(no subject)
alright. first real lj entry in just about FOREVER.
so i'm in shanghai and i'm slightly torn between really loving it here, and just being saddened. the apartment is pretty stunning. i really like how my mom decorated it so far cause it has a lot of traditional, chinese furnature which is love love love. the city itself is like a mixture of hawaii, taiwan, and NYC. there's so much construction going on and tall tall buildings, but then you also have like parks and gardens and a lot of what most people probably think china looks like. we went in this shopping area that used to be either an insanely rich man's or some ruler's house. and it was so beautiful. all the architecture and pond and bridges and flowers, fountains. but then it just seemed sad. all the people there selling things and all the tourists. it just ruined it in some way for me. before i knew it used to be a real house and garden, i thought something like, "how nice. they built it based off of what shanghai used to be like." but knowing how it had a history and was then twisted into this almost cheap amusement park-ish alternative is... i dont know. i was upset. and the people selling things. some were just like little trinkets, shanghai tourist t-shirts, chinatown-esque goods. but others were these skilled artists doing portraits/sculpture of you/playing music/making paper dragons; things that took a long time to learn. and they were all so talented, but this was what they were doing. barely getting by.
so what i adore:
1. the clothing
2. the food!!!
3. the apartment
4. the gardens
5. the traditional architecture
6. the nontraditional architecture
7. seeing the progress everyday
8. small shops
9. being able to bargain for a lot of things
10. WALKING EVERYWHERE.
11. being able to respect asians a lot more
12. learning how good looking some asians are haha
what makes me sad/i dislike:
1. how they are simplifying chinese writing ie: losing culture and dumbing people down by making all characters "easier"
2. some of the people's occupations
3. their wages
4. no friends/ ALEX<3333333333 :(
5. the really FUCKING CRAZY DRIVERS.
6. how all the girls are wayyy tinyyyy skinny. which maybe isnt their fault per se, but it makes me feel obese.
i know i put way too much importance on weight, but today i was shopping in this thrifty shopping center in shanghai where there are tons of really crazy, awesome clothes and then i hear this gorgeous girl who is like 5 inches taller than me and definately weighs waayyy less than me say, "oh i can't try this on. i'm too fat. i need to lose so much weight." and she was like the epitome of heroin chic. she couldve been a model. it's so fucking weird. in nj, i feel fat sometimes, but i know comparatively, i'm about average. here i walk down the street and i'm like a massive whale. an elephant. a whalaphant. it made me not want to shop anymore until i've lost like 20 pounds. which is a terrible thought.
but my brother's in heaven. anyway, it's late. actually it's only 9:38 pm but i'm maaad tired. nighttt.
so i'm in shanghai and i'm slightly torn between really loving it here, and just being saddened. the apartment is pretty stunning. i really like how my mom decorated it so far cause it has a lot of traditional, chinese furnature which is love love love. the city itself is like a mixture of hawaii, taiwan, and NYC. there's so much construction going on and tall tall buildings, but then you also have like parks and gardens and a lot of what most people probably think china looks like. we went in this shopping area that used to be either an insanely rich man's or some ruler's house. and it was so beautiful. all the architecture and pond and bridges and flowers, fountains. but then it just seemed sad. all the people there selling things and all the tourists. it just ruined it in some way for me. before i knew it used to be a real house and garden, i thought something like, "how nice. they built it based off of what shanghai used to be like." but knowing how it had a history and was then twisted into this almost cheap amusement park-ish alternative is... i dont know. i was upset. and the people selling things. some were just like little trinkets, shanghai tourist t-shirts, chinatown-esque goods. but others were these skilled artists doing portraits/sculpture of you/playing music/making paper dragons; things that took a long time to learn. and they were all so talented, but this was what they were doing. barely getting by.
so what i adore:
1. the clothing
2. the food!!!
3. the apartment
4. the gardens
5. the traditional architecture
6. the nontraditional architecture
7. seeing the progress everyday
8. small shops
9. being able to bargain for a lot of things
10. WALKING EVERYWHERE.
11. being able to respect asians a lot more
12. learning how good looking some asians are haha
what makes me sad/i dislike:
1. how they are simplifying chinese writing ie: losing culture and dumbing people down by making all characters "easier"
2. some of the people's occupations
3. their wages
4. no friends/ ALEX<3333333333 :(
5. the really FUCKING CRAZY DRIVERS.
6. how all the girls are wayyy tinyyyy skinny. which maybe isnt their fault per se, but it makes me feel obese.
i know i put way too much importance on weight, but today i was shopping in this thrifty shopping center in shanghai where there are tons of really crazy, awesome clothes and then i hear this gorgeous girl who is like 5 inches taller than me and definately weighs waayyy less than me say, "oh i can't try this on. i'm too fat. i need to lose so much weight." and she was like the epitome of heroin chic. she couldve been a model. it's so fucking weird. in nj, i feel fat sometimes, but i know comparatively, i'm about average. here i walk down the street and i'm like a massive whale. an elephant. a whalaphant. it made me not want to shop anymore until i've lost like 20 pounds. which is a terrible thought.
but my brother's in heaven. anyway, it's late. actually it's only 9:38 pm but i'm maaad tired. nighttt.