the other side of things
I'm impressed with how cosmopolitan shanghai is. perhaps it's because I frequent places that foreign people frequent, but I have encountered a lot of people who speak english, and quite a good number of non-chinese people as well. but I suppose I really can't gauge the city itself upon the clientele of element fresh.
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/1957/Element_Fresh_Huai_Hai_Lu_(Kwah_Centre )
it's one of the few restaurants in shanghai where you can find fresh salads, vegetables and sandwiches. I have deemed it a necessary concession: when your diet consists of food that will most likely cause you stomach upset at one point or another, you have to balance, right?
anyway, being here is like being in a bubble. an illiterate, ignorant bubble. which is isolating, but can also be nice. you can observe, wonder things that you would never wonder about (like why no one wears helmets and if that kitten you saw on the way to work was for sale as a pet or some other purpose), and probably draw completely false conclusions. it's kind of fun (except when applied to the possible fate of kittens).
thus far, I really, really like shanghai. most of all, I think, I like riding in cabs. I seriously cannot stop marvelling at how ordered the chaos is. if that makes any sense. today, however, was an interesting cab day.
backstory: lis went to notre dame, and feeling a little "what-the-hell," she contacted the shangahi alumni chapter. "just to see if she could catch any football games on tv or anything." well, the chapter head called her and invited her to lunch. he said "you can bring your colleague."
lis: "thank you."
Notre Dame Shanghai Alumni Chapter Head: "you're welcome."
he works in pudong, across the river from our office. we took a cab ride there, which was fairly uneventful, though the drive is about 20-30 minutes through a long tunnel under the river and boasts far different scenery than our side of the water. it appears to be where big business resides, and houses about a gazillion highrises. the Notre Dame Shanghai Alumni Chapter Head (NDSACH, or SACH, for short) works in the tallest building, which has 88 floors. anyway, lunch was great; SACH —and HIS colleague— were so nice, hospitible (ordering more "western style chinese dishes" for us like "bif" and "cucumber") and all around delightful, which was a nice surprise since we were first guided to meet him in the conference room of his law firm, offered cold water by the receptionist and were given piping HOT water to drink instead.
but I digress... when we waited in line for a taxi to come BACK from lunch, we were greeted by the first female cab driver I have seen the whole time I have been here (I know I have only been here for like 5 days, but there are a LOT of cabs). anyway, we got in, lis showed the driver the address of the office, and the driver? well, she threw us out of the cab. but not without looking completely disgusted and waving her hands frantically in front of her face first like WE were the cause of the ungodly stench that plagues most of shanghai.
seriously, I love this place.
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/1
it's one of the few restaurants in shanghai where you can find fresh salads, vegetables and sandwiches. I have deemed it a necessary concession: when your diet consists of food that will most likely cause you stomach upset at one point or another, you have to balance, right?
anyway, being here is like being in a bubble. an illiterate, ignorant bubble. which is isolating, but can also be nice. you can observe, wonder things that you would never wonder about (like why no one wears helmets and if that kitten you saw on the way to work was for sale as a pet or some other purpose), and probably draw completely false conclusions. it's kind of fun (except when applied to the possible fate of kittens).
thus far, I really, really like shanghai. most of all, I think, I like riding in cabs. I seriously cannot stop marvelling at how ordered the chaos is. if that makes any sense. today, however, was an interesting cab day.
backstory: lis went to notre dame, and feeling a little "what-the-hell," she contacted the shangahi alumni chapter. "just to see if she could catch any football games on tv or anything." well, the chapter head called her and invited her to lunch. he said "you can bring your colleague."
lis: "thank you."
Notre Dame Shanghai Alumni Chapter Head: "you're welcome."
he works in pudong, across the river from our office. we took a cab ride there, which was fairly uneventful, though the drive is about 20-30 minutes through a long tunnel under the river and boasts far different scenery than our side of the water. it appears to be where big business resides, and houses about a gazillion highrises. the Notre Dame Shanghai Alumni Chapter Head (NDSACH, or SACH, for short) works in the tallest building, which has 88 floors. anyway, lunch was great; SACH —and HIS colleague— were so nice, hospitible (ordering more "western style chinese dishes" for us like "bif" and "cucumber") and all around delightful, which was a nice surprise since we were first guided to meet him in the conference room of his law firm, offered cold water by the receptionist and were given piping HOT water to drink instead.
but I digress... when we waited in line for a taxi to come BACK from lunch, we were greeted by the first female cab driver I have seen the whole time I have been here (I know I have only been here for like 5 days, but there are a LOT of cabs). anyway, we got in, lis showed the driver the address of the office, and the driver? well, she threw us out of the cab. but not without looking completely disgusted and waving her hands frantically in front of her face first like WE were the cause of the ungodly stench that plagues most of shanghai.
seriously, I love this place.
posted by danigrl at 10:00 AM
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