Amused in Shanghai

In no particular order, things that have amused me recently (okay, some things have annoyed me as well):

Tasteless congee with "fresh meat package," "exquisite delicacy" mini hot dog thing, and an egg with a hard yolk in the middle, all cold/lukewarm. And of course you need an ashtray at breakfast. D+

 

At every table at the hotel's overly-expensive breakfast--"Are you want to know your luck in the day? Plough a one-yuan coin into the nose hole." I could take hundreds of pictures of weird Engrish every day.

 

I thought my junior high uniforms were bad. Shapeless striped shirts, mushroom haircuts, and . . .

 

 . . . these shoes.

 

 Clever way to secure people's umbrellas at the Shanghai Museum.

The best picture I could get of the shoving involved in getting onto the metro during rush hour. I was basically body-hugged, shoved, and yelled at as people got out until Michael traded me places. Then I just got some public displays of affection from Michael as he got shoved. :)

 

So these people are why the sidewalks are clean. How come we don't have sidewalk cleaners everywhere in San Francisco? And yes, brooms look like that--I've seen them for sale that way.

 

I knew I'd see tai chi in public places, but I didn't know that next to the tai chi would be ballroom dancing and people doing the shimmy for some reason.

 

Those homes are in an expat compound. It's kind of sad how those compounds stick out from everything else--housing is huge, almost wasteful, and they all have yards and security guards, and then right down the road there's a huge old apartment building crowded with people and laundry and old junk.

 

Shocked by the racism in a Pizza Hut menu. Even if I knew what that was, I wouldn't order "Jew's ear." Michael says that's what the Chinese sounds like, but I'm wondering which came first--the "oh, that sounds like _____," or the "let's call it 'Jew's ear.'"

 

Fanciest non-smoking sign I've ever seen (in our elevator). You'd think it might get people to STOP. SMOKING.

 

I dare you to try to remember not to put toilet paper in the toilet (this is at the Hult campus). I've failed every single time.

 

What's DIY about this, what in the world is that on the phone case, and what does "hello geeks from the forest" mean? Maybe this is a cartoon I'm missing out on where geeks hack while camping and they are welcomed by smiling little animals with big, purple ears?

 

 Barley yogurt. Way better than I was expecting.

 

Coffee, milk tea, fruit tea, and . . . health nutrition. Heh? Didn't know I could get those things at a bakery that claims to be "So French, so fresh."