We have all arrived safely in Shanghai!! The plane was experiencing some technical difficulties as we were boarding, so our flight ended up being delayed. We sat on the plane for about two hours until we were finally able to take off. The flight was 14 hours, which felt like forever. However the food wasn’t bad and there were some good movies to watch, which helped passed the time. Some of us were even able to get some sleep!
We arrived at the Shanghai airport at around 3 PM Shanghai Time. The airport was really pretty and relatively big, but very crowded. After we all gathered our luggage, we met Chen Laoshi from the Quzhou NO.2 High School, and he took us on our private bus to drive to our hotel. Shanghai is a very beautiful city, and it somehow has both an urban and rural feel to it. At first there weren’t too many cars on the road, however as we drove into the heart of the city, Shanghai began to feel more and more like NYC. It’s a very lively and crowded city with a lot of traffic and bustling people, and it’s beautiful at night.
While we were circling around the block as our bus driver was trying to find our hotel, we passed an Old Navy and other familiar-sounding stores, and all of us are already excited to go shopping soon. Our hotel is in the perfect location, since it’s close to the subway and many shopping centers, and it has a beautiful view of the city. Our rooms are so much nicer than I expected! The bathroom is huge and really fancy, and we even have sofas and a TV. I could definitely get used to staying here for a few days.
We had a few minutes to freshen up before we all went to dinner at a place in the hotel. Hao Laoshi and Yu Laoshi ordered a variety of Chinese dishes for us to try. We sat at a large round table that had a lazy susan to circulate the dishes, so we were all able to sample a little bit of everything. The food here is authentic and surprisingly very good (which means a lot coming from me because I’m a very picky eater). Some of us struggled with using chopsticks, but after a few more meals I’m sure we’ll be chopstick-pros.
Tomorrow after we eat breakfast we are meeting in the lobby at 8:15AM, which is 8:15PM at home. Adjusting to the time change and jet lag will be a little difficult at first, but hopefully we will be able to get some sleep. We have a long day ahead!
-Takiyah and Steph