After a twice delayed flight from Newark, a 3 hour stopover in Detroit, and a relatively uneventful fourteen hours in the air, I finally arrived in Shanghai late Tuesday afternoon. I’m not sure whether it’s because I haven’t been in the city for almost ten years, or due to the 2010 Expo, but Shanghai definitely feels a lot different from the last time I was here. For one, I’m relatively fortunate to be here during the middle of May, and not during the so-called “sauna days” of June and July. The weather gets hot during the middle of the day, but turns cool again at night, so there’s no need to turn on the air conditioner. Unsurprisingly, a thin layer of smog covers the city, but sunlight still finds its way through the wispy clouds and light blue sky. I am currently staying with one of my mom’s colleagues in the Puxi district (that’s west of the Huangpu River for those of you who are unfamiliar with Shanghai). Their home is only a couple blocks away from the nearest Expo pavilion, so it will be very convenient for me when I visit with my cousin tomorrow. I’ve heard good things about the Expo, and I can’t wait to it check it out. Unfortunately, it’s so massive that it’s impossible to visit completely on a single day, so I guess I’m going to have to figure one which pavilions are the best one and then go from there.