That's not fog - that's SMOG. [cough, cough]

So I bought a "Turbo Sim Card" for my iphone on ebay before I left the states. It is this thin little sim card looking chip that you sandwich together with your sim card and stick in the sim card slot in your iphone. And "Presto!" your iphone is unlocked for use on any network for the low low cost of about 12 bucks. It worked. The first time I stuck my chinese sim card in with it. Then I took it out a day later to put in my AT&T sim card to check my voicemail. When I tried to put my chinese sim in again, it was a no go. By the way - the cell phone system here is a little bit of a funny thing. You cannot get a regular monthly cell phone plan unless you are a local chinese. So foreigners must buy prepaid sim cards which are sold at any tiny little stand on every block that sells phones and likely other things such as cigarettes, random household items like string or plastic basins, maybe some lightbulbs, baby clothes or flowers and candy...shoes. Who knows. Maybe you stop by to pick up some cigs and decide "hey, that's right, I need a lightbulb". Anyway, these prepaid sim cards are a funny thing because you don't need to sign any papers - they don't even take your name. You just hand over the cash and they give you a little envelope (with your phone # printed on the outside) with your card inside. Oh, and you get to choose your phone number from the cards they have. I've been told that your choice of phone # effects the price. The number "8" and to a bit lesser degree "6" are lucky numbers to the Chinese so phone # including these are more expensive. I just grabbed an envelope - I mean really, I'm going to need more than a lucky phone # to change my life. The particular card I chose with an insignificant # was 70 RMB (about $10 US). So - every month China Mobile (the carrier) deducts 16RMB ($2.34) from the card to cover the cost of any incoming calls. Any outgoing calls are deducted from my balance at a rate of 0.13 RMB (~2cents) per minute. To reload my sim when my 70 RMB is used up, I just go to one of these stands and fill out this teeny little receipt/form thing and hand over some more cash - and I'm good to go again. So, for about 10 bucks a month I have cell phone service! Awesome. Oh, another odd thing to note: there is no voicemail here. It doesn't exist for cell phones so everyone loves to text. Why call and risk no one answering when you'll just have to text anyway? Just text them.
Okay, I've gotten off the subject a bit. Back to my iphone... So our DSP suggests I take my iphone to the apple store or here he calls it the iStore. Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Of course they will help me break all their own rules and unlock my phone. Doubtful, but actually quite optimistic they might help me, I make a trip to the giant mall to go to an "iStore". It is good to note that iPhones are not officially available here - I think you can find them on the black market, but they are very expensive - not much of a market for them here because most people can't afford them. So I find a guy at the iStore that, as a pleasant surprise, speaks great english. I begin the explanation of why I am there by popping out my two sim thingys and he instantly says "Oh, you don't need that - I can unlock your phone so you can use any network without that." GREAT! "I can do it for 300 RMB." (~$44) So he spends maybe 10 minutes with my phone, I fork over the cash and I'm in business. Just like that. I'm positive that I just got ripped off on something I could probably get online and figure out myself, but I don't care- it was EASY! All my apps and contacts are untouched - software still runs great. Suddenly my iphone is worth 3 times it's former value (maybe I should sell it on ebay...). I'm sure this guy just pocketed the cash - this is not a standard apple service ;) What a great side business.



The malls here are pretty interesting. They are mostly HUGE. I know Shanghai is known for it's shopping, but it seems the Chinese love giant shopping malls. The mall we went to last night "Super Brand Mall" is an especially large one - maybe 8 or 9 sprawling floors and a few basement floors. Tons of shops and a LOT of great restaurants. Most of the shops and department stores here (unless they are American or European) are a bit different in that they feel really boutique-like. They only put sample clothing items out. Then you choose what you want to try on and they pull the item in your size. The first time I went to the mall I thought all those shops must be really expensive designer shops, until I realized the system. In this particular mall, the main entrance is extremely busy. There seemed to be a steady stream of people entering the mall. To look at all those people you think it's going to be reallly crowded! But once you get inside it feels rather quiet due to its huge size. I took a couple photos.

In between bouts of my persistant lingering nausea, I ventured out in an effort to find some saltine crackers and Sprite. In my state, I have been craving those two remedies for an upset stomach. Okay - Sprite - easy, it's everywhere. Saltine crackers - quite another matter. My best bet was an import grocery store chain I was introduced to on our look/see trip. Bill and I discovered one about 4 blocks away a couple nights ago after our 20 minute walk turned into an over an hour trek complete with argument about which building in the skyline was the hotel near our apts after we got lost. (The streets here most certainly do not follow a grid! And there are lots of dead end roads.) Upon entering this little grocery store I am filled with JOY to see displays of Goldfish, JIF peanut butter and Classico spaghetti sauce! So I wander the isles filling my cart with overpriced items with comfortingly familiar labels - including an $8 box of Premium saltine crackers. I enjoyed my time in this mini heaven - which, I might add is free of blaring Chinese ads and for that matter any other people except for a couple German guys having a vibrant discussion about some cheese. As I made one last glance at my full cart before heading to the checkout it dawns on me that I don't have a car to load all this stuff into. Oh yeah - I walked here. That's right, I live in a big city now. I have to carry everything. So I reluctantly placed half the stuff back on the shelf. Oh well, on the upside, I'm not working so I have time to walk there everyday if I need to! I have a lot to learn about my new life.