Women in Running Shoes Explore Shanghai

Women in Running Shoes or WIRS are an amazing group of women who roam the world with indomitable spirit, insatiable curiosity, and a tremendous love of wandering. These incredible ladies, whether 19 or 89 years old, share bright intelligent eyes and invariably project the impression of hidden strength. I have met them all over the world in places ranging from big cities to remote mountains and deserts. Talking with them subtly reminds me that I am a small fish in a big ocean.

Recently in Shanghai I met 3 Women in Running Shoes with some great stories of their adventures in Shanghai. These ladies were University Professors from America with the job of training Shanghai university professors for specialized education methods. Consequently they were higher level than your average WIRS - they were Professors in Running Shoes, or PIRS. Their stories were fabulous. I am still shaking my head in envy and amazement.

I met the three PIRS ladies while waiting to cross the street near JingAn temple in Shanghai. We said hello and started talking. They were looking for a place to eat and so was I. We joined forces and went to an excellent small restaurant across the street. The restaurant staff didn't speak any English. I acted as the translater using my very limited Chinese language skills. The food was fantastic, some of the best I've had in Shanghai. It was a mixture of Shanghai, Southern Chinese, Thai, and Malaysian cuisine. As usual in Chinese restaurants, we had 3 times as much food as we could possibly eat. While we enjoyed the superb feast, the professors told me about their adventures.

They had arrived in Shanghai just a few days before our dinner. They didn't speak ANY Chinese language - a fact that didn't cause any hesitation. They immediately started exploring Shanghai and the surrounding areas on their own.

The first adventure came their second day in Shanghai. They decided to see the world-famous gardens of Suzhou, a city about an hour away by train. The 3 Americans arrived at the Shanghai train station without translator, Chinese friend, or any local person to help communicate. They bought tickets and took off for the train. They really had no idea which train car to board, let alone which seats to occupy. Somehow they figured out the car number. Then they located their seats by pointing to people at random until some men with guilty expressions got up and vacated their seats.

Exiting the Suzhou train station, the lady professors found an English speaking tour guide who was eager to show them the Suzhou silk market and the fabulous gardens. Suzhou is famous for two things - fantastic silk fabric & clothes, and the gardens. Our 3 PIRS ladies enjoyed the complete day. Returning to the Suzhou train station, they discovered that the train to Shanghai was sold out. Rather than wait for the next train, they took the local bus back to Shanghai. All this without any local friend to help them communicate or talk. What courage. What indomitable spirit. As the French would say, "Formidable!"

Fortunately Chinese people are very open and friendly. They love to help foreigners and take great enjoyment in watching us. I'm sure the Chinese take even more enjoyment laughing at our strange ways.

The next day our lady professors woke up bright and early to the next adventure. They wanted to learn how to cook Chinese food the real way. The hotel concierge informed them that cooking lessons required a minimum class size of 10 students. Undaunted, the 3 adventurers asked where was one of the best Chinese restaurants in Shanghai? Armed with directions, they wandered over to the restaurant and talked the manager and chef into allowing them to cook their own lunch....Chinese style. The ladies huddled in the kitchen, selected ingredients, and cooked their lunch under the supervision and teaching of the head cook. Once again, this was without any Chinese language skills. Sign language was used for communication. Incredible!

Knowing Chinese people, I'm sure the restaurant staff enjoyed this experience at least as much, if not more, than their foreign guests.

After their "authentic" lunch, our intrepid professors headed over to a local shopping market or Chinese bazaar. They bargained well, even better than most Chinese people. They described some of the clothes they bought and said the starting price was more than 300 RMB (Chinese money). I suggested that they should probably pay only about 40 RMB. Too high! They bargained the clever Chinese sales girls down to 20 RMB.

OK, so why am I trying to learn Chinese language? My adventures don't even begin to match theirs.

That night I enjoyed eating dinner and trading stories with them. It was a dinner I'll never forget. Undoubtedly I have to record their adventures here in my blog.

They had one more day of adventures planned. After that they started work at the University for a week or so. Today I got an email and learned they had a great trip and returned home safely. Ladies, BRAVA!!!