Zai Jian, Shanghai [Goodbye, Shanghai]

Well, after a five-hour ride on the high-speed train here I am in Beijing again!  This morning my host dad and Ivy drove me to school where we said goodbye to everyone.  One of the host sisters had a Polaroid camera and was taking pictures of all the Americans and their host sibs so now I have a little Polaroid picture of Ivy and me in my wallet.  As the bus pulled out of the school lot we all waved out the windows and Agatha and I pathetically started to cry. 

I can’t believe that my adventure in Shanghai is over.  During these past six weeks, not only have I made amazing friends, learned the basics of a new language, and explored one of the most famous and beautiful cities in the world, I have matured and (as cheesy as it sounds) truly discovered more about myself.  This summer has changed my life and I am going to miss every little thing about it when I get home.  Of course, I’m ecstatic to get back to Arlington to see my family and friends and share my experiences in person (six weeks, after all, is a long time!), but I also don’t want to leave the life I’ve created here. 

Friday was the last day of school.  We had given our final “China in my Eye” presentations on Thursday so Friday morning we had our final test.  Then we practiced for the Closing Ceremony later that afternoon.  The Ceremony was great.  The American students performed a dance to a mash-up of popular American songs (including Cotton Eyed Joe, Call Me Maybe, Gangnam Style, and Single Ladies), which was a big crowd-pleaser.  We also did a runway of our Beijing Opera masks that we made in class as well as a Kong-Fu performance and a traditional dragon dance.  Finally, we presented our host parents with silk flowers we had made and sang them a Chinese song.  It was really beautiful and a time to celebrate the success of the past six weeks but it was bittersweet because saying goodbye is always hard.  When my teacher, Chen Laoshi gave my class a goodbye speech yesterday morning, I was definitely holding back tears.  The end of her speech said this:

“Room Caesar will always remember you, such a group of lovely kids.  Chen laoshi will always cherish the memory of the Summer 2013, which is special because of you, the eight angels.  Filled with the pleasure and confidence we get from the trip, I am sure that every one of us is ready to start a new one.  Let this be the beginning of another interesting and enjoyable trip.  I’m ready.  Ni men ne? [Are you?]”

Today I said goodbye to Shanghai and my host family, but I’m just going to look at it like a new trip.  This wonderful adventure has ended and I’m most definitely ready for a new one!

As for my last day in Shanghai, Saturday Ivy and I got our nails done and then met up with my host dad for lunch.  The rest of the day was spent packing and then in the evening I took my host family (including my host aunt, uncle, and cousin) out to dinner to thank them. 

America-bound in 2 days!

sar

My class in Room Caesar!  

Ag and I doing some Kong fu. 

The A Team getting ready for some serious kong fu. 

 My host family and I after the Closing Ceremony.

This was my room in my host family's house.

My home for the past 6 weeks: 778 Xinnan Road.

Miss It and You Miss Shanghai

That’s what the advertisement for “Era: Intersection of Time” said.  And it’s true, I am so glad that I was able to go see this Acrobatics Show because it was amazing!  On Friday night, our teachers took us downtown to see “Era”.  It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen!  The acts were out of this world.  In one act, there was a giant spinning metal wheel and the acrobats did crazy tricks on as it spun faster and faster.  Another act included performers dancing in the air while hanging from two silk ribbons.  There were also the classic circus acts like how many super-flexible girls can come out of one barrel (they fit four!) and trapeze artists flying through the air.  The best act was the finale, when seven performers on motorcycles did high-speed tricks in an enclosed steel globe (with a dimension of 6.8 meters!).  It was crazy and terrifying at the same time.  Definitely one of the best things I have seen in Shanghai!

On Saturday, Agatha, Richard, Aiden and I got on the metro really early to make it to Yu Garden before it got too hot out.  We met up with Tim and Tafari and walked around and did some bargaining on the street before heading back to Tao Bao City (our favorite fake market).  Afterwards, we went to lunch at a restaurant on the Bund.  In the afternoon we sang some karaoke at a KTV next to the Pearl Tower and in the evening we explored the city at night!  We saw a movie being filmed on the streets, which was really cool.  On Sunday, I went with Ivy and her friend Cassie to what will soon be the biggest mall in China.  It is still under construction but already it is gigantic!  I had some noodles for lunch and then we went a little crazy at Haagan Dazs afterward (see pictures below).

Sunday night my host family and I went out to dinner.  On our way home we stopped off at Paris Baguette to get some bread for breakfast.  As I was picking out a chocolate croissant, a Chinese woman in her early thirties asked me in English if that kind of bread was good.  I said “Yes! Hen hao!” which means “very good!”.  Then as I was waiting in line with Ivy and my host father, the same woman asked me where I’m from.  Her English wasn’t great but we were able to have a conversation and it turned out her husband is currently in New Jersey working.  She asked me if I could teach English and I said sure (I speak the language after all), and then she asked if I could teach her child English.  I said I would love to but I have only one week left in Shanghai.  I wish I had met her earlier because that would have been such a neat experience!  After we left, Ivy asked me if in America people talk to strangers often.  She said that in China you don’t talk to strangers so she was a little surprised that I had talked to the woman in the bakery.  I told her that when you are little you are taught “Stranger Danger!” but as you grow up talking to other people and learning about them can be interesting as long as it’s safe.  I also mentioned that my mom is super friendly and likes to talk to everyone.  Ivy said that I must take after her then and I said that I hope so, since she’s pretty cool!

This is my last week of school, and on Friday I am going to have to give a presentation in Chinese.  On Sunday I’ll say good-bye to my host family and I (along with the other American students) will take the high-speed train to Beijing.  Then next Tuesday I’ll be America-bound!

xoxo

sar

Outside the Acrobatics Theater

The shops at Yu Garden 

Yu Garden! 

Global Harbor Mall 

 Haagan Dazs

Yum!!

When It Rains, It Pours

Instead of going to school on Tuesday, my class visited the ancient town of Zhujiajiao!  Also known as the “Venice of Shanghai” and the “Hollywood of Shanghai”, Zhujiajiao is a beautiful little town on the water.  There are no cars (just boats- like Venice!) and lots of movies have been filmed in the picturesque lanes (like Hollywood!).  We were assigned a scavenger hunt that we had to complete with a partner and a Chinese student.  My partner was Agatha and Audrey was our Chinese student helper.  Walking around the city completing the 20 tasks was fun at first, but after awhile the heat got overwhelming and we met up with Richard, Aiden, and their Chinese partner at the Starbucks.  While we were meeting outside, a woman came up and offered to read our palms (for a price, of course!).  After a little bargaining, Richard got his palm read.  It was really funny and surprisingly accurate so I had mine read too (apparently I’m going to live to be 102).  No one was able to finish the tasks just because it was so hot out that walking around outside all day was next to impossible.  I got a sunburn and was exhausted by the end of the day.

Yesterday afterschool, Richard, Agatha, Tafari, Tyler and I took the subway downtown to Tianshan Tea Market to buy some tea.  It was really authentic and we got to try a bunch of different tea flavors like Jasmine, Oolong, Green, White, Black, and Milk tea.  On the way home, it started to rain but I wasn’t concerned.  How bad could a few raindrops be?  Well, turns out it was pretty bad.  By the time I got to Xinzhuang, there was a torrential downpour along with thunder, lightning, and serious wind.  Everyone else got picked up from the station but I had to run all the way down the block to get to my bus.  It was pouring and the thunder was so loud I was afraid I was going to be struck by lightning.  As I’m splashing through a few inches of water towards the parking lot I noticed that none of the buses are there!  I stopped in a convenience store and called Ivy.  Turns out the buses weren’t coming!  Completely soaked, I hailed a taxi and told the driver my street in Chinese and just prayed he understood me and knew where he was going since I didn’t understand anything he said to me.  As a foreigner, taking a taxi here is always an adventure.  I made it home, drenched.  Of course I had missed dinner and we hadn’t had time to eat downtown so the Chinese version of Ritz Crackers was my dinner. Yum! 

xoxo

sar

Audrey, Agatha, and I in Zhujiajiao. 

On one of the 37 bridges. 

Fangsheng Bridge; the most famous bridge in Zhujiajiao.

Exploring a garden.

Tianshan Tea City!

Code Red

This week Shanghai experienced record high temperatures: 42 degrees Celsius, which is 107 degrees Fahrenheit!  Add in the humidity (to make it a nice 114 degrees Fahrenheit) and I basically felt as if I was being cooked alive every time I walked outside.  Because of the extreme heat (Code Red!), we got out of school early on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I’ve been so tired though that I just went home on Wednesday and Thursday.  Actually, I’m afraid I’m getting sick; my throat is really sore and I’ve lost my voice!  

It probably did not help that on Friday night all of us American students went to KTV, which is karaoke.  My throat was already sore but singing definitely did not help.  Either way it was worth it because I had a lot of fun!  When I got home, I played the board game Blokus with my host family.  I even won one round!

Saturday morning Agatha and I went over to her host father’s friend’s house where we made some dumplings and had lunch.  Then we met up with Richard, Tafari, and Tim and took the subway downtown.  We went to Tao Bao, which is sort of like a mall with lots of different stalls.  It is a little sketchy looking but really exciting and overwhelming because there is so much stuff! There are fake designer things, clothes, shoes, jewelry, little gifts; pretty much everything!   The best part is that you get to bargain for everything.  Since we’ve learned how to bargain in class, everything I bought I bargained for in Chinese!  It definitely makes the shop owners more respectful when you speak their language, even though most of them can speak a little English.  Chinese also helps because then they are less likely to scam you. 

After we shopped for a while, we met up with some of the other American students, Meghan, Amanda, Srinath, Tyler, and Aiden, and we all went to Tianzifang.  Tianzifang is a really cute little neighborhood that looks very authentic.  When you see Chinatowns in movie, Tianzifang looks very similar!  We ate at an Italian place where I had some decent carbonara and then we walked around.  There are a ton of little alleyways all lit up with lights and shops with tea and vintage glasses and scarves.  It has a vaguely European vibe and was really cute. 

Once we took the metro home, Richard and I got in a taxi.  I gave the driver my address (in characters) on a slip of paper Ivy had written for me.  Unfortunately, the driver got very lost and I couldn’t communicate with him the way to go!  Every time he made a correct term I’d say “hen hao!” which means “very good!”.  The best part was that the driver assumed Richard could understand him because Richard is Asian.  Richard is, however, Korean, so the driver was REALLY confused when Richard couldn’t respond to his questions in Chinese.  Don’t worry, we eventually got home!

On Sunday I went to the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower!  The TV Tower is the needle shaped building that you see in all of the skyline pictures of Shanghai.  I went to the highest part and got to see the entire city below me!  It was amazing and I’m so glad I got to do it.  Afterwards, we all went to the market underneath the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum.  Agatha, Richard, and I got some shopping done but I wasn’t feeling well (I also could barely speak) so we went home in time for dinner.  My host family took me to Spicco, a classy Italian restaurant near our house.  I had told Ivy that we were learning how to order food in class so she had me order our meal.  So, in a very hoarse and quiet voice, I ordered it all in Chinese! The pizza was excellent and it really tasted like Italy! 

In terms of other food, this week I accidentally ate a head of garlic.  My host family and I were eating dinner the other night and we had some pork in this brown sauce.  The pork was on the bone though so I was having trouble finding little pieces without any bones in it.  I thought I spotted a piece so I grabbed it with my chopsticks and popped it into my mouth while my entire host family goes “Oh!” with concerned faces.  Right then as I bit down I realized that this was NOT pork!  I tried to downplay it to my family and said that I eat a lot of garlic back home, but the rest of dinner my mouth was on fire.  Next time I’ll look at my food more closely before I eat it.

Sorry this post is long; a lot happened this week!  Fifteen days until I’m back in the States!

xoxo

sar

Here we all are at Tianzifang! 

351 meters above Shanghai! 

The group at the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. 

 Observation Deck; we had to.

Classic pose on the observation deck. 

Aggie and I making new friends!

I'm on a Boat

On Monday I got home from school at 6:30.  Ivy had told me that she was going out to dinner with some of her friends so I sat down with my host mom, dad, and grandma for dinner.  Considering they speak almost no English and I speak practically no Chinese, dinner was pretty quiet.  Afterwards, I went upstairs and took a shower and started on my homework.  It was really hard because normally Ivy and I do it together so she can help me but since she wasn’t there I was completely on my own.  I had finished everything except I still had to translate twelve characters into pinyin (Chinese characters written phonetically) and then into English because I had a test the next day on it.  Unfortunately, I do not know any characters and my teacher assumes that our host sibling will be available to translate for us.  But Ivy was gone!  Just when I was about to give up my host dad knocked on my door and in very broken English asked, “Chinese homework? Can I help?”  I said “Shi de” (which means “yes”).  We went down to the office and my host dad rewrote all the characters in my notebook and then with the help of my dictionary, my host mom and her computer, and my host dad’s smartphone, we wrote the pinyin and English.  I was touched by how sweet they were and how much they genuinely wanted to help.  And they got so excited when I read the pinyin back to them!  It was a great bonding moment and even though I don’t speak the same language as them, they still treat me like a daughter.

On Tuesday instead of afternoon class, we went downtown to a martial arts museum.  There were some interactive exhibits and Agatha, Richard, Tafari, and I almost beat the high score on a reflex game (although I'm not sure if it counts as cheating since all four of us had to work together).  Afterwards we went to this gym (no AC- I was dying) where we met all these other exchange students and watched some martial arts routines.  It got slightly embarrassing when our group was asked to perform something.  We had nothing to do and had about 3 minutes to prepare so we ended up singing the National Anthem (which was hilarious considering none of the other exchange groups were American).  Then we went on a cruise on the Huangpu River with the other students and I got a chance to talk to these two French girls who were really nice.  I'm glad I had gotten to the see the Bund on Friday night because not all the lights were on during the cruise so it wasn't as pretty.  But still, it was pretty cool!

xoxo

sar  

Here we are at the beginning of the cruise. 

This is us with our two new French friends (they're in the orange shirts).