(Day 1)

Today we took a ferry over to the other side and walked The Bund. Awe....The Bund. This is probably the best part of Shanghai. No, this IS the best part of Shanghai. Beautiful setting on the water, easy to access, and different view, depending on the time of day. What more could one ask for?

We had our first meal: noodles with some veggies and mystery pork. We ate around everything and just had the noodles. I drank some boiled water with dinner, but Nicole wouldn't even try the boiled water. She is not taking any chances. My first impression is that the food is spectacular. I have a feeling I will get sick of it eventually, but the first meal was a success.

So, I had heard from some people living in China that because the electricity is unstable, laptops tend to fry up within 6 months. So, after much research, I decided to bring a surge protector that I could then plug into my outlet convertor. Well, it turns out that was a bad idea. When I plugged the outlet convertor into the wall, everything was fine, but when I plugged my surge protector into my outlet convertor, sparks flew and there was a loud cracking sound. This caused both the convertor and protector to die. Woops...I guess I will just have to hope and pray that my computer won't fry up while I am here.

Overall, my first day in Shanghai has been pretty amazing. The pollution has gotten to me already though; Nicole and I are both feeling it. We are about to go out for our first night on the town, but I am not looking forward to walking in the cold--it is really cold here.


(Day 2)

Before leaving for China, I decided I HAD to have rain boots. I researched the weather in China for months and realized that rain was definitely something I would run into. I went to Target, I went to Walmart and other stores, but I couldn't find the rain boots of my dreams. Day before I leave for China, my amazing mother finds the perfect rain boots. I am so excited and take it as a sign that I am indeed supposed to go on this journey. I don't care that they take up a lot of room and weigh a ton. They are everything to me.

Well, I wore my amazing rain boots today, and they actually really hurt me. They kept rubbing up against my calves. I need to wear leggings with them or something, so they can't rub up against my bare skin. I don't think I will be wearing my amazing rain boots for a while. We walked to People's Square when I was wearing my boots, and this guy ran up and put this white paste on one of my boots. I told him to get it off, and he started waxing my boot. I tried walking away, but then he put the paste on my other boot. I wanted him to get all the white gunk off my new boots that didn't need cleaned, so I let him wipe them off. I thought I should pay him, so I pulled some money out.Not a lot because I didn't want him to mess with my boots in the first place. He got mad and wrote down on a piece of paper that he wanted 50 yuan, which is ridiculous for the 3 seconds he spent making my new boots waxy. I tried giving him a little bit of money, and he just got mad. Since he wouldn't take the money I had in my hand, I started to walk away. He started pushing me and following me as I left. He just kept shoving me, so I kept saying, "Stop pushing me," "Leave me alone," "Go away." He got the idea, and I learned that I am always better off just walking away. Not the best experience.

After we escaped the crazy boot cleaner, we headed to the Shanghai Museum. I was really impressed with the items inside. We saw some amazing ancient artifacts!!! We spent most of our day there, which was perfect because we wanted to see People's Square at night. We picked the perfect night to see the square. It was raining, so the way the lights reflected off the ground was awe-inspiring. I felt as though I was playing a role in a movie--this was a set; we were all playing a part. There was no way this could actually be real. Looking at the pictures now, I feel as though I was pasted into the pictures. The background is too unbelievable.


(Day 3)

Last night was the Chinese New Year, and Nicole wanted to go to Bar Rouge. It cost a ton to get in (100 yuan), which is about 17 bucks. This is a lot of money when 5-10 yuan can pay for a meal. She really wanted to go, so I paid the money. It was a really classy, rich bar with only expats. We haven't seen very many expats, but there were a ton at that bar last night. They were rich though. Lots of money--guys had their hair jelled back and girls were in stilettos. We were out of place. We were told that we would see fireworks from the deck of the bar, so we waited for hours and only saw fireworks in the distance. Nicole wasn't feeling very well, so we decided to leave. Once we left...the moment we walked out, the fireworks went off right where the bar was. We were pretty sad we missed the perfect view, but it isn't like I haven't seen fireworks before. The fireworks started going off at 6 pm and continued until around 2 am. They went off again this morning at 8 am. I have never seen so many fireworks going off everywhere!!! Because of all of the buildings, I couldn't see them all going off, but I could hear them. It was crazy!!! Shanghai is a city meant to be seen at night. It is so beautiful.


(Days 4-7)
I have been sleeping a lot. I must be recovering from jet lag and the time change. I love our hostel. It is kind of hard sharing a room with 8 people, especially when it is a mix of guys and girls. Some people are super rude and come into the room around 2 am, turn the light on, and talk really loud, even though they know people are trying to sleep. I feel pathetic sleeping so much, but I guess my body is trying to recover from the 16 hour flight and the 14 hour time difference between here and Colorado. It is hard to believe it is a whole day later here.


(Days 8-9)
Yay!!! We actually did something today. A girl named Kerry joined our room last night, and she said she would help us get around today. First we took the train to the Jade Buddhist Temple. Kerry said that the temples don't usually have very many people in them, but because of the Spring Festival, there are going to be a lot of people worshiping. It was really neat seeing everyone burn incense, ring the bell, and pray. I am really glad that we got to come during the Spring Festival because the best part of the temple was seeing people worship. We ended up going up some stairs in the temple and found a Buddha statue. We were told that rubbing Buddha's tummy would bring us good luck for the whole year. We all rubbed his tummy!!! I think the year of the Dragon is going to be the best year of my life. I can feel it!!!


After we walked around the Jade Buddhist Temple, we decided to go to the Yuyuan Garden. This was definitely worth the visit. The garden was finished in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) named Pan Yunduan. Yu in Chinese means pleasing and satisfying, and this garden was specially built for Pan's parents as a place for them to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their old age. I wish I could live there!!! It is so beautiful and relaxing. We took a ton of pictures and explored the different areas of the garden. I could have stayed there longer, but they closed the garden at 5. Because of the Spring Festival there were thousands of people walking around. We had to push and shove our way through the people. It was a little too crazy. We somehow managed to make it out of the immense crowd of people and then headed to The Bund once again We ended up running into some other expats who wanted us to take pictures of them. We started talking and decided to all get dinner together. Kerry had been telling us stories of her China adventures; one adventure in particular had to do with her eating turtle. At the restaurant, there was turtle on the menu, so of course the guys wanted to order it. I tried it, but we think that it probably wasn't turtle at all but, instead, some kind of fish. They charged us a lot, but Kerry confirmed that it wasn't turtle. Oh well...I can say that I almost ate turtle.


I am starting to miss American food. I am so sick of all of the oil they put in the food here. I think when I get to my apartment I am going to find the nearest Walmart and buy a whole bunch of food to live on such as peanut butter, yogurt, oatmeal, crackers..all of the essentials. I still go out to eat once a day, but the quantity and quality isn't always the best. There is this one restaurant in Shanghai we have gone to 3 times, and I have ordered the same thing each time. It is rice noodles with shrimp in this amazing sauce. It is splendid!!! Some of the other meals have been disappointing. At one restaurant, I couldn't even eat the food they gave me. It tasted like death. The first couple of days, the food was great, but eating the same thing every day gets old. I would do anything for some pizza.


(Day 11)

We spent our last day getting all packed up for our flight. I really wish I hadn't brought so much luggage. We had to carry all of our luggage to the train station and then take a train to one stop, get off and then take another train to the airport. It was quite the ordeal. Once we got to the airport, we of course have to carry all of our luggage to the luggage check. You have to realize every step was agony because I brought one huge suitcase that just contained clothes, another medium-sized suitcase with shoes, vitamins, face wash, makeup, and other random items, a duffel bag with more shoes, all of my electronics, and bags/purses. I also brought my laptop. So, I had to carry around 4 pieces of luggage. It was horrible!!! If I ever travel again, I am limiting my luggage to only 2 pieces of luggage and my laptop. I guess I had to learn the hard way. My mom warned me that I shouldn't take so much, but I kept explaining that I am LIVING in China. I need everything!!! Well, I don't know if I will even need half the stuff I brought. We will see though.