Days 151-154: Packing for the USA

These days all that's going on, pretty much, is packing to get ready for our trip to the USA. But that takes longer than we anticipated. A key problem we are having is that the weather here in Shanghai is very cold and not all that windy, so after we wash our clothes, they stay wet. We can't dry them as well as we are used to doing. So we're trying to dry some under the heat lamp in the bathroom, and we are even putting some on hangers and drying them in the living room and bedroom. There are clothes all over the apartment, and most of them are wet.

Other things we've been doing:
--I've been updating my blog.
--I organized my collection of photos (about 4,000 at this point)
--Kerry went to the grocery store.

Not too much excitement, as you can tell.

I've been staying in all the time, pretty much, because I have a bit of a fear of catching something at the last minute. I DO NOT WANT TO GET SICK FOR THIS TRIP. Therefore, I'm pretty much quarantining myself. I know that's a bit extreme, but I have no desire to pick up something in the last few days here.

I'm not as excited about going home as I thought I might be. Perhaps because I know it's really only a short visit and then we have to return. It's not that I hate it here--in fact, there's a lot I love about China and the experiences I have had--but if I were given the option to stay in the USA, I'd probably take it at this point. I do miss home and have a desire to return to "normal." I think coming back here is going to be hard.

Towards the end, we are also doing a lot of cleaning: the bathroom, the fridge, the floors. We're trying to get all the laundry done, or at least as much as possible.

One other thing: I've also been trying to get some writing done. I promised Grace a couple articles for a periodical at SISU about experiences from international faculty. The first one I wrote about SISU students seemed to please her, and she thought I'd have no trouble getting it published. Yay! However, the second one I wrote I know will be more controversial: it's tentatively titled "On Being Gay in China." I assured her that my intent was to be positive about SISU and about China, but she told me that she'd have to check with the Director and the Editor before allowing me to submit the article. It will be interesting to see what happens.

We plan to leave at 8:30 tomorrow morning; we're trying to order a van on Didi--we'll see how that goes!

Days 149-150: End of Japan Trip

Wednesday was the last full day of our Tokyo trip. The day began with eating at the buffet in the hotel again...I really do like their scrambled eggs, iced tea, brie cheese, and salmon trout especially. They also have a different pasta every day; today it was a pesto pasta. We decided to go to the Snoopy Museum in Roppongi first because it was a time-sensitive issue. So first we went to this convenience store called Lawson's, where we read online that we were supposed to buy tickets. We had problems figuring out the machine. An employee in there tried to help us; in fact, she knew what we were talking about. The machine said the tickets were sold out. Undaunted, we decided to take the subway there anyway, even after the Studio Ghibli Museum fiasco. And I'm so glad we did! It was a cute museum--small but a lot of fun. Images of the Peanuts characters pervaded the place. The first room we walked into had a mural of Charlie Brown and Snoopy made up of old comic strips; it was very clever. This same room also had a plethora of photographs showing Charles Schulz's life. Then we entered a room showing a brief animated clip called "Love Is Wonderful," which turned out to be the theme of the gallery while we were there. Lots of comics that related to "love" themes in Peanuts: Lucy and Schroeder; Linus and Sally; and even more obscure ones, like Linus and Truffles. They showed us another animation, that reinforced all the love relationships of all the characters. "Love is the whole world," it proclaimed at the end. We also enjoyed perusing their gift shop, where we bought some cool stuff, and then we even went to the Blanket Cafe, where I got a sandwich out of a dog dish. :)   Outside, when we left, they had these lights on a tree that animated themselves, and I saw a dancing Snoopy--and someone had made a Snoopy snowman. This place totally appealed to the kid in me, and I loved it.

Pics from the Snoopy Museum:

The Charlie Brown and Snoopy mural.

Snoopy and Woodstock.

Photo of Schulz and his dog Sparky.

Time cover of the Peanuts gang.

Valentine's Day Peanuts comic.

Poster for the gallery theme.

After the museum, though, was the most stressful part of the trip. We had a horrible time figuring how to get to the anime store in Nakuna, Nakuna Broadway, that Kerry wanted to get to. He just wanted to give up and go home, but I kept insisting we press on. Tokyo subways are HORRIBLY confusing. We did get there, eventually, but, sadly, the store wasn't much to speak of, and half of it was closing when we got there. It just basically confirmed for me Tokyo's obsession with anime and its portrayal of nearly-naked women within it.  I saw more naked or half naked women in this one store than I have in an entire life of TV. I felt that I was in an adult video store.

A couple of the more tame examples:

Adam and Eve?

A powerful gang of females.

Soon after, we decided to go back to the sushi place we went to the previous night: Kazuna Sushi. It wasn't as good as the previous night, but it was still good. Tonight I had a salmon and avocado carpaccio, along with the same sashimi platter I ordered the night before. I have discovered that I LOVE UNI. It is sooooooo good. I can never seem to find it in the USA, either. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. I wasn't thrilled that they sat us downstairs, though, and tonight, unlike last night, they made us use a computer tablet to order. And some of the stuff we wanted wasn't easily found on there.  We decided to go home soon after.

I don't have a lot to say about Thursday other than it was a long travel day: we got up about 7:30, ate the buffet breakfast, finished packing, got onto the hotel shuttle, rode about 110 minutes to our terminal, and then checked in. Fortunately check in and immigration was super easy in Japan (not surprisingly, more streamlined than China). However, our flight was delayed two hours. Sigh. The flight wasn't too bad, but it was three hours long. And, of course, immigration takes a lot longer in China. Leaving the plane, I noticed that, on ANA, everyone got their bags at the same time and then filed out at once. This is different from the American and Chinese ways of filing out of the plane row by row. Consequently, because we had to stop for the bathroom on the way out, EVERYONE had already grabbed their luggage ahead of us, and two airport staff were about to take our bags away to the "lost luggage" area, but we nabbed them just in time. Customs in China was pretty easy; we just simply went through the "Nothing to Declare" line. And then we grabbed a taxi, which, of course, took a while to get us home: it was snowing in Shanghai, on top of everything else. We arrived home at about 8:15 pm Shanghai time, 9:15 pm Tokyo time. Travel, travel, travel was the theme.

Some trip pics:

Chandeliers in lobby of Hyatt Regency.

Kerry naps on the bus to the airport.

View of Mt. Fuji from the plane.

Then......packing for the USA!

Day 148: Day 3 in Japan--Short, but Fun

So today we got going pretty late. We had the buffet breakfast in the hotel but then couldn't rose ourselves out of bed until the afternoon. Kerry, who had forgotten one of his key meds, wasn't doing too well, and my back, legs, and feet were all hurting. So we took the morning to just rest up, basically. I guess we're both getting old.

When we did get going, though, we had a good time. First we walked over to the Government Observatory, which was very near the hotel in Shinjuku. We went up to the 45th floor (the female elevator operators bowed to us deeply until the elevator departed each time), and then saw some great views of the entire city. There was also a toy store there. Kerry bought a toy out of a vending machines; vending machines are ubiquitous here, and they usually carry little toys or trinkets. He plans to give the toy he "won" to his friend Rachelle. We also saw a lot of souvenirs there for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics; this is already being heavily promoted.

From the observatory:

View from the 45th floor.

Another view.

Celebrating the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Outside the observatory.

After the observatory, we walked around Shinjuku a bit. We saw a Wendy's there, so we had to try out their chicken nuggets. We noticed that a "serving" of nuggets there is only 4 nuggets, unlike 6, 9, 12 or more in the USA. Also, we had another opportunity to use one of the magical toilets of Tokyo: the toilets here have bidets, air fresheners, and even play music. At the sushi place we went to later, when I opened the door to the men's room, the toilet lid opened automatically.

Once we departed Wendy's, we went to a Japanese bookstore. They actually had a lot of English titles, and plenty of manga, so it was fun to peruse, and we even bought some selections. Soon after, we went to Kizuno Sushi, where we split shrimp tempura. Kerry ordered a crab cream gratin as well, and I ordered a salmon and avocado sushi roll as well as a deluxe platter of sashimi. I must say that the sashimi, in particular, was MAGNIFICENT. Seven different kinds of sashimi, and I think I had 3-5 of each kind: tuna, octopus, shrimp, and a few others. Very tasty!

Other random pics:

Shinjuku at night.

Yuri (lesbian) manga.

Deluxe sashimi platter!

Even though we didn't do a lot today, it was fun to go around Shinjuku!

Day 147: A Snowy Day in Tokyo (2nd Full Day in Tokyo)

Today focus on two major activities: the Meiji Shrine and the Studio Ghibli museum. With the inclement weather, that's about all we could handle.

We began the day with room service: "American" breakfasts, which were actually pretty good. It was nice to have scrambled eggs and butter again. I was going to watch the Vikings in the NFC Conference Championship while we ate--that was the plan--but Fox here was showing something else instead, so I just followed along with the game on Facebook. It's just as well--the Vikings lost to the Eagles 38-7, anyway. I will still root for the Eagles over the Patriots in the Super Bowl--the Patriots are just SO spoiled. I often root for the underdog.

Anyway, soon after breakfast, we went to Harajuku again. But this time we went to the shrine. It snowed all day today, basically: I think Tokyo got somewhere between 4-6 inches. The walk to the shrine was long, but one great thing about the snow is that made for a lot of beautiful photographs. The shrine was large and impressive; we got to hear a drum being played and to see Shinto priests. They were very big on rules here: twice I got asked to lower my umbrella when I was standing in an area that had covering already. After looking around a bit, Kerry and I made a "wish" by writing it down and placing an offering (aka $$$) in an envelope. We also bought a couple tailsman souvenirs, including something for our friend Pat.

Here are some Shrine pics:

Entry to the shrine.

View inside the main shrine.

Prayer left at the shrine.

Selling tailsmen at the shrine.

Snow in the branches.

Another wintry view.

Next, we went to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. The subway ride there was a bit long, but fortunately a shuttle to the museum was provided, too. When we got there, though, the horror story began. THEY WOULDN'T LET US IN TO THE MUSEUM. The woman at the gate insisted that we needed a paper ticket, and showing proof online that we paid wasn't sufficient. "Please contact your agency," she said, politely. I was dumbfounded--we paid $100 for those tickets--and we just walked away when she told us to make a phone call. And then the phone we went to didn't work. So we're standing there in the snow, about to give up. Then I say to Kerry, "Let's try one last time. Maybe if we're really polite, she'll let us in." So we went up there, and I explained that we were from the USA, we really wanted to see the museum, we had no idea that we needed a paper ticket. All of this was true. I even worked up some tears, for good measure. I asked, "Would you please be so kind as to let us in? We'd really appreciate it." She replied, "I will let you in, but for 2000 yen (about $20).." We figured it was worth it, because she was breaking the rules for us. After making us wait a few minutes, she let us in. We saw an animated short film about a spider and a dragon-fly looking-creature becoming friends in the water. Then we perused the museum itself. It was very quirky, with examples of animation, animated cells, small doors to walk through, and even a big cat for children to play on. I liked their store, too, and I made some good purchases there. But honestly? To me, it wasn't worth either $50 or $60. I've been to some museums for free that I enjoyed much more than this one. We were able to spend only about 90 minutes here, after all the craziness we went through.  We did get to take some nice photos on the outside.

A couple museum pics:

More of the winter wonderland.

Outside the Studio Ghibli Museum.

Another shot outside the museum.

In the line for the shuttle bus, we got to talking with two Americans from New York City: a woman named Roberta, who runs a rental property business in New Orleans, and her daughter Victoria, who just graduated the New School in Manhattan. At the subway station, Victoria had some sort of problem with her subway card, so we chatted with Roberta while Victoria took care of it. We chatted with them all the way--mostly comparing travel experiences in the East--until we parted ways at Shinjuku station; Roberta even sent me her cell phone number. Interesting! You never know how or when you'll make some sort of contact. The whole experience reminded me of the film Lost In Translation a bit. Foreigners from the same country just gravitate towards each other!

One last pic of Kerry at Shinjuku:

Kerry in the purple snow.

Once we got back to the hotel, we were STARVING. We had had nothing to eat all day. So I polished off calamari, salad, burger, fries, and a dessert for dinner....and Kerry also had a meaty appetizer, a burger, fries, and a dessert. Soon after that, we were ready to turn in. Kerry did much earlier than I did, though.

Days 145-146: Leaving for Tokyo/First Full Day

Saturday
Today was mostly spent with travel issues: getting ready to go, leaving, travelling, and arriving in Tokyo....finally.  We took a taxi to Pudong Airport, as usual, and wasn't as bad as usual in terms of time. Fortunately, we were able to change our seats on the plane: ANA (All Nippon Airways) gave us a free upgrade to Economy Plus seats, right next to each other, in the middle of the plane. I couldn't have my precious window seat, but at least I got to sit next to Kerry! The flight was great: I listened to music, read a book, and ate the dinner they served (great variety: chicken, rice, veggies, snack crackers, fruit, and even some Japanese sake). However, when we landed in Japan, the craziness began. First, we had to wait in a heinously long line at immigration--it took about 40 minutes to get through it. Then, since we were so late, we had a difficult time figuring out what to do next after we got our bags: eventually, we determined that we need to take an Airport Limo service to the Hyatt Regency. We bought tickets and climbed aboard. The limo took over an HOUR to get to the hotel. By the time we got in, it was almost midnight. (And our flight got in around 9 pm, Japan time.) None of the restaurants were open, so we just ordered room service: cheeseburgers and fries--they were very good! Kerry even ordered a "pot of chocolate"--with whipped cream--which similarly delectable. Soon after, we turned in.

Here are some Saturday pics:

Kerry's new panda pillow.

Kerry in our hotel room.

Our first (room service) meal in Tokyo!

Anime with a girl, her three aunties, and a transvestite boy (the character on the left with the hat).

Sunday
Today was animal day. We got up quite late and spent the entire day exploring Harajuku. It really wasn't that difficult to get to from our hotel. We had to take a shuttle to Shinjuku Station to get the subway, but it was only a five-minute trip. And the subway ride was only about 10 minutes, maximum. Harajuku is, in some ways, everything it's been rumored to be: very eclectic, crowded, and quite the tourist trip. But I really enjoyed it! First we went to a cat cafe called MOCHA on the 2nd floor of a tall building. We had to take off our shoes and put on slippers to go in. Once we entered, it was set up like Alice in Wonderland's world, with references to the Mad Hatter and such all over the place. We had to get our drinks out of a machine, in paper cups, and put covers on them. The cats were mostly long haired and fluffy, but very cute! There was supposed to be a challenge to match a picture of a cat tail we were given with the correct cat, but at the end we were told that we didn't do so, which is just as well because I didn't know what we were supposed to have won anyway. Then we made a quick trip to Candy A Go Go, where they had some candy dolphins and gummy bears that we purchased. We also had a quick bite to eat at a Tokyo McDonald's: we both ordered chicken sandwiches. Mine was called a Chicken Filet-O, which was like a Big Mac, but with a chicken patty. After lunch, we encountered an Owl Forest with a Bengal Cat Cafe, so we went to both: they were combined in the same place. The owl forest involved walking around a path, encountering owls, and petting them as long as they were agreeable to it! The Bengal cat cafe was similar to the other: slippers, no shoes; drinks out of a machine; only 30 minutes of time. Most everyone sat down on the ground, put their coats on the ground, and let the cats come to them and set in their laps. I couldn't do this because it's hard for me to sit cross-legged, so I mostly stood and watched Kerry do so. Still, I petted cats and had a nice time. Later, we went to a crepe place in Harajuku: Harajuku is famous for its crepes. At first, I got a salmon and cream cheese one, and Kerry got one with meat and lettuce. Then we tried dessert crepes: I got a green tea cheesecake one, and Kerry got one with Nutella. Afterwards, we went on to a hedgehog cafe; once again, 30 minute limit (although this didn't seem to be strictly enforced, as it was in the Bengal cat cafe), and we proceeded to pet hedgehogs--and what was cool is that we were allowed to pick them up, unlike with the cat cafes!!  What a unique experience. Eventually, we got home and had a late supper at the Caffe: Kerry had lasagna, and I had a cheesy pizza--neither was anything to write home about, as my Mom would say.

Here are some Sunday pics:

Japanese money.

My favorite cat from MOCHA.

Selfie at MOCHA.

Harajuku girl.

Owl at the entry to the owl forest.

Petting an owl.

Kerry petting a Bengal cat.

Holding a hedgehog!

Kerry watching some hedgehogs.

Harajuku girl at the subway. No one gave her a second glance.

Tokyo at night.

I'd like to add some other general impressions so far:

• Tokyo is EXPENSIVE. We are going through money like water.
• People are generally very polite, it's true. They wait in line at the subway; then, when the subway shows up, half stand to the left and half stand to the right and they (gasp!) wait for the people to come out to enter! How unlike Shanghai! It's like Moses parting the Red Sea.
• Tokyo reminds me much more of New York City than Shanghai does. A lot of Westerners, a lot of well-dressed, fashionable people. 
• People speak English more here than in Shanghai; they'll even come up to us on the street and offer help--in English--which is nice.
• I'm not overly impressed with the food yet. Granted, I haven't had any real "Japanese food," unless you count the crepes in Harajuku. So we'll see.

I'm sure I'll form more opinions later.

Day 144: Exceeding Expectations

A had a really good day today, and it was a really good day but it exceeded my expectations in a lot of ways. I like being surprised.

For my first experience, I had lunch with Connie, for the last time, and the new Fulbrighter, Kate, for the first time. It was actually my first time taking the subway by myself: 11 stops on Line 3 to Hongqiao station. I was a bit worried about finding the restaurant, Beijing Dexin Roast Duck, because I'm horrible with directions. But I recognized the "Magnolia Plaza" sign from the time Kerry and I went there with Xuewei. I was a bit late, but I had a WONDERFUL lunch (really more like dinner) with Connie and Kate: we had duck (of course), plus scrambled eggs with shrimp, boiled greens, squirrel fish, and a cakey dessert that Kerry would have loved. We talked and talked: so much to say about the Fulbright experience, living in China, what Japan is like, gender studies, politics--a great conversation through and through.  Said goodbye to them both--I feel, though, that I'm gaining one friend and losing another. It's an odd transition. I will miss both Mark and Connie the most. There is no question about that. Those two have been my biggest support here.

Food from Beijing Dexin Roast Duck:

Scrambled eggs and shrimp!

Roast duck!

Squirrel fish.

Connie and Kate.

After that, I took the long way back to Chifeng station, where I met up with Kerry, who gave me some papers from my graduate students that I had to hand in to Carol. Then Kerry and I had a bring lunch/meal at Ciao Cafe--I got my usual tuna sandwich, but he got a pizza to take with him.  Afterwards, he went to the subway and I went to SISU to attend a concert at the Shanghai Grand Theater: "2018 New Year Gala: In Honor of High-Level Talents and Foreign Experts." So I felt pleased to be recognized. It was nice hanging out with the international faculty: Samira, Guillermo, Peter, Alex, Damon, etc. I guess I was in a good mood--I even had a nice conversation with Greg, which was a first. I was in Row 6, center--great view. And the performances were OUTSTANDING: a ballet of little girls; Chinese opera singers; face changers; piano with violin; an acrobat; three tenors doing Italian opera; a beautiful soprano, an many others--13 in all. My favorite was a gorgeous ballet performance that told a beautiful story about love found and lost called "Crested Ibises" from the Shanghai Dance Theater. It was such a pleasure to see. A bus took us right back to our campus after the show.

Me, Samira, and Guillermo.

Dance, Jasmine Flower, by some little girls, to open the show.

Posing for pics at the end of the show.

The program for the evening.

I realized after this show that I really like Alex, but I'm having some issues with Peter's conservatism. We were talking about Trump, and I jokingly remarked to Peter, "So, Peter, which shithhole country do you want to visit?" And he replied, "Well, there are some countries that are really bad off. And Trump said what he did in private."  To myself, I was saying to myself, Seriously????  You're defending this monumental jerk??   And Alex just said, "Okay." He clearly wanted to just drop it, so we did. Peter is very hard to talk to sometimes. I want to like him, but he's kind of a know-it-all. It was nice talking to Christa, the Dutch instructor, though. I am so amazed at how well people from the Netherlands know English (I'm reminded of Bart, the baseball-playing student I had from the Netherlands last year).  In short, I hope I can become better friends with Alex, and maybe even Christa. But with Peter I sometimes have my doubts.