再见，中国！

Maybe it is a little unfair that I am writing this last post in America, but with all the stuff I had to bring home and the early flight from Shanghai Pudong to Seoul, I just didn't have the time to write! Technically, I could have posted yesterday, but alas I was sleeping, watching my bootleg season 2 of The Tudors, and eating wonderfully. // I was so sad to leave China, for the disappointment of having spent so little time there was hard to fathom. I was nervous upon landing in America; in fact, when boarding the Seoul-Atlanta flight, there were so many 外国人 (foreigners) on the flight that I must've had the same facial expression as Chinese had when seeing me! I just am not used to seeing so many white faces! // Friday was a special day in Shanghai- after our test, we had a banquet and "graduation". Then Richard and I went around the Bund area to see Pudong across the river, but also we just wanted to walk around and see as much of the nearby areas of Shanghai as possible before we left. After that, dinner with Lydia's dad, talk with mom, and packing- lots and lots of packing. // With that, there's not much else to say but: I'm home! And now that I'm here, I'm very happy. The past two and a half months in China were an overall absolute blast, and I hope to go back there in the next couple of years. Despite all the differences that were hard to adjust to, a part of me is, has been and will always be Chinese. // I knew of course, that I had been away for a long time, when I noticed gas prices have dropped to less than $2 per gallon; Obama was the president; the air is clear and clean; and I felt reunited with those I love and the memories that made my return so worthwhile. // With that, 再见，中国！我要在去！谢谢！

我们都是老悍妇

We are all dragons. Or at least I like to think so. The disappointment of leaving China on Saturday is beginning to set in, and my mood today, as a result, has been down and edgy. On the bright side, it was another beautiful day in Shanghai, and the past couple of days have been filled with adventure. // Our field trip to Shanghai Pudong on Tuesday was met with strange feelings- the place is so modern, so new, and seemingly so fake, that it felt entirely phony. I felt very peculiar driving through one of the living districts and seeing the segregated school communities (based on nationality). However, the buildings are big and all contain very cool, very interesting architectural motifs. Amongst our stops were: Pudong development headquarters; performance arts building; drive by Pearl Tower; and a brief outside view of the Pudong Museum of Science and Technology. The latter was so cool that a big group of us skipped Tai Chi class yesterday to visit it, and it was absolutely fucking cool. // The tickets were a mere 60 kuai, and frankly the Museum was cooler than any I've seen in the US. Although the Museum is clearly targeted to middle and high school students (obvious from exhibit information matter and the dozens of students in matching tracksuits we saw roaming around), some information was thorough and rather advanced. There were many separate exhibits, my favorites including: space, robots, insects, spiders, and the rain forest. The Museum is huge, and as Zach and Richard put it, "makes Epcot look sad." Anyway, the Museum was awesome and informative. A certain cute robot drew my picture from a photo I had taken, though somehow I lost this on my way back to my room. Maybe it slipped out of my bag once I had my hands full with bubble tea and rice cakes. I also had to practically yell at a man trying to sell me watches on the street in front of the Museum entrance! He just wouldn't listen to my polite refusals, and when I rose my voice, he said, "What? Don't want? I will love you much!" Strange. And incidentally this did not change my mind. // Later last night, David, Richard, and I witnessed a lot of old people dancing to really bad 90's pop in a little square. I wanted to participate, but my presence was already winning me awkward glances. There's one aspect of difference I am tired of- as Noah eloquently stated it: "In Tianjin, I felt like I was just something interesting to look at, but here in Shanghai, I feel like people keep trying to take advantage of me." This is, of course, an over-generalized statement, but it holds true. // I have been wanting to see a movie in theatres here, but I'm waiting for home to see Quantum of Solace (though it was out here earlier), so my choices are rather limited. Maybe I'll go later tonight before I review for our "final" tomorrow. // Tomorrow we will celebrate the end of the program with a mid-day banquet, so I plan to wear one of my qipaos (旗袍) in honor of the trip and all that I've gotten to experience and learn. I'm collecting pictures tonight from everyone, and likely I'll be obligated to give another speech (in Chinese, of course) tomorrow. I'm glad my class has had a serious teacher here in Shanghai- I feel prepared and have gotten to prove that I did, indeed, learn a lot in Tianjin. Tonight I plan to start packing up all of my souvenirs, which will surely be a bit of a sad yet exciting event. I think that once Saturday rolls around, I'll feel prepared to leave; until then, though, there's small disparity between wanting to stay and my eagerness to leave. No, I think I'm ready- I just can't believe it went by so fast. I knew it would. // But, being a dragon, it won't be hard to come back.

我对中国有深的感情；我已经想中国

I already miss China. Since Friday, however, a lot of neat things have happened. First of all, I finally racked up the nerve to get my hair cut here- and it was quite the success! In fact, it's the best cut I've ever had, and it only cost me 80 kuai. I went to this fancy salon inside the mall outside of Shanghai University's campus and received quite the treatment: a 20 minute shampooing/head massage; a 1 hour cut; free, unlimited hot tea; fashion magazines; and the Creative Director, who despite having to cut my unfamiliar (in comparison to Asian hair, obviously) hair, was very cool and quite charming. It was worth every yuan and frankly much more. Look look! I'll miss having this only a 10-15 minute walk away. Saturday was a very, very early day (7.30am-9.00pm). We took a field trip to Hangzhou (about 3 hours or so away) to mainly see some beautiful scenery (where the picture is from, in fact), pretty gardens, visit the China National Silk Museum, and visit a tea house. All of these destinations were very interesting, although the weather was terrible as I recall it. In fact, today was the first partly sunny day this part of Shanghai has seen in the past 5 or 6 days, and recently it has started getting pretty chilly. This has "allowed" me to spend yet more money on clothing items that were just too cool to deny myself. However, I have been rather frustrated at the fact that I cannot find any boots that fit- my feet are too big, and every time I run into a store frantically asking "有没有41号的？” ("Do you have size 41 in boots?"), I am met with apologies and sometimes laughter. Oh well- I need the space in my suitcase anyway, I guess. Anyway, the trip on Saturday endured stinky weather, but I absolutely loved the National Silk Museum. I have still been putting off seeing "Wushu" in the People's Square theatre until tomorrow night, since we have an essay due tomorrow and had an oral presentation on 《西游记》(Journey to the West) today. Yesterday (Sunday), Richard, David, and I went to the cultural market area for about four hours and managed to pick up some really neat trinkets, some souvenirs, etc. At night, the entire place is lit up by lights and is quite pretty. Today, we went to another tea house near campus and got to watch slightly interesting presentations on how to brew the main teas here in China (green, red, black, and yellow). The tea was so delicious. Our translator today had the most interesting accent- he claimed he has never traveled outside of China, yet when he spoke English, he spoke with an English accent! He must've had an English teacher while growing up, because the accent was uncanny and hilarious. Afterwards, I explored around the campus' outskirts and waited out until evening finishing up my paper. Dinner was spent with Richard, Trey, Lydia, and Zach at the very hip, very expensive "Blue Frog", but Richard was kind enough to buy me a veggie burger because I'm so damn stingy here. Then, bubble tea for dessert, which has also become an integral part of lunch and late breakfasts. I mean, I won't be getting the real stuff back home! And now it's starting to hit me- I'm leaving in five days. Five days. Should I be excited? Naturally I am, but I have grown attached here in many ways, and very much like the person I have become here. Of course I can bring this transformation home with me- but it is quite Daoist and little bit Confucian, and I'm not sure how that will fit with my American lifestyle. In any case, the return home is approaching fast, and I'm frantically trying to squeeze as much in now as possible. At least I'm well this week and have the energy to do so! Tomorrow, we take yet another field trip. We're going to Pudong, which is a big, very new portion of Shanghai that in fact has the airport from which I depart on Saturday morning. It is supposed to be quite cool; I've seen it, but only at night across the river from Bund Road, when it was rainy and foggy. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. I knew this would happen- but at least I didn't let it pass by without doing things and seeing even more. I've seen quite a new world, and though I'm a little sad to leave, I will always live partly here. What a world- the life of variety. Poor against privileged (which is quite more evident here in Shanghai than in the northern regions in which we lived); differing dialects ranging across miles; dirty cities and breathtaking mountains...it all dwells here. I like to think of China as a patchwork throw.

Today, I was Frodo.

Indeed, I bore the ring- that is, a container of the most disgusting tofu I've ever encountered in my life. At lunch, I decided to get my own vegetarian meal instead of sharing food with others (and granted, I am kind of sick again, so it was a kind gesture), and the move totally backfired. I can't explain how awful this tofu was. Zach suggested it smelled like rotting fish sitting on top of a pile of poop. My worst fears of its taste were met, for it tasted like it smelled; apparently, most Chinese really like this taste, and even have the same reaction to our lovely American cheeses. In any case, to save my disappointment, Fred, Alan, John, and I saved the tofu and played some pranks on some of the other kids. Ben has no idea that a piece is sitting behind his toilet; Grace doesn't know a piece is sitting in her clothes drawer; and Trey couldn't even reach the pieces on top of his door. Can't wait to hear about smelly rooms! Other than this incident, however, Shanghai is awesome! I've waited until now to post about it mainly because I wanted a lot to say, and also because I've felt kind of terrible until now to take the time and energy to write about things. My post-Tibet cold has turned into bad congestion but likely not fever! I think it's the air again, but it's worth enduring. Having internet in my single has been nice but spoiling, though I am very much enjoying the privacy away from crowds and mingling. But what's important are the events I have done since my arrival from Lhasa on Sunday, so I'll start from the beginning. Aside from exploring the perimeters of Shanghai University and going to class, I have been doing lots of subway-traveling and window shopping (things are a bit more expensive here, though I've splurged here and there). Our Monday night trip to Bund Road was fabulous, although rainy, and seeing the bigger parts of the city is always a blast. People's Square is also very, very big, and very, very expensive, but both times I've been I have managed to find little interesting things to mark the memory. People's Square has a big theatre at which I hope to go see "Wushu" this weekend. I considered going to Shanghai Zoo as well, but I've heard questionable information about the living conditions of the animals there. Poor little things. Tuesday afternoon was by far one of the more aggravating afternoons of the entire trip (since September). Again, the group thought we were going to Tongji University to learn about the development of Shanghai, but instead we sat in a classroom full of German students from Kassel Universität and were lectured for over an hour about Expo. As in, the world fair. It's coming to Shanghai in 2010, and after a while I finally realized what the heck it is! I'll admit without embarrassment that I had no idea what Expo was, considering America has stopped such activity since the 1920's. A certain German boy was being very arrogant and accusing our group of being typical, ignorant Americans! As a result I couldn't be nice to him. Anyway, after enduring this surprising event, we went to the People's Square area to see the exhibition on World Expo, which was kind of interesting, but even now I have no clue why we were there in the first place. On a brighter note, dinner afterwards was delicious, and at a shop a lady was so surprised that I was able to understand and communicate with her! This was another moment when I was on the hunt for a pair of boots; this is the one item I really want very badly, but alas my feet are too big, and I am having trouble finding a pair I like in my size for a reasonable price (women's shoes, and boots in particular, are especially pricey in Shanghai. And by "pricey", I mean American prices.). At least food is relatively cheap and great. And, in accordance with Tuesday night's/Wednesday morning's big event, Richard and I went to a "Japanese" restaurant in a tourist attractive area and overate in celebration of Obama's presidential victory. I must say, I'm quite pleased! I was fortunate to have my own announcer and updater during the event (thank you, Andrew). I think the meal ended up costing me 10 American dollars, which was quite the investment, but I believe it was for a good cause. This afternoon, for Zhao's Chinese Civilization class, we went to Shanghai Museum to browse bronzes, jades, calligraphy, painting, furniture, ceramics, and sculpture. This was such a fun trip, being an art historian! It was neat to see so many ancient, famous works inches away. As always, I took over a hundred pictures. The Museum is China's best museum, and I can surely understand why. There were even Western toilets and toilet paper and an automatic hand dryer in the bathrooms! Of course, just a reminder of home was nothing like stepping into one of the Starbuck's here- it was too scary to buy anything. The culture is quite different here in the southern part of China, in addition to the accent. I've had one street seller already mock me when I rebuffed his advances, and have encountered many circumstances where communicating is a little difficult due to pronunciation. In general, the people here are very nice, but I have not been here long enough to decide if it's "better" or more personally preferable to the northern areas (like Tianjin). I apologize for the lack of structure to this post, but it's late, and I must sleep a little before my quiz in the morning. I promise to write more frequently for the next...8 days. Oh my god it's almost over!

On Each Block Stand Chinese soldiers with AK-47s

Thursday (10/30) was mostly spent in the van driving (8 hour trip total). We left bright and early to see Yam Drak Tso Lake, stopping first to view and take pictures of Brahmaputra River. The latter is really pretty, but does not compare to Yam Drak Tso Lake. The Lake surrounds an island of mountains, and when the weather is sunny and bright, it's easy to see its crisp turquoise hue (and the reflection of the towering mountains). It is no surprise, then, that it has the nickname "The Turquoise Lake". I didn't think that after Tuesday, I would see more scenery that I would deem the most beautiful, but Yam Drak Tso Lake ties with the snowy Himalayas. I stole some rocks from the "shoreline" to bring home, which are all different and interesting. The scenery in Tibet is almost too beautiful to fathom; when a day was over, I would look through and edit the pictures I had taken, and could hardly believe I had actually been there. Being present felt unworldly yet natural. It's hard to explain-just believe me, Tibet is gorgeous. Of course, I cannot forget our second stop on our last day in Tibet, which was Kharola Glacier, which soared at an altitude of 5560m. This was the first glacier I had ever seen, and it was so neat. The families living around the area were hard to watch; their poor lifestyles and shivering (and some sick) children were difficult things to accept, especially when I was walking around with a camera, nice jacket, new shoes, new bag, and a wallet holding a few 100 kuai bills. It just blows my mind that such people are and have been able to survive just hard conditions. They have more courage than I. Between the two sites was lunch, and we ate in the town where the 5th Dalai Lama's mother was born. I believe it stands at about 4000m. The meal was delicious, and we met some French tourists who looked unbelievably French. The evening was spent buying last minute souvenirs, eating a quick dinner, and trying my best to use the internet, which was quite unsuccessful. I let my aggravation escalate, then eventually calmed down, so that I could enjoy my last night (possibly ever) in Tibet. For the 51 hour train ride to Shanghai, I bought lots of fruit, and had a lovely conversation with the seller about my having an American boyfriend, not having a Chinese boyfriend, and that 他可能是我的 (he maybe could be my Chinese boyfriend). His wife sat to the side, just laughing and laughing. It made me realize how many wonderful people here I had spoken to, and that hopefully, even if just through buying their goods, I had helped them out.