Singing (or Crying) in the Rain

September 12, 2008

It was supposed to have been an easy night . . .

A bunch of people were going to go to Xu Jia Hui for dinner and to run some errands. We should have known that we were doomed from the start. People kept saying that there was a typhoon coming, but I resolutely denied its existence--what typhoon.

As I was running out of the building to meet everyone at the front gate (this was before we had bikes, so we really had to book) I said goodbye to this guy, John, and thank God I ran into him. He yelled out that if we wanted anything from the office we had to get it before five o'clock because they would be locked for the Autumn Festival Holiday--so that would mean no access to whatever was in there from Friday night to Tuesday morning. I had a small mountain of essays to grade . . .

So I told Denis to go ahead and ask everyone to wait while I did this, but Denis neglected to tell everyone why I was late. So when I got there (dripping with sweat) and explained what I was doing, I saw some jaws drop . . . we would be waiting a bit longer. By the time all seven of us were ready to go, the sky looked like a four day old bruise . . . you know the ones that are all purple and green. Really gross. Yeah, that is what was above us. And the air around us might as well have been a swimming pool it was so humid.

Off we go . . . kind of. Like the ass I am . . . I ever so confidently lead everyone onto the wrong bus. Well, it was the right bus, but going in the wrong direction : ) So we took a 2 RMB trip around the campus, as that was where the line ended. Needless to say, I felt horrible. What made it even worse was that as we were taking our spin around the neighborhood, it started raining. Getting a cab while it is raining in Shanghai should be some kind of Olympic sport. It is almost impossible. We were able to catch one, but there was no second one in sight. After about ten minutes of trying, we saw our good ol' friend, 824 bus rolling by (it was going in the right direction this time : ) so we hopped on. Unfortunately, as we got going, the rain got stronger and stronger. No typhoon. Really. I stand by my words . . .

We noticed water pooling on the floor of the bus, and Brian joked that it was coming in from the back . . . a couple of minutes later, though, I realized that he was right on. We were sitting in the back of the bus, where there are four seats across and a little platform next to the two side seats. I had left some papers on the platform next to me . . . they were pretty much submerged. Oh China . . .

I think the storm conveniently reached its height as we stepped out of the bus. About the only smart thing I did that day was roll up my jeans before I got off because I basically swam to the big ball mall (seriously, the mall is inside this huge globe). The water came well above my ankles . . . Ewww, can you imagine all the China that I got on my feet : ( I will probably develop trench foot in a couple of days.

We were supposed to get some dirty pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), but the place that we planned on going to only seemed to have ritzy pho, and there is just something wrong with that. It was a tough decision on where to eat because there is a Food Republic in the basement level of the mall (I already expounded on the wonder that is Food Republic) but Stephanie had seen Swanson's and was having a childhood moment (she used to go there when she was little with her mom). I can't say no to someone else's craving, so Swanson's it was. Actually, my grilled ham and cheese was quite enjoyable : )


For some reason, James ordered steak, and I am guessing from his refusal to eat it, it tasted as nasty as it looked. I don't think the Chinese do steaks so well.


The iced tea was pretty good, too. It didn't have that nasty China water taste. When the restaurants use the boiled tap water for tea and whatever, it still tastes horribly gross and chemically. Unfortunately, the ice cream was a little rank . . . we will not be having dessert there again.


This picture was taken before we tasted it : )

By the time we left the mall, the rain was completely gone . . . so basically, if I hadn't screwed up with the bus, we all would have been dry . . . ugg. But I did accomplish everything I set out to do that night. As I was walking out of Best Buy, I saw two of my students . . . it was pretty awkward, I won't lie. But finding the Citibank ATM and FINALLY having money again made up for everything! (Until Expedia stole my money. I hate Expedia. Die Expedia)