I really hope this dead blog doesn't mean everybody died this summer. Where are you guys???
Please post here cuz Facebook cannot be accessed in China anymore :( ... Unless you're Yas and have too much time on your hands to get around the blocks. Miss you and hope to hear from you soon!!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Shanghai and Clubbing in Jiangyin
Peter and I arrived back from a 2 1/2 day jaunt to Shanghai yesterday evening. Shanghai, I think, is an awesome city. Plenty to do and see, good food, very international...Nobody gave me a second look, which was a nice change from the stares in Jiangyin--except for the creepy dude at the Oriental Pearl Tower who kept "secretly" trying to take my picture on his camera phone...weeeeeird.
Anywho. Pete's dad was with for the past week (leaving today), so we were driven to Shanghai in a Benz and stayed at his former colleague's ridiculously expensive apartment in the center of Shanghai. Lol. Got to love parents. His friend was extremely generous; he's older and the rest of his family is currently living in the States, so he seems kind of lonely. We are invited to stay at his place every weekend if we want; we will probably take one more trip before we leave China.
The first night we went to check out The Bund--the boardwalk area in Shanghai that separates the older quarter from the more modernized section, but it was completely closed off for construction in preparation for the World Expo in 2010. The next day we went to People's Park and the Shanghai Museum to brush up on our Chinese history. Then it was off to the Oriental Pearl Tower, the space-agey looking tower that is in every picture of Shanghai nowadays. One cool newer feature of the tower is the glass floor on the top where you can walk out on to the glass and see the entire city beneath you--pretty trippy. There is also a really cool museum in the basement of the tower all about Shanghai's history. Finally, we went shopping in one of the older areas in Shanghai at night and ate at one of the most famous restaurants for xiao long bao (Chinese soup dumplings). I love xiao long bao, but IMO their's were nothing special. Went back to the apartment at night to watch Wimbeldon--which ended at 2 in the morning here. Yeah, I was asleep. Pete and his dad stayed up to watch the whole thing.
Next day was relaxing. We got a small tour of Chengxing's office in Shanghai, lounged and slept in Pete's dad's hotel room, watched an episode of 30 Rock, ate a large lunch, and finally got an 80 minute foot massage for $9 each. Not bad. The bus ride back to Jiangyin was 2 hours.
That night we were invited to a dance club with some of the tutors and a student from my WEB school. The experience was...interesante. There were actually quite a lot of people there because a more well-known singer came to perform (she's kind of a B-List Chinese singer). But NOBODY dances. Why? "Chinese people are shy." Pity. They stand around and imbibe watered-down drinks with some small food. The music, though, was hilarious. Mostly Britney Spears mixed with some old bubble-gummish hip hop. Oh, and Aaron Carter. Yes, Aaron Carter. Remember that line dance we did in high school? :) You bet. The singer sang English songs the entire time we were there: Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons" and J.Lo's "Jenny from the Block," etc.
<3 Til next time...
Anywho. Pete's dad was with for the past week (leaving today), so we were driven to Shanghai in a Benz and stayed at his former colleague's ridiculously expensive apartment in the center of Shanghai. Lol. Got to love parents. His friend was extremely generous; he's older and the rest of his family is currently living in the States, so he seems kind of lonely. We are invited to stay at his place every weekend if we want; we will probably take one more trip before we leave China.
The first night we went to check out The Bund--the boardwalk area in Shanghai that separates the older quarter from the more modernized section, but it was completely closed off for construction in preparation for the World Expo in 2010. The next day we went to People's Park and the Shanghai Museum to brush up on our Chinese history. Then it was off to the Oriental Pearl Tower, the space-agey looking tower that is in every picture of Shanghai nowadays. One cool newer feature of the tower is the glass floor on the top where you can walk out on to the glass and see the entire city beneath you--pretty trippy. There is also a really cool museum in the basement of the tower all about Shanghai's history. Finally, we went shopping in one of the older areas in Shanghai at night and ate at one of the most famous restaurants for xiao long bao (Chinese soup dumplings). I love xiao long bao, but IMO their's were nothing special. Went back to the apartment at night to watch Wimbeldon--which ended at 2 in the morning here. Yeah, I was asleep. Pete and his dad stayed up to watch the whole thing.
Next day was relaxing. We got a small tour of Chengxing's office in Shanghai, lounged and slept in Pete's dad's hotel room, watched an episode of 30 Rock, ate a large lunch, and finally got an 80 minute foot massage for $9 each. Not bad. The bus ride back to Jiangyin was 2 hours.
That night we were invited to a dance club with some of the tutors and a student from my WEB school. The experience was...interesante. There were actually quite a lot of people there because a more well-known singer came to perform (she's kind of a B-List Chinese singer). But NOBODY dances. Why? "Chinese people are shy." Pity. They stand around and imbibe watered-down drinks with some small food. The music, though, was hilarious. Mostly Britney Spears mixed with some old bubble-gummish hip hop. Oh, and Aaron Carter. Yes, Aaron Carter. Remember that line dance we did in high school? :) You bet. The singer sang English songs the entire time we were there: Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons" and J.Lo's "Jenny from the Block," etc.
<3 Til next time...
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