January 2008
5 posts
5 tags
Results of the Excursion
Well today proved very fruitful! We ended up going to the popular outdoor shopping area, rather than a mall, so the heat was not there. However, I got much accomplished and am thoroughly happy right now: —I enjoyed a baked sweet potato from a street vendor; a specialty I have recently become obsessed with since it is only available in the winter and I have always gone to China in the summer...
5 tags
[no title]
Not much has happened since I have arrived. We have all been preparing for the fifth seventh of my grandmother’s passing, which is the end of the mourning period. It went off very well; and most of my relatives came to be here for the occasion. It was very sad, but also an enlightening experience since Chinese funeral customs are so different from American ones. For one, Americans...
3 tags
The Fifth Seventh
Well, the mourning period is over. Since I arrived my relatives had pretty much been preparing for the fifth seventh, when we invite my grandmother’s soul to eat, wash her face, and basically be comfortable in the home again. Our relatives came from different cities in China to be at the house in Shanghai. The night before the 29th, we prepared a meal and invited our grandmother to come in...
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Morning
This morning started off wonderfully. I awoke around 5:15 to some questionable noises coming from the pantry; it sounded like someone was trying to pour themselves tea but no one was there. About half an hour later, I discovered it was a mouse or rat, who scurried everytime I moved in bed. After a while, the rodent no longer feared me. He would run out, see me move, scurry back to his hiding spot,...
4 tags
Arrival
I’m finally here! After one cancelled flight and a four hour delay on my Chicago-Shanghai flight, I arrived 28 hours later than planned but that’s alright. It’s very cold and it’s snowing here; I’ve been told that the latter rarely happens in Shanghai. I slept very well, since I was so exhausted. After nearly 18 years of coming to China I’ve learned to combat...