Shanghai Diary #1: Stock the Lodging

 

I’m really glad we live near the original Chinatown in Toronto, when we’re living in Toronto. Now we’re in Shanghai for a month, and the sight of dangling ducks or the sound of Mandarin (okay, in Toronto it’s mostly Cantonese) doesn’t faze us. In fact it makes my husband salivate.  We landed on Saturday (afternoon) (Friday middle of the night) and some very nice graduate students who will be working with Jonathan guided us to the sublunar landscape that is Fudan University before spring.  There were very few other students around because of Chinese New Year. They came back today (Tuesday morning) (Monday night) (whatever) and immediately started firing off the firecrackers their parents must have told them put that away, it’s too dangerous. There are little pink wet firecracker skins all over the sidewalks.

We’ve been eating at the canteen for lunch (stir fry), supper (stir fry) and breakfast (rice gruel, called congee). I would kill for a slice of Stilton.

We have gone on month-long sabbatical trips to London, England, Berkeley, California, Vancouver, Canada, plus shorter trips here and there. We are very lucky.  By now we know we pass through certain stages: Quest for the Lodging, Stock the Lodging, and Overcome the Desire to Leave the Lodging and return Home.  I’m sure many of you think it’s a great adventure to travel like this, and I agree with you.  I will feel that way in about a week.