People In My Neighbourhood: wanna buy a cricket?

If you were an old man in China, you might wander up to Wuyi Lu (three blocks away) to check out the cricket vendor's latest offerings.  For anywhere from 1 RMB (17 cents), you can own a tiny pet that you keep in a tiny box designed specifically for crickets.  You can feed your cricket leaves, bring it out for a cricket walk around the neighbourhood in the morning (still in its box, sadly, not on a tiny leash), and, on Saturdays, you can bring it to a local market for the weekly cricket fights, in which one cricket emerges victorious, having ripped the limbs from all other crickets.

Finding this cricket stand explained why one of my neighbours' blue toque always seems to be cheeping.  He keeps his cricket and its cage tucked into the brim.

I dream of purchasing my own cricket and training it to play Debussy, a la Chester in The Cricket in Times Square.  But what should I NAME it?  Prize for the best cricket moniker.

People In My Neighbourhood: the seafood family

One of my favourite neighbourhood shops is the very small seafood store close to where I tutor on Tuesday nights.  The family who owns it always smiles and says "Nihao!" as I approach, and then "The foreigner again" when I'm walking away.  But in a friendly way.

Of course, business demands that they do horrible, murderous things to fish, meaning that you really have to watch your step as you pass.  But October is hairy crab season in Shanghai, so today all hands were on deck for less gory work - plucking wee crabs from a cooler and swaddling their little legs to their bodies with long blades of grass.  As per usual, this was all happening on the sidewalk in front of the store.

Hairy crabs are found in the lakes and rivers around Shanghai, and are a major delicacy.  According to my Shanghainese cousins, crab season is a big deal because it's an opportunity for wealthy businesspeople to gain face by treating each other to crab feasts at exorbitantly pricey restaurants.  I've tried them.  They're super-yummy, though the crab smell lingers on you for at least a day, even if you exfoliate three times.  I've always wondered if this eau de crab also has caché in the business community.

Nooooo! *flailflailflail*

Oh.  Okay.  (Apparently, they keep the grass long so it's easy to pluck them out of the steamer.)

The dad explained that they wear gloves so the pinches hurt less.  Ouch.

Their little boy kept jumping in front of the camera, and then darting around to see the photo on the LCD screen.

Hello (again), world

Yep, it's been a year since I last posted, thanks to blocks on Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, and other things that help people network and organize big events. Like craft parties and potlucks. Or, I guess, protests and rallies. Anyway, I found posting remotely really wasn't my thing. It's like painting without your glasses - you have a general idea of what you're doing, but no satisfaction in seeing the finished product.

BUT! I've just purchased a program that lets me get online through other, less internetically-inhibited cities. As such, I'll be posting regularly, and in a fancy new layout to boot. And to catch everyone up, here's a summary of the past year:

• PROFESSIONALLY: (Very) full-time job doing marketing and events for a non-profit. Learned tons, worked really hard, and finished my year-long contract in June 2010. On the side, I helped my friend Bonnie develop local baking service Sweet Bon-O-Mine. These days, I'm working for self taking assorted contracts and moonlighting as a private English tutor, like every other half-pat (locally-employed expat) here.

• PERSONALLY: Expanded the cast of Claire's Life with new friends, all of whom will surely make their way onto the blog at some point. I've also solidified relationships with People In My Neighbourhood (PIMN), which goes a long way towards making me feel at home here, like when my DVD guy thrusts out the latest romantic comedy when I ride by him on my bike. (Oh, and people, I don't discuss my dating life online. It makes people uncomfortable. Especially me.)

• OTHERLY: Still in my darling apartment, which now features both a couch AND bookshelves. Shazam! // I spent almost three months in Canada this summer. // I'm rocking new glasses like Anastasia Krupnik's, though I still wear my usuals when I'm feeling unobtrusive. // My Chinese is way better than it was. Now I can discuss way more than my ideal husband. // I bought a new camera and am in love with it. // I still suck at cooking, but I sure can make a mean pot of rice.

So, I'm back. Thank you for staying around, and always tell me what you'd like to hear more about - I am nothing without you, dear readers!

- Claire