Gaelic Football in China

(It was windy, I couldn't get a good photo. Shut up.)

So it completely slipped my mind on Wednesday that I have photos of China that are appropro for Paddy's Day. Namely, the annual All-China Gaelic Games. So here's a belated Irish in China post.

Go Mikey Go! (Game against Shanghai; Mikey's the one who started the Dalian Wolfhounds)

There's a surprisingly large Irish expatriate population in China, and they've of course brought their national sport, Gaelic football, to the Chinese, English, Americans, Australians, and whatever other nationalities will stand for the rough sport. I played keeper in the Games in Beijing '08 and Shanghai '09, both for the Shenzhen Ladies (though I trained with the Dalian team, we didn't have enough for a full girls' team.) I famously fractured my foot in '08 post-games and my appearance in '09 was completely guilt-tripped by my captain, but the Games were ridiculously fun nonetheless (despite my foot wanting to destroy me for making it suffer through an entire football competition).

Also, for anyone who knows me personally, Gaelic football was basically where my obsession fondness for the Irish took root.

Dalian Wolfhounds men's team, Beijing 2008 (check out the air pollution! healthy sporting conditions to be sure!)

Shiny Shopping Street

Nanjing Lu, the famous pedestrian shopping street, Feb 2008.

Kind of a cliche photo to post, I realize, but ooh look! Pretty lights!

/Edna runs away to finish her thesis

Barbie's House

The Barbie flagship store on Central Huaihai Road. Six stories of pink girliness.

Lantern Festival Three-Fer

1: Lanterns within the center court of Yu Gardens (note the Dairy Queen)
2: The massive lines for tickets at only one entrance gate of several
3: Glowing zodiac animals on the water

This could have easily been a 20-fer post; I took so many photos that night. Yu Gardens was so grandly lit you could see it from blocks away, and they had set up entrance gates and charged 50 RMB for tickets to get in (usually it's free).

The place was ridiculously packed with people- imagine Times Square on New Year's Even, then multiply that by about 13. I probably could have just moshed on all their heads to get around, instead of trying to fight my way through the crowds.

Zodiac Animal Lanterns

Nothing says cute like zodiac animals made of wire and lights. Look at that fat green snake. Look at Mr. Rooster. Adorable.

Cheng Huang Miao, Shanghai, Feb 2008

Flashback: New Year Decorations at 城隍庙

Flashback time!

Over the next few days, my posts will be from Shanghai during Chinese New Year 2008, the first and only time I've actually experienced the holiday in China.  

(While the New Year began on Feb 14, the holiday technically lasts 15 days, so I'm still right on time! Technically.)

This photo comes from the famous tourist trap landmark, the Old Temple outside Yuyuan Gardens. 2008 was the Year of the Rat, so those decorations in the water are blowup zodiac animals, surrounded by many friendly-looking, red-wearing, celebratory rats.

Dirty Laundry

Laundry in the midst of much dirt and construction in the fields of Fengxian, a farming village outside Shanghai. May 2009.

The Office

[Well, almost. We were in 21, this is (obviously) building 20. However, everyone rode into work, so there were a lot of bicycles around anyway.]

In August of 2009 I started working for some friends who had founded their own start-up; of the many reasons why this new job was awesome and rocked (working with friends, working with iPhones...), the office was definitely one of them:

A renovated first-floor lanehouse in the heart of the French Concession, located in this cozy little alley in a cozy little neighborhood. Nepali Kitchen was directly across the street and Cantina Agave was only a block away (!). Lunch time was always the best time, with all the choices surrounding us.

Also, the walk to the office was pretty cool:

To the normal person, it was about five blocks and took about 20 minutes to walk. But to me, having just turned 20, it was the biggest ego trip: every morning and every evening, I would swing on my laptop bag, pop in my headphones, and walk (or, in my mind, 'commute') from my full-time job (ooo) to my kick-ass apartment (oooo), in the heart of one of the greatest metropolises in the world.

You better believe I walked the streets like I owned those bad boys, cause I felt awesome.

Three 太太s

Holy three-week hiatus, Batman. Who knew there was life outside the internet? I kid. Ireland and holidays are fun while they last, but now I'm back at school and have returned to the swing of things, so let the pictures resume!

Here we have three strapping gals, obviously very full of life, taking a break from their Shanghai escapades on a bench in Taikang Lu.

Their feet look 'normal', as in unbound, which most likely means they were born sometime after the 1920s and puts them somwhere around 70 years old.

Really, this photo could have been taken at any point in the last ten or fifteen years, but that Starbucks mug on the table really adds that perfect anachronistic touch that so many pictures of Shanghai now hold, doesn't it?

Still Open

Wulumuqi Lu, Shanghai

This shop is located a block away from where I grew up in Shanghai, so it's a staple image of my childhood. I always see it on my way to the (not so super) market next door, or when I'm out getting my 70 cent, totally legal DVDs.

(This picture specifically was taken the night of my 20th birthday, while walking home from having drinks down the street at Zapata's. I celebrated becoming an adult, then went home via the streets of my childhood.)

Alleyway, Cheng Huang Miao

A wintry day in Cheng Huang Miao, right around the time of Chinese New Year (Feb 2008). CHM is supposed to be this 'old temple' area; in reality, the actual temple takes up about the same amount of space as an American park pavilion, and the rest of the place is a twisty windy tourist trap.

Beans, beans, the magical fruit

Legumes galore! A nondescript street stand in the French Concession, somewhere around Yongjia Lu.

Old School

Ever see those old ads from the 1920s, where some housewife whiles away her life doing menial tasks, with an apron on her hips and a smile on her face? That's exactly what I thought of when I saw this iron in the backroom of the tailor shop across from my grandmother's house.

Except instead of a cheerful housewife, I found a middle-aged Chinese woman in a room only slighter bigger than my closet, bossing around a handful of seamstresses and tailors who all were darning and mending and making clothes perfect...for less than three bucks a pop.

21st century living, eh?

"Have you been with pig recently?"

[I kid you not, that was a question on the entry form to get past Chinese customs.]

Ah, swine flu paranoia. Even though thousands around the world die from things like measles, malaria, and poor water sanitation, the Chinese government decided that swine flu was Enemy No. 1. As a result, every passenger flying into the country from overseas had to undergo these radar-y temperature checks by silly men in outlandish costumes. Yeah, it was annoying, but the suits are funny as hell.

Also, fun fact, that's my dad sitting next to me.

If the photo looks familiar, that's because Shanghaiist used it here and here.

Notice something different?

I'm baaaack!

As most who follow my Twitter know, I've actually been back in the land of the cheese and home of the Braves for about a week and a half now. While I have a post in the works about my summer in Shanghai, I thought I'd first highlight some changes I've made to this blog.

Before:

After: (Well, what you're reading is obviously the after. But for visual comparison's sake:)

So obviously there's been a title change, tagline change, photo and profile change. The real overhaul here is going to be in content.

Posted photos will come from both the year in Dalian and the three+ months in Shanghai. But more importantly, I'm going to start posting about my daily life now as well. China-bubble-related material that is, like insane bouts of reverse culture shock; plus the occasional senior year freakouts musings. I mean, it's inevitable- it is senior year.

Old Shanghai Couple

[Click on the photo for full-size, better detail]

On one of the busiest streets in Shanghai, this adorable couple just rested as people rushed on by. With Shanghai constantly changing and becoming more 'modern', I wondered what the city had been like in their heyday. Would have love to known what they were thinking at this moment.

Photo of the Day: Crowded Quarters

Building in Shanghai that sits between Nanjing Road (the famous shopping street) and the Bund (the famous waterfront).

Part of why I love Shanghai is the history in its architecture. When I walk down streets like this, I like to imagine what the buildings (and its residents) must have seen in over a hundred years of Western occupation, growing populations, and changing technologies.

Photo of the Day: Badminton with a View

A friend and I picked up a random game of badminton with some young Chinese students whilst walking behind Cheng Huang Miao in Shanghai. In the background are the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Tower, and the World Financial Center. October 2008.

Photo of the Day: Soup on the Street

Outside Taikang Lu, in Shanghai. You pick all your raw veggies, meats and noodles, then they cook them in the broth to make soup. Delicious!

Photo of the Day: DVD-Land

My local shop in the French Concession, around the corner from where I live in Shanghai. At 10 kuai a piece ($1.50) they're actually considered expensive. When I lived in Dalian, I had a special guy I went to, in a secret room three flights underground, who sold them to me for 6, 7 kuai a piece. ($1)