Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Culture Shock: Hello Shanghai

Wei Ni Hao Shanghai, wo jiao Jared. WHOA! The amount of people here walking around easily surpasses the amount of people at Disneyland on a holiday. Speaking of Disneyland, Shanghai is very similar in the sense that there are lines everywhere, the rides consist of ferries and metros, and there are insanely large buildings and lights that surround them. The difference, nothing is in English except for the names of the stops off the metro. I generally have a rule that when I travel I wont eat at a restaurant that has pictures of its food; here, I will only eat with a restaurant with pictures otherwise ill end up eating horse heart or monkey liver. It’s really overwhelming to be here. I spent the entire walk tonight looking up at the millions of lights blinking, sliding, disappearing, and reappearing. The shear amount of people is stunning. We took the ferry across the bund tonight (only 2RNB!). We are herded like cattle and when the boat arrives the gate rises and people literally sprint to find a seat for the 10 minute ride. Same story for the subway. If you don’t get on it’s your fault. You have to be aggressive and you cannot be afraid to throw some elbows.
The sun doesn’t exist here but it’s hot as hell. If you look up through the thick smog you might get a glimpse of the sun but doubtfully. The air here is nothing short of disgusting. The overcast humidity traps in the heat and it doesn’t escape until shortly after midnight. Oh, did I mention that it pours at night intermittently with a few bolts of lightening here and there? I still can’t decide if the weather here is better or worse than Seattle. August 31st: woke up, first time I’ve seen a blue sky since I’ve been here, my guess is it wont last past noon.


Chinese Word of the Day
“Jiaozi”
Translation: Dumpling

1 comment: