From my Tingzijian

The “people’s eclipse” was to begin this morning at 8:23, become total around 9:37 in Shanghai, and finish around 11:00.  Visible across India and China, it was to be seen by more humans than have ever witnessed such an event before. The last one visible in Shanghai was in 1575 during the Ming Dynasty, and the next one will occur on June 13, 2132.

I had my doubts, given the fact that you can’t see the sun on most days here through the smog, but our family traipsed down to M on the Bund for a Total Eclipse Brunch. (The brunch itself was certain to be worthwhile.)

From our balcony at our house, things weren’t looking too promising at 7:23. Dou yun, cloudy.Still, down at the Bund, people had their cameras out and the vendors of fake designer sunglasses gestured hopefully.

Upstairs on M’s terrace, Shanghai’s most famous view (and the sun) were shrouded in clouds.

But we tried on our eclipse sunglasses

Here's Michelle, M's owner

and joined the party.

As the moment for the eclipse to go total moved closer, so did storm clouds. It was getting darker up the Huangpu than around the sun, or at least where the sun was supposed to be.

TV reporter with storm coming behind her

By 9:28, the rain hit. Those lucky folks who called early and got the outside tables joined the rest of us inside.Except, of course, for the hardy types.

By 9:36, the Jin Mao Tower (the one that looks like it’s topped with a stylized pagoda in the earlier photo) and the World Financial Center (which some say looks like a bottle opener) disappeared in the clouds right around where the sun should have been.

Still, as we observed while yawning and ordering more coffee, it looked about like Shanghai in a thunderstorm on a normal afternoon.

And then — darkness fell. The operative word here is “fell.” Suddenly, it was the dead of night. I had expected… I dunno… something like sunset? This was more like an animal suddenly swallowed the sun, as the ancient Chinese feared. Spooky. Eerie. Awesome.

At 9:38, here is what we were looking at (please excuse the spots, which have nothing to do with sun, but are raindrops on my lens):

And of course it was over in a matter of minutes, too. By 9:46, it was time to pack up the cameraand at 9:48, time to pay the check and head out to look for a taxi on a rainy Shanghai morning.

So no corona, no diamond ring, no use for the extensive (10 minutes) research I did on how to photograph an eclipse. But wow.

Yesterday I went for a short walk in the neighborhood to buy vegetables. I was moving at a glacial pace, trying hard to keep making progress without actually breaking a sweat — a very tricky balance in this heat. But when I turned into a lane to take a shortcut, I found the Expo Beautification Sewer Replacement Project underway in this neighborhood.

Is there a worse job?

Phew! You can’t imagine a bigger stink than this open sewer in 100F (40-ish C) heat. Apparently we were lucky that they did our lane’s sewers back in the winter!

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I  write about mundane aspects of day-to-day life here in this great city and country. In fact, I had a little bitty topic picked out to write about today. But then the larger implications of bringing our family to live here hit home yesterday.

My son texted me that there was some important news — where was I? Could I talk? Of course, that makes a mother sit up straight and worry a little.

On Sunday, the father of one of his best friends here was arrested on charges of espionage and stealing state secrets. My son and his buddies had just learned about it from reading the newspaper and you can, too, and draw your own conclusions about what’s going on here. I’ll give you a few sites at the end of this post.

Saturday evening, we had an American-style barbecue here in our garden to celebrate the 4th of July. Hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, apple pie — and although we didn’t actually read the Declaration of Independence,  I couldn’t help but think about it. A swarm of young adults of varying nationalities wolfed it down and we even played Jimi Hendrix’ rendition of the Star-Stangled Banner while they popped off firecrackers. I chatted with the kids and was glad to see them back here from college, including the young Chinese-Australian friend who has always been so friendly and exceptionally polite. He seemed so much happier now that he has transferred to Cornell University from a school in Europe.

The next day, his father, whom I have only met once at a small party we threw together when our sons graduated from Shanghai American School, was arrested by the Shanghai State Security Bureau and apparently hasn’t been seen since. Being lawyers, my husband and I have had many occasions over the past years to refer friends and acquaintances to appropriate attorneys in the US and for visa, family law, and business and employment matters here in China.

But this is different. All I can do is tell my son I will put the graduation photos of his friend’s family in my big prayer wheel from one of China’s western regions and swing it good and hard — and pray.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070900557_2.html?referrer=emailarticlepg

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/09/AR2009070901101.html?referrer=emailarticlepg

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=406932&type=Business

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=407012&type=Business

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/world/asia/09riotinto.html

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/timing-suspicious-for-chinas-detention-of-rio-staff/?scp=3&sq=Stern%20Hu&st=cse

Sorry for the silence. Four transcontinental trips in two months = not enough time in Shanghai to write anything!

But today, here I am. It’s steamy, nothing seems real outside except the mosquitoes, and so I decided to take the car and meet my son Alex for lunch and a glass of cool bubble tea. Afterward, he gratefully accepted a ride back to work.

“I’m going to stop for a minute,” Driver Ou Yang suddenly announces, pulling over. “They’re selling something that I’ve been looking for and haven’t been able to find.” He’s out the door in a flash.

“Does he often stop the car to shop?” Alex asks pointedly.

“Never happened before.” I say. “I wonder what he’s getting.” We squint, but can’t tell for a minute. Then he races back across the street, clutching three small baskets.

Inside the car, he dangles them proudly. “I’ve been looking and looking for these,” Ou Yang says.

In fact, he is looking proud. “They are from Shandong,” he tells us. “They only cost 5 yuan each. Soon they will sound nice. This one is little — it will last until December, but the other two will be singing sooner.”

Then I hear the sound. Click, click.  I remember.

“Last year,” I tell Alex, “one time Dad spent all day trying to identify what was making a new noise was in the car. He thought maybe there was a problem with a ball bearing. And then Ou Yang finally showed him.”

Gugu. Crickets.

They look exactly like the ones we trap in the downstairs bathroom in our house in the States and carry outside. Pests, I think, and so I tell Ou Yang. “And by the way,” I add, “that stuff I gave you this morning to spray on yourself to keep away mosquitoes — don’t spray it around the new friends.”

“I won’t,” he says, and shakes his head.  As I get out, I hear him muttering in disbelief, “Puts them outside….!”