2004-10-07 - 9:31 am

I feel like we are trying to conquer Shanghai by foot. Yesterday we walked all over Od Shanghai. I wish someone would give me a medal for not being a brat. My typical behavior on long walks that I did not sign up for (since no one ever tells me that we''ll be walking for days to reach a destination) is to cross my arms, squish up my nose, and huff and puff. Throw in some flailing limbs, and you've got a julietantrum. Hold your horsies people, or maybe my family should sit down for this one. I'm not a brat anymore! Ask Mike. Wait, don't. He will ruin my triumph and say that , in fact ,I am still quite the brat. Lies. Anyway, we walked from 10 in the morning until about 7 at night. Old Shanghai is beautiful. We saw old temples, old tea rooms, antique stores, and lots of other cool little shops. We mainly saw LOTS of people in the streets. They were STILL on holiday. They get something like 7 days off to celebrate the birth of the People's Republic of China. ( We just get the Fourth of July-someone look into this-we need a week) Here is one of the side streets-
It was a little overwhelming for me. On almost every corner, there were skinned ducks or chickens hanging about. Someone would order one (or part of one) and they'd yank it off the hook and start chopping. The Chinese do not hide what animal you're eating. In the US, butchers do their butchering in the back, then package the meat all nice and pretty so you don't have to think about where it came from. They sell live chickens on the street,
and not as pets, as I hoped. It was a nice 9 hour walk. (My feet hurt so bad I wanted to lay down in the street and cry)
Mike made a friend- his name is Buddy the dragon.
And I bought a white belt that I loved so much I jumped for joy-not really, i just need a tan real bad.

?lt;/P>

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