Shanghai!
Since I have failed miserably to write a journal up to this point...I will attempt to remedy that fact.
Today is our second day in Shanghai, prior to this we have visited Nanjing, where we rehearsed and began to learn our show. I realized quickly that this show would be different from DL3, not bad or good, just different. I was in a new role and this cast and crew have people who range from opening cast to newbies, so the dynamics from not only this but the huge age range as well. Nonetheless even though the honeymoon period is over all is well on DL1 and we have each found our own unique role in this group. After Nanjing, we moved on to a split week of Changzhou (where we had wooden coffins for beds with yellow walls and pink bedspreads with cherries on them) and Wuxi (which means without tin), by this point I had seen two or three pagodas, little did I know that I would see many more before the month of July was even over. On to Nantong and Changshu, where we did our first karaoke room and yet another pagoda. The final split week was Kunshan and Suzhou, where in Kunshan we had a lovely mall with a fancy Pizza Hut and Suzhou where we saw the Water City (Zhangzhou).
Now Suzhou is where one of our more interesting events occured, getting to the water city, no problem. However returning was another problem altogether. We had been told from day one not to get in the black town cars for travel, so much to our horror (after having already dismissed two at a hotel) that we would need a black car to get us back. It didn't help that we had to call Jeremy during load out and have Ar Lei translate for us. Ultimately though we wanted to stay together so instead of ending up in a car, we were in a crappy van that looked like something my grandmother would have driven in the 50's. I of course being so worried about our well being (and the likely-hood of being sold into Chinese slavery) fell asleep. Everyone else remained awake, and nervous, this shows, I think, the difference between those who have travelled more than others. Other than Meghan and Carly who had both been to Britain (carly) and Prague (meghan) plus Tiff and her South American adventures I was the only one who had been traveling constantly. I must admit I should have been more worried but some things you can't stress about and if there is a language barrier then sometimes you have to go with the flow.
Now, lets skip on to Hangzhou. Our first full week in a city since Nanjing. This was a great week, ( to think it was only a few days ago), walking around West Lake and seeing two more pagodas, yeah there's more, can't get away from the little buggers, not that I particularly want too. Oh, so I didn't mention becoming the third understudy story-teller, and I haven't mentioned a few people that I should. First off there is Veevee, she calls me her sister, and I feel like she could be. Veevee claims I am the first American she has talked too who understands what is going on in Europe and Asia. She has never met one who knew what Eurovision was or knows as much history, overall we just seem to get each other. Although she enjoys squealing with joy which I let her enjoy with Tiff more often than myself. Then there is Rainy, he started as our dresser and then was upgraded to translator, he likes to hang out with us more and more, he is adorable!
So now that we are all caught up....let's talk Shanghai.
This morning Tiff and I woke up and had an overly priced breakfast in the deli of our fancy hotel, unknowing that there was a McDonalds and a Starbucks are mere ten minutes away. So after arming ourselves with souvenir lists we set off with Veevee as our guide through Shanghai. In our group were, Veevee, Greg, Amy, Myself, Tiff, Meghan, Carly, Laura, Chris, and Matt, a motley crew to say the least. We got our first trip on a Chinese metro, and it was a piece of cake, as nice as any I had been in Greece, England, and France. Our first stop was the Bund which was a bit of a letdown considering it was entirely under construction for the Shanghai Expo in 2010. Their mascot for the Expo is called Hai Pouw, but I call him Gumby or Toothpaste dude. Since there was no Bund, we traveled down Nanjing Road (the biggest shopping road) stopping at random shops and finally getting a bite to eat along the way. After eating, the group split, not that I was surprised, you can tell those who like to be out all day and those who don't, so after the split it left Veevee, Matt, Greg, Tiff, and Myself. Veevee took us to People's Square and an underground mall there made to look like a 1930's Shanghai street. We went and made stickie pics and had a blast decorating them! While there Matt mentioned wanting to go to the Pudong area since he would not be able to go tomorrow because of loadout. So off to the Pudong where some shopping (Rainy joined us here) was accomplished, and Tiff and I got some ideas to talk over with the fam before commencing with buying tomorrow.
After shopping we met Veevee's friends at a Korean restaurant, Tracy, her friend Jill and Lemon, and we were later joined by Sally. We ate tons of food and then had ice cream at Veevee's favorite placer, Andersen's. Then we ended our night with karaoke, where Greg over-imbibed and caused a bit of a scene on the metro, with lots of Chinese men looking on.
So now it is late and Im ready for bed! Night!
Today is our second day in Shanghai, prior to this we have visited Nanjing, where we rehearsed and began to learn our show. I realized quickly that this show would be different from DL3, not bad or good, just different. I was in a new role and this cast and crew have people who range from opening cast to newbies, so the dynamics from not only this but the huge age range as well. Nonetheless even though the honeymoon period is over all is well on DL1 and we have each found our own unique role in this group. After Nanjing, we moved on to a split week of Changzhou (where we had wooden coffins for beds with yellow walls and pink bedspreads with cherries on them) and Wuxi (which means without tin), by this point I had seen two or three pagodas, little did I know that I would see many more before the month of July was even over. On to Nantong and Changshu, where we did our first karaoke room and yet another pagoda. The final split week was Kunshan and Suzhou, where in Kunshan we had a lovely mall with a fancy Pizza Hut and Suzhou where we saw the Water City (Zhangzhou).
Now Suzhou is where one of our more interesting events occured, getting to the water city, no problem. However returning was another problem altogether. We had been told from day one not to get in the black town cars for travel, so much to our horror (after having already dismissed two at a hotel) that we would need a black car to get us back. It didn't help that we had to call Jeremy during load out and have Ar Lei translate for us. Ultimately though we wanted to stay together so instead of ending up in a car, we were in a crappy van that looked like something my grandmother would have driven in the 50's. I of course being so worried about our well being (and the likely-hood of being sold into Chinese slavery) fell asleep. Everyone else remained awake, and nervous, this shows, I think, the difference between those who have travelled more than others. Other than Meghan and Carly who had both been to Britain (carly) and Prague (meghan) plus Tiff and her South American adventures I was the only one who had been traveling constantly. I must admit I should have been more worried but some things you can't stress about and if there is a language barrier then sometimes you have to go with the flow.
Now, lets skip on to Hangzhou. Our first full week in a city since Nanjing. This was a great week, ( to think it was only a few days ago), walking around West Lake and seeing two more pagodas, yeah there's more, can't get away from the little buggers, not that I particularly want too. Oh, so I didn't mention becoming the third understudy story-teller, and I haven't mentioned a few people that I should. First off there is Veevee, she calls me her sister, and I feel like she could be. Veevee claims I am the first American she has talked too who understands what is going on in Europe and Asia. She has never met one who knew what Eurovision was or knows as much history, overall we just seem to get each other. Although she enjoys squealing with joy which I let her enjoy with Tiff more often than myself. Then there is Rainy, he started as our dresser and then was upgraded to translator, he likes to hang out with us more and more, he is adorable!
So now that we are all caught up....let's talk Shanghai.
This morning Tiff and I woke up and had an overly priced breakfast in the deli of our fancy hotel, unknowing that there was a McDonalds and a Starbucks are mere ten minutes away. So after arming ourselves with souvenir lists we set off with Veevee as our guide through Shanghai. In our group were, Veevee, Greg, Amy, Myself, Tiff, Meghan, Carly, Laura, Chris, and Matt, a motley crew to say the least. We got our first trip on a Chinese metro, and it was a piece of cake, as nice as any I had been in Greece, England, and France. Our first stop was the Bund which was a bit of a letdown considering it was entirely under construction for the Shanghai Expo in 2010. Their mascot for the Expo is called Hai Pouw, but I call him Gumby or Toothpaste dude. Since there was no Bund, we traveled down Nanjing Road (the biggest shopping road) stopping at random shops and finally getting a bite to eat along the way. After eating, the group split, not that I was surprised, you can tell those who like to be out all day and those who don't, so after the split it left Veevee, Matt, Greg, Tiff, and Myself. Veevee took us to People's Square and an underground mall there made to look like a 1930's Shanghai street. We went and made stickie pics and had a blast decorating them! While there Matt mentioned wanting to go to the Pudong area since he would not be able to go tomorrow because of loadout. So off to the Pudong where some shopping (Rainy joined us here) was accomplished, and Tiff and I got some ideas to talk over with the fam before commencing with buying tomorrow.
After shopping we met Veevee's friends at a Korean restaurant, Tracy, her friend Jill and Lemon, and we were later joined by Sally. We ate tons of food and then had ice cream at Veevee's favorite placer, Andersen's. Then we ended our night with karaoke, where Greg over-imbibed and caused a bit of a scene on the metro, with lots of Chinese men looking on.
So now it is late and Im ready for bed! Night!