Street pancakes, Oatmeal cereal and Almond milk

After a FABULOUS unscheduled Skype with my daughter this morning, and after realizing that I felt SO MUCH BETTER than yesterday, I decided to replace the tissue and Tylenol I ploughed through yesterday and go ins search of both "comfort food" and buy some of that wonderful "street pancake" I've been drooling about.

It is fried on a huge skillet platform. It is like a pancake texture and taste and is sprinkled with green onion and savoury spices and then folded over once cut up like pizza triangles. It is greasy, so you don't want to start every day with this- but it is delicious! ( Remember, Jo?)
I gave a triangle to each of the guards at the gate of the Dorm and to the ayi ( literally "auntie"- the women who clean our Dorm) on shift today. They were extremely pleased.

I had seen this little box of instant oatmeal on the shelves of my local grocery store and decided to buy it and try it - along with my favourite brand of Almond Milk. This will be tomorrow's breakfast

Don' get me wrong, I LOVE living in China, but...................

As a sociologist, I understand that our responses to social behaviour in public is "learned". I have/had a sensitive "gag reflex" and I was concerned about living in China and listening to how the locals clear out their noses and lungs. Believe it or not, I've gotten used to it- or rather- I've strengthened my physical reflex to it. It's not so much the visual, as the audio, that is a constant part of the "noise" factor here. One of my Western colleagues suggested that the noise that accompanies the act of clearing one's nose/ throat in public, is a "polite warning" to get out of the way when the unwanted substance goes flying through the air. It's a sound theory.

Now that I have been here for (almost) two months, I have witnessed another cultural difference between East and West- and that is the public "personal grooming" that is ubiquitous in China. Bus, restaurant, street, - it does not seem to matter. Chinese people ( or I should not generalize- maybe it's just characteristic of Shanghai residents)- tend to take care of their "personal grooming" in public. All orifices are involved in this ritual. Sometimes, it's hard to know where to look....but, I'm learning....
The good news is that for the first time in many years- because of the poor air quality, the poor water quality and the general uncleanliness of this city ( read my earlier Blog about dog owners)- I now have beautiful, unbitten, perfect cuticle nails. Thank you to my hosts in this country.

Day Two of a 6-Day Holiday......Day Two of a head cold

My dear Russian colleague texted me this morning and said she was bringing some "pills" for my cold. There was a knock at the door and here's what she brought:

She hooked up her VCR to my TV and went off to put in her "Office Hours" today. I have a week's worth of great movies to watch - Hope I only need them for today.
No fever, great appetite ( I made Chicken Soup with vegetables yesterday and it's wonderful!!!)
Just that lousy headache that won't go away ( even with Tylenol) and the constant nose blowing----argh!!! The Chinese have "appropriated" a lot of Western inventions, but tissue with the lotion in it to prevent a ravaged nose is, sadly, not one of them

Success in finding "cold remedies" to get me through......

These will be my "best friends" over the next few days ( I hope NOT longer!):

A hot beverage of lemon, fresh ginger, and honey comb- with a "fizzy" Vitamin C thrown in......... and look! I found Hall's lemon throat lozenges today - yes!
I am beginning a 6-day "holiday" as my students write their Mid Term Exams. I have not booked for Nanjing yet, trying to figure out how bad this cold will be. Hopefully, tomorrow, I'll know better. I also have a "karaoke night" with colleagues ( both Chinese and /foreign teachers) tomorrow in the French  Concession. Will go to that even if I'm dying- just won't "breathe" on anyone....

Woke up with a sore throat this morning........................

Michael's been sick for two weeks ( Office-mate) and Matt ( Office-mate ) was sick one week ago. Sunshine ( my translator- but we don't share an office) has been wearing a mask to school for two weeks ( so as to NOT spread germs- thanks Sunshine!). My students have been coughing and sneezing for three weeks now............ah.........Autumn in Shanghai.  It's still 19 or 20 degrees C each day, but the Chinese get "sick" with the change in temperature.

 So, not surprising that I woke up with a sore throat this morning. My local grocery store had all the things on my list- tissue ( which I ALWAYS  have in China - it's a must wherever you go), ginger ( oh my goodness - so fresh and strong!)- lemons ( which were expensive- I thought, anyway- and "solid" honey - delicious. Add hot water- and that's what I've been drinking all day. I found a pharmacy that carries a Chinese version of Tylenol- hurray!

Walking in the Pudong District of Shanghai on a Beautiful November Saturday

In snippets...........

And......

And.........

Shanghai has these "pedestrian overpasses" that allows you to cross the busy street above the traffic..........pretty cool! My first time on one.........

SFLS Group Photo...Skype with Jo......enjoying Pudong with colleagues........a wonderful day!

So, the morning began with getting ready for a group photo- (several actually)- here on the grounds of the Dorm, with Shanghai Foreign Languages School Staff to celebrate it's Golden ( 50th) Anniversary. White shirt (house), black jacket, black slacks/skirt. Can do.
The Foreign teachers complained of the early hour on a Saturday- but then we realized that the others had to travel from the 'burbs for (some) an hour to be here at 9 a.m.
Had a Skype date with sister Jo at 8 a.m. before the shoot. Wonderful! She had a list of questions....I  was thrilled to share my experiences with someone who had been to China with me ( March 2012- 31 days). Jo REALLY gets my daily life here- everything from the treacherous walk to the Metro station to get my bus each morning ( crossing the street is like taking your life in your hands every time)....to the street vendor's shops, restaurants, shopping  in local food stores, etc. She made me realize how much I had learned about how to manage the everyday simple chores in  China - that we learned on our first visit here.....so true!
I was excited to tell her I found a street vendor who makes the "savoury flat bread" we bought and loved in Guangzhou!!! Will buy some this weekend.
( So, as an aside, my neighbour Matt was woken up by my Skype chat with Jo- (well, because we are LOUD- but he heard me say " I've learned to be aggressive with the scooter drivers who simply ignore the red lights and zoom by with horn blasting - F$#%%^^   YOU! " I told Jo. That's what woke Matt up ....sorry........
The photo shoot was fun- much more organized than I anticipated - than we ALL anticipated.  Group shot ( over 100 of us). Languages Shoots- German teachers, French Teachers, /English Teachers, Spanish teachers, Japanese Teachers, etc, etc,
Then, Foreign Teachers by Campus- that is 7 of us. That was fun!

Victoria had invited me to go "Downtown"- which means the West Bund or French Concession - OR - the "NEW" Shanghai ( the last ten years- the scenes you see in Bond movies). I LOVE the " Downtown" for the shops, the restaurants, the people, the pedestrian Nanjing Rd- so I said YES!
Since we ( the Foreign Teachers at the Dorm) were all up and showered and dressed- it became a "group event".

Matt (England) Laura ( originally Mexico, but USA transplant - lives with her Chinese husband in the Bund) Victoria ( Russian) and Bianca ( Germany).

We hit a German restaurant because Vicky wanted Bianca to assess the authenticity of the food. so what did people order? The German - Bianca- had Spaghetti. Laura and I had smoked salmon on foccacia bread with "chips" - which we thought were "fries" - but ended up being Bar B Q chips- Victoria had a smoked salmon platter ( I SHOULD HAVE GONE THAT ROUTE _ DAMN) and only Matt ( The Brit)  had a huge pretzel with mustard mayonnaise and bratwurst.
The last two photos testifies that Laura and I had "too much bread" and not enough of the "other"

The "Bund" is a place where International things, movies, food, fashion, etc can be had. Lots of Ex-pats live here. I saw so many blue-eyed, blond people today - not a usual sight living in Hongkou
District.
Jo- Here is the same fountain that my favourite picture of you and I was taken. Remember?
Matt took a Metro home because he had plans and we carried on to a wonderful garden and a "marriage market" Just look!