Visas & Pickpockets
The East West Theater companies production of "Our Town"
The Pajama Phenomenon
Xitang Watertown
Much has happened since our wedding trip to Mongolia. After we arrived back in Pudong the plan was to go to the authorities and request a 1 year "Family Stay Together" Visa as my Tourist Visa was about to expire. We went along with David "Wang Jingwei" Amy's brother to the office in Pudong and were in the process of completing the paperwork when it came to our attention that Amy has never in her 4 years in Shanghai applied for her residency. This we were informed prohibited me for obtaining a family stay together visa until Amy had completed this additional process. In the short term I was given a 30 day extension to the existing tourist visa.
Amy and I left the building secure in the knowledge that once she had her residency taken care of I'd get the 1 year FST visa easily, however our delight was short lived. The following day was the begining of the week long May labor holiday so we knew there was nothing Amy could do until later that week as the office she would need to apply at was closed. On May 1st Amy, one of her previous students Wang Lu and I decided to venture out among the huge crowds (Shanghai's population increased by 2.8 million during the May holiday) and do some tourist stuff.
Wang Lu left and Amy on the right.
That decision was to haunt us for a while as during the walk through the horrendous crowds seen in this video someone stole Amy's I.D, her bank card and 600RMB. While the bank card and the money are an irritation, and can be resolved with a couple of phone calls to the bank, the I.D can only be replaced by the police in her hometown (Hukou) in Inner Mongolia, and would take at least 2-3 weeks. As I'm sure you can all figure out, as I only have a 30 day extension to my tourist visa and Amy's replacement I.D taking 2-3 weeks plus the time it will take her to complete the residency process, approx another 3 weeks I was going to be in the same situation all over again in 30 days time. I knew that I could not get another 30 extenstion as the maximum they will allow without exiting the country is 90 days so what was my next option. I frantically searched around various blogsites and forums, talked to many local expats and finally found a visa agent who could convert my L tourist visa to a 6 month F business visa. So with only 1 day to spare the process was completed and I received my passport back complete with a 6 month buinsess visa the day before my current visa expired ... three cheers for the visa agent, Hip Hip Hooray !
East West Theatre Company......
Those of you reading this post who are close friends know that I love theatre, and have been involved since the age of 13 in England, however during my 15 years in the U.S.A, with the exception of my Murder Mystery Theatre company my live had been rather bereft of any theatre, so it was with great joy that I was able to get back into theatre almost immediately after arriving in Shanghai. A local group of both expat and Chinese actors who call themselves the East West Theatre Company were putting on a production of "Our Town" and needed someone to run the lighting for the show. Well the production was a great success, and showcased some real talent to the almost capacity audiences. Some Our Town rehearsal shots....
The Pajama Phenomenon......
During my time here I have noticed something that's very foriegn to Western eyes, but which is a common occurence here in Shanghai, and although it is known to exist in other parts of China, in Shanghai it's far more prominent. I'll refer to it as the "Pajama phenomenon". At any time of the day of night, in public streets, the grocery store, on bikes, in taxis, at tourist attractions and even on occasion in a restaurant you can find the Shanghaiese going about their daily tasks in their pajamas.
Here is a sample photo and a link to a photo set I am building on flickr.....
This photo is taken on Duolun Road, a street famed for the number of famous literary persons who have lived there over the years. It is a popular place for Western and Chinese tourists alike.
Xitang Watertown......
Another place popular with the tourists is Xitang watertown about 1 hours drive outside of the Shanghai city center. On a recent visit I took a little video of a Chinese man Cormorant fishing, you can view the video here. I also took some photos of the town which is about 800 years old.
Here is a link to a Watertown photo set I am compiling.
