Several months in, so here's another update. I miss Shanghai quite a bit: the food, the people (believe it or not, if you spend enough time there, you can find the good apples), and the social life.

Within about 6 weeks, I expect to have our Nanning operation in good enough shape in order to permit me to split time between here and SH.

Nanning really isn't that bad. I've been able to find acceptable food over time, my Chinese has become stellar once again (it's amazing how little need there is for Mandarin skills in BJ/SH these days), and I've made a handful of friends.

That having been said, there really isn't a whole lot to do here. This evening, when I was eating my 串 at my local crappy restaurant, I noted that almost all of the patrons there were demonstrably rich (e.g. fancy watches, purses, glasses, etc), but they were still resigned to spending their Sunday night hanging out in third world environment.

The good news is that I'm doing everything in my power to improve the quality of their lives. In particular, we managed to convince a very cool Filipino singer/guitarist to come over here and perform at two of our client venues (plus Yangshuo during the slow days), and the response has been amazing. We are also bringing in beer and wine that is not disgusting. It's all about baby steps. In short, within 2 years time, Nanning will actually be worth visiting. By the way, if anyone wants to stop by the ASEAN Expo between 9/3 and 9/6, I'd be happy to provide invites.