i know in my last entry i was ranting about shanghai summers. well, it is now 80 degrees. one good thing about shanghai (compared to dallas at least), is that it will cool off some before october. so keep your fingers crossed that this lasts for awhile.
i know the shanghai contingent of our family has been pretty quiet the last few months, but things have been really busy. planning a wedding takes a lot of work. so it is now a month until the wedding, and i think we are doing pretty good. plus it is summer here, which means all you really want to do is sit in front of the A/C. for those that don't know, shanghai gets really hot and humid in the summer (but not as bad as dallas), but the experience is much worse in shanghai because A/C is not as prevalent. for example, i have to turn on the a/c in my office every morning at 9am, which means it is half an hour before it cools down, and even then we have to use a fan and extra stand-along a/c unit just to make it bearable. and they cut the air off at 6pm, meaning the last hour or so of work is done sweating. i usually strip down to my boxers before i make it ten steps into my apartment after getting home. there is also no central air in apartments, so each room has its own unit. and i ride my bike to work, so you can imagine the state i am in when i get to work. soaked. chinese people don't sweat like we do, so i get some strange looks when i show up with my shirt already completely soaked. but anyway, enough complaining, it'snot so bad. i am sure some of the more senior members of our family can tell us a few things about living without a/c. it builds character right? and it makes watermelon taste so much better. the chinese eat watermelon in the summertime like i drink iced tea - all the time. and it is soooo good. it's not really summertime until you start eating watermelon after dinner every night. it is almost as good as a/c. and cheaper.
Shen rong and i have rented a place. we really like it. a major upgrade from where i was ($170/month to $550/month), but we thought, you know, you only get your first place once. rong is moved in, i will be moving in later. the video above is of the new place.
