Living in Shanghai

This post is about some things that I have observed here in Shanghai. In no particular order...

Escalators - There are lots of escalators but not everyone knows how to use them, sounds silly but it's true. Yesterday, I had a problem for the third time. When some people get to the top of the escalator, they just stop and look around. Of course, all escalators are jammed with people and some people are not thinking about what is going on behind them. Yesterday, I had to physically move the person who reached the top without taking more than one step. Let's just say he was shocked by my actions but he did move pretty easily.

One other escalator story... When we went for Peking duck a few weeks ago, we were mistakenly taken down an escalator (inside the restaurant) to a lower floor we were not supposed to be on. When we got returned to the escalator to go back up, it was broken and someone was slowly working on it. To the shock of my Canadian co-workers and the cries of "No!" from the restaurant staff, I just ran up the down escalator while it was still operating. Sure it took a little effort, but I made it safely to the upper floor while my fellow associates roared with laughter and the servers were a bit horrified.

Tongs - Last week, when I was in the Hong Kong airport, I noticed that when someone left the stall in the men's room, the attendant proceeded into the stall with a pair of really long metal tongs. I let you think about what he is doing.

Toothpicks - I am amazed at how popular toothpicks are. Every restaurant has then prominently available, some have large containers with toothpicks on the tables. Many people can be observed using them as soon as their meals in completed, usually in a very good social fashion by covering their mouth with their left hand while using the toothpick with their right. Now, orthodontics has not really taken off here yet but when it does there are plenty of candidates.

Napkins - Most restaurants seem to have their napkins counted and issue them begrudgingly. A napkin's size is a like a cocktail napkin you would find in the U.S. and using more than one is not expected. As many of the foods are messy and difficult to consume for Westerners without requiring extra use At the same time, most restaurants provide each diner with a package of wipes before the meal.