Happy Hallows from the East Side of Life

Hello Everybody!

Long time no blog, but I'm finally back from the adventure on the Silk Road in western China and super excited to tell you all about it in the next few posts (trust me, it'll take a few with all of the craziness that went on in Xinjiang (aka Uyghur [pronounced Wee-Ghur]Wonderland) and Gansu (home of pulled beef noodles) Provinces.  Before I begin my thoughtful ranting post on my weeklong trip, I'd like to take this brief post to wish you all a wonderful Halloween weekend and start to the holiday season.

Shanghai, as I've mentioned much too frequently, is an epic place for nightlife. Luckily Halloween is no different. Although we arrived home from our respective cultural trips yesterday afternoon, we still managed to pull together costumes for partying that night. From searching around the trusty backgate shops to perusing sketchy street vendors' wears, we managed to scrounge up some light up devil horns. Those, with the addition of red sequin body dots, black dresses, and some liquid courage, resulted in our cute group of "little devils" that took Shanghai's streets by storm...well maybe not the streets, but at least a couple of clubs.

We made our way to Barbarossa, in People's Square, first. Great ambiance and free "bloody shots" all around. The bar had a nice rooftop terrace and enough people in costumes to almost feel like I was in a bar in Georgetown rather than halfway around the world. After Barbarossa, we made our way to the real fun and dance floor at M1NT. M1NT is one of those places that ever expat/Shanghai dweller must visit at least once. With glass tanks filled with sharks lining the walls, two amazing dance floors, and a guest list/table list system that would made any person trying to ascend to M1NT's top floor club location cringe, this club was the place to be for Hallow's Eve Debauchery.


Long story short, the group of us had an awesome night parading around the city in our lightup horns and dancing the night away. Although, my feet are paying dearly for 5+ hours of 4inch+ heels....eeek! what a fright.

Sending lots of "Boos" from Shanghai!

Enjoy your Halloween Weekends,

e

Shenzhen in Review-Fake Market Madness, Strolls Along Rivers, and MUN

Hellllllo again my reader friends,

For those of you who have been keeping up, you know that I'm currently on National Holiday Break, meaning I'm getting the chance to travel a bit. As I mentioned, Alex and I have been in Shenzhen (southern China) for the past 5 days teaching Chinese students about Model UN, International Affairs, and various workshops. We've had a bit of cabin fever cause of being in a hotel most of the time, but last night and today we broke out a bit.

We finally went into downtown/bar area of Shenzhen, which turned out to be gorgeous! With a square/"garden" of outdoor bars and clubs, a group of us "teachers"sauntered our way over to one of quieter locations for a round of drinks. Each of the bars was really nice and sort of bled into each other. With fairylights strung from each overhang, sleek chairs, and a sea of people holding pina coladas, daiquiris, and margaritas, it was hard to tell whether we were in the Caribbean or China. I guess that's what happens when you hit southern China; everything becomes more tropical!





Today was a really nice break from teaching lessons too. We finished up classes with our kids at about 11am and headed back to Luohu, which is a massive MASSIVE shopping center. With less than 3 hours to browse, bargain, walk away multiple times, and finally pay, we knew we'd have to be strategic about our shopping trip. Thank goodness we only brought a portion of our salary, otherwise we probably would have spent it all in one go. If you've never been to a fake market, let's just put it this way, it's like a maze of twisting stalls filled with shoes! purses! jeans! coats! dresses! watches! makeup! jewelry! so on forever and ever until the end of time....plus, you have dozens of Chinese shopkeepers swarming you and dragging your arm toward their store. All in all....it's EPIC!

Anyway, we head to Beijing tonight to meet up with some other friends from our program

Ni Hao AH from Wonderland (aka Shanghai)

好久不见！ （long time no see)

The Bund-River Cruise

So, these massive gaps in blog posts must mean that I'm completely devoted to studying my 50+characters a night, writing essays, and being an overall 认真 （serious) student, right? ...half-truth. Yes, I'm doing my work, yes I'm learning my words, and yes, I'm doing my best to keep up with the language pledge meaning that I'm practicing my Shanghai accent enough that my English is starting to suffer. BUT, I'm also having a spectacular, crazy, spontaneous, and random time in Shanghai.

This weekend was much needed after our whirlwind week of classes. From deciding that the proper way to be flirty in Shanghai is to put and "ah" sound on the end of sentences (thank you, Nate), to almost getting hit by buses, we do our best to make our school week lives a bit more interesting. But with all of the quirky randomness of being in this great place home to the Little Red Book, we also get a good dose of studying. Not only do we have the chance to explore the fantastic culture of China, but we also get to experience the nuances classwork in China, which can be summed up in one Chinese sentence "“放松"的意思是什么？" (What is the meaning of relaxation?). From people who had 10+hours of classes in one day, to others who had 4 hours of Chinese in the morning followed by 2 hours of tutoring and homework, the group of us were completely ready to go out and relax this weekend. And by relax, I mean drink and dance until roughly 4:45am...I know, this lifestyle cannot be sustained.

This weekend we explored some new places to dance and let loose and get a good dose of Shanghai's black lung (I don't think we'll ever get used to have a puff of smoke being blown into our faces). Friday night we started out at Windows Too, I think at this point I can say it's one of our "places." With cheap drinks and good music, this is a pretty good place to start off your night; it just so happens its like attached to a temple... yes, once again, thank you, China. After spending some time there, the seven of us hopped a cab to G+ (the club names never cease to amaze), which was awesome. Let me tell you, when you go clubbing in Shanghai, be prepared for anything and everything. This place had a huge dance floor, dozens of tables, and enough wacky lighting to make you feel like through fell headfirst down the "rabbit hole." That night ended with a great rendition of "Sweet Caroline" and shouts of "XinTianDi" (a popular club/restaurant area) outside of the club.

@ Windows Too

On Saturday, we once again tried to have an "early night." HA! I'm learning there's no such thing as an early night if you decide to go out...might as well just admit to yourself that if you say you'll be home by 2am it means you'll consider being out of wherever you are by 3 or 4am...With our typical stops at the neighborhood "Family Mart" (the equivalent of a 7/11 that sells basics [cheap beer and ice cream being the most important]!) Saturday was spent at a place called Da Da...a random club/lounge is that can be found only by sauntering down the proper alleyway... but once in, you're greeted with flashing lights, cozy couches, and a Foosball table...hmm, I wonder which item seems out of place?

Being in Shanghai is like being in Wonderland, except instead of Mad Hatters/tea parties and the Queen of Hearts/gardens, we have crazy people trying to sell us flowers outside of spastic clubs and Mao with a forbidden city filled with little red books! Study abroad is definitely a mad mad world, and we're all just little pawns waiting to see what crazy experience they throw at us next, which is an awesome existence.





Anyway, enough about nightlife. I'll be posting about the cultural wonderfulness of Shanghai in my next post. So stay tuned for more foodie blogging/some info on our weekend trip to SuZhou.

Off to do homework...and excuse any typos, I'm too lazy to reread this and all my studying of Chinese has probably ruined my English anyhow.

Till next time :)

Hey All!


It's been a bit of a stretch since I last blogged, chalk it up to the fact that the group realized that we had less than 78 hours of freedom with no classes/homework and we ran with the idea. This weekend was awesome and jam-packed. I started the weekend off Friday afternoon with a CIEE sponsored "Amazing Race-Shanghai." Unfortunately we didn't come in first, but we seriously used our Chinese, which we keep telling ourselves deep down past all of the competition is the true exercise. Post Amazing Race we headed back to campus from XinTianDi (the cosmopolitan pit spot of the race). We were in serious need of a nap after all the running we'd done, but after about an hour we were up and ready for the night to start.

出去玩 (Going out) Section
Thus far our trip has been defined by the quirkiness and spontaneity of China (both traits are part of the reason I selected Chinese as my major), Friday night's adventure was no different. From starting at a place called "The Spot," to sitting on a stoop drinking beer, a contingent of us managed to run around to about 6 different places from 10pm to 4:30am that night. With a mix of G'towners and new found friends, we hit up two different dance clubs, two different bars, and a variety of random pit stops (like the 24/7 KFC and McDonalds for those who couldn't resist the call of freedom). So basically...we had an Amazing Race-Shanghai Part II: Nightlife edition. Result? Awesomeness. Although we did have a couple of close calls when playing our own personal game of Frogger as we crossed large streets. End result, Friday was a night of exploration.

Saturday, on the other hand, was supposed to be pretty chill...but I should know from past experience "pretty chill" usually turns into some sort of craziness in Shanghai. After taking a trip to the fake market and bargaining with the locals, Meagan, Alex, and I went to Nanjing Road for dinner. Instead of taking the normal foreigner's path and eating at typically restaurant, the three of us went down a couple of alleys, through hoards of people crowded around buying produce off of carts, fish out of buckets, and live squid, and found ourselves a nice 牛肉拉面餐馆(Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant). Now, these aren't just ordinary noodles, these are noodles that the sketchy little shop owner "throws." Meaning that each bowl of noodles is handmade on the spot as dough is whipped through the air and smashed down to a marble slab to stretch! One of the best bowls of noodles a person can find in China.

As previously stated, when deciding to just have a quieter night of drinking and socializing in Shanghai, one should be aware that you must actively attempt to do that. If you don't focus on not staying out till all hours of the night, then it WILL happen, and you WILL end up looking at your phone at some random point between dancing around a crowded club and speaking Chinese with a random local and realize that your quiet night of 1am turned into a raging 4am! Obviously, I'm not speaking from experience or anything, ha. The usual suspects were present, Meagan, Alex, and I, plus we were accompanied by some of the CIEE boys that are in a homestay. The night started at Windows Too (cheap drinks, lots of foreigners, good music), and ended at Club No. 88 (88 because double eights are lucky in China). This club was recommended by the Sweds, and SmartShanghai referenced it as the Moulin Rouge of Shanghai...I thought they were exaggerating, but I should have known better. From tasseled lamps, plush sofas, and antique bars, to crazy loud music, mobs of people, and random nooks where people could disappear, No. 88 was probably one of the coolest things we'd seen since setting foot in Shanghai. So anyway, the dancing and socializing was pretty epic and I think we should start a club No. 88 in Georgetown/DC...or at least they should give us our Healey Pub....on to food!



食物 （food）Section
In edition to the nightlife explored this weekend, I had some awesome meals with friends. The first visit I made was to my old homestay sister. In true Chinese fashion, I asked them to dinner and they demanded that we do no less than "go to the countryside to eat fresh food to celebrate my arrival to Shanghai." Due to their generosity, I ended up with my 中国家庭(China Family) about 40mins outside of the city at what could only be described as the equivalent of a Chinese vineyard to eat 农家菜(Country-People Food). The entire experience was unbelievable. From walking around rice paddies, to seeing pomegranates growing on trees, this country spot played host to an amazing dining experience. We started off with fresh rice wine, pumpkin juice, and soy milk, and followed it up with a selection of cold appetizers of meats and pickled veggies. Following the starters, homemade noodles arrived with fresh scrambled eggs (yes, that's dinner here, just like in college!), soups, fresh fish, fatty beef, etc so forth, on and on until I could no longer breathe I was so stuffed.

Ah yes, finally, classes....the reason I'm here. Well, they're good. Each morning I wake up crazy early to go to 4hour long Chinese language classes and then Mon/Wed I have a Business in China class. Overall, I'm excited about improving Chinese, not so much about the 60-100 words I have the pleasure of memorizing each night. I guess I need to just be a bit more 厉害 and 认真 (fierce & serious). Anyway, hope all is well with people. I know this was a crazy long post and you'll probably read only a fraction of it, but at least you'll get something out of it!

-e

So where are all the Expats at?

Hey All!

@Zapatas Shanghai :)

Hope everything is good with you back in the states or on your own study abroad adventures! Life has been simply smashing since the last time I blogged. I got the testing out of the way (yes!), and moved on to exploring my home for the next 3 months. So in an effort to further our social educations, we decided to use last night as that first of many explorations of Shanghai's nightlife. What you have to understand about Shanghai is that nightlife not only means clubbing, drinking, and a string of open bars, no cover dance parties, etc, but also includes a huuuge food scene!

If you just want to read about clubbing, scroll down lol.

Seafood Heaven

On the food front, per usual, Shanghai didn't disappoint. Our campus has many different gates or "们" that allow students to enter and exit from a variety of locations. The back gate in particular plays host to a crazy amount of street food vendors and pop up food stands that come out late at night (think pop up Tuscany!). With dozens of little twinkling lights illuminating the outskirts of the campus, students have the opportunity to taste bbq'd meats, veggies, and seafood on a stick, along with ordering fried rice, noodles, or just dozens of bottles of beer. Last night prior to going out, we sat down with some other internationals and had snacks of the "on a stick variety." I personally had octopus, but then also had this amazing scallop with garlic sauce (see picture). Shanghai has some awesome seafood and it's all really fresh/cheap. Each item on a stick ranges from 1.5rmb-7rmb (.10-1.00usd).

pomegranate tree on campus!

After finishing some drinks and our food, we hopped a cab to the French Concession area of town, which is home to cosmo spots like XinTianDi and Huaihai Rd, both of which boast awesome shopping during the day and raging parties at night. Since it was Wednesday, we decided to go to Zapatas, a Mexican bar/club that has a "ladies night" (those are super popular here haha) with free margaritas. The atmosphere was great, with outdoor seating and indoor dancing, the area was packed with foreigners, which was a nice change from campus. Silly side note-I never thought I'd be super shocked by something I saw in China at this point, but after walking into the club to see three Asian girls dancing ontop of the bar in itty-bitty shorts and shirts that said "我爱Tequila" (I love tequila), I think I was proven wrong.

Scallop!!!

We met a lot of cool people who were either in Shanghai studying or for business, like a Brazilian dermatologist. Although the club was great for meeting foreigners, we soon acknowledged it was home to some skeezy people too, like this random guy who kept creeping in on our dance cirles, or the random 45+ year old eastern euros hiding behind clouds of smoke. Besides the tequila girls and couple of creepers, there was one really entertaining couple...nothing beats seeing a middle aged Chinese couple dancing on top of a bar.

After dancing for 2+hours, we ended up making friends with a group of guys from Sweden (the hair was a bit of a give away once we'd eliminated Australia) and cabbed over to Jing An Temple to Windows (drinks were soooo cheap), and stayed there till about 3am. The guys were definitely cool and we'll probably go out with them again since they seem to know good spots. Thank goodness for cheap cabs, drink specials, and random adventures.

Anyway, headed out tomorrow night too...we have to get in as much socializing before classes start as  possible. As always, keep in touch!

-e