Shanghai CHINA!

Shanghai!! WOW! Definitely not what I expected.

The first day in Shanghai, me and some friends tackled public transportation and found our way around Shanghai. Language barrier hit us hard again here. SAS problem #21 Walking in to a convenience store and everything being in Chinese. After guessing and hoping that I got something edible and not prawn flavored, we continued on. We came across a small shoe store. I was so excited to find a pair of shoes that fit me, so I bought them, and then they killed my feet the rest of the day. We found Mc Donald’s, H&M, and many other familiar places. Lesson learned real quick: Chinese sizes are “a bit” smaller. We spent the day exploring the city and talking to many people along the way. The rest of our friends were to return from Tibet and Beijing that night, so we headed back to meet up with them for the night. This is when it started to hit all of us. This journey is almost over. Me and 2 other girls were away from “the family” for 3 days, and we really missed them. When we all saw each other, it was like it had been years. We were all so excited to see each other and hear each others stories. It is going to be so hard going back to reality and not seeing my best friends every single day while traveling the world. We stayed up late talking, laughing, sharing stories, and just enjoying good company. We made plans for the next day to go shopping.

The second day in Shanghai, a group of us went to the “knock off” market. Along our 30 minute walk to town we met a man from Cape Town who told us about how he travels the world on his private jet and how he has companies and multiple properties. We all talked for hours about our travel adventures at a coffee shop before moving forward. We finally made it to the market which was a 5 story mall of the same stuff. It was like a swap meet with all of the same stuff. The fun in it came to bargain the lowest price. I got too much stuff, and went a little crazy. But I did get a lot of good stuff including a beautiful tea set! We literally spent the rest of the day in the market talking to locals, and buying things. That night, we headed back to the ship to get ready to go out for a nice dinner. Let me tell you right now, a group of 12 girls is a bit hard to work with. We had planned to go to “the needle” which is a fancy building with a revolving restaurant. It was $50US for dinner and museum. Unfortunately, we got there at 8:30pm and they closed at 9pm. We went to a mall to try and find some place to eat. It was here as people started running in to stores that the group split up. We split up in to 3 groups and I'm glad that we did. In my group there were 5 and we found a Hooters! We went and had the best night. The food was the same as was the atmosphere.

My last day in Shanghai, I had my last FDP with my favorite professor. This trip was called “Tasting the Daily Life of a Shanghai Citizen”. This was by far my favorite FDP that I did this whole semester!! To start, we went to a community center where we learned about all the services that the government provides for the residents. We took a tour of the facility and it was a great time. There was a ball room dance going on for the aged. They were dancing for hours at 9am on a Sat morning. Then, we went to where the teenagers were having dance class. Tied for the cutest dance was between the toddlers and the aged. The aged won of course. After leaving the center, we proceeded to another local market. This one was the craziest that I have yet to see. There were dead and live fish everywhere, the floor was soaking with fish water. (yes, I was wore flip flops). I will just post pictures, I cannot describe it. There was also a dentist office right next to the cage of live chickens that you can choose and they kill for you. Although the meat section almost made me go vegetarian, I had never seen such fresh and crisp vegetables in a market, and such a wide variety of fruits. After leaving the market, we split up in to smaller groups to go on a house visit with a local family where we would help prepare and eat lunch. When we arrived to the small condo, neither the wife or husband spoke English, but we still had a great time. The women showed us how to make dumplings! We then all sat around a round table with a spinning middle. The women was in the kitchen working hard and the man kept bringing out dish after dish of food for us! We ate so much food and it was the best Chinese food ever! We said good-bye and thanked them for inviting us in to their home. They were the nicest people with the biggest smiles in all of China. The trip concluded with a visit to a flower market.

My stay in Shanghai came to an end as we returned to the ship before on-ship time. I did not have enough time here, so I must come back! I really want to visit Beijing some day too. China is a beautiful country and politics and government aside, is a world giant. I love it here!! My last and final stop before returning to the US is Japan! I will be at sea for 2 days before we get there. For Japan, I am doing independent travel to Tokyo! I can't wait for Tokyo Disneyland! This independent travel shouldn't be as crazy as India because we actually have hotels and everything planned out already. :) Every once in a while it hits me that I am traveling the world on a ship. SO AWESOME! After Japan we have 17 days at sea to cross the Pacific Ocean to San Diego. We have a 1 day stop in Hawaii to refuel, but I know it is going to be rough! During this long stretch, we have a lot planned, including finals. I am on my way home!