Shanghai Yummy

Went out to Pacifica and Fort Funston this afternoon, with my friend Eunice and her husband Bob, to watch the paragliders and hang gliders. I haven't seen a hang glider since before I left for China, and watching them launch at Funston was just killing me inside. It's a Hang 3 site, so I'm not qualified to fly there, but just watching those gliders coming off the ground with such poetic grace stirred a yearning inside that I've been forced to repress since I left.

This past week back in the States has really made me appreciate so many of the things that I have here that I miss when I'm overseas. I'm not sure I could ever spend more than a few months overseas because of this. It's mostly little things, but as they say, it's the little things that get ya.

When I think about it though, there are some really nice things about living in Shanghai. Top of that list is probably the food. After that, probably just how convenient things are, but I'd say half of that is just the fact it's a big city and there's a lot of stuff around. The transportation is fairly convenient, not to mention cheap. Clothes are cheap too, as long as you're not after the fashion labels...

Actually, even if you are, you can get cheap stuff in China. I mean, it's fake, right, but I swear on some of these things it's hard to tell now. That's how good these counterfeiters have gotten. These wallets I saw even have the little inserts and the packaging is spot on. If I were Salvatore Ferragano or Donatella Versace, I'd be pissed as hell that they're selling $1500 handbags and clothes for $5 in the markets of China.

What I don't miss about the United States: terror alerts and John Ashcroft. Whatever.