this is my 3rd day in shanghai. today is mother's day! arrived here on friday, 10th may 2002. was filled with anticipation, but the city is really quite different from what i imagined. i was quite lost when i arrived at the airport, but it was easier to ask around because there were singaporeans i could ask. (just check out the singaporean face!) but i had a few harrowing experiences at the airport, being a foreign girl all alone at the airport makes a good prey, i guess. like someone tried to cheat me into taking a private car for $150, or i was stared at and scolded by some rude shanghaineses who cut into my queue at the public taxi stand. hmm... i was really angry, but i kept telling myself i must "ren" and get used to this kind of things. am not used to alot of things yet, but i think it is a good opportunity to learn how to adapt to a totally different environment. and the living conditions here is really not what i am really used to. my bedroom carpet is quite dirty, even after 2 vacuums, and i have to wear slippers to walk around. the weather averages around 16 degrees, and it can get really cold at night. and people literally push you about everywhere you go. i nearly got knocked down by bicycles (there are alot of them!) quite a few times. and i stepped on spit for dunno god knows how many thousand times. i do sound like a typical singaporean, don't i? complain and complain. there are nice things here too... things are generally cheap, if you keep doing conversions. if i use my i-only-earn-1000RMB mentality, i often wonder how they survive. they really survive on very little, and low quality stuff, i realised. and the people here are comparatively more impatient, pushy, and are always rushing for time. somehow, all these made me feel like a well-protected creature let out for the first time. here, people fight for everything, because they need to fight to survive. they even fight for space! first thing i learned is how to protect my money. kena cheated a few times! must take it as "paying school fees". hehe... there are many things i have to learn. that said, some things are the same everywhere. men are hooked on soccer and LAN games (evident in this I cafe), ladies are hooked on bargains (visit nanjing rd when you come, i had a good time yesterday!), couples go "pak tor", people celebrate mother's day. i keep telling myself, i must give myself time to get used to life here. it is tough in the beginning, i guess, but i may even miss this place when it's time to go home. but now, i kind of miss home. :)