Sight Seeing and Giving Back

Shameless selfie with the Bund

Last weekend I finally got to see the Bund. The Bund is one of the most notorious regions of Shanghai, where its first development began. There are rows of prestigious banks and business offices lining one side of the Huangpo river, while the other side boasts some of the most impressive architecture I have ever seen. At night, all of the buildings are lit up and the sight of it is surreal and can take your breath away in seconds. My friends and I visited the Bund in daylight after a leisurely day of shopping in People's Square. People's Square reminds me of Times Square in New York City, with big colorful lights and a bustling atmosphere. After we saw the incredible views of the Bund in daylight, we knew we had to stay to see it lit up at night---and we definitely made the right decision. Everywhere we walked along the Bund, Chinese people asked to take pictures with us, and if we were posing in a picture together there were at least 3 other people snapping a picture of our pose. At this point its safe to say that my face is littered all over China's camera rolls, but it's all in good fun.

The Bund & crew at night

People's Square

Today (Wednesday 3/18) I finally got to give back to the country that has already given me so much. I joined a volunteer associated called "Stepping Stones," and it has already been an incredible experience. Shanghai has an extremely large migrant population, including workers who leave their rural hometowns to come to Shanghai to make a living for their family. Often times the children of these families struggle, as they lack stability and proper education. English is one of the three core subjects in the Chinese primary education system and is also considered the most challenging subject for rural teachers. On the Stepping Stones website they describe the discrepancies of education here perfectly. "English level is the biggest differentiator between urban and rural Chinese children, and this above all perpetuates the gap in educational and employment opportunities."

After hearing about this wonderful organization, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get more involved here in Shanghai. After attending a 4 hour training session, I was accepted to be a teacher for a Fourth Grade class in a school called HLH2. After my Chinese class this morning, I headed out to the subway to navigate myself out of the main city of Shanghai towards the outskirts of town. I hopped on the 3/4 line towards Zhongshan Park where I then switched over to the 2nd line for 6 more stops. Finally I arrived at my destination and hailed a taxi to take me the remaining 2 miles to the school. While driving towards the primary school I watched as the city I knew disappeared. There were no more impressive sky scrapers or men in business suits. The streets were run down and the air quality was noticeably worse. My heart ached a bit to think that these children attend school here everyday and it is a privilege that they do. 

My goofballs

As soon as I entered the school grounds a pair of Chinese men in guard outfits approached me with big smiles on their faces. They asked me some question in Chinese but all I could decipher was the word "ma" which is essentially a question mark. So I just smiled back and said "Wo shi yi ge Yingwen lao shi" (I am an English teacher) and they nodded and brought me towards my class. The school was huge. Almost 4 floors filled with countless classrooms and I could hear the children yelling throughout every floor. I was led up to my classroom where the kids giggled and waved at me "HAALLOO!" they screamed in their best English...clearly eager to learn. 

Temple rub during the song

I was certainly nervous that the kids would laugh at me, take advantage of me, or tell that I could barely speak Chinese...but none of that happened. They all seemed just as excited as me and when I took the front of the room the class went silent. Suddenly music came over the loudspeaker counting to 10 in Chinese and the students all closed their eyes and rubbed their temples. *Odd...* I thought, but maybe they would think that our Pledge of the Allegiance at the start of the school day is odd. 

My lesson was about fruits and senses, focusing on seeing and tasting food. The children yelled back at me "LEMON!!" when I held up a big picture of the round yellow fruit. I taught two 40-minute classes and the time flew by in both sessions. I left with a sense of accomplishment and the beginning of a very strong bond. I cannot wait to see where this program will take me. 

Me & my class

Classes Have Begun

Practicing #1-10 & vocab in Chinese

As Bucknell kids are laying on the beach for spring break, my classes have finally begun. My schedule is hectic, and I am positive that all of my classes will be challenging. My Chinese language class meets Monday-Thursday for two hours and each class begins with a "preview quiz," testing you on the material that you will be learning that day. On Monday, we signed something called the Language Commitment Pledge, stating that we can only speak Chinese to all the professors and students in the classroom. The staff takes this pledge very seriously and if they hear you speaking English on 3 different occasions they will deduct 5% from your total language grade and contact your home institution. The language class is extremely face paced and difficult, but I am confident that with this level of rigor my language skills will progress very quickly.

Lunch in the "caf"

I have attended two of my elective classes, both taught in English. My three elective courses meet once a week for three hours and they all have a substantial amount of outside work usually totaling a combined 300+ pages of reading per week. The three hour class period is definitely long and hard to keep focused for, but all of the professors are extremely passionate about their subject so it helps the time pass quickly. Now that I have a more regimented schedule, my days are passing by much faster. After I complete the class, I usually have to spend about 3-4 hours on Chinese language homework and an additional 2-3 hours on reading/writing assignments for my electives. The workload can certainly be daunting, but I think my brain has missed some exercise after a long winter break. I look forward to learning more about China through the lens of professors who were born and raised here.

Yummy dinner

My jetlag is finally getting better. I can usually sleep through the night and get around 7-8 hours of sleep (thanks Melatonin!), which helps me to be more energized and alive during the days. I have found that Chinese students don't really drink coffee, but I purchased some packets of instant coffee to help me through the day. Slowly but surely I am finding my staple meals here in China. I eat a lot of noodle bowls, dumplings, rice, and my personal favorite sushi! Sushi is the most expensive food in our cafeteria...totaling around 4-5 USD. In fact, they consider it to be so expensive that I need to enter in the last 6 digits of my passport as a security precaution when purchasing it. Admittedly, not all my meals have been delicious, and I've certainly had some stomach trouble...but authentic Chinese food has surprised me in a very positive way.

The best noodles I've had in Shanghai

One shock I have not gotten over yet is the bathroom situation in China. Most spots on campus and public facilities do not have toilet paper or traditional "western" toilets. Their toilets are called "squatters" and consist of pretty much a hole in the ground. I have been told that this sort of system exists because China's sewage is not yet advanced enough to handle toilet paper being flushed down, so instead there is a wastebasket in every stall for all trash. I love you China--but I haven't totally grasped this idea. It confuses me how a country with high speed bullet trains and flawless subway systems cannot figure out how to properly engineer a sewage system that can handle toilet paper. I guess that will remain a mystery to me for now...

Now that I am finally caught up with sleep, I am hoping to do some good traveling/sight seeing this weekend--encouraged by the weather forecast of 60 degrees and sunny! Stay tuned...

Jet Lag is Real

“To have another language is to possess a second soul”- Emperor Charlemagne

Course one at a rotating sushi bar

I never thought jet lag would weigh me down. I consider myself to be a semi-insomniac, usually going to bed very late and functioning with minimal sleep. I boasted and bragged to my friends telling them that I wasn't worried about the time difference, and that would be the least of my concerns. I was very, very wrong. Shanghai is 13 hours ahead of New York. This means that my days and nights are completely reversed and my inner clock is feeling it in a hard way. My roommate Ann, who has been here for two weeks already, warned me that her third day was the worst. I am on my fourth right now and I struggled to stay awake the entire day. My eyelids were droopy and heavy while I felt a little light headed and strange all day. The most abnormal part is that when it strikes night time, I can never sleep. I get a random kick of energy, tossing and turning in my bed until I give up all together. I have faith that I will eventually catch up, and be able to function normally as a Chinese student.





China has shocked me in many ways. Far less people speak English than I thought. The only people that really speak are some of the students, but it is their second language that they are studying so none of them are eager or excited to use it. That doesn't bother me too much though, because I aim to improve my Chinese as much as possible and the immersion has already accelerated my skill. The pollution is noticeable when looking at the sky, but I never really feel a difference in the air I am breathing. Sometimes there are bad smells in the busy parts of the city, but they are much like NYC or DC or any other big US city I have visited. When looking out at the buildings and the skyline everything is foggy, and I heard that some days it is hard to see beyond your own hand. The sky is hazy grey most of the day and at night it looks like a mix of pink, orange and brown--never black. It often makes me sad to think of what China has done to the air, and I wonder if it is ever going to be reversible.

Garden on campus

Although I have struggled to adapt to some aspects of China, I am amazed by its beauty and charm. The Chinese culture is unlike anything I have ever imagined and the people are some of the friendliest I have encountered in my life. Everyone is willing to help me, usually with a smile on their face. Granted, many times they are smiling because they are laughing at me and my foreign ways...but I find it endearing. The Chinese seem to have a certain appreciation for art, talent, and beauty that is missing in the US. I often feel positively overwhelmed by the ornate gardens, intricate art work, and stunning architecture. It is safe to say that after four days in this new world I am already falling in love with China and its people.

Cheers!! (Beers are 1 USD)

The First Day

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." --Confucius

I have finally touched down in Shanghai, China. The journey to China was 15 hours, but felt like an eternity. I sat next to two Chinese women who did not speak any English but were excited about my trip. They asked me in very broken English, "first time???" and I responded in my best Chinese "Yes, I am an American student." After I said I was American they smiled their biggest smiles and even laughed a bit (little did I know this was going to be a common reaction to the revelation of my home country--still don't know why). Their eyes lit up with excitement as they told me how great of a city Shanghai is. I could not wait.

Beth finding her long lost luggage

After a four hour delay, Beth (my friend from Bucknell) and I were extremely tired and eager to get to campus. Due to our flight delay and late arrival, the campus staff couldn't pick us up at the airport so we had to hail a taxi ourselves and navigate our way to Eastern China Normal University (ECNU). Before we could grab a cab, we waited for our luggage to sluggishly pass along the belt. I lugged my two giant suitcases off the rotating belt, and Beth looked anxiously at the revolver for her bags. Suddenly, an announcement came over the loudspeaker--only in Chinese. People around us seemed angry and frustrated, but we were pretty clueless. After waiting around a bit, a friendly Chinese man came up to us and told us about the situation. Apparently our plane was too heavy, and the flight crew removed some luggage and sent it to Europe instead of China...both of Beth's bags were now somewhere in Europe. I looked at her with disbelief and felt incredibly mad/upset for her. Beth instantly took action and went to the desk, telling the flight crew our dorms' address so that they could ship her luggage ASAP. I was really impressed with her ability to communicate in Chinese and her calm composure about the situation. "Nothing we can really do about it," she shrugged. At that moment I knew we would get along perfectly.

Statue of Mao Zedong on campus

We finally made it to our dorm around 2am, after getting very lost and hailing 3 different cabs (none of the drivers spoke a lick of English). I was elated to run up to my room and greet my roommate Ann, another friend from Bucknell. We woke Ann up and told her all about our journey as she sleepily laughed along with us. That night I slept two hours and woke for orientation at 8am.

First lunch on campus...noodle bowl with mushrooms
and boc choy (Chinese cabbage)---yum!

From 8-12:30 we listened to lectures about our academics, safety/security, emergency health situations, and more. Most of the information was extremely helpful and interesting but I was so tired I found it difficult to stay awake and engaged. I had lunch with Ann at 12:30 as we chatted about life while sipping on our delicious noodle bowls. At one point during our meal, a Chinese man turned around to stare at me for 10 minutes straight with absolutely no shame---it takes some time to get used to being a minority and outwardly "different." 

Global Harbor Mall, 10 minute walk from campus

Next we went to a 5 story mall, filled with anything you could imagine. We only went to get school supplies and other dorm necessities, but I will definitely be back for future shopping. At the register the woman asked me in Chinese if I wanted a bag and I wrongly responded "I don't have"...learning my way around the language by stumbling---a lot. 

Dinner at the Sichuan restaurant...spicy!

To finish off my first day in Shanghai, my whole program went to a traditional Sichuan restaurant. The food is from the famous Sichuan Province and everything has a spicy kick. My favorite was the sweet desert called steamed buns, shown in the bottom right of the picture. Of course there was some boc choy and dumplings to enjoy also! The day was definitely a success, but I can already feel my jet lag kicking in hard. Time to rest up and continue adventuring through this amazing city.