Here I am
5.25.2009
My last day here, sitting in the Pudong airport in Shanghai, waiting on my delayed flight back home. It was funny to watch the other passengers' reactions to the news of the setback. The flight seems to be about 25% senior Americans, who were on the verge of lighting torches and storming the check in desk. When the announcement came through in Chinese, the locals looked at one another, shrugged, and started reading or sleeping. I couldn't think of a more appropriate setting to illustrate the fundamental difference between these two cultures. After three months, I've learned to chill out a LOT. It's the Chinese way. It's probably why they live longer.
When I got up this morning at 8:00 I packed up a few things, got dressed, did a bit of work in preparation for my shows, and headed out for the airport. There were a number of options to get here, the most obvious being hiring a taxi. But at 160¥ I decided to try something else, something more... adventurous. And cheap.
Those two options were a airport shuttle and the Maglev train. Since the shuttle was only 23¥ I went for that first, but couldn't find anyone that knew where the nearest stop was, and the directions online were sketchy. Since I was lugging around over 100lbs of my crap, I decided to just go for the Maglev. That meant braving the subways with luggage and a couple of transfers, but I went for it and relished the fact that it was a good way to end the trip.
I finally got to the Maglev station, bought a 50¥ ticket, and hopped on. I wish it took longer to get to the airport since it was so comfy, but at 430kph, I was only sitting for about 6 minutes. Boo.
Anyways, the trip ends here, but I'm going home feeling so different about things than I did 3 months ago. The opportunity to open up Linty Fresh here and the countless adventures it'll bring is absolutely irresistible, and I can't wait to get back here and go crazy with it. The contract's first draft will be written up tomorrow once I send in one last file I'm working on, and from there they'll start on production. The website goes up in a couple weeks, too. Craziness.
Aside from business stuff, I've learned a ton about Chinese culture and the people behind it. I've made some stellar friends, and we'll be keeping in touch as I tour around the US for the next few months. What an incredible 12 weeks it's been!
posted by Mr. Linty @ 2:46 AM,
