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!