Saturday, July 01, 2006
Last Day in Shanghai
Greetings!
Our last full day in Shanghai, we're having a BLAST... Can't believe we head home tomorrow.
Wonderful hotel, wonderful food. Kingsway treated us to a Mongolian Barbeque for lunch today, upon our request. YUMMIE. Everyone loved it, we ate too much, but that's OK because our banquet isn't until 9:30 this evening after our concert in the Lan Xin Theatre. We'll be in our all black attire, that's as formal as we all have. Another group is singing for the concert, too. I guess all the tickets are sold, so we have to be in top form! Shanghai is so cosmopolitan and modern that they have cultural experiences for ALL cultures here, and many westerners live here, so there are many who appreciate western music, and rarely get choral groups. So I guess we're a star attraction.
This morning we went to the Children's Palace, a kindergarten school. Today was graduation day, so all the 6 year olds put on a wonderful stage production show for all their parents, and said their goodbyes to their teachers and administrators. I didn't know anyone there, but it brought tears to my eyes. It was priceless. Another witness to the fact that there are some things that are just plain universal.... parents standing waving at their kid on the stage, daddies crawling on all fours to get the perfect picture, little ones waving from the stage when they spot mommy, sleeping babes in arms in the audience. This world isn't that big at all. We really are all the same on the insides.
We drove to the Bund, the waterfront area. AMAZING display of architecture and modern technology! We got to go into the Chinese American Bank building and see the historic frescos and the dome where it is tiled: "All Men are Brothers between the Four Seas". There are 6 one piece marble columns in the world. Four of them are in this bank, and the other two are in the Louvre.... They were amazing. The space needles, thousands of buildings 60-70 stories high.... no two the same. Gay (my sister the architect), you'd go nuts.
We visited a silk carpet factory after that. Never saw anything like it. They all are Magic Carpets because depending on the direction you look at them, they are different colors. They take on the color of the pile in different directions... luscious and beautiful and so soft you feel guilty stepping on them.
After lunch we went to the Union Garden, along with 10,000 of our new best friends... there are so many people here. Picture this: Chinese pagodas, rock sculptures, lotus lily pads, bridges, and a Starbucks in the pagoda!!!! Many of us thought we'd made it to heaven for sure.... just kidding. So Morgan and I decided we could live here, and I'm not kidding about that. This is a very livable city for westerners.
We're back resting before we depart for rehearsal with the other choral group and the director at 5:45. Concert at 7 pm, visiting and exchanging emails (I'm sure) and then off to our banquet. Then Emily has insisted that she get to treat us to a Karaoke Bar in Shanghai. The kids are so excited about it already. So it will be a late night, and tomorrow we pack up, get to explore a little on our own, and then we get to.... ride the MagLev!!! to get to the airport!!! It’s the magnet driven high speed train (like 300 mph) that levitates on the tracks! It will take us 7.... that’s seven... minutes to get to the airport!!! (45 minutes on the bus.)
So I won't be on line again until I get home... Until then.. Be well everyone!!!
See you back in the States.
Gwen
Our last full day in Shanghai, we're having a BLAST... Can't believe we head home tomorrow.
Wonderful hotel, wonderful food. Kingsway treated us to a Mongolian Barbeque for lunch today, upon our request. YUMMIE. Everyone loved it, we ate too much, but that's OK because our banquet isn't until 9:30 this evening after our concert in the Lan Xin Theatre. We'll be in our all black attire, that's as formal as we all have. Another group is singing for the concert, too. I guess all the tickets are sold, so we have to be in top form! Shanghai is so cosmopolitan and modern that they have cultural experiences for ALL cultures here, and many westerners live here, so there are many who appreciate western music, and rarely get choral groups. So I guess we're a star attraction.
This morning we went to the Children's Palace, a kindergarten school. Today was graduation day, so all the 6 year olds put on a wonderful stage production show for all their parents, and said their goodbyes to their teachers and administrators. I didn't know anyone there, but it brought tears to my eyes. It was priceless. Another witness to the fact that there are some things that are just plain universal.... parents standing waving at their kid on the stage, daddies crawling on all fours to get the perfect picture, little ones waving from the stage when they spot mommy, sleeping babes in arms in the audience. This world isn't that big at all. We really are all the same on the insides.
We drove to the Bund, the waterfront area. AMAZING display of architecture and modern technology! We got to go into the Chinese American Bank building and see the historic frescos and the dome where it is tiled: "All Men are Brothers between the Four Seas". There are 6 one piece marble columns in the world. Four of them are in this bank, and the other two are in the Louvre.... They were amazing. The space needles, thousands of buildings 60-70 stories high.... no two the same. Gay (my sister the architect), you'd go nuts.
We visited a silk carpet factory after that. Never saw anything like it. They all are Magic Carpets because depending on the direction you look at them, they are different colors. They take on the color of the pile in different directions... luscious and beautiful and so soft you feel guilty stepping on them.
After lunch we went to the Union Garden, along with 10,000 of our new best friends... there are so many people here. Picture this: Chinese pagodas, rock sculptures, lotus lily pads, bridges, and a Starbucks in the pagoda!!!! Many of us thought we'd made it to heaven for sure.... just kidding. So Morgan and I decided we could live here, and I'm not kidding about that. This is a very livable city for westerners.
We're back resting before we depart for rehearsal with the other choral group and the director at 5:45. Concert at 7 pm, visiting and exchanging emails (I'm sure) and then off to our banquet. Then Emily has insisted that she get to treat us to a Karaoke Bar in Shanghai. The kids are so excited about it already. So it will be a late night, and tomorrow we pack up, get to explore a little on our own, and then we get to.... ride the MagLev!!! to get to the airport!!! It’s the magnet driven high speed train (like 300 mph) that levitates on the tracks! It will take us 7.... that’s seven... minutes to get to the airport!!! (45 minutes on the bus.)
So I won't be on line again until I get home... Until then.. Be well everyone!!!
See you back in the States.
Gwen
