I've been meaning to do this for some time. I've been meaning to sit
down and write something about Shanghai, but I've
been so wrapped up in my own egomaniacal self that I haven't taken the time to
share with you the fact that the window washer men scale these buildings with a
harness and a long rope that someone on the roof navigates to keep the dangler
safe. I forgot to tell you that I love standing on the street corner at
night to watch the culinary genius of the food vendors who roll out these giant
wooden food carts with propane fueled flames, and a hot wok who flip noodles
and rice into the air while they smile at me smiling at them. I haven't
mentioned the little babies and their tiny little behinds poking out of their
crotchless pants. Every night mostly men and some women line the streets to
play board games, gambling in clans 4-12 deep. I haven't taken the
time to tell you about the little old ladies who do synchronized dance moves on
the sidewalk, and the grandpas who join in. I haven't mentioned that when
I went out for a jog the other night, that I actually went skipping, and no one
really gave a shit. I was singing, and flopping my long skinny arms
around, and aside from some stares, no one said a word. In America chances are that in a big fabulous city like NYC I could
be called a whole range of things. I don't believe that I have mentioned
the incredible physical and spiritual strength of these people.
Construction workers who are the strongest, densest mass of muscle, that are
only 5 feet tall move I-beams around with the force of their own amazing
bodies. Two men will grab an I-beam, and move it. I've even seen an
I beam attached to a bicycle and moved across town. The other day I saw a
man carrying three 15' long, 6" dia PVC pipes in a bundle on his shoulder as he
pedaled next to me. I've seen people balance the weight of a refrigerator
on the back side of their bicycle, who have to lean all the way in the opposite
direction to keep the bike from falling over and pedal up the block with the
rest of us. They pile mountains of Styrofoam blocks like giant igloos on
the back of their bicycle to deliver to who knows where. "No one in this
office sleeps on a mattress" Bicycles, and motorcycles, scooters, and
taxi's flood the streets. I can live on 7 dollars a day. There is
wealth and poverty beyond and American imagination. They do not want to
be like us. They aren't pining for American music or movie stars.
They aren't deprived and waiting for whitey to come in and save them from their
savage lifestyle. They are emotional and stone cold. They
want to travel, learn salsa, and take their daughter to Venice one day. They want to move to
Canada. They want to move to Australia, and
America. They are angry and frustrated with their
government. They want to be happy and fulfilled. They want to take
care of their families, and fall in love, and take care of their new families.
They adore their dogs. Their dogs are happy, fat, and smiling. They want
to talk about love and sex and the complexities of being a young person in Shanghai, now. They like saying, " Hello". They are straight faced and
stern. They are private. China…Shanghai
is
outrageously rich with contrast. Not just contrast because I am an
American flopping around in the east, but because within their own culture this
place is teaming with black and white. I haven't mentioned that they can
suck up a bowl of fried rice with skinny little bamboo chopsticks with their
face down on the table like a Hoover.
They are carnivores, and not like the American's who think they can't live
without a "good steak". They eat things, we didn't know were
edible. They build the most beautiful scaffolding in the world out of
long bamboo poles. There is an underlying meaning to everything.
They take care of each other or let one another die. I hung out by a game
in the street the other night and I got the feeling that they weren't going to
continue the game until I walked away. So I did. They are
sensitive, superstitious, logical, crazy, and completely rational. China…
Shanghai is
gripping. Like every good relationship, it hasn't been easy getting to
know one another. China is so much more then I could see. China
deserves a reintroduction to many people. It's an awakening for myself and my
relationships…with myself, my friends, and my honest world. Either
physically, or through literature I am learning about this place and in turn
finding out about my damn self. Word.