Exodus

One exodus after another. That is pretty much my life in Shanghai.

So life has been going back down to a more normal (whatever that is) pace now that my family is gone. It was nice seeing them though. I will definitely start to miss everyone back home pretty soon. One month down, three to go.

Anyways, even though today is a Friday I had Chinese class because of the weird scheduling that NYU does to accommodate our extra week long study break. Basically, we have class on some Fridays to make up for the extra week they give us off to travel. Once class was over I decided to get away from school work and do some shopping. Sometimes I just like doing things by myself because it allows me to think and also to do everything at my own pace. 

Being wildly wise beyond my years I decided to take a trip to the Superbrand Mall in Pudong (that's the part of Shanghai where people wouldn't look twice if I pulled out a light saber and drove around in a space ship). When I first got there it actually wasn't too crowded. Good start. But after a quick in and out of Uniqlo, the masses had arrived. I was able to look down from one of the top floors at one of the entrances. Never in my life have I seen so many people rushing into a mall before! CRAZINESS! Being a foreigner, you would have thought the cultural revolution had come back and was chasing after them but in top notch Shanghai fashion, they were there to shop. Like all malls in Shanghai (who am I kidding, ALL OF SHANGHAI is a mall) Superbrand has about 10 floors, with escalators snaking in and out of openings, kind of like Hogwarts. There were lines...LINES, just to ride the elevators. 

Oh China. I don't think even in 100 years I will get used to your crowds. 

Speaking of crowds, I guarantee that 1 in 3 people in all crowds owns a PSP. For example, there was this cute little old woman sitting on a bench with her grandson who was playing with his PSP. Continuing with my creepy people watching, the thermos toting, Bengay rubbing grandma whips out her own PSP and the two proceed to battle, or at least I assume because it got quite heated between the two. 

Summary...

Pros:

1) Old people with thermoses who own PSPs

2) My new H&M striped shirt. 

3) My new Uniqlo jacket.

4) Hogwarts

Cons:

1) Crowds. Crowds. CROWDS.

2) The smell of steamed vegetables that seems to be pervasive in Shanghai.

3) Classes on Fridays.

Oh! and there was a Subway (as in the sandwich shop) in the Superbrand Mall!!! HANDS DOWN THE BEST MEAL I'VE HAD SINCE LANDING IN SHANGHAI, "STEAMED VEGETABLES" CHINA. Actually not really, but just goes to show how tasty an American sandwich can be after eating nothing but Chinese food. And don't worry, I upheld the oh so glamorous image of the overeating American by ordering a foot long, a bag of chips, and a large Snapple and inhaling the entire thing before I even sat down. yummy! :)

And another thing... I'm pretty sure everyone in Shanghai, as in the natives, secretly speaks English. Everywhere I go they allow me to speak my Chinese (which I had previously thought was passable but apparently isn't) for a good five minutes just so they can have a good laugh. And then after they puke out their lunch of STEAMED VEGETABLES from laughing at me they respond in perfect English. UGH. FML.