The sun came out!...then went away

It's still been cloudy/raining non-stop here in Shanghai, kind of dreary. The sun came out for a little while though yesterday...wouldn't you know it, AFTER I got back to my dorm room. But braving the heavy showers (where my waterproof boots and socks got soaked because the rain went in through the top), I went to visit the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. It was a a pretty good excursion, snapped a lot of pics, went through the "world's longest underwater aquarium tunnel" and got to see sharks and turtles and the like up close. I'll be sure to post some pics!

I just finished my first week of Mandarin classes. I've definitely learned a lot, but we still haven't practiced characters (which is hard to learn) so I still can't read Chinese. But I can say basic things now, like "Hello", "How are you?", "How much money?", "I want to drink water.", "Can you speak English?"...basically most of the things that will help me get around, but I have to practice a lot because my pronunciation is still pretty off.

I'm getting a little more used to life here in Shanghai, but there's definitely still some adjustments I have to make. I found out yesterday while it was pouring the hardest since I've gotten here that people in Shanghai don't wear rainjackets!?! Unless they're on their bikes/mopeds, everyone carries an umbrella in the rain. So much so that everyone kept staring strangely at me as I was walking along in my rainjacket!

I guess there's a first time for everything. A couple of days ago I tried frog for the first time! Apparently it's quite popular as a delicacy here in Shanghai...it looks and tastes just like fish, actually quite tasty. And a family friend took me to a foot massage parlour...that was quite an experience hahaha. Can you believe for 90 minutes of foot massage (they also massage other parts of your body, but the main focus is the feet), plus all you can eat/drink from their (Chinese version) "spa menu", is only about $22 CAD? It costs $65 CAD for 45 minutes of shoulder massage everytime I got to my massage therapist!...I guess you could say I'm still surprised to how cheap things are here. I plan to visiting the "cheap street" just to look around when the sun finally comes out (there's a street in Shanghai where all they sell are cheap fakes). And I'm planning on going to a nightclub in Shanghai for the first time tonight with some classmates, so I'll let you all know how that goes if I can still remember after hahaha.

UPDATE:
The first several photos are from when my family friend took me out to see some areas.

Can't waste land space in Shanghai. Even above modern shops are run-down homes.


Look at all those bikes and mopeds lined up. It was like that on many street corners in Shanghai.


My first visit (of several) to Xintiandi. There was a surprising amount of Starbucks in Shanghai (well much more than I expected since the mainland Chinese don't really drink coffee).


Some shots of Xintiandi from my first visit. The second picture showing the arch entrance to the alley was the typical design of alleys in Shanghai back then.


View from my second room (because the first room was too dirty). Again, still cloudy/raining during the day.


Some of my photos from my visit to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. I took shots to practice my photography skills and also of what I found interesting (like that last picture of some strange turtle species)!


The catfish(?) was swimming on it's side! Weird...(sorry I ain't an animal biologist)


I was in the tank with the seals... Haha obviously not, but that would've been cool.


Some horseshoe crabs, famous because they are part of a group animals called 'living fossils".



Giant crabs, sharks, and sea turtles...that crab was BIG (for a crab)...and look at the teeth on that shark!


Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. I got soaked on my way there (notice the gray sky?). Walking around from several hours in wet socks and hiking boots ain't fun haha.


A rare (but very short) break from the cloudy skies. The view from my floor. I thought the sky would make for a nice picture.


The second time I had frog (I forgot to take a pic when I first had it)! Here, it's in a dish called "bo jai fan" (in Cantonese), where rice and usually some meat and veggies are cooked in a thick clay pot, and the rice lining the pot gets nice and crispy, very tasty! This was frog bo jai fan.

I guess I might be updating more often than I thought...

Yup, another update! Turns out it's not too out of the way to get here, it's close to the supermarket I'm currently living out of because the Chinese seem to avoid eating vegetable and fruits (is that why most of them are short?). Plus, it costs only $10 RMB (Chinese currency) for 3 hours of use...that's under $2 CDN!...China again puts us to shame ahahah.

Went to the visit Nanjing Road today, one of Shanghai's most popular shopping districts and a main tourist attraction. Took lots of pics, but I can't post them! And after walking around for 4 hours straight, I decided to treat myself to a treat at the Haagen-Dasz store/restaurant...that's right, a store/restaurant dedicated just to Haagen-Dasz ice cream! Obviously pricey (by China's standards) but well worth it. I forgot to note what the dessert I had was called, but I'll be sure to post a pic of it when I get to HK. Basically was 2 scoops and a bunch of other treats, $12 CDN.

Having taken the subway twice now, it's very easy to say it puts the TTC to shame. Almost all their stations have glass barriers at the platforms, all the trains are clean and well-ventilated (even when everyone is packed in), the ticket system is a efficient and easy to use, the signs are actually clear(!), and trips don't cost more than a dollar and change CDN!

The sun finally came out too, but it's not relatively too hot yet, so it's been my best day here. It's a shame that my room faces where the sun rises in the morning though, I'm pretty much waking up with the sunrise...meaning I've been up at basically 5:30-6AM ever since I got here. But I guess it's better that way, early bird catches the worm?

UPDATE:

A few of my shots from my first time (of several) to Nanjing Road East.


Me (obviously) in Nanjing Road East.


Even in the bustling, modernized shopping street of Nanjing Road East, there are still old Chinese men gathered in alleyways playing cards.


Subway in Shanghai!?! I was definitely surprised to see it. I think I saw two other locations elsewhere in Shanghai later on. I even ate at one in the basement of the Shanghai Financial Centre.


At the west end of Nanjing Road East, approaching People's Square. I thought the lanterns lined up looked pretty cool haha.


Samsung building in front of People's Park, where I would later go to do karaoke!


On my way to Nanjing Road West, past People's Park. The area here is super high-class, as you can tell from the Ferrari and Maserati dealerships.


Some building along the way (I didn't know what it was) but it looked very classy from outside.


My first (of several) visits of the leisure street beside Nanjing Road West.


On the same street, where my Shanghai friend took me to eat "BBQ street meat". Super long line-up at this place since it's very popular (because it was featured on a popular Chinese show).


My stop at Haagen-Dasz back at Nanjing Road East. It was great. Apple slices presented like a fan on fresh whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with caramel drizzle, a scoop of green tea ice cream, caramel jelly cubes (they were AWESOME), raisins, those biscuit sticks (I don't know the name), and not shown (because they were beside the ice cream) were small mango flavoured and "plain" flavoured sweet glutinous rice balls (known as "tong yuen" in Cantonese). Very yummy!


Practicing my motion shots. But it took them this way just to show the sheer volume of people Shanghai's subway station deals with. This is at People's Square station, Shanghai's busiest subway station (because it is so central and a transfer point for 3 main lines). Efficiency is a obviously a must...easily surpasses the TTC in every aspect.


The most convenient subway station closest to my school (about a 15 minute walk), Hongkou Football Stadium (which is itself shown in the picture), where the Shanghai football team plays (which suck, according to my Shanghai friend).

Hello from Shanghai!

Hello from Shanghai! I'm not going to be able to update my blog often while I'm in Shanghai because the library at the school where I'm staying to learn Mandarin has closed for the summer, and the internet cafe I found is quite a walk from the campus. Plus, blogger.com (along with a lot of other US sites) is banned in China, but I found a temporary workaround for this.

Still adjusting to life here. I've gotten used to a clean standard of living, if that can be considered a bad thing hahaha. There is dirt EVERYWHERE, you can't turn around without seeing a lot of dirt. The food here is really oily too, but I guess they all stay so thin here because they're constantly sweating from the humid, 30+ temperatures here (or at least I am). It's be cloudy/raining since I got here on Wednesday night, so I'd love to see the sun, but then it'd be really hot here, so I guess there's no win-win. I saw on one of the few English channels here that it's 21 in Toronto? I'd kill for that right now hahaha, but again, still adapting.

I haven't met anyone yet, because I haven't met anyone that can talk to me in English! (even though I'm staying at an "International" school). I haven't started my Mandarin classes yet (not til Monday), so I guess I'll have to wait until then. Everywhere I go, people try to talk to me in Mandarin because I'm Chinese, and all I can do is stare at them blankly and then smile and nod politely and tell them I don't understand in English...I think it's pretty amusing for both parties haha.

Unfortunately, I can't post any pics, the computers here in the internet cafe don't have a slot for any memory cards, so I'll try to post some when I get to HK. So I guess that's it for now! Cheers!

UPDATE:
Finally here's some pics!

Trying to crack a smile during my transit at Hong Kong Airport to Shanghai after a 15 hour flight.


Testing out my new camera. Hong Kong's airport easily puts Pearson to shame.


I was so tired by the time I got to my room, I decided to take a break mid-unpacking.


More pics of my room. I was trying to capture how dirty it was, but I got bad angles since the place was tiny. It was more a "you had to be there" to really see it.


View from my room after my first night. Like I said, I barely saw the sun for 3 weeks...very dreary.


I took a short stroll through Luxun Park next to my school later that day as I was slowly exploring the nearby areas.


I had to take this photo haha. You know I could buy a chilled 600ml bottle (the same shown above) of Heinie for $1.20 CAD!?! Drinking (outside the bars and clubs) was very cheap in Shanghai haha!