Shanghai - Discoveries

Lyrics: I don't want all of it, All I need is a little bit. - Madeleine Peyroux

1.) SEEING THE SIGHTS
The only disappointing aspect of Shanghai is that it is a city to eat and shop well, when what I wanted to do was investigate culture and history. The highlights were the Bund, with its beautiful colonial architecture and impressive Pudong skyline, Nanjing Lu, which is a beautiful street filled with shops and restaurants, and Yu Gardens and Bazaar, and with its breathtaking ancient architecture. I also went to two temples and explored the French Concession, which captivated me with its shaded avenues and European feel. Shanghai is on the whole an incredibly industrialized and cosmopolitan city, but I don’t like shopping and did not have a lot of money to spend on food, so my sources of entertainment were a tad more limited. The people were more interesting than the city in my opinion, particularly because they were as pushy and as unaware of social conduct as I had expected based on my reading. For example, when it is hot, men simple raise their shirts up and wear them as a quarter-shirt, in public, anywhere, completely oblivious to now inappropriate or distasteful that may be. Babies and small children also have holes in the back of their garments so that, at any moment, that can sit down on the street to relieve themselves. In addition, the recycling system seems to hinge on peasants that collect cans and bottles straight from trashcans. I spent a lot of time talking to my students about the political system, their views of the west, the economic and environmental realities of their country, and found that these conversations, more so than the sights, were the most exciting part of my trip. In any case, my picture website shows all of the things I did see, complete with captions!

2.) SING YOUR HEART OUT
I found that I truly enjoy karaoke. I had never really done it before, and in China, each group is put in a separate room, which is very different from American kaeaoke. I did it twice and greatly enjoyed dancing and singing to the point of exhaustion, despite the fact that, as some of you know, my voice leaves a lot to be desired!

3.) TIC
I also discovered that I liked China more than I originally thought I would. Contrary to my expectations, I wasn’t scared off by being an obvious outsider, I didn’t mind traveling into downtown alone, I didn’t care that people stopped around the track when I ran. It’s not that I felt completely at ease – that would be an exaggeration – but for the most part I felt comfortable. I had discovered my Hemingway side, the part that loved to travel and immerse, to look for and conquer, to leap and not see where I was landing. I think I grew to love the adrenaline rush of venturing into a city where I was noticeable, where I couldn’t communicate, couldn’t read. Actually, deprived of some of my sensory information by the language barrier, I believe I became even more aware of other aspects of the culture there. I think that if I learned more Chinese, I would actually consider living in China as opposed to the mild suburban street where most of you picture me :) . I had actually wanted to travel east to see rural life, Tibet, bungee jump at the Tiger Leaping Gorge, but time did not permit such adventures. Hopefully in two summers I’ll be back.

4.) EXPANDING THE PALATE
Chinese food was also incredible. At Fudan University (where we were living), I learned to love all sorts of vegetables that I had never seen before and to not underestimate the healing power of a good watermelon slice. At the nearby restaurants, I had great authentic cuisine. I grew to love red bean paste on my pastries and jasmine in my tea. And from the random street vendors I was brave (or stupid) enough to buy food from, I had incredible noodles and delicious kabobs. Specifically, I craved bao bing, which is a dessert made with crushed ice, evaporated milk, and an assortment of fruits and jams – sold on the street, it costs less than $1 and scares off most tourists because of the ice [you’re not supposed to drink the water in China]. I must admit that I was not incredibly impressed with the meat, which often came with either bone, lard, and/or hair from the original animal. I did, however, become an expert at using chopsticks to pick up even the most wiggly piece of rice or oatmeal! In terms of some of the famous restaurants I went to, look through my pictures…everything is detailed in the captions.

5.) NEEDLE-POKING
In an attempt to do less tourist activities and more genuinely Chinese ones, I dragged John, Eric, and Lisa to a typical Chinese hospital. The building, which looked like it used to be a private residence and was located in the French Concession, did not resemble the huge medical complexes in the US. Eric went off to get a massage for something or other, Lisa agreed to act as our translator, and John, after some prodding, decided to follow my lead and get acupuncture. After an explanation and diagnosis session, we both laid down on our respective tables. The doctor proceeded to stick needles in my wrist – which was my problem area – and all over my arms and legs as part of a preventive healing procedure. Soon, I felt heat flowing through my body. Everything was heavy, I couldn’t really lift my arms, and though I could feel sweat dripping down my back, I felt relaxed. Then came the electric shocks to each needle, which lasted for 20 minutes and were supposed to stimulate the area. When this was over, I was turned onto my stomach. The next procedure was very familiar to me because it’s also a Russian home remedy, but John was growing incredibly nervous. It consists of applying a series of glass cans – which have just been heated by inserting a flame inside of them – onto your back. Because they have just been exposed to heat, the oxygen is sucked out of them and they adhere to the skin, twisting it up. The idea is to remove toxins from the body – the darker the color of the circle is once the can is removed, the more toxins you had in your body. I, much to my relief, had barely anything! All in all, I was happy with our brush with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), though half the other Seminar Leaders were worried we would get Hep A. I should also mention that my wrist hasn’t given me any trouble after this session; whether this is a psychological effect or a legitimate realignment of my energy flow, I cannot tell, but I am willing to put my faith in those little filiform needles.

6.) SAYING NO TO DRUGS I will not go at length into this story because it’s a bit too crazy to write down. It's a typical "How the hell did Natalia get herself in that situation" story. It should suffice to say that one of the three nights I went out during my six-weeks in China, I had an encounter with Shanghai’s dark underbelly. A very large group of us had gone to an English pub to celebrate the end of HSYLC and, after spending quite some time there, headed off to another club to dance. Within the first half hour of being there, Nick had found a young guy from California who had been living in Shanghai for six years and had started his own club-promoting business. He seemed nice enough, so when he invited a bunch of us up to the VIP section with his friends, we all agreed it was safe to go. We danced the night away and everything seemed to be going perfectly well, until we got to talking about: (a) their addiction to cocaine and (b) their purchase of large quantities of Special K at a nearby club. The only redeeming aspect of this conversation was that they were being very calm and honest with us about their lifestyle, the choices they felt compelled to make in the club promotion business, and how surreal Shanghai’s drug scene has become in the last couple of years. We heard about silver platters covered in Ketamine, prostitutes lining up by the dozen inside some of the most popular clubs in the city, and crazy tattoo parties, among other things. I, the Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisor, got lectured on the negative aspects of drug addiction by people who were clearly neither sober nor clean. And then, THEN, they busted out THE crystal meth and proceeded to smoke it. From all I could remember from high school health class and DAPA training at Harvard, I knew this was not the best situation to be in, but I could not resist seeing how these young, seemingly successful and driven people accept this lifestyle as normal and conform completely to something that, at least to me, seemed so completely surreal. And so, though I obviously did not partake in any of their activities, I spent the night learning, from personal accounts, about Shanghai’s drug usage. It was an unwise decision, yes. It was driven by curiosity and a certain risk-taking mentality that could have gotten me into a lot of trouble, especially since I was completely unwilling to join in any of their behaviors, but in the end, I was rewarded by learning a lot, both about these interesting and very kind individuals, as well as the way that drugs are present in Chinese culture.

7.) DISCRIMINATION IS A NO, BARGAINING IS A YES.
We were turned away from a hotel because they did not have a tourist permit. The pollution was oppressive. I bargained for everything and loved it. They sell tea, bottled, in every flavor, size, temperature - my paradise. There is too much American fast food everywhere. There are over 20 Starbuckses in Shanghai. Drivers have no respect for traffic laws. I bought a beautiful jade bracelet. I tried running, but the pollution and heat were too hard on my lungs.