Just returned from a quick trip to Shanghai. Finished all my classes last week and with many tears and hugs said a final farewell to my Y2 Nursing students.All exams have been marked, all students graded so I am FREE......Had the annual Dragon Boat Festival last Friday....only had a quick look as it was a steaming hot day and it was so crowded. Ended up going off to get pampered with a manicure....and somehow managed to buy 4 new pairs of shoes?!?!

With no more classes and time on my hands this week proved to be the perfect opportunity to finally get to an Internations event. I have been a member for some time now but with the club only active in Beijing and Shanghai and most events on weekdays its been impossible to attend before now.

InterNations is the first international online community for people who live and work abroad. InterNations is the idea of Christian Leifeld, Philipp von Plato and Malte Zeeck. All of them have studied and worked in various foreign countries. During their stays they discovered, like many other expatriates, it was often difficult to find other like-minded people, to get around and to find the right locations in a foreign country. Building upon work experience in international management consultancies and media companies they decided to set up InterNations to make living abroad easier.

This months event was held at the Wooden Box; a tree-house-style jazz cafe which serves fine drinks in a relaxed atmosphere with a Live Jazz Band Performance and is nicely situated right off Nanjing Xi Lu so is very central. Enjoyed a great night and met heaps of new people from many different countries. I arrived alone but within minutes people started talking and introducing me to others......great way to meet new people...so anyone heading to Shanghai I highly recommend it. Wine and canapes were served to the sounds of mellow jazz...only downside was I got bitten alive by mosqitoes!!! I'm looking forward to making regular trips to Shanghai for more events in the future...

Naturally one did have to wander down the infamous Nanjing Road which was conveniently only a block away from my hotel. Did a bit of window shopping but finaly got fed up with the touts trying to flog off handbags, sunglassess and i-phones!!! Decided to wander around some of the lesser known streets which was much more enjoyable as I really didnt want to shop....not when I've got 10 days in Hong Kong coming up!!!!

Also took the opportunity to visit the Shanghai Museum which I've missed on previous trips. The Shanghai Museum was established in 1952. More than 120,000 precious and rare works of art in 21 categories make the Shanghai Museum the most remarkable cultural institution in the city. The museum is divided into eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese art: Ancient Bronze, Ancient Ceramics, Paintings, Calligraphy, Ancient Sculpture, Ancient Jade, Coins, Ming and Qing Furniture, Seals, and Minority Nationalities. It was well worth spending a few hours wandering around here as all too often in Shanghai one can feel they are in a concrete jungle full of glitzy neon lights.

So now I'm on a roll and its time to plan another quick few days away next week. Until then its bye for now. xxx