Events

Living across town from the University where Stacy went for classes meant that we didn't usually participate in the late night excursions of her mostly younger classmates. On the last day, after the final and closing ceremony, we ventured out for an evening of Karaoke at Party World. Finding taxi's for 30 people was a challenge and we were the last group to get into a cab.

We arrived at what looked like a hotel, with long lines of taxi's collecting and depositing passengers. We wandered into the lobby and were fortunate to have a Chinese speaker in out midst to help locate our party in the dozens if not hundreds of Karaoke rooms. While Karaoke in the states is usually found in bars, where everyone enjoys or agonizes through each singer, Asian karaoke bars are set up so groups of friends or colleagues can have their own private karaoke experience. We eventually found our group in rooms 392 and 393, busy selecting play lists, belting out classics and pouring the first of many rounds of drinks.

The rooms were sound proofed with one or two large screen tv's so everyone can see the lyrics. Smaller consoles in the room let you browse available songs and add them to the rooms play list. A large selection of English and Chinese songs were available. The videos accompanying the songs were rarely if ever done by the original artist and there were frequently amusing errors in the English lyrics.

Introverts though we are, eventually Stacy and I were coaxed to the microphone. Whether on the mic or singing along in the background, the belting out of lyrics and the clouds of cigarette smoke did a number on our throats. Despite raspy voices and a long cab ride home, we both had a great time. I imagine there are similar karaoke parlors in some of the big cities in the US, though I have never heard of them. If not, they get my vote for the next big thing.

Our first weekend in Shanghai happened to coincide with the Shanghai Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. Shanghai’s expat community has built a strong Ultimate community that hosts pick-up & league games and an annual tournament that draws teams from around SE Asia. The Shanghai fielded three of the 16 teams in the tournament. I played for the third string Shanghai Pirates. Seven one-hour games in two days was the most intense workout I have had in a long time. We went three and four for the tournament, which was enough to win one of the consolation brackets. More importantly we had a great time.

Ultimate prides itself on simplicity and sportsmanship. There are no referees. Fouls and rule violations are called by players on the field. If the call is contested the disc is brought back and the throw is replayed.

Despite its overall simplicity, competitive Ultimate involves a tremendous amount of strategy, athleticism, and teamwork. There are positions (handler, mid, deep, wing), zone and man to man defenses, spread and stack offenses, and plenty of specialized terms, most of them intuitive, like: huck, break, flick, backhand, hammer, kick-block, hot, and cup.

Diving catches and blocks are frequent and spectacular. The success of a team is very much dependent on its ability to utilize all of its players and match up well with the opposing team.

In the end though, it is the spirit of the game that is most enjoyable. The idea that everyone should have fun reigns supreme. After each of our tournament games each team would devise a rousing cheer to honor the opposing side. Usually our cheers involved some creative usage of Chinese and references to Pirates drinking rum in the end-zone – AARRRRR.

Luckily, we had very uneventful flights from Minneapolis to Chicago and then on to Shanghai. With plenty of homework to do and movies to watch, the 14 hour flight passed quickly. Our friend Nick met us at the airport and we jumped onto the Maglev train which took us speeding 431 km/hr past houses surrounded by water to the city (if I'm correct with a .6 conversion, that's over 250 mph). The only heart-stopping moment was when a train passed going the other direction and created quite a clamor.
We've settled in to Erin and Nick's fantastic apartment and I'm actually staying home and doing homework this morning while the others are playing in an international ultimate frisbee tournament. I will go do some yoga then head over later to cheer ... after four games yesterday the pace around the apartment was slow this morning but I imagine it's picked up on the field.
It seems we have mostly eased into the time difference, though I keep waking up at 5 am. Given the 13 hour difference, that doesn't make much sense but I'm liking the morning anyway and the Ryan genes allow me to fall back asleep. It has been uncharacteristically cool here since we arrived - with maybe 80 as the high and lots of rain and clouds. Joe and I are enjoying it while we can because we know the heat will be oppressive when it gets here. Yet another reason to enjoy the cooler mornings...
My first class is Tuesday, but Joe and I will attend an orientation and welcome session tomorrow. We found my school Friday and it will take a cab then subway ride to get there, but will only cost about $2.50 each direction and take about 45 minutes. If I go early enough I can catch a seat on the train and get some reading in. I will have 6 hours of class a day studying different aspects of Chinese law, which means quite a significant amount of homework.
The school's in a busy part of downtown Shanghai called Puxi (pu-shee), whereas my friends live in an ex-patriot community in a neighborhood called Pudong that in places is more Caucasian than Chinese. It is very nice to be able to communicate, but not quite what I expected of China! That part will come in Puxi and our field trips with the University. We definitely got a lot of stares wandering around the University neighborhood.
Joe is really practicing his Mandarin and I am very impressed. I wish I had studied more before I came but I guess necessity is the best motivator. The only things I know for sure now are hello, excuse me, please, thank you, check, I don't know, I don't understand, wife, husband and subway. Hopefully this will expand soon!
I will have Joe upload some more pictures when he gets back - I have not spent the time to figure out how to make them small enough.
I hope everyone is enjoying to beginning of their summer (or whatever season it is where you are).