Shanghai stories pending, I realize that my Mandarin is horrible...and, oh yeah, I'm really really fat

Hello from the People's Republic! I have spent the last several days wandering around the streets of Shanghai and recovering from jet lag.

As it is, I realize that my Mandarin is in a sorry state. More than a few times, people I have talked to have given me that "Uh, what did you just say?" look. Oops. Looks like someone needs a language brush up!

Also, as different as Shanghai may be from the rest of China, it's nice to know that one thing stays constant throughout the mainland: super skinny Chinese girls. Really, I'm like King Kong compared with these chicks. My arm might be the girth of their their thighs or something. ::Sigh:: Well, I guess my constant eating of Chinese street snacks (sooooo delicious!) isn't exactly helping either. Ahh, well...you only live once, right?

As for Shanghai, it's a terrific city - incredibly modern and quite different from Beijing. In terms of traditional culture, there doesn't seem to be too much. The architecture of the buildings is pretty amazing, though, and this place is a great feat in modern urban planning (if you're into nerdy stuff like that). When I get a chance, I will definitely post some pictures.

Oddly enough, while I am able to access Blogger to post new entries, I can't actually see my own blog in China. When I type in "http://thewilltoblog.blogspot.com", the browser mysteriously stops loading anything. Ah, government censorship!

King Kong, signing out!