New Experiences and New Favorites

April 1st, 2009. China
Shanxi on Saturday

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For the past week, I have focused most of my time on the job search. I’m sure you’re wondering what I have been doing for the past five weeks if I haven’t been looking for a job, and the answer is tough. I have been looking for a job, researching various companies, exploring the city, meeting new people, updating this website, designing a website for my mom, updating my resume, reformatting my portfolio…..but honestly, I wasn’t doing any of this very well. For some reason I hadn’t mustered the real confidence I needed to actually follow through and do my due diligence to find work. I think I was waiting for something to fall into my lap. I made excuses for why I wasn’t getting any calls from the five resumes I sent out…the economy is bad, I’ve never worked in China before, I don’t have any connections. In reality, I only sent out five resumes. And nothing else. No one would get a job in a completely new continent by sending out five resumes blindly into city where there are architecture offices on every corner. I’m not sure why I thought I would be any different.

Then last Thursday, I snapped out of it. I finally realized I wasn’t doing enough, and then I thought about the past year in terms of the-money-I-didn’t-earn for the first time. That’s thousands of dollars my bank account will never see. The money isn’t what is driving me to get a job, but it is a factor. I am proud that I took the risk and walked away from everything for a little while and I never would have done it differently. The added advantage is that now I am fresh and energized and filled with dreams of Asia…past and present. I have begun to take looking for an architecture job in Shanghai seriously, and the fruits of my labor are already paying off. I don’t have a job yet, but I have started conversations, and conversations will hopefully lead to more conversations and those conversations will lead to interviews and those interviews will lead to work. I am optimistic, and there will be great things for me in Shanghai, I just know it.

On the exploring side of things, Nik and I joined a couple of his co-workers for a Saturday ride around the city. At first the destination was ambiguous. We rode past the Moganshan Lu galleries and along Suzhou Creek, then stopped for coffee and smoothies in the middle of Nanjing Road shopping chaos. We eventually found ourselves riding along the Huangpu River towards the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. Prior to Saturday, the only time I had ever heard of this tunnel was when Nik and I visited last December and we saw a sign while we were walking around near the entrance. I wrote it off as a tourist trap rip-of, and never thought twice. But let me tell you. If you come to Shanghai, you have to go on the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, it is worth it!!! Talk about wierd Shanghai.

A small scale photo shoot

A small scale photo shoot

The photo shoot of the photo shoot

The photo shoot of the photo shoot

After walking down a flight of stairs into a subway-like tunnel just off of the northern tip of the Bund (the riverside park on the west side of Huangpu River lined with colonial architecture), you enter into this amusement park ride entrance filled with vending machines and jade dealers and viewfinders with provocative pictures of Chinese women. The ticket counter isn’t anything special, but it plainly displays the prices in Chinese and English. 40RMB for one-way, 50RMB for round-trip. We paid our fair and filed through the turnstyles and into the ride entrance. Here’s where I got completely confused. I thought this was just a tunnel where you walked under the bund and there were photos all about Shanghai and perhaps the history of the Bund, but no. It is a tunnel where you ride in a little glass car though an elaborate series of Christmas lights of various colors flashing and spinning while an intercom announces the phase in which you are traveling through such as “heaven and hell” and “metior showers plummeting towards earth”. It was the most bazaar thing I have ever paid money for, and I’m glad I did.

50RMB of round-trip Fun and Excitement

50RMB of round-trip Fun and Excitement

Including stuffed animal vending machines

Including stuffed animal vending machines

All Aboard

All Aboard

But the best part was of course the tunnel

Maybe this was heaven? or was it hell?

The Bund seen from Pudong

The Bund seen from Pudong

When the ride is finished you end up on the Pudong side of the river with a nice view looking across at the Bund. Because I am recommending that you do this the next time you are here, I recommend that you only purchase a one-way ticket then go to the Super Brand Mall or Century Park or something else in Pudong and take a ferry or the subway back to the city. It just isn’t worth doing the ruturn trip.

Then Nik and I split from the group because he had to go into work. Since he wasn’t going to be long, I found a table at my favorite Shanghai cafe, A:Mokka, to sit and enjoy Saturday afternoon. I started reading Ann Pachett’s book Run, and love it.

Coffee at A:Mokka

One of my favorite spots

The rest of our weekend was uneventful. Sunday we spent most of the day at home with just a short ride through some construction sites and then I got hungry so we headed back to the apartment. Of course, as soon as we locked up our bikes, all of the clouds went away and we were left with an amazingly clear blue sky. But it didn’t last. The clouds were back within 30 minutes, and we were in for the day.

A fleating moment of clear blue skies

A fleating moment of clear blue skies

On Monday, I spent all day doing research, then met up with a new friend to have hand pulled noodles at a little shop called Noodle Bull on Changle Lu. This place is also quickly becoming a favorite, and will certainly be one of my staple dining options.

Then on Tuesday, I rode over to Xiantandi. If you’ve visited Shanghai, you have probably been there, but I had never even heard of it until last week. Xiantandi is two city blocks of of old buildings that were converted into modern restaurants and luxury shops. The weather was nice, so all of the restaurants had outdoor tables and the inner courtyard seemed like a European beer garden. I like the effort that is being made, but the tables were filled with westerners in suits so I’m sure that most of the prices went along those same lines. Luckily my new friend recommended the bakery, Paul, which sits at the very edge of the complex so I had my lunch there. I picked a smoked salmon sandwich with fresh greens, and it was pretty delicious. Good bread is one thing I miss most about America, so it’s good to know I can find it here!!

Lunch hour in Xiantandi

Lunch hour in Xiantandi

The back alley of Xiantandi

The back alley of Xiantandi

My final new favorite is this quilt that my mom gave me for Christmas. It is new because it just arrived in Shanghai on Monday, so I finally have something to hold on to from home. The quilt itself has an awesome story because it is the first quilt my mother has ever made (didn’t she do good??)…and I had no clue that she was making it before I opened it on Christmas morning. It now has a permanent home on our couch, and I huddle under it every night. Thanks Mom for giving me my first hand-made family heirloom! It’s nice to have a little piece of you here with me.

Mom's 1st Quilt

Mom's 1st Quilt

6 Comments

good luck with the job search, jamie! i have a job, but must admit i feel just as in limbo. i’m waiting to hear back from a couple programs i applied to in paris, but after that i need to start thinking of my options and not just waiting for something to fall into my lap.

oh, and that tunnel ride looks awesome! wish i had known more about shanghai before my visit.

anne

Funny about the tunnel, my friend’s 12 yo son told us not to waste our time or money, so we didn’t go.

Beautiful blue sky!

My brother is an architect (in NY and San Fran.) and they have laid off staff recently. Here’s hoping you have good luck there.

I bought a crazy little chinese coat for my Chihuahua in Xiantandi. We went on a weekday and it was very quiet and nice.

Jamie:

Mary – the tunnel is ridiculous and probably not worth a 12 year old’s time, but that is exactly why it is so great to see it. I mean, if you only have a day or two in Shanghai, there are better things to do with your time. But if you have a week, and you’re going over to Pudong (or the other way around), you might as well take the tunnel. It’s just funny how someone paid millions of dollars to build this tunnel and thought it would be a tourist attraction! It’s quirky, and the English translations are just hilarious.

That quilt is gorgeous! Your mum did well :)

Good luck with the job hunt. Looking for work is daunting and tough at the best of times – can’t imagine what it must be like doing it in a foreign city! I’m rooting for you :-)

ThirdEye:

With the Shanghai World Expo comming up in 2010,
architectural opporutnities may be around the corner.
The USA Pavilion is still in the conceptual and early design phase.

With so many areas yet to be developed in China and another 800 million Chinese citizens yet to be moved to new restructured Cities and its suburbs, there will be plenty of opportunities now and in the future.
There are still enormous amount of infrastructures yet to be done to improve the quality and standard of living for the average citizen of China.

Despite the present global slowdown, China is the least affected country with its US$2Trillion foreign reserves, and plenty of projects will be comming in
the pipelines in China. If you really want to get a job fast, Teaching English in Shanghai or China is easy to find, just to cover you temporarily and start a base to get connected for your future job hunt. One never knows where it is going to lead to.

Have a great positive time in China and
good Luck in your job hunt in Shanghai or China.
ThirdEye
12th April 2009

ThirdEye:

Your website images are very eye catching,
The Tongli Photos are idyllic
There is another marvellous watertown South west of Shanghai,
about 2 hours by Bus from Shanghai.
We were there in Spring April 2007.

Good Luck
ThirdEye


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