a fun few days

The last few days have been pretty fun and routine.  We havve class from
8:30-11:3- am and the only reason why I can get up without an alarm clock
is because of my jetlag.  Every morning I eat the same thing for
breakfast, fried dumplings, a hardboiled egg, and red bean.  All of that
for LESS than an American dollar.  You can get so much for your money
here; good thing the walk to class is about twenty minutes, most students
use their bikes or  motor bikes but our group is on foot.  The first
lectures have been on Traditional Chinese Society and the Early
Modernization and decline of the Qing Dynasty.  The style of class has
been mostly lecture and I am hesistant to ask the questions that I really
want to know about the structure of the Chinese government.  I do not know
what is "okay" to ask.

Later, my new friends and I walked to Walmart ( yes , Walmart) and then
took the subway to the People's Square.  The subways are so clean and not
too crowded early in the day.  Also , it is less than an American dollar
to ride the subway as well and not even fifty cents to ride the bus! As
you can see from the picture with friends, Chinese people love to ask us
to take pictures.  It was one of of many that day.

We had our first group dinner later that night, where we ordered a lot of
dishes and got a private room in a local restaurant.  It was sort of like
one of those turn-style tables which gets super tricky.  Someone is
turning for the chicken and potatoes and before I can try to get the last
bun, someone else is spinning it around and beats me to it!  It is nice
but requires much attention. We attempted to have a night out on a town
but with forty students it gets too hard. As we approached back to the
gates of the dorms, the street vendors are out selling food.  You can get
just about anything from carts holding watermelon and peaches to other
carts making Chinese pancakes.  I got a chicken on a stick, some kind of
Chinese bun, and grilled squash all for three yuan which is less than
fifty cents.  Thank god we do so much walking or the prices would make us
all gain twenty pounds!  Time for bed, Zaijian!

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Posted By: Alicia Tambe, Shanghai, China