Week in Review

Hello, America!  I am halfway done with my stay here in Shanghai.  I can’t believe I have only been gone for 21 days; it seems like so much longer.  It is equally as crazy that I only have 21 days left!  778 Xinnan Road has really begun to feel like home to me.

This week I spent a lot of time shopping.  I went to the mall five days in a row!  On Tuesday, Agatha and I went to Xinzhuang mall afterschool.  Then on Wednesday, we went again with Ivy to help her find a dress.  On Thursday, Ivy took me downtown afterschool to meet two of her friends.  We went to Metro City mall and ate some great noodles and dumplings at a place called “RamenPlay”.  Afterwards they took me shoe shopping because I am not allowed to wear flip-flops to class and my Toms are getting a hole in them.  Thursday was also fun because in the afternoon instead of class we got to go to the Shanghai Museum and look around.

On Friday in the afternoon we went to the local market and were given 10 yuan and had to bargain (in Chinese of course!) for at least three items while staying in our price range.   I was with Tafari and Richard, and when our Chinese bargaining vocab failed us, we just said “wo ai zhong guo!” over and over again, which means “I love China!”.  That always made the shopkeepers laugh and I got a free onion and a free potato! Then on Friday night, Agatha, Richard, Tafari, Kevin (Richard’s host bro), and I went downtown again and ate dinner at the Super Brand Mall, which is this gigantic mall right next to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.  We ate at a Pizza Hut (which sounds bad, I know), but here in China, Pizza Hut is a fancy sit-down restaurant.  Then we went exploring in the city! 

Literally everywhere you look there is just skyscraper after skyscraper.  We took the ferry across the river to the side that is actually called the Bund.  I felt like I was in a postcard.  All the buildings were lit up and, of course, the famous Oriental Pearl TV Tower completed the skyline and really made me realize that I am here in Shanghai.  As we were walking along, these people came over to me and handed me their grandson and started taking pictures!  The little boy was adorable and random passerby stated taking pictures of the Westerner holding the Chinese baby.  By this point in my stay I am pretty used to having strangers take my picture and I like to imagine just how many random people’s photo albums I am going to end up in.  When I got home that night, I had an awesome surprise.  In my room waiting for me was a box from Caitlyn and Kyle with some treats!  I have the best friends; thank you guys!

On Saturday, I ended up at Xinzhuang mall (again) with Agatha and Richard.  We hung out, browsed, and got some coffee and then Agatha and I took the bus back to my house.  Then we left with my host family for Suzhou!  Suzhou is a city in Jiangsu province and it is about an hour and half drive away from Shanghai.  My friend from Virginia, Maeve, is also on a NSLI-Y scholarship here in China, and she just happens to be in Suzhou so my host family booked a hotel room and offered to take me and Agatha to see her!  The hotel was “ancient Chinese style” and was absolutely gorgeous, and for dinner we went to this great restaurant and then walked around the downtown area.  After coming from Shanghai, the downtown of Suzhou seemed so… little!  Nevertheless it was great to see another city!  On Sunday, we met up with Maeve and went to Lion Forest Garden, which is one of the gardens that Suzhou is so famous for.  It was beautiful but the humidity was overpowering and we decided not to go to any more gardens.  After lunch we headed home because Ivy and I had tickets to a piano/cello concert back in Shanghai.  We were both so exhausted though that we only stayed for an hour and then took the bus home.  Ivy and I both had a pile of homework to do and then we went out with the host parents to dinner at a Thai restaurant.

Below are some pictures from the highlights of the week!

xoxo
sar

Agatha and I outside the Shanghai Museum. 

Downtown Shanghai! 

Exploring the Bund at night!

Me, Agatha, and Ivy walking around Suzhou. 

Ivy and I at the Lion Forest Garden in Suzhou. 

Meeting up with Maeve in Suzhou!