Shanghai Community Church

I attended the international Sunday service at Shanghai Community Church today with my new friend, Mavis. It's located in the French Concession district in Puxi at 53, Hengshan Road.

The ivy-covered Gothic building looks really traditional but I was thrilled to discover that the service was far from traditional. We arrived a little late so the worship was already in full swing and it was a "happy clappy" service. We sang Hillsong choruses to the accompaniment of a full band.

And there were so many people, the church was bursting at the seams! We were fortunate to find some extra stools at the front of the church, since it was standing room only in the back of the church. I even noticed some gentlemen listening to the sermon through the open windows leading to the garden.

The pastor spoke on "Investing in the next Generation", and emphasised the need for parents to set a Godly example for their kids (Deut 6: 4 - 9)

I am very grateful and blessed to have attended my first Christian service in China.

Lost and penniless

I usually spend my weekends in Puxi to escape the highly-sanitised Pudong. However this morning as I prepared to leave the apartment, I couldn't find my Shanghai guide book. To my horror, I realised that it was left behind in a restaurant last week. Sigh...

So I set off and re-traced the steps from my last excursion into Puxi. To my great joy, I stumbled onto the Dongtai Lu Antique Market. Although it looks like the poor-cousin of Xintiandi next door, it's atmosphere is genuinely delightful. Pottery, brassware, coins, birdcages, posters & paint brushes are piled high onto make-shift stalls, while sleepy stall-owners lounge in their rattan chairs. Peddlers threaten to mow you down with their bicycles, while little children stuff bao (dumplings) into their mouths.

This is the Shanghai that I had come to see - so I just took my time to stroll, browse, and lose myself in its hustle & bustle.

Picking through the piles of "antiques", I found some lovely items. Since I look Chinese, the stall owners were less aggressive and offered lower opening prices. When I started speaking Mandarin, the prices dipped even further! I was really fascinated by the Mao-era memorabilia e.g. the little red book (yes, I got one!), the green suits & caps, the armbands.

So I began to buy a piece here, 2 pieces there, 4 pieces further along, 10 pieces in the next street and before I knew it, I was down to my last yuan. The stall-owner watched with bated breath as I opened my wallet and laid out every single piece of Chinese currency I had left. To my embarrassment, I was short of Y50. He magnanimously offered to accept all the cash I had and waive the rest. And so I left DongTai Lu without a cent, relying on my legs and pre-paid transport card to get home.

When I got home, I laid out all my purchases and started admiring them one by one:

• The copper teapot with frog design is very unique and playful at the same time
  
• The "jade" water pipe is really intricate and detailed - it was the find of the day
• Replicas of the oriental girl advertisement posters really evoke the atmosphere of old Shanghai - I love them!
• Sepia-toned photos of the Peace Hotel & Nanjing Road in aged wooden frames
• Ten little cloisonne owls that double as jewellery boxes
• Mao's little red book - in English...how genuine is that :-)

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the day I got lost and penniless in Shanghai.

Yi Wen San Bu Zhi

Yesterday, I learnt my first Chinese idiom. "Yi Wen San Bu Zhi" is quite an accurate description of my grasp of Mandarin at the moment. It translates loosely as "One Question, Three Don't Knows" which means "someone who doesn't know anything". I love it :-D

Surprisingly, my Mandarin classes are progressing well and I'm accumulating vocabulary quickly. Unfortunately, I only get to practise on taxi drivers and shop assistants because most of my colleagues speak English at work.

Wu Lau Ser (or Jennifer) is my language teacher and she's really good fun. She strikes a nice balance between making the lessons fun & practical, while maintaining a sense of discipline.

I'm really glad about signing up for private lessons instead of learning from CDs or videos. I've skipped the Beginner's class and moved straight to Intermediate. Apparently, another way to learn quickly is to find a "black-hair dictionary" or a Chinese boyfriend.

Err...think I'll pass on that one. Xie Xie buguo wo bu yao! (Thanks but no thanks!)

Jin Qiao - Golden Bridge

Although I'm in love with Puxi & Old Shanghai, my neighbourhood of choice is Jin Qiao. It's an expatriate enclave in Pudong that's near to work and the airport.

Let's go for a walk...

Citadines Apartments & the Canals

First stop is the Citadines Serviced Apartments which is my home till early October. It's located on Hongfeng Lu. These apartments have been recently refurbished and is part of the Ascott Group.

Let's cross the road and we'll find a canal park which is a lovely spot for walks or reading a book. In addition, there are good restaurants nearby that satisfy my cravings for Western food. One of my favourites is Element Fresh - the healthy breakfast, juices, salads & wraps are to die for!

Meeting the needs of Mind, Body & Soul

Walking a little further along, we'll come upon some outlets that meet the needs of the:

• Mind - IMandarin is where I'm taking language lessons with Wu Lau Se twice a week.
  
• Body - Four Seasons Green Bamboo club is where I go for foot & body massages. Already have their loyalty discount card :-)
• Soul - Beautiful Catholic Church across the road that I haven't visited yet because errr...I'm not Catholic?
  

Another 15 minute walk takes us to Carrefour Jinqiao with everything you would need in a supermarket and a mall with Thai, Indian, Japanese, Chinese and more pubs! What more could a girl ask for?

Digesting a disaster

Ever since the Sichuan earthquake struck last Monday, I have struggled to blog - mostly because so much has already been written & broadcast, and I haven't had the chance to process it all. While I can't pretend to fully comprehend the extent of the disaster, there are some key images that have stuck in my mind:

• The faces of grieving parents who have lost their only child. In Sichuan province - a whole generation has been lost
• The look of horror on the faces of young emergency workers as the sea of bodies arrive at the hospital. Some actually run away from the scene and are seen comforting each other
  
• The hands-on leadership displayed by Premier Wen Jiao Bao directing recovery operations. He flew to Sichuan province within 2 hours of the earthquake and has been seen daily on Chinese television comforting parents & talking to buried survivors through a megaphone. Staged or not, I'm impressed
• The nationalistic fervour of the Chinese people is very evident in the donations of money, emergency supplies and blood that have been pouring in to help earthquake victims
  
• Apparently many warning signs appeared two weeks ago e.g. mass migration of frogs and butterflies from Chengdu - the epicentre of the quake

At times like this - when I'm lost of words - I turn to the lyrics of a song we used to sing in the Youth Ensemble:

God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
And you can't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His Heart

Earthquake?

Joanna would like to assure everyone that she is alive and well in Shanghai. She did not even feel the earthquake although she's told buildings were evacuated in downtown Shanghai and Beijing.

Like the rest of the world, she's following the news via Internet & CNN and praying for the victims.

Powerful quake rattles southwest China

1 hour ago (from AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) — A powerful quake measuring 7.8 struck Monday close to densely populated areas of southwestern China, toppling buildings and rattling cities across a large swathe of the country and southeast Asia.

Xinhua reported at least four children were killed when the quake toppled two primary schools in the city of Chongqing near the epicentre, with another 100 injured.

The state-run agency reported that buildings had collapsed in neighbouring Yunnan province, and President Hu Jintao urged an "all-out" effort to rescue victims.

The quake struck 93 kilometres (58 miles) from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province and a major population centre with more than 12 million people, and about 260 kilometres from Chongqing and its 30 million.

Brunch on the Bund

Making new friends at M on the Bund - THE place to see and be seen in Shanghai

One of best Aussie friends, Glenn Hogan, dropped by Shanghai this weekend and we had a lovely brunch at a posh restaurant on the Bund. The M on the Bund started the rejuventation of high-class restaurants in this area and has an amazing view of the old & new Shanghai. The food is also excellent, my selection today being white asparagus salad, fish & chips and mango with coconut ice- cream. Very nice!

Glenn & I first met when I moved to Sydney in 2000. He is a chef by profession (and a very good one!) and I ate my way to culinary heaven under his tutelage. It was so good to catch up with him again and be introduced to some of his Shanghai acquaintances. Mavis, John and Martyn are all hoteliers and KNOW the best places to wine and dine. They were also kind enough to offer to take me under their wings for the next 5 months. Can't wait to build up more networks in this amazing city.

Three Mountains

On the journey back from Suzhou yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with Mandy, a colleague from AMD, who is a Chinese national.
She shared an interesting perspective on the 3 Mountains that sit on every Chinese back:

• House - a roof over their heads
  
• Health - to keep working in order to earn a living
  
• Education - for their children
  

These 3 "mountains" are a constant worry to the average Chinese because it's not within easy reach. In spite of the Chinese economic miracle, there isn't a strong personal pension/insurance scheme which leaves many workers pondering their future. In addition, the growing chasm between the rich and poor is a thorn in the flesh since the last 2 generations have been schooled in socialist doctrines and suddenly, they've found the goalposts changing in their twilight years.

It probably easier to take the position of an armchair intellectual and say, "That's what all developing societies go through", but when you've got someone sitting across from you detailing their "3 Mountains" struggles, it's hard to stay objective and impartial about the topic.

Tale of Two Pagodas

Actually, it's the view of the same pagoda - Riguang Ta - captured at different times ala Monet's Rouen series. Having checked into the Sheraton Suzhou for a series of business meetings this week, I was fortunate to have this view from my hotel room window.

The pagoda is located in a park within the Pan Gate area of Suzhou, and dates back to the 3rd century. I really love the historic feel of this ancient town that dates back 2500 years. Suzhou has been touted through the centuries as a tiantang (paradise) and if one stays within the boundaries of the ancient wall and canals (while ignoring the tourist hoards & gargantuan industrial parks), it's easy to give in to the charm and peace that pervades this Garden City.

I look forward to exploring more of it on subsequent visits.

Moving in

After months of suspense and build-up, I finally moved into my new apartment in Shanghai earlier this week. It's a 2-bedroom serviced apartment in Jinqiao, an expatriate community in Pudong. It's very modern and surrounded by all the vital services namely: hair salon, massage spa, Coffee Bean, wine bar and pub!

Here's an internal and external view for your viewing pleasure.



But the most exciting thing I've discovered so far is the stove - no knobs, buttons, lighters or matches. Just plain touch screen...how cool is that?? Even for a non cook like me.

Wanna come visit and help me cook Maggi mee?

Musicals!

I fell in love with musical theatre listening to the opening strains of Les Miserables in 1995 and haven't looked back since. Some of my favourites (in order of preference) include:

1. Les Miserables - I've seen it 4 times :-)
2. Mama Mia! - danced so hard I sprained my ankle
3. We Will Rock You - screamed so much I lost my voice
4. Lion King - queued for 3 hours and got the last standing ticket
5. Hairspray - although I've only seen the movie version, I love the songs
6. Spelling Bee
7. Phantom of the Opera
8. Cabaret
9. Cats
10. Crazy For You
11. Oliver!
12. Chang & Eng
13. Chicago
14. Passion
15. Miss Saigon
16. Fame
17. Fossey
18. The Boy from Oz
19. Peter Pan

But as far as leading men are concerned, there is only one - MICHAEL BALL. I queued shamelessly outside the stage door of Queen's Theatre to get his autograph (proof attached). Although he didn't spell my name correctly, I managed to pour out my love in one sentence:

"HimynameisJoannaandIcameallthewayfromMalaysiatomeetyou!"

Hmmm..I wonder why he wasn't impressed. Aren't you?