Advertisement
USAC Farewell Dinner
Calligraphy teacher and meSorry 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 (less than $1)...not that ridiculous crap at Tapioca Express for $3
11. Massages
12. The feeling of SAFETY
13. Meeting people from different parts of the world...in bulk
14. China Mobile (text messaging)
15. Good service and a feeling of welcome
16. Food that looks like the pictures shown in the menu
17. No tax
18. No tip
19. RT-mart
20. My friends
USAC Farewell Dinner
HoYoung, Michelle, Didier, Minji My list can go on and on forever, but here are some of the top 20 things that I frequently think about. 24-hr McDonalds delivery is the best idea which will never be available in the United States because Americans are too lazy. In addition, I miss the wide variety of pies offered at McDonalds in China like red bean pie, banana pie, and pineapple pie. For an entire semester I saw a handful of cute Chinese girls everyday and it was aesthetically pleasing for me. I might need to get glasses soon. Clubbing at a cheap price with friends was my favorite past time while I was in Shanghai. Now every night I ask myself, "What do you want to do"...A: "Let's hop into a taxi and go to...oh wait...DAMN". Bargaining was a big thing for me in China because you can get cheap things for even cheaper and there is no tax. In addition to no tax, there is no tip. At restaurants you pay for what you order and nothing else. I came back to the states and dealing with tip and tax is such a hassle. Furthermore, the service is a lot better.
...OH THOSE MASSAGES...
The feeling of safety is also a major difference. Although Shanghai is a large city, I've never felt so safe in my entire life. I could walk around the worst area at 3am and feel completely safe. Bad areas in China are a lot different from the bad areas in the states. In China, a "bad area" would be an old, run-down area, with poor people minding their own business. In the states, a "bad area" would be and old, run-down area, with poor people on welfare still bitching about life and killing people in the process.
Meeting people from all over the world was another big part of my experience in Shanghai. Although America is known as the "melting-pot" of the world, I don't really meet people from all over the world. There may be the occasional exchange student in school, but that's it. For example, I met an entire group of Irish students, Finnish students, Japanese students, people from Africa, Kryzykstan, etc.
I really miss RT-mart. It is a store that is close to Shanghai University and the gym that I went to. That store has everything and anything you can possibly think of. The other night I
went out to get batteries and look around for some things but had to go to different stores to look for what I wanted. Being able to walk into one store and find everything that you need was very convenient.
Last but not least, I miss the friends that I made while I was in Shanghai. During our last week, USAC had a farewell dinner where we could say our last goodbyes to classmates and teachers. During my last couple days I said good-bye to some Chinese friends that I made too. I ended up giving away all of my hangers and cleaning supplies to a friend of mine that attends Fudan. I met up with a girl who studied a little bit at my home university as an exchange student several times during my stay in Shanghai. I never met her at Pacific. It was very interesting to be 6,000 miles away from home and sit at a dinner table with a local from Shanghai talking about Pacific among other things. It was hard for me to think of a parting gift to give her, so I ended up giving her my UOP Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy
shirt.
During my first week back, I went to Pacific to see friends and check out the house that I will be living in for pharmacy school. One interesting "cultural" story was that my friends and I were eating at a fast food restaurant and when we left, I casually left my tray on the table (in China you aren't supposed to throw your trash away) without realizing. It was good to see my friends again and it made me realize that although I loved Shanghai and will miss it a lot, here is where my home is and where I will most likely live the rest of my life. Shanghai was an experience that developed my character and taught me many life lessons. I will not forget the experience and will not lose touch with the amazing people that I met.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 11; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0487s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
mary snyder
non-member comment
IS YOUR DAD MICHAEL
HI, is your dad Michael ( Surgeon)?