I began my first full day in China by attempting to make good on my promise to run. I don't think I've gone for a run in weeks, to be completely honest. And I'm trying to avoid gaining vacation weight as well as justify my decision to bring my sneakers and athletic wear.
So at 7am, I was out and about, jogging through the neighborhood in the pouring rain. Turns out this part of Shanghai all looks the same, which did nothing for my fear of getting lost. Make a right at that store with the bright pink awning, go around that bridge, don't get hit by these scooters... Aside from the part where I was constantly watching out for cars/scooters/bikes, it was a great run! I might have to buy an inexpensive watch to keep track of the time, but I can't wait for my next run! After all, I can't ignore this opportunity to explore the neighborhood! Not that I can really understand the words on all these store awnings.
When I returned, my father and I had a lively discussion concerning the detriments of donating blood, the death penalty, illegal immigration...everything under the sun.
We went to this lovely garden, the Yuyuan Garden, where I was a huge camera whore and this nice German woman complimented my smile. Seriously, I probably ended up with about a hundred new pictures, just from today. And I’m stupidly happy about it. Afterwards, we had lunch at this soup dumpling place, where I posed for a few more pictures. There was this really cool crab roe soup dumpling that caused me to burn my mouth. More than once. Patience is a virtue that I do not have.
I saw four chickens in front of someone's house nearby the garden and almost paused to take a picture. Honestly, I should have. They weren't even fenced in; they were just there, pecking at the grass.
If you'll remember, in an early post I mentioned what I'd heard about the state of the restrooms in China. So I was mentally prepared for hole-in-the-ground bathrooms in more rural areas, but I figured since I was in a nice soup dumpling restaurant, the restrooms would be fine, right? Wrong.
In other news, today I came to horrifying conclusion that I desperately need Google to survive. All I can say is thank goodness my college still allows me to use their VPN, years after graduation. I am truly grateful.
So at 7am, I was out and about, jogging through the neighborhood in the pouring rain. Turns out this part of Shanghai all looks the same, which did nothing for my fear of getting lost. Make a right at that store with the bright pink awning, go around that bridge, don't get hit by these scooters... Aside from the part where I was constantly watching out for cars/scooters/bikes, it was a great run! I might have to buy an inexpensive watch to keep track of the time, but I can't wait for my next run! After all, I can't ignore this opportunity to explore the neighborhood! Not that I can really understand the words on all these store awnings.
When I returned, my father and I had a lively discussion concerning the detriments of donating blood, the death penalty, illegal immigration...everything under the sun.
We went to this lovely garden, the Yuyuan Garden, where I was a huge camera whore and this nice German woman complimented my smile. Seriously, I probably ended up with about a hundred new pictures, just from today. And I’m stupidly happy about it. Afterwards, we had lunch at this soup dumpling place, where I posed for a few more pictures. There was this really cool crab roe soup dumpling that caused me to burn my mouth. More than once. Patience is a virtue that I do not have.
I saw four chickens in front of someone's house nearby the garden and almost paused to take a picture. Honestly, I should have. They weren't even fenced in; they were just there, pecking at the grass.
If you'll remember, in an early post I mentioned what I'd heard about the state of the restrooms in China. So I was mentally prepared for hole-in-the-ground bathrooms in more rural areas, but I figured since I was in a nice soup dumpling restaurant, the restrooms would be fine, right? Wrong.
In other news, today I came to horrifying conclusion that I desperately need Google to survive. All I can say is thank goodness my college still allows me to use their VPN, years after graduation. I am truly grateful.
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