I Wish My Landlord Was Expected to Give Me Gifts

"On the streets of Shanghai, the author's injured foot attracts less attention than her pet dog, still a rare sight in the city."

This article on a New Yorker's move to Shanghai really drew me in today...

"Settling Down in a City in Motion" - Emily Prager, NY Times, 7/19/07

Some excerpts:

*WHEN you rent a place in Shanghai, the landlord gives you presents. This is a terrific shock for a New Yorker. My agent told me I could ask for special furniture, TVs, gym memberships — the landlady would actually take me shopping.

*I went to buy some string one day and the man cut me a 12-inch piece. People buy only as much as they need. They do not hoard and their homes are not full of items they never use.

*It is against the law to walk a dog in the city between 7 in the morning and 7 at night... Pets are new to Chinese people and they don’t know very much about them.

*...There is a grace about living here that I love. People do things here that machines do in America.