In China...Finally!

Ni hao from China! It's been a bizarre 24 hours. I know I'm in China, but it doesn't feel like it yet. After 14 hours on a plane from JFK to Tokyo, a 3 hour layover, and another 3 hours to Shanghai, it still hasn't struck me that I'm on the other side of the world. I don't feel detached from the United States. For all I know at the moment, I could be in a very nice, spacious two bedroom apartment on East Broadway in New York. It's only when in my head, I imagine a map of the world, and I pinpoint myself on the black dot that says Shanghai next to it that I understand the scope of my present location.

I've arrived late at night (9:30pm) and went through the quickest customs entry. The whole process took less than three minutes. Compare that with my visits to France where I waited 45/60 minutes! Unfortunately, I arrived late enough to miss the speedy Maglev train that connects the airport to the city. The train travels at a speed of 310 mph! I'll have to catch it on the way back. Instead we took a cab which is still unbelievably cheap by American standards ($10 for a 30-some minute ride). Some of the highways here are highlighted with neon beams of lights giving them a "city of the future" feel.

Anne's neighborhood isn't so bad. Her mom visited last week and referred to the neighborhood as a slum, but I don't think it looks that bad. The first order of business was getting food from the street vendors. Every travel guidebook says to avoid these, but Anne and Brett eat on the street all the time and have never fallen ill. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. I ate cooked vegetables cooked on a grate over charcoals. Spicy for my mouth, but so tasty. The food vendors all know Anne, and everyone asked her who the new person was. They smiled and nodded warmly at me. The language barrier hasn't hindered me yet. That will change of course once I am on my own.

Tomorrow I will accompany Anne to her school and help out in the classroom. I purchased postcards of NYC for the kids. I just hope I brought enough for everyone. Forty-five postcards may not be enough! I'll see China tomorrow too when everyone hasn't retired for the night. I've been up more or less for 28 hours now so I better go to bed.

Just a heads up…May 25th, 2006 isn't bad so far. I'm sure you all will enjoy it when you encounter it 11 or 12 hours from now! That's a Pudong airport terminal in the photo above by the way.