Just a 20 minute walk from the Xuhui campus is a little portion of Shanghai called the French Concession. This is a part of the city where you can see the strong influence of European culture in the architecture, shopping and restaurant options. I found a little Greek place called Milo's Tavern! I can't wait to try their gyros.
Our culture teacher, Weiqi, took us out to the French Concession for a Chinese cooking class. We were divided into teams and started making a delicious meal under the direction of Chef Mike, a former Ritz-Carlton chef. Nitesh and I got to make an amazing eggplant dish! When I get back to the states, I'm definitely investing in a wok.
After our cooking class, Weiqi took us to a full-blown wet market. Similar to the one Kristy and I had seen by the Yu Gardens, but this one was much larger. I even got to see some chickens get killed...only in China.
This week we also had the first of our many Chinese New Year's Celebrations... a select group of students in our group (Kristy, Jessica Traver, John Swinford, Nitesh Bajaj, Catriona Sproul, Joe Musto and me) were asked to perform a dance at the SJTU Annual Faculty Banquet. The dance we put together is a compilation of "the Most Dazzling Folk Song," YMCA, the Backstreet Boys and the Cotton-Eyed Joe. Here's a link to our performance! At this banquet, we got a little introduction into the Chinese drinking culture - basically we just did a lot of toasts and learned about "ganbei" ("bottoms-up!") with the Dean and plenty of other SJTU guests. We even met Madame Ma Dexiu, who is the Secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) SJTU Committee and the Chairperson of SJTU University Council.
Check out some pics from this week!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Yu Gardens and People's Square
Just playing some catch-up here...
A couple subway stops from the Xujiahui campus lies a not-so-little tourist trap called the Yu Gardens. Kristy and I made a trip out there the second weekend in Shanghai.
There are SO many little street vendors who sell all manner of Chinese touristy items - pottery, embroidery, paintings, dolls, chopsticks, bottle openers (I bought one of those) and so much more. It's all over-priced, so Kristy and I got some great bartering practice...we definitely had more to learn.
After spending a couple hours on the market street, Kristy and I started looking for the Yu Gardens themselves. We actually had quite a few problems finding the entrance...instead we happened upon a wet market! The Chinese people value fresh food so much that they want to buy their chicken, fish, frogs, turtles, crabs and shrimp live then watch the vendor kill and clean it before taking it home. Otherwise, they just buy their animals live and kill them at home, right before the meal is about to be cooked.
After eating lunch in a little cafeteria, Kristy and I FINALLY found the gardens...so beautiful!! Rock sculptures, elegant sloped rooftops, bridges over tranquil water -- being in the gardens is really calming, except for the other tourist groups. We found some Korean tourists and they asked us where we were from. When we told them we were Americans, they immediately asked us if we knew "Gangnam Style." They were so happy to hear that we knew the dance too!
That night, Nitesh, Russell and I headed out into downtown for our first Shanghai clubbing adventure! Nightlife in Shanghai is pretty insane... and it's so much fun! After all, if you're going to go out dancing, the world's largest city is the perfect place to go.
The next day we went out to People's Square to see the "match-making activities." Think of it like eHarmony except in a park, with ads that parents have made for their sons and daughters.
Later that day, we went to Madame Tussauds Shanghai! I've always wanted to see one of these, who knew it would be in China. We also went to the Shanghai Museum which was full of great collections of ancient coins, clothing and art from China's long history.
Here are some pics from the weekend's adventure!
A couple subway stops from the Xujiahui campus lies a not-so-little tourist trap called the Yu Gardens. Kristy and I made a trip out there the second weekend in Shanghai.
There are SO many little street vendors who sell all manner of Chinese touristy items - pottery, embroidery, paintings, dolls, chopsticks, bottle openers (I bought one of those) and so much more. It's all over-priced, so Kristy and I got some great bartering practice...we definitely had more to learn.
After spending a couple hours on the market street, Kristy and I started looking for the Yu Gardens themselves. We actually had quite a few problems finding the entrance...instead we happened upon a wet market! The Chinese people value fresh food so much that they want to buy their chicken, fish, frogs, turtles, crabs and shrimp live then watch the vendor kill and clean it before taking it home. Otherwise, they just buy their animals live and kill them at home, right before the meal is about to be cooked.
After eating lunch in a little cafeteria, Kristy and I FINALLY found the gardens...so beautiful!! Rock sculptures, elegant sloped rooftops, bridges over tranquil water -- being in the gardens is really calming, except for the other tourist groups. We found some Korean tourists and they asked us where we were from. When we told them we were Americans, they immediately asked us if we knew "Gangnam Style." They were so happy to hear that we knew the dance too!
That night, Nitesh, Russell and I headed out into downtown for our first Shanghai clubbing adventure! Nightlife in Shanghai is pretty insane... and it's so much fun! After all, if you're going to go out dancing, the world's largest city is the perfect place to go.
The next day we went out to People's Square to see the "match-making activities." Think of it like eHarmony except in a park, with ads that parents have made for their sons and daughters.
Later that day, we went to Madame Tussauds Shanghai! I've always wanted to see one of these, who knew it would be in China. We also went to the Shanghai Museum which was full of great collections of ancient coins, clothing and art from China's long history.
Here are some pics from the weekend's adventure!
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