Archive for August, 2010

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Just a Minute (August 2010)

August 31st, 2010 by Manda | 1 Comment | Filed in Life

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Melting… in the Shanghai heat and humidity. I’ve never been skilled at handling excessive heat and humidity, and I think the extra weight I put on in Germany has made it harder for my body to cope with heat. It’s quite saddening.

Deciding… on a Kindle for my choice of e-reader. The newly released model sealed the deal for me. However, I couldn’t get one in time for my birthday as Amazon went out of stock! I’m keeping my eye on when they get new stock so I know when to place my order.

Exploring… the World Expo pavilions!! They’re beyond amazing. Except for the US one; it’s so ugly. I know the US government couldn’t fundraise because of federal regulations and whatnot, but I wonder if the reason why it is so ugly is that it was designed by a Canadian. (I kid, I kid. And before I upset any Canadians I should clarify that I don’t mean that Canadians can’t design. They just don’t want the world to think the US can :P)

Re-reading… the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. I love this series so much; Fforde is one of my favorite authors. He’s a literary genius.

Speaking… (or attempting to speak) Mandarin. I’m very rusty since I didn’t do any revising over the summer. Still, it’s all gradually coming back to me, and being in an environment that is saturated in the Mandarin language is doing wonders for improving my ability.

Eating… my weight in noodles. I adore noodles, and China has plenty of them! My favorite are the wonton noodles and Lanzhou pull noodles. Mmmmm.

Excited… to head to Beijing in a few days. As much as I love Shanghai, Beijing is really where my year abroad begins!

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Some Accomplishments in Shanghai

August 27th, 2010 by Manda | 3 Comments | Filed in Travel

In the brief time I have been in Shanghai, I have managed to accomplish the following:

  • Be reunited with a good friend from school, who (whom?) I will be exploring Shanghai with
  • Be reunited with relatives that I have in Shanghai
  • Try out the one and only phrase I know in Shanghainese, which unfortunately I don’t know the characters for with the Shanghainese pinyin so I’ll just type it in Mandarin: ”我不懂“ (“I don’t understand”)
  • Eat absolutely delicious soup dumplings (汤饺) with pork filling
  • Taste this apple juice（苹果汁) + milk（牛奶）drink thing my friend bought from a street vendor
  • Have my photos stealthily (and sometimes not so stealthily) taken by Chinese passersby (I look pretty Western and have pale skin; my friend looks very Western and is over six feet tall – for the Chinese, we are quite the spectacle)
  • Use broken Mandarin to buy a token for the Huangpu River ferry and a single-ride ticket for the subway
  • Fall down a flight of stairs and cut up my knees (I had the sense to fall near the Shanghai Museum, which I was going to anyway, and I received the BEST first aid treatment I’ve ever gotten from the staff there. Props, Shanghai Museum, mad props)
  • Go to the Shanghai Museum. My favorite exhibits were the jade and ceramics.

To think I’ve accomplished all this and I’ve only spent one full day in this city – I’m supposed to be here for a full week!

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Shanghai for a Week

August 24th, 2010 by Manda | 7 Comments | Filed in Travel

I’m off to Shanghai for a week to see the World Expo! I’m really excited as the World Expo is totally my kind of thing with all the pavilions of other countries and such (thanks to my multicultural upbringing, I LOVE things that involve other cultures and perspectives). I’ll also be checking out other famous landmarks in Shanghai, like the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Bund, as well as the delicious food that is there.

While I’m not really looking forward to the massive crowds and extreme heat, I’m still stoked about exploring Shanghai for the next week. And then when I’m done with my Shanghai adventure, I’ll be headed to Beijing to finally begin my year of study abroad!! (I can’t believe it’s going to start so soon!)

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