Shanghai
You know, there are very few disadvantages to being tall, in my opinion. Sure, I hit my head on things occasionally, and climbing into ancient Egyptian tombs is more difficult for me than for shorter people, but the advantages of being tall far outweigh those disadvantages.
That is, until I get into an economy seat in a plane... Were, exactly, am I supposed to put my legs? I frequently ask myself this question. Well, this flight to Shanghai was especially challenging, as I sat behind a french guy who insisted on leaning his chair back as far as it could go throughout the entire 12 hour flight. My already miniscule legroom shrunk to zero as my knees pressed against the seat in front of me. Sometimes I can pass my misfortune on to the person behind me by leaning my seat back as well, but on this particular flight the guy sitting behind me put his feet on _my_ seatback, keeping me from doing any sort of leanback whatsoever. How rude! I guess it's both of their right to sit however they please on the plane, but it made my personal space rather miniscule.
Well, hello there from Shanghai! My first impression? Lots of chinese, lots of shops and lights and food. But surprisingly quiet, compared to India and Egypt (in terms of traffic noise). Like in western countries, people here honk their horns when something dangerous is about to happen, or when someone is blocking the way. In India, Sri Lanka and to a lesser degree Egypt, people use their car horn to communicate with fellow drivers: a "hello, I'm behind you" honk, a "hello, I'm passing you" honk, a "hello, I just finished passing you" honk, a "if you want, you can cut in front of me" honk, a "hey, you bastard, you just cut in front of me" honk, a "wow, you look cute in that sari" honk, a "nice car!" honk, a "I'm doing something illegal and extremely dangerous, so get out of my way" honk, a "sorry, my hand slipped on the steering wheel" honk... All these opportunities for honking results in a cacophany of sound when you're near a road (even one that doesn't see much traffic). Here in China, I still hear honking, but that is more a reflection of the number of times people make dangerous maneuvers than the fact that they literally have conversations with their car horns.
Anyway, I'm settled in and happy, but sadly I have to head to work, so I will write more and send some pictures of my immediate surroundings in upcoming posts. Hope everyone is well!
You know, there are very few disadvantages to being tall, in my opinion. Sure, I hit my head on things occasionally, and climbing into ancient Egyptian tombs is more difficult for me than for shorter people, but the advantages of being tall far outweigh those disadvantages.
That is, until I get into an economy seat in a plane... Were, exactly, am I supposed to put my legs? I frequently ask myself this question. Well, this flight to Shanghai was especially challenging, as I sat behind a french guy who insisted on leaning his chair back as far as it could go throughout the entire 12 hour flight. My already miniscule legroom shrunk to zero as my knees pressed against the seat in front of me. Sometimes I can pass my misfortune on to the person behind me by leaning my seat back as well, but on this particular flight the guy sitting behind me put his feet on _my_ seatback, keeping me from doing any sort of leanback whatsoever. How rude! I guess it's both of their right to sit however they please on the plane, but it made my personal space rather miniscule.
Well, hello there from Shanghai! My first impression? Lots of chinese, lots of shops and lights and food. But surprisingly quiet, compared to India and Egypt (in terms of traffic noise). Like in western countries, people here honk their horns when something dangerous is about to happen, or when someone is blocking the way. In India, Sri Lanka and to a lesser degree Egypt, people use their car horn to communicate with fellow drivers: a "hello, I'm behind you" honk, a "hello, I'm passing you" honk, a "hello, I just finished passing you" honk, a "if you want, you can cut in front of me" honk, a "hey, you bastard, you just cut in front of me" honk, a "wow, you look cute in that sari" honk, a "nice car!" honk, a "I'm doing something illegal and extremely dangerous, so get out of my way" honk, a "sorry, my hand slipped on the steering wheel" honk... All these opportunities for honking results in a cacophany of sound when you're near a road (even one that doesn't see much traffic). Here in China, I still hear honking, but that is more a reflection of the number of times people make dangerous maneuvers than the fact that they literally have conversations with their car horns.
Anyway, I'm settled in and happy, but sadly I have to head to work, so I will write more and send some pictures of my immediate surroundings in upcoming posts. Hope everyone is well!
posted by Falko at 7:15 AM
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