JULY 23, 2007
I resumed participation with the Tai Chi ladies immediately upon my return to Shanghai, having missed the people AND the body movement. They welcomed me back with open arms and big, sincere smiles. The ladies (and now the group includes one gentleman) are now meeting in the lobby of the building that houses the library, the dry cleaner, and the spa here in our complex. It is a fairly spacious area, but the particular draw is the air conditioning. Toni, my Australian friend, was still among them, and a new Western face, Suely (Brazilian), had joined in my absence.
As you might expect, I was a tad rusty from my two-month hiatus, but thankfully, I remembered more than I'd forgotten. It was satisfying to move my body in a thoughtful way again, and also become reacquainted with the Tai Chi group. We'd barely finished the routine on my first day back when one of the older ladies started saying something to me in Chinese in a fairly dramatic manner. Toni's Mandarin has improved significantly, and she said something about the fan dancers which I have mentioned in previous posts.
The next thing I knew, I was being led away by the arm toward parts unknown. A handful of the Chinese ladies squired me towards the Residential Committee office (where our Mandarin class is held). Once inside, it appeared I was being signed up for some event of some kind. Toni had left me for her own apartment and her children, and I was with no means of interpretation. Finally, one of the younger gals that worked in the office told me that I must present myself in front of the management building at 12:45 on Saturday. For what, I had no idea, but they produced a yellow T-shirt with red Chinese characters on it in my size, and made it clear to me that I must attend wearing this garment (a size XXL which I'm sorry to say, is pretty close to MY size in China). These are the times when not speaking the language is a distinct disadvantage. I certainly could make no excuses for not attending, hence, I was thanked for my participation and whisked out the door.
For the remainder of the week, I was quite curious about what I'd started calling the "Yellow T-shirt Event." Finally, on Friday I was chatting with Suely (pronounced SWAY-lee) after Tai Chi, and discovered that she too was signed up for the "Yellow T-shirt Event." She knew a bit more about the activities than I did. We were to board a bus and drive to a gathering where we would be supporting our very own fan dancers in some kind of exhibition or competition. This sounded like a bit more than a 45 minute excursion to me, and Suely confirmed that indeed, we'd return to the complex around 4:00.
On Saturday, Randy accompanied me to the designated meeting place where many other yellow T-shirt bedecked folks were milling about. He didn't stick around very long, giving in to the mortal fear that he too would be roped into wearing a yellow T-shirt (it simply isn't his color) and herded onto a bus for destinations unknown. As this was too far out of his comfort zone, he happily volunteered to do some grocery shopping instead, and left me in good hands with Suely and the other Tai Chi members. Mr. Hu, my Mandarin teacher, and his wife were also in attendance. Suely has a handsome command of the language (she's been in China for four years), and with Mr. Hu also being on hand, I was sure that I be able to grasp the gist of the event.
The bus only went a short distance and we arrived at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Arena, an arena that not only is utilized for gymnastics, but also basketball, ping pong, and obviously fan dancing on occasion. Each section of the arena held a block of individuals all wearing the same color T-shirt. Of course, our section wore the yellow, but there were also white, blue, orange, red, green .... every color and shade imaginable. It was quite the sight!! Also, each section had some sort of device which was to be utilized as a tool for cheering on each section's corresponding group. We had those inflatable tubes used at basketball games that you bang together to make noise (my mother-in-law calls them "whackers"), others had fans or pom-poms to wave, banners to display, and other paraphernalia necessary for exciting a crowd. Our group was somewhat special in that we had a young fellow who played peppy tunes on a saxophone which we accompanied by clapping, or whacking as the case may be.
The arena floor was divided into two sections. One end was the stage area, very well lit with a large Oriental backdrop. The other end was lined with tables and overstuffed leather chairs where, it was explained to me, that special dignitaries would be seated. This led me to the mistaken belief that they would be judging a competition, but in fact, it was actually a revue-type talent exhibition. There were big lights and TV cameras everywhere, and big screens on either end for flashing graphics and photos. This event was either broadcast live or taped for re-broadcast at a later date. I never did find out this information. Also many still photographers were in attendance. This was quite the media event!
Eventually, the dignitaries were led onto the arena floor. There were Chinese governmental big-wigs, local celebrities, and even an aged world champion ping pong player (they flashed photos of her meeting Chairman Mao). It seems that whenever there is a public gathering such as this, the government never misses an opportunity for some good ole fashioned propaganda dishing. There was a fair amount of "China ... RAH RAH!!" happening until we finally got down to the real display of talent (not that dishing propaganda isn't an art unto itself, but you know what I mean).
I have to say that I was VERY impressed with this show. What I'd mistakenly assumed would be various groups of fan dancers such as our Yanlord group, were actually many different types of entertainment and talent all from within the Changning District which is where we live here in Shanghai. There were dancers with fans, parasols, drums, pom-poms, and various other props. There was a fashion show comprised of fashions for men, women, children, and professionals. A middle school symphony performed as well as any professional orchestra I've witnessed stateside. A local singer displayed her talent, as well as a couple of ballet dancers and a contortionist/acrobat type woman (who had me saying, "You've GOT to be kidding!!" several times). There were Korean and Thai displays of dancing. And you haven't lived until you've seen 50 Chinese men and women dressed as matadors and flamenco dancers doing the Passo Doble .... amazing!!
The costumes were magnificently colored and peppered with sequins and metallic fabrics that caught the light spectacularly. Our very own Yanlord ladies were adorned in turquoise and white loose flowing Chinese pajamas with silver sequins and large fuchsia fans. They did a terrific job and we were very proud of them (and we whacked our fool heads off in appreciation)!! Between Suely and Mr. Hu, I was kept informed of any pertinent information. The show lasted a little longer than 4:00, but we arrived back at the complex in plenty of time for dinner.
Randy had indeed accomplished the shopping, and had also arranged dinner out with our downstairs neighbor, Mike, a fellow from Pittsburgh. Poor guy was celebrating his 50th birthday all by himself, so we took it upon ourselves to try to mark the event in his family's absence. That is one thing that really warms my heart about this place. All the expats seem to close ranks and care for one another here as all of us are away from many loved ones for extended periods of time. Randy's birthday passed while I was home in Michigan, and thankfully, our friend Toni hosted a birthday dinner in his honor (bless you, girlfriend). As much as possible, we look after each other.
We took Mike to Simply Thai, one of my favorites, and then to visit the City Shop where they have many imported American items (groceries) in stock. Mike had never been to either of these places. Hopefully, he had a nice birthday, although I'm sure he'd have preferred it with his loved ones. After we arrived at home, he came to the door with a big bag of peaches for us. His company has purchased peaches to give to their customer as gifts, but as there were far too many for this purpose, he was happy to share them with us. The peaches here are very sweet and juicy, but don't have a strong "peachy" flavor .... still good though.
Sunday, we braved the heat and took the subway to IKEA to purchase some rugs for the apartment. Our entire apartment is either hardwood or tiled floor. Taking pity on Mike with our clomping around above him, we decided that we could do better than a seemingly hundred year old fake Persian rug that was covering most of our living room floor (and spreading lint over the remainder of the apartment), as well as something for the dining area which had nothing on it but the dining room table and chairs. We found something we liked online and headed out, as it was listed in stock.
When we arrived at IKEA, we found the rug we liked, but there was only one in stock. Bummer! So we picked out another rug that had a corresponding black trim so that it would at least match. The dining and living room areas are one big open space and our preference was to get something coordinated. So we had the two rugs, as well as a smaller one for the foyer, found a driver and headed home. Randy plopped the rugs on the floor and started to open the one intended for the dining room. Bummer again!!! It was brown, not black ... also it appeared to be a smidgen too large for the room. As transportation is an issue here, we decided to keep the rug and try it in one of the bedrooms at a later date. We'll try for the smaller, black one again later.
Our outdoor pool here in the complex is now open. As you can imagine, it gets a LOT of use by the children of the complex as the heat is a deterrent for playground activity. It is a large pool with vast areas of shallow water for wading toddlers, but also a large deep end for more experienced swimmers. It was our intention after our big IKEA adventure to have dinner and a nice cool swim, but Mother Nature was against us on that idea. As soon as the dinner dishes were cleared, a thunderstorm presented itself and kept us inside. Well, at least it cooled off a bit. And with that, another Shanghai weekend came to a close.
As you might expect, I was a tad rusty from my two-month hiatus, but thankfully, I remembered more than I'd forgotten. It was satisfying to move my body in a thoughtful way again, and also become reacquainted with the Tai Chi group. We'd barely finished the routine on my first day back when one of the older ladies started saying something to me in Chinese in a fairly dramatic manner. Toni's Mandarin has improved significantly, and she said something about the fan dancers which I have mentioned in previous posts.
The next thing I knew, I was being led away by the arm toward parts unknown. A handful of the Chinese ladies squired me towards the Residential Committee office (where our Mandarin class is held). Once inside, it appeared I was being signed up for some event of some kind. Toni had left me for her own apartment and her children, and I was with no means of interpretation. Finally, one of the younger gals that worked in the office told me that I must present myself in front of the management building at 12:45 on Saturday. For what, I had no idea, but they produced a yellow T-shirt with red Chinese characters on it in my size, and made it clear to me that I must attend wearing this garment (a size XXL which I'm sorry to say, is pretty close to MY size in China). These are the times when not speaking the language is a distinct disadvantage. I certainly could make no excuses for not attending, hence, I was thanked for my participation and whisked out the door.
For the remainder of the week, I was quite curious about what I'd started calling the "Yellow T-shirt Event." Finally, on Friday I was chatting with Suely (pronounced SWAY-lee) after Tai Chi, and discovered that she too was signed up for the "Yellow T-shirt Event." She knew a bit more about the activities than I did. We were to board a bus and drive to a gathering where we would be supporting our very own fan dancers in some kind of exhibition or competition. This sounded like a bit more than a 45 minute excursion to me, and Suely confirmed that indeed, we'd return to the complex around 4:00.
On Saturday, Randy accompanied me to the designated meeting place where many other yellow T-shirt bedecked folks were milling about. He didn't stick around very long, giving in to the mortal fear that he too would be roped into wearing a yellow T-shirt (it simply isn't his color) and herded onto a bus for destinations unknown. As this was too far out of his comfort zone, he happily volunteered to do some grocery shopping instead, and left me in good hands with Suely and the other Tai Chi members. Mr. Hu, my Mandarin teacher, and his wife were also in attendance. Suely has a handsome command of the language (she's been in China for four years), and with Mr. Hu also being on hand, I was sure that I be able to grasp the gist of the event.
The bus only went a short distance and we arrived at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Arena, an arena that not only is utilized for gymnastics, but also basketball, ping pong, and obviously fan dancing on occasion. Each section of the arena held a block of individuals all wearing the same color T-shirt. Of course, our section wore the yellow, but there were also white, blue, orange, red, green .... every color and shade imaginable. It was quite the sight!! Also, each section had some sort of device which was to be utilized as a tool for cheering on each section's corresponding group. We had those inflatable tubes used at basketball games that you bang together to make noise (my mother-in-law calls them "whackers"), others had fans or pom-poms to wave, banners to display, and other paraphernalia necessary for exciting a crowd. Our group was somewhat special in that we had a young fellow who played peppy tunes on a saxophone which we accompanied by clapping, or whacking as the case may be.
The arena floor was divided into two sections. One end was the stage area, very well lit with a large Oriental backdrop. The other end was lined with tables and overstuffed leather chairs where, it was explained to me, that special dignitaries would be seated. This led me to the mistaken belief that they would be judging a competition, but in fact, it was actually a revue-type talent exhibition. There were big lights and TV cameras everywhere, and big screens on either end for flashing graphics and photos. This event was either broadcast live or taped for re-broadcast at a later date. I never did find out this information. Also many still photographers were in attendance. This was quite the media event!
Eventually, the dignitaries were led onto the arena floor. There were Chinese governmental big-wigs, local celebrities, and even an aged world champion ping pong player (they flashed photos of her meeting Chairman Mao). It seems that whenever there is a public gathering such as this, the government never misses an opportunity for some good ole fashioned propaganda dishing. There was a fair amount of "China ... RAH RAH!!" happening until we finally got down to the real display of talent (not that dishing propaganda isn't an art unto itself, but you know what I mean).
I have to say that I was VERY impressed with this show. What I'd mistakenly assumed would be various groups of fan dancers such as our Yanlord group, were actually many different types of entertainment and talent all from within the Changning District which is where we live here in Shanghai. There were dancers with fans, parasols, drums, pom-poms, and various other props. There was a fashion show comprised of fashions for men, women, children, and professionals. A middle school symphony performed as well as any professional orchestra I've witnessed stateside. A local singer displayed her talent, as well as a couple of ballet dancers and a contortionist/acrobat type woman (who had me saying, "You've GOT to be kidding!!" several times). There were Korean and Thai displays of dancing. And you haven't lived until you've seen 50 Chinese men and women dressed as matadors and flamenco dancers doing the Passo Doble .... amazing!!
The costumes were magnificently colored and peppered with sequins and metallic fabrics that caught the light spectacularly. Our very own Yanlord ladies were adorned in turquoise and white loose flowing Chinese pajamas with silver sequins and large fuchsia fans. They did a terrific job and we were very proud of them (and we whacked our fool heads off in appreciation)!! Between Suely and Mr. Hu, I was kept informed of any pertinent information. The show lasted a little longer than 4:00, but we arrived back at the complex in plenty of time for dinner.
Randy had indeed accomplished the shopping, and had also arranged dinner out with our downstairs neighbor, Mike, a fellow from Pittsburgh. Poor guy was celebrating his 50th birthday all by himself, so we took it upon ourselves to try to mark the event in his family's absence. That is one thing that really warms my heart about this place. All the expats seem to close ranks and care for one another here as all of us are away from many loved ones for extended periods of time. Randy's birthday passed while I was home in Michigan, and thankfully, our friend Toni hosted a birthday dinner in his honor (bless you, girlfriend). As much as possible, we look after each other.
We took Mike to Simply Thai, one of my favorites, and then to visit the City Shop where they have many imported American items (groceries) in stock. Mike had never been to either of these places. Hopefully, he had a nice birthday, although I'm sure he'd have preferred it with his loved ones. After we arrived at home, he came to the door with a big bag of peaches for us. His company has purchased peaches to give to their customer as gifts, but as there were far too many for this purpose, he was happy to share them with us. The peaches here are very sweet and juicy, but don't have a strong "peachy" flavor .... still good though.
Sunday, we braved the heat and took the subway to IKEA to purchase some rugs for the apartment. Our entire apartment is either hardwood or tiled floor. Taking pity on Mike with our clomping around above him, we decided that we could do better than a seemingly hundred year old fake Persian rug that was covering most of our living room floor (and spreading lint over the remainder of the apartment), as well as something for the dining area which had nothing on it but the dining room table and chairs. We found something we liked online and headed out, as it was listed in stock.
When we arrived at IKEA, we found the rug we liked, but there was only one in stock. Bummer! So we picked out another rug that had a corresponding black trim so that it would at least match. The dining and living room areas are one big open space and our preference was to get something coordinated. So we had the two rugs, as well as a smaller one for the foyer, found a driver and headed home. Randy plopped the rugs on the floor and started to open the one intended for the dining room. Bummer again!!! It was brown, not black ... also it appeared to be a smidgen too large for the room. As transportation is an issue here, we decided to keep the rug and try it in one of the bedrooms at a later date. We'll try for the smaller, black one again later.
Our outdoor pool here in the complex is now open. As you can imagine, it gets a LOT of use by the children of the complex as the heat is a deterrent for playground activity. It is a large pool with vast areas of shallow water for wading toddlers, but also a large deep end for more experienced swimmers. It was our intention after our big IKEA adventure to have dinner and a nice cool swim, but Mother Nature was against us on that idea. As soon as the dinner dishes were cleared, a thunderstorm presented itself and kept us inside. Well, at least it cooled off a bit. And with that, another Shanghai weekend came to a close.
posted by Roxanne Gillett at
12:47 AM
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