so after all the ranting about the ridiculousness of this internship, the president came over and talked to me a bit before we left friday evening. he told me that i would be doing things on monday, after getting settled for a day or two. then he asked how much interns in the US generally get paid, and how much i wanted to get paid.
saturday emily took me around shanghai. see also: paid my way into everything in shanghai. i’m not gonna lie, i got over the uncomfortability of it all quite quickly (it also made things a lot more comfortable when i tried to argue..) and just enjoyed myself. it was freaking great.
i’ve noticed that going along with things has been the best way to go. people get upset when i don’t. from what i can tell, there is always a plan, i just don’t know about it. sunday i made my own plans, and in the end it was a fantastic day, but it didn’t start out so smoothly. which is fine. but i’m okay with going along with things.
i guess this is sort of great. better than filing.
on sunday i’m pretty sure i almost got one of those dirty massages.
i got my hair cut, and the guy gave my head a massage, which i read was to be expected in shanghai. this was okay. but the massage overall focused more on my boobs (or tried to) than any massages i’ve heard of, and wasn’t really that good. also the guy kept asking if i had a boyfriend - nanpengyou. i said hell yes, or dui, wo you yi ge.
the whole thing cost $2.50. but i feel like i should’ve gotten paid.
in the end it wasn’t the nasty kind of massage, it was just that the guy wanted to be my nanpengyou. he ran after me in the street and asked for my # and if he could be my chinese nanpengyou. i said i had a nanpengyou, and didn’t want him. he said, you should have 2- one in china, one in US. we went back and forth for a bit and eventually i pretended not to understand anymore and walked away quicker. he was harmless, but annoying.
also, this place is a bit like haiti, where if you’re white, blanc, bairen, - you get stared at intensely everywhere you go. and sometimes hassled to buy fake purses. this all happens less when i’m going around with some shanghainese.
on the up side, the italian exec, Fabio, at work, asked me to tell him if i wanted to go out or see shanghai anytime. this, along w/ some small talk, all went down at the watercooler. fabio is a very attractive guy, and idk if he literally means go out b/c i’m the new kid here, or not, b/c i’m intensely naive when it comes to reading those things, but either way i was happy.
i do, however, have a nanpengyou. and though he may not be my favorite person right now, that’s not a reason to go out seeing the shanghai nightlife with a guy named fabio.
a very attractive guy named fabio.
anyway. seeing as i’m sitting about 2 feet away from F’s office and other coworkers’ desks right now, maybe i switch topics..
