September 17, 2012

What I did on Sunday....

I met up with friends for breakfast at the hotel but had to cut out early so I could make my Skype date with Kerry, Rachel and Kevin.  I miss you guys so much and wish you could be here to see all this crazy things I don't have time to blog about!  Then I met up with people in the lobby for a day out on the town.

 

 

My friend Krit is obsessed with this “tea” place called Coco where they make drinks that have gelatin pieces at the bottom of your cup.  Here I am drinking Lemon and green tea with cucumber jelly, the next day I had Mango with aloe jelly.

In Shanghai you see hundreds of bicycles and motor bikes everywhere... even on the escalator.

Last time I was in China I visited the Jade Buddha so I was eager to go to the next most popular place of worship; Jing’an Temple.  It was packed with locals worshiping ancestors and throwing coins into a 25 foot tall urn as a means of praying for financial success

Classic image of Buddhist Temple with Shanghai skyscrapers behind.  And I'm relieved to find blue sky!  My throat has been telling me that the air quality is not as good as I'm used to but it's much better than I expected. And though it's humid, the weather here has been breezy and beautiful!

A group of us went to Yu Gardens a famous shopping district that attracts lots of tourists.  Filled with everything from kitschy souvenirs to traditional Chinese medicines, it’s a good place to practice your haggling (I bought a watch for about $7.50 but I think I should’ve held out to pay less.)

                       The buildings here are not really old but look fanciful and traditional. The marketplace was a mad house so, since both Krit and I had been before, we broke off to find some lunch.

 

I ignored the CDC warning and ate street food.  Grilled Squid!

 

This is Krit ordering us the flat pancake on the right.  It was crispy, greasy and filled with chives, afterwards we found a quiet outer space themed noodle restaurant to sit and chat.  (By the way, when we walked up to order a female Chinese employee was standing on the stainless steel counter adjusting the overhead menu...my restaurant family would've freaked out.)

In places like NYC and Paris I’ve seen street vendors everywhere selling bags and scarves.  Here I see carts everywhere on the street selling food- especially fruits and vegetables.  This is Jackfruit but I see tons of watermelon and hot yams cooked on top of steel drums.

Later in the afternoon Krit, Tanya and I broke away and headed over to Shanghai Community Fellowship for church.  In 1996 China changed the law so that foreign passport holders are able to gather publicly and worship (Chinese Nationals must attend separate religious services.)  We were lucky to come on a day when they were focusing on welcoming new people.  I learned that this church has members from over 60 countries and it sounds like it’s population is pretty transient since it’s common for people to stay in China only 1-2 years. The sermon was all about living a life of purpose while you are in China.  The pastor kept emphasizing that you don’t have to come here and go into survival mode but rather, by connecting with a community and following the will of Christ you can thrive.  He said your year in China can be one of the best years of your life. What a cool message to hear my first week in China!

So far in Hangzhou (a city of 8 million) I’ve found one Christian church that holds services for foreigners but I won’t have much opportunity to attend because soon I will be working every Sunday.  I still hope to get involved in church activities but I’m seizing the chance to attend service while I’m in Shanghai.  

At the end of this very full day the jet lag hit me in a big way.  I ended up going to bed at 7:30pm and sleeping for 11 hours!  I'm hoping that my body adjusts soon and I can get myself on a regular schedule!