I know I promised this post much earlier! I expected it to
be written quickly when I returned from Shanghai, yet instead I found myself
with quite the case of writers block. The purpose of the trip to Shanghai was
to visit one of my best friends for his birthday, however the trip ended up
meaning much more to me. It got me thinking a lot about life and what I want
from it.
The first few drafts of this blog post ended up sounding
more like a confused teenager trying to figure out what they want to do when
they grow up than a college graduate reminiscing about a fantastic weekend.
Believe me, you should be happy I waited to post.
I figured out how to take panoramic pictures!
The Arrival
I flew into Hongqiao airport in Shanghai, just a few metro stops from
the University my friend is studying at. I’ve never flown to see someone
before, so I’ve never had someone waiting for me at the airport before. I was
so excited when I was getting off of the plane, I just had to navigate to the
metro station in the airport. Luckily for me Shanghai is much more English
friendly than my little city and I had no problem getting to the metro station
and buying the ticket. Before I knew it I was waiting at the bottom of the escalator
for Matt.
There’s nothing like seeing one of your best friends after a
month in a strange place, feels almost like home in a strange way. Sometimes I wonder
though if these feelings and experiences like this are a by-product of moving
to a foreign country or a by-product of graduating from college and moving on.
Food for thought I guess, I’m not sure I’ll ever know. Sitting with Matt waiting for the next train, reminiscing and playing the did you ever imagine
game I realized how unimaginable my life is compared to where I was when I
first met Matt. If you ever told me that one day I would fly to Shanghai
to see him for his birthday I would have thought you were crazy.
Yet instead I found myself giving Matt his birthday present
of traditional Chinese alcohol and peanut butter (his favorite food) in
Shanghai.
Zhujiajiao
Most Americans chose to celebrate their 21st
birthday by drinking copious amount of alcohol and hear about their crazy night
from friends the next morning. Matt isn’t like that though, alcohol isn’t
really his thing. Instead he decided he wanted to get out of the city to
celebrate his birthday, he chose Zhujiajiao an ancient town I had heard of whose
streets are water ways. Instead of figuring out how to use public transportation to get there we hired a private car (it only cost $34 USD roundtrip). It was a very nice ride, the driver even spoke some English! Plus we took a scenic route.
The town is beautiful and free to enter, we spent hours walking through the beautiful streets!
The Zhujiajiao had many shops selling everything from traditional paintings to foods I didn't know the English names of.
After a wonderful trip around the tourist section of town we veered a bit and found a nice park to rest in. We're not totally sure who the statue is of however we know that people are allowed to climb on it. I had to wait ten minutes to take a picture of it! People were literally climbing on it. Perhaps once I learn how to read Mandarin I will be able to figure out who the statue is of.
The birthday celebration concluded with a lovely boat ride around Zhujiajiao.
De ja vu?
I’ve been to many cities around the world and have heard
many comparisons but I’ve never made one myself. I’ve never really believed
cities could feel familiar. My opinion quickly changed upon arriving in
Shanghai. The city reminds me so much of Dubai, from the modern sections to the
ancient towns just outside the city, I found myself constantly reminiscing of
the trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
I first coined the term “looking at the future” when I was
taking a taxi through Dubai. I’m no stranger to big cities, growing up just a
few hours north of New York City, I learned the mentality. Just being a New
Yorker means I’m used to the fast pace, I’m often criticized for speaking too
quickly. However experiencing Dubai was like nothing I had ever experienced
before, from the architecture to the bilingual people, the city reminded me of
something out of a sci-fi film.
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