Sunday, January 21, 2007

Things that I will miss in SH

The energy, the excitement, the dissapointment, the joy, the powerless feeling... once a friend told me that I have to be in China to really understand these feelings, and he was right. Being here on and off for 7/8 months already; here are the list of things that I will definately miss (some points I raised up before already):
1) Pretty girls; topping my list is what i've mentioned repetitively before. Having been to some places (Jap, Rus, Swiz, Fra, Eng, Gre, H'waii, most of NA, etc.), but never have I seen so much good-looking girls in my life - well, maybe TW. What can I say, i'm a guy :p and no pics, as I don't want to look nerdy. hahaha.
2) The human interaction: Being in this place, you feel human, just because you interact with so many people with various backgrounds. In Toronto, you may only get exposed to friends or people you meet being in clubs or religions; however, in China; you will never feel bored since there just too much people to see, to talk to, and to understand.


3) Food: there are alot of different food you can get here, along with many foreigners deciding to start a business here; you can also enjoy great flavors of food at a good price.
4) Mixed feelings: Feelings love and hate, pity and mad, getting scammed and getting helped - all packaged here. As from my last post, sometimes one can get pissed seeing all these everyday; however, most of the people just greet it with a laugh after seeing the other side. As my SHnese friend told me: 'you have to live everyday with a balanced and open mind in Shanghai or you'll burn up too much white blood cells as you fume up'. Very true.
5) Big scocial gap: Not that it's a good thing, you see a hugh gap between the rich and the poor: SL600s honking old men transporting water, 700RMB meals where people literally feed you and 1RMB for 10 buns, 1000RMB hotel suite/night and the same monthyly salary for a hotel stewardess... Seeing all these makes one appreciate how lucky we are, and to cherish life for what it is.


6) Elegant high heels: That clickity sound, along with pretty girls walking in high heels in rain and heat are absolutely elegant. Maybe I should start looking for a new job in downtown Toronto... ;)
Conclusion? China has it all. The poverty, the filthy rich, the powerlessness, the rude, the hidden dragons, and just... feeling human. During this outing, I definately felt like I have a clearer picture of where I fit in the world, and who am I. I don't know if it's something that's good as too much exposure is a 2 edged sword, but so far I'm learning from it. I'm sure that I will have more miss & hate points as I near my SH-departure date, but which one tops your list?

6 comments:

Doc to be: Henry said...

Oh, yeah, now you just have to go to India to feel the intense version of the social gap issue u mentioned...

ah gee said...

Living and working in another city is truly a life experience. Not everyone has that opportunity like that. It definitely gets you to appreciate the things that you normally take for granted. Love your entry on Jan10/07 re: What ticks you off. I am pretty disguised already just reading about some of the things I've never seen before!

可可 said...

China with over 1.3Billion people, verus Canada with less than 33Million. 4 times the difference will give you 4 times as much to see. Like Ah gee said, working and living in a country really gives you a different perspective, you are quite lucky to get this opportunity.

Edmlee said...

@Hen; Really, does the gap in India more noticeable than that in China? I was just talking with my hairstylist today and he said that SH is the best city already and people really had a hard time making a living in the outskirts where he came from. PS. China firewall blocked your site and i can't access it no more :p

@ Gee+Coconut; yes it does, despite things didn't go too well after the merger, but i'm grateful that I had the chance to have this opportunity.

@ Phoolly; no man, normally hot girls stick with gruesome ugly guys with big bellies, hey; it's 90% true...! I'm serious, let me prove it to you once i'm back. But then again, you got striked in the face with something... so no loss to AMD-Toronto. aww... Wahahaha.

AJEYA RAO said...

Cool....Waiting foe my trip to China now!....Not sure when it will be....

Edmlee said...

@ Pholly; i'm not gonna jinx it... ha ha, if a super duper hot gf with great personailty comes this way; so be it... I'll even volunteer to be the ugliest ogre with a big tummy.. ( x ) wahaha. Mmm.... did you tell uncle about your face? ha ha, I'll fill him in when i'm back xD

@ Ajeya; I'm glad that you are deciding to visit China! I bet that we might share some common views, along with comparing with some other countries that we had been to ;)