Originally uploaded by betsy.gass
It’s a rainy, smoggy, nasty, ugly, altogether no good lousy day here in Shanghai. But that’s ok because it gives me a good excuse to sit in a coffee shop, splurge on a 20 kuai hot cup of joe, review some Chinese, and blog a lot. My days up until now have been go, go, go with little slow, slow, slow. But getting into my fourth week of teaching here in Shanghai I am finally beginning to fall into the lifestyle of routines and weekly traditions that I have missed.
Every morning I rise and shine and give Mao my glory, glory at the wee hour of 6 AM. I have my green tea caffeine fix and some oatmeal, then head out to teach my chittlens around 7:30. From 8 til 12, I’m dancing, singing, and spoon-feeding the Kindergarteners and then I’m out for the day. I get the entire afternoon and evening off — a pretty good schedule in comparison to some of the other English teachers.
I’ve realized that the precious sunny weather of the autumn is going to be short-lived in Shanghai, so I’ve been trying to spend lots of time outside. That means many trips to my nearby park, Fuxing Park. Being able to see an almost-entirely-green space in the midst of the urban jungle is nice, but the best part of the park is the people-watching. I’ve always been an avid participant in the sport of people-watching, and I have to say that this place is comparable to even the outstanding arenas of the Atlanta aiport and Lake Winnepesaukah. At this park you can witness the tamer pursuits of kite flying competitions and jogging backwards. Or you can see some of the more extreme activities — tree slapping exercise is a good one. Apparently some older Chinese locals think that violently spanking a tree with various parts of their body increases blood flow and stimulates the muscle fibers. I’ll take their word on that one.
My favorite thing to watch is the impromptu dance parties that spring up in the park every afternoon. Sitting in the park from about 3 to 4 in the afternoon, one is bound to suddenly look up and see an elderly Chinese DJ sitting directly in front you. He cranks up his speakers with some Chinese oldies and couples spring to life in seemingly expertly-choreographed tangos and waltzes (minus any hip movement).
This video was taken the first time I witnessed this blessed miracle of boogie. Apparently one man was so assured of his dance skill that he believed a partner would only hold him back and thus embarked into the sea of salsa solo. Many times. What William Hung did to singing was nothing compared to what this guy does to dance. But I applaud you and your uncalled-for confidence, random Asian dude. If only I could have summoned up that much energy when asked to dance by a random middle-aged Chinese man shortly after this video was taken. While I was eventually forced to accept his invitation, what proceeded was an extremely frightening succession of being twirled and dipped very rapidly and then given a pile of business cards by the man and his friends.
Since then, I haven’t gone to the park alone. But my outings to Fuxing Park are still highly enjoyable and hopefully my visits there will become more routine. My next step is to buy a kite and learn the tricks of the trade from one of the seasoned pros. I just need to ask the man with the glow-in-the-dark-light-up kite for advice on where to get one equally as awesome…
More photos of my Kindergarten class on Flickr! Peruse at will.
