Another weekend, another free food bonanza

Whoa! Two posts in one day! Well, I had to tell you about this weekend, which was super-fun, especially after my residence permit trauma (see below). Friday night was an art opening at a huge warehouse-cum-gallery down near Suzhou Creek - a German photographer was showcasing images of old and new Shanghai. The real show, though, was the rest of the event - the planner had hired ten or twelve street food vendors to work inside the gallery, providing the evening's refreshments. (Side note - I haven't completely figured out how I feel about hiring the poor to essentially be part of the show, and I'd love your input.) So... unlimited dumplings, egg pancakes, kebabs, roasted chestnuts, popcorn, cotton candy, and even mandarin oranges. And an open bar. As Katie and I concluded (but didn't verbalize quite like this), who cares about art when you can eat your face off?

Saturday night was Helene and Nico's housewarming - they're the French couple who came to my party last weekend. Their place is super-cute and in a great location near Xujiahui, which has arguably the best shopping in town. Helene had concocted potato salad, while Nico presented a dangerous beverage of sugar cane syrup, rum, and mushed-up lime, which helped everyone warm up as it poured rain outside. Katie and I had spent the afternoon shopping at the fake market (real market, fake goods) in Pudong, the new area of Shanghai, and it was so nice to just be inside with friends instead of fending off the fake Fendis (ha! ha! wordplay!); I had, however, purchased an awesome pair of earrings that don't strive to be any label at all. Picture below. I spent the rest of the weekend tutoring - I have a new student, a Taiwanese businessman, who can only meet weekends, but he's a really nice guy (don't worry, I meet him at Starbucks and he doesn't know where I live) so I figure the income is worth it.

More soon. P.S. All photo credits to Anja, who, unlike me, doesn't forget her camera. Thank you!