Life in Shanghai

Well, here I am in the great city of Shanghai. You know, foreigners have been coming here for hundreds of years, and it really shows. This city is so different from any city I've been to in China. I'm currently staying with some friends who teach in an international school for a company that makes superconductors or something like that. That means that we're way out on the edge of town in the high technology park, everything is nice and new, it's not too crowded, most of the stores and restaurants cater to foreign tastes (just slightly), there are foreigners and their kids walking around everywhere, the cafe I'm in has a genuine latte, genuine chicken salad, and genuinely free wireless internet access. It's like I've left the country or something. I don't feel like I'm in the same place. This country can't possibly contain something as drastically different as Shiyan and Shanghai, can it? I guess it can. Yesterday I got off my extra long train ride in the nicest train station I've had the pleasure of being in. Then I took the nice, clean Shanghai subway halfway across the city to this part of town. No one even looked at me like I'm an alien! This city is crazy. It doesn't belong in China. They should be their own country, like Singapore. Shanghaipore. Has a ring to it, doesn't it? Now I'm starting to sound weird. I'm leaving here tomorrow night at 6 on flight 288 to Chicago, so I'll see some of you guys and gals soon. If not, have a happy Groundhog Day and I hope you get a short winter.