shanghai! :D

I'm going to update using a list format, because there's just too much information + I'm tired haha XP

Current Location: a pretty nice hotel in the middle of a pretty shady area in Shanghai. I just finished showering and brushing my teeth. You have no idea how good it feels to shower after traveling for 24 hours straight.

Plane ride:

12 hour flight, and I probably slept for about half of it. The remaining 6 hours was spent listening to music, watching bits and pieces of movies (I got to see the second half of How to Train Your Dragon, and now I really want to see the second half), and just sitting around passing the time. My plane was populated with Chinese natives, mostly from a tour group that went to Disney Land in LA. They were boisterous, didn't follow the rules on the plane (like sitting when the seat belt light was on), and gave the flight attendants blank stares when they were commanded to return to their seats. I sat next to the aisle in the middle of the plane. To my right was a couple from Mexico who were going Shanghai for business. The wife was quite beautiful, almost modelesque. The husband was tall burly man, who was more goofy than intimidating. The wife spoke a little bit of English, but the husband could only say thank you haha...I had to translate for them throughout the flight. I even managed to teach the husband how to hold chopsticks. They were such an adorable couple and loved each other shamelessly (they spontaneously kissed for a good 30 seconds. I'm sure the conservative Asians on the plane were quite shocked). I bet they have a charming love story :) To my left was this Indian guy who spoke English fluently. He morphed into a hermit with his blanket wrapped around his head like a shawl during the flight...I ended up making friends with a brother-sister sibling pair from Fremont, CA and played cards with them to pass the time. The brother's 18 and is named Alvin and the sister's 15 and is named Ariel. I instantly thought of Alvin from Rice and his sister Ariella. If you're reading this Alvin, your parents and their parents were definitely thinking the same thing. Their family's from Taiwan, but they all decided to go to Shanghai for vacation. Here's the best way I can describe the flight attendant who serviced me the most:

this face but with more wrinkles: http://files.posterous.com/themacdoctor/dZ1iNbUBkKHTHoqcL1cyC0nxKgLt30icPYrNc4RWIavfXxy8SF8PDJCBOJLG/1_a_misery_ballbuster.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=1C9REJR1EMRZ83Q7QRG2&Expires=1277740136&Signature=F0dG42R3sSLFXCS6KxsrPs0tS2E%3D

+

the frown on this dog's face: http://www.welcometothedoghouse.net/pics/english_bulldog_wallpaper.jpg

As you can imagine, that's not the most welcoming face when you're asking for water. The rest of the flight attendants were bilingual Chinese women who only gave terse responses and never cracked a smile. I dearly missed American flight attendants with their fake smiles.

Flying for 12 hours straight without any track of time really messes up your circadian rhythm. I slept when I was sleepy, and ate when they handed me food. I stopped caring if it was actually time for food or sleep and just gave in to what my body was telling me. I guess it worked out alright since I'm tired, and it's almost bedtime.

Airport and Shanghai observations and events:

• My flight's arrival time coincided with the arrival of a high profile movie actress from Hong Kong. Tons of fans and paparazzi crowded outside of the gates with posters and cameras waiting for her to get off the plane. Apparently she's really famous (think Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox famous). Of course, I didn't know her, so I didn't join the swarm when she finally came out.
• Chinese people pop collars like nobody's business. I saw at least 7 popped collars in the airport. Real bros of China.
• Like in the US, skinny jeans are very popular in China.
• While I personally think capri pants and jorts (jean shorts) on males look really bad, they are also very popular among Chinese teenagers. One teen was cool enough to wear capri jeans...I had to look away.
• Chinese males love pink. Whether it's the old guy with a pink button down short sleeve or a spry youngster with a pink polo, pink is definitely a widely worn color.
• Chinese drivers are probably the best drivers in the world. Bikes, mopeds, motorcycles, and giant buses cut lanes and drive in front of cars all the time. The horn is used to change lanes, not your blinkers. My car came close to crashing at least 10 times on the way from the airport to the hotel, but my driver avoided all of them like it was routine (probably is).
• Air quality is poor in China. It burns my eyes and throat, and you can actually see a haze surrounding the street lamps. Everyone smokes here, and I can't stand cigarette smoke. Hopefully my body will adjust.
• Legit Chinese food is so much better than American Chinese food, even Chinatown Chinese food.
• Tapioca is 5 yuan, which is less than a dollar. (~7 yuan = 1 dollar) Safe to say I will be drinking lots of it.

Biggest surprise of the day: The extremely old chinese man sitting behind me on the plane turned out to be an extremely old chinese woman. I guess you can't tell the difference when you're that old...

That's all for now. I apologize for any grammar mistakes. It's late. World Expo tomorrow! I'll update on that later.