Longest day ever
Trip Start
May 28, 2008
1
9
16
Trip End
Aug 02, 2008
Shanghai,
Shanghai,
China
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Today was rather eventful, but I'd best start earlier in the week. Classes have been going as usual, though since I tend to stay up very late into the night, it's hard on me getting up so early for class. But the way I see it, I'm in China, and I will never live this experience again, so I want to take advantage of every minute. Tuesday night, after studying (thoroughly) a big group of my classmates and I ventured onto the street near the back gate of campus to find street food and anything else. Afterwards, a few of us decided to checkout a nearby bar, where we played some darts and had a beer. Wednesday (yesterday) was spent in class and studying, and Wednesday night was spent preparing for our oral exam which is on Thursday. We usual have to do it alone, but a classmate and I decided to work together since the topic was comparing American and Chinese lifestyles
lunch at cafeteria
. We acted it out as best we could, and I think it went fairly well. On Wednesday we also had our first calligraphy (shu1fa3) class, which was really fun yet really difficult. It costs 150 kuai for four classes, which isn't much (maybe about $21) in american dollars (mei3yuan2) but kind of seems like a lot to me now that i'm used to the pricing system. In the calligraphy photo I'm attaching you can see my chinese name (gu3 luo2lan2) among other characters. we just learned the most basic strokes, since every character is made only of about 5 different kinds of strokes. After our oral exam today, we went to a lecture from the assistant program director who talked about his undergrad thesis, called "decoding skin color in urban china." In case you didn't know, in China fair skin (bai2se de) is favored over tan skin (hei1se de), so most Chinese people carry umbrellas in the sun so they don't get darker. I find it rather bizarre myself. Anyway, after that we had a good lunch at a restaurant next to our class building. Soon after I had my 1-on-1 discussion with a teacher, and immediately after I had Chinese painting class for the first time, which I was very excited for. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I expected. The teacher is a really good painter and a teacher at the University of Shanghai, but he only spoke Chinese and we're not really familiar with art terminology. We all chose a different picture of a lotus to paint. He favored one person in class and didn't speak to anyone else, which was rather discouraging, so I'm not really happy about returning to the class next week, but I think my painting is fine (also included). After grabbing some bubble tea to soothe my sore throat, I'm finally back at the dorm putting off starting the essay questions for homework and studying for tomorrow's test. Speaking of, I'd better get to work. Enjoy the pics! Oh, and also, we will be traveling to Hangzhou for the weekend by bus, I believe. I don't know much about Hangzhou or what we will do there, but I know it is renowned for a beautiful lake and it has many good shops for bargaining.
Wanan,
Luolan
Comments
pretty pictures
I think your lotus painting is very pretty and a great first effort. keep up the good work! Your room - desk area looks nicer that the UVA dorms, and the views are lovely. Have a great weekend and take lots of pictures.
Longest day
Hi Lauren,
Love getting all these photos - it's so exciting to see Shanghai through your eyes! These illuminated pagodas are fantastic. What happens inside them? Your dorm looks really pretty, I can see it;s all new, and you even have tennis courts! Maybe I should send Randy over there ! :) I'm so impressed with the calligraphy and the lotus painting - what fun! And well.....as for the street food, you know Anthony Bourdaiin loves street vendors, but you must be careful as sanitary conditions and restrictions are obviously not what they are here. Also, anything from the fruit & vegetable stands should be washed thoroughly - always be on the safe side. The Bund looks amazing too. What was the club like? By the way, who cares if folks stare at you - they've just never seen someone so beautiful, a girl with golden hair and matching gold eyes ! I'm skipping around subjects, digressing, if you will, hope you don't mind. I was interested to hear about the lecture on skin color. Not surprised to hear that there's a level of bias within the same race & culture. It's the same all over the world, I guess.
Find a way to get some SLEEP.....not just rest, but SLEEP ! You repair and replenish yourself for the next day, which in your case, is full of intellectual, cultural and every other kind of mental stimulation! What a wonderful experience you're having !!1
Gotta go. My friend, Barbara, who is a Television Director, currenly a segment director on the Dr. Phil Show, is here in NYC from Los Angeles. I've got to met her by my house - we're going for a manicure pedicure, then out for a bite to eat.
Keep it coming, I'm living vicariously!
Love,
Aunt Lisa