I just arrived in Shanghai about two hours ago. Jeff Utecht picked me up at the airport and took me to his apartment where we looked at the skyline, and took a walk through part of old Shanghai. The picture to the right is a small shop that sells dried eel and duck. At least they looked like ducks. Then he dropped me off at my room, which is only a couple of blocks from one of the SAS campuses.
Time to turn in, except to say how excited I am about being on the flat side of the globe for a few days.
Welcome to Shanghai Dave…. from me the Shanghai’er currently in Boston trying to find Tech savvy teachers! BTW… I am happy to report we have done well in that regard.
Make Jeff take you for some eel and duck…. just for the fun of it!
Andy
I was in Shanghai two summers ago and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The people I met were incredibly motivated and kind people. I taught Chinese English teachers, American teaching methods and technology integration. At the end of the day I felt like the students sucked every English word out of my head. It was truly a fabulous challenge that I met with great anticipation each day. Enjoy!
Hurrah — you are there. So exciting.
Is this your first trip there?? Make sure to take LOTS and LOTS of pictures — because many of us will only have our glimpse of Shanghai through your eyes.
Enjoy your time…….say hi to Jeff!!
Jennifer
Hi Dave,
Glad to hear that you got to Shanghai safely, I was there in August 2005 – it was a fascinating place – you can really feel the pace of change pulsing through the whole enormous city – no more so than watching from the Bund as the boats rush out to deliver goods to the world…
Paul H
Thanks so much for the comments and connections with where I am right now. I still feel that I have seen so little. It’s been dark since I arrived, though I see so much of what you (commenters) are talking about. There is certainly a pulse here, and it is all moving forward. As a former history and geography teacher, I am going to look for the old culture, but the new will be unavoidable. I do get the sense of Shanghai being more of an international city than a Chinese city. It is an interesting mix of world cultures. More than anything it reminds me of the tragically discontinued TV show, Firefly, which takes place in a future where earth culture, though interplanetary, is a mix between western and Chinese cultures and languages.