I enjoyed time with dear friends, Alice and Krystal today. I consider any time spent with these two a privilege. They chatted in the most usual of fashion of every day stuff that was the most regular part of my time living in Shanghai and hearing them talk took my mind back to rest with memories in the most wistful of ways.
They are both home for short summer visits before Alice returns to Shanghai and Krystal spends the summer at her home in Bethlehem. As they filled me in of the goings and comings of the transient lifestyle of expatriates – new ones to the community, as well as those who have moved on to other posts, I thought of my time spent knitting on Thursdays in our international group and the stories that emerged. Today was not very different – except we were not knitting, and we drove cars to the restaurant in a strip mall near Detroit.
It was the full-circled Shanghai experience, Krystal shared of an afternoon just a week or so ago. She described the meeting of a culture group in a woman’s home in the French Concession of Puxi, Shanghai. In an old Shikumen house, the hostess displayed a large collection of Chairman Mao statues on the worn mantel piece.
With people from almost every continent on the globe in the living room, a pianist played classical Chinese and Western music. Krystal described the scene in great detail and what an honor it was to listen to the music in such a magical setting with so many interesting people. Shikumen houses, a Chinese version of row houses, several hundred years old and disappearing in multitudes, carry a wealth of personal stories. Dozens of generations of families lived in this multi-level home before a Belgium woman rented it and moved in with her Mao collection and baby grand piano.
I envision the aroma of hot oil and soy sauce as I thought of neighborhood women cooking together at the outdoor community kitchens, with men gathering outside in small gardens with their caged song birds hanging from trees, and playing games on makeshift tables. These communities hold such rich histories, yet in the name of progress, they are being torn down daily around Chinese cities.
What brought the experience last week to full circle, Krystal explained, was the sound of jack hammers resonating behind the music from the piano. Beautiful and soothing sounds of music combined with the raucous noise of build-up and tear-down as background music is a picture of Shanghai – the old and the new melding together into one scene. Construction dust and piano music.
As she shared this story, I could not help but think of my time in Shanghai and how I enjoyed activities such as these. Walking down the lanes of ancient home places – homes in line displaying various degrees of disrepair alongside wonderfully restored homes rented out for exorbitant prices. I remember these homes featuring laundry hanging from the windows next to a groomed front door with expensive statutes to greet visitors.
As memories faded, and conversation switched to another topic, I looked at these ladies, firm fixtures in a special part of my own history, and thought about how life evolves from one scene to another. Just as the Shikumen homes carry rich history, but evolve into different uses and hold new stories, my story evolves – with part beautiful music and part jack hammer demolition.
And through the notes, I enjoy days like today living in the present with special people who helped form my stories.
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