And this bus goes where?

I have decided to catch the bus to go to work every morning. It's only three stops and it costs me 2 yuans, its is cheaper and quicker than a taxi. At 7-730 am it is not always quick to find an empty taxi. I am the only white person on the bus and even while I am waiting at the bus stop I feel the inquisitive look of the other people who are waiting there. As soon as I get on the bus I notice how the rest of the passengers look at me with a mixture of curiosity and rejection. The other day I sat next to this little old lady. She looked at me, realised I was foreign and immediately moved to another seat away from me, bitch!
I've never felt that kind of racial rejection. I have been in situations where I've been an ethnic minority, but never rejected because of that.
As Lyman says, he also uses buses: Put three white people on a bus full of Chinese and you will create an national identity crisis! They find it really difficult to see us like normal people. This might look like a very futuristic city but in some ways they are still in the Middle Ages; well I suppose that is what makes them interesting.

Mein Liebling

I can not promise that I will wait for you, because I AM with you. I can not promise I will have a relationship with you when I go back, because I already HAVE a relationship with you.

Metropolis

The other day when I got a taxi to go to that party, the taxi driver drove me through the elevated roads. It was amazing I thought I was a character from Metropolis the film by Fritz Lang.
At the moment my feelings, my life...look a little bit like them.

La vida es sueno-Life is a dream

My computer is fucked. I need a computer to be able to connect with the world, without it I feel isolated, scared, alone; with it I feel connected with my reality, with the reality I am used to, with the people I love. Sometimes I find my everyday life daunting and I need a window to breath fresh air and not this warm, humid air that surrounds me.

Vertigo-Acrophobia-Grand Hyatt-Shanghai

Acrophobia (from Greek ἄκρος, meaning "summit") is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort that share both similar etiology and options for treatment.

Acrophobia can be dangerous, as sufferers can experience a panic attack in a high place and become too agitated to get themselves down safely. Some acrophobics also suffer from urges to throw themselves off high places, despite not being suicidal.

"Vertigo" is often used, incorrectly, to describe the fear of heights, but it is more accurately described as a spinning sensation, which may be caused by looking down from a high place, as well as by some other stimuli. Vertigo is qualified as height vertigo when referring to dizziness triggered by heights.

Last weekend I went with Mi General and MariaJo to the Grand Hyatt to have a coffee. The lifts took up from the ground floor to the 58th floor in seconds, when we arrived we felt dizzy and nauseaus and even more when we looked up to the ceiling up to the 85th floor. I have the same kind of feelings being here when I think about the time I will spend in this city, and when I think about the future.

MILAGRO!!!!

Finally I have been able to write in my blog. Apparently my blog was blocked, I hope they let me keep posting. I don't give a shit about politics, I am not here to save anybody. I only want to write about myself. This week I have realised how lucky I am coming from where I come from.
Last weekend I met up with Fer Mi General and his Mrs MariaJo. It was soooooooo nice seeing familiar faces. I did not fell so lonely. I was sad to see them catch the train back to Beijing.
And then we had the famous typhoon I never saw. Everybody kept ringing me and emailing me worried about it, but at the the end it did not pass by the city. Although, I must say the weather was pretty unbeareable, about 30 degrees, and raining at 6am, I thought I could breathe. Luckily, now it is a bit cooler.
Today is friday, last day at work.I will do some sightseeing in town.

Friday night

Lyman, one of the teachers at college got invitations for the Dolce&Gabbana 1st anniversary party at the Matini Bar,1/F 6 Bund Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road. Free champagne, apparently!

I will have a shower, get dressed and go. I have no idea what to expect. If Mi Capitan and his girlfriend, call me tomorrow I might take them there for a drink.

They would sell their own mothers!!!!

On my first night after arriving I decided to go for a walk towards the Huangou River . As soon as I passed by The People's Square and got into Nan Jing Road every second minute I had some blooming Chinese boy or girl talking to me in English trying to sell me the same things: 'Rolex watch, Prada bag, Gucci bag, foot massage, sex massage, pretty girl' At the beginning I tried to reject them politely, after half an hour I started ignoring them rudely.

After walking for three hours I felt very tired, jet lagged and confused. I just wanted to go back home, to London, or at least back to the hotel. I missed Marco, I missed London, I missed the comfort of my house. I felt anguished about the perspective of spending a whole year in this country away from them all. I tried to use the underground, I went downstairs and I couldn't work out how it worked. They did not speak English. I went out, I cried. I tried to get a taxi, he refused to take me. I tried a second one and finally he accepted to take me! I got a text from Jose in which he reminded me that going through new experiences with joy makes them more fruitful. He also reminded me of how lucky we are. My mood and my attitude changed. I am going to try to get the most out of this new chapter, as Marco calls it.

10 September 2007

After an 11 hours flight, I finally landed in Shanghai.