Day 35 “Nobody on that ride looks wet, what’s the deal it’s a water ride.”

Day 35 “Nobody on that ride looks wet, what’s the deal it’s a water ride?” quote by me, Hollie.

Finally we made it to the Amusement Park. We tried to go last weekend, but had to leave before we entered because of the thunder and lightening storm that hit right before we got there. Yesterday we spent the entire day at this park. The kids had a wonderful time. It was crowded and hot, but they didn’t care. I am such a worry wart; I kept thinking about the lack of safety of the equipment. Jeff and the kids didn’t give it a single thought and jumped on every ride that they could and had a great time. I enjoyed a few rides, mostly the rides involving water. They have a river rapids ride that on the surface looks

a lot like the ones at most of the major theme parks in the states, but this one nobody actually gets wet. On one hand I don’t get the point, the appeal of these rides is to see how wet you can get, but on the other hand, the water in this particular ride looked like it came right out of the local river so it smelled and looked really dirty. Probably a good thing that we didn’t get wet, but it surprised all of us since we’ve been to Disney World and other places where you get drenched on these rides. (Remember Lezlie and MaKayla?)

Jeff and the kids went on the giant Ferris wheel (650 feet tall...I just looked it up and it's called an observation wheel). There was a sign/plaque out front in Chinese; I’m guessing that it was explaining about this being one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world. It was amazingly large. They never stopped it to let people on or off. It moved very slowly and when it got to the bottom they quickly unloaded and reloaded the cars. I bet they had an amazing view of Shanghai, I’m sure it was my loss, but I just couldn’t get on that ride.

It becomes very clear in a place with long lines that the people of this community do not like to wait in lines or know how to do it with much etiquette. We had to secure out spot constantly in line. People cut in front of others often, they appear to feel entitled. If you leave any sort of gap in the line some one will very quickly jump in front of you from no where, or you will be pushed from behind to fill the empty space. While waiting in line for one ride I could feel the breath of the young woman behind me on the back of my neck, she had tried to pass us in line several times and was frustrated with the wait. I could feel her entire body pushing up against me. We waited in this line for over half an hour and the entire time she was pushing me forward because she wanted to get past me. I don’t know where she thought she was going once she got past me, but she wouldn’t let up. She was doing it to Jeff first, so we traded spots thinking maybe she wouldn’t do it to me, but she continued. This sort of behavior is prevalent here. It’s more than about having a different level of personal space; it’s about impatience and immediate gratification. I don’t find the people of this city very patient or mindful of others around them.

I really don’t want to be judgmental of other people’s cultures. I don’t think most people here think they are being rude, but it is really grating on me personally to be treated so rudely all the time. I find the people here loud, pushy, self-centered and constantly invading my space in every way. I know it is my issue and I try to keep reminding myself that they don’t see anything wrong with what they are doing, but I couldn’t live here and be treated like this. The kids are having a hard time with it too. Okay, I’ve vented… I feel better now.

Here is a picture of a unique Carousel that was at this park. Claire enjoyed the top floor.

One last thing, on our way home there were several people who were all working together to dig through the garbage. They had quite an organized system all worked out between them. At first I thought they were part of the sanitation/street cleaners, but I later realized that they were digging through the garbage looking not only for the recyclables, but for chicken bones. They had quite a pile of bones built up. There is a KFC down the street from this location and they were digging through the garbage to collect the bones and scraps of meat. This was really disturbing. We have seen the same beggars day after day in our neighborhood, but this was beyond anything I’ve seen them do. The ones in our neighborhood are asking for money. They each have children that they sort of taut in front to get pity…or at least it seems that way from my perspective since I can’t understand any of what they say. The thing about these trash diggers is they weren’t begging. If I could have picked my jaw up off the ground quicker I probably would have given them money, but it took me so long to register what was going on that we were past them and headed home on the subway before I processed what I had witnessed. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. One more experience for me to think about for while.

Also, here is a picture of some sort of fruit or vegetable that we see them selling often on the street. Does any one know what it is or what we do with it? I’d like to try it before we leave if I can figure it out.

One last thing. I have really enjoyed all the comments, it helps me feel connected to home. Thanks so much!

Also, I have the next couple of days worth of blog enteries written, but I have had a hard time getting to this site and others that communicate outside of China. So I will try to keep posting, but it's not me if I don't post reguarly. I also intermittently can't get to hotmail or my facebook account. The screening is a bit frustrating. Jeff can get to these sites through his work computer that goes through Japan. Hmmmm???!!!!