I'm alive!

I've finally begun the ascent of climbing the great firewall! I'm still working on facebook however.

After just a few days in this curious country, I have much to share and update you with, but alas, I want to go for a run and it's an urgent matter. Holed up in Hangkou, an area in Shanghai, our Swan Hotel overlooks Luxun Park. It's a mad house of a park and people watching at its best. It's green, lush and everything you wouldn't expect to be hidden within one of the world's largest cities. Falling somewhere between 20 to 23 million, Shanghai is a concrete jungle with high rises popping up everyday and creating dense concrete cover similar to the Redwoods of Northern California, but with the flair of Hello Kitty meets Las Vegas. Like a jade jewel wonder, the park is the hubble of activity. Kites, tai chi, sword dancing, ballroom dancing, fist pumping, I can't even begin to explain it. Named after the famous poet Luxun, the park now holds his mausoleum, among other things. The first day I arrived, I ran up to his body in surprise. An unexpected delight, if you would like to call mausoleum encounters that.

When my sweaty self returns, I'll write more. FYI, Shanghai is a sweatbox, think Iowa humity sans cornfields.