tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10880593685496023442024-03-20T03:13:57.368-07:00One semester in Shanghai Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-89103440077176963752013-12-21T01:18:00.000-08:002013-12-21T01:20:58.085-08:00Three weeks with my girls in China <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Just after I found out that
I will be spending one semester in Shanghai three of my best friends from
Germany who I went to school with started planning a visit to China. We were
all really excited to go on such a great trip together after so many years and
they actually booked their flights before I even did. At the end of November
the day finally came where I went to Pudong Airport once again to pick up my
next visitors. Since I was very determined to share all great places with them
that I have gotten to know during my semester, our touring program started
right after they had dropped their luggage in our apartment. The first night we
went to the Vue Bar located directly on the river with that stunning view on
Pudong – still definitely one of my favorite places in the city. The next days
we did the typical sightseeing tours through Shanghai’s main streets, the old
part of the city etc., went to the fake markets and my university campus, had
lots of social time and tried different local dishes.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After five days of sightseeing
in Shanghai, the girls took an overnight train to Beijing, where they stayed
for three days. Since I had just been there a few weeks before with my mum, I
didn’t join them during this part of the journey, but then we met again in
Taiyuan. Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of North China’s Shanxi
province and one of the greatest industrial cities. We didn’t see much of it as
we just used the city as a transit point to get to Pingyao. The girls and I had
planned to meet at the hotel in the evening we all landed in Taiyuan but
instead they waited for me at the airport which was a great surprise. Thanks
again for that girls and for not letting me sit in one of those taxis by myself.
Thinking of this situation I could write a lot about issues with taxi drivers again…
but oh well let’s just say we eventually made it to our hotel. After overcoming
some more language barriers with the hotel staff who had a very hard time
giving us directions to the train station for the next morning although it was
just a few meters down the street, we just went to bed after a late dinner at
McDonalds and were happy that we hadn’t planned on staying in Taiyuan as the
first impressions weren’t that good. The next morning we took a train to the
ancient city of Pingyao. The train ride was a really interesting experience since
the whole cabin was packed with Chinese who kept starring at us, took pictures
and tried to start little conversations in English. By the way people were
dressed you could tell that we were in the middle of the countryside in China –
a completely different picture compared to the outer experience of people in
big cities. The only thing I didn’t like about the train ride is that all guys
were smoking on the train wherefore it smelled very bad especially since there
were so many people on there. But the ones sitting around us were all friendly,
kept asking questions and helped us to get off at the right train stop. Those
are the times during which I really don’t mind if people keep taking pictures
of us because they all showed a great interest. But others who treat us like
monkeys in a zoo are a bit more difficult to handle depending on my mood ;) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pingyao is located about 80
kilometers from Beijing in Shanxi Province and used to be a financial center of
China in the late Qing Dynasty. It still retains its city layout from the Ming
and Qing dynasties and is famous for its city wall that is very well sustained.
Pingyao is also called ‘turtle city’ as the wall has six different gates that
are distributed in a way that the pattern reminds of a turtle. Besides the old
part of the city that is surrounded by the wall there also is a new part
outside of it. We decided to stay in a hostel right in the center of the old
part. During our visit we explored all the streets and little stores around the
historic places and walked on top of the city wall more than half way around
which were about four kilometers. Pingyao is definitely worth seeing. I really
enjoyed the architecture which seemed to be typical Chinese. It just would have
been nice if it was a bit warmer, but considering that we visited at the end of
November we were still lucky to have a blue sky and sunshine on all days.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Our next stop on the journey
was Xi’an. We had planned on taking an overnight train from Pingyao. This
worked out but instead of the soft sleepers we were hoping for, there were only
seats left. So we sat on another crowded train with lots of locals and this
time not for two hours as on the way to Pingyao but for eight hours during the
night. That definitely also is an experience I will never forget! It was a bit
exhausting, but we saved lots of money and we had organized a pick up from the
train station for our arrival in Xi’an. This way we got to the hostel right
away and luckily we could check in the room although it was very early. So we
slept for a few hours before exploring the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Xi’an is one of the oldest cities in China
with more than 3100 years of history. It is the starting point of the Silk Road
and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The city is also
surrounded by a city wall. But this time we decided not to climb it since we had
already seen the one in Pingyao a few days before. One of the best places in
the city is the Bell Tower, a symbol for Xi’an, which was built during the
early Ming Dynasty. It is located in the middle of the main roundabout traffic that
all big streets lead to. From the top of it we had a great view over Xi’an and
also discovered a German Christmas market that we explored right afterwards. It
was cute but the different stalls didn’t really sell anything that reminded of
Christmas. They were offering Chinese products like a rice cooker and different
makeup brands. But something we really enjoyed about it, were Chinese girls
singing different Christmas songs on a little stage. Another interesting place
was the so-called Muslim quarter with different souvenir stores and lots of different
kinds of food of which we especially liked some sweats and bread. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">On one of our days in Xi’an
we went to the Terracotta Army. We were accompanied by a Chinese who we got in
contact with over a friend of one of the girls from Germany. At first we had
some difficulties to find topics to talk about as he seemed a bit nervous about
speaking English. But this got a lot better after a while so that we actually spend
the whole day together and found out that we were the first foreigners who he
spoke English with and that he will therefore never forget about us. He is a
landscape architect ant took us to one of his big projects in the area of Xi’an
on the way to the Terracotta Army. I’m glad we combined these two things and
also had some great cultural contact that day as I was a bit disappointed about
the Terracotta soldiers. There are big halls in which tourists can just look on
the soldiers from the top instead of getting close to them. Before our trip I actually
already knew that it would be this way as some friends who went to see it
earlier during the semester told me about it. So the disappointment wasn’t that
big. It just proved to be right what I had heard before. It still was a great
day as we got to know this Chinese man. I always appreciate getting in contact
with locals as this happens very rarely. After our days in Xi’an the girls flew
to Guilin where I have already been during one of my first weeks in China, so
that I returned to Shanghai while they kept travelling. And this way I also
didn’t miss any of my courses at university ;) After Guilin, the four of us had
another day in Shanghai to do some final shopping before the girls flew back to
Germany. Thanks a lot for visiting Maria, Ina und Judith! I had a great time
that I will never forget about!</span></div>
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Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-51212139913047459232013-11-16T22:33:00.002-08:002013-11-16T22:36:51.909-08:00A short trip to beautiful Hangzhou<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">During my mum’s second week in Shanghai we
decided to go on a short trip to Hangzhou where we stayed for one night. With
the fast train it only takes about 1,5 hours from Shanghai to get there and it
was definitely worth seeing that place. Hangzhou is known for its Westlake at
which we spend our first day. We started from our accommodation that was located
directly at the Westlake and walked along the promenade for a while before we
got on one of the boats to get to a little island. We weren’t expecting much so
it was surprising for us to see the landscape from there that is printed on the
one RMB banknote. Since there otherwise wasn’t a lot to do on that island we
decided to get a portrait drawn by one of the artists there. It only took about
ten minutes but during that time there were already many Chinese gathering
around me and taking pictures again. The portrait turned out nicely but since
it didn’t really look like me we started to bargain so in the end we actually
only had to pay half price and that were only about 5 €. After getting back on
the mainland on the opposite of Westlake from where we started, we took a
little touristic train to get to the next attractions. There we looked at a
temple, different bridges and gardens, did some shopping and had a great coffee
at Starbucks where we got to know some very nice retired Chinese men, with who
we talked for at least 30 minutes. Considering the fact that very often it is
difficult to find English speaking people in Shanghai even among the young
Chinese it was surprising to me that they spoke and understood English
fluently. We had fun talking about their earlier jobs, their visits to Europe
and many other topics. After this memorable break we took a bus to get back to
the city so that by the end of the day we had surrounded Westlake with
different means of transportation. And at night the Westlake and its promenade
look especially beautiful as there are lights everywhere, people are gathering
for dances on the street and we even got to see a little water show. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The second day we took a taxi to the
surrounding area of Hangzhou where we got to see lots of tea plantations, which
I hadn’t really seen before. This was very interesting and it was especially
nice that we were almost the only people around so that we were able to enjoy
the peace for a little while before going back to busy Shanghai in the afternoon.
The only people we did meet on the way were different Chinese couples who got
their wedding pictures taken. Those couples really seem to be everywhere – we had
fun watching them leaning against trees or being placed in a little pavilion. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmF-gqHzhwlAPWXx0C_Ba-EpCjLYl7kYrLf5gd94HypXgo5wIKH_p0o12oS2bcaEky_uE7dM8V5eHbZRiC8W0bsYF5uyOdlDaA6LX-5GiDSpOoEK2tTKt3ErxayVAKkmelG_Qb_rGDo__F/s1600/IMG-20131031-WA0002+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmF-gqHzhwlAPWXx0C_Ba-EpCjLYl7kYrLf5gd94HypXgo5wIKH_p0o12oS2bcaEky_uE7dM8V5eHbZRiC8W0bsYF5uyOdlDaA6LX-5GiDSpOoEK2tTKt3ErxayVAKkmelG_Qb_rGDo__F/s320/IMG-20131031-WA0002+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMoKb-Ejqb6dUA-eidfApwhwlcNYnvTdhMnSjWl0WwHNEa5hLR4G0RUeipsqE4RatLDkryIYAaYXcYRDo80RDLjJlF9cl7LbPBOF-p_zWprrVWdv_43Sn6d8HuOLxLWvaf08jSCAyWxxN/s1600/IMG-20131031-WA0007+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMoKb-Ejqb6dUA-eidfApwhwlcNYnvTdhMnSjWl0WwHNEa5hLR4G0RUeipsqE4RatLDkryIYAaYXcYRDo80RDLjJlF9cl7LbPBOF-p_zWprrVWdv_43Sn6d8HuOLxLWvaf08jSCAyWxxN/s320/IMG-20131031-WA0007+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Highlight: I tried Chinese calssical dance on the street with an older man who was at least one head shorter than me and there were only natives around - it was lots of fun and the Chinese where happy I joined them :)</td></tr>
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Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-18062274873519394592013-11-12T07:42:00.003-08:002013-11-12T18:48:02.622-08:00Our Trip to Beijing<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7c96IsZhFx0E-vuikE2IHSM2gTM5WbTfi99eePZ5xCbT7DTIUTI7egJ2kE6pRotaGhN70FLGhNgsJW39c8U3kOdx083C55EPZtygigFikERoBtDHMbosGeKu2aca8JuQ6twDLohKEOWe/s1600/CAM00245+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7c96IsZhFx0E-vuikE2IHSM2gTM5WbTfi99eePZ5xCbT7DTIUTI7egJ2kE6pRotaGhN70FLGhNgsJW39c8U3kOdx083C55EPZtygigFikERoBtDHMbosGeKu2aca8JuQ6twDLohKEOWe/s200/CAM00245+(2).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cabin on the way to Beijing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the evening of October 24th Susu, me and our
mums took a train over night to Beijing. We left Shanghai at about 9.30 p.m. and
arrived at 9 a.m. the next day. When we decided to book a train instead of a
flight on the way there we all agreed that this is one of those things that are
worth doing in life and I’m very glad that we did since it was a great
experience that I would always recommend. The four of us could share one cabin
with two loft beds that were pretty comfortable. Against all expectations we
were able to sleep almost just as if we were spending the night at some kind of
hotel. An hour before our arrival we got woken up by nice Chinese music, the
light got switched on and people started to get ready. After that good night of
sleep we were well prepared to explore the city so that we decided to just take
a shower in the hotel, drop off the luggage and start walking the streets of
China’s capital right away. For the first day we had planned to meet up with
our friends in Beijing and wanted to visit the Forbidden City that is known as
a former palace of the emperor which the public wasn’t allowed to enter until
1920. Frauke and Nora did a good job guiding us through the city with its
different places, gates and buildings of which most were named or at least contained
the word harmony in some way. After about three hours of strolling through the
different parts we were ready to leave and climb the “Kohlehügel” from where we
had a great view on the Forbidden City and on Beijing. It was nice to have been
to this highlight of Beijing but it wasn’t very impressive to me. Maybe my
expectations beforehand were a bit too high but what I really did enjoy is the
view on it in the end. After this side trip to the top my mum and I walked
through the surrounding streets of the Forbidden City, visited Tiananmen
Square, some old parts of the city with antique and artists’ stores and we had
dinner at really fancy Buddhist Vegetarian Restaurant. As we knew that air
quality in Beijing is very bad so that many days are foggy we checked the
weather that night to find the best time to visit the Great Wall and decided that
it should be the next day. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We got up early in the morning and were almost
the first ones at the breakfast buffet in our hotel, where I had the best
breakfast in a very long time. After strengthening for the day we took the
metro, then a bus and taxi to get to the Great Wall where we arrived about 2,5
hours later. In Beijing there seems to be a lot more traffic than in Shanghai
so that we were mostly stuck in some traffic jam on the way there. The part of
the Great Wall that we went to is called Mutianyu, about 70 km north east of
Beijing. We could take a cable car on the way up and a coastal slide to go down
in the end. We were really lucky that the weather turned out to be as great as
forecasted, so that we spend about three hours walking on the Wall, taking
great pictures and enjoying the view on the beautiful trees that had started to
change colors. I’m sure that this must have been one of the best times during
the year to visit the Great Wall as the trees made the whole scenery especially
beautiful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On our third day in Beijing we visited of the
so-called Summer Palace, which was build 1750 and rebuild several times since
then. When we got off the metro station that was closest to the entrance I
asked two Chinese guys for the right direction. They also happened to be on
their way to the Palace and told us to just follow them. At first they didn’t
talk a lot and we weren’t sure if they had really understood what I had asked
them for but after only a few minutes we were standing in front of the
entrance, the two guys bought water bottles for all of us, they helped us to
buy tickets and somehow we ended up spending almost half of that day together.
Due to a lot of smog we were not able to see as much and take as many nice
pictures as we were hoping for. But instead we had gotten to know these very
nice Chinese with who I could practice a little bit of their language and they
also seemed to enjoy speaking English and asking questions about Germany. It is
not easy to get in touch with locals, especially because of the language
barrier so that I am very happy that I got to know Tim and Joseph. In the
afternoon my mum and I took the metro to a newer part of the capital, where we
went to a shopping center and visited “The Place” with its big impressive LED
screen where we looked at different pictures and also saw some kind of short
movie in the evening, which summarized the development of life on earth. For
dinner we tried Hotpot with coconut and satay, which is somehow similar to
Fondue. Typically there is a pot at the center of the table, there are
different ingredients like vegetables, meat or fish that can be ordered and
those are placed in the boiling pot so that the food can be cooked right at the
table. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On our fourth and last day in the capital of
China we visited the Hutongs, which are narrow streets with traditional residential
buildings that are commonly associated with northern Chinese cities such as
Beijing. After walking those streets and looking at different stores, we used
the rest of our remaining time to take a Rikscha through the area. We had
actually already seen everything that we wanted to and realized that three days
would also have been enough in Beijing so that we were ready to get back to
Shanghai. Still we were lucky that our flight was scheduled for the evening
since our metro station closest to the hotel was the one at Tiananmen Square
where the car accident or attack happened that afternoon. If we would have left
from there an hour earlier than we had planned to we might have been one of
those people who got injured that day so we really were very lucky and decided
to take a taxi to the airport instead. I was happy to be back in Shanghai that
evening, but my mum and me actually only stayed there for one day and went on
another short trip to Hangzhou, which I will write about next time. </span></div>
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Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-45963012232071078832013-11-04T07:34:00.004-08:002013-11-04T07:36:09.310-08:00My mum and aunt in Shanghai<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s about
time for some input after two great weeks that I got to spend with my mum and
aunt. On October 19<sup>th</sup> they both arrived in Shanghai and I couldn’t
wait to welcome them at the airport. Especially my mum was very relieved when
she finally arrived. Not only because we go to see each other but also because
I had asked her to bring as much German bread, cheese and sweets as possible.
Those things are not only hard to get in Shanghai but also very expensive so
that it was definitely worth trying to bring them. It all went well and I could
eat a German roll right away. After our reunion we decided to take a taxi to
avoid those crowded metros to the city. This way the two could already have a
look at the outer parts of Shanghai. Their first impression actually wasn’t that
good as it all looked very different from what they were expecting. In the outskirts
there are lots of high, run down, grey buildings - an area where one gets
reminded that there are great differences of living standards within the city.
I’m sure that this is true for many places but in Shanghai it seems especially
obvious. Luckily this was only one part that my mum and aunt got to see the
first day and I promised that their impressions would change until the end of
the day.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZeXlFDEhFx4EBbfy3LB_GPWQdmiwLA6stX6lNp7YkuV4rAmvn-bj11wQxzNDTbt92KRnl6RYzzPp5O8-tihlHeGsNncJ5SGbvuzbSjsQXRklhpovX_jlZVT3NV8w_vyRVGz76NK2ASZi/s1600/eintrag1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZeXlFDEhFx4EBbfy3LB_GPWQdmiwLA6stX6lNp7YkuV4rAmvn-bj11wQxzNDTbt92KRnl6RYzzPp5O8-tihlHeGsNncJ5SGbvuzbSjsQXRklhpovX_jlZVT3NV8w_vyRVGz76NK2ASZi/s320/eintrag1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The market of lost souls"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIZzfE9gwGZJT_F0Y0jdlrMbCO8UPisRuyB3766UQ5aOw8YxK0TgJeohBM57gbfY3CZKX0608BToyHYo8p1O6YN2lHwn2K5zGJbjWbCSqsof8kL6Xram2Zq78iAw69xcZfjwzCrUaQEWD/s1600/eintrag2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIZzfE9gwGZJT_F0Y0jdlrMbCO8UPisRuyB3766UQ5aOw8YxK0TgJeohBM57gbfY3CZKX0608BToyHYo8p1O6YN2lHwn2K5zGJbjWbCSqsof8kL6Xram2Zq78iAw69xcZfjwzCrUaQEWD/s320/eintrag2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not too happy about the date offers</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After a
short break in their hotel we started our first tour through the city center and
decided to visit People Square and the park behind it which I had actually also
not been to. By accident we got to see the so-called market of lost souls that
takes part every Saturday. I had already read about this before and was very
excited to finally see that spectacle. The park was packed with parents who were
trying to find a partner for their son or daughter. For me it’s unbelievable
that something like this still exists!!! Hundreds of parents put up</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">signs with
the most important data about their children and try to arrange dates. Their
children do not seem to have any say as they are not even there making any
choices. From what I have heard and understood on those Chinese signs, the
young adults who are supposed to get married are mostly in their mid- or late
20<sup>th</sup> and have started good carriers which makes it especially hard
for women to find an husband as men are only interested in dating if they are
in a better or higher position. Generally, I doubt that the young Chinese are that
concerned about finding a partner that they send their parents to find one- this
is all about tradition and once again it becomes very obvious that there is a
great gap between culture and modern life in Shanghai. As we walked through the
park everybody seemed to think that I am looking for an husband so the parents
started asking for my nationality, age, job etc. I was glad my mum was there to
save me when a Chinese man suggested that I should meet their son who he
promised is the best looking, and successful guy in town…. Yeah right they all
are :P</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohrCgREU_whIIlMMJwKNcR60mjpLnc5KTHyJO5jDM7AJc9ZiWGWiZ3tzI_g7EpZe6Q1oVFEMOMUcl7KvK8ciDohzwIbsk_OxvjBFI0dnKeUc8nL32anCBDhy1vsk7icHTqcr3qr_N5als/s1600/eintrag3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohrCgREU_whIIlMMJwKNcR60mjpLnc5KTHyJO5jDM7AJc9ZiWGWiZ3tzI_g7EpZe6Q1oVFEMOMUcl7KvK8ciDohzwIbsk_OxvjBFI0dnKeUc8nL32anCBDhy1vsk7icHTqcr3qr_N5als/s200/eintrag3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nanjing Road</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Then we
spend the afternoon walking along Nanjing Road and taking a look at the skyline
of Pudong which they both experienced as breath taking as I did when I saw it
the first time. At the end of the day it already became clear that the city has
many different faces to offer and that there are many things and places to
discover.</span></div>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1qjkup8f1q9k9BeylxVSVF62Ij4OmLCZkZgxC2nNAH6xZvVBU4HeI6pULp0nb15iaAUuVMyy6ifOuoxppIn7MC3DNiTRWUP3TVKiitgwr_OD1uJ5t19uukc0ne5uLjLlwhrjpx-k-2ySe/s1600/eintrag+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1qjkup8f1q9k9BeylxVSVF62Ij4OmLCZkZgxC2nNAH6xZvVBU4HeI6pULp0nb15iaAUuVMyy6ifOuoxppIn7MC3DNiTRWUP3TVKiitgwr_OD1uJ5t19uukc0ne5uLjLlwhrjpx-k-2ySe/s640/eintrag+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even after two months in Shanghai it's always great to the beautiful skyline :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<![endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: DE; mso-no-proof: yes;">The next days we did a tour through the old part of
Shanghai, visited some modern areas such as Pudong and the French Concession,
spend one morning in Tianzifang, an area with cute little stores, cafés and
restaurants that is known as an outside art gallery, went on a day trip to
Suzhou where different gardens can be visisted and Tongli, a typical canal village.
We mainly enjoyed the bus ride to the villages as we were able to see some
countryside and small Chinese towns on the way. Suzhou did not have much to
offer and I don’t understand why its gardens are a world heritage. Therefore
the first part of our tour that day was a bit disappointing. I liked Tongli a
lot better. It’s not that touristic and worth a visit, yet the villages that I
had already seen in the South of China seemed more interesting and more
original… Besides looking at different places my mum, aunt and I also did some
shopping and went to the fake market to buy souveniers for the rest of the
family back in Germany. I really enjoyed showing them around. It was a fun
girls trip and my highlight of every day was going out for a very nice dinner
in the evenings. We usually try to eat as cheap as possible in Shanghai, buy
food on the streets or order typical dishes with rice. By the time my mum got
here I was more than ready for a change in food matters. So we chose somethig
different every night, tried some good typical Chinese, Thai, Indian, Spanish
and always had a nice location with great views on the city. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: DE; mso-no-proof: yes;">It was very interesting to observe what my mum and aunt
perceived as being exciting, different or also strange. The most striking thing
for them was how the Chinese in Shanghai dress. They always talked about how
the Chinese combine so many different colours, wear glasses that just consist
of a frame or even walk around in their pyjamas on the main shopping roads. Secondly
they were shocked about some habits such as the spitting on the streets. And
they also experienced it as being very difficult to find people who speak or
understand English. In those nice restaurants that we went to in the evenings
every European would expect good service which we could only find in one or two
cases as nobody understood our orders unless there were pictures on the menues
and we could just point on what we wanted to eat. To me it seemed like they were culturally a bit more shocked than I was when we arrived in China, which shows that we got very well prepared beforehand.... After a fun week
together in Shanghai my aunt flew back home while my mum stayed for another
week, in which we did a trip to Beijing, the Great Wall and Hangzhou. I will
soon write about those experiences as well </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-language: DE; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">:)</span></span></div>
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Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-36635158070442349062013-10-04T08:03:00.000-07:002013-10-08T08:41:00.281-07:00Our journey to the state of Guangxi <div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY4CuaMluzZ4AOh_Ue49HKEpfCQscs72M4oE350tUIHQGszmle8L90oB1kx6TRv4iw3UDj31pjb7QkuNOJy2ixEgJ8E7kMF4WsVKuxNPrEHTLYBombdGr6lVKA4mDH9hk6CNI7IYGr8Mr/s1600/china.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY4CuaMluzZ4AOh_Ue49HKEpfCQscs72M4oE350tUIHQGszmle8L90oB1kx6TRv4iw3UDj31pjb7QkuNOJy2ixEgJ8E7kMF4WsVKuxNPrEHTLYBombdGr6lVKA4mDH9hk6CNI7IYGr8Mr/s320/china.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Our trip started at 5 in the morning last week on Wednesday. We too<span style="font-size: small;">k a taxi to the
airport and got on the plane for about 2,5 h to get to Guilin. At our reserved
hostel we me<span style="font-family: inherit;">t Frauke and Nora, two German friends from Paderborn, who are
participating in the same program and spend their semester in Beijing. We were very excited to see each other again after the first couple of weeks in China and exchanged experiences for a while before we left the hostel. For the
first</span> day we had planned to explore Guilin, but for Susanne and me it ended up being
a desperate search for something warm to wear. So far it had been around 30
degrees in Shanghai and we didn’t expect it to be any colder in the South. But unfortunately
it was very windy that day and since we had planned to climb the rice terraces
the next day, we decided to buy some w</span>arm sweaters. This took much longer than we
thought as the Chinese fashion is a lot different from what we like to shop for which made it very difficult to make up our minds. At least I own a pullover now that will always remind me of the Chinese style</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> :) Because of our shopping tour we didn't get to see a lot of Guilin as we stayed on the main shopping street all day. But we were still happy in the evening when we sat in the hostel with our warm, comfortable sweaters and enjoyed some very delicious pancakes with the rest of our group. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnd1ME-DYCP1HOwWbH0Rhac_EYPzplZNw0rRIawHEPnPowKEORF-TdemEke2Zr94ro5tnxo7KZwLFHRlCzICjEMq0n9xF8QZgJotz_xcjjcQcf4Fq-bawK90oAVPikazIsCx-FkifLSZUT/s1600/Travelcrew.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnd1ME-DYCP1HOwWbH0Rhac_EYPzplZNw0rRIawHEPnPowKEORF-TdemEke2Zr94ro5tnxo7KZwLFHRlCzICjEMq0n9xF8QZgJotz_xcjjcQcf4Fq-bawK90oAVPikazIsCx-FkifLSZUT/s400/Travelcrew.png" width="381" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our travel crew (Nora, Susu, Frauke, me)<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">The next day started with a three hour bus ride to the
village of Longsheng. Once we arrived, there were already some local women
waiting to carry up our luggage. At that point we didn’t know how many stairs
we would have to overcome again and we also didn’t know that we would have to
walk uphill for one hour to get to our hostel… we actually didn’t bring that
much luggage, but a backpack instead of a suitcase would have been very
helpful (2nd lesson we have learned on this trip :)).</span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">After we had tried to stay strong for the first part of the distance
and after continuously trying to tell the local women that we would be able to
carry our own stuff, we were determined to make it all the way to the top. But those women were clever. They followed us the whole time in the hope
that we would give up at some point… and I must admit I did think about it several
times ;) When we finally reached the top, the great view recompensed all the effort. It all would have been perfect if it had been
a bit warmer, but it still was a great and stunning experience to finally see
how people grow rice there and how they live in the middle of the terraces. </span><span style="font-size: small;">We used the rest of the day to explore the area and to take some pictures of that beautiful countryside. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9tr3nmKIquma6XZ4WUlU2B4qjemkSPE5qjH2hicfFf-tJoH5QQSdRP5az9QiCnJHVllFjv__ei79PBtYSU-wL6-PETZpCiKNCxUXmGN9-knH5oIG0Cao-bIA8ZAbL1EpKj_QgisrdjJV/s1600/Reisterrassen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We spend the night in a hostel in Dazhai Village in the middle of the rice terraces. The accomodation looked like a cozy cabin and a nice place to stay at until we saw the facilities and discovered some cardboard on the walls that was used in some corners of our room which would explain why it was terribly cold in that place. We tried to take it with humor, ordered something warm to drink before going to bed, and just slept with all of our clothes on. It was very foggy when we got up the next morning so that we weren't able to see more of the beautiful countryside as we were hoping for. After breakfast we headed back down with all of our luggage again but this time we decided to ask the local women for help... they were actually already standing infront of our hostel while we had breakfast and waited for their next opportunity to earn some money. After they had annoyed us all the way up the day before we were now thankful to meet them again. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJk-ROU_NGZSQzvW-1ueHQE_KYsx7cwZwiJF7JbDpbVX14FZqYsd-wzZuFQ3bp_NVQ5TopdMEdRSu47P63qAAxEBj0GD6v6E682fyKj5egm0qGvjeBB7PuOI42QVDqs1MyC-l6ChAeJiF/s1600/Reisterrassen3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJk-ROU_NGZSQzvW-1ueHQE_KYsx7cwZwiJF7JbDpbVX14FZqYsd-wzZuFQ3bp_NVQ5TopdMEdRSu47P63qAAxEBj0GD6v6E682fyKj5egm0qGvjeBB7PuOI42QVDqs1MyC-l6ChAeJiF/s640/Reisterrassen3.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Back in Longsheng at the bottom of the rice terraces we took the bus to Guilin again, where a Chinese man was already waiting to drive us to our next highlight of this trip. About one hour south of Guilin we arrived at the water's edge of Li Jiang River. The river also runs through Guilin, yet we drove to a specific point of the river to take a bamboo boat through the beautiful karst landscape. For 1,5 hours we just sat back, enjoyed the wonderful weather and the great surrounding. At the end of this relaxing ride we got to see that part of the landscape that is also printed on the 20 RMB banknote. Another bus ride that day took us to the city of Yangshuo, where were stayed for the next three days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The first day in Yangshuo started with a very nice Western brunch that we couldn't get enough off after having eaten soft rolls, cereals or Chinese noodles for breakfast the weeks before. With all that energy we were ready to go on a first cycling tour through the karst landscape. Our first destination was the so-called dragon bridge which we reached after riding our bikes along the river and through small villages for about two hours. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When we arrived at the Dragon Bridge we took a break for about an hour, sat down in a small café next to the river, and had something cold to drink. I actually had the best Mango Sorbet ever :) at this point it really felt like being on vacation and not like taking a few days off from our semester abroad in Shanghai. The Dragon Bridge itself wasn't that special, but once again we had a wonderful view on the river and the karst landscape in the background.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Following a suggestion of our Lonely Planet, we decided to go back on the other <span style="font-family: inherit;">side</span> of the river which turned out to be a lot more complicated but at the same time adventurous than we were expecting. The street we drove on was more of a gravel walk for which our bikes were not very convenient and then the curve that was supposed to show up after about 20 minutes just didn't appear or we missed it in the end. After around 40 minutes we figured that we were on the wrong track and tried to asked for directions. Although there were some Chinese farmers who were willing to help us we were challeged by the language barrier again. An even bigger issue was that we were driving on the wrong side of the Karst hills and didn't </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUV9hlJTYvNzSNEaAptjcxYcK5BdgdO5yRcufgkfXGjypk01c49gplBg1wyy7-5fnB1-UXXvA92K1Zp1mN18uhP8AGfJlNjLynkRWlPheksAG21KfYzUljFM07bIbvq_QVY1wHC_6KrCU/s1600/Radtour+Teil2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxUV9hlJTYvNzSNEaAptjcxYcK5BdgdO5yRcufgkfXGjypk01c49gplBg1wyy7-5fnB1-UXXvA92K1Zp1mN18uhP8AGfJlNjLynkRWlPheksAG21KfYzUljFM07bIbvq_QVY1wHC_6KrCU/s320/Radtour+Teil2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">find a way to get through. When we were almost ready to stop some vehicles to ask them for a ride, we found a small and very bumpy road to the other side with the help of a Chinese lady pointing us in the right direction. Against all expectations we made it back to Yangshuo before it got dark and at the perfect time to go out for dinner. That night we went to my favorite food experience in China so far as we chose a vegetarian restaurant where I could finally find a great variety of choices. It was so yummy that we actually forgot to take pictures ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As if our first day of cycling had not been exciting enough, we decided to go on a second trip the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8L8Af5inTl2G00Zu2i406VJ7glr6B5pBvgFjZAxNviiD9ThWKpzM-FPP4kvN1xUv3vG5ku9SPPw0TZyeDsGhuS04uJbL_KaCNDIi7JR6-EEBzRmEJ0OFUOlAgGO7WOLs6o09cz-GWlI9/s1600/DSC_0734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8L8Af5inTl2G00Zu2i406VJ7glr6B5pBvgFjZAxNviiD9ThWKpzM-FPP4kvN1xUv3vG5ku9SPPw0TZyeDsGhuS04uJbL_KaCNDIi7JR6-EEBzRmEJ0OFUOlAgGO7WOLs6o09cz-GWlI9/s320/DSC_0734.JPG" width="320" /></a>Our backside was still hurting so we could hardly sit on our bikes but yet it was worth overcoming this little handicap. On the one hand because Frauke had not been able to join us the day before due to a migraine and it was more fun with the whole group and on the other hand there were still some must-see places left that we wanted to visit duirng the cycling tour. Our first stop was the Big Banyan Tree. It really wasn't worth paying entrance for it as I had seen many trees like this in botanical gardens in Australia. Susu and I decided to make the best out of this situation and payed for some Chinese Customes to take fun pictures in them. We don't really know if they had some kind of traditional meaning, but it was lots of fun especially because we were surrounded by many Chinese tourists who were taking pictures of us like crazy and also kept asking for pictures together with us. We enjoyed that feeling of fame for 20 minutes but then it was also nice to take those customes off and just walk around as a normal tourist. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our next destination was the moon hill. Just like in most other nice places we have been to in China there were stairs (800) that we had to overcome before enjoying a view through that great moon hill window. After this hike we were ready for some lunch and decided to ride our bikes to the next little town which was only about ten minutes away. At first it didn't seem like we would be able to find a restaurant, but then we saw a young man eating some rice with vegetables that looked very good. We tried to ask him where we could get something similar and he pointed to a little place that we would never have entered without his hint. The menu was all in Chinese letters and there were no pictures that we could order from. In the end we followed the waitress in the kitchen and just pointed at all the ingredients for the meal that we got served. We didn't know what to expect but we were lucky. The food was very delicious and I'm sure this was a special experience for the Chinese working in that restaurant as well. The city didn't look like there are ever any tourists that get lost in this place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We used the morning of our third day in Yangshuo to go souvenir shopping in all those little stores that may be found in the city center next to lots of bars and nice litlle restaurants with food from lots of different countries. In the evenings there are hundreds of tourists, lights everywhere and you can definitely feel a special holiday air! I really enjoyed our stay in Yangshuo! It is a very touristic town but yet the perfect place for a short and memorable vacation surrounded by one of the most stunning natural spectacles China has to offer. Just as all good things this trip came to an end after six great days in the state of Guangxi and Susanne and I flew back to Shanghai in the evening.</span></div>
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Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-33954453544856848942013-10-02T02:52:00.001-07:002013-10-08T08:07:35.407-07:00Everyday life in China<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another two weeks have passed since I last shared my experiences and we went on a second exciting trip outside of Shanghai to the south of China, which I will for sure write about in detail during the next days, but before I would like to share some everyday life experiences. One big daily topic is the food :) For breakfast we have decided to live on cereals to start the day with something familiar. We also have a lot of bakeries here, but of course they don't offer our good German rolls and bread. Instead there is a great variety of soft rolls and some sweets that are hard to identfy. To survive the rest of the day being a vegetarian is not easy. I thought it would be possible to just get rice with vegetables on every corner, but most of the dishes still have some kind of meat in them. If I try to order something without meat it's always difficult to communicate this knowing just a few words in Chinese. But something very nice, cheap and convenient are the night markets that can be found on most streets during lunch and dinner time, where you can get all kinds of meat, fish and most importantly vegetables :)</div>
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Some more impressons of everyday life are the following: little kids having a hole in their trousers so that they can easily do their business, or their parents holding them over trash cans for this, a lot of motorcycles everywhere, clothes hanging outside the house to dry, people sleeping in the middle of a busy street, cramed vehicles, food being sold on those little stalls on the street, a huddle of electric cables, crowded places with the Chinese standing very close to each other without keeping that natural distance that we would feel comfortable with and elderly playing cards on the pavement.</div>
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<br />Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-39145552334011834292013-09-17T10:05:00.001-07:002013-10-08T08:04:19.253-07:00Our apartment, a first trip outside of Shanghai and our start at Tongji University<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Time just seems to fly.
Tomorrow I have been in Shanghai for two weeks already and there are lots of things
we have experienced. Most importantly: thanks to some very nice and helpful
people at our university Susanne and I have found a great apartment located in
a Chinese living area, where we will have the chance to experience the true way
of life here. When we first saw the building from the outside and walked up the
stairs to the first floor we were both thinking that it wouldn't be possible to
live there.... but then the door to our apartment opened and it was all good :)
exactly what we were looking for! It still feels strange to regularly hear the
sound of our neighbors spitting from the bottom of their hearts which is
generally very common in China (at least for the older generation) .... but
still we are very happy and starting to feel at home! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSsQcv4hdqAllg8BOIzD_fOBwAYeWeuwbCUideA6UlMhXUxs2-RkmWf9dHRDffJbbLvzfHf2kXU_cGNAXjbCV6vyC6BgNcI4qjL0v7NeR-XZcyLO-HebOYoDML08hiopq3Rgb3NiCUTm8/s1600/IMGP0228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSsQcv4hdqAllg8BOIzD_fOBwAYeWeuwbCUideA6UlMhXUxs2-RkmWf9dHRDffJbbLvzfHf2kXU_cGNAXjbCV6vyC6BgNcI4qjL0v7NeR-XZcyLO-HebOYoDML08hiopq3Rgb3NiCUTm8/s320/IMGP0228.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our house from the outside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14o2ITerjpbh8D9ZDpxYAKAA27P7As3hqPuz01EDrttiqqcauJ2Zc3juBbJLSR-TByl799MTEk0DtGc0NZAVuqRqDb2H-l1jW2cqKeKmogmmCVS0SzALPGl3Sj56SANJN-WG_5dotyOFv/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14o2ITerjpbh8D9ZDpxYAKAA27P7As3hqPuz01EDrttiqqcauJ2Zc3juBbJLSR-TByl799MTEk0DtGc0NZAVuqRqDb2H-l1jW2cqKeKmogmmCVS0SzALPGl3Sj56SANJN-WG_5dotyOFv/s320/DSC_0001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our rooms</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After finally being able to
unpack our entire luggage on our 5th day in Shanghai, our next challenge was the
registration at university. This almost took all day at the beginning of last
week as we had to go to a second campus of Tongji University, which is about
1,5 hours away from the main part of the city. The metros were so crowded, that
we decided to just take a taxi to go there. That is something really convenient
in this city as taxis are very cheap here. Susanne and I both paid about 10€
for this long distance. On the campus we just handed in different papers and
noticed that there are several people who seem to be responsible for us, but at
the same time couldn't give us any detailed information on courses. We all
realized how well our university in Germany is organized and how great it is to
be able to select courses online. But there was also good news that day as we
were told that we would have another week off.</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Therefore we decided to
take the opportunity to escape from the busy city for a few days. Susanne,
Anna, Sina, Kim and I went on a trip to Huang Shan, a mountain range south of
Shanghai. We took a bus for about 6 hours and stayed in a very nice hostel from
Thursday to Sunday. The first day we visited two ancient villages called
Chengkan and Tangmo. It was really nice to see some rural Chinese areas,
different architecture and another way of life in China. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACuZbTUhvS04WLLzp6Ds7RD29WhfBdjAV3igiNGIDdyZ33H1IXppT8tzERgkQ4Bdtd-tmUITK4tGpS5VVkm5E1gQQVEop8o5LY2SNamxdUDoOQgUFBR0dD4LIgg2WaEti4ycbmTiEIYGp/s1600/IMG_5799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACuZbTUhvS04WLLzp6Ds7RD29WhfBdjAV3igiNGIDdyZ33H1IXppT8tzERgkQ4Bdtd-tmUITK4tGpS5VVkm5E1gQQVEop8o5LY2SNamxdUDoOQgUFBR0dD4LIgg2WaEti4ycbmTiEIYGp/s400/IMG_5799.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chengkan</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On Friday we started early
in the morning as we had planned to climb Huang Shan Mountain that day.
Climbing in this case meant walking up stairs for 2,5 hours (7,5 kilometers).
It was really really hard and exhausting especially because it was also very
hot outside but once we got to the top and were able to enjoy a great view it
was definitely worth it!! I haven’t seen such an amazing countryside before. </span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEePMgXuV-t4OFYluMU8MiQE1II1nQCcoIxZ1DDmNzj9i4nL21RZKr-ahe1N2Hbvwd5JmpCwe8SCcmCBTMLx8Kb9g9xDJm2BQhhuKJYu8XzOHl1MxGfwxxVtI9cEx_XZSBzFNNkR8uWfv/s1600/IMG_5942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEePMgXuV-t4OFYluMU8MiQE1II1nQCcoIxZ1DDmNzj9i4nL21RZKr-ahe1N2Hbvwd5JmpCwe8SCcmCBTMLx8Kb9g9xDJm2BQhhuKJYu8XzOHl1MxGfwxxVtI9cEx_XZSBzFNNkR8uWfv/s320/IMG_5942.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">planning our trip with St<span id="goog_58162290"></span><span id="goog_58162291"></span>even after a very delicious dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_DV63KEuWx9TepS9bH9Dqn9UsjdrU8k_eo9HiLksVj0uMEBJifn039FLry4OVNe8QhuItbgwi59r8ofHob0pWPpFbYs11y7kLBU8R4lqSgixA3M7Yu4zQ_JGWdDKxoIe39k-FydnE-ns/s1600/IMG_5951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_DV63KEuWx9TepS9bH9Dqn9UsjdrU8k_eo9HiLksVj0uMEBJifn039FLry4OVNe8QhuItbgwi59r8ofHob0pWPpFbYs11y7kLBU8R4lqSgixA3M7Yu4zQ_JGWdDKxoIe39k-FydnE-ns/s400/IMG_5951.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese men carrying food for the hotels to the top </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgnzSZWMhXg23PcMtJR1dGKMqTSpLc_6GzE4dejsXjqoDvXzqZuIq2F_F-6JA4u9LubsKUr971MCxVylUxPdYK60zWMvbmrsvZNVHKZTo0k4oLL1VGhxToN_jD4QFypfmirRxhMaPItGK/s1600/IMG_5958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgnzSZWMhXg23PcMtJR1dGKMqTSpLc_6GzE4dejsXjqoDvXzqZuIq2F_F-6JA4u9LubsKUr971MCxVylUxPdYK60zWMvbmrsvZNVHKZTo0k4oLL1VGhxToN_jD4QFypfmirRxhMaPItGK/s400/IMG_5958.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">endless stairs on the 7 km to the top</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_58162297"></span><span id="goog_58162298"></span><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgnzSZWMhXg23PcMtJR1dGKMqTSpLc_6GzE4dejsXjqoDvXzqZuIq2F_F-6JA4u9LubsKUr971MCxVylUxPdYK60zWMvbmrsvZNVHKZTo0k4oLL1VGhxToN_jD4QFypfmirRxhMaPItGK/s1600/IMG_5958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogo-Nxcy6qnt-0rVe37dkQSZJ_ymNjx9Axq4FWgV81GnrjGGoHQuMN1NUyqDtTd1D28BorKXOeBs-r53I-nVADPMQLZLZcQNhapFHFiX94B8OVO1-pK9zGJNweeN1trp8kZjzZAxfXYBz/s1600/DSC_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogo-Nxcy6qnt-0rVe37dkQSZJ_ymNjx9Axq4FWgV81GnrjGGoHQuMN1NUyqDtTd1D28BorKXOeBs-r53I-nVADPMQLZLZcQNhapFHFiX94B8OVO1-pK9zGJNweeN1trp8kZjzZAxfXYBz/s400/DSC_0385.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">enjoying the great view :)<span id="goog_58162294"></span><span id="goog_58162295"></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwa9dnsSzXuV3J46YGU_RdG7iRFaC518_iy3lTUBGjD0h3A7SEdthaLxIVecJFUrshVMCgyNJq-RZGZ5apfzPYIZ4nQES1-EgzPLVYWyWkIY99jNgomVtbtqxhx3mO2_Xx8GIINHJZUc_-/s1600/IMG_6227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwa9dnsSzXuV3J46YGU_RdG7iRFaC518_iy3lTUBGjD0h3A7SEdthaLxIVecJFUrshVMCgyNJq-RZGZ5apfzPYIZ4nQES1-EgzPLVYWyWkIY99jNgomVtbtqxhx3mO2_Xx8GIINHJZUc_-/s400/IMG_6227.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our PB group on Huang Shun Mountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HySeKlPe-WQ6tzdw_XY6ztEERvdnWNQDr6vHlnCco4kIg07GaffdQzYJcjJT8YEVJvqtzc7xkYkjbhLVX_j-WNWIkecbWYjBZP4Suhd3uKJjyqQKkqZnTfPjiMNQ4-Qu4ojqklxkE81m/s1600/IMG_6265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HySeKlPe-WQ6tzdw_XY6ztEERvdnWNQDr6vHlnCco4kIg07GaffdQzYJcjJT8YEVJvqtzc7xkYkjbhLVX_j-WNWIkecbWYjBZP4Suhd3uKJjyqQKkqZnTfPjiMNQ4-Qu4ojqklxkE81m/s400/IMG_6265.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our very patient driver for the three days</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On
Saturday we visited a bamboo forest and another ancient village called Hongcun
which is a world cultural heritage. After three fantastic days in a beautiful
countryside we took a bus back to Shanghai on Sunday. </span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This week we have been
taking it a bit slower to settle down and get into the routine. In summary we
have been trying to find out what we can buy in the grocery stores so we don’t
have to eat out every day </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> and we went to two courses at
university so far. On Thursday there is a national holiday and we have already
been warned that it will be very crowded and maybe better to stay at home. I
can’t wait to see this spectacle!</span></div>
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<![endif]-->Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-31712994493524443292013-09-07T11:55:00.001-07:002013-10-08T08:08:05.215-07:00Arrival in Shanghai and our first days<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We made it to Shanghai!! </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The journey went really well! We (Susanne, Kim
and I) started in Düsseldorf last Wednesday, had a short stopover in Istanbul and then we flew
about ten hours to Shanghai. Luckily the flights weren’t so bad so that I could
sleep and watch movies on the way even though I really don't like to fly as many of you know ;) </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHZBmKxno889saKV105QiE8G2Gd7TCzdnanirAu_xC55ynRqGsG-0IWMJGJj3ZtnQDNckaf-N15HvnB37UKcEHUmRXOOGyAB-ut2pY7Tx7JpM4HmuK1F3jaVGHHMgfj69jt066cG1o4P4/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHZBmKxno889saKV105QiE8G2Gd7TCzdnanirAu_xC55ynRqGsG-0IWMJGJj3ZtnQDNckaf-N15HvnB37UKcEHUmRXOOGyAB-ut2pY7Tx7JpM4HmuK1F3jaVGHHMgfj69jt066cG1o4P4/s320/DSC_0034.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Susanne, Kim and Iat the airport in Düsseldorf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After
landing in Shanghai we decided to take the metro to the city which was quite an
adventure. It was really crowed and always a little battle trying to switch
trains with that entire luggage. Plus the Chinese seem to think that it is most
important to get on those trains and don’t care about the fact that some also
like to get off.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbzmzqf9zrW7W1jDLbcjbQ9SQGTySIesCX8iaFCqQ1MdU3d4-TNLsb-8nYoS1NuD6Qmf6PoYuNAVmlWZpnyu6N3Q7X7Z605lYxzHTeGu7BHwJ9Zi5c4Ad434wg6dqDhhOBoU000QKxdE3/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbzmzqf9zrW7W1jDLbcjbQ9SQGTySIesCX8iaFCqQ1MdU3d4-TNLsb-8nYoS1NuD6Qmf6PoYuNAVmlWZpnyu6N3Q7X7Z605lYxzHTeGu7BHwJ9Zi5c4Ad434wg6dqDhhOBoU000QKxdE3/s320/DSC_0065.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowded metro where we were stuck with all our luggage on the way to Shanghai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
When we arrived at a central point in the city, where Kim had
to get off to get to his apartment, Susanne and I decided to take a taxi to the
university where we were hoping to stay the first night. First of all we had to
overcome the language barrier. We tried it in English but unfortunately the
taxi driver didn’t understand a word so we switched to Chinese… oh well let’s
say to those few words that we were able to remember in Chinese ;) when we
arrived at the university we were lucky to meet some other exchange students who
helped us to find the way to the international student dormitory. We thought it
would be possible to stay there for a few days at first but they wanted us to
pay for the whole semester right away. At this point the first excitement
started to turn into some kind of frustration. It was already dark, we had not
changed enough money and were supposed to decide without even seeing the rooms
and on top we didn’t know that we would have to share one room. Again we were
lucky, because we met Inga, a girl from Germany, and her Chinese buddy Min. They
took us with them to Inga’s dorm, so that we were actually able to see one of
the dorms. The first impression wasn’t very good and we didn’t want to make big
decisions after such a long journey. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Min
then helped us to book a hostel for the first night. Susanne and I left our big
suitcase in Inga’s room and took another taxi to that hostel. Our mood changed
to the better when we got there. The hostel was located in a really cute
street, there were very friendly Chinese working in the hostel that were also able
to speak English and we were so happy about that nice room with two comfortable
beds after having traveled for almost 24 hours. After the challenge of finding
something to eat on menus that were all in Chinese signs we decided to just go
to bed and wait for the next day to find a solution for our accommodation problem. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WNkRBiI-at3mPfjIBzq88mFCE2JGykWIxWQuFhXEnoqzky5NBUshr2HlcDrNhHgTxSfHF53oiXxYbHBcp-eGxqwtlNVfql10IUmBKbKamBU8LoMn0BPtUOdXdqC2MjakJWIXnDTfuSus/s1600/DSC_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WNkRBiI-at3mPfjIBzq88mFCE2JGykWIxWQuFhXEnoqzky5NBUshr2HlcDrNhHgTxSfHF53oiXxYbHBcp-eGxqwtlNVfql10IUmBKbKamBU8LoMn0BPtUOdXdqC2MjakJWIXnDTfuSus/s320/DSC_0068.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our nice room in the koala hostel</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The night
was very short. At eight the next morning we were supposed to register at
university. This all didn’t go as we were expecting it. After waiting in line
for one hour, we were given a registration sheet, a number and the information
that we should come back next week on Tuesday for the actual registration. There
was also a good side to this since we actually had the rest of the day to get
things organized. Susanne and I looked at two apartments which were okay, had a
very nice view from the 27<sup>th</sup> floor, but were too expensive for us.
The other three students from Paderborn offered that we could stay in their apartment
for the first nights, which of course was a big help… thanks a lot to
Sina, Anna and Kim </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">:)</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Friday evening we went to “The Bund” of
Shanghai for the first time, enjoyed a very nice view and had our first
experiences eating noodles with chopsticks. That was very hard work but
there are four more months to practice. I have hope that we will not starve here :) </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkYzoCr-3o_nHu32tX9PHPVbjjfNiqnPjkD63ljX5MCyv59x19kLPFJ4-SYzYDYiLbtVgCkd57xLMvMT8erMI57kWT640ALgo9XS-4X8Dgz_WT2T1Tz-dOBEy5Nf_8bn8H-EwJTs8AV-o/s1600/DSC_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkYzoCr-3o_nHu32tX9PHPVbjjfNiqnPjkD63ljX5MCyv59x19kLPFJ4-SYzYDYiLbtVgCkd57xLMvMT8erMI57kWT640ALgo9XS-4X8Dgz_WT2T1Tz-dOBEy5Nf_8bn8H-EwJTs8AV-o/s320/DSC_0090.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bund and our group from Paderborn (Anna, me, Susanne, Sina, Kim)</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">After
sleeping in today which actually ended up being until lunch time we started a
nice tour through the old part of the city. This was totally different from the
modern buildings that come to one’s mind when thinking of Shanghai. I guess
some pictures will be more interesting than trying to explain different prats of what we have
seen! </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My first
impression of Shanghai is a good one! The city is not very noisy, a lot of people stare at us but they are still friendly, it is not as busy and crowded as I thought it would be and of
course there are lots of things to see that we are not used to like people
walking around in pyjamas on the streets, but there is nothing that has really
shocked me so fare. It’s just very interesting to experience all this!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Love, Mira</span></div>
Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1088059368549602344.post-9934193196324534052013-08-27T21:00:00.000-07:002013-10-08T07:52:30.718-07:00New adventure :)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="background-color: white;">Tomorrow in a week I will be heading to China!!! After a wonderful exchange student year in Michigan (with the greatest family I could have wished for :)) and a great time during Work & Travel in Australia, I will finally go on another fun adventure: one semester in Shanghai! ... How I feel at the moment? Mhh I would say a little scared, a bit worried about all the things that are not planned in detail (like accomodation or the courses at university) ... BUT I'm also and maybe most importantly excited to start this long planned trip! At this point I would like to thank my friend Susanne ;) shortly after we got to know each other last year in October she convinced me to apply for this program and I'm very glad that she did becauce I don't think I would have been brave enough without her encouragement. Now I'm very much looking forward to the time that we will get to spend together in Shanghai!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="background-color: white;">Until we actually sit on that plane next week, there are lots of things that I need to organize and so many things I want to do before I leave... suddenly the time passes a bit too fast, but tomorrow I will hand in the last paper for this semester and then I will finally be able to fully concentrate on all the preparations. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="background-color: white;">P.S. I'm planning to write on my blog every week and I really hope you enjoy reading it and being part of this adventure. I'm also looking forward to your comments and thoughts to this :) For my international friends I will try to mainly write in English.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="background-color: white;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdWqOd4x2AMNmaqAmxktlL2TUi47M75K1kIukPByZZ5zPrIfw3Z_jg0vOBWPfgtcxT0AJGaKg6Ym-6UsUyrd6m0lS2e-Oeh0KIJJ43ct02Fp7aewBKiYlRLjr09poA60QB4-FovC1sG6b/s320/shanghai-map.jpg" class="decoded" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdWqOd4x2AMNmaqAmxktlL2TUi47M75K1kIukPByZZ5zPrIfw3Z_jg0vOBWPfgtcxT0AJGaKg6Ym-6UsUyrd6m0lS2e-Oeh0KIJJ43ct02Fp7aewBKiYlRLjr09poA60QB4-FovC1sG6b/s640/shanghai-map.jpg" width="640" /> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
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<br />Mirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15029904836523553885noreply@blogger.com4Paderborn, Deutschland51.7189205 8.757509300000037951.561556 8.4347858000000375 51.876285 9.0802328000000383