A day of firsts

Even though today was a work day i somehow managed to fit so much in. I know that I will sleep well tonight b/c I feel quite exhausted.

Where to start...

I decided to check out the continental breakfast at my apartment complex. I was hoping for a decent breakfast and to maybe meet some people in the building. So I headed to the 5th floor and overpaid for a terrible breakfast and an even more terrible atmosphere. Luckily, there was some fresh fruit that i filled up on since everything else was not worth eating. I was finishing my food when i looked up and noticed.this door on the other side of my dining table. Hmmm...Toxic? Next to a place that serves food? I don't think that I'll be heading back down there anytime soon.

I saw my first take-down on the way to work. I think that I was only a few steps away from witnessing a theft. By the time i walked by, the police(or what I assume was a policeman, not in uniform though) had a man on the ground of the sidewalk and was trying to cuff the thief as he was resisting arrest and a women to the side looked like she was trying to gather herself after a very stressful event. I obviously kept walking and didn't stop to gawk.

At work I received an email from Iris with some great suggestions of things to do and most importantly things to eat around town. So i kind of took it as a challenge and would like to do all the things that she sent to me. One on the list was eating pan-fried baozi stuffed with pork. Well, I can cross this one off my list because I got the Director of my office to take me to eat these for lunch. I will let you drool with the following pictures b/c they are as good as they look!

Eating instructions: 1st bit a hole in the wrapper, 2nd suck out the broth on the inside of the dumpling, 3rd eat the rest. YUM!

 After lunch I got the great news that I can stay in the apartment that I like best. Columbia agreed to pay the original contract price but for me to stay in the cheaper apartment...the layout is just so much better in the cheaper place. My manager thinks it costs less b/c it's on a lower floor and the view isn't as good. But now i have an open floor plan and 3 HUGE windows with lots of light!! And most importantly, I can finally unpack and get settled in. So to celebrate i decided to go out on the town tonight and do a couple more 'firsts'. I headed to People's Square and hunted down this famous food street named Huanghe Rd.

Nothing but restaurants!!

And found the Upper-class Gentleman's Handmade Noodle House to eat dinner out by myself for the FIRST time since arriving in Shanghai!

 Cold noodles with Taiwanese style sauce and honeydew/carrot/yogurt drink

 
I made my way back to East Nanjing Rd on a hunt of these amazing sounding sugar-roasted chestnuts that are popular this time of year, another suggestion from Iris.

Look what else I saw (although i couldn't find the actual store):

Which is the more inviting looking man, Colonel Sanders or the Columbia model?

I think i would rather eat chicken before seeking out the model with the creepy look on his face.

So I can check one more thing off my list. I found the chestnuts! Ate a couple fresh and took the rest back to my apartment which now smells like x-mas b/c of them!

What an amazing day!