit strategy. Many of the taxis are not licensed to go into Shanghai proper. We ended up taking a taxi to a bus station to a random part of the city to another taxi to get to our next stop. If my friend didn't speak Chinese, we might have never returned. (Note: TripAdvisor reviews say it is on a subway line. We definitely never saw a station.)

In general, I thoroughly enjoy and promote learning. However, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Such as when we saw this chef wash his dishes in the river before starting dinner.

Besides the floating trash, there is an occasional film on the water

Before we started our trip back home, we went to a dumpling house. The menu was filled with… delicacies.

Everyone's favorite unit for force

Yum yum yum

I particularly liked the views when the river widened

I wouldn't say that the charm was remotely comparable to Venice, but it was a good half-day excursion for someone that has seen the main tourist sites in Shanghai. Plus, anything is more fun with a good friend.