So I’ve finally returned from a huge bout of traveling…and also, with the help of my expat friend, overcome the block on the blogs here (for now). Here is a little blurb..

Shanghai

I began my travels in Shanghai, a major city filled with throngs of people and flashing lights. The mixture between Eastern and Western architecture was quite interesting, as I soon learned of the city’s colonial history. Tree-lined streets and European-esque buildings contrasted by shingled Asian-style roofs…often within same neighborhoods. Staying near the French Concession the first couple nights with my cousin and his girlfriend, I discovered a large expat community, where I didn’t even have to speak a word of (broken and poor) Mandarin. The rest of the trip, I had to learn some Mandarin phrases, and fast—no one spoke Cantonese as they do in Guangdong…I have been spoiled.

The first day included explorations of crowded artist alleyways mixed with wine bars and bistros. The days after, I began to stay near the north of the Bund River, which featured a fantastical skyline of 50’s-flavoured Jetson’s buildings, the lights of which would flash ostentatiously. Well-lit tour boats traversing up and down the river meant the waters were also illuminated…straight until midnight, when the show for tourists shut down.

Of course, exploring across the river on the Pudong side proved lovely too. It was far away from the thousands of tourists flooding the riverview on Zhongshan Lu. I did find masses of boisterous tourists from other parts of China who moved quickly to elbow you out of the way, and spat emphatically on streets (more on ‘manners in China’ later). These tourists greatly contrasted the streets lined with Chanel and Cartier, Giorgio Armani, and other prestigious brands. To me, it felt like the city was trying to harbour a lot of class, but the people did not reflect it, locals or visitors alike. That’s not meant to sound elitist…more on that in the ‘manners’ post.

The rest of my time in Shanghai encompassed lots of art! I explored a series of abandoned warehouses that had been converted into art galleries and studios at Monganshan Art District. It was a comprehensive array of contemporary artists representing every movement of art, with a very Asian twist. I was very intrigued. Street art, life-sized sculptures, paintings, photography…the list goes on. It was very easily one of the best parts of the trip.

Of course, went to the “must-visits,” the Shanghai Museum, and then the Indonesian gallery of contemporary art (all situated smack downtown) and the Great Walled City for old Chinese architecture and again, more crowds. I rode the new high-speed Shanghai-Nanjing railroad (at 350km/hr) to Suzhou, a beautiful ancient city filled with old forts, pagodas, temples, gardens and rivers. It was quite calming to visit these places, especially with the sound of live Chinese lutes in the background.

All that to say, the mad rush back to make the last train while not understanding a word of what anyone was saying gave way to an awesome night of dancing til around 3am at an obscure alt-scene club called Logo..nightlife in Shanghai is amazing. The last evening was spent at Bar Rouge, with a spectacular city-scape view and a somewhat more posh crowd.

I would say, despite noticing a major cultural difference between large Chinese cities, such as Guangzhou to Shanghai, my experience there was positive. Would I travel there again? In a heartbeat. I feel artistically deprived in my city--Shanghai is very diverse and definitely has a more urban feel.

So there it is...my thoughts on Shanghai...and more on other cities as I travel there...

It's been hard to get onto blogger because of the censorship, and even harder to upload photos...but I'm going to keep up with posting the best I can here...

Every time I travel, I am reminded again of how young Canada is as a country, how new everything still is, and how little opportunity we have to learn enough languages! I understand that we are brought up with French right from the get go, but with such little opportunity to use it, most of English speaking Canada cannot put together more than a few sentences with their high school French.

I have been having a great time meeting and presenting to clients from all over the world: England, Finland, Poland...and then today I attended an out-of-town conference held by an organization in Belgium, also attended by a formidable group of people from all over Europe. The keynote speaker was European of origin, addressed everyone in English, then proceeded to speak clear, fluent Mandarin. Afterwards, I went to comment on how impressed I was with his speech, and learned he was fluent in 8 languages, all of which he could also read and write. He was a diplomat who had spent 8 years in China and was next moving to France, after having lived all over other parts of Europe. Several of his colleagues also spoke upwards of 3 languages. Now, feeling severely incompetent with my spoken Cantonese, minimal understanding of Mandarin and a general understanding of written French, it gave me just the kick I needed to want to brush up on my language skills. It also makes me feel that we as North Americans just don't get the exposure to the romance languages the way several Europeans do. Or other dialects of languages the way China, or say India has. I have come to understand that every Chinese province speaks a different dialect, akin to speaking another language. Meeting other internationals has made me feel underexposed and unworldly. But it also gives me something to work towards, in this 'tip-of-the-iceberg'-esque experience...

One more comment. Being in a country other than my own has really made me feel more Canadian if that's possible. When you are at home you don't really constantly proclaim your nationality...but when you are abroad, it is the identity that you live by. And often so many things you did not realize was unique to your country, province and city, suddenly become extremely apparent. As a final note, happy belated Canada day!

Well well, I finally got back onto blogger, as it's been blocked here in China. Connection is shifty at best, so I am going to back post a bit, starting with my first week in China.

Here it is, May 22:

A 16 hr flight, 2 hr ferry and 1 hr car ride later, and I made it to Beijaio, a lovely city just outside of Guangzhou. It is peppered with palm trees, gardens and rivers, and has some mountains, too. I threw all my things in the hotel, and within hours I had to be at work the day I got there! I was surprised to learn a lot of the locals spoke Cantonese, which I speak, so it makes it easier to get around. However, in the workplace, very very few people speak Cantonese; the business language is Mandarin. So it is quite often that people have whole conversations and I'm completely in the dark as to what's going on.

The company I work for now, I learned, basically drives the entire economy of the area which it populates, and a significant portion of China's economy as well. Everywhere I go in this city, the company's logo is slapped on everything...from the appliances that they make, to the land and buildings they own (large portions).

That is another cultural difference I learned. Corporate life is very different here. They expect you to live, breathe, eat and sleep the company. You work long hours, come in before the boss and leave after they leave, and are expected to take all your work home to finish. In North America there is a huge separation between work and social life. Here, there is not. The company sponsors vacation getaways and weekend gatherings with coworkers to 'strengthen morale'. My personal opinion is no thanks on that part, but I am trying keeping an open mind.

The censorship of the media and internet makes it hard not to feel disconnected while in a strange and foreign place. However, there are some things that are contrary to popular belief. For example, Google does exist here, and so does Facebook, but it is only localized to China (so I cannot use it).

There are definite differences in the way things are done--like bus schedules don't exist, so you just show up and guess. What else...some things are very revolting to a Westerner, such as people spitting all over the streets very loudly. However, to dispel some of the negative stereotypes here--China is actually cleaner than I expected (MUCH cleaner than South America) and even parts of Chinatown in Toronto. People here are well-mannered and very respectful, and even though I live just outside a major city in a communist country, things are VERY Westernized. There are still McDonald's, Starbuck's (for all you addicts) and Wal-marts!

Here is another interesting detail. Since the cost of living is 1/6 of what it is back at home, I can live very comfortably here and afford things I could not at home. Foreigners apparently do earn more than locals (I haven't figured out why that is yet), and it gives a lot of leeway. Right now, I can afford to live in a gated community in a 2 bedroom bachelor overlooking golf course...something I could NEVER do back at home...so I'm just going to enjoy it while I can...haha because it's back to pauperdom when at home. See above picture for view from apt...

The thing I haven't really found on my radar so far is an alternative art scene...I think I may have to venture into the major city on the weekends for that. But I'm on it--don't think I can survive without art! And while I hide my red hair at work, it gets stared down on streets...people can't stop looking. And I don't think people here have ever seen a tattoo...or a punky chick. It's pretty funny :)

Well, that's it for now, more updates to come as time goes on!