I flew into Shanghai Pudong International Airport yesterday afternoon, and ever since then have just been relaxing and taking in the new surroundings. Shanghai is constantly changing, and so much of it is different from how I remembered it from my visit two years ago. I went to the new supermarket across the road from our new apartment with my aunt this morning. At first glance it looks like any other American supermarket - aisles and aisles of goods, shopping push carts, etc - but upon closer inspection, the differences are amusing. In the meat department, nothing is packaged. If you want some pork, you take a big slab of pork and a butcher will cut it up to what you need. Instead of buying rice by the bag, it is bought loose and weighed. The pastry shop sells buns and marinated garlic along with cake. But most of all, i liked the people movers the best. Instead of having stairs or escalators, there are moving ramps that carry shoppers to their destinations.

I'm off to make some dumplings with my grandmother. Until next time!

[edit] A note regarding overweight baggage. Flying into China from the States, your checked in baggage cannot exceed 50lbs. That's not too bad. But if you're going to be traveling domestic in China like I am (from Shanghai to Beijing and then back), domestic baggage only allows 20 kg or 44 lbs of luggage. I was cutting it pretty close (I think I brought 46 lbs), so I'll be leaving some things in Shanghai to make domestic weight limits. Just a warning for people planning on traveling in China... pack light!