Excursion to Shanghai 上海旅游！Part 1

These past five days I was enjoying the wonderful city that is Shanghai!

I don't even know where to begin, the city was purely spectacular! It is a perfect blend of western and eastern societies. For example on one side of town you can walk through alleys of disappearing pre-communist era neighborhoods, while on another side you can walk by a Louis Vuitton or an upscale bar. I enjoyed both ends of the spectrum, and I think in order to fall in love with the city as I have one must see both sides.


First Day:


The first day wasn't really much of a day, it was more of a first night. I arrived at Shanghai Pudong Int'l Airport at 9pm and was greeted by my American AFS friend Jesus. Although we have really only spent three days together before this we reunited like old friends. After many exclamations, greetings, and questions we quickly made our way to the Maglev ticket booth to buy tickets for the last train (50 yuan) which goes directly to the subway.

While we were waiting for the train we talked about our other AFS acquaintances, host families, and the quality of service our AFS coordinators are providing us (mine is just perfect).

Apparently my friend ended up with an extremely bitchy coordinator who seems to have a smart-alack answer for everything "It's just culture." or "You're a coward."


When I arrived at my friend's house his host parents were waiting by the door for us. They are both fairly medium height, have short hair, and wear glasses. They are both are Chinese Literature teachers at the local school that Jesus attends. The first thing they exclaimed as I walked in was "Oh! Your hair is not red!" At that time they thought I couldn't speak Chinese.

My friend Jesus had told his parents accidentally that my hair was literally red...but for strawberry blonde you say 金黄色(jeen-hwahng suh), meaning "golden yellow." After a few laughs I answered them in Chinese "Oh, I think there was a misunderstanding..." We got along perfectly after that. His parents are really nice, and care about him alot. Also their Mandarin is amazingly perfect...I am so used to Mandarin spoken with a Chinese southern accent (which is a little bit complicated to explain unless you speak Mandarin).


After a few cups of tea and a lively chat I found out that they used to live in one of the remotest provinces in China, Xinjiang 新疆 (sheen jahng). The host father can even speak a little bit of the native minority's language. (This is a treat in China because most Han people look down on any other minority in China, but the host dad was actually interested in the culture and people so he was clearly open-minded...and would be considered liberal in a sense). There is a group of Xinjiang students living at the local middle school and Jesus's host dad is responsible for some of their classes etc. The "reason" why these students are so far away from home is so they can get a higher education...but that's just what the government wants you to think. Really they are here to sort of be washed of their culture and to be sent back to instill more Chineseness into their native Uighur (name of the minority that dominates Xinjiang Province) society.
But that's another story!!


Day Two:


The next day I attended class with my friend Jesus and his host brother. I didn't meet the host brother the night before because he was asleep! He walked with us to school which Jesus said was unusual because his brother never liked to be late. (I don't really know the host brother's name so I will just call him Catboy from now on...because that's what all the AFS'ers call him behind his back). Catboy was extremely excited to talk to me because we could communicate. He seemed pretty reserved, but was really nice. Like most other Chinese teenage boys he has a fiery passion for basketball (his room has at least five posters of various American players).

Unfortunately over the course of this stay in Shanghai I didn't have much time to get to know him! Chinese students are always so busy with school!


In English class I introduced myself to the class and told them (slowly) why I was in China, and then repeated myself in nervous Chinese. The only response back I got was "Waaaaaahh" and clapping. I can't help but turning red! During class Jesus and I played catch-up by passing a sheet of paper back and forth with notes. At break time I met the other exchange students at the school: Dasha (Russian), Alida (Swiss), Clara (Italian), and Theo (German). Everyone was really nice and welcoming. Most of them were surprised that I knew their names! :) We all ate a wonderful school lunch together, the noodles were so much better than my school's lunch! It was delicious.

In the afternoon I took their Chinese class. The teacher was positively evil! In a very backhanded and subtle way. But not in a such a way that no one will notice. We came back late from break because we were busy taking group photos, when we arrived she yelled "You're late!" everyone was silent. Trying not to laugh at her accent. Then she said something that almost killed us all "What on the hells were you doing!?" Muffled snickering ensued. I couldn't help it I asked "Excuse me?! What did you just say?" She ignored me but I just had to make it known that what she said (or meant rather) is in unacceptable behavior from a teacher. She's mean already, she doesn't have to make it worse.

It was 5pm when class ended. Jesus's parents took Alida, Jesus, Catboy, and me out to dinner for authentic Shanghai cuisine! It was excellent. Most of the dishes had sauces that you dip the meat in. I had pig feet meat...which isn't as bad as I thought it would be (especially after it has been dipped in a sweet sauce). Chongqing food is always spicy so this sweetness was a much needed change.

The restaurant was in a preserved old part of Shanghai called Qi Bao Guzhen (chee bao goo-juhn) and is marvelous to walk around at night because most of the old alleys and buildings are lit up. The area is supposedly over 1000 years old.

Day Three:

We got a late start on this day, but that didn't stop us from seeing a lot! We took a subway into the centre of Shanghai and somehow ended up near the Bund. (But we weren't going to see the Bund) When we successfully hailed a cab, the driver took us to 豫园(Yu yuan) Yu gardens. Which is kind of a tourist trap...but we knew that ahead of time. In this courtyard-ish area are many stores located inside lavishly decorated Chinese style buildings. The roofs are very picturesque and traditional Chinese-like. Signs upon signs painted with gold calligraphy hang over shops, alleyways, and streets. On your way to the garden you pass over a crooked bridge with several zig-zag corners (to confuse the evil spirits). I am lucky that I got a picture on this bridge because usually it is overcrowded with people! After all we opted to not enter the garden considering it cost 40 yuan per person. The outside was enough, and plus Frommer's/Lonely Planet did not think highly of the place anyway.

Jesus took me to a temple instead (I know how funny this sentence looks!). It is an old Buddhist Temple outside of the Yu garden's complex. The entry fee was only ten yuan (less than 2 dollars). The process of paying went like this... First find the hole in the wall, then look in and find an old bespectacled small man on the other side. Hand him the money, he then checks to see if the bill is real by feeling the grooves on Chairman Mao's face. He nods. Then hands you a small ticket that is collected at the gate.

To my surprise there were no foreigners to be seen inside the temple! Right when you walk in there is a small enclosed courtyard with different halls off each end for different purposes of worship. The main hall is directly in front of you, and the big Buddha is clearly visible. In the courtyard there are several places where you can burn incense and I suppose warm yourself. Off to the side is a small stall to buy incense (I didn't burn any...I don't really care for the smell, but now that I think back on it I probably should have).

We walked straight into the main hall. In front were knee-cushions for kneeling, a few Chinese people were using them already. Bowing with their hands together, bowing, bowing, bowing. They were muttering things under their breath but I did not listen. Jesus and I walked around the Buddha a few times (in the right way...which I think is counter clock-wise). There was a bearded man wearing a black cap, dark blue robe, and coke bottle classes in the corner. Behind him were the characters for Happiness Help Place. He had a rather thick book in front of him which he opened as we came towards him.

Politely as I could I asked "Excuse me, but are you a fortune teller?" He waved his hand and shook his head as if to say "No". Then he pointed to the open book before him. It was full of names and numbers. Below every name was a number and then the character for Yuan after the number. Immediately I understood. You write your name, give a donation, and then he prays for your good fortune! I wrote my name and donated 10 yuan.

Continuing down the hall towards the back courtyard there were rows of small statues on each side of the hall. Each was painted differently. They all probably represented a different aspect of something. Below each statuette were posts. Each post had bunches of red ribbons tied around them. In the back courtyard was a smaller, and less interesting, worship hall. This courtyard was not as fancy and looked as though it was used for practical things such as cleaning.

(the rest will be continued in the next post!)