I have been in China for about a month now and things are definitely different. This will be a long post so bear with me as I update you on the last month of my life.
Leaving on a Jet Plane
I was super excited to be flying nonstop from O’Hare but was not excited about the 18 hour flight ahead of me. Everything went very smoothly at O’Hare. The only problem is that it started to downpour 30 minutes before my flight with lighting and all. This was the first time in a couple weeks that it rained in Chicago. I was able to move my seat from the middle of a five to the end seat in the first row of economy class. It was brilliant. We had an extra foot of leg room and still had our own personal TV’s and tray table. Once everyone boarded the plane we had to wait for them to clear the runway because of lighting so we sat for about 30 mins. I waited till we were up in the air made sure I drank so water and went to the bathroom and took my tyonel pm. It worked like a charm for a few hours. Every time I woke up the flight attendants where feeding up again. I had a turkey dinner, Chinese noodles in a cup, and rice and veggies during my flight. I did need to take another dose of TPM because I could not go back to sleep. For the most part I watched Disney’s Cars a couple times, played Tetris, ate and slept. When I arrive in Shanghai Disney people where waiting for me with a sign and everything.
Welcome to China and the first couple days
A group of four of us were driven to the hotel located in “the bund” where we would call home for the next 3 weeks. The hotel had more than one name, sometimes it was the elegance Hotel and other times it was the Elegrace hotel. This is just the first string of strange things that happen in China in which I like to call “welcome to china moments.” Sometimes things in China don’t make sense and you just say to yourself. “Welcome to China”
The first couple days were a blur of going to sign contracts, getting our first metro card, cell phone, figuring out how to order something editable and exploring our new city. There were 9 of us that arrived in China at the same time so we did everything together for the first couple weeks. On our first night out we went to Party World and sang karaoke. It was amazing. You have your own room and you sit, drink and sing with all your friends. It was a blast. Then we went to another bar on the bund which happened to be hosting the kick off celebration for Shanghai Pride month. It was fabulous. The only sad part of the night was I lost my cell phone which I hated anyway in a cab. I was so mad at myself for losing it because I had never lost a cell phone ever.
Because I lost my cell phone I had to find the cell phone place and buy a new one. My new friend Julia and I set out and did just that. We successfully got off at the correct metro, found the correct exit and located the cell phone place. We were extremely proud of ourselves for not getting lost. We learned that if you are ever lost in China, find a Starbucks because at least 1 person will speak English and can get you to where you are going. I think that day we ended up visiting 4 different Starbucks but we were able to visit many different stores including the supermarket.
The next two weeks consisted of training. I love my on boarding group and miss seeing them. We learned about Disney, Disney English and everything we need to know for now to get started teaching.
MSG
As many of you know I am allergic to MSG, which is all fine and dandy in America because I know what I can eat and what I cannot. In China it is a different story. For the first couple days I was not careful with what I ate and I paid for it. I got an MSG headache which lasted for two full days and I was done with eating MSG. Another fun thing was that my ankle were so swollen for about a week and a half after arriving. MSG also contributed to that. If I want to eat Chinese food I have to show them my book that says I am allergic. Everyone I am eating with gets their food and I wait for mine to come out. I have been forgotten about three times. It takes them about 20 minutes to cook the food fresh. I eat a lot of western food and sushi here. My roommate Lindsey makes fun of me because I don’t eat Chinese food. I do plan on going to the hospital to get acupuncture which is supposed to help block MSG from getting absorbed in to your system.
Crazy Moments
Sometimes you have some crazy moments in China that you just can’t take it anymore. My first one was in the metro. In China people do not wait in lines. They push you and don’t say excuse me. I was exiting the metro and heading to the stairs when four different people bumped into me with in a 30 second span. I said very loudly with my hands in the air. “Oh my god!” The Chinese people around me started to stare even more. I just had to laugh and say to them “I am ok, everything is fine.”
The next moment was when I wanted to get a personal pan cheese pizza from Pizza Hut. After my two day MSG headache I was done with Asian for a couple days. I found Pizza hut and just wanted a cheese pizza. It was not on my menu and after 9 hours of training I was drained. I nearly broke down and cried at the table. My waitress did not speak English and I don’t speak Chinese so I just started explaining that I had had a long day and ordered Pasta instead.
Snaps for China
I really am enjoying China and promise to keep you better updated on what is going on in my life. Here are a few things that are amazing in China
• Metro System of Shanghai
o Seriously amazing! It is so easy to get around and once you know how to read the map or visit exploreshanghai.com that tells you how to get to where you are going. You can go anywhere in the city on the metro
• Massages
o Love them and they are cheap and make you feel amazing
• Shopping
o I am not much of a shopper but everywhere you turn there is another store or shopping mall to visit.
• Convenience Stores
o Not many young people in China know how to cook because they still live at home and their mother or grandmother does all the cooking. Because of this there are so many convenience stores to get drinks, food and snacks from. You cannot walk down a city block without seeing at least one.
