I’ve found a new favourite café to hang out at.

Boonna Café seems to be rather known around Shanghai, although I’m not sure if it’s for the nice atmosphere, the western styled food or the speedy wireless internet. Maybe all of them.

I’ve been sitting here for the last four hours and while I’ve been sitting here there’s been at least 14 people with laptops here. Counting the seven whom currently are sitting here, of course, and not myself. With me it’s currently 8 people with laptops, and a few without compys.

I feel very boring for just sitting here, but I don’t have much to do today except homework – and going home to geek and work on my characters just isn’t too tempting.

Now, some food. Yum. Carbonara.

Last Saturday I went TFP-ing in Shanghai.

Now, if you don’t know what a TFP is, it’s short for Trade-For-Portfolio, or Time-For-Print as the Wikipedia says it. It’s when a photographer and a person, doesn’t need to be a (aspiring) model, decides to take pictures for practise. It’s free and both parts get to use the pictures to promote themselves as they please, as long as they agree on which terms between themselves.

^{(Photo; David Li)}

Now, I’m not really trying to build up much of a portfolio, although I think everything with photography is really fun. What I want is to remember what I’ve looked like, so that I can look back when I turn 60 and show the rest of the family how pretty I used to be. So that I can remember my ageing process, from a 10 year old to 50, and not just in bad snapshots and second annually studio taken family photos. I simply want good, maybe even themed photos. Perhaps that’s the real reason why I love photographing. Because it makes it easier to remember the past as it were, and not just in blurry thoughts and half-forgotten phrases. Or maybe it’s because I’m a bit vain. (Who isn’t?)

Anyway. We (the photographer, the wife, their cute kiddo and me) went to take pictures in the 1933 building in the Hongkou district. It’s an old butchery with an extremely impressive architecture. It was very fun and the photographer was very kind (he even explained bits of the Chinese culture for me!). His wife put make-up on me, and I think it was rather interesting to see/feel someone work on my face for around 30-45 minutes. It’s a bit creepy that the worn down building used to be a large butchers place though.

^{(Photo; David Li)}

I’m getting a bit obsessed with everything Shanghai and Chinese. And Hello Kitty.

Or maybe I’ve been for a while, I can’t quite say. I think it might just be a part of the entire shock of travelling so far and being incredibly far away from home. According to everything with theories, it’s supposed to be a part of the phases of a culture shock. I must still be in the honeymoon phase.

Everything is so weird, so cosy. Y’know. Except the beggar children without eyelids (the kids mother was following him around in the metro train) and the beggars in general. They’re not so cosy. The architecture, the alleys, the people selling street food, the club culture, it’s so.. oh year. I’m on a honeymoon trip. Seriously, the street food vendors?

Still, even though I’m enrolled into different Chinese classes at an EF school, I still kept my subscription to Chinesepod. Chinesepod has podcasts with lessons about the Chinese culture, the language and more. So all I need to do to repeat what I’ve learnt in one day’s EF class, is to put on my mp3-player and start listening. Learn while you walk. I like that concept. And I’m obsessing too easily.

I’m always looking forward to Halloween. To the costumes, the pumpkin theme, all the decorations, to be able to dress up extra much and go clubbing in a costume.

This year I’ve celebrated Halloween twice. Once during the Bar Mural’s Halloween boat cruise on the 25th of October, and once in the new I Love Shanghai lounge on the 31st.

The boat party was amazing, and I got a really good impression of Bar Mural in general. They have this ancient look with lots of Buddhas on the stone walls. The boat itself was one of the ones you often can see on the river in Shanghai. With multicoloured, blinking lights and three floors. Oh, and an open bar. They even provided some basic costumes for the ones who didn’t dress up!

Although it wasn’t overly creative, I decided to go as a cat. I bought the ears during the Golden Week (the celebration of China’s national day) from some really annoying seller on the Nanjing walking street. Still forgot to put on whiskers though. Oh well.

I went there along with pretty much our entire EF school. There’s a lot of EF schools in Shanghai, of course, but whenever a few of the students in our school decides to go clubbing somewhere – the rest usually tags along. Let’s just say I had a great time!

_{(Picture belongs to Bar Mural, from the Halloween Boat Cruise.)
In the picture (from left to right); My new roommate Felicia, Ellen and me.}

_{(Picture belongs to Ellen.)}

_{(Picture belongs to Bar Mural.) Cute, magical Ellen.}

The Halloween party at I Love Shanghai was really fun as well. A bit more crowded (as in impossible to dance without someone bumping into you while dancing/trying to get past) but open bar and lots of creative costumes. The barmen were dressed up, or actually down, as devils. I wish I had lots of photos from it, but unfortunately I forgot all about taking pictures. On this day I was a Fairy Kitten since I fell completely in love with Ellen’s wings on the boat party – we switched costumes a few times during the night – and so I bought my own pair in red.

When I got there somewhere after 12 am (we were slow) the entire club was completely filled up. We almost didn’t get in at all because there were no more space in there.

Shanghai is definitely a great place to celebrate Halloween, and I’m hoping to celebrate in Shanghai next year as well.

While (window) shopping on Shangxi Lu, I spotted the second Dog Bag so far.

This one was chequered, but still very much like the previous one. Didn’t ask for the price though – (almost) everything on the main Shangxi road is expensive. Which is why I was only window shopping.

I’m rather happy about finding a store that sells these though – if I ever buy one, it’s the closest thing I’ll get to owning a dog.

Shanghai must be THE Hello Kitty capital. At least on 2nd place after Tokyo.

I’ve never been in a city with so much different Hello Kitty things before, and it’s weird just exactly how much you can put that kitten on.

So far I’ve seen everything from Hello Kitty car inventory, toothpaste and tampons to egg boilers and coffee machines. Great variations in other words.