My Neighbor, Frank

I've decided to devote an independent post to my neighbor, Frank, as I think he merits it.

I met Frank because the company rep that accompanied me to my apartment couldn't figure out, well, anything in the apartment (I couldn't stop laughing when she asked me if I could figure something out; I thought: "the buttons are all in Chinese, lady - if you can't figure it out then how in the hell am I going to? I'm not any better at pushing random buttons than you are.") This actually turned out to be a good thing, because she had to ask Frank, the neighbor, for help.

Frank is a 40-something construction manager. He lives in Shanghai, but works here (been here for about a year already), and he works for a French firm that operates in China. He is here without his family and without friends, but he speaks English very well; however, he wishes to learn much more.

Essentially: we are lucky to actually have each other here.

Sunday night was the Lantern Festival (google it for more info). This was entertaining to me, as there were fireworks everywhere, and even these flat-bed trucks full of young males standing on the back driving around tossing out firecrackers in the street. We ended up getting dinner at a local Cantonese restaurant (I don't quite think I was ready for it, however, as I was trying to recover from the shock of this whole ordeal, first of all).

In this photo: some kind of soup (was so-so) and pig-intestine (not bad but too chewy).

In this photo: Salmon sashimi (left - they call it something veeery different here...I am still trying to get that one down. Anyway, it wasn't that flavorful...), chicken (top right - veeeery tender and delicious, but a lot of bone), and some rendition of steak (bottom right - I think there was more oil than steak - oof).

And of course, Frank! I think I caught him mid-chewing with this one...whoops.

On Tuesday we ate at another local restaurant (he was super generous! I try to repay him by teaching him relevant western culture and, more importantly, relevant business-English words and phrases - he is very appreciative).

Some kind of shrimp (you eat everything between the head and the tail after you dip in in sauce), chicken (or duck...maybe even dove...either way - super delicious and tender again), and vegetables. Also, that may or may not be Gin (I guess it was his birthday on the lunar calendar! I was beginning to think he might be an alcoholic but I was actually just catching him on a ton of special occasions!)

Steamed fish - absolutely fantastic.

The left part of the pic is for Dana. The right side includes the fish tanks - talk about fresh!

More to come...