The Family

Last month I had what will likely be my only visitors here in China - my loving family, or most of it. My mom, dad and sister made the trek halfway around the world to see me and experience the mysteries China had to offer. My sister spent a little longer in Shanghai than my parents, staying a few days before and a week or so after them at my apartment, while my parents stayed at a nearby hotel and took a short trip to Hong Kong. I had a great time showing them around my city before I relinquished tour guide duties and we all went to Xi'an for a few more wonderful days.

I really enjoyed seeing my parents reacting and remembering things I'd mentioned in emails and phone conversations while I showed them Shanghai. It may have rained the entire time, but transportation wasn't an issue as my mom discovered a taxi ride from one end of the city to the other costs no more than $4. Needless to say after an initial trip down the MagLev train and the subway, we used taxi's exclusively for the rest of their trip. My dad may have been most enamored with the food. The food isn't quite what we all are used to when we think of Chinese food, but at every meal my dad was like a kid in a candy store, making sure we left no food to waste. I brought them to noodle shops from all over China to dumpling restaurants and Cantonese style food, and my dad loved all of it - plus he could feed the family and get rounds of giant beer for everyone and it would cost less than $8.

Restaurants also provided the best chance for me to showcase my Chinese skills. My parents were appropriately awed by my pitifully few phrases which allowed me to steer taxis and order the 3 dishes I know the names of.

The best part naturally was just seeing them. I know they had a drastically different experience than the one they had 8 years ago in Beijing because this is not only a different city, but the last 8 years in China have been revolutionary (a positive Chinese revolution for a change!). My goal as tour guide was to show them a China not seen on tour groups, the small little dive restaurants that serve the best food, the back alley's with the giant markets. Hopefully they enjoyed their visit to Shanghai as much as I did.