If only...

If we lived like the Chinese thought we lived our TV shows; we would:

Have multiple sex partners - Like 'Sex and the City'
All carry guns and shoot each other - Like 'The Sopranos'
All have a group of only 5 friends - Like 'Friends'
All have a boyfriend/girlfriend in 5th grade - Like every teen show these days

Well, as you can tell the Chinese think we are often like our TV shows. Some of my co-workers were very surprised to learn that TV is not reality. I guess since the government hasn't been open here, they don't get any information except through TV shows and movies. Well, hopefully I'll be able to change a couple people's perception of Americans.

Saturday we went to the Chinese Sex History Museum. At the museum there were a lot of strange figurines. One of the most interesting g-rated pieces was the footbinding machine.



I'm not sure how it work, but it looks painful. The men would break the middle of their wives' foot and then bind it incredibly tight with some kind of wrap. Footbinding no longer takes place in China, but in the country side, there are still some older women whose feet are damaged from the footbinding.



I haven't gone up the Pearl Tower yet, but here is a close up.

Sunday we went to Yu Gardens which is one of the oldest and biggest gardens in Shanghai. There is a pond in the middle and many old pagodas. When I was there, I felt like I was in the 'China' I expected to find. It wasn't Western like the rest of Shanghai. It was just a really nice area.

I am done with my third week of work. This week I turned in my report and next week I will be reporting on it to my team leader. My supervisor said I answered all the questions which made me happy. :) For the rest of the week, I edited the English version of my company's website. They actually used a lot of the changes I suggested. Quite often, you can understand what they mean, but it's not just the typical English term. An example is that my company used the word 'operation' instead of 'options'. I suggested this change as most people use the word options and the changed it!

This weekend I am going to Ningbo, which is a port city now 2.5 hours from Shanghai. In May 2008 a new bridge was opened which shorted the drive. The old drive to Ningbo was 5 hours. I'll have a lot more picture come Sunday night. I gotta get packing so peace out.