Top 5

Guess what, folks, it's time for me to head home. It's been a great adventure, but at some point I was going to have to rejoin the world of the gainfully-employed, and that time is... well, as yet indeterminate, but rapidly approaching. I still have a few things to write about, so it's not the death knell for the blog just yet, but in the interests of transparency, future entries will not in fact be Made in China.

I thought I should take some time before I leave to reflect on my stay, and the best way I could think of to share some of that summary with all of you was to give you the following Top 5 lists. (After all, who doesn't like lists?)

Five Things I Will Miss About Shanghai
1. Chinese New Year fireworks -- 'nuff said.
2. Fresh food markets everywhere
3. (Relative) proximity to a large portion of my family
4. Fish in the subway and other things on the street that make me smile. There's another pedestrian passage that has big Van Gogh paintings for billboards. I like public art. And public oddity.
5. The non-waste mentality -- everything here that can be reused in any shape or form is. It's a nice break from the consume-dispose cycle to see things valued regardless of how old or used they may be.

No specific foods on the list -- are you surprised?  Sure, I like the dumplings, but they are in fact available elsewhere.

Five Things I Won't Miss About Shanghai
1. The layer of construction dust in the air -- I'm curious to see whether the tickle I've had in my throat for the last couple months goes away. And Shanghai is among the better Chinese cities in that respect.
2. Getting run over by wheeled vehicles on the sidewalk and the no-yield driving policy
3. Smoking in the elevators (restaurants, police offices, etc), despite signs, and all customary safety regulations to the contrary
4. The smell of stinky tofu
5. Chinese TV. Honestly, it's pretty bad. I can tell even when I don't understand the dialogue, that's how bad it is.