A friend of mine from College, Paris has been living and working in Shanghai for the last two years. It's good to hang out with him because we both went to school at Goucher and he knows a lot of the same people I do so we can talk about Bmore and I can get my mind off of China for a little while. Paris, myself and his friend Marie went out to dinner last night at a really nice Italian restaurant. I was impressed at the quality of the food. Anyway, here's a photo of Paris and myself from two nights ago as we just hung out on his corner and drank a brew from the deli. Ahh, just like home..

Dumplings delivered

The funky stuff here is funky don't get me wrong, but the American style Chinese food that I'm used to eating back home is a thousand times better here. My host mother made dumplings for breakfast today. Delicious pan friend dumplings. Nothing like starting your day with 8 beautiful dumplings and some vinegar sauce and a little warm sweetened milk to wash it down. I'm off to meet John and Debbie and I'm sure an onslaught of their friends at an American style eatery. Time to get my weight up! With Thanksgiving around the corner and what is sure to be a feast with John and Debbie I need to get my stomach back to the size it was in order to truly enjoy the holiday. Thinking of my friends and family today. I miss you guys!

Why do I need I.D. to get I.D? If I HAD I.D. I wouldn't NEED I.D...It's the questionss

The trip. I'm sure everyone wants to know more information about the trip. Why are you in China Nate? Do you speak Chinese? Do you want to marry a Chinese woman? Are you in love with Chinese culture? What is your purpose? Why Asia, why Nate? I didn't have an answer for a long time. To any of these questions. I wasn't sure. I'm still not a hundred percent sure, but I'm starting to find an answer. I'm starting to know why I came on this trip. Why I left New York. Why I left my friends and all my family and the streets I love. It hit me as I was riding the 37 bus today back to my home-stay from my interview with Scholastic. Man the bus was crowded. It was so dark outside I could hardly see anything. A few small lights lit alleys. All I could hear was the horns of motorbikes outside. Shanghai feels like a mixture of the wild west and the big city thrown together. Ahh the incessant rambling, we want the answers Nate! I realized I wanted to experience more of the human experience. (Ah Shiiiiittttt, Nate's lost it!) Just breathe with me here for a second, understand what I'm trying to convey. I was so comfortable in New York. Being a fucking New Yawka, diddy bopping and window shopping. I needed to see and understand what it was like to be totally out of my zone. I wanted to be so other that I lost myself in order to truly examine what I wanted. What I wanted from myself and what I wanted from others. I needed to come to a place where what I knew was no longer what made me who I was.  I didn't want to talk about how alphabet city has changed, and I didn't want to talk about white people in harlem, and I didn't want to talk about pretty spanish girls. I wanted to know why we fight. I wanted to know why people are so different from each other and why people are so resistant to embracing others. I wanted to know why we call people different and why we're always in such a rush to push people out of the way. As my home-stay father took his glasses off and put his forehead to mine when I said my head hurt, and then pointed to my room and mimed for me to sleep, something, I think that same something that started to creep into me on the 37 bus when a woman fell and everyone standing rushed to pick her up, started to come clear. What it is, I'll leave that for you to decide. 

Official Shanghai G

So today was a good day. I signed up for a gym not far from where I'm living. I got a two month deal for about 55 bucks. I also had my first workout in a gym in over a month. I am going to sleep well tonight. It was a much needed lift. I was looking too skinny! Hopefully I can put a little muscle back on now. So before I signed up for the gym, me and Rena were walking through the neighborhood. Rena is the daughter of the host family I am living with. She was taking me over to a gym that was very close to her house. They unfortunately don't offer such short term deals. She made a call, at the time I didn't know who she was speaking to but I guess it was her father. She hung up the phone and asked me if I knew how to ride a bike.

"(GULP) Yes Rena...I think I do..(GULP)

"Ok...we will ride to gym."

We met her father on the street who was standing next to a bike he wanted to throw out. Oh wait. That is his bike that he rides everyday. How foolish of me.  It had a little basket in the front, rusted everything, a front brake that almost worked and a little like, wired pad over the back tire. I wondered if they would send my body back to NYC to get buried. If you don't know, no one obeys traffic laws in Shanghai. No one. I mean people ride motorcycles on the sidewalk. Bikes Nate? NO, motorcycles.  Just because it is a red light does not mean a car is going to stop for the light. Busses? Don't get me started. You thought NYC busses were bad..I mean, I can't even describe the level of fear my first day in China while I crossed the street. 

"Let go" Rena said suddenly.

"NO! I won't Let go!!"  I screamed as if I were a child who knew he was about to be scolded.

"No no, let'S go." Rena corrected herself.

"oh, okay..." I said back and stopped the tape of my life that was playing in full view inside my forehead. 

I slowly peddled down the street and Rena, the old pro she is, neatly positioned herself on the hepatitis filled "seat" covering the back tire.  

The rest is history my friends! I peddled, and I steered and I sped up, and slowed down. I did all the things one might imagine you would do on a bicycle!! Oh but let's not forget the pleasantries I could smell! Human urine, MMM, my favorite, dead things, sewage and oh so much more! I always dreamed of cruising through the city with a lady on my side...Didn't think it would turn out like this however..busses flew by, motorcycles and mopeds. I passed lesser bike riders with ease farting on them as I rode past. Ahh glory at its finest! 

We made it to the gym and back. I'm officially a Shanghai gangster now.

Night pics

Evening Pics