One Month Down!

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This past week was a very exciting one for Nick and me! We have now been in China for over a month, we found what is probably the best food district in the world, we had our first official Chinese pay day (direct deposited into our Chinese bank accounts and everything!), and we were approved for residence permits. Living in China while you are working in China is more or less a three-step process. First, you need your employer to formally invite you to China, then you need to apply for a work visa that will get you into the country but is only good for 30 days, then you must apply with your local police department for residency once you have actually arrived in China. Step three is now complete and we feel so official 😊

To celebrate getting our passports back with our residency permits inside, we ventured back to Shanghai for a day trip on Saturday. Nick wanted to take me back to a temple he had gone to last time he was in China so that was our first stop. We visited the beautiful Jade Buddha Temple, located in urban Shanghai. It is brand new by China standards -- it has been around since 1882 but is made unique by the fact that it is first and foremost an active place of worship. Tourism comes second to this active temple, where you can see monks walking around performing their daily duties. The temple is stunning with it's vibrant red colors and huge Buddha statues.

I have to be honest: one of the main reasons we went to Shanghai this past weekend was to get some good Western food. After about a month, our stomachs were craving some good ol' hamburgers. Lucky for us, our friends in Shanghai have been here several years and knew just where to take us. We ended up in a charming district in Shanghai called Tianzifang. I have a feeling that if you don't know someone who knows this district, you will never end up here. It seems to me to be Shanghai's best kept secret...like we should have whispered a magic word through a keyhole before entering. Tianzifang reminded me a bit of Venice with its high walls and maze-like structure. Dozens of stores are crammed in a few block radius ranging from photography stores to just about any kinda of restaurant you could want. We passed Italian bistros, French cafes, American burger joints, Irish pubs, specialty cocktail bars, and the list truly goes on. Jason and Kathleen took us to NY Steak and Burger which might just be one of my favorite burger places in the world. They serve huge gourmet burgers with delicious fries. I got a traditional cheddar bacon burger and Nick got a blue cheese burger. It is fair to say that our craving for Western food was satisfied for the time being. We enjoyed getting lost in the maze for a while and stopped at a lively pub to have a beer before we ventured back to the train station.

Sunday was dedicated to just hanging around at home. I am giving my first set of quizzes to my students this week so I wrote up quizzes and prepared for the week ahead. Because my classes are 80 minutes, I decided I would spend 40 minutes giving the quiz, then 40 minutes on a "cultural lesson" of March Madness. The boys here are absolutely obsess with basketball so I expect it to be a hit 😊

For those of you who want to study up on your geography and do your homework before you read our blog, we have planned ahead a bit of where we would (hopefully) like to go in the next few months. Up next week is Hangzhou for St. Patty's Day, followed by Nanjing with Jason and Kathleen (which is where Nick studied), a weekend off, then Beijing, then hopefully some place sunny! The weather here has been on par with Seattle, just a little bit colder, rainier, and grayer. A trip to the beach can't come soon enough!

Until next time...

Lauren

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Photos

Tianzifang
All the alleys were decorated with white lights to give it a very cozy feeling. Motorcycles were allowed, but there was no room for cars here.

Changzhou
During the week, we do a lot of exploring of Changzhou. This bridge is located in one of downtowns.

Changzhou
Changzhou has an interesting mix of traditional and modern.

Comments

[Kristen]

March Madness
Oh my gosh - you'll have to tell me how your March Madness convo goes when we talk on Wed. You'll have to do a classroom bracket!

[Court]

I would like to see more pictures, if possible; they all look so professional! I forgot to ask, how old are the kids you are teaching? Is it coed? Loving you and missing you both from Bellingham. xoxo