I am currently sitting at the Hongqiao Airport. FREE WIFI! I left the hostel this morning at 11:30-11:40. Last night I was able to take my suitcase over to Tristan's so I can travel light to Beijing. Yesterday Xuzhi invited me over to her parent's home in Jinshan District which is about an hour away from People's Square. I took line 1 from People's Square to Jinjiang Park, where I met Xuzhi at a McDonalds. From there we took a bus to Jinshan District which was about a 40 minute ride. Xuzhi and I took a nap for almost the whole ride. When we arrived at Jinshan District I noticed that it was a lot more peaceful than the center for the city. She lived in a complex all the way at the top and her ... read more

This morning I woke up at 7:40 am naturally. The plan was to wake up at around 10-11, but that didn't happen. I decided to make use of the extra time to go back to the airport to buy a SIM card and a phone card. The SIM card was 150 RMB and the phone card was 100RMB. As soon as I activated my phone I notified my friend Tristan and Xuzhi that I made it into Shanghai safely. I got pretty hungry around 10am, so I went over to the Burger King in the terminal. I like how they prepare your food as soon as possible; not like that shithole Burger King on Pershing in Stockton where they take a year. Xuzhi told me that she was at the International Traveling Health center to get ... read more

Sorry Tony Bennett, but I did not leave my heart in San Francisco. It would definitely be Shanghai. It's been a little over a week since I've been back in the states and adjusting back to American culture has been a little rough. For the first couple days I was comparing everything to the Chinese RMB and everything seemed over-priced. Eventually I realized that if I kept comparing everything to the RMB that I would eventually starve. Here are some things that I miss right now: 1. 24-hr Delivery McDonalds 2. Cute Chinese girls 3. Clubbing 4. Convenient transportation (subway, taxi, and bus) 5. Cheap and good food 6. My daily dose of Xiaolongbiao 7. Markets and bargaining 8. Colorful advertisement with Doraemons 9. DVD stands on the street 10. Bubble tea that costs 5 RMB ... read more

Our trip started with an early wake up to make our 8:55am flight to Chengdu. We planned to leave Shanghai University to take the metro to Longyang Rd. and from there take a taxi, since it’s the closest metro stop to the airport. Unfortunately, there was a slacker in our group so our departure from Shanghai University was delayed. At a certain point, Silas, Shawn, and I decided to leave and have him meet us at the metro. We decided to grab a little snack for the voyage to the airport. When we got to the metro station I gave him a call to see where he was and he still did not leave the university. We decided to keep going, but had to explain to him different routes that he can take to make it ... read more

So we are supposed to go to Nanjing this weekend, but the trip has been postponed by USAC to next weekend. I was looking forward to doing some traveling this weekend, but now I have to wait another week...POOP! When we found out today, the thought of the stereotypical busy father (in movies) telling his son that something came up and he can no longer go on that fishing trip popped up in my head. Now I feel like the disappointed child sitting outside on the doorstep with a tackle box and a fishing rod...just kidding. Last week we took our final examination (yes...1 semester of chinese in 1 month) for Chinese I. Today we found out our grades for the test. Usually when I'm at Pacific, tests give me the biggest ass raping(s) of my ... read more