We left Friday after work on a packed night train and arrived too late to really explore. We spent Saturday morning, however, revisiting the underground SciTech Market, where we bought knockoff headphones, soccer jerseys, and other gear.
In the afternoon, we met up with fellow UOP roadies Emily and Nick Rupe, Jonathan, and Steph. Jonathan arrived to China a few days prior and was headed to Fujian province after the weekend. Steph works at the same site as The Rupes, but she has experience living and working in China.
The six of us grabbed lunch at Super Brand Mall in the Lujiazui district, which was a mistake. The mall and surrounding area was a zoo! From the metro stop to the restaurant, we had to push and weave through a massive crowd of people. A pedestrian bridge snakes through the area and provides great views of the famous Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai Tower, and Inner Ring Roundabout (which Nick said is the establishing shot used in any movie of Shanghai). The skywalk was filled with people, and it was impossible not to walk through people's pictures.
After the chaos of Super Brand Mall, we needed to get far away from the Bund crowds. We went to the Propaganda Poster Art Center.
The art gallery was difficult to find. It's not near a metro station, nor does it have its own building. The collection of propaganda posters and periodicals is in the basement of an average apartment building in the middle of a residential block.
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| Xiao Tom and Jonathan outside the Propaganda Poster Museum |
We took a cab from the metro stop and had to walk around the block before realizing that we had to pass through a security gate to get to the apartments themselves. The guard on duty gave us a card explaining which building housed the museum, and we found it.
The space was very small and quaint. The low ceilings were a danger for anyone over six feet. It was a very informal museum with most posters covered by nothing more than a piece of plexiglass, but there were a lot of posters to cover. The propaganda pieces came from different decades starting around the 1930s through about the 1970s.
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| Chairman Mao and Lenin Statues |
Of the hundreds of posters, however, only about a dozen had anti-West sentiment. Most focused on unity, production, and spreading Communism.
My favorite poster was of a woman peering through a beaker into a canvas of multi-colored dots. Steph translated the Mandarin; it loosely said to "Seek Victory Through Science." It's a positive message that applies across cultures and eras.
The real victories at the Propaganda Art Center happened in the gift shop. Emily found an original printing of Mao's Little Red Book in English. Nick bought a framed, wood-block print of factory workers producing valves, which is what instrumentation advisors like SB and he inspect at work.
In my opinion, Xiao Tom scored the ultimate victory. He found a print from the 1970s of engineers erecting refining columns. Granted, there's some artistic liberty in the image. The engineers wouldn't assemble the columns on the ground and raise them using tractors.
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| Xiao Tom's prized print from the propaganda museum |
When Xiao Tom checked out, a middle-aged man translated a stamp on the poster. The document was used in libraries and science classrooms in Hunan province to convince young people to go into engineering. The man bagged the image and took Xiao Tom's money, but it wasn't until we were back in Shaoxing weeks later that I realized the man was Yang Peiming, the founder of the propaganda art collection.
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| Photo from Time Out Shanghai, July 2014 |
A rain storm started while we were in the museum, so we went to a nearby restaurant for food and drinks. It was a Hooters.
I hadn't been to Hooters since the novelty of boobs wore off in high school. In China, Hooters was a treat! They had cheese fries with nacho cheese and chicken wings that didn't taste like they were broiled in used bathwater. It is the most American experience I've had in China, and it was great to escape for a few minutes.
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| Xiao Tom's "Birthday" crown |
The Rupes and Steph left shortly after we got back to our hotel. Xiao Tom had to meet a girl at Geisha Club on the other side of Shanghai, so Jonathan and I tagged along.
It was still raining pretty hard when we left for Geisha Club and all the taxis passing our hotel were occupied. We weren't getting a ride, until a man pulled up in a nondescript van.
Jonathan and I wanted to walk away and call it a lost cause, but Xiao Tom was determined to meet his girl. The van driver spoke no English, so Xiao Tom pulled out his phone and tried to point/map out our destination. The driver didn't understand, but when he did understand, he wanted to charge us 300 yuan ($50 USD), which was astronomical! Eventually, we talked him down to 150 yuan ($25 USD), which Xiao Tom was happy to pay.
The driver and I had a simple conversation in Mandarin, and he got fired up when he found out we are American.
"Oh, American," the driver said in Mandarin, "very good. I want to go. You are friends."
"No, no," I said, "we're brothers."
"Very good! Brothers. Michael Jordan. Miami Heat. Very good!"
Most conversations lead to basketball when people find out we are American. The driver might sound repetitive and simple here but he knew my Mandarin sucked and accommodated the laowai.
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| Xiao Tom asleep on the Shanghai Metro |
"Xi Jinping (the Chinese President)," I replied "very good!"
"Obama. Bang, bang, bang," he said making a gun with his fingers.
The car fell into an awkward silence. I couldn't tell if he was praising Obama's use of military strength or insinuating something sinister, so I returned a nervous laugh and tried to ask where in America he wanted to visit.
We arrived at the Geisha Club without issue and enjoyed the rest of our evening. The next morning, Xiao Tom and I took the train back to Shaoxing.
Comfort
We've been in Shaoxing for over two months, and it's starting to feel like a home. Usually at this point in a Chinese assignment, we'd be China'd Out.
"China'd Out" is the term I use to describe the frustration that many people, who are stuck here unwillingly, feel after about two to three months at a single site. In my experience, China'd Out originates from culture shock and homesickness that magnifies the discomfort of being in a society that has different etiquette and social practices from my expectations. Every little difference or inconvenience magnifies my displeasure and discomfort, until I'm a grumpy complainer who's not fun to be around.
Not the case here! We're really content and happy to be here. Why? Can't say for sure.We planned to be here a long time, so maybe we're making ourselves comfortable, content, and happy.
It's easy to do so when weather is beautiful and pollution-free. We've had a two or three weeks this month with clear, blue skies. I usually take advantage of these days by sitting on the hotel patio to read or walk to a nearby park.
Xiao Tom and I took advantage of the weather one weekend to play pick-up basketball at a court near our hotel. The court outside the Shimao Shopping Center is almost always packed with half-court games, some official and some not. We just jumped in and played 5 v. 5. I haven't played since middle school, so I was terrible. Xiao Tom did very well. Some of the local players were also skilled and strong in this idiot's opinion.
In addition to basketball, Xiao Tom and I play pool at the Good Times Bar behind our hotel. It's a short walk, and the bar has a great selection of beer for China. Whenever I'm craving something more than Tsingdao or Harbin, we go there.
Hotel-home-cooked meals also make a big difference. It breaks up the restaurant monotony and gives us options. Mexican food isn't prevalent in China, but the Auchan Supermarket near our hotel got a shipment of tortilla shells last month. We've made fajitas, quesadillas, and nachos on numerous occasions. Xiao Tom craved mac n' cheese on day, and we were able to deliver.
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| We even made Bloody Mary's |
A couple of weeks ago, a dance club opened near our hotel. They had a huge Transformers 4 promotion to celebrate their opening and the new film. The club owners hired people in Transformer-esque costumes to circle the club. They also brought in a DJ and models from Ukraine to do shows for a month. Xiao Tom and I unknowingly met DJ Mariana outside the club before her set. We had a great time dancing and drinking with the Ukrainians, even though none of the local patrons danced.
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| DJ Mariana and Xiao Tom at Club New |
This location is incredible for a year-plus long assignment. However, like I've said in past posts, a great location isn't much without great people. In the next few posts, I'll try to focus more on those people that make our lives here so nice.
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