Mmmm... jasmine green tea
So it is now Saturday afternoon and I have been in Shanghai for a couple of days. My first impressions of the city are not so great, but I was expecting this. It really could be a great place; it’s just that we were all so spoiled by Hong Kong! Shanghai is not nearly as efficient, or clean, or even comparable in good weather. The streets are chaotic, with bikes, and scooters, and cars, and taxis, and busses everywhere. It’s a little scary to walk because you never know where someone is going to come from. The subways and busses pack you in like sardines in a can, which will take a lot of getting used to. People are allowed to smoke in public places, which grosses me out because I am so used to the clean air environments back home and in HK. The weather is cold and rainy; it even snowed some yesterday morning and this morning. We are all bundled up and hiding under our umbrellas when we try to go sights seeing. Soon it will warm up though and we will be a much happier bunch.
Overall it is not bad here though. Our dorms are pretty decent. We basically own the 4th floor. Our rooms have two comfy beds, good heat, plenty of closet space, desks for two, and TV. The only thing I can find on TV in English is friends, but I am sure I will not be watching it much. The rooms looked a little drab at first, with white and brown everything, but with some stuff I brought from home and some more stuff we bought at the local Wu Mei (Chinese Wal*Mart) for next to nothing we’ve managed to spice up the room a little bit. The bathroom is a little crazy, or at least the shower, because it’s just sorta in the middle of the bathroom and has a curtain that also contains the sink and vanity area. They have crazy schedules of hot water usage, from 12:30pm to 10:30 pm. Emily and I sort of remembered the wrong times and took ice cold showers around noon the first day. But last night we managed to get nice warm showers, which made us much happier campers. We also have eaten at some places with great food, so my stomach is happy. I guess I won’t be returning home anorexic like I thought I would, which is a relief. Last night there was also a little lifting of spirits for the group as we all went out to a brand new club in town and danced all night. It was great. I have a feeling we shall be doing that once a week if work commitments don’t keep us from doing so.
Now that I have finally caught up with this journal I need to get to work. My first project is due on Monday. I also start classes then. I feel so unprepared, but I think we all share that feeling. Hopefully I will continue to have something to write about in here.
Overall it is not bad here though. Our dorms are pretty decent. We basically own the 4th floor. Our rooms have two comfy beds, good heat, plenty of closet space, desks for two, and TV. The only thing I can find on TV in English is friends, but I am sure I will not be watching it much. The rooms looked a little drab at first, with white and brown everything, but with some stuff I brought from home and some more stuff we bought at the local Wu Mei (Chinese Wal*Mart) for next to nothing we’ve managed to spice up the room a little bit. The bathroom is a little crazy, or at least the shower, because it’s just sorta in the middle of the bathroom and has a curtain that also contains the sink and vanity area. They have crazy schedules of hot water usage, from 12:30pm to 10:30 pm. Emily and I sort of remembered the wrong times and took ice cold showers around noon the first day. But last night we managed to get nice warm showers, which made us much happier campers. We also have eaten at some places with great food, so my stomach is happy. I guess I won’t be returning home anorexic like I thought I would, which is a relief. Last night there was also a little lifting of spirits for the group as we all went out to a brand new club in town and danced all night. It was great. I have a feeling we shall be doing that once a week if work commitments don’t keep us from doing so.
Now that I have finally caught up with this journal I need to get to work. My first project is due on Monday. I also start classes then. I feel so unprepared, but I think we all share that feeling. Hopefully I will continue to have something to write about in here.