Not to forget I’m in Asia

8.26.2010

I woke up early again due to the never ending jetlag. I arose quickly and headed out onto the city streets. I walked to the west in my neighborhood to see what lies around here. Along the sidewalks were countless eateries, cafes, convenience stores and clothing outlets. Still the number of construction sights baffles me. I cannot remember how many large buildings surrounded by bamboo scaffolding I found. I ended up finding a Wal-Mart and shopping mall within a 15 minute walk from my house, close by the Oracle office in Shanghai. I walked around the shopping district for a while and found a sports stadium which at 6 in the morning was populated with old people exercising in traditional and modern methods.
Returning back to my apartment I got a little lost. Even at 6 AM I sweat profusely from the oppressive humidity and heat. I stopped to get some refreshment at a Japanese convenience store—Lawson—and enjoy sweetened icy cold milk tea. After passing a traditional housing district where I crossed a street and found a vendor selling hopping frogs and slithering snakes I finally found my way back to the International Village.
After eating breakfast with my colleagues we headed as a group over to Fudan University. I have discovered that Fudan is the Stanford of China—in the country’s top three universities. I was supposed to take a Mandarin placement examine but because I know absolutely nothing I was let go with three other students and given the morning off. My three colleagues (people I will be in the same class with) and I prowled around the beautiful Fudan University that is strikingly similar to major research universities in the US, like Berkley.
At lunch I got to know some more of my colleagues. They all have tremendously different backgrounds in speaking Chinese. Some learned to speak a few words in high school or college, others learned from their family lives (many in the program are Asian Americans) and still others have spent time at other language programs here in China or Taiwan. I ate chicken feet and boiled vegetables which turned off my appetite for the afternoon.
Later the whole group packed into a Chinese made bus to go around to see some Shanghainese sights. The tour was described as a conventional tourist adventure where we breeze through the places that we will inevitably return to. The bus was cool and outside of the sun’s glare is harsh. As the guide could only faintly be heard over the PA system I checked out the people on the sidewalk and the shops and restaurants they walked into. Many of my colleagues converse amongst themselves but I am in my own world digesting what Shanghai looks like. I can still find very few differences between a major US city and this Chinese megalopolis. Everything is clean, roads are functional, stores are making money and people are well kept and beautiful in appearance. We spend three hours on the bus and retreat to the Village in intense rush hour traffic.
At night Kevin and I played Beirut in our apartment’s sun room. In the distance we see buildings that with their light schemes remind us that we are in Asia—neon and electronic lights beautify the night’s sky. In the distance we see the thunderstorm remnants of a regional monsoon. Ocassionally the bursts of light explode over head and shake the building. We watch CCTV until our eyelid cannot take anymore and I crawl into my bed.