Why, I Oughta...

So it's my own stupid fault, but my wallet got stolen today. Like a big dumb jerk, I wore a small backpack to the cheap market in Shanghai, and left my wallet inside. And like a big dumb jerk, I didn't feel it when some sneaky, despicable little thief unzipped it and took my wallet out while it was still on my back. And like a big dumb jerk, I didn't realize it had happened until we got into a cab to go home.

I'm mostly upset with myself, because I had even thought, before leaving the hotel, that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to have my wallet on my back, especially at such a busy, un-trustworthy place. Lesson learned, friends. If there's ever a place to learn not to trust people, it's Shanghai.

But at the same time, mistake on my part or not, it's NOT OKAY to steal things. And until it happens to you, you forget what a total violation it is. It's a horrible, sinking feeling, to know that you are a target, and that someone took something from you with malicious intent.

It's gross. GROSS, SHANGHAI!

xoxo
c.

Pluses.

Yikes! So my darling friend Patty O brought to my attention that according to my blogs, it seems as though I haven't enjoyed China whatsoever. I'm so bummed with myself for only posting negative things on here! I guess this is just where I go to vent, and I don't realize that it all adds up to seem like I'm not having a good time. So here's a list of all of the amazing things that I've loved about the last couple of months.

-being in a place with such a rich, ancient history
-meeting new people and making cross-cultural relationships work, despite a lack of complete knowledge of each others' language
-our darling, sweet dressers and costumers
-Leon, my front desk buddy who has a secret Chinese crush on me
-the cool, crazy architecture with lots of shingles and peaked eaves
-how everything has a meaning and a purpose, beyond just being nice to look at
-how cheap everything is :)
-realizing, in the rehearsal process, that I'm better at my job than I give myself credit for
-having the opportunity to experience history, namely in Beijing: Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and so on
-the fact that price is often up to interpretation -- I love haggling
-a good plate of legit Shanghai fried rice
-living in a huge downtown high rise, one block from a nice big theatre, where I work!
-the adventure of planning days and excursions to see something completely new
-experiencing a culture that is completely the opposite of everything I know, and how that has opened my eyes

Thanks, China.
xoxo

Bei-to-the-Jing

After much trial and tribulation, a few of us decided to head to Beijing (and get the heck out of Shanghai) for our 3 days off. A little tricky, seeing as how we only have a week's worth of pay left, and the holidays are coming, and some folks in the cast are straight up broke. But the bottom line is that a trip to China without seeing the Great Wall is total bunk, right? Right.

So we hopped in a cab, then in a plane, then in a bus, then in another bus, and we were in Beijing. We stayed at Beijing Downtown Backpackers' Hostel, which I totes recommend for all you future Beijing-ers. It was fantastic, and in such a cool part of town. It's on a hutong, which is an alley that's packed with cool little shops, bars, and restaurants. Do it.

So the Forbidden City was awesome, the pandas at the zoo were awesome, Tiananmen Square and Mao's embalmed body were (totally creepy and weird...) awesome. But the Great Wall was something more than awesome. Awe-inspiring? Amazing? I don't know. I guess I overuse awesome and amazing, because the Great Wall was both, in their literal meanings.

Anyhoo, we hiked the Jinshanling to Simatai section, which is the hardest section open to the public near Beijing. It's unrepaired, so it's pretty treacherous, and it's about 7.5 miles of either extremely steep stairs and ramps going up, or extremely steep stairs and ramps going down. Which is almost worse than going up. Ouch, my knees...

But in spite of the tough hike and the (ridiculous!) cold, we made it. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had, and I was so proud of us all by the end. It's such a feeling of accomplishment, and it's so inspiring to be all up in the middle of all that history. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Keep it Positive.

So rather than go on a rant about how ridiculous, incompetent, untrustworthy, and out-of-touch with reality this company that I'm working for is (didja see how I slipped those in there anyway?), I'm going to make a list of things that I'm looking forward to when we return to the States in 2 weeks. Because our show is closing.

-my Blackberry
-tap water
-ice
-English
-nice people who smile and don't spit everywhere
-Mexican food
-family
-air that doesn't pollute your body and make you feel like you're dying
-a lack of MSG
-being able to trust people
-Christmas
-normal, un-censored internet
-root beer
-being able to cross a street without risking my life
-Starbucks chai
-a large fluffy couch
-a soft bed
-moving on with life!

xoxo

Oh, China...

So... Guess who's leaving China early? WE ARE!

I would love to divulge all the dirty details about why we're leaving, but suffice it to say that this production company has more than a few things to learn about doing business. And it would just be bad karma to put all their dirty laundry out into the world via my little ol' blog.

In any case, we're leaving in six weeks, which means that we'll be home for Christmas! And in honor of this joyous occasion, Ryan bought me the tiniest fake Christmas tree ever at a 100 yen store in Japan, complete with mini decorations.



Put the kettle on kids, we're comin' home! Happy Holidays!

xoxo

Turning Japanese

It's kind of a cop-out, but Japan can best be summed up by copying and pasting an email I sent to my parents. Ta-daaaaa!

so here's the deal. japan is waaaaaay cooler than china.

first of all, it's cleaner. china is smoggy and messy and always under construction because they just want everything to be bigger and better. also, there's this huge Architectural Expo in Shanghai next year, and they're rennovating all of these buildings, even ones that are old and beautiful. did you know that almost a quarter of the world's construction cranes are in shanghai? there's a crane everywhere you look. but in japan, the air is clean and the streets are clean, even though there are no garbage cans anywhere. people don't eat or drink on the subway because it's impolite. and they certainly don't litter. (there's not a lot of litter in shanghai, but that's because they have street sweepers everynight. everyone has a government job, even if it's dusting the shelves in a tourist souvenir shop.)

second of all, everyone is so much nicer in japan. they don't shove, they don't judge you for not knowing the language, they smile, they're welcoming, and they just have a much more kind and gentle vibe. chinese people are all about what gets them ahead personally and they don't really care who they mow down in the process.

also, japanese people seem so much more interested in preserving their traditions and cultures. there are still people in the adult generation who wear kimonos on a daily basis, because it's their heritage. we saw plenty of them. (we've never seen anyone in traditional chinese dress.) they don't knock down their older buildings, they let them be or turn them into a museum or whatever. but there are still plenty of new, city-like areas of tokyo. there's nothing old in shanghai. it all got burned down or changed during the cultural revolution, from what i've read and researched. there are a couple of temples left, and a couple of gardens, but even those were burned down and then reconstructed.

also, (and this is totally superficial), japanese people are beautiful. and every last one of them is fashionable. they take so much pride and care in how they look. it was interesting. and the shopping is way better. :)

xoxo

Fall, Japan, and Ingesting Things I Shouldn't.

I always forget that Fall is one of my favorite seaons. There's something so clean and new about it -- I alays feel that way, even though Spring is supposed to be the season of rebirth and blah blah blah. I feel like the sky is clearer in Fall. It makes me miss California. :)

Soooo we've been in China for a little over a month now, and I'm ashamed to say that I've explored next to nothing. I use the excuse that we've been in rehearsal all day and night, but really I just haven't been into it yet. But now that the show is open (details of which I'll not post here, for fear of getting fired), we have all day free -- which basically feels like a vacation with a trip to the theatre every evening. So that's pretty nice.

Most of the exploring we've done is culinary... And by that, I mean finding things that are familiar and edible. Don't get me wrong -- the Chinese food is cheap, plenty, and delicious. But after rice and noodles so many times a week, this California girl needs her staples. Among our favorite finds: Mexican food Wednesdays at a sports bar, two-for-one burgers and all day breakfast at a 24-hour diner, and 15 RMB sub-of-the-day at Subway. I could live on that alone for a good while.

More excitement: some of us are heading to Japan for our first 10-day break from the show. We're staying in Tokyo for about a week, and are just going to see what adventures find us! It's opportunities like this one that make me stop, take stock, and be grateful for where I am and what I'm doing. Just the ability to explore the world in this way, travel, and experience all of these things while we're actually working and performing is a crazy blessing. Pretty amazing.

In other news, China's been celebrating their Fall Festival, which involves the eating of lots of little pastries called mooncakes, in honor of Chang E, the mythical moon Goddess of Immortality. They package them in the stores in these little plastic baggies in the stores. The other day I was eating one, trying to be all adventurous, and in the little baggie was a separate small package of what I supposed was extra flavoring for the mooncake. So I ripped it open and started to taste it before I realized that it said on the package "Do Not Eat. Oxygen Absorber."

Awesome.
xoxo

Retro Blog

Only retro inasmuch as I wrote this blog on the plane heading to Shanghai, but couldn't post it due to lack o' internet. Here she is.

It's about halfway through the flight to Shanghai, and I think we're somewhere near the top of the world. At least that's what it looks like on the map. Jackie thought we'd fly west, I thought we'd fly east, Ryan thought we'd fly right up and over the top. Ryan was right. :) (Sidebar: Anyone ever see that episode of The West Wing where there's a committee that wants to flip the map of the world upside-down, because they claimed that once upon a time someone just randomly decided that north was up, and there's nothing that says north can't be down? Intense. Think about it...)

(Oooh! Another sidebar: I'm watching Mulan on the in-flight tv. Isn't "I'll Make a Man Out of You" a freakin' awesome song? When they sing a cappella in unison octaves at the end?!? Gah!! Men's voices in a choral setting drive me out of my mind. In the good way.)

Anyhoo, when we got on the plane today, they were playing James Taylor's version of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma! I thought it was a good sign. And aside from some questionable "steak" that they served for dinner, that's all I have to report.

xoxo

ni hao and zai jian!

off to china tomorrow -- heading from Newark to Shanghai, nonstop. i'm sort of all turned around and not sure whether i'm coming or going; these last 2 weeks in the nyc have sort of felt like i'm still on tour and just waiting to go to the next city. i'm crossing my fingers for drawers in our hotel rooms in shanghai. it would blow my mind to open a drawer and see my clothes in it! drawers and hangers. that's all this girl really needs.

sooo... say a prayer, if you don't mind, that we all have safe travels and take care of each other. this, for sure, is going to be an adventure.

gen wo lai!!

xoxo