It’s pretty amazing what a difference a month can make. Last month, four weeks ago, when I went to Beijing, I followed Yang around like a lost puppy and burst into tears at least twice trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. I’ve now been in China for a month, and I was a little bit apprehensive about my trip to Shanghai, considering how things went last time I took a trip to a big city, but I’m happy to say things were much smoother this go. I still don’t speak or understand much Chinese at all, but I’ve figured out some systems to get around it.
Day 1 of the weekend was mostly me just casually taking my time to get to Shanghai. I rode the Kunshan bus from Duke Kunshan to the train station. It takes about an hour and a half because it’s a winding path through traffic with a lot of stops along the way, but I wanted to see some sights and build my mental map of the city. I did just that.
Driving over one of the many Kunshan canals
Once I got to the train station, I bought my ticket on my mobile phone and then had it printed at the ticket window as Yang showed me last time. I even gave some tips to a few English-speakers in line who were asking questions about the whole process. See? I’m basically a local now.
Then it was onward to Shanghai, which takes 20 minutes on the train. The part I hadn’t done before was figuring out how to get the subway in Shanghai, but I managed to find the right subway line and figure out how to use the ticket machines, but (DUN DUN DUN) I didn’t have small enough change to buy a ticket. I then did something I never thought I would be able to do: I asked for change! Sure, it was from the service desk, and sure, the guy probably spoke a little English, but my pantomiming and handing him 100 RMBs got me 100 RMBs back in smaller bills instead of yelled at. Victory.
I saw Taylor Swift on the subway. Sort of.
From there, it was a quick and scenic walk to my hotel, and I didn’t even get lost, thanks to a map program I downloaded that works a lot better than Google Maps in China.
Yes, it looks like I could roll out of bed into the bathtub, but don’t worry. I slept on the other side of the bed. Also, there’s glass in between.
Once I got to my hotel, I had two victories: First, I found a beer and a sandwich. Beer! I was so happy.
And, then, my friends, I found Chinese deodorant. I have been looking for deodorant since I got here because I didn’t realize mine was running so low. Until this weekend, no luck. So, of course, I bought some.
It DOES exist!
Sadly, I tried some this morning and I am so allergic to it (it burns!) that I had to run to the bathroom at work and rinse it out of my pits. It was a good thought anyway.
I spent the evening drinking buy-one-get-one-free cosmos at the hotel bar because I’m a grown-up, damnit. I watched rugby on TV, listened to a German (I think) couple argue, and drank so much that the bartender eventually stopped asking me if I wanted any more and brought me a water.
Then I went upstairs and took a bath in the giant, stupid tub, and it was so wonderful. I am a large person, and I have never been in a bath that so thoroughly submerged that great of a percentage of my body. Thank you, ridiculous hotel bathtub.
I collected weird t-shirt slogans over the weekend. A lot of people in China don’t speak a word of English, but they buy clothes with English words on them. Sometimes they make sense and sometimes they don’t. I saw:
- Empathy (written across the back of a jacket)
- Underism
- Veryimportant Cat (complete with a picture of a cat)
- out of service (written three times in a very fancy italic font)
- Little Sweety
- Deer Great
This one’s not a t-shirt, but I thought it was funny anyway. It’s the name of a clothes store.
My colleague Lydia took the train into Shanghai to meet me on Sunday and tour around with me. It was fantastic. We saw so many things!
We started at the Bund, probably the most famous place in Shanghai.
The part of Shanghai on the side of the river where we were standing looks a lot like New York, with old art deco buildings and big lit-up signs. There’s a big M&Ms store and lots of coffee shops. And then across the river, you can see behind me the financial district, which is all very new construction.
Our wanderings on the Bund eventually took us to the Waldorf Astoria (Hi again, New York!) and we decided to go in. Just the lobby was impressive in itself.
Huge Christmas tree in the Waldorf Astoria, Shanghai
We decided to have lunch there. We split a pizza and I introduced Lydia to the famous Waldorf salad. (I’m not sure she was impressed.)
After lunch, we did some shopping in a sort of fancy part of Shanghai that Lydia had never been to. It was nice, but a little bit staid, and maybe even slightly boring.
But then, my dears, we headed to the French Concession part of town (which literally used to be a concession of part of the city to France), and Lydia started looking down alleys. I didn’t quite know what she was doing, but then she looked down one and went, “Oh, we’re here!”
The tiny, narrow alley was crowded with shops and shopkeepers and shoppers and food carts all milling together and connected to a million other little alleys. We immediately lost ourselves in the fun of shopping and bargaining and watching artists at work.
It was probably my favorite place I’ve been to the whole time I’ve been here.
I saw my first cat cafe! And yeah, I’m pretty sure the cat’s shirt says “eat not fat,” but I am assured people don’t eat cats in this part of China.
This guy was squeezing sugar cane to make fresh sugar cane juice.
Some places were also selling birds in beautiful cages. I am unsure of the ethical implications, but it was a sight to see, for sure.
And, of course, I bought things, but I’ll have to wait to share all about that because they’re gifts for people back home! I managed to do all of my souvenir shopping in one afternoon. I just needed to find the right spot and inspiration.
Schlepping my treasures on the train
It was a great, fun weekend and I’m so glad I went and was extra grateful for Lydia’s company and guidance. It was a nice way to finish up my last weekend here.
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