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Published: December 22nd 2012
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The Year of the Dragon
We are currently in the Year of the Dragon. February 10, 2013 marks the Chinese New Year of the Snake. As noted previously, we all seem to have made it safely to the other side of the 21st of December. Congratulations to all but the Mayans... it does suck to be wrong, so I offer instead my condolences to them. C'est la vie.
We at Disney English on-boarding had yet another weekend off. So, the 5+ ventured out yet again on a spine tingling adventure through the streets of Shanghai.
This particular adventure started on the other side of the Huangpu River at the base of the Pearl Tower. We had full intention of going out and getting mindlessly lost again, but instead opted for the good ol' fashioned tour bus. Yeeeehoooo!! For a measley 30RMB (yeah... $5) we got a 24hr hop-on-hop-off pass. Eat that, DC with your $26 a person!!! Naturally, I'm uploading the best of the dozens of pictures that I took from that fantastic vantage point!
Today was fortunately a little clearer than our last adventure. So, we were able to see significantly more. The exchange, however, was for ridiculously cold temperatures. On an open-air tour bus, this is not such a fun detail. We spent most of the day shivering and cursing the
Had to...
We're the only nerds carrying cameras around. How could we NOT take this shot? cold, but for some God foresaken reason we stuck with it for 5 and a half hours 😊
About half-way through our day, Dave decided that it was time to go for some authentic street food. This sounded like a terrific idea... until I followed through with it. Let's just say that the 5+ has dropped to 4+ this afternoon because I am spending the rest of the day holed up in my hotel room writing to all of you... Street noodles + spicy street lamb-on-stick + the smell of tofu frying in fish oil (a scent that I believe to be the real culprit) = Jessi goes home.
Before I headed home, though, we walked through several interesting neighborhoods. Off of the culprit street market, we wound up in a neighborhood of absolute poverty. The others were so thrilled to be seeing a piece of authentic China and venturing so far as to snap a few pictures... Personally I had to take pause for a second and evaluate the fact that people live in these shacks and shanties. This isn't picturesque China out of the movies... this is real life for these folks. This is the world
Pearl Tower
Who do you think this section of the city is geared toward? Any guesses? I'll give you a hint... there's a 7-Eleven in this market strip. that they know: These streets lined with garbage and dripping laundry, patched together with sheet-metal roofing and particle board walls. Little kids peered out from behind bicycles and men, with handmade cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, looked us up and down suspiciously as we walked by in our Nikes and Columbia jackets (likely the products of their handy work...). It was really a stark reality check for me. As some of the pictures reflect, it is hard to forget how many millions of people live in Shanghai. But this was a reminder of how many millions of them live a very different life than I.
At any rate, it was a very fulfilling day. I feel as though I have finally had the opportunity to take Shanghai in - and I like this city. It's a bit on the large side, and a bit on the fast side, but it's surprisingly clean and super easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. Despite the staring, the people are friendly enough and willing to accommodate our ignorance - something I can't really say of many large American cities when it comes to visitors who don't speak English.
5+
Dave, Jessi, Chris-Colin, Michelle and Maeghan tour busin' it up! Let's do this! But, I'm ready to move on. I've heard so many wonderful things about Hangzhou - my next destination - that I literally can't wait to get there.
Coming up, we have one more solid week of training (yep... even on Christmas Eve and Christmas, beyond our 4 hours off on the morning of the 25th). Then, come next weekend, we are either reporting for duty or subbing in various Shanghai centers until our resident visas clear. But, for now, I'm snuggled up with a book and some mild, bland soup for the night. Life is good.
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