According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, Shanghai means:

1) to put aboard a ship by force often with the help of liquor or a drug;

2) to put by force or threat of force into or as if into a place of detention;

3) to put by trickery into an undesirable position.

One should be so lucky to get shanghaied to Shanghai.

What I remember most about last summer’s trip to Shanghai was the heat, the eclectic architecture, the squalor and the screaming fight I got into with my sister — in public.

We only had a few days to spend in Shanghai on our way back to the United States from Seoul. I wanted to make the most of it. It was our second-to-last day in Shanghai. We had spent the whole day running from museum to palace to shopping, and it was now about 3:30 in the afternoon.

We were walking through the French Concession area of the city, lined with beautiful old architecture. The tall, leafy green trees provided cool protection from the muggy heat. We walked by a stately mansion that was the former residence of Dr. Sun Yatsen. Even in the nicest parts of the city, I saw laundry hanging from windows, above the street. Continuing east along Central Fuxing Road, we passed a small park and reached a large, busy intersection streaming with cars and bicycles.

The modern …

“Hey, the temporary Korean government is not too far from here,” I said, looking at the map in my hand. I was referring to the site of the Provisional Korean government that was established in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. A Korean friend had told me that no Korean goes to Shanghai without paying their respects at the site. I had to see it.

“Really? Um, I’m getting kind of tired,” my sister said, the cars flying past making it hard to hear her words.

“Yeah, but it’s really close by, and I really want to see it,” I said.

“Can’t we just see it tomorrow?” my sister suggested.

“We won’t have time tomorrow,” I replied, a bubble of irritation starting to well up inside me. “It’ll be our last day, and we have to spend the whole day shopping for presents. We won’t be back in this area again.” I didn’t bother to hide my annoyance.

“Well, I’m really hot and sticky. I need a shower, and I want to lay down for a minute,” she said. “I don’t feel good. Can we go back to the hotel and rest, then go back out again?”

… and the squalor of Shanghai.

“No,” I said, my voice rising. “The hotel is in the wrong direction. And it’ll be too late by then.” I don’t know why I was being so obstinate. Surely, I wouldn’t be treating a friend this way. But she was my sister, and it was easier to let it all hang out.