Life is back to normal, but unfortunately, the honeymoon phase has ended! It’s not too bad yet; I just get occasional bouts of homesickness. My stomach is holding up well enjoying completely normal foods, well, if you consider cow intestines and stomachs normal…
Last Friday, the CIEE activity’s intern took us on an excursion to Taikang Lu, my new favorite place in Shanghai. Recently renovated, Taikang Lu is a district in the French Concession home to many cafes, art galleries, shops, and restaurants. With French architecture, it’s a great place to go to forget that you are in a huge metropolis. I not only enjoyed a cappuccino in a quaint cafe, but also I had the pleasure of looking in numerous cute shops reminiscent of Anthropology and Urban Outfitters. There is no question that I will spend a lot of time at Taikang Lu this year. In fact, I am set to return tomorrow for wonderful hand-made pasta and a wine tasting!
The rest of the weekend was also enjoyable. Saturday for lunch, we went to City Deli and had AMAZING sandwiches. A baguette with turkey, cheese, avocado, and tomatoes… Yumm. They even gave us banana bread cupcakes with chocolate frosting for no charge! After lunch, Ben, Abby, and I finally used our massages that we won from the scavenger hunt. It was incredibly relaxing and wonderful!
Sunday, I set out for my own adventure, much to my host mom’s dismay. The goal was simple: ride a horse. I’ve found four different places around Shanghai that appear to have horseback riding. I made a few calls and decided to go to the place that was easiest to get to by metro. An hour-and-a-half ride on the metro later, I arrived in Pudong. (Don’t worry, my ride was enjoyable as I had a conversation with a nice man from England. We spoke all in Chinese, and he encouraged me to make Chinese friends! Ok, I must admit, that as of yet, I don’t have Chinese friends. This is an embarrassing fact, but it’s true. I am, however, working on changing this. For example, Abby and I ate in the cafeteria one day this week and met a student. We’ve been chatting on the Internet and will see her next week at a party put on by Chinese students for international students. Making “zhongguo pengyou” is definitely on my agenda! Now back to Pudong.) Pudong, located across the river from the main part of Shanghai, has until recently been rural farmland. Getting off the metro, I was in a completely different world that reminded me more of Ghana than the Shanghai I left when I got on the metro. It was quiet with not many people and had many outdoor shops.
To get to the riding place from the station, I had to take a cab, which was an adventure in itself. At the station, there were countless cabs lined up ready for passengers. By the time I made my way to the front of the cab line, cab drivers, motorcycle drivers, and other men with no apparent identity surrounded me. I handed the address to the cab driver, but he informed me he didn’t know where it was located, even though it’s only about a ten-minute drive away. At this point, all of the drivers offered to take me there for ridiculous sums of money and began pulling on my arm. Fed up, I left and made my way back inside the station. Trying to figure out what to do, I noticed a cab parked by itself further down the street. This cab driver was very nice and took me to my destination for the correct price of 12 kuai (under $2.00).
Arriving at the horse place, I thought that perhaps, I had the wrong address, as it appeared to be a dog kennel. I entered, and a nice woman led me deep within the kennel to the barn with perhaps 30 horses. While I poked around the barn and made friends with an adorable pony, the stable hand tacked up a horse for me. With the instructors in Beijing at an equestrian exhibition, I just rented a horse for an hour. He led the horse to the mounting block and told me to have a nice ride. I rode in the indoor ring, which was incredibly small and covered by a plastic tent-like structure. The most interesting detail about my surroundings, though, was the fact that bordering the property there were countless high-rise apartment buildings under construction.
The horse I rode, though he appeared fine just from looking, was very unpleasant. He needed to learn how to go to the right (he would only go to the left! Very bizarre!) and work in a frame. I gave up trying to make him do anything and let him be in charge, deciding what to do. It was nice though to be back in the saddle. It definitely made me realize just how much I miss riding! Embarrassingly enough, the next day, I was quite sore. I see lots of no-stirrup work in my future next summer!
Last weekend, I also made breakfast for my host family. With a mix from City Shop, I made pancakes! So delicious. Both the mom and daughter liked the pancakes, but the mom wasn’t so sure about the syrup. Tonight, I made dinner for my host family. To keep things simple, I made spaghetti and meatballs and served it with bread and butter as a side. This was shocking since bread is only eaten in the mornings, or so says my host mom. Overall though, they enjoyed the meal and can’t wait until the next time I cook!
Actually, bread is a very interesting topic. My host mom insists on keeping the bread she buys for me in the refrigerator on a plate with no plastic. You know where this is going. I currently have my secret bread stash in my closet (along with my granola and chocolate) that I use to make PB&J sandwiches. Although I never ate them in the U.S., I’ve now found a new favorite. Perhaps it’s because it’s the best way to eat bread without a toaster or butter…
Another interesting note about food is that Chinese typically prefer vegetables to meat; however, in my host family, thanks to the dad and daughter, this isn’t the case. Both dad and daughter dislike vegetables, preferring meat, just as I did growing up. Shockingly, I now prefer vegetables; I’ve made my preference for vegetables known (my host mom found me hiding in my room eating a whole carrot!), so most of the time, there are some vegetables for dinner.
Next week, CIEE is taking us to the Fujian province for four days. It should be an educational and enjoyable trip! My next post will probably be after I return.
Now to end the post, I would like to explain an interesting aspect of China that became clear to me today when I almost fell flat on my face while walking on the sidewalk. China does not have the U.S equivalent of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect against work-related injuries. Consequently, walking on the sidewalk in China can prove dangerous!
First, in many parts of the city where Expo renovations are in full swing, bamboo scaffolding lines the sidewalks. Workers stand on flimsy scaffolding, and pedestrians must somehow pass through the area without someone or something hitting them! Second, loud, shrill sounds regularly pierce the air, deafening the ears. Finally, workers weld in the middle of the sidewalk with no face or eye protection. This is what almost got me today! As I was walking to Coco for my milk tea, my foot got caught in a rope connected to metal strips that a man was welding. I almost fell on my face as the guy welding in the middle of the sidewalk glared at me for moving his work. It will be interesting to see when China eventually implements laws to enforce occupational safety.
Until next time! 再见!