Good friends, good talks, good life

After essentially being a nomad in China the last week or so, it has been great to spend the last day or so in Shanghai at a less hectic pace.

Per my earlier postings, I have confirmed that they love Saturday nights in Shanghai. One different aspect of the club scene in China has been that (at least from my perspective) is that most people go out in groups not to meet others, but to hang out with their friends. Essentially the club consists of tables of people ignoring the other tables. This would be fine with me except for the fact that I am going out to meet people! Luckily I went with people from my tour and we had a good time.

One interesting story was being approached by a young lady offering to take my entourage to her club with "sexy Chinese ladies". We saw her early in the night and promptly turned her down. We ran into her later in the night and she repeated her offer to take us to meet "sexy Chinese ladies". A little more curious this time, we inquired for a little more information and she immediately told us "100 yuan for hand job, 100 yuan for blow job, then lady come to your hotel for 1-2 hours for 400 yuan, very sexy ladies". I actually found her bluntness somewhat refreshing, but considering that 100 yuan = ~$13-14USD, this had to be a scam (and most likely not very sexy ladies!). My initial impulse was to work on my haggling skills (which is how much of commerce is done in China), but I decided not to waste her time or mine and we kept walking. I got about 10 feet and then wanted to ask "How can a hand job and blow job cost the same?!", but she had disappeared back into the night. I am not sure if this a cultural difference, language gap, or part of the scam, but if anyone knows the answer, I am curious!

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to meet up with my college friends Susanne. It had been probably 5 years since we had last had a chance to meet and it was wonderful to see her and catch up. She has been busy living in Berlin, Italy, DC, NYC, Ghana, and Shanghai and it was great to hear her adventures and gain some perspective. I have truly romanticized Shanghai in my mind, and it was important for me to hear her on-the-ground firsthand account of life here. We spent the day eating and talking (Chinese dumplings for lunch, Haagen Daz for an afternoon snack, and American-style diner for a small dinner). We were joined for dinner by her friend (another Stanford graduate) Clea who had just arrived in Shanghai for a 3-month stay with Cargill.

Both of these young ladies are highly involved with international development. Despite starting with governmental groups, both came to the conclusion that more could be accomplished by working in the private sector. This mirrors my own thoughts and doubts about government/non-profit roles in economic development, but their accounts were so interesting and compelling. Made me proud to be a compassionate capitalist (not to be confused with the compassionate conservatism that certain presidential candidates have been touting)!

This morning I am taking some down time to do some laundry, but will soon head out for the French concession!