How to Lose Your Mind One Dumpling at a Time

I've arrived in the beautiful city of Shanghai and am approaching the third week of my adventure! I'll try to avoid the cliché of using the word "surreal" but few other words can describe the experience thus far. The mix of personalities amongst the group is nothing short of eclectic, ranging from absolute party animals to bearded philosophers. Of course we all know that when contradicting personalities unite, it makes for a great reality TV show! Thus expressing the strange feeling I get from time to time that I'm a character on The Real World MTV rather than a college kid living in a hotel with a bunch of very hormonal young adults. 

I've been spending my time buried in a 200 level Chinese textbook, and quite have little to no clue what I'm doing. However, when I find the time to see the light of day, it doesn't take very long for notable encounters to occur. Whether it's a near brush with death after an army of motor scooters ignores a pedestrian's right of way, or a nearby customer at the restaurant we choose for lunch beams over a plate of cold, bony chicken feet, I am constantly reminded of how drastically different this place is from home. In a way, I feel as though I've almost experienced a minor feeling of stardom in my time here, because although Shanghai is a huge bustling city, there are certain folks who travel from small villages and have never seen a white face in the flesh before. If the toddlers accompanying them aren't shrieking and pointing, they may approach you to ask for a picture. 

I've struggled quite a bit with the food since I've arrived, but continue to try to navigate a way around the salt, oil, and carbs that practically embody the Chinese diet. Since bargaining my way into a cheap gym membership and finding a nearby juice bar, things have begun to brighten up. I still haven't caved in and bought the thirteen dollar jar of natural peanut butter that's been calling my name at the Western Market, and I never knew my reliance on cheese could be subdued for this long, but time will tell! Here's to taking it one day at a time.

Gia

How to Pack for 4 Months in China

Four months.
Despite the fact that I board a plane for the other side of the world in two days time, I find myself thinking more about the outcome of The Bachelorette finale. Multiple times a day, I hear "Are you nervous?", "WOW, two months in a communist country - you must be scared!" oddly, I'm eerily unaffected by all this - it'll probably hit me when I step off the plane to a sea of asian faces, or step out of the airport to the smell of rotting fish.
When I do think of the time I'm about to spend in Shanghai, among the things that excite me most is the obscene amount of shopping I'm about to do. This must sound unconscionably shallow for someone about to embark on a journey full of culture and knowledge, but it's dawned on me in the passing months that I need a change - and what better place to re-invent your look than the bustling city of Shanghai! The fifty pound baggage weight limit has been my worst enemy thus far, as I am a notorious over packer. Realizing that I don't need two pairs of riding boots and returning a pair to the closet is like ripping off a bandaid.
The following is a fool-proof guide for my over packers anonymous to result in a 40 pound suitcase:
- Obtain a suitcase large enough to questionably harbor a standard sized circus animan. preferably red.
- Empty your most prized possessions and the contents of your closet onto your bed and surrounding areas
- Sift through the items for ten minutes
- Get tired, make yourself a snack, and spend the next two hours on Netflix
- Revisit your earlier project of sifting and sorting
- End up cramming every article of clothing into the suitcase, because you just cant afford to leave anything behind

At this point, your mom should barge in, tear open the suitcase, tell you your teeth need whitening, and proceed to express her disapproval of your choice to pack five cashmere scarves. After days and days of ripping bandaids, putting back coats and pairs of wedges, you should be somewhat satisfied with this reduction... who am I kidding, you'll be pretty pissed.
Then cut that pile in half.
THEN, you'll be ready. But don't worry, everything you've left behind will be replaced with fabulous finds from your journey. If I learn nothing else from this semester, I'll surely come back a professional Chinese bargainer.

Best,
Gia