Shanghai in Slow Motion

In a few parks in Shanghai, I came upon several groups of people practicing tai chi, wushu, and other elegant martial arts-type exercises. It was beautiful and quiet and sort of fierce all at once. My favorite person to watch was the young woman in the first few pictures taking instruction from an older, white-headed wushu teacher. And that is because she was patient, skillful, cool-headed, and graceful--all while wearing bright-red Chuck Taylors.

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And then there were the bikes.

(I bought a little wire bike from this guy on a sidewalk corner in the French Concession neighborhood of Shanghai. And if I interpreted our very-limited act of communication correctly, I believe he was actually trying to give me a "thumbs-up" sign.)

Bad English

I'll admit it--I feel somewhat guilty for posting these pictures, because I do know that it's poking fun a bit. And heaven knows that these attempts at communicating in English are far more superior than any effort I made at speaking Chinese. But come on, let's don't lie: "Grass is napping, please don't disturb"? Instant classic.

(These last two were just reminders that I was missing the finale of True Blood.)