My apologies to anyone who is tired of hearing about my running activities - I try to resist brining it up because I'm aware it can be very boring for non-runners, but this is about my life and with the exception of grocery shopping, it's what I do most often. Running is also (with the exception of grocery shopping) one thing that I do out with the local population.
I also want to set the record straight in case I've given anyone the wrong impression about the running culture here in China in my previous writings. I know I've poked fun in my description of the unique exercise practices here: the walking backwards, the clapping and slapping, the shuffling joggers (and, hey, I give them credit for getting out there!).
But there are some really serious runners here - great big groups and clubs which convene regularly to do laps around the park. And they are not wearing PJ's and bobo sneakers, they are in real running gear and have a station set up where they drop their bottles of water, gatorade, or tea. I'm tempted to bring my own water bottle and see if they notice. We've been here long enough that by now they all recognize Russ and I and they are generally quite friendly. When I pass by this one group in particular, I always get some kind of greeting. I've recently been upgraded from a Chinese shout which sounds something like "Hey!" to a "Good Morning!" followed by lots of laughter.
There are even a couple women runners, but it's still mostly men. And they won't let you pass them. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a woman or a Westerner or just a cultural thing, but it's taken some getting used to. Let me start off by saying I don't pass a lot of people because the serious runners are really serious. And they are not all young jocks. There is this one little old man who looks like he's about 80 years old and hasn't eaten since last Tuesday, but his legs are pure muscle and he really cooks!
When it comes to passing someone, there are two reactions: 1) the guy being passed is obviously insulted or at least shamed into running faster and guns it past me to get way ahead, and 2) the guy who decides this would be a good opportunity for a running buddy, so he speeds up just enough to run right next to me - sometimes for miles.
This last one really threw me at first - maybe it's just because I'm used to running alone on deserted streets and this is really quite normal among runners. I thought maybe they were trying to annoy me by tail-gaiting or just couldn't quite get up the speed to pass me. But then I started to realize what they must have already known: that running with a partner, even a total stranger, helps break up the monotony a bit and gets you to run just that tiny bit quicker or better. And even if we can't have a conversation, we still share an interest so why not share and a few miles along the way?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Month Two In Shanghai
Welcome to my new blog!
Most of you reading this have been receiving notes from me with updates on our family's move to Shanghai, and if you haven't, well, I don't think I could do an adequate recap. But I hope you'll enjoy reading about our travel adventures and quirky stories about daily life for an American family in China.
I'll try to do regular updates as often as I can even if it's just a short observation or random thought of the day. My latest tribulations have to do with trying to learn Mandarin. I know, I said I wasn't going to bother, that my brain was too exhausted from struggling to learn Spanish in Madrid, but I signed up for lessons anyway. It would be nice to be able to talk to my driver - besides being a fabulous employee, he seems like a really nice guy but I can't even comment on the weather, let alone explain any plans beyond my next trip to the grocery store.
I'm also spending some time taking tours around the city and other day trips to try and get to know the area and see more of the "real" China outside of our little expat bubble. Now, I was impressed with the amount of Old World sights to see in Europe, not just the historic structures (the castles, the cathedrals, etc), but also in the quaint ways some people still lived their day to day lives. Well...it still is the old world in China.
Yes, Shanghai has it's big, modern skyscrapers and lots of business people occupying them, but down at street-level, many of the people still live as you would expect they lived a century ago - and not in a quaint way, they are just poor. Although it's kind of sad, it's really fascinating and I'm really in no position to judge if they are unhappy or feel deprived - it could be a case of you don't miss what you never had and they just don't know anything different.
I'll try to remember to put some pictures on the website of the lanes of Shanghai. That's what they call the alleyways where the really old homes are. I only wish I had a camera with me when I'm out running in the morning - I typically see people pass me on their bicycles carrying live chickens or slaughtered pigs, then there are the old folks out "exercising" in their pajamas and the construction workers squatting on the sidewalks eating their breakfast they bought from vendors who cook on carts right on the street. They do a lot of squatting - the Chinese must have quads of steel. I'll tell you about the public bathrooms sometime.
So then the rest of my time is taken up with the kids and their school activities (I'm the room Mom for both their classes) and marathon training. Now that the weather has FINALLY cooled off, my running all of a sudden feels really great. I had my first 20 mile run this past Saturday and it went really well, so that was very encouraging. Now as long as I don't contract any more diseases, I'll be good to go (pneumonia kept me from running the Barcelona marathon last spring). I find it shocking that we've been here for over two months and the only sickness so far was Ian's sniffle a few weeks ago. I've been real fanatical about hand-washing since we've been here.
Russ's job is going well over all, though not without it's headaches, of course. He's been doing lots of traveling - Korea last month, he's in Singapore now, and is heading to Australia next month. And in between all his work trips, I'm busy booking holiday travel plans so the poor guy is going to feel like he spends half his life in airports.
I'll wrap up this entry with my thought of the day. This morning I took a tour of the markets downtown and wound up wandering down several of these lanes and their old, run-down houses and you can't help but reflect and ask yourself: how much stuff do I really need?
Most of you reading this have been receiving notes from me with updates on our family's move to Shanghai, and if you haven't, well, I don't think I could do an adequate recap. But I hope you'll enjoy reading about our travel adventures and quirky stories about daily life for an American family in China.
I'll try to do regular updates as often as I can even if it's just a short observation or random thought of the day. My latest tribulations have to do with trying to learn Mandarin. I know, I said I wasn't going to bother, that my brain was too exhausted from struggling to learn Spanish in Madrid, but I signed up for lessons anyway. It would be nice to be able to talk to my driver - besides being a fabulous employee, he seems like a really nice guy but I can't even comment on the weather, let alone explain any plans beyond my next trip to the grocery store.
I'm also spending some time taking tours around the city and other day trips to try and get to know the area and see more of the "real" China outside of our little expat bubble. Now, I was impressed with the amount of Old World sights to see in Europe, not just the historic structures (the castles, the cathedrals, etc), but also in the quaint ways some people still lived their day to day lives. Well...it still is the old world in China.
Yes, Shanghai has it's big, modern skyscrapers and lots of business people occupying them, but down at street-level, many of the people still live as you would expect they lived a century ago - and not in a quaint way, they are just poor. Although it's kind of sad, it's really fascinating and I'm really in no position to judge if they are unhappy or feel deprived - it could be a case of you don't miss what you never had and they just don't know anything different.
I'll try to remember to put some pictures on the website of the lanes of Shanghai. That's what they call the alleyways where the really old homes are. I only wish I had a camera with me when I'm out running in the morning - I typically see people pass me on their bicycles carrying live chickens or slaughtered pigs, then there are the old folks out "exercising" in their pajamas and the construction workers squatting on the sidewalks eating their breakfast they bought from vendors who cook on carts right on the street. They do a lot of squatting - the Chinese must have quads of steel. I'll tell you about the public bathrooms sometime.
So then the rest of my time is taken up with the kids and their school activities (I'm the room Mom for both their classes) and marathon training. Now that the weather has FINALLY cooled off, my running all of a sudden feels really great. I had my first 20 mile run this past Saturday and it went really well, so that was very encouraging. Now as long as I don't contract any more diseases, I'll be good to go (pneumonia kept me from running the Barcelona marathon last spring). I find it shocking that we've been here for over two months and the only sickness so far was Ian's sniffle a few weeks ago. I've been real fanatical about hand-washing since we've been here.
Russ's job is going well over all, though not without it's headaches, of course. He's been doing lots of traveling - Korea last month, he's in Singapore now, and is heading to Australia next month. And in between all his work trips, I'm busy booking holiday travel plans so the poor guy is going to feel like he spends half his life in airports.
I'll wrap up this entry with my thought of the day. This morning I took a tour of the markets downtown and wound up wandering down several of these lanes and their old, run-down houses and you can't help but reflect and ask yourself: how much stuff do I really need?
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