Apr 21, 2007

Back for Action

Dahlings,

I'm back from fabulous Shanghai and the vacation of a lifetime. I never thought to say this, however: I'm salivating for an authentic, artery clogging American meal. After 10 days of eating the most exquisite and exotic foods, I am yearning for macaroni and cheese and a nice, juicy hamburger.

In addition, yours truly will never complain about traffic on the I-95 again. In Shanghai the road philosophy is this: The biggest vehicle gets the right of way. This means that bus and truck drivers can pretty well do what they please and pedestrians (including babies in strollers) are fair game. After you get the hang of crossing an intersection, strolling the streets becomes a wonderful adventure of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. (Believe you me, I did not pass up a single opportunity of sampling street foods.)


Enough of the tourist talk already, here is why I love being back:

1) I can blog again. Blogs and wikipedia were blocked during my entire stay. I had hoped to post from abroad, but this was simply not possible.
2) The Internet is accessible at all times. (Access was frequently blocked, especially my university account).
3) Cable service is reliable. (Our cable service was pirated from the Philippines, which saw fit to block all but the religious channels during the last four days of our stay.)
4) No crippled beggars tugging at my heartstrings.
5) No fear of pickpockets (I lost my camera, dahlings.)
6) Clean air.

Here is why I loved Shanghai:

1) No graffiti
2) State of the art public transportation
3) The Chinese cuisine (Lots of Asian fusion foods as well)
4) Fabulous art museum
5) Bargain shopping
6) The excitement and energy of a new frontier

Despite my excitement over this visit and my sadness at learning about the Virginia Tech massacre, I am ecstatic to be home again. God Bless America.

7 comments:

Damselfly said...

Dahling....glad you're home! Sorry about your camera! Sounds like you've eaten someinteresting cuisine...And SHOPPING....I want a list of wha wonderful (knowing you) things you brought home.

Hugs!

Vic said...

Hugs back, dameselfly. I missed the blogosphere!

Linda Merrill said...

Welcome back, Ms. Place! We missed yo too!

eric3000 said...

Good to have you back! Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

Marius said...

Yes, we're all glad to have you back. Blog away, Ms. Place. Blog away! :)

jinxy said...

It's wonderful to see you back!! I hope you had a wonderful trip, and made lots of FABULOUS memories!!

Pepper said...

Blogger is blocked periodically here, but is open right now for some reason. Find a proxy to blog through next time (do the research before you leave). Even the simplest proxies will support wikipedia, though some will not support the signin that you need to do blog posts. Enjoyed reading about your trip.