Family Visit Part 2 and The End of School

Sorry I have taken so long to fill you in on the second half of the family's visit to China. Things have been a bit crazy here due to the end of the semester and my mad scramble to ties up loose ends before I return to the US. By the way, I will be returning to my homeland on July 16th. I'll be in San Antonio for about a week before heading to St. Louis on July 22nd. I will be home for about a month and return to China on August 24th. I have recently accepted a teaching position at Wall Street English, a private English school near the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing. The school has an enrolment of 2,000 so I think I'll be a little busier next year. The decision to stay next year was a difficult one as I really miss my friends and family. The key factors coaxing me into my final decision were learning more Chinese, making boat loads of cash (relatively), and the Olympics. Looking back at what I have just written I come off kind of badly but although I am only 25 I am starting to think about my plans for the future. Maybe I'm too late in doing this but there is no time like the present to start I guess. By the time I leave China next year I hope to have a few more marketable assets as well as a good foundation of money to make my life a little easier.

Enough of all this serious conversation that only displays my ignorance of all things 'grown-up'.

When I last wrote I told you that after Kev's visit to Beijing he and I met up with DeDe and Garry in Shanghai. The night before Kev and I left Beijing we went out to dinner one last time with Bryne and Cindy. The four of us went to a hot-pot restaurant where THE BEER IS FREE. I found this to be amazing and have since been there twice more. Kev and I had our fair share and then caught a taxi to a hotel near the airport. We woke up at 5:00 a.m. to catch our 7:15 a.m. flight to Shanghai. I think both of us were feeling a bit under the weather throughout the flight but our pains were eased by 40-Year-Old Virgin playing on a loop through the flight. When we arrived we met up with Garry and DeDe and our private tour guide. We were then transported to our hotel The Ritz Carlton-Portman. It was the Ritz so it was great. The Ritz Carlton-Portman has the best bed in the world, bar-none. After we checked in we commenced with the sightseeing. First up was the Jade Buddha Temple.

Side note: There is very little of traditional cultural value in Shanghai. It is often referred to as the business center of China and as such the city is more focused on constructing skyscrapers and buildings with auspicious architecture than preserving it's few traditional sites.

The Jade Buddha Temple is a large complex with interesting architecture in it's own right. I think our tour guide may have been a bit frustrated with us through the day because we spent a lot of the time talking with each other about what we had done since we last met.

After the Temple we went to a pedestrian market with traditional Ming architecture. The market was very busy with tourists and peddlers. I really enjoyed the architecture.

Side note: Am I an old man already? I am really fascinated by architecture recently. I think this is a product of China (Beijing specifically) bringing in many internationally famous architects to construct venue's and business centers for the Olympics. Seriously, many of these new constructions are wicked cool.

We spent just a short time in the market before heading to the vast Yu Garden. The garden was a few hundred years old and as formerly the private garden of the provincial minister during the Qing Dynasty. It was quite beautiful with many ponds, tea rooms, and meeting houses. Probably the most auspicious occurrence was what will some day be refereed to simply as 'The Picture' in Seltzer family lore. Like most tourist places in China there was a small operation of people with traditional Chinese court costumes who will take your picture for a small fee. I have avoided these things at all costs for two reasons:

1) It may sound pretentious but I feel like I am degrading traditional culture by doing this. (Never have I seen a Chinese person put on this garb, only white folk.)

2) I look ridiculous. I'd rather act ridiculous than look ridiculous.

Garry Seltzer, however, loves this sort of stuff and even has a picture of himself in such attire that he took in Hong Kong some years ago. I protested vehemently. In the end how could I say no to a man who brought me to Shanghai and had me staying at the Ritz in that beautiful bed. With the bed in mind I put on all the gear including a pointy hat. The four of us lined up for the picture and as we did quite a large crowd had gathered to watch us and take their own pictures.

After our tour of the garden we got back in the car and headed to The Bund. The Bund is the heart of old Shanghai. Shanghai was part of the concessions during the opium wars and as a result has maintained an international feel throughout it's history. Before the Europeans came to Shanghai is was a tiny fishing village located on the mud flats of the Yangzee river delta. It is along the Bund that the British and French constructed buildings in the distinctive architectural styling of their homelands. The Bund abounds with old banks, trading houses, and hotels facing the Yangzee river. On the opposite side of the river lies new Shanghai with all it's skyscrapers, new banks, trading houses, and hotels. If you have ever seen a picture of Shanghai than it is almost certainly this modern skyline or The Bund.

At the end of this long day we retired to the hotel and just spent some time basking in it's luxuriousness.

The next day was again filled with sightseeing. It all started with a wonderful buffet breakfast that included lox, fresh pineapple juice, and french toast. We were without a tour guide this day but we did have the services of a private driver available to us. I had to call on my limited Chinese speaking ability to communicate with our driver. There was a lot of heat on me to organize things for the family, luckily the driver and I could understand each other well enough.

The first stop was to the Pearl TV Tower. The Pearl Tower is one of the largest towers in the world. It's distinctive features are the two large 'balls', one at the base and one located half way up the tower. We went to the top floor and got a great view of the entire city. The view would have been a little better if it wasn't for the smog limiting our view. Anyway so we were all really high and then we got really low. After the tower we went on a river cruise that goes up the Yangzee to the shipping port and back down past the Bund and skyscrapers that line the river. The cruise was very relaxing and the enormity of the skyscrapers was accentuated by our viewing angle.

After the river cruise we went to The Shanghai Museum. The Shanghai Museum has an excellent collection of blah, blah, blah. Personally, I'd seen all the stuff they had there before except two things:

1) 6,000-year-old Chinese pottery. (which looks a lot like 6,000 year old Greek pottery, Israeli pottery, or Native American pottery)

2) Cameron Diaz

The family was gathering around discussing the plans for the rest of the day when I recognized the woman who rushed by me with a gaggle of people in tow. Without skipping a beat I said "...and that's Cameron Diaz." The fam didn't believe me at first but they went to the booth and upon further review, it was her. We lingered for a bit and I continued to look at the exhibit in front of me as she walked next to me while looking at the exhibit. I turned to her and said, "Hello Cameron, how are ya'?" She was taken by surprise and replied with a giggle, "I'm good how are you?", I turned away from her and back to the exhibit and coolly said, "I'm alright." It was a bizarre experience.

Later the fam went for a rest while I went to go check out the ancient pottery. I was looking at a piece when I looked up and on the other side of the glass it was Cameron Diaz again. She giggled and gave a little wave before leaving. Later DeDe wanted to go to the gift shop. We followed her and waited while she shopped. Cameron Diaz was also there and by this time a group of American teenagers had spotted her and they lost their minds in the adjacent room. DeDe was shopping and shopping and shopping. I grew impatient and asked DeDe to finish up. She replied rather loudly and coldly, "Why don't you just go talk to your new girlfriend?" Then I said something I never thought I'd have to say, "Mom, don't embarrass me in front of Cameron Diaz."

Later Cameron and I made out in her penthouse at the Ritz and I helped her name her new dog and she bought me a Ferrari and then I woke up. Oh, what could have been.

At the end of that day we went for a nice dinner at Tony Roma's near the hotel. I had ribs for the first time in ages. We also able to buy Spiderman 3 from a street DVD vendor and watched it in the hotel room.

On Sunday we spent the day in the hotel spa in the pool, sauna, and jacuzzi. We were then treated to a traditional Chinese massage by Garry Seltzer. Garry did not administer the massage he just paid for it.

On Monday I flew back to Beijing and resumed my old life of sans movie stars, soft beds, and breakfast buffets.

Now I am preparing to dismantle my room in anticipation of my departure from LuHe High School. Last Friday I gave my students their exam and last Thursday I gave them a tearful goodbye in our last class.

I am currently planning a trip to Tibet for one week. I should be departing to Lhasa on July 4th in honor of the Founding Fathers. In order to get to Tibet you must get a special visa and go with a tour. Single visitors without tour guides are not allowed to travel around Tibet. Either going out or coming back I will take the new high-speed railway. The trip from Beijing lasts 48 hours but it goes through some of the most beautiful scenery in all of China. The trip will be costly but I am sure it will be an extremely unique and exciting experience.

This is probably my last blog from China but I will try to keep you all updated on my readjustment back to the western lifestyle and my impending return to China. I will be blogging about China again once I return. Take care everyone. Dsai Jien.