As I did in Japan, I got up and went out on the deck at 6:30 AM with my friend Ali as we docked in China (Ali and I have decided that this will be a tradition as we get to each country). As the sun was rising, our close-up view of Shanghai's Pudong skyline was beautiful, with the blues and purples of early morning fading as the first rays of light reflected off the buildings. It was lovely, but extremely COLD, as I knew it would be. Needless to say, we didn't stay outside long. It actually hurt to be outdoors in just my pajamas and a sweatshirt. We went inside and started to get ready for the day.
Customs, as usual, took forever, and even though we had been through Cultural Preport the evening before, the entire ship was required to go to yet ANOTHER meeting in the Union so that MORE speakers could get up and talk about things that we had been told over and over again already. I understand that they want us to be as informed and cautious as we can, but when it starts to take away time in the countries, it gets to be very frustrating. My group and I were not able to get off the ship until around 11:30 AM, and we were eager to get walking (out of excitement as well as cold).
One of the coolest, yet hardest things about being in China was the fact that we arrived while the country was in the middle of celebrating Chinese New Year (it is now the Year of the Tiger). For a good hour, my group and I wandered around trying to find an ATM or a bank so that we could get yuan, the Chinese currency. Until we did that, we couldn't even get a cab to get where we wanted to go. Strangely enough, many of the stores in Shanghai were closed for the holiday, which was definitely a bummer. I assumed it would be the opposite, and that the city would be more busy and alive with the holiday, not less. Apparently, many people close shop to go home and spend the holiday with family.
This small downer was made up in the extreme amount of over-the-top, colorful decorations that were everywhere you looked, as well as the fireworks that went off constantly. And when I say constantly, I mean it was day and night, all the time, you would be hearing explosions coming from everywhere around you. I can now say that I have seen fireworks in the middle of the day. The funniest thing about it was that the SAS students were the only people around who were amazed by the fireworks; everyone else walked around, barely acknowledging the amazing displays going on everywhere around us.
The first day, after getting our currency and a quick lunch (we successfully did the point-and-order method at a restaurant and had some delicious Chinese food), we walked around "The Bund" for a little while, which is a famous market in Shanghai. After that, we took a short taxi ride to the Nanjing marketplace, where we spent the afternoon with some sketchy characters, buying knock-off handbags, DVDs, Northface backpacks, and Ugg boots (which I happily bought for myself since I had NOT brought the warm footwear that was necessary for the cold weather).
My friends and I went out to dinner that night, and when we walked in, the first thing I noticed was the tanks full of bullfrogs and small turtles, which are delicacies here. Though I was pretty grossed out by that sight, I soon got my appetite back when we ordered 5 or 6 amazing Chinese dishes for our table. One of our friends, Shelly, is actually from China, so she was able to interpret for us and make sure we were getting some great food. At all of the restaurants I went to during my time in China, all of the food is placed in the middle of the table on a glass turn-table, and everyone shares the dishes and samples everything. The best part was that because of the exchange rate, the huge meal came out to about $3 American per person!
On the way back to the ship, we saw a group of Chinese people who were trying to send up a paper lantern, which a Chinese New Years tradition. We had been seeing them going up all day, these strange lights scattered all over the sky, so it was cool to watch the tradition in action. It looked much harder than I thought it would be!They had unfolded the large, red lantern and attached the candle beneath it. When we saw them, they had already lit the candle, which was flaming beneath the lantern, exactly like a hot air balloon. They were having some trouble keeping the lantern from catching fire and getting it up in the air because of the wind. After watching them for awhile, we decided to buy our own lantern and try our luck at getting it up in the air, but unfortunately, a police officer came, successfully ending our good time. So we decided to be silly and run with the lanterns flying behind us instead!
The following day, I went out with a few friends and did some souvenier shopping around The Bund. We went to a restaurant and ordered what in english said "Chicken Casserole," which turned out to be a hot pot filled with...the entire chicken, with the feet, skin, bones..everything but the head. It was certainly a new cultural experience for me. According to my friend Ben, the reason that the whole chicken is used is because at one time, the country was going through a famine, so they began utilizing every part of the chicken that they could. Overall, not my favorite meal in China, but definitely got a good laugh out of it.
That night, I went with a big group to a Go-Kart bar. Yes, a bar where you can LEGALLY drink and drive. It. Was. AMAZING, sooo much fun. We stayed there a couple of hours, then decided to go to a different club. On our way out, as we were walking down the driveway from the bar, I looked around and asked out loud, "Is that dynamite on the ground??" As soon as we were across the street, a HUGE firework display started going off right at the end of the driveway, directly over our heads. We all got so excited, we just started dancing in the street! Looking up and behind the bar, I saw apartment buildings, and people were setting off fireworks from their balconies! It was complete insanity, and in that moment, I could not feel more lucky that I got to be in China for Chinese New Year.
We went to a club called Zappatos, which was packed with mostly European people, and they played almost all American songs. We drank some more and danced the night away. Unfortunately I had to leave a little early (around 2 AM) because I had to be in the Union at 6 AM to go on my Hike of the Great Wall trip. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.
So that just about sums up my 2 days in Shanghai. I'll write again soon to tell you about my time in Beijing and Hong Kong.
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