Bu Yao!

I had my first Chinese lesson with my new language exchange partner Sandy (yes, I know this is all very Eat, Pray, Love) yesterday. It was great! I'm so excited to be learning Chinese. So far my favorite thing to say is still zai jian! (goodbye) though. On the way home I came across the tuk-tuk style taxi drivers that always hang out at the metro station near my house. Up til now I've only been able to shake my head and wave my hand when they ask me if I want a ride (saying "no" in Chinese is more complicated than you might expect). After my Chinese lesson however I was ready to look him in the eye and say "bu yao!" (Don't need).

I also came EXTREMELY close to buying a baby bunny for 20 RMB off a guy on the street last night. He was keeping these tiny little bunnies in miniscule little cages on the sidewalk. One in particular looked so traumatized that he might have dropped dead of a heart attack at any moment.

As promised, here are some photos of my new life in Shanghai. As you can see, I live VERY close to the school where I teach; the top photo is the view from my bedroom window. The other photos are a street view of my neighbourhood bike/scooter/ motorcycle lane and the view from the kitchen window...which gives you a sense of the strange juxtaposition between rural and high-rise city life out here in Songjiang.