Watch Out for the KNIVES

Last night I had my first lukewarm/hot shower at my apartment in over a month. It was glorious. Even better? It came right after the power in my building came back on.

The thing I've found about living in Shanghai is it's filled with contrasts unlike any other city I've lived in. It's the largest city in the world filled with nearly any modern convenience you would like. 

But then you've got Mr. Bubblewrap here brushing the street with a handmade old-fashioned looking broom.

Foreigners tend to live well in Shanghai. I know that's true for me for sure. So when I can't take a hot shower in my place for over a month and have random power outages while the rest of my coworkers living in the semi-better managed housing development closer to work, I think of people like Mr. Bubblewrap man.

Where does he come from? Does he live far away? Does he live in an alleyway in a shack just a couple blocks from me? Does his wife work at my gym just so an added perk is she can take a hot shower there because they have never had hot water? Does the rest of his family live in a tiny village in the middle of China somewhere? Does his child ever get to see him or does he have to live in the city for a job that pays pennies just for his son to survive?

When my belongings were taken several months ago I was given back one bag of things the people who "cleaned" my apartment said had been left there. Included in that bag: seven knives and two forks.

It didn't occur to me until much later that knives are very unlucky here. Clearly they didn't want to sell or throw those away! Another item we are told to NEVER give a Chinese person is a clock.

Thus, if I move back to China someday and need to get all new items, I will have a knife and clock themed apartment!

Sometimes the trash looks like this outside my elevator.
Ironically the trashcan is entirely empty.

This afternoon I took a two hour leave from work to prepare for a hiking trip I'm going on this weekend. I'm not quite back to 100% from last week's pollution illness plague that's got a dramatic ring to it right? So I opted to do our little naptime singing routine, show the kiddos the epic hike I'm heading out on, tell them I love each of them and will see them on Tuesday, and head home.

Thank goodness for that! I got home and my ayi had taken the clothes I'd packed and was washing them! 

After a quick text to her, then a call to Sara, I was told my ayi would be bringing the clothes back wet. I used my hair dryer and heat lamp in the bathroom to dry them. Never have I been so glad for choosing to take a two-hour leave from work and for a text alerting me of a delayed flight!

Umbrella bags. Genius!

After the setback-of-the-moment was averted I went to make some tea and spotted all those knives. The thought briefly occurred to me that I should toss those suckers!

Then I laughed at myself because laughing at yourself is how you stay young at heart ya'll before resting in the knowledge of how thankful I am to have a Higher Power that doesn't care about things being lucky or unlucky. 

I'll stick to my decorating plan of knives and clocks for the future!