Shanghai and Beyond

I have been crazy busy the past few weeks in China.  Fighting air pollution and making travel plans all at the same time. The pollution here has been unreal. Digits near 800. The air is soo hazy and smells really bad. Many of my friends have taken ill because of pollution. Old asthma comes flaring up and I even have friends that have stuff growing on their lungs! Its really scary actually. 

But aside from the talk of pollution I have been having adventures in China! (hence the title of the blog!) I most recently went to Shanghai for two days. I took the bullet train to Shanghai and got to see the country side of China. ( Countryside full of shabby houses and polluted air...nothing shocking). When I got to Shanghai I met up with some of my dad's coworkers. They had plans for me in Shanghai.

 I spent the afternoon at the Golden Temple. (Jing'an Temple) It was quite beautiful. Everything there was made out of Teak wood from Cameron. There were prayer rooms full of Giant Buddha statues. I learned that the entrance ways are often raised to keep snakes out. And that in India there was one Buddha but when the religion moved to China Buddha on took on the forms of the Gods to appease the people. The temple had a 15 ton silver Buddha.(or I was told it was 15 ton of silver..)

Silver Buddha





Main courtyard area. The thing with the smoke coming out is where they were burning the incense. On the side are Buddhist monks performing a ceremony.

Front building of the Temple. I love the fact that you can see city sky scrappers in the background!









After the temple I meet up with my uncle. He was in town on a business trip. For dinner we went to the Bund. A beautiful area where you can see the city skyscrapers light up the night. Too bad the pollution followed me from Beijing. But the sight was remarkable!

  

Despite the pollution that night, the sight was still amazing. In the left hand corner is the pearl tower! I want to go back on a night where the pollution isn't covering the buildings.

The next day I got the tour of Shanghai! I went first to the classical streets of YuYuan. They were buildings created to look old. It had all kinds of shops and at the back of the street was a historic sight YuGarden. The area was quite a maze. There was the bridge with nine bends in it as well as a tea house that apparently Bill Clinton had tea in with Chelsea and Hillary.  After exploring the area we ducked into the pearl market to see the pearls for a few minutes and then I was whisked off to lunch at this delicious dumpling place. I can't remember the name of the dumpling place but it was very delicious!

 After dumplings I went and explore YuGarden. It was beautiful. It was the homes of the emperors. It had all these different sitting rooms and wonderful gardens throughout. Truly though one could get lost going through it. (I did!)  The architecture throughout the land was amazing. The grounds were amazing. It was a palace in of itself. When one thinks of castles and palaces they don't think of this. But this beautiful Chinese garden with various rooms and buildings throughout is a palace.

After exploring YuGarden, my tour was not finished. They wanted to take me to the Jewish Refugee Museum. But we ran out of time. By the time we got there the place was closing soon and I was going to be meeting my uncle. But apparently China was one of the very few places that allowed the Jewish people to enter during WW11. So the Jewish people are very appreciative towards the Chinese. (or so I was told!) 

After a wonderful day of sightseeing I went back to my uncle's hotel and waited for him to arrive. When he came we went shopping in the markets. He needed to buy things for my cousins and my aunt. And then we had a wonderful Italian dinner! 

Overall Shanghai is a very nice city. Its much different than Beijing. Beijing is older, has a lot more history and more culture. Shanghai is modern and much more western friendly. I encountered more westerns in my two days in Shanghai then I would encounter here in two days. Beijing is my home though and I am content to stay here for the time being!

Shopping or Culture?

Recently I have decided that I should be more cultural during the cold months instead of well shopping. I love shopping as everyone knows. Its addicting really. I find myself in stores... I try to buy things on sale or well bargaining for a better price. And its very hard in the winter. Because it Beijing you have very few options...one be cultural and walk outside to get to Museums and cultural food, two walk to the bar, three go shopping in mall that are conveniently off the subway line (no going outside :) ) or four stay home and watch movies.  I have been doing the last two more frequently. So the other day I decided I am in China I should probably be more cultural and experience China. As my one friend put it...hmm should you go shopping or see culture that's a hard choice... 

So I did go shopping and then made plans for the next weekend to see cultural stuff! I then saw one of the very few  Catholic Churches in Beijing. It was really nice but it was very dark and gloomy. Just like you would expect an old church to be. It was nice to see. Naturally the church was called the Wangfuijing Catholic Church of China... How many wangfuijing Catholic churches are out there in the world? Not many I am guessing...

 Then I really decided I should be cultural! I decided to go to the Science and Technology museum which was really different. They had all kinds of exhibits that didn't make sense and interesting things. Like a giant watch and a fun house maze that was an optical illusion. They had a random dinosaur there and they also had baby chicks in a tiny glass home. They had riding a train simulator, as well as riding a car simulator. It was quite interesting. Something different. Anywho I decided to go on a museum crawl now. Every week or so while it is cold I am going to go to the various museums in China. They have all kinds of museums. The currency museum, the police museum, the stamp museum, natural history museum. They have a museum for everything!

And lastly I decided to try to eat Chinese food a little bit more. So I had traditional hot pot. My friend Emma was our tour guide and ordered food for us. It was sooo good! And tonight I ate dumplings for dinner. So I decided to be a bit more adventurous. Except tomorrow I am going out for pizza and beer.

Happy 2013~

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Welcoming in 2013, I think about the past year just as everyone else does. Living in China sure has been interesting. But now I start to wonder what is going to happen in 2013. For instance, how will I ever figure out the complicated tax form I have to fill out since I live abroad. What else shall I buy at the silk market. As much as I love hearing about how people's years in review are (sacrasm) I won't bore this blog with details of how my life has had ups and downs...

Lets get down to the real juicy details about living in China. After all this blog is called adventures in China. So the exciting thing about living in China is that if you are pretty girl and nothing is apparently wrong with you then you get attention. Probably too much attention. In the past month I have been on two dates and been asked by a guy to basically hook up with him. Needless to say I am still single. The first date the guy was insecure and clearly was running from his past... not something I am looking for. And the second guy I was just not attracted to him. The last guy is a creep as my friends all say. The dating scene in China is lackluster. Many of the guys in China are looking for Chinese girls or they don't want anything serious, they just want a fling. (see guy above who wanted to hook up). So if anyone out there thinks that moving to China to find your soul mate is the answer I would think again. 

Beijing is cold in the winter. Something they don't really advertise when selling  Beijing to you. I thought it was cold in Pittsburgh, boy was I wrong. I got excited this morning when it was 20 degrees outside. The low is 0, seriously. I never leave the house without two pairs of pants on and two shirts. To do so would be torture.  I have two scarves and a face mask as well, just in case its super cold. I save those for the days when it is really cold. 

More juicy details about living in China. Its very easy to get addicted to shopping here. I find myself shopping every other week here. But seriously today I got two purses, a pair of glasses, a headband, a coral necklace, pearls and free beer glasses for 136 usd. Seriously that is so cheap. No wonder I can get addicting to shopping. 

As always China is an adventure. Every day I think to myself what will today bring. Will it be exciting new purchases at the silk market, or exploring the culture of China or simply wondering what the drama of the day will be at work. Ultimately life is an adventure and living in China makes it even more exciting!

Blue Christmas

Ill have a Blue Christmas without you.... That is the holiday theme song for this year I have decided. Christmas is not the same without my family around. Nothing is the same about Christmas this year. The children in China don't even care that Santa Claus is coming. To them its like oh ya Christmas.  China for Christmas blows. Lets just be honest here. The lights and decorations they have here are interesting to say the least. Like what is this... I don't even know.

I saw a Chinese Santa Claus today on the way to work. He literally was super skinny and you could tell the beard was fake. Disappointing. Santa is coming to work tomorrow so hopefully this will be a good Santa. (I know it will be).

That holiday spirit is just not there. Usually this time of year people are saying Merry Christmas and have good cheer. Everyone is usually in a chipper mood. I really haven't seen that here. I have had one parent tell me Merry Christmas. And as for holiday cheer..my learning partners fighting in Chinese three days before Christmas really lightens the mood. To top it off I don't hear nearly enough Christmas music. At home you overwhelmed with it. Here not so much.

I realize I have a lot to be thankful for. And I am. I am thankful for this job at Disney. I am thankful that I have loving friends and family. I am thankful that I am healthy and alive. I am thankful I am able to have this experience in China. So yes does being in China for Christmas suck. Yes it does. But in the long run it will be an experience I won't forget. And it makes me grateful for all my silly family Christmas antics. I miss walking down the stairs in my pjs oldest to youngest at 645 in the morning with traditional Christmas music in the background.

When in doubt....

I find myself embracing the culture more and more the longer that I live here. Embracing the culture might be a bit of strong word..... I am doing things that I would never do at home simply because I am in China.  The things I do are not weird to Chinese people in fact its quite normal. I am starting to blend in. (minus my white skin...)

When I go outside now I wear a face mask because its cold. I should wear a face mask for protection because the air pollution is so bad but I wear one to keep warm. They sell masks everywhere its a fashion statement. They have masks with all kinds of designs. But the main purpose of these mask is to keep you warm. I need a mask that does both protects from the pollution and keeps the warmth. (Especially since my chest is hurting tonight...)
 

I am also now a proud owner of Reindeer hat with a big fuzzy ball on top.  Now I don't know if Reindeer print is in style in the States but it is in style in Beijing. People wear Reindeer hats, scarfs, sweaters, leggings and gloves. I personally now want to buy said Reindeer outfits because frankly I think they are adorable! (And who cares I am in China I can wear what I want everyone stares at me anyway!)

I like drinking hot water now. I would never just drink plain hot water. To me that is disgusting. In fact when I first got here I was like why would anyone drink hot water. I Find myself being ok with the fact they give me hot water and actually enjoying it. There are several reasons for this. One being it is super cold here. Two I know the water has been boiled so therefore it is most certainly safe to drink. Three it warms me up and Four we all know its the cure for everything! (last part is said with sarcasm)

And lastly today I went to McDonalds. McDonalds here is not quite the same as back home. They have two beef selections Double  Cheeseburger and the Big Mac that's its. But it tastes exactly the same. The rest is chicken all kinds of interesting chicken. They also have pineapple pie and taro root pie. And the shell is flaky. They don't have salad there but they have corn and chicken legs. So when I went to McDonalds today I decided to get chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce (just like home) and corn. The corn was actually really good! I was shocked! 

So yes I am embracing China slowly. I will never fully embrace it. I won't ever spit in the streets, push people onto the subway, or fully understand the language. But its ok I like the weird things I have picked up in China. I like reindeer hats, masks, corn and hot water....

Cold Days

When they said Beijing was cold I thought they were exaggerating. I thought oh I am from Pittsburgh its cold in Pittsburgh. Nothing really prepared me for what I experienced today......

They decided today would be a good day to close my subway line down to get it ready for the extending of the subway line. I knew that getting to work and from work was going to be tricky. Getting to work was a piece of cake, hopped into a cab and got there. Coming home from work was a different story. I got off of work at 530. Before I left  I could see out the window that the traffic was really backed up and there was a ton of people outside. But I bravely thought oh I can get a taxi no problem! I bundled up my four layers of tops and just jeans (mistake always wear two pants) and my down coat. I thought ok I am warm and ready to go.

Getting outside I realized that it wasn't just 20 degrees, the wind was howling like nuts. Making it feel like 0 degrees outside. So cold..... I walk around trying to get a taxi. The traffic was backed up and the taxi's were not stopping for me. Other people got in taxi's but when I tried to call a taxi they zoomed right passed me. After 45 minutes I walk back to work in disgust and in tears. I was so cold I couldn't feel my fingers or my legs anymore. Luckily my friend called me and she had a friend that helped me get on a bus to get home. I didn't get home until around 800.

So moral of this story...Beijing is cold. Really cold. It is nothing like Pittsburgh, the wind is horrible. SO I will no longer make fun of those people from the warmer climates when they say Beijing is so cold. It is cold.  And I am going to move somewhere warm when this is all said and done. As much as I love my new winter coat, I really really really hate being cold..... 

No Place like Beijing....

Christmas in Beijing is interesting. I find myself listening to Christmas music more willingly on my Iphone then I would ever do back home. My favorite is the song that goes There is no place like home for the holidays....well I can't go home for the holidays. I have to work Christmas Eve! Lucky for me my day off falls on actual Christmas. A lot of people are not so lucky. But working in China means you don't get Western holidays. So not that big of a deal. (I mean I wont complain because I actually don't work on Christmas haha)

There are decorations everywhere in this city. Nothing like back home but there are decorations. I find myself seeking out decorations to see a bit of normalcy. I am taking pictures of Christmas displays and Christmas lights because I am so excited to see them! My friends and I went around yesterday exploring the city looking for a Christmas display! (We found it!)  They have trees in the malls, lights up in some places and Christmas decor in the stores. Some of the Christmas displays don't read Christmas like the heart tree in front of the mall near my apartment but I will take it. It makes it feel a little bit more like home.

At work we decorated our classroom for Christmas. I had the children draw Christmas trees. They decorated the trees so beautifully. All the trees looked like something out of a catalog. (Which is probably all they see). Back in the states a four year old draw a tree it will have some round circles on it and maybe a star. The trees they draw are the kind you see in the department stores. I asked my assistant if the Santa comes to their house and leaves presents for the children and she said I don't know what you mean by that. So obviously they don't celebrate it the same as we do. But they do have a name for santa Claus. Shan dan lao gogo. So they know who is it but don't celebrate Christmas. Very interesting concept. A lot of the girls at work don't understand the Christmas story. So my suggestion....Watch Santa Claus is Coming to Town!  (That has all the answers!)