Exploring the City

I've officially been in Shanghai for four days. I can't tell if it's been four days, four weeks or four years. I've had absolutely no time to update because I've been running around the city non stop with some new and wonderful people. I finally had to sneak back up to my room during lunch just to get a quiet minute.

I'll try and start from the beginning, summarizing as I go along.

Upon arrival at LAX last Tuesday night, the group received boarding passes and instruction regarding the following days travel. We greeted each other with hugs, smiles and excitement. Despite our large piles of luggage, we all looked relatively travel savvy and ready to take on China.

Two Tylenol simply sleep later, I woke up with only three hours until our landing in Shanghai :) God's gift to red eye travelers. After passing out for the majority of the flight, I got off in Hong Kong to find my two morning necessities: a toothbrush and some kind of latte. About a second later we were on our way to Shanghai. Two of my new roommates and I shrieked in excitement upon landing in China. Then came a fast paced march to customs and swine flu inspection, followed by luggage and meeting our program director at ground transportation. One relatively short bus ride later, we were standing on the front porch of a french style mansion in the middle of Shanghai, known to us as Jia or HOME.

The next night was a random assortment of hello's, unpacking and dinner. We went out to South Beauty banquet Chinese restaurant where we were served an excellent array of traditional formal dishes: chicken, shrimp, pork ribs and fish. Pickled cold items to start, like mushrooms and tofu, followed by seafood, meat, and then finally a large plate of fresh fruit. I was impressed to find that our group made the effort to try everything, no matter how foreign.

After crashing Thursday night, we all got up on Friday for orientation, group bonding, and more food. We went out to the bund (the riverside edge of the puxi, our side of the river) and got on a dinner river cruise up and down the pudong river. We got to see Shanghai lit up at night, which from the boat was incredible. A small group of us (Morgan, Brennen, Katy, Allie, Zach, James, Jason and myself) went out on to the bow of the boat to watch the city lights. It's an incredible city: a combination of modern, classical, international and local. Later that night, the entire group (40 people, so a lot, with the exception of only a few) went out to the local club by our house to enjoy the nightlife of our new district. The club was alright, the open bar was terrible, but having around 35 Pepperdine students dancing and enjoying one of our first nights was worth the ten dollar fee. Some stayed late, some left early, but we just had fun together.

After a groggy Saturday morning, we continued orientation and went shopping for a few essentials. Later in the afternoon, Clay, Allie, Luke, Jordan, Morgan and myself sat outside the nearest Starbucks and tried some of the local cuisine we picked up on the sidestreets by our Jia. Luke insisted that we buy some mooncake, which was awful but culturally significant. We sat and savored the afternoon over a few iced drinks and 20 questions style games.

On a side note: NO, i haven't kicked my coffee habit... yet. I'm working on it. Thus far, I've tried to just do an iced coffee with nonfat milk versus paying for the more expensive vanilla latte, but it's a process. I'm hoping I can go local and just go with green tea... ha I can dream.

Saturday night Allie, Zach, Meghan, Brennen, James, Luke and I all went out after dinner. We ended up meeting an Ex-Pat couple who took us out and talked to us about living in Shanghai. They've been living in the city for three years and plan on staying for at least another five. We learned how to find good places to eat, We stayed out late, made some new friends, and explored the French Concession at night :) Fantastic night.

Sunday flew by. I went down with a group to the Bund to shop, eat, and explore (all i seem to be doing is exploring :) ) Now it's Monday and we're doing six hours of intensive Chinese. I'm learning how to barter and speak simple sentences, which will be taken out on the street later this afternoon.

Thus far, things are INCREDIBLE!!! more to come later :)

Away We Go

So. Here it is.

I'm about three hours away from meeting everyone at the airport in Shanghai. I've been running around LA for the past three days, everywhere from Manhattan Beach to Malibu to Burbank to Pasadena. I've been blasting classic rock out the back of my uncles' red jeep wrangler and living it up for my last few days in the USA. It's odd to think that in less than 24 hours, I'll be speaking mandarin and trying to negotiate my residential visa in Shanghai.

Like everything in my life thus far, I can usually tell when something is going to be important. I can sense when some event or moment is going to have a significant impact on "life" that I can't really explain. Mostly I just get nervous and can feel something shifting in whatever greater universe I'm living in. I know it sounds ridiculous. It's like I can feel something bigger is coming... lol

Now is the moment where I take the leap. I said goodbye to my family, waved goodbye to my home and my friends, and now stand on the edge of this huge adventure that I can't even really see yet. I'm excited, nervous, but mostly just waiting for it to begin. I figure if I can live on my own, work and internship, and be self reliant in Los Angeles for two months... this Shanghai thing shouldn't be too difficult.

Here we go.... Finally :)

leaving the house

Well... here I am. 20 minutes away from leaving for the airport and two days away from leaving for China. My bags are somehow not overstuffed, my things are in order, and I might actually be ready to go. I sit here in my somewhat normal looking bedroom wondering how my bags can have so much in them when my room doesn't really look empty.

So I am really packing my life and moving to China. Two days. More to come.

One Week.

One week to go.

Thus far, I have two empty suitcases, a large pile of potential clothes, and a totally chaotic room. Despite a lifetime of traveling, I am still a terrible packer. I tend to just throw things in a general direction and attempt to imagine various scenarios in which to wear far too may outfits. The weight limit isn't helping, either. 100 pounds, 15 of which are already taken up by the suitcases, is not much for almost 8 months in a foreign country.

So far, I have a list of mostly layers. Lots of tanks and sweaters to layer with jeans depending on the weather, which from what I hear can be extreme. Some trek gear for harder travel, along with winter layers for the upcoming cold months. I have some random items for everyday, like a dress or flip flops, but I mostly have practical clothing. I'm bringing a few luxuries, like hand sanitizer and my fantastic new camera. In reality, I'm not actually taking that much stuff. What I can't figure out is why it all weights so much...

This month went so fast. I can't believe that in a week I'll be on my way. I have to disconnect my beloved iphone, change over my money, and say goodbye for awhile. With the time change and lack of convenient communication, I'll have to rely on skype, facebook, and this blog to kind of keep people updated on what i'm doing.

Also, sad news :( my puppy of over 12 years passed away last friday. He was the best dog in the world...I miss him very much.

Mental Vacation

Been home for a week now. Mostly been enjoying the comforts of home and my favorite old hangouts. No matter what kind of mood I'm in, I always find some comfort in a Douce France Chai. Despite the exhaustion and re-adjustment, I am really happy to be home. This is my first shot at a "vacation" in almost a year, and for the first time I really feel like I need it. As my family keeps telling me, I need to go to Shanghai refueled, rested, and ready to go.

I'm a little more than two weeks away from getting on the plane to Shanghai. I haven't packed, I haven't even thought about the transition that much. I'm living in a satisfying limbo where I can just relax for a week or two. I have, however, been brushing up on my Mandarin. I'm going into 152 Mandarin, so I can't forget everything I learned during summer session.

That's all for now... just taking a break

和平，爱，安全的旅行
(Peace, Love, Safe Travels)

Saturday night, I had a blast.

Though a few months ago my plans for this particular night were completely different, I still found myself crying through gut-wrenching laughter. My twelve and nine year old cousins had apparently never played MASH, the age old game of creating potential futures. After a few test runs, we stayed up far past everyone's bedtimes imagining pet jaguars and fantasy spouses. Troy, much like my sister, goes through various fixations on new or exciting things. If it were up to Troy, we would have played MASH until he couldn't hold his head up. Game after game, we laughed until our sides hurt. Finally, I pulled the plug when yawns started to outnumber laughs. I put my younger cousin Troy to bed (reluctantly, to say the least) and stayed up with Taylor, the twelve year old. Finally, after a long discussion about the horrors and trials of the middle school social scene, she finally drifted off to sleep with (hopefully) some renewed confidence in her own ability to rise above the mean girls and the bullies.

A very wise woman once told me that 7th and 8th grade are, across the board, terrible years. No one at age 35 looks back and says "gosh, what a great time! I wish I could still be in middle school!" I wish I could shield Taylor from the next few years of awkward, dramatic and often brutal social scenarios, but I know she'll come out stronger and better for it. She's about to start growing in ways she can't even imagine. She's got the double threat of intellect and looks paired with a very sweet nature, making her an obvious target for those girls (and boys) looking for someone to take down. All I can do is tell her it will be ok and try to be there for her as much as I can.

I didn't really consider what it would mean to have my family close by while in college. At first, I would see my relatives every couple months, just to check in and hang out with the kids. After the first few visits, I started to babysit more regularly and come over every couple weeks. Not only was I becoming more involved with the kids and their lives, but I was able to spend more time with my Aunt and Uncle and use them as a true source of support and love. I didn't expect to have such strong support from my extended family while in college, but I am so grateful for it. I'm really going to miss them while I'm abroad.

Once the house went silent, I curled up on the couch with a few luxuries of the real world: a full fridge, a big couch, and HBO. A few episodes of True Blood later, I realized how different my life would have looked just a few months ago. I was supposed to be in Colorado that night, reuniting and celebrating the end of the summer. Instead, I was embracing my inner kid and fantasizing about driving a Giant Grape as a car and what it would mean to have 37 and a 1/2 children. This Saturday night of babysitting might not have been on my agenda, but sitting there in a laugh-induced coma surrounded by people I love, I didn't want to be anywhere else.

One week left in LA. That was fast :D

Transitions

It feels like every time I figure out a really good routine, I have to change it. My mother told me recently that I'm not good with transitions... she might be right. I tend to get anxious and start reaching out for anything solid or stable.

I've finally got this whole living alone thing down, mostly from trial and error. For instance, if I don't plan out my meals, I'll end up buying and then wasting groceries. If I overfeed my beta simply because he has a large appetite, he will bloat up and die a perfectly happy obese death (alas, Jesus.) Also, if I choose not to get my car washed because I don't have time, I'll ruin my white pants when I attempt to close my car trunk. If I choose to spend a Saturday night at my apartment, I better be armed with books and some basic activities or I'll end up with a container of ice cream, sad playlists or a slew of Alias re-runs, and some really fantastic (later regrettable) text messages. Lastly, you can't go see every single movie currently in theaters or you'll end up bored on a Sunday night with no options except the movie about talking Gerbils. Oh the things you learn when you have to be responsible.

What I'm trying to figure out is how I'm going to develop a routine in Shanghai. The most daunting aspect of living in China (for me) is that no matter how many months I live there or how good my Mandarin gets, I will NEVER blend in. I'm 5'2, blonde haired and blue eyed. It's just not going to happen for me. The most I can hope for is that people will take me seriously... but even that's a stretch. I guess that's the fun of the experience. I'll be living in the "Paris of Asia," full of culture and life, so who really cares if I ever find my niche?

Maybe it's not about finding a niche. Maybe, for the first time, it's about not being attatched to anything and simply floating for awhile... we'll see.