Russian finds his Shangri-la in Shanghai
Although you wouldn't say Daniel Listopadskii was the new Phileas Fogg or Christopher Columbus, he would certainly have enough to circumnavigate the world if he had collected air miles from his travels as a young boy.
The Russian-born student has done a bit of traveling in his formative years and as a consequence of that can speak fluent Mandarin and a little Shanghainese, after seven years in the city he came to live in as a 17-year-old.
“I can say just a little, but I can understand maybe 60 to 70 percent of Shanghainese,” says Listopadskii, who recently worked as a part-time manager of a Western chain restaurant, Green and Safe, in Shanghai.
The 24-year-old says he learned to talk and understand the language from the city’s many (elderly women in Shanghainese) and proudly calls himself “a new Shanghainese.”
Listopadskii had dreams of becoming a professional footballer as a boy. He showed promise but a knee injury curtailed his career. Despite the setback of not being able to play at the highest standard, the Russian is still involved in the game as a soccer coach training youngsters.
He juggles football and the restaurant with his learning. Now in the last semester of his university study, Listopadskii has a big decision to make soon, whether to stay in the city he has fallen in love with or seek out pastures new in another country.
“I need to make some more decisions about what to do with the rest of my life, which is hard,” the St Petersburg man says. “And to be honest, I’m afraid. I’m brave, but I’m still afraid.”
They said they didn’t mind, and then I saw André Villas-Boas!
My heart skipped a beat! I was thinking, ‘How can it be?’ So, I asked him, “Are you Mr Boas?” He had no security or anything! Then I told him where I’m from, and he was really surprised. That was great. I was so happy at that moment. hard to get out. In my city, it’s simple: When the doors open, the passengers get off, and only then can new passengers get on. It comes from education. There are just too many people and they need to learn to wait.
Apart from that, though, I think the Shanghai subway system is great. It’s really convenient and easy to understand. Every day I take subway.