I braved out on my day off from nanny duties, to be conveniently shuttled from the foreign complex in which we lived, into the real world of Shanghai.  My plan was to head toward the famous riverfront Bund as far as I could get.

I was let out at the Portman Center, seat of may multi- international companies and the Portah-man Ritz Carlton Hotel, which is the western most end of the famed shopping street Nanjing Lu. (The Chinese emphasis on Portman Center, is pronounced Por<strong>tah</strong>-man, so I started saying Portah-man to be better understood. More on communicating with the Chinese later.)

I spent a lot of time there looking in a few boutiques which are to become my regular stops; and getting a nice capp (cappuccino) at Espresso Americano; checking out all the American, Australian, and British foods at The Market store, and getting generally acclimated. I called boyfriend (that I left behind) from Bell South’s business center and he was stoked, as was I to talk to him! I can’t wait to be with him again!

Then I headed down Nanjiang. I found what I was looking for-shops galore!! A lot of places were having summer end sales and I picked up a pair of shorts and golf shirt (for boyfriend) for 30 Yuan each. I decided my common policy is to look and get an idea what’s out there, compare prices, bargain if necessary, and make purchases at the end of the day. I looked at pearls, cheaply made clothes, vases; saw a silk tailor shop (warehouse), a 5-story computer store, cosmetic boutiques; Esprit shop, bakeries, beauty parlors; tons of banks, food stores selling all kinds of dried roots, teas, snakes, herbs, and sweets. It was an exploring day for me. Some of the architecture on the buildings is really unique– arched shaped doorways and underpasses, brick buildings of dark red stone, stone carvings on walls, open windows with wrinkled face ladies looking out, wash hanging from every crevice, fans and ancient looking air conditioners dangling from open windows.

Many shops double as homes where people live. They are smaller than a garage and have stuff crammed into them with space for a little chair, a table and abacus. Or else they just sell right on the street corner or overpasses. A shoe maker works on a street corner and a shoeshine sets up on a bridge. The cooking pots are steaming all over as you walk down side streets and alley ways, especially around dinner time. The Chinese clothes peddlers hawking fake and/or real Lacoste, Nautica, Polo, yell out as I pass them, as do suitcase sellers. A feather-down coat store tried their hardest to get me into anything, even though they didn’t have the color I liked.

My plan was to head toward the famous riverfront Bund as far as I could get. I ended up not getting very far as the shops kept calling me. I spent time exploring Isetan, the Japanese retail giant and all its 8 floors, located at the end of a shopping monolith-one of very, very many malls. It’s either shopping paradise or hell, however you prefer to view it, located in mega Shanghai.  Finally, I headed back to catch the return shuttle from the Portah-man. In my haste and determination, there was a mix up and misunderstanding, combined with my anxieties of being out by myself for the first day. I had missed the last shuttle. Panicked at being stranded alone, I quickly called Fritz, catching him before he left the office, telling him of my plight, asking if I could catch a ride home with him. He said he’d meet me at the Ritz and we’d transfer to another taxi. I was under the impression that he’d driven to work and not taken a cab. Once he came I found out I wasn’t on his way home, as I thought, and I felt badly about it. As we sat in traffic for 45 minutes he tried in vain to phone Luise. Let’s just say it was not pleasant. She was expecting Fritz to stop at McDonalds to bring home eats for the kids. (The kids may I report, are all now grown and attending various European universities.)