I have slowly become used to busy days and quiet evenings. This is a drastic contrast to life at my home university. I’m given a decent amount of homework in China, but nothing compared to what I’m assigned at home. I believe my workload in China is similar to the workload I will have when I have a 9-5 job.
Classes are picking up now with finals coming up. There are quite a few classes that have assigned large papers for us to write. It is a reminder that it is fall and all coming to an end. Though it does not feel like fall because in comparison to Massachusetts, it is not that cold here and there is no snow on the ground. Here in China it gets down to the low 50’s and colder when the wind blows. I am thankful it is not colder because I did not bring a winter jacket. It got so cold, I had to purchase a thick sweatshirt.
I believe I have adjusted quite well to living in Shanghai and worked through all the obstacles that I’ve met. Now I have started to worry about how I will adjust when I get home. I am very excited and nervous at the same time. I am hoping I can take it one step at a time and appreciate all of the family and friends around me. It might be hard adjusting to the difference in prices, especially for food.
I am getting very excited to make my own food again. It is surprising to me how your energy level depends on what you put in your body. With my busy schedule, I often go for convenience and price, when it comes to food. One thing that I miss from home, is a really good steak, and tons of vegetables!
This past weekend ECNU (my college) put on their own International expo. We could pick up a “passport.” If we filled the passport up with 40 stamps from different countries’ booths that were represented at this event, we would get a free gift. Seeing the traditional dress of some countries and tasting their respective traditional foods was very interesting. Many of the countries had music playing; they were dancing and dressed in traditional clothing and loving life. It is incredible to see so many countries come together to share their culture with people from all over the world.
In one of my classes, we took a field trip to Thames Town in Shanghai. There are areas in China that represent other parts of the world. It allows people to feel like they are in other countries without ever leaving China. There is a mock leaning tower of Pisa, a mock Eiffel tower and even a mock white house. The town we visited had a gorgeously styled library. The floor was made out of books and so were the ceiling. There were so many cute book nooks, where you could sit down and enjoy a good read.
