The past few days have been full of shopping and sightseeing with Mom and Po-Po, but today I had a rehearsal for Snow Queen, the production I'll be acting in in early December. I took a cab there after leaving the big shopping market on Qipu Lu. However, there was a huge traffic jam and I ended up walking for HALF AN HOUR trying to find a cab! I ended up in this very poor part of town near Suzhou Creek, which is fine by daylight but not so great at night. There's not much (reported) crime in Shanghai but as a wai guo ren walking down a dark alley by myself, I tend to forget that.
I called the hotline to see if I could get a cab to drive to me, but when I told them where I was, the operator said (in English): "Sorry, we cannot have someone drive there. No cab for you!" Then they hung up. I felt like crying.
A couple minutes later I saw a car with an NYPD sign across the door and a uniformed officer inside. It looked like a legitimate NYPD car, except that we were in China and I was in the shadiest part of town ever. What?!?
It was then that I decided I need a totem so that I know I'm not dreaming. Shanghai is just too weird sometimes.
PS. You are waiting for a train...
No comments:
Post a Comment