[Returning to Shanghai] 
[Spring Festival] [Chinese New Year] [Fulbright Mid-Year Conference] [Back to School] [Back Online] [Into the Heartland] [Ancient Capitals] [Judeo-Christian Holidays] [From Albany to Zurich] [Yellow Mountain] [Loose Ends] [Hello, Debbie ... Goodbye,
Debbie] [Southern
Capital] [Tropical
Tour] [Unwinding]
[Farewell Banquets]
[Winding Down] [Good Bye, Shanghai]
Feb. 11-14: Weekend – We went to dinner Thursday with Yoshi, and he and Mark came over for some brew later. On Friday, we do laundry, go grocery shopping, and have pizza for lunch. Mark joins us for dinner, then Debbie and I go to Marine House to see "Blade." After we stop at Malone’s for some brew. Saturday night, Mark joins us again for some late night brew. But with the lunar New Year approaching China virtually shuts down, including restaurants and shops.
Feb. 15: New Year’s Eve – Kathleen has Yoshi, Debbie, and I over for wine and cheese in the evening, then the four of us go to the Hotel Sofitel for our Chinese Dinner. It’s a pretty lavish affair with large tables crowded with Chinese families. Gerhard, the hotel manager, comes by during our meal to chat with me about his son entering Fudan University next year. After our meal we walk by fashionable Nanjing Road and the Bund. There are many people walking along this promenade, with firecrackers serving as background music and various fireworks lighting the night sky around us. Legally prohibited in Chinese cities and banned downtown, nonetheless things really pick up with a grand display all around us as midnight approaches. Even during the taxi ride back there are festivities in the streets.
Feb. 16-21: New Year’s Daze – On Tuesday afternoon, Yoshi, Debbie and I go downtown stopping at a new bookstore where we load up. After a break at McDonald’s we go to Yu Yuan (Gardens) to see the hanging red lanterns and some more shopping. Fireworks continue for the rest of the week. Mark joins us at Mr. Pizza Wednesday evening. Otherwise things are pretty quiet with everyone else away for the holiday. I try my hand at cooking a couple of times, and Debbie and I get caught up on some shopping, mail, and preparing for classes. She will be teaching an eight-week English course.
[Returning to Shanghai] [Spring Festival] [Chinese New Year] [Fulbright Mid-Year Conference] [Back to School] [Back Online] [Into the Heartland] [Ancient Capitals] [Judeo-Christian Holidays] [From Albany to Zurich] [Yellow Mountain] [Loose Ends] [Hello, Debbie ... Goodbye,
Debbie] [Southern
Capital] [Tropical
Tour] [Unwinding]
[Farewell Banquets]
[Winding Down] [Good Bye, Shanghai]
Copyright © 1999 Paul Miesing. All rights reserved. Please do not use without permission unless in the People’s Republic of China which does not enforce intellectual property rights. Revised on January 17, 2001.
