人山人海

(Disclaimer: I had this blog done a week ago but couldn't get the pictures to post. I give up for now. But they were sweet.)

 Wow. The last month has flown by. I can hardly believe I’m down to my last few weeks. I try not to think about it. Sorry for not blogging in forever, I find now that keeping up with real life takes up most of my time. Haha. Anyways, this may turn into a long string of unrelated topics. My apologies.

Epic badminton reach

A number of people have asked about Office Olympics. I guess it’s a month-long event, because the games are far from over. My team is doing great. Notable performances include our women’s doubles in badminton (undefeated so far), best time for the team relay sprint, and jump ropers who can jump over 200 times in a minute.

Another cool thing about work…I’m no longer at the bottom of the corporate food chain! We hired a part-time employee about two weeks ago. In fact, I was assigned to train her -- in Chinese, she speaks almost no English -- to do the work that I was previously in charge of. It was a fun challenge. 

I’ve also been going out regularly on Friday nights with people from work for additional badminton. It’s always a good time, plus there’s good food involved. I think my skills are getting pretty decent, too.

Pudong skyline at night - it's incredible.

Lots of people at work ask me what I do on the weekends. I’m never sure quite how to respond, because every weekend is completely different. Of course there are the essentials (Saturday morning ultimate and Sunday evening church), but in between there is still a lot of time to fill. When I don’t have plans, I like to simply explore the city. I’m pretty sure I could spend every weekend for the next ten years doing that and still not cover the whole city. Have I mentioned how big it is lately? The pictures don’t do it justice.

Being “comfortable” in Shanghai is easy. Many western amenities are available that in most parts of China, no one would have ever heard of. Example: Saturday afternoon, my cell group went laser tagging. That being said, there are also plenty of reality checks that make me certain I’m still in China. Example: A man sitting on the corner of a street, holding a stick. On the end of the stick is a turtle, hanging from a sling. Was the man selling the turtle? Taking it for a walk? Preparing to cook it? I don’t know either.

A typical day at Qibao.

Another reminder of being in Asia is, of course, the people. While this may seem blatantly obvious, I’m white. I’m pointing this out because it’s something I forget. Most days, I see less than five white people. (This of course, does not apply if I go anywhere touristy). At work, there is one other American (who I rarely see) out of over 100 people. So when I see another white person, there’s a conversation in my head something like this. “Wow…that guy really sticks out. Wait a minute, you look like that too. Oh yeah. I must really stick out.”  Speaking of people, the sheer number of people in some spaces is truly incredible. While visiting the only ancient town in Shanghai (called Qibao), I was particularly struck by the vast multitude of people. The title of this post, 人山人海 (rénshān rénhǎi), is a Chinese phrase meaning “a mountain and a sea of people”. Quite an accurate description of this phenomenon.

This last reminder goes without saying – the language. My Chinese is definitely improving, and the better I communicate, the more I enjoy living here. That being said, Chinese is a tough language, and I make plenty of mistakes. Using the wrong tone can drastically change the meaning of what you’re trying to say. The other day at work, I meant to say something about an expense report, but instead of saying “fèiyòng”, which means expense, I said “fēiyōng” – Filipino maid. Not the report I meant. Same pronunciation, different tone. Oops.

Bird on a stick - a tasty Qibao snack!

Fortunately, I’m not alone in making mistakes, and English has its own quirks. A coworker once asked me if I was “going to watch the Super-bowel”.

You gotta live and learn. Some people just live.