Week Two: A Little Bit of Turbulence

After a long first week in Shanghai, I sort of took week two to relax and reorganize. During the week my days mostly consisted of classes, homework, and finding a spot to eat dinner. Our campus is perfectly located right next to Yanchang Rd, a bustling boulevard filled with small eateries, cute boutique shops, hair salons, and best of all, tons of smoothie and bubble tea spots. I love being able to walk out of my dorm room and grab a cold mango juice which has become a favorite drink of mine.

I am also enjoying the food here. I still have so much I would like to try, but my main go-to orders are fried rice and beef noodle soup. There are several noodle soup shops on Yanchang Rd lucky for me! On another positive note, my Chinese is improving greatly compared to the very first day I arrived. Having Chinese class 3 days a week allows me to practice and learn new words. Best of all, I can apply what I learned that same night to order food. I’m starting to make out more and more words that the locals say, and they are beginning to understand me too. One thing that’s been challenging is perfecting the tones. There are four tones in simplified Mandarin, and it is crucial to be mindful of which tone is associated with which words because you could be saying something completely off.

This weekend was jam-packed but very worthwhile because it brought in new friends! On Saturday morning all of the students woke up early and gathered together anxiously anticipating the meeting of our language partners. Last week we were offered the opportunity to have language partners. We filled out a little questioner to describe our ideal partner and what activities we would like to do together. The potential language partners are Chinese college students who speak Chinese but have been learning English for many years. I thought this was a genius idea because we would both be able to help each other improve our second language. My heart was racing as I stepped into the room scanning all the faces wondering who my partner would be. To kick off the morning, we were given a sheet of paper with a Chinese poem encrypted with a clue as to who would be in our small language group. I was pleased to meet four Chinese students who all had an equal level of enthusiasm. My language partner is named Kim, his Chinese name is Deng Sheng. He is 20 years old in his third year of college studying computer science. We instantly bonded over our love for Troy Sivan and the U.S. soap opera “The Fosters.” (I’ll take a photo with him later and post it)

Next, we played a team bonding game where we had to transfer water from one cup to another only uses our teeth to hold the rim. Below is a horribly awkward photo of me popping a squat with intense focus.

Unfortunately, our group lost, and as punishment, we had to try this awful smelling concoction that was supposedly edible. Alas, I was able to get that horrible aftertaste out of my mouth because we hit the town to grab lunch. We ended up at an amazing soup spot. It was a make-your-own style restaurant where you were able to choose what vegetables, noodles, and broth you wanted.

Then, the Chinese students offered to take us to another famous part of Shanghai. I instantly fell in love with the spot because it reminded me a lot of the French Concession on the Shanghai City tour last weekend, expect this location was larger, a little busier, and filled with amazing photo opportunities. Along the way, we spotted a newly married couple taking photos in the street. We all gushed over how perfect they looked and how gorgeous her dress was. But then Deng Sheng took our fingerling the wrong way and ran over the couple and asked if we could take a photo with them! We definitely didn’t want pictures, and I’m pretty sure this couple was now questioning the American people. Nevertheless, after a couple awkward minutes we now had photos with a random Chinese couple (A good LOL moment). After we walked around for some time, popping into a little modern art museum, we arrived at this one street with two adorable buildings right next to each other. One of the buildings was yellow, with a clear white door, and a cute little red mailbox to the right of the door. The other building was more elegant with rose vines that crept buildings exterior. It was the perfect photoshoot spot! We then said our goodbyes to our new friends and headed back home.

Sadly, on that same night, I experienced my first huge wave of homesickness. Previously, it can just come in brief waves, and I was able to push it out my thoughts. But for some reason, I just felt so utterly alone that night. I had to have a good cry, a long FaceTime session, and a change of heart and I was able to pull myself back together. But in the morning I woke up with a refreshed headspace and a determination to just live my best life here and focus on my studies and myself.

Yesterday, Sunday, I invited Deng Sheng to our campus to study a little in the morning. It was my first visit to the library. It definitely had a different atmosphere than any U.S. library, but it was good just to experience the studiousness of a Chinese student. Then, we met up with some friends and took the metro station to a new fake market. This one mimicked more of a modern mall and sold more clothes than the first fake market I visited. After some time, I managed to bargain myself four items! We then parted ways, I said goodbye to Deng Sheng, and we all retreated to our rooms to do some homework. That night, I went to my first ever beer style bar close to campus. It was their second night open. They had craft beers and draft beers. I knew nothing about beer, so I asked the owner to introduce me to the different types of beers. Although I’m not a big fan of beer, I ended up liking two flavors. It was a really fun and chill night, a great way to end the weekend!

When I got home, my roommate and I actually decided to take up hip-hop dance lessons at Baoshan Campus (the other Shanghai University campus about 35 minutes away). It’s an 8 week program that occurs three times a week. We both love dancing, so it was just a spur of the moment decision. I am super excited to take hip-hop lessons now! It will be a great way to get exercise, improve my dancing skills, and interact with the locals at Baoshan campus. Stay tuned! I will have to post some videos of my updated progress.

This weekend as been very turbulent to say the least. While I had my share of tears, I also made new friends, and I got myself out there. I have so much to be thankful for. For example, I’m so glad I am surrounded by people who all share the love of traveling and trying new things. I just have to keep reminding myself that this will only happen once in my life and to enjoy each day.  Until next time! Zaijian!