New SEZ in China and Haibao's Market Power

The Chinese government is planning to make Kashgar in the Xinjiang region a special economic zone. The move is probably as much, if not more so, political than economic.
http://www.eeo.com.cn/ens/Politics/2010/07/23/176357.shtml

Tidbits
I find myself slowly losing English language ability even as it has been a week since I landed in Shanghai.

I think our apartment has very thin ceilings because I constantly hear running water when someone upstairs turns on the faucet. But that beats a few days ago when every 5 seconds there was a thump-thump-thump-thump sound in its place.

I think 海寶 is starting to grow on me. I used to think he was one ugly creature but his pervasive presence in the city forces me to take multiple good looks at him...and I suppose he's kind of endearing. Maybe he should stay a permanent mascot for Shanghai. It would make sense to leave all the 海寶-shaped bushes and posters intact rather than tearing them down once the Expo is over. I'm tempted to send 海寶 memorabilia to family and friends back in the States, but they'd probably be like WTF? What is this thing? But he's popular here. Loads of people are walking around carrying the signature 海寶 plush doll. 50 RMB!


海寶 says bye bye for now.

Here We Go

Let's see how long I can keep this up. Blogging about adventures in China is hard when one must simultaneously be out making adventures. In the 6 days I've been here, I've visited the following pavilions:
USA
Kazakhstan
Egypt
South Korea
Hong Kong
Pakistan
Africa

Here's one I have yet to visit, but should soon. The China Pavilion.

The Expo Village I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand it's really cool when you do run into people from other countries, because more often than not they're super friendly and will at least give you a smile and a nod if not engage in conversation. On the other hand, it's so underpopulated I wonder how many people actually live there. It's easy to take a stroll and literally not run into anyone the entire time. Another upside is definitely the swankiness of the spaces and amenities. I don't know how others are treated, but they definitely went all out for us American kids. By Chinese standards anyway.

Whee. There's a bar right downstairs too.


And here's a video of the place. Mind you, I am not a professional cameraman, so you'll have to bear with the shaky and ill-shot clip.

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Mmm. My sister bought it for my birthday and I tried it on for the first time today. So feminine. Flowery. Fresh. I'm falling in love with my own scent...

Family Above All Else

Is is possible to be homesick when one hasn't left home yet? I wonder how much more quiet the house will be without a fourth person...

Slizzard.

Slizzard: One who has consumed alcohol and is either tipsy or fully intoxicated and showing signs of the alcohol. From urban dictionary.

=)

Reason #98956895789647 and 98956895789648 I love my mom.

I saw her this morning wearing a pair of earrings I had intended to donate to the Vietnam Veterans of America. She had fished through the bags and found them, in addition to a Dunder Mifflin bag I never used. When I asked her about the earrings she beamed and said, "Aren't they cute!"

Teaching my mom how to use a computer and download files. It is quite an experience.

Suburban Birds.

Today my brother and I sat outside in our backyard for about 20 minutes to see if birds would come and eat the bread crumbs we put out. They did not. Stupid birds. If these were urban LA birds they'd be all over that.

My brother told me sometimes my dad throws handfuls of of my mom's grains for the birds when he comes home from work. My mom doesn't know. I think he's trying to slowly get rid of it because he hates eating that stuff.