One down, one to go.

After repeated delays, I finally got my first COVID-19 shot. So to knock the obvious questions out, yes it was the Chinese one, and yes the one with anywhere from 55-80% efficacy. It certainly sounds less good than the Pfizer/Moderna ones, and they probably are. But what people often don't see beyond the 55%-80% figures is that it is 100% in preventing severe cases of COVID, so I'm 100% onboard with that. I mean, I'm not a doctor. But I've been hearing a lot lately about how you can't compare studies because of different environments, and this and that. But hey, even though COVID is not a risk at all in China, it would be nice to travel this summer. So better to do what I can, be the solution and not the problem, etc. etc.

I'm actually a bit miffed it took so long to get it, because it sure seemed like we would be getting it months ago. Teachers were part of a high-priority group (only second to medical workers, I believe), so we were hearing murmurs back in 2020 it's coming soon. Because the priority is based on your job, they have to arrange everything. We signed the waiver in January. Then absolutely nothing happened. Asking HR produced a lot of "I dunnos". So I have to assume that, A) They decided because COVID isn't really a thing here anymore, it's not worth the bother, or B) Government Bureaucracy means it got delayed. Honestly both are possible, but I am upset at the lack of communication. And I'm inclined to believe Option A a little bit, because one day the news announced that vaccines are available to all foreigners now. Literally the next day, the school sent out an E-mail phrased in such a way like they were taking credit for pushing things along.

We can read the news, ya'll.

Anyway, I'm only with them for a few more months, so it's fine if they were idiots about it I suppose. So what's been going on? Well, Ella and I went to a slaughterhouse. At least, it used to be one. Now they've gone and turned it into a mall, because such a thing could only happen in Asia. It's a strange place, entirely made out of concrete with a lot of small bridges. It has a sort of MC Escher kind of look to it, and I can't imagine why this was the best design for a slaughterhouse. Now it's an Instagram hangout, complete with a Starbucks. Oh, Asia.

For more normal excursions, a group of friends decided to go hiking in Shanghai. If you know anything about the geography of Shanghai, that's like saying you want to go swimming in the Sahara. Dudes, it's flat. There is one hill of sorts out west near the border with Zhejiang province, so we thought to check it out. At the top is a really neat looking church and observatory. Unfortunately, the church was closed, and the sign on the gate had a date back in March 2020, when COVID was more of a thing. Still, nice church to look at. The observatory had a little museum that was nice, which was converted from the church's old monastery. Really, the "hike" took like 10 minutes to get to the top. Still, it's the highest point in Shanghai, so behold, in all its glory!

A bit anticlimactic, but oh well. After we went to the Botanical Gardens, which are very nice but way out in the suburbs. The weather was perfect that day, just slightly cool, because spring has sprung. You'll know because most of the parks have Japanese Cherry Blossom trees, and they're in bloom for another few weeks. We set out with a friend to Century Park in Pudong District to see a really big collection of them. There were a lot of people there, and I had never been to Century Park before, so that's cool. Nice place. You can even camp there. Kinda weird to get out of your tent and see skyscrapers a kilometer away, but hey, why not. Before, we stopped by a super super local restaurant to try food from her hometown province. Whew, it was spicy. But also really delicious. I had never had that style of Chinese food before, so it was a fun experience.

Pudong District is also home to the Science Museum, which I have actually been to many years ago. I don't really remember it though, so why not give it another shot? The Science Museum... it's okay I guess. It has a distinct 90s, early 2000s kind of feel, and maybe has not been updated since then. In contrast to the quite good Natural History Museum, I think the Science Museum needs some love - especially since it's just two metro stops away from some of the most modern buildings in the world. Maybe kids would be impressed, but for the most part, I wouldn't stop if you're a tourist. The highlight for me was the African animals diorama, for a completely unexpected reason. There is a lion at the aforementioned Natural History Museum which is sort of internet-famous for having a completely stupid look on his face, for which I will be oh so happy to include a picture of. However, what I did not know, is that there is also a dopey looking lion at the Science Museum. I think he (she?) deserves to be equally internet famous. So please, spread this photo far and wide for your "My face when..." memes.

Seems I've been talking a lot about Pudong district, which is really unusual for Shanghai people. Nobody really goes to Pudong, because it's considered kind of soulless. Actually, a good portion of Pudong didn't even exist a few decades ago, as it's reclaimed sea land. Most of the people live in the old part of town, called Puxi - where they have French-style buildings (at least, some) and most of the foreign food and bars. Unless you're going to the airport, or a tourist to gawk at the admittedly super impressive skyline, there's really nothing going on in Pudong. But actually on these trips I found it kind of cool, and I think it's reputation is a bit undeserved. We haven't given it a proper exploration, but we saw quite a few cool looking places. One would actually be a surprise to anyone from the US, we ate lunch at Red Lobster. As far as I know, this is the only one in China, so I guess it's not a chain after all. It is a bit on the expensive side, similar to US prices. I asked Ella when was the last time she ate lobster, and she said never. So, we had to try that. I think I've created a monster though, because Ella really really liked lobster. Admittedly it has probably been a decade since I had it, but it was better than I remember, even if we had just bits of it on flatbread. But yeah, all of Red Lobster's food was surprisingly good, much better than in the US - with the notable exception of the cheddar biscuits, which were not swimming in butter. I get why, butter is very expensive here. But still, disappointing. They made up for it by having an amazing beer from Yunnan. It tasted really unique, with a flowery sort of flavor. I had never had a beer like that before. I liked it so much that on the way back home I tracked it down and ordered a case online. Red Lobster, 9/10. Who would have thought? Lobsters are very uncommon in China, but I guess we'll be on the lookout from now on.

Sorry, lobsters.