Can take the girl out of China, but can not keep China away from the girl

This week seems like it has been a massive pull toward China.
Monday I went to a comedy evening with a friend I know from Shanghai.
Tuesday: The Asia Society sponsored an interview with the Prime Minister of the Tibetan people in exile. I attended the interview, as I am planning on going to Tibet this October and want to understand more about the people and about China. Lobsang Sanyang was incredibly well spoken and his biography incredibly impressive. He talked about the hardships of Tibet and desiring a peaceful way forward.
Wednesday: I started by going to the Tex World trade show. There were hundreds of stalls there. As I was going through the rows of textiles, about 90% were vendors from China, 5% from USA and 5% from elsewhere. There were some from Shanghai and I looked at the addresses and knew where they were located or had been close to the location. I was handed business cards with two hands as they do in China, and heard Mandarin spoken. In some ways I want to be identified as having lived there and having some understanding. However, when I told vendors that I lived in Shanghai they assumed that I was with a factory or was doing manufacturing there, not that I was just in the US to volunteer for the cause of fashion.
Even though I am looking forward to returning to the US I still feel drawn to things from China while I am away only for a short while. I did not expect that when coming and wonder what will happen when I move back to the US full time. Perhaps I will have to take up Mandarin or frequent China town. Today I did get a whiff of a strong oder on the streets and thought, ‘wow it even smells like Shanghai today’.
With all this being said while planning a girls weekend in NYC in 2 weeks time, my only request has been “No DIM SUM”. I have to draw a line somewhere.

How we do it in China.

So I am absolutely loving NYC. That said I did have some culture shook last week. I was at a great event at a remodeled hotel off of 5th Avenue opposite the park, Pierre Hotels Two E Bar. All of a sudden I had an overwhelming feeling that I had to leave. I just was overwhelmed by the differences in how people interact here as well as the adjustments that I will have to make. I successfully have made friends in each country I have lived in but got a little nervous about starting over in my own country. Realizing that I will have to understand what my country men do and I can not blame it on cultural differences as it really is my culture that I do not always understand, nor know how to completely communicate in.
There have been a few things here that I find strange:
1. The metro lines in Shanghai communicate more than the metros in NYC (and there is a massive language and script barrier there). Shanghai metros tell you the next stop before you enter the train and this information is at each door way to the train. Also there is a board that states when the next train will arrive. In NYC you are lucky to know what train you are on, rarely do you know when the next train will come and the entertainment is watching the rats on the tracks below.
2. Actually that is about all I got. I miss the Shanghai metro. Other than that I will keep the roof top parties, the cruises on the Hudson and people holding doors for me and answering questions without me having to wave my arms around or sound like a 2 year old.

Amanda in Shanghai Goes to NYC for the summer

So I have not posted in AGES! I figure now is the time. I am in NYC for the summer staying with my lovely cousin in the Upper East Side. I am here to do two internships in the fashion industry. I am super excited as well as a little nervous about the learning curve I am in for.
I arrived yesterday afternoon and hit the ground running. I started out with a walk in central park then dinner and drinks in the city. Nicola works within spirits and has a fantastic network here. We went to a great punch bar where you can get a silver bowl of punch for table.

Dinner at a vegetarian diner consisted of heaping amounts of loud laughter with some of my cousin's talented bartender friends coming in from various areas of the country. After the dinner we continued to Amor y Amargo for some cocktails in a cozy place with an amazing bar top. Then to Death & Co. a speakeasy bar that has had the title best bar in NYC. The drinks were superb and the company was better.

Today I went shopping in SoHo with a dear friend Bobby. So many shops, so little time! I will definitely have to go back for more fashion research. Though all in all was a super productive day (glad I brought an empty bag).

I met up with my cousin for a rum cruise. We close to the Statue of LIberty and then back to South Street Sea Port. NY is amazing at sunset. The people on board were interesting and fun. There was a great mood as some people came from the Gay pride parade that celebrated the new law allowing gay marriage in NY.

I literally have had to pinch myself several times this weekend so far and i know that the summer is only beginning. The only downer was that some one stole my new month metro card, basically 100usd... it was a reminder that I lived in countries that are far safer than the country I come from. I think that will be the culture shock that I will go through while here and adjusting to being able to understand all the sign and the language but not always understand the behavior of my fellow country people.

That is it for tonight.

Calculated mistakes

One of the great things about living in China is that I can afford to do things that I could not back home. Cost of living here is lower, and labor is cheap (hence most everything is made here). I have never really been a messy person, but really have appreciated having a house cleaner. Last year my Ayi (house cleaner in Chinese, direct translation is Auntie) was fantastic, her name is Huang Qing. I absolutely loved her, she organized my clothes in ways I did not know was possible. She did cute things, like putting my eye covers over my stuffed animal's eyes, re-organized my books, re-organized my kitchen, my bathroom... ok so not all the things were cute in the traditional way, but they are if you love organization.
This past fall I moved into the French concession, and I love my neighborhood, unfortunately my Ayi did not want to make the commute. I felt so abandoned by her and lost. I got a replacement but I found that she did not get everything done that my other ayi was able to accomplish. She did not organize things for me, I had to re-organize and always felt like I was disorientated looking for my clothes. I felt a void that was left by Huang Qing. I stuck with the new ayi, despite the washing a leather skirt, throwing away pictures, and not doing the ironing. However this past weekend I had to let her go.
On Friday I came home and she was still mopping so I just popped in and went out, noticing that my math books were in a bag, but I had left them on the floor so did not think more of it and went to happy hour to meet a friend. When I came back she was gone. In the morning I wanted to get some work done before going to the literary festival. So I looked for my math books.... no where to be found... I looked in the hall in all my shelves, piles of things, and nothing. I had to have a friend call my ayi to see where they were. I was fearing that she took them or that she threw them away. While i am used to student wanting to deface math books, I am not used to my house cleaner feeling so strongly about taking my math books. It was not so much that it was math books, though that is a strange thing to take for a cleaner that does not speak English, but that she took anything.
It turns out she thought I did not want them and took them without asking. Who knew she was a Good Will Hunting in the works? Unfortunately I had to let her go as I did not feel comfortable with her taking my things, even if it is spreading math around. If she would have asked I would have gotten her proper books, not books on how to use the TI83 in an algebra 2 class.

F-U

Well over the last weeks I have been listening to NPR's year in review and have gotten addicted to Cee-Lo Greeen's song "Forget You (FU)". It is not just funny but it has such a great tune to it. Little did I know that it was popular in China, or at least that is the excuse that I am giving a dude I ran into in an Elevator door way. I was getting out on the elevator, and in China people have a different concept of personal space. Often in the metro you hardly have a chance to get off the metro before people start shoving themselves on. As I was getting out of the elevator there were two men, I went to the left and one of the men just stood there so I could not get past either way. I gave a look as if to say I need to get by, and his response was "F--k You" then I had to squeeze by him. I was shocked. I have not had a Chinese person be so verbally rude to me (well at least that I could clearly understand). I looked back and gave a dirty look, just to get a "F--k You too" back from him!

It was all too perplexing. Why, why the hostility, why the rudeness? WTF really. I am just hoping he had Cee-Lo Green in his head and was hoping I would catch the reference.

have not posted for a while

Well, it has been ages since I posted anything on here. Sorry about that. I am enjoying Asia and still having a fun time here. I will be here another 1.5 years and then plan to head back to the USA.
I was just home and it was great to see everyone and do my traditional AZ visit which includes going up A mountain, cookie baking day and a night at Casey Moores. I did not get any sewing done but hopefully next time.

Caution and Careful changed to Confused Curiosity

How people werer really helpful when I had a cast on then just confused and staring at the boot. I would catch people staring at me when walking around. When I got into cabs the drivers would point, laugh and start talking a lot. Once I was on my way into a pub and a guy from across the street yelled out "That is awesome!" My favorite reaction was a man that I walked past who stopped, then put his arms in the arm looking at my boot. It was like he was saying "Why why why did you do this to your self!"