http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Samantha-Grace/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Samantha Grace en-us Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:50:04 +0000 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:50:04 +0000 Today was not my busiest day at SBR but it was certaintly the nicest.Morning and Afternoon Activities Wrote one news clip for the section. Added a few more events to the Business Diary page Edited a contract for the SBR Executive dental benefits Edited the weekly SBR enewsletterLunch Italian restaurant Dolce Vita with Geoff editornchief Olivia Thomas and Lucky all three are intern http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-417068.html On Monday July 6 I received an invitation from a Spanish friend Daniel to come to a party at my old flat. Needless to say I was excited to say how the Spaniards were treating my old flat jk but also meeting several new expats. In Daniel's email he mentioned he lived on Xinzha Lu but in fact the flat is located on Wuding Lu Changhua Lu. I wrote him back correcting the address in hopes http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-416715.html Naturally any bar that sells wine chocolates qiao ke li and other tasty treats are enticing for people such as myself but this one has caught my attention more than once. And both times I didn't have to pay a dime or yuan. The firs time was actually a farewell night for a friend of mine Monica who was moving to Beijing in a week. She was offered a better position in another company than in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-415721.html The fourth of July was a bit unconventional Woke up at around noon first time I have done that all summer so judging is prohibited. Took a nice long hot shower. Ate veggies and noodles with chopsticks for lunch. Went to the Fabric Market with my Chilian friend Olivia at 3p.m. where we proceeded to walk through three floors of fabric. Went to the Fake Market on Nanjing Xi Lu. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-415695.html The Fabric Market on Luijiabang Lu and Zhongshan Lu is amazing three floors of wool linen cotton and most importantly SILK. The Fabric Market is the best place to go to have suits silk dresses and everything else imaginable made especially for your body at a low price. Why is it so low Well that is the beauty of bargaining. Saturday afternoon I went to the market with my friend Olivia and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-415588.html It has been a crazy eventful week I'd say. SundayI met Olivia Chilian intern from SBR at People's square to watch Chinese parents exchange their sons and daughters CVs. After an hour or so of scopping out the competition the two of us went the the China Europe International Business School or more commonly known as CEIBS for an allafternnon event. The event was called Innovate China and i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-412157.html It seems a little silly to blog about license plates however for something so small it has caught my attention in every countrystate I've traveled to. The shape of a license plate remains relatively same from continent to continent normally a rectangle. Sometimes the rectangle varies a bit maybe an elongated rectangle. Aside from the shape everything else is different e.g. colors design http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-411307.html Next Step Connections had Andrew and I move to another apartment yesterday one that is much closer to other interns nicer in general and in a better location. I took the day off to move my stuff and Andrew's as well he unfortunately couldn't take the day off. Since his bags were extremely heavy and the day was quite the hassle P I told him to buy me dinner last night Lol. Without hes http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-409750.html Hangzhou a subprovincial city southwest of Shanghai is most famous for its historic and scenic places like the West Lake and Ling Yin Temple. It's a beautiful city more trees less pollution than Shanghai...and of course lakes. Friday night I had the opportunity to go out to a pub and hang with fellow interns however being that I'd have to be awake and coherent at 6a.m. Saturday morning http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hangzhou-/blog-409049.html RainEnvironmentally speaking Shanghai is very similar to Angers. France well all of Bretagne really upperwest region in France. In both cities it is necessary IL FAUT for one to carry an umbrella. Sure depending on the umbrella it can be an annoyance one more thing to put in a purse or backpack. Nonetheless if you'd like to avoid the acid rain thanks to pollution it is absolutel http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-408708.html Obviously waiting in a line can be different all parts of the globe. Not merely the action of waiting in line but the process of getting to the line the phrases people use to describe the action and so on and so forth. For example the British phrase queueingup means liningup or getting in line in America I'm sure most of you have heard that one. It's not weird really just different http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-407145.html I suppose before I begin writing about the extravagance of Teppanaki Night I should expain what it is exactly. Teppanaki is not Chinese it's Japanese. It's a restaurant in which people spend 150RMB for an allyoucaneat buffet. It's absolutely devine and I loved everything I ate.AttendeesRiina FinlandMyself Mich USACaitlin EnglandAnna Barcelona SpainPeter CaliNYC USABosco PeruW http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-406749.html Money is always a funny thing. It varies from place to place coins billsnotes currency exchange rate etc it's all very technical. Certain places can be easier than others England for instance just remember to double everything. Other European countries can be a bit more difficult because the rate fluctuates all the time. So unless your Phone has an application that posts the latest http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-406408.html Today is Paris Franz's intern sweet name right last day at SBR. Aside from her allergies going berserk it's going pretty well. For lunch we went to this Italian resto called Vita Dolce. It's a lovely restaurant wooden staircase up to the second floor where the dining actually takes place. From 111p.m. the resto has a business lunch that includes an appetizer main course dessert and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-405453.html So most of you already know there are roughly 1.3 billion people living in China and of those 1.3 billion millions live in Hong Kong Shanghai and Beijing. Now picture thousands and thousands of people on bikes motorcycles and scooters all going to work in the morning. Scary Naaah. The first time I tried crossing the street here in Shanghai I was petrified 100 percent. Some bikers obey str http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-405214.html Just in case any of you were curious what my life is like at SBR I figured I'd post a short message.It's about a 3040 minute commute to get to the SBR Office.Usually I try to get to work about 15 minutes early so I can quickly check my email and such before cracking down. PS if you ever want to chat with me the evening is best your time.After the quick emailchecking it all begins. My e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-405186.html So part of my personality involves complete randomness from time to time...it's entertaining and you know it. With that in mind I've decided to jot down a few little details facts etc that I've found interesting.First and foremost I watched a news segment on tv last week the only English channel in my flat and an Indian professor had a fascinating analogy If a door is shut lo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-404834.html WEEKEND IN BEIJING Travelingduo RiinaRiika and meDay 1 Both Riina and I woke up relatively early on Thursday morning the start of our travel to Beijing. We left our apartment at about 930 which couldn't have been a more perfect time since there was an insane traffic jam. A 2030 minute drive to the Pudong International Airport actually took us an hour. We had to take a bus from Shanghai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Tian--anmen/blog-403792.html What are your thoughts on dogs Do you like big medium or small dogsPersonally I am a big dog kinda girl. I like pretty much every big dog there is out there even the ones that slobber on people. What can I say So imagine the look on my face when I heard that in China people eat big dogs and keep the little ones for pets. Whhhhhaaaat Uummm...I think they've got that one in reverse. I'm p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-403779.html I remembered my journal today Wahoo Although for my fans hehe it means there's some catching up to do. I'll try not to write a book but I can't promise anything too many bizarre things happened.May 16th Day of DepartureI woke up at 320a.m. got dressed left my room at approximately 345a.m. and took the hotel shuttle to the airport. I was the only passenger in the shuttle wonder w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-402147.html