Creativity is great, but plagiarism is faster

Cruising 35,000 above Mt. McKinley, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, and a variety of Russian/Asian islands, a distinct sense of insignificance flooded my thoughts. The world is a big place, and I’ve only been exposed to a relatively small chunk. That will soon be changed. I leaned over to Luke made a joke about asking the cab driver where the nearest Panda Express was. Only then did I remember I was flying on a two-story 747 where 90% of the passengers were Chinese. My racial awareness is appalling.

The flight from San Francisco to Shanghai lasted about thirteen hours; it sounds like a long time on a plane, and it was, (6,430 miles) but I had plenty of entertainment to keep me occupied including reading Plato, watching movies, talking to Luke, and trying to eavesdrop on conversations in Mandarin.

The two Chinese girls that sat next to me on the flight did not say a word the entire trip; they didn’t even get up to use the bathroom or stretch their legs until we were thirty minutes from landing. What they lacked in social skills was more than made up for with their bladder control and intestinal fortitude.

I have this pre-conception of Eastern culture that all the people are quiet, courteous, and about five feet tall. Though two of those attributes would apply to much of the Japanese culture, the people of China defy my stereotypes. Many of them – excluding my seat neighbors – are loud and gregarious, and don’t hesitate to strike up conversation. Not only that, many of them are quite pushy and rude. Getting off of the plane was an adventure, because people would push, shove, and climb over you to get their luggage as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do (it is), but I still couldn’t get over how rude they were.

Once we picked up our luggage and breezed through customs, we found Mom and Dad, who took us to a speed train that would take us half of the way home. The train – which is one of Shanghai’s many technological advances of the last fifteen years – was breathtakingly fast, topping out at around 300 km/h! After our brief train ride, we flagged a taxi and drove to the apartment in downtown Shanghai.

Their apartment is strategically placed far enough from the heart of the city to avoid the noise, but close enough for easy access to the best Shanghai has to offer. The twenty-third floor offers stunning, panoramic views, while providing an unpleasant reminder of my suppressed vertigo.

I took a five-minute stroll down to the river, where I was greeted by 6-7 teenagers playing basketball. None of them were going to be the next Yao Ming, but it was a nice surprise. I walked along the promenade where I could see Puxi (xi means west) all lit up. The Bund, a waterfront section built primarily by the English and French in the 19th century, is the most salient of the eastern shore attractions. Pudong’s buildings are almost all made with steel and glass, but the Bund has a much homier feel, with its designs of wood, brick, and stone.

I’m excited to see what adventures I’ll experience in the days to come, but for now, I’m off to battle jetlag.