After a fairly comfortable 12 hour flight, and a rather harrowing one hour taxi ride from the Shanghai airport, we arrived safe and sound at the New Harbour Service Apartments - our home for the next month. In planning this trip, Pierre and I had no idea what to expect when we got here. I imagined all kinds of scenarios about what it would be like to be in this large, foreign city so far away from the familiar. How would we communicate? Would anyone speak English to us? How would we find our way around with all of the street signs in Chinese? What kind of food would we find?
Our first few days were a bit of a blur, but when we finally got over jet lag, I realized that life here was going to be just fine. Every day, I have breakfast in our hotel - very typical North American food with the addition of Asian dishes to please all residents. We venture out before noon to explore the fascinating streets, alleyways, modern architecture, and ancient temples. The goings on of people are a constant source of entertainment - on our walk yesterday to the area called the French Concession, we saw such extremes: a lady standing on the street corner with several dead chickens hanging from a stick; an elaborate display for Cartier in front of a Tiffany store; a man riding a bicycle carrying an enormous amount of goods for sale; and gorgeous modern architecture. The juxtaposition of old and new, rich and poor, is incredible.
The noisy crowded streets and the peaceful serenity of the Yu Gardens located in the Old City are another example of juxtaposition within a very close proximity. As we walked to this famous area of Shanghai, the streets became busier and busier with vendors selling their wares. We caught sight of the ancient Chen Xiang Monastery along the way, and for a small fee, we were able to step into the lovely building filled with the aroma of incense, small trees, Buddha statues, and plates of fruit.