Sept 5: Home finally

After a 5-hour wait at the Incheon Airport in Seoul and a 1.5-hour flight, I finally stepped on the piece of soil that originated me. Shanghai Pu Dong Airport was recently expanded for the 2008 Olympics. My plane arrived in the new Terminal 2 which is not fully used yet. I cleared customs and picked up my luggage with little fuss. Upon exiting the barrier, I immediately spotted my mom's anxious face. I guess my MBA program took more out of me than I realized for it took my mom a full 3 seconds to recognize me. She later told me that I looked much thinner. Dad was there, too. Of course, being the typical Asian dad and the typical male, he hides his deep love for his daughter with almost no direct eye contact, only a heart-felt smile that was impossible to contain. But I, being the Canadian-modified Chinese daughter, didn't give him the chance to hide. I put my arms around him and gave him a huge hug. I could tell my dad's heart welled with pride and joy at that moment.

The airport looked surprisingly empty for a city with 20 million people. I mentioned this to mom and dad. They both laughed:"Just wait until you see what it is like when we get close to the city."

We waited for a taxi. I saw many vacant taxis but mom wouldn't let me take it.

"Look at the license plate," she said, "It stars with BX!"
"What's wrong with BX?" I asked.
"That means it is a privately-owned taxi."
"Versus what?"
"Versus a legitimate taxi company."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"They cannot be trusted. I have read many horror stories about them."

Dad and I could not persuade mom so we just stood back and watched her negotiate with the taxi control personnel until she got the taxi she wants, from a legitimate taxi company Da Zhong.
As we drove out of the airport, I thought I would get my information from a second source. I asked the taxi driver about the BX license.

"Is it true that the BX taxis cannot be trusted?"
"You can say that." the driver puts it politely, "some drivers 'modify' their engines so that the meter turns faster. And because the cars are privately owned, there is no mandatory inspection. In the company I work for, cars are inspected every 4 or 5 days to make sure thre is no funny business going on. So it is safer to stay with a known company."

After about 5 kilometers of easy traffic, the roads start to jam up as we approached the city. Driving in Shanghai is not for the faint of heart. Nobody signals. You do not need permission from the driver in the next lane if you decide to change lane all of a sudden. Just crank your wheel hard and force the nose of your car inches past his. The agressiveness is universally displayed and accepted, sometimes not without a honk to show disapproval. I found myself closing my eyes several times and praying as our car moved within inches to the next to make a maneuvre. I am certain there is no emission control in Shanghai when I witnessed some of the black smoke escaping the exhaust pipes from big trucks. There is nothing like exhausted-scented air to bring back a flood of memory for Shanghai.

When we drove over the Lu Pu Bridge, the driver pointed out the site for the 2010 World Expo. In an open field not far from the Huang Pu River, an army of cranes extended their long arms into the grey sky. I have no doubt it will be an impressive event, much like the Beijing Olympics this year.

Traffic was very heavy on the way home. There are real-time traffic condition displays on the city's main highway. The display reports the road condition through colors. Green means traffic is moving well; orange means crowded condition; red means deadlock. We saw several patches of red and orange on the display on this Friday afternoon. Our taxi crawled along slowly and a fine drizzle was coming down.

But nothing could dampen my spirit - I am home.