Well, I'm back in China! This time to upmarket Shanghai teaching at the prestigious Tongji University, even though my campus (one of four) is relatively small and quiet.
My accommodation is a smallish one-bedroom apartment on the 28th floor of a newish-looking development area full of 32-storey apartment blocks. As is customary in China I have a large bedroom with a Mao-size bed (I think his measured 8' x 8') which would easily sleep three people (menage a trois!?); and, a very small kitchen and bathroom: fortunately it does have a western toilet. The complex (a small suburb) has gardens, playground and a small lake which I can see from my glassed-in sun room (facing South) - refer photos taken from the 28th floor. The complex is also very well guarded and patrolled... maybe that's not a very good sign: even my bedroom door has a lock, a latch and a bolt! Who am I supposed to be keeping out!
I was told the University was within walking distance of the apartment - that's if you enjoy walking for 30+ minutes in the Chinese weather. My solution was, again, to buy a bike (refer to "Steven" in the photos), even though not as good or as expensive as my Wuhan one - but I may only be here for 4 months.
My trial run to the University last Sunday was approx 15 minutes door-to-door. At least I am surrounded by all the amenities that I need: 10 min to the very efficient Metro railway station; a market, supermarkets and department stores; best of all many restaurants, including my favourite restaurant/canteen next door to the complex. It suits me perfectly in that all the food is on display, they have small servings which means I can select a variety of dishes and it is frequented by couples and singles (no tables for six and eight).
As I have had to take over from a teacher who had left after one month into the semester I managed to survive last week. However, the teaching hours are short (3 hours per each of 5 days - 3 mornings and two afternoons).
Haven't seen much Chinglish at this stage except for one ATM bank with the sign "Self Serving Bank" - perhaps the Australian banks should adopt that motto! The traffic is a bit more orderly than in Wuhan (more police presence) but you still risk your life crossing the streets (regardless of a pedestrian crossing with an accompanying green walk light!). Around my area, the major roads have a special side road for bikes, scooters and motorbikes, however, they are just as congested and dangerous as the car lanes, although I have managed to pass one or two scooters on my one-day outing.
Incidentally, for you Telstra EDSers, China has just launched its 3G network: China Telecom alone, the largest of the 3 providers, is trying to convice its 250M customers to switch from 2G - could Flexcab/Kenan handle that volume?
Until next report... Shanghaied Renzo
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