Soppy Shanghai

It was raining when we exited the railway station in Shanghai. It was raining when we left for the airport 10 days later. It rained everyday in between. According to one of Nick's former students, Jay, this is not a typical occurrence in February, and he explained that the weather in China has changed noticeably since the building of the Three Gorges Dam. Crazy that a man-made structure could so affect the weather (in Beijing before the Olympics they were inducing rain everyday at precisely 5pm by releasing chemicals into the air.....insane!) Our time here was defined by rain, and as such, we couldn't fully enjoy the streets of the city. We did brave it and wander the streets on a few days when the rain wasn't as heavy, checking out the Bund, the French Concession, Nanjing Road, and, of course, Nick's old stomping grounds and favorite hole-in-the-wall dumpling joints.

By far the best part of Shanghai was meeting up with some of Nick's former students and landlord for some fantastic meals! We were incredibly lucky to have such great hosts, and we have lots of favors to return upon their eventual visits to New York. Jay took us to an old town on the outskirts of Shanghai called Qi Bao, where we nibbled on various street foods, including stinky tofu and whole baby sparrows. Then Jay, his wonderful wife, and another former student took us to a new restaurant that had gotten great reviews.


Zhang Hua, another student of Nick's, took us and Michelle, a friend we met on the train to Shanghai, to a fantastic dinner at one of Nick's favorite restaurants, and on a separate day to his hometown Nan Xiang, where we checked out his packaging factory and feasted on xiao long bao, the soup dumplings his town is famous for.


Finally Nick's former landlord and his whole family took us out for yet another phenomenal feast. Without these wonderful meetings, we never would have been able to try so many traditional foods or learn so much about day-to-day life and current events in China, such as the economic crises' effect on the average citizen.



With all the time spent around the hostel waiting for the rain to let up, we got a little bored, and well, Nick got a little experimental and decided to give himself a mohawk. Actually, it was half a mohawk before his beard trimmer (not the best tool for shaving a thick head of hair) died. A trip to a street barber, a poor Chinese exchange, and a dollar later, and the cut was finally complete.


Check out Shanghai pics:

Rebecca's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai-Rebecca/

Nick's: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Shanghai%20-%20Nick/