Well, today was my last day at work, tonight’s my last night at the Motel 168 and tomorrow is the last time I’ll buy baozi from Baozi Lady on Shangcheng Lu. But, tomorrow is also my first time back in America after my little stint in China, the first time I’ll get to use facebook without fearing for my legal security, and, best of all, the first time in more than a year that I get to be with my entire family (all 6 of them) for over a month! So you can see how this occasion is a little bitter sweet (leaning towards sweet).
I appreciate a good Shanghainese farewell. It goes a little like this: blue skies and pretty decent weather with not too crazy humidity, lunch with two random coworkers who I’ve never met in my life but seem sad that we’re leaving, ceremonial moving of the Boston room sign from “occupied” to “vacant”, a quick RMB conversion at the Bank of Williams, a final walk home from work and a final wink at the construction workers who ALWAYS stare at us as we walk by, a broken motel key card (4th time it’s happened in two days), a call from the front desk at Motel 168 two hours later telling me I don’t have enough money in my account to pay for the room for one final night (I’ve stayed here for 71 nights, give me a break, you can’t give me one for free?), everything fitting quite snuggly into my three suitcases, and a final teeth brushing with the delicious Huangpu river water. Sounds like an appropriate end of a most Chinese summer.
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