Week Four: Sun, Sand, and the Sea

I left the last blog post on Wednesday afternoon, so let’s start there. That Wednesday night I began getting ready for Frida’s 21st birthday party. She was working with a club promoter and managed to get a bus for all of us that would take us to a club called M2. Around 10:30 PM the bus arrived, and we all filed on full of energy and ready to dance. It was only a fifteen-minute drive, but for those several minutes we listened to some Latin hype music and sang happy birthday from our seats. We entered the club and were immediately given neon yellow wristbands. Then we embarked to the fifth floor in groups and finally reached the entrance to the club. When I stepped off the elevator, I could instantly hear the music echoing off the walls. But I was not prepared for the intensity of the music when I finally entered the actual club. The music was so intense and so loud I couldn’t hear my own voice. The first thing I noticed about the club was the smell of cigarette smoke. Mostly everyone was seated on square sofas, a coffee table in the middle with many types of alcohol and a bucket of ice underneath the table. I was surprised that no one was really dancing, and I assumed that was just the vibe of most Chinese clubs. I convinced myself that I needed to let loose and enjoy my first club experience. So I grabbed a beer, and I joined everyone at the front of the club near the DJ and began dancing. The cool part about this party was that everything was for free. No entrance fees and free drinks. The marketing for this party was genius! The promoter invites a bunch of foreigners to a Chinese club. Then, once everyone is dancing, the Chinese locals see that we are having a fun time, so they join us dancing, and they are tempted to buy more drinks and get more drunk.

On Thursday and Friday, I just relaxed, stayed in to catch up on some homework and Netflix. I also didn’t want to go out a lot because I had a long day trip ahead of me for Saturday. I was invited to spend the day with a few language partners and some USAC people. We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning, packed a day bag and hopped into Mike’s (one of the language partners) parents cars. Our destination was in the Jinshan district about 1.5 hours from Shanghai University. Our first stop was to a deserted ancient sculpture museum. We were the only visitors. The owners took us through a walking tour of the one-floor museum which mainly consisted of laughing buddha sculptures, historical figures, and an eclectic assortment of animal and rock designs. It was pretty cool, and I made sure to rub the Buddha’s tummy for good luck!

After the museum, we drove a bit to the Fengjing ancient town. It was a cute little town that had a charming bridge as the entrance. It was a fun picture spot. We only had a half hour to explore the shops. One thing that I noticed were some of the locals who were carrying stuff on over their shoulder using the traditional carrying pole with two baskets hanging from a bamboo pole. I would love to go back there!

Then we drove to lunch. We ate a traditional style Chinese lunch with a roundtable. Dishes were placed on the spinning table one after the other. I was not used to any of the foods that were presented, but I tried them anyway. For the first time, I ate goose, this dish that had salted Canadian bacon mixed with taro, and twice cooked pork. The twice cooked pork was my favorite.

After lunch, we took a walk through the countryside which was my favorite part of the trip. It was just so different out in the country: fewer cars, fewer crowds, more greenery, and friendly locals. More Chinese people were walking around with the carrying pole asking if we wanted to buy any of their food. As we walked down the road, I could see grass fields in the distance, and Chinese people were wearing straw hats and pushing around wooden wheelbarrows. It was the most authentic and wholesome thing I have seen this whole trip. We entered a more residential area where there were more animals like dogs and chickens. It was most relaxing walking of the whole trip so far. It was just so peaceful and enjoyable. I didn’t feel rushed or claustrophobic.

Our last stop for the evening was the Jinshan city beach. And when I say beach, I actually mean beach. I thought it was just going to be a little dock with a lookout of the water. But it was huge. The beach had sand, palm trees, and a nice sweeping view of the water. It was cute seeing families playing in the sand and newlyweds taking professional photos. We walked all the way to end of the beach and decided to play on one of the hamster wheel blow-ups on the water. We went in pairs of two and just played on the hamster wheels for 15 minutes laughing, trying to get it to move, and taking silly photos. Then, we began our walk back to the car. It was around 5:00 PM, and I could see blue skies allowing the sun to peak out for a beautiful sunset. We ate dinner together at a seafood restaurant. Mike’s parents were so hospitable and kind. They had paid for everything on the trip and said we were like family to them. To celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival, we had mooncakes after dinner. The night had come to an end, and it was time to head back home. It was a long and busy day but worth the drive.

On Sunday, I took a visit to People’s Square again. I was tagging along with a friend to shop with her. It was so hectic because of the Mid-Autumn festival. Lines were stretching the whole walkway with people just waiting to get their hands on mooncakes. We did a little shopping and then explored some of the shops on the way back to the train station. I couldn’t help but spot a giant stitch stuffed animal in one of the cute Chinese toy stores. Very tempted to buy it but not sure if I could bring it back home! We also explored a traditional supermarket where they sold Chinese snacks and fresh produce. While trying to find the subway entrance we ended up in the marriage market in People’s Park. It was just a local park with trees and a bunch of sitting areas. But deeper into the park you saw a bunch of umbrellas aligned one after the other. Each umbrella had a piece of paper that had a little introduction about that specific person. Chinese parents flood this park each weekend in hopes to find their children a partner to marry. It was a very interesting experience, to say the least. I had never seen anything like it! At the tail end of the park, I caught a glimpse of some locals just ending a game of Mahjong. One of the ladies had just won, and they were mixing the tiles for the next game. I caught a photo of them all laughing together, it was so cute!

I did not buy anything that day because Monday was my shopping day! Around noon I met up with some girls, and we headed to the fake markets yet again. I went back to the fake market where I bought my Gucci belt, and I ended up purchasing another Gucci product. My friend Faith came along and helped me bargain for a Gucci purse. I did not want to spend more than 350 kuai (Chinese currency term for money) on the purse. The saleswoman started at over 2,000 kuai which is  $307! We got it down to 400 kuai ($58), and it looks very real. There was this one lady who was helping us find what we wanted. Apparently, there are secret fake designer rooms that were hidden behind closed doors. It was the better quality stuff. Faith ended up getting some really cool designer shoes, belts, and bags. After the market, we grabbed some lunch and headed home for the day.

On Tuesday, I just had class. I took this day to rest and do some grocery shopping. Yesterday, I just had one class, so I relaxed. Last night I went to a grilled cheese place for dinner, and I tasted amazing! It felt a little like home with the English speaking server and feel-good songs. Which brings us to today, Thursday afternoon. I’m about to go study with a friend at Seeds, a cafe with drinks and a comfy study space. I haven’t been there, so I’m excited to try out a new spot. I have a lot of fun things planned for next week. We have a 7-day Chinese holiday break, and I planned an overnight trip to Hangzhou. I also want to visit the zoo and the aquarium during the break. Stay tuned for a blog post about the 7-day break! Until next time! 再见 (That’s goodbye for all you Americans haha).