three weeks later...

ok, so im FINALLY going to finish this! i know you have all been bugging me to give my finals thoughts on my trip, so here we go...

1. i know you were all in a hurry to hear back from me, but i needed time to miss china in order to focus more on the positive aspects rather than just how smelly and hungry i was got home.

2. china was awesome! i thought i was miserable at times while i was over there, and well... i was but besides that i was totally fine. im sure things could have been worse, ie: conditions of the dorms, an emergency, ect, but for the most part everything went without a hitch, and thats all i could ask for. i would do it again if i could and i think that i would appreciate it even more the second time around. i didnt only learn a lot about china, but about myself and the kinds of things im capable to do. i never thought i would get over homesickness, or let alone be able to be away for two months but i did it! i feel a lot more independent and if i had to go back to china, i could definitely take care of myself and get around. that is the biggest accomplishment of all because that is one of the biggest assests i have, besides speaking the language, if i ever go back there for a job, ect.

3. my perspective on china is different, of course, and i have a lot of respect for the chinese people. at times i would become really frustrated with all of them, but its not my fault i dont understand their culture and judge them. im sure they think we are strangest, drunkest, rudest, assholes ever to walk the earth, but at times i thought the same of them so we are even. i know everyone cant go visit china, but do it if you ever have the chance, please go. everyone is talking about china, and the tv can only give you so much insight. their quick rise to fame and power is scary, and more than anything i feel bad for their people. even with all the new, great things going on over there the chinese have a lot of environmental, social, and governmental problems to face. i just hope it never becomes the worlds largest industrial wasteland, because there are some really beautiful things in china besides the glitz and lights.

4. thats about it, i really dont know what else to add for now. its been about three weeks since ive been home, so im sure ive forgotten a few things here and there. i can say the biggest thing i learned though is that i LOVE america! i wouldnt want to live anywhere else if i had the choice. we have our fair share of problems, but ill never take any of the things i have here at home for granted. people in china could only dream of the things we own and the kinds of places we go.

thats it! glad to be back :)

almost done!

im so excited about leaving, that i thought i would share my schedule with all of you....

thursday
8am - go to class, practice for my oral exam i DONT have memorized, which i should. at this point though, nothing will get me down or get in my way of leaving this place.
12pm - DONE!!! no more class until im back at UO.
12pm-430pm - maybe a nap? lunch? get ready?
430 - leave for dinner with the CIEE crew, then off to a huangpu river boat tour. aka, booze cruise. they said they only provide soft drinks, but i take that as free chasers :)
??am - get home, sleep

friday
1030 - leave for yu gardens, barter one last time for cheap chinese gifts, ect
2pm - eat delicious latina brunch :)
3pm - enter food coma, return back to the dorms, try to pack all the things ive accumulated
later on - maybe go out? sleep?

saturday
830am - wake up, finish packing
1030am - leave for the airport yayyyyy
1130 - check in, wait for four hours
345pm - leave!
605pm - same day i know, but ill be back in pdx!

ahhh its so close!

The Final Countdown...

I apologize for not writing much lately, well... because there really isn't much to update about. It's been fairly calm here for the past week or so. We have all been so busy with finals and projects that it has left almost no time for strange things to happen to us. I'll take it though, its been a very long trip and I'm ready to go back to normal. As of tomorrow, Wednesday, I'll only have three days left in Shanghai. I can't believe its that soon, and I know it wont hit me that I'm leaving until I'm all packed up and at the airport. See you in three!

Em

post week six update

as the final countdown begins before i head home, shanghai has been relatively nice to me. but, when i found a BUG in my food a few days ago, i about lost it. i guess this is what i get for eating street food, but finding a cockroach type bug with wings in your food just about sends you into anti-china mode (yes, its a condition, turst me). after that incident, i've decided that im going to eat normal things until i leave, ex: ordering delicious sandwiches/wraps/salads from sherpa, the fabulous delivery service that costs 2 dollars. anyways, that incident scared me and i will NEVER ever eat at the back gate again.

other than that, life is just passing by here in china. i cant really remember anything too memorable this week since we've had SO much class, but its been fun. last night we went to a fun little dive bar and hung out with the girls for awhile. im off to go finish some more homework, ect. things seem to be piling up quicker and quicker right before we leave. 12 more days!

em

19 days (almost) and counting

i dont have much to write about, other than taking jordan's boyfriend to the airport was the BIGGEST tease in the world. im having fun, but i had an ABCD (a bad china day) so at this point im ready to go back to the airport and jump on a plane. i guess ive made it this far though, so things arent all that bad.

im really glad that the break is almost over. its been really nice not to have class but im ready to go back and finish everything! after beijing ive just been trying to stretch my time and find things to do around shanghai. it may be a huge metropolis, but its still difficult to continuously find new things to do. most of the time its the same stuff, just in a different place. today we did find an expat market though, and i couldnt have been happier. jordan and i are going back tomorrow to buy supplies to make pb&j, and im going to buy FRUIT!!! it will be the most delicious three weeks i have in china, minus all the amazing food i got to eat in beijing while staying at the hyatt. because i have found this amazing food, and it makes me feel SO much better ive decided that is all i really need to spend my money on the rest of the time im here. well, other than taxi cabs and the ocassional drink(s). i would rather eat food that doesnt make me sick than have more money for other things at this point. i only have two more weeks of class, and then the last week im here its just finals and packing.

on the way back from the airport we took the new maglev train. it took us 8 minutes to go 30km, or an equivalent to an hour or so cab ride. its so nice that it skips all of the crazy airport traffic and strange taxi cab drivers that pick their nose... thats right, they pick their nose right in front of you. here is a fact for all of you: chinese men grow out their pinky nail nice and long in order to pick their nose, ear wax, and teeth at the ever appropriate time. ex: driving their cab, at work, making your lunch (at less than fine establishments of course) so taking the maglav was a nice way to end my not so good ABCD.

anyways, im off to go for a run now. email me, let me know how all of you are doing!

em

beijing

i just got back from beijing, so here is an update from my trip...

the train ride from shanghai to beijing was sooo nice! spending the extra money on a soft sleeper was the best idea ever. trains leave in the evening, and have you at your destination bright and early. much easier than taking a plane even though its farther because you get to sleep the entire time. we got even luckier when we were able to check into our hotel (the grand hyatt) right when we got there. this is all thanks to pat, jordan's boyfriend, so another huge thank you to him for hooking us up with all of this :) we had a room with two seperate bed rooms and baths. so at least for the first night, i had an entire california king all to myself, and got to eat pancakes in the morning... it was heaven. espeically after an entire month of noodles and street food. i also got to eat my first salad since leaving, i about died.

our first day of sight seeing took us to the forbidden city. we ended up getting a tour guide which was a great idea, because i had no idea what i was looking at. it was also only a 15 minute walk from our hotel, so we were right in the middle of everything. the most exciting thing for me to see though is the huge portrait of mao looking over tianenmen square. since thats usually the first thing you see on the nightly news whenever they talk about china, i took about 10 pictures of it, haha. we ended there for the evening, and then the next day we went and visited the beijing zoo. it was a lot nicer and cleaner than i thought it would be, but of course it wasnt as nice as any zoo you would find in america. im sure they have begun to clean it up due to the amount of people that will be visiting for the olympics. after that we went to see the olympic buildings, the national staduim and the aquatics center. it was very busy with tourists but we were able to get close and take pictures. for our third day of sight seeing, our friend stephanie's mom was able to get us a driver to take us to the great wall. we took up a gondala, which was the best 50 kuai ive ever spent because there was no way i was going to climb up the HUGE hill, and then walk the great wall. our goal was to walk/hike/climb all the way to the top tower. it was the best workout ever, but im so glad that i wont be doing it again anytime soon. it was really worth while though. after the great wall, we found the best thing ive found in china yet... the silk market. i walked in and immediately found designer jeans, real ones, for twenty dollars. you have to barter with them, but if you buy a lot and speak chinese, two things i did, you get a much better price. i was in shopping and knock off heaven. in the end, beijing treated me very well and i came away with toned legs and lots of clothing.

i would like to comment on one thing though... beijing's infrastrucure is ready for the olympics, but i do not believe that the people are. i came to find out that the locals are not even excited about it after speaking with a few of them. i think that the huge, huge influx of foreiners in a city where they are already not as accepting as other cities, and not used to seeing that many will encounter many problems. it is also sad to see the new resturants and shopping malls built for the games completely empty. i know that they will be full in a few weeks, but what happens after they all leave? it was really interesting to get a first hand account for what beijing is now like right before the olympics. all of the street signs are brand new, along with the fancy jeep police cars were a surprise.

anyways, thats my little tangent about beijing. im sure ive missed a few things but im exhausted and about to take another nap. i miss all of you and ill be home in about three weeks... crazy huh?

em

mmm... vacation!

here is my latest update for the week...

monday night didnt bring much excitement except for the usual class, ect, and that i've been continually good and kept my workout going. i dont think that im gaining any weight, hopefully losing its just so hard when your food options here are limited. i know that i have lost, but with mainly chicken, rice, and other horrible carbs available, finding fruit and veggies is VERY hard. oh how i miss fruit and veggies :( i cant wait to eat that when i get home!

speaking of food, my friend stephanie got really awful food poisining tuesday night after dinner. our friend thomas also got sick before, and since we had all eaten the same street food the day before it was obvious i was next. i wasnt nearly as sick as steph, but i still have had a fun case of TD for a few days. im over it for the most part and back to normal.

also, i need to add that jordan likes to make lots of guanxi (chinese relationships) with people that we meet when we go out. when we went to muse last weekend she met and brother and sister. this is already a sign that they are very well off, because it costs a lot of extra money in china to have a second child. they continued to text jordan and we ended up making plans to go out to dinner with them. they took us to a chinese resturant in the nearby mall, and it was a lot of fun! they speak really good english; the sister has studied in canada for the past three years, and the son just left today to go to australia. making friends with americans is a HUGE deal, so they take everything really seriously when it come to keeping in touch and staying friends. chinese people are also like this among themselves and highly regard relationships and are always in them for the long haul. in the end, we got invited to cherry (the girls, her name is pronounced sherry) birthday party next week, and she acutally rescheduled it so we can make it. we're so special... hahaha. she wants us to meet all of her friends.

wednesday night we ended up going out to our favorite bar, zapatas, and had a very good time, almost too good of a time. we met plenty of euro trash (for those of the older generations who dont know what that is, that is europeans who speak strange english, unless they are british, and are just an all around icky crowd), but none the less we still enjoy their company and the several drinks they like to buy us. we met this one man, jonas from sweden, who began to tell my group of friends and i that "the beaches in america are nice" but we heard it, "the bitches in america are nice." from then on, we continued to call ourselves the three bitches and gave him a lot of garbage for it. oh... and got some more free drinks. the moral of the story is that i woke up slightly drunk from the night before, but went to class anyways in the 95 degree heat. im begining to be such a trooper...

as for now, im just working on homework and packing for beijing. jordan has left for pudong already to go wait for her boyfriend at the hotel. i cant believe that our study break is already here, it seemed really far away awhile ago. the weeks spent in school go by really fast. our train leaves for beijing tomorrow a little before eight, so i wont be in contact with anyone until my saturday evening. we arrive saturday morning, but wont be able to check into our hotel until about three. none the less, im super excited to go stay in the grand hyatt, go swimming, eat DELICIOUS real food, like fruits and veggies that wont make me sick, and sleep in a comfy bed. oh, and go see tianenamen square, great wall, forbidden city, and all of the touristy stuff. we will be returning back to shanghai wednesday morning. after that, we have the rest of the week off and i think that we are just going to stay in shanghai and see some more sights. after that weekend, we only have two more till we leave. its flying by, but i miss everyone terribly and im so excited to come home and see everyone. keep in touch!

em