Shanghai

Hello from near the Yellow Sea (I think we are technically south of it). We left Shanghai late last night and are sailing toward Kobe, Japan. I'm looking forward to our short stop in Japan and our homestay with students and their families from Kansai University in Osaka.

Our time in Shanghai was very brief, totally just about 24 hours ashore. Between our weather delay in arriving and the involved immigration process, we did not set foot on land until 3pm on the 10th and did not pull away until almost 11pm the following day. A quick, surreal stop to say the least.

The good news is that we connected with my cousin, David Ricks, and his family. They have just moved to Shanghai this past summer and are settling into life in the PRC. We were lucky enough to have their driver, Mr. Wu, at our disposal and we were grateful to have the luxury, especially with only a day to explore this city of almost 20 million.

Mr. Wu was waiting for us at the port and took us to the French Concession. We walked for an hour and then were whisked off to Dave's home. There we met Joseph (10), Katherine (7) and Michael (3). It was great to see Chris, Dave's wife, whom I hadn't seen since I lived in Bloomington, Indiana. They were all gracious guests and we had a lovely time catching up and learning about one another. Had dinner with an American flavor (that we were craving) and thoroughly enjoyed the large, comfy bed and freshly-made coffee in the morning - the little things you miss so much at times.

The second day we were sent off by Chris with chocolate croissants (how'd she know these are our favorite?!?). Mr. Wu drove us to Renmin (People's) Square. We attempted to check out the Shanghai Museum but at 9:30am on a Tuesday we found ourselves in line behind what must have been six school groups and without the patience to wait. Instead, we wandered over to the Shanghai Art Museum and enjoyed their Biennial exhibit, complete with some modern reflections on Shanghai's international flare that made your head spin.

We decided to walk to the Bund, an area along the Huangpu River and in the heart of downtown Shanghai. We bought a propaganda poster replica on the street (couldn't resist the farmer on a tractor with his little red book raised!) and met 5 university students visiting Shanghai. They invited us to a tea ceremony and before we knew it we were in a little room with a spread of beautiful teas from around China. We were treated to an explanation of the various medicinal benefits of each variety and bought some Jasmine tea to take with us. Our new friends were very excited to practice their English and to learn more about us and our culture. They were very funny and sweet and we all exchanged email addresses and invitations to visit each other's country. Very fun.

Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the shopping district, grabbed some lunch and ran into some friends. Found Mr. Wu and got a ride back to the ship.

Shipboard life is in full swing again as everyone is back on board and busy with classes and planning for Japan in addition to grieving the loss of Kurt Leswing. We had a community-wide meeting last night to discuss the details of Kurt's death and to allow people a space to process and grieve. It's been an interesting and touching experience, compounded in ways that are unique to this small yet fast-paced living community. There are a group of individuals preparing a memorial ceremony for Kurt and his parents are aware of these efforts.

I leave you with Kurt's latest favorite quote, spoken by our special guest Desmond Tutu and shared with us by Kurt's parents:
"Take the anger from your hearts.
Wipe the tears from God's eyes.
And live a life of love."

Pictures of Shanghai are up: www.heatherbill.shutterfly.com

Thanks, Woody, for the note and Shanghai suggestions.
Elyse - we received another packet of letters and are attempting to send responses from Yokohama.

With love and appreciation for you all,
heather ;)