So much has happened in the past week, that I feel intimidated to even begin writing about it. First things first, though: Beijing this weekend is a go! After days of dealing with Giggles and a hectic hour at the train station ticket office, a group of us finally has tickets to Beijing! Great Wall, here I come.
In other news:
Last Wednesday, Rena, Rachel, and I went to Mural, where we saw our favorite band and were invited to a club party on Saturday by a shameless club promoter. So, Saturday was rather ridiculous. The party at the club, conveniently located in the middle of nowhere, was 80's themed -- a strange theme to have in China. The people we met were even more strange (some guy from cambridge who hangs out at Felipe's, the extremely ginger guy who invited us, his friend who dropped out of school to come to Shanghai because he loved it so much, etc). The bassist from our favorite band (The Gooda Boys) made a showing! The bartenders were interesting to talk to, though their internship of marketing the club aka bartending was a bit weird. I'm not sure what customers they're ever going to get since their club is located in North Shanghai, in the basement of a business office (?) which was pitch black and freaked all of us out when we accidentally began climbing the stairs in search for the party.
Anyway, that was just a minor part of the week. Saturday was also devoted to seeing 1933, an arbattoir which has since become a shopping/restaurant area (and has the Ferrari Owners Club of China!). The building is really interesting -- the place is made of some weird stone which winds in little paths and bridges. It almost feels like being in this computer game I used to play called Myst. Picture attached for clarification of description.
Somewhere in the past week I have also been to Taikang Lu, which is a market of very narrow winding alleys, with shops selling trinkets and pricey restaurants selling drinks all around. It's very cute, though it has a bit of the touristy feel (who am I kidding? A LOT of the touristy feel). Picture!
On Sunday, Rachel and I went to Suzhou, which is nicknamed the "Venice of the East." It was really nice to finally get out of Shanghai. We went to a beautiful garden which reminded me of the villages we visited during orientation. I didn't see many canals; or, rather, I saw one which was probably the main one because it flowed along a street contained a vast market place/shopping area/temple. The bridges along the canal were really gorgeous (yes, you're going to have to tilt your head).
One of the best parts of the trip was purchasing tickets, ordering food, and getting around Suzhou -- there was NO English anywhere, so the fact that two white girls who speak no words of Chinese managed to get there, explore, and come back is quite an accomplishment. At least, I like to think so. The miming helped, as did the countless people who came up to us, without solicitation, to help us. Apparently, we were very approachable that day.
I also made a new friend on Monday after walking into a Muslim noodle place and looking at the picture menu on the wall with uncertainty. It must have been uncertainty or some other readable expression of not-knowing-what-I'm-doing, because a Chinese woman sitting on an orange stool by me asked what I wanted and then proceeded to invite me to dinner with her. She had just returned from work with her coworker, who sat across from her. We talked for a while, she paid for my meal, and went back to her home on the corner. Although she lives on the same street as me and I am eventually going to invite her out to lunch, I am uncertain about our friendship. She was super kind, spoke great English, and told me a bit about where she came from and what she did in Shanghai -- however, she also made the critical mistake of THINKING I WAS TWENTY FIVE. This is five years older than I am. Do I really look that old? How do I look younger? Advice appreciated!
Sigh.
I'm really enjoying making new friends in Shanghai. It's so funny to think that speaking to The Gooda Boys at The Boxing Cat Brewery initiated this chain of events which led to Mural on Wednesday, ginger's party on Saturday, and becoming rather good friends with the bassist. It feels like we've burst into the Shanghai social scene. Or at least into the very tangential reaches of the social scene. Or maybe not at all. Regardless, it's been nice meeting new people.
Also, I feel happy all the time nowadays -- so many adventures! HAPPINESS.
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