SHANGHAI!!

OK! First blog post from beautiful Shanghai! I guess you could say my China experience started on the plane ride from LAX to Beijing, when I was reminded of the serious lack of personal bubbles in China. My fellow passengers and I got very cozy very quickly and just like that I was brought back to all my wonderful (and some not so wonderful) memories of Beijing. The other thing I noticed which I find very interesting is the vast majority of foreigners on flights to China (at least from LAX) are elderly couples. Of course the plane is about 90% Chinese nationals, but looking around I figure there were a couple Europeans, what seemed like a dozen elderly white couples, and me. It always makes me smile when I see them moseying through throngs of Asians in their 80’s ski jackets and towing floral luggage. Nana and Papa always come to mind, their periodic trips to Singapore are still fresh in my mind. (On a side note: the flight from Beijing to Shanghai had a ton more foreigners than I was expecting, maybe 30-40% of the plane.) The flight was smooth, albeit long. Beijing was A LOT colder than I was expecting…I also wasn’t expecting to have to walk outside to board my domestic flight to Shanghai. There was ice on the ground and the sky was a dirty white color. I would say it was white as far as the eye could see, but that was only like ten feet. The ice was so bad we sat on the plane for an hour and a half while airport staff ran around the tarmac with hair dryers trying to keep the runway ice free for take-off. (Its unlikely this is what actually happened, but I fell asleep while we were sitting there so really anything is possible.) Arriving in Shanghai was glorious. Stepping out of the plane the airport somehow smelled like popcorn and 50 feet away from my gate I saw a Disney store….in the airport. Ok, Shanghai and I were seriously made for each other. After gathering my luggage I have now moved to the main arrival hall and am currently waiting for the Alliance people to get here and take me to the student apartments. I arrived at noon and they arrive at 3:00pm to pick up whatever students are milling about, but I figured derping around the airport for 3 hours to save $40 bucks was worth it…now I’m bored out of my mind and getting a head start on my blog posts by typing in Word because I don’t have Internet. By the time this gets posted online you can all assume I have safely made it to Fudan University. Missing everyone already!!! If I learned anything about study abroad from Beijing it is that the first three days are the hardest in terms of homesickness and adjusting, so maybe I’ll work on my positive affirmations while I wait (that’s for you, Dad…also read them on the plane a couple times). Muah!! XOXO At the moment I am starting to write blog post numero dos, but I am still without Internet. Last night I met all the Alliance students, there is a total of 15 of us at Fudan University, and I am glad to report that everyone is super cool! I can already tell this is going to be a great semester with some really great new friends. We all seem to mesh really well, and that is what I love about small groups. Last semester was a program of 75 kids, so this is TINY in comparison. Dinner last night was good, but not delicious and after getting back to the apartments I crashed at like 10pm. So our apartments are INCREDIBLE!! Absolute palaces compared to the IES dorms. This is the very first college semester I have a bedroom to myself and I am LOVING it. The apartments are on the Fudan campus (I think) and they are shared by one Chinese roommate and two international students. My Chinese roommate is Yan Ran and my other roomie is Elizabeth…and get this. She goes to school at Trinity in San Antonio. Crazy!! There are actually like five students in the Alliance program who are either native Texans or who go to school in Texas, so that is a significant number considering there are only 15 of us. Orientation has been going really well, so worries. Our program directors seem really great and my roomies all get along really well, it is just amazing how two days in and I already feel so at home. Yan Ran and Elizabeth and I went out to dinner together tonight after a trip to Walmart (yes, an actual Walmart) to buy essentials. Yan Ran took us to a place that was DELICIOUS!!! Man, I didn’t remember how scrumdidlyumpcious Chinese fried rice and green beans are!!!!! Mmmmmm….now I remember how is got so pang (fat) in Beijing. Oops! So far Shanghai is just perfect. The people, the city, the food… I actually am excited for classes to start, even the dreaded language pledge seems more inviting this semester than last. There are only three downsides at this point. One: it has been constantly raining since we arrived at the Shanghai airport. Two: there is NO Internet….ANYWHERE. Three: our apartment has ZERO insulation and even with four heaters going at full blast through the day and night our entire apartment is like a walk-in freezer. No joke…I slept in three layers last night and was still cold. I am seriously considering a heated blanket, but they are a couple hundred RMB and it won’t be cold for that much longer….wonder if I can make it. We walk around the apartment in full outdoor winter gear. I’m sitting on the couch in an over coat and wearing a scarf and two pairs of socks with furry slippers. On a side note our trip to Walmart was hilarious and we all left with giant bags of new-apartment-essentials like cleaning and cooking supplies. Walking down the street everyone was staring because shopping in bulk is STRICTLY American concept. Yan Ran was laughing the whole time because she understood just how ridiculous we all looked to the locals.