Shanghaiiiiiii & Celebrity

It's much easier for me to describe what's going through pictures, so I'll provide commentary underneath with what it was. 

When we got to Shangai, Larry and Ellen (Larry's Chinese interpreter) met us at the airport and took us to our hotel. Our hotel was very beautiful. Actually, everything in China is beatiful. If you look carefully in the picture below, you will see Jitka Nelsonova NOT IN HEELS. (SHH, don't tell her... ;)

Then, we freshened up (which for me meant changing into a skirt and for Jitka meant looking better than a model) and headed to dinner. 

This is my utensil. We went to a Cantonese restaurant to get our first tastes of Chinese dining. Needless to say, we were nervous. 

Toasting to being in China with Chinese light beer. 

THOSE ARE HEAVEN IN YOUR MOUTH (...), they are wonton. They have soup in them and a meat and it explodes when you bit into it. They were delicious. Larry ordered another round just for me...

You have to study how to make them just to work there. Each one is very intricate and beautiful. Yo China, you do food RIGHT. (America, take notes.)

Dessert. All should look pretty familar. But on the left, that's dragon fruit, which I guess tastes like actual dragon (just kidding), I'm not a huge fan. It's kind of like watermelon. Actually. Ellen, after meeting me, said "You are a very strange American. You don't have to drink coffee in the morning, you don't like socks, and you don't like watermelon." Ahhh, thanks. I try. :) Also, just a warning, those grapes are HUGE and have BIG SEEDS in them. Because, and not that this happened to me, I wouldn't want you to start choking on them. That would be embarrassing. 

Bubble milk. Like tapioca pudding but much much lighter. Not bad. Also, Yi Chen, they told us not to drink the bubble tea, because they just found out a few months ago there was something wrong with the bubbles. Bummer. 

Then, we toured Shanghai a bit. This part of Shanghai was built by the French and English. But you can probably guess who lays claim on it now... Lots of red, red, red everywhere. 

Beth and Flat Matt. :)

Beth, myself, and Jitka in front of the Pearl! Famous Shanghai building. 

There's Ellen. The one who thinks I'm strange. Get in line, Ellen. ;)

SELFIE. 

You wouldn't believe how CLEAN China is. No trash anywhere, because the Chinese THROW TRASH IN GARBAGE BINS. What a novel concept. China 2, America 0.  This lady's whole job is to use that witch broom to sweep the water into the street so no one falls on it. Probably a massively exciting time for her, but I appreciated it. 

Then, on to see the older parts of Shanhai. This is for my father-in-law. 

They just built around the old. It's a lot like Boston with the old and the new together seemlessly, very cosmopolitan. Except with millions more people. So, actually, not Boston. 

Beautiful flower arrangements you can purchase for your wedding.

On the left, all the way down used to be one house. In ye olde China, the rich men might have multiple wives. So he would build a separate entrance to the house for each wife. That way, they would fight less. The other way around the wives fighting less? Dude, only have one wife. Good luck with the multiple wives thing. Surprised it still stands and wasn't burned to the ground!

That's the name of the area. I remember two of the characters mean fashion. And the jist of it is that it's like heaven on earth... With fashion... Or something.

Japanese gaget exhibit.

Then we ventured into the historical museum for the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Which was... Interesting. They had to have it in secret to hide what they were doing. 

The top, obviously the Communist flag, and then the bottom is the symbol for the museum. That's what it looks like on the outside. 

 

I don't think you can really read this, but he was one of the people who met during the secret Congress, and then the sign says he defected from the party because he started to disagree, and then died a traitor's death in prison in the 40's. 

Whereas this good-lookin' fella was "a martyr for the cause" and "died tragically" in the 40's. Interesting.

They were found out in that building, so they had to go to a boat to complete their top secret meeting. 

Beth and I. Communist-y. 

These students required by the government to come to the museum selflessly volunteer their time. But they were super cute and happy. And Jitka said that was her exact school uniform when she was growing up in Communist Czechoslovakia. They were very nice kids.  

I wasn't sure what to make of the museum. But I will say this: Communism doesn't affect the day-to-day quality of life for anyone in China. Most people who are 30 and younger don't remember anything from when Mao was around, which was TOTALLY different from how they are now. Yes, they control things like internet, history information, and tracking cars, etc, but everyone is really happy. It's not like how you might picture Nazi Germany. Or at least, not what I was expecting.

"Patriotic Promotion" site. Where you can't take pictures, but they videotape you while you are there. Interesting, interesting.

Like I said, China is beautiful. The horticulture here is phenomenal, everywhere you go. 

 Ohhhhh America. XOXO. (Lindsey, this is not the one we skyped from.)

In front of a park. (Get to loooove my selfies ;)

Look what was on TV when I got back to the hotel, mom and dad. And they speak excellent Chinese. Go figure. Mickey must hold out in America. In fact, I can't even tell you how many Mickey and Minnie things I've seen. They are more popular than Hello Kitty or Dora in America. 

Then we went to lunch, and decided to be adventurous with some food. So this is Jitka, so beautiful, refined, and elegant, trying some conch shell meat. 

How adorable. Now, watch, I try the same thing...

Ehhh, beautiful. Refined. Right. Yeah no. Never eating conch again. I had to chew for like 20 minutes. It's the only thing that I've eaten in China which I legitimately did not like. I love authentic Chinese food. It's delicious. Well. Most of it. That which isn't rubber. 

Then you have Beth, who just loves when the shrimp have eyes. 

(Notice the shrimp under the plate. She didn't want it to watch her while she ate. Hysterical.) 

Then, we got on a bus for five hours. That's a long time in America, but in China during rush hour? I mean, really, in America, we should seriously think about: completely disregarding the lines/dashes to keep us in one lane, taking photos of every vehicle at every light and highway, pulling over on the side of random highways to pee (not kidding, I'm a witness), having policemen who flag people over to just check in their car and bus for whatever reason they feel like, and use our horn as more of a "I-just-took-a-breath" than sparingly. In this regard, you win, 'Murica. China 2, America 1. 

Then, somewhere between Shanghai and Jinhua, I must have had my first blockbuster movie hit, because I became FAMOUS. Seriously, he pulled into the hotel, and it was like I (and Beth and Jitka, of course!) was the governor. So cool. They were SO adorable!! I was so excited.They were so excited. It was like an excitement party. Like American pre-teen girls. 

Check out my place setting. They were worried I wouldn't be able to use chopsticks. But don't worry, my dad taught me how to do that in Logansport when I was 8 years old. He said it was important to know about different cultures, and that everyone around the world might speak a different language, but they are good people. He taught me how to say "Ni hao." I wonder if he knew I'd need it someday... 

This was our table for dinner. The man in the middle is so sweet, and he and Michele set up the exchange between the schools in Logansport. Josh, on the right, is interpreting for him. 

A couple of things to notice here... First, see the giant clear circle? It spins. They put all the dishes on the edge, and then it spins and you use chopsticks to take whatever you'd like to eat and usually put it straight into your mouth, or maybe sometimes dip it into a sauce and then eat it. Germs aren't an issue, which I'm cool with. If you can be a camp counselor for four summers, or an aunt for seven years, you learn to share food. Also, notice my two glasses, the big one and the little one, and my name. 

This is one of the dishes! YUM! That dragon is made of carrots. See everyone smiling? That's because I, foolishly perhaps, told Betty whom you'll meet in a minute that I was born in the year of the dragon. While I knew that the dragon was the mightiest of the Chinese symbols, I didn't know that when you meet a dragon, you are supposed to take that little glass, put it full of rice wine, and then drink to them. So, basically, you toast them, and then you have to "bottom's up" or basically take an American shot. Because if you don't, you are saying that you don't value that person's friendship as much as everyone else. So "hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's some rice wine, drink it maybe... Or you hate me..." AND apparently the middle age group, in China that's like late 40's and 50's, want to get you drunk because that's the best way to show generosity. Uh oh. Let's just say I started drinking A LOT of water and trying to eat A LOT of food so I didn't embarrass myself. 

That ox is made of blown sugar. Creating a meal in China is like art. 

Now, these people are very important. On the right is my principal. She's adorable, so sweet, and doesn't know any English. Our school, Yongkang Remin Road Primary, is sister schools with Landis Elementary, where I went to elementary school (precious). On the right is my sweet, sweet friend Betty who is my host teacher/family. She is absolutely adorable. She and I instantly clicked. We make each other laugh a lot, like when I giggle at American food or Chinese things and she stops her colleagues from getting me drunk, which I appreciated. She's about 10 years older than me and had her first baby 13 months ago (whom you'll meet soon). She's ADORABLE, and so kind and generous. 

Here's the whole group posing after the dinner. They were so much fun and so welcoming. The dinner made me really anxious to do a good job teaching though. I really want to do well 

Myself, the man in charge of Yongkang schools, Larry (he arranged the trip), my principal, and Betty. So, Jinhua is 5 hours south east-ish, and then Yongkang is a town which like belongs to Jinhua. It's an hour from Jinhua. 

 
 

Then, one last picture, the three of us, Larry and Gosh. Originally the plan was that we all stay in Jinhua at the hotel, but then my principal would have to come back to get me the next way by herself, and that's far for her to do two days in a row. So, I, of course, agreed for them to come back to Yongkang that night. I wished my dear friends goodbye and headed into the unknown. Again. 

ADVENTURE.