My First Time Teaching in China: Shanghai (the first time)

I remember the morning that we had to leave Nanjing for Shanghai. We weren't looking forward to it, in Ilya's case because he had come down with some sort of illness by then and in my case because I am just NOT a morning person at all as well as the fact that I absolutely loved Nanjing and I was feeling particularly apprehensive about a city as large and populous as Shanghai after some rather unpleasant experiences which still haunt me from our trip to Beijing. These include ridiculous crowds, expensive and, to be quite frank, shitty food that made me feel ill, and a constant feeling of exhaustion from trying to do simple things that become frustratingly difficult to the sheer density of the city itself. Of course, I loved Beijing, and these negative memories are probably a product of several factors, such as the fact that traveling to Beijing was really the first time we were going traveling like this for both of us- that is, without the company of family or close friends as well as the added pressures of navigating train stations, taxi rides, and finding hostels for the very first time. On top of this, we were under a time constraint of five or so days before returning to Weifang to get ready for work again. These factors compounded on top of each other made us feel a lot of pressure to try to do as much as we could in the time available and by the end of the trip I had fallen ill. I remember sitting on the the train, doing my best not to regurgitate the contents of my stomach when Ilya turned to me and told me I looked really pale and sickly. Thankfully, it wasn't until that night that this happened but I felt better by the next morning. Traveling with so many people all around you probably poses a real strain on your immune system. We both knew that Ilya was probably experiencing something similar to what I had back in Beijing and we both committed to each other, before leaving Weifang, and constantly throughout the trip, that we would not push ourselves too hard and we would constantly check in with each other to make sure we were always on the same page about our health.

As we sat on the train, watching the sign at the front of our car record our speed change its numbers...205KM/H...240...262...300...I couldn't help but feel worried about what Shanghai could possibly have in store for us as we hurtled toward our destination at such breakneck speeds. We shared Ilya's music and he played DJ for the hour and a half or so ride that we had in front of us and, to our pleasant surprise, all of our worries seemed to dissipate as we listened to some of our favourite relaxing tunes and just enjoyed the ride and shared inside jokes from as far back as the beginning of our contract in China. We arrived in Shanghai, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, hopped into a taxi, and prepared for another adventure.

The street our hostel was on.

All of these pictures are of the street our hostel was on.

Walking around our neighbourhood. We were in the heart of the city.

A park nearby.

"Former residence of Mao Zedong."

A charming area of Shanghai, I think this is West Nanjing Rd if I remember correctly, featuring some of the best shopping in the city (but not cheap!!)

The same area at night. I loved the lights here.

OMG 7-11!!!! We couldn't believe it!

Walking into the hostel. Pretty swanky.

Our room is in the door directly ahead.

Walking down one of the streets near East Nanjing Rd toward the Bund, you can see the Oriental Pearl Tower in the distance.

An old church along the way next to some really modern, crazy architecture on the right. I believe this picture characterizes Shanghai pretty well, representing its Christian/western influences from the 18th and 19th centuries but also how it has matured in the 21st century as well.

Arrival at the Bund.

It was really wonderful to finally see this place, after hearing and reading so much about it.

Really impressive city skyline.

Preparing to board a ferry that crosses the Pudong river and takes you to the other side, which is the financial district of the city.

This is the first exhibit in the Shanghai City History Museum, located at the base of the Oriental Pearl Tower. We didn't go up the tower until after we came back from Suzhou.

Exiting the museum at dusk meant getting to see all the big buildings lit up at night. Really impressive.

A really high end mall just next to the Oriental Pearl.

That lit up elevated ring is actual a pedestrian overpass with open air escalators used to access it.

The lights of East Nanjing Rd

This really cute cat (I tried to get a picture of it but it was purring on my lap so I just got this) was owned by the hostel owners and it was so adorable it just wanted to cuddle with me as I was sitting outside one time, leafing through my pictures.

This is the bookstore Ilya found when he was wondering around the city by himself. I bought two books on China here, one of which is pictured.

Some Shanghai style dumplings I got underneath one of the subway stations. Best dumplings I've ever had. Shanghai dumplings are famous, and for good reason.