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....but the boss was in town which means I had to work more on Saturday than I usually do. I'm going to Hong Kong for the second time this weekend, so I'm sure that will inspire me to write the post about Hong Kong that I meant to write a month ago. We'll see what transpires. I guess the road to death of a blog is paved with good intentions.
Maybe soon I'll load some pictures.
Snyder, maybe if you post more frequently it will inspire me.
A few weeks ago, I experienced an International soccer match for the first time in my life (by simply writing the word soccer, half of my readers [Michael Koury] have already quit reading the post. [Thank goodness for the other half, Will Bardwell.] I guess that’s the bad thing about only having 2 readers). This was my second Saturday night here in Shanghai; the previous weekend I went to my favorite restraunt in town, Bubba’s Texas Barbeque, to have dinner with a group of total strangers. That was a successful meal though, and through it I doubled my friend network: what was 2 now became 4! Fortunately for me, a barbeque buddy invited me to go with his friends to the soccer match the next week. In my post world cup enthusiasm, I jumped at the opportunity to watch the Shenhua terribles play the even worse red shirted name I can’t pronounce team. I’m not much of a soccer expert, but I’d like to think I know what good soccer looks like, and this was not it. The passing was terrible, the dribbling was unimpressive, and neither team could finish…ever! The game ended in a 1-1 tie, and I think the total shots on goal were 6 or 7. Needless to say, I bet that a team of Bobo Champion, Olivia Lusco, Aaron Kidder, Peter Glover, Curt Revellete, Romaro Miller, Jake Dickerson, Gabe Roberts, Lyon Chadwick, Will Pepper, and Leigh Barrow could have probably given either of the China teams a run for it’s money in a pick-up game.
Clearly, the soccer was not the memorable event of the night. But dinner was, and for once I will remember a meal for the company and not the food! That night I dined with a collection of worldly quarter-lifers, all trying to make their mark, and find their footing. A wide range of countries and states were represented; Scotland, England, Canada, Mexico, China, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi and Ohio all had ambassadors at this table. As I ate some delicious spicy fish soup Sichuan style, I couldn’t help but think that few places at home offer a young Mississippi, bible-belt-bred conservative Republican the chance to exchange experiences and ideas with such a wide variety of people.
I think that is what has been most appealing and amazing about expat life so far. I’ve found that in life, I learn the most from those that have had a totally different experience growing up. I’m not saying that I’m a partaker of group think. Often when I congregate with these new friends, I’m surprised if anyone agrees with me about anything politically or socially. But I think that’s what I like most, a subtle reminder that even in these politically polarized times, there are people that are still ok with agreeing to disagree; nay, to even look past those disagreements and focus instead on the commonalities that they share rather than ideological variations that pull apart.
Maybe my next post will be a little more light-hearted. Too bad the soccer wasn’t a little better, or I’d have probably written about it.
Ok, so we all know it…I’m a bad blogger…I may very well be the worst blogger ever. I’ve kept a blog for the better part of three years, but have never posted anything in a timely manner. But I’m determined to change all that now. I’ve got plenty of stories from the last three weeks that I’m excited about sharing, so I’ll start with 3 Saturday’s ago.
Three weeks ago was really only my second weekend in Shanghai…I was short on friends, inexperienced in how to get around the city, and still trying to get plugged into a social network. But I’ve found that in some ways it is easier to make friends being in a new guy in a city like Shanghai than it would be if I had left North Mississippi to start a career in somewhere like Chicago, Kansas City, or any other American metropolis (except for maybe DC where so many high school and college friends have migrated after school). Of course, I realize that sounds completely contradictory to what most would think…I’m living in a non-English speaking country, I have no real previously established connections/friends here, and this city is home to upwards of 20 million urban people, who, as most urbanites do, tend to walk the streets wrapped up in their own goals and business, a definite sharp contrast to what we’re used to in Mississippi. That certainly does not sound like a formula for making friends quickly.
But what I have found in the past few weeks is that living in a non-European/American majority international city provides a unique chance to make new friends…friendships that would not likely occur in most North American or European cities. Here, half-way around the world from home, traditional western social constructs are nearly totally broken down. Couple this with the expat-shared-attitude of, “I’m living in the heart of the fastest growing economy in the world, I’m meeting friends from everywhere, and I’m only going to be here a limited time so I better take advantage of all of this now…plus if I meet this new person, I’ll have one more person to talk to, hmmm…” and you find a very unique place in today’s world.
The best way to explain this is by presenting concrete examples…stories of the people I meet, the friends I make, where they are from, and what they believe about the world. And probably a lot about what they do for fun. To go along with my theme, most of these stories will be set in Shanghai Saturdays.