Where to start? Sorry this is a long one, but internet connection in the apartment have been a little shaky lately.
I am about a week and three days into my trip and I have
experienced so much already. Instead of writing paragraphs about the past days, I am going introduce you to my Shanghai welcoming and some things I have done
that earn a photo.
Skyscrapers paint the sky everywhere you are
People- people are everywhere; my personal bubble has
shrunken completely. My commute to work on the subway and company shuttle bus
has contributed to my newfound tolerance of being surrounded by people and crammed into a subway train
car. Just yesterday, I was leaving the subway and the line to enter was backed
up all the way to the street because one of the trains was off schedule. It was
complete chaos! I now know what it feels like to be in the minority, so many
people stare at me on my way to work on the subway or out to eat dinner with my roommates
because we are one of the only American around, I always get double takes when
people enter the subway and have to sit or stand next to me. I guess when I
return home, I will have to break my habit of zoning off and staring at people
because it gets to be a little uncomfortable at times.
Food- I was a little concerned before I arrived about how
much I would like or hate the food here. I am completely satisfied and have
eaten so much good food since I have been here. There hasn’t been one thing
that I have disliked so far that I couldn’t eat it. The only encounter was when
I tried Tyler’s milk tea that had strange blueberries in it. I really enjoy all
of the fresh vegetables and homemade noodles prepared before our eyes at the
restaurant around the corner of our apartment. The dumplings here are very
yummy. We have become regulars there. We have eaten dinner out every night so
far because it is quick, easy, and cheap and there are no dishes to clean
afterwards. We all get home from work around 6:30-7pm so we have a small amount
of time left in our day. We eat dinner together and talk about our day at work
and other crazy things that we have seen that day. I can get a filling and
nutritious meal that costs around 12-14 RMD and that totals to 2-4 U.S.
dollars. More money for shopping and other fun outings! After dinner we walk
around, people watch and explore streets around our neighborhood. There is
never a dull moment here.
Below: Crawfish, A ton of food with a steamer of catfish and noodles with vegetable and cucumbers
There are so many more food pics, but i would be here for hours uploading them :)
Work- I have a full week of work in and they have me working
hard. I am currently helping them with their online marketing techniques along
with getting their new Sportsman products ready for presentation and display to
existing and potential customers. I am also working on an E-Commerce business
proposal. Along with those tasks, I have been revising their catalogs, websites
and assisting them with their English. Many of my co-workers speak English so
there isn’t many barriers to communication. I am really good at translating
what they called “Chinglish” : English spoken by Chinese. I just have to listen
more intently and talk slower with easy words so they understand what I mean.
Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful to me as I begin my internship. I am
very grateful to have such caring and fun supervisors. Last week, they prepared
a traditional Chinese dumpling meal for me and extended the lunch hour so the
whole office could make and eat dumplings together. It was a fun afternoon and
the dumplings were incredible. They made me eat so many, I was stuffed all day!
I
The dumplings on the left and me and my boss Vincent and Cloe on the right. It took me a while before I could actually fold the dumplings the right way. Vincent laughed at me :).
My Apartment and Roommates:
When I was thinking about what my apartment would be like before I got
here, I thought I would have a room the size of an elevator and a half kitchen
and living room combined. My expectations were blown out of the water. I am
living in a nicer apartment than I have ever lived at home or in school. There are three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a huge
living room, a dining area and a nice big kitchen with big windows. The guys
share one bathroom and my bedroom has its own bathroom right in it which is
very nice and convenient. Tyler and Joe are a lot of fun and we have lots of
stories to tell each other when we get home from work each day. They got here
before me so they have been doing a good job of showing me where everything is
and all the good places to eat dinner.
Company BBQ: I made
it just in time for the company’s 3 month get together which this time around
was a Chinese BBQ an hour drive out of Shanghai at a grassy/lakelike getaway.
Its as close to MN lakes and summer as I will get here. We sat around in the
hot and humid weather playing cards, badminton and eating a ton of yummy food.
Fruit, Chips, Homemade steamed noodles made by Vincent, grilled corn on the cob
and potatoes and a huge amount of lamb, pork beef and chicken on kabobs.
I even ate chicken heart! Everything was delicious and we ate so much! It was fun talking to Vincent,
Laura and David about Chinese customs. One thing I will remember is that they
have belief that there are hot and cold things that we put into our body.
Neither one is bad, it is just that you have to balance the two out so you
aren’t consuming or exerting too much of one of the other at one time. It was
very interesting to hear about.
My coworker Laura's son saying CHEESE!
The guys grillin the kabobs!
Ivan and Laura's Husband Catching the Local Fish
Chinese Friends: I have met three girls who I have hung out
on the weekend with and a couple of nights during the weekday checking out
different restaurants, clubs and hangout places in Shanghai. Their American
names are Mia, Tina and Sofina. They are a lot of fun and I am excited to hang
out with them more, it will be nice to hang out with some girls every once in a
while since I am the only girl in the apartment J.
Tyler, Me, Sofina and Tina--a little blurry! I have more that of course I haven't uploaded
Well, I don’t have much time to get stuff done when I return
home from work, but I will try to get another post up soon. Joe Rogers, the
head of the Global Education Center at CSB/SJU is visiting China this week so
we will be going out for some dinner s later in the week and seeing a couple of
things. Time is already going so fast!
I enjoy reading e-mails, sometimes my internet at home
doesn’t work, but I can check e-mails at work. Send me one my way and keep me updated!
mcweber@csbsju.edu
