If you buy a half a chicken, you should get your money’s worth, right? Yes, in Shanghai, the half chicken comes with one chicken foot (yes, I mean a claw) and a perfectly bisected head (yes, one eye looking at you). Good thing I grew up in Ree Heights and watched Aunt Lois slaughter the chickens. At least Cousin Jimmy is not chasing me around with the claw, pulling the tendon to make the chicken foot grab my ear.
Magic Pears
I arrived in Shanghai with laryngitis and a cough, and soon, Fred was coughing too. Our driver was very concerned for our health, and continually inquired as to whether we had medicine for our cough. He kept talking about pears and rock candy. Eventually, he handed me a bag of pears and said it was good for the cough. After listening to Fred cough night after night, I was desperate enough to try anything, so I cut up the pear and we ate it. Within 20 minutes, the cough was gone. No cough for 8 hours. I learned later that the Chinese cook up the pears with rock candy to make a syrup. These brown pears are called ‘feng shui’ pears. Look for them in your supermarket- they really are magic!
Fenjing: Ancient Water Town
Watertown near Shanghai
While looking for the “Peasant Farmers Painting” Village of Jinshan, we drove through the ancient village of Fenjing and stopped for a walk through the water town. We wandered along the crowded walkways between the canals and the shops and enjoyed the unusual displays of food and handicrafts.
Take your bird for a walk today?
While strolling through the park on a warm Saturday morning, we hear birds chattering and notice the bamboo cages hanging in the trees. At first, I thought this must be a kind of zoo placed by the city for our enjoyment. Our guide points out the group of elder men nearby, drinking tea from canteens, smoking and playing a game. The birds are their pets! They take them to the park in the cages and hang them in the trees to show them off to each other. I think I can hear them, “My bird can speak from the gods… my bird has blue shiny feathers and has lived 100 years already… my bird fathered one thousand thousand sons…”
Musings of an Expat Tai Tai
Dragon fruit, price 9.80 Yuan ($1.60) each.
Tai Tai (say tie tie) means ‘lady of the house’, and that pretty well defines my role here. I spent the first few weeks figuring out the grocery stores and food markets. There are several imported food markets and the local vegetable stands have a good selection. There are some strange looking fruits and vegetables like this ‘dragon fruit’ piled high in the supermarket. I have to wash and scrub and disinfect all the veggies and fruit, but so far, so good.
Our moving shipment has not arrived, but we have everything we need, so no worries until the weather turns cold, at which point I will go shopping since I only have my summer clothes. 
Zhujiajiao: Little Venice
The Shanghai province is located in the Yangtze river delta, hence many smaller rivers and lakes flow throughout the region. Villages took advantage of the water for transportation and built up canals and bridges, creating numerous water towns. One of the best preserved water towns, Zhujiajiao is referred to as the “Venice of China”. There are many bridges, the Fangsheng Bridge being the largest stone bridge in the Shanghai province. Fangsheng means “setting fish free”, and I like to envision all the fish swimming under the arches to freedom. Our private gondola ride was a fun way to see the village, skimming along the canals with red lanterns swinging in the trees. I kept waiting for the serenade. We enjoyed the art gallery of international watercolors and the lovely garden featuring an outdoor theatre.
Cruisin’ the River
We went on a dinner cruise on the Huangpu (say wan-pooh), which is the large river dividing Shanghai. The evening was organized by the American Women’s Club with an international crowd. It was great fun, especially the 70’s dance party on the top deck. The boats are all lit up Vegas style, parading up and down the riverfront, dodging barges as if they are dragging main street!
Ni hao ~ Hello from Shanghai
It is hard to know where to begin to tell you about living in Shanghai. The city is a sensory crash and I find that after one month, I have already adjusted my sense of “normal” to include things such as bicycle carts piled high with bamboo furniture, or a mountain of toilets, or buckets of flowers. When it rains, 2 or 3 people pile on each bike and scurry along holding umbrellas.
Today is a blue sky day, lan tian (say lawn tee en) in Shanghai, every time I look up, it reminds me that we are all under the same blue sky!