Chitenerary

I was sad to leave Japan with so much more that I wanted to see and do- but as we pulled into the port of Shanghai- I became ridiculously excited just by looking out of mine and Willa’s window.

CHECK OUT THIS VIEW.

Well, I was thrilled until I walked outside and immediately began to feel the burn of the air in China. We’re not in Kansas anymore. (Or Texas. Or Japan) Air pollution is a very real thing, and I have been incredibly lucky to have never been or lived in an area where it is prevalent (I may never complain about the smell of manure that blows through Lubbock every once in a while ever again).

Supposedly, the density of the pollution was not so bad that day, so I should consider myself fortunate.

What was unfortunate about our first day in the port of China was that I had a field lab for my Global Business Ethics class.

WHY, why, why did I take this class. The professor is lovely, but the class is not really up my alley. Or my interests, for that matter. And here I am, having to spend a day with social entrepreneurs that I know nothing about.

Which…is not a terrible thing…

BUT I’M IN CHINA.

…

CHINA.

And I’m sitting in a lab.

Oh well.

I’m in China. I should never complain

The lab was certainly not a highlight…but one GREAT thing did come out of it. We listened to a presentation by a young woman who works for a charity called buy42 (Check it out here)

I don’t know much about what everyone else was talking about- but I do know that she was passionate about her work, and her work is good.

From the site:

“They Have Value”

In Shanghai, there are

20+ unused clothing items or accessories in every woman’s wardrobe,

Accumulated value: 1,000 billion RMB

They Have Value

In China, there are

80 Million+ people with disabilities

140 Million affected families

The most important opportunity in life is a sustainable job with dignity.”

SO

Check out their website. It’s good stuff.

Okay….I know I said I wouldn’t complain, but I want to complain about one little thing. We were served lunch during these presentations, and I couldn’t tell you what any of the items on the plates were (except for French fries- which were served to our big groups just about anywhere we went. They sure know the way to American’s hearts).

So I picked up a fried something that resembled a mozzarella stick, thinking it looked safe and would not make me sick. I sunk my teeth into the mystery fried stick, and out came a tentacle. A TENTACLE. Don’t worry, I kind of kept my cool so not to offend the generous folks who provided our lunch.

Moving along.

Once our class returned to the ship after our lab, there was plenty of time to explore Shanghai with these fine folks. AND, I desperately needed a heavier coat for the Great Wall. Word on the street was that it was going to be very cold. PS, I found one!

The rest of my time in China is exactly how I expected it to be—really, really cool.

I went on a field program (as well as about 160 other people) to the Great Wall through SAS. I’m sure you are wondering…how on earth do you transport that many students all going to the exact same place? Split them up into four buses. Like quite a few other people, my friends (who I had hoped I would be traveling with) were on different buses. If Semester at Sea does anything well, it is putting a bunch of strangers together and those aforementioned strangers will inevitably become friends.

THAT BEING SAID, I met some cool people…as per usual.

And with these cool people, I did some cool stuff.

FIRST ON OUR ITENERARY:

We took a Hutong tour with a trishaw ride (basically a three wheeled bike) with Mikey as my bike(y) partner.

It was FREEZING. Fortunately- we were given a couple of blankets to keep warm as we rode through the back streets of Beijing. Where did we go, you ask?

We went to a woman’s house who had opened up her home to our crazy group to cook a traditional meal of dumplings! FUN FACT: this same woman told us that she had Leonardo Dicaprio and Michael Phelps over and made them the same dinner. I’m not entirely sure how Leonardo came into play…but Phelps was there while the Olympics were in Beijing. 

When she pointed out where Leo had sat on her couch- not going to lie…I threw my body hoping that I could feel some remnants of his body (sorry Mark). It didn’t work. Oh well.

ANYWAY. She always does this for groups that request her services- she basically turns her house into a full-blown, family style restaurant. She even offers to teach the folks that come over how to make dumplings! I have to do some serious practicing...

Moving along.

The following day, we hopped on a bus that took us to Tian Men Square and the Forbidden city. All of the SAS buses were there and it was nice to see some (more) familiar faces!

We took a tour and then went to lunch. Post-lunch- we visited the Lama temple. (No llamas).

After that, we walked around Nanluoguxiang for shopping and what not. FORTUNATELY I found a friend that kept me from over shopping. You know, souvenirs are just so much fun to buy- but they are not as much fun to carry around for long periods of time. Especially because the rest of our evening consisted of dinner and an acrobatic show.

WHICH…was kind of terrifying. Mainly because they had one act where they had a large spherical cage—with eight motorcycles skillfully making their way around, upside-down, frontwards, backwards in the cage. I just prayed none of them would make any mistakes. Luckily- everyone was safe!

..I mean, I’m sure they’ve performed it hundreds of times, and practiced an outrageous number of times…but it still had me sitting on the edge of my seat.

Which was likely the point.

So…kudos to them!

The next day was an INCREDIBLY exciting day! We went to THE Great Wall!

…but after going to a Kung Fu school for a performance.

The performance was entertaining, but by the end I really needed to use the restroom. So as soon as it came to a conclusion (and after Sarah, Tricia, and I had our picture taken with the “professionals”) we rushed to the restroom before the rest of the crowd did. And I must say, that was a brilliant idea.

Picture this- a large, rectangular, tile room, with a large mirror in the front of the four stalls. There are two women (attendants, we are assuming) standing at the far side of the restroom.

OH, and there is one more minor (major) detail. Not only were these squatty-potties, but they were also lacking doors. That’s right, these open stalls + that mirror = a much more close friendship than we entered in. One of us (I won’t name names, but it wasn’t me) had not used one yet, and required coaching from the next stalls over. We had a good laugh and headed back to the gym where the show had been, and a large slew of girls were walking toward the restroom. Little did they know they were about to get really close abnormally fast.

I wish I had a photo of this bathroom situation…but at the same time I am thankful that I don’t have to re-live it.

MOVING ALONG

We finally made our way to the Great Wall (Mutianyu)! But before you actually reach the wall (at least the part that we visited), you had to ride a cable car up. In the event that you do not know- I am very much afraid of heights. Fortunately, I had made a new friend on my bus named Jena, and she distracted me. Once I finally got used to the fact there was nothing I could do but enjoy the view, that is exactly what I did. Our surroundings were STUNNING.

I waited at the top for Tricia and Sarah’s groups to catch up to us , and we ventured off! We took pictures (we probably stopped every 10 steps we took about 20 pictures), recorded my video (and a bonus shot singing “We can’t Stop”), and wrote on the piece of fabric that someone had hung to leave notes on (rather than write on the wall like numerous hooligans before us).

Thoughts while on the Great Wall:

1.   This is incredible (given)

2.   I definitely did not need the coat that I bought- altitude + hiking took its toll

3.   I should have brought water, not beer (sorry mom and dad- it seemed like a good idea at the time)

4.   I wouldn’t have the patience to build a wall of this magnitude

After a couple hours of exploring- what went up must come down.

Shall we hike down the Great Wall? NAY. We tobogganed down!

..which could have been a lot more fun if the long line of folks in front of me would ease up on their breaks! We were going so slow! I did not get a great video of the experience, so here is someone else’s so that you can get a clear idea of what I saw!

We returned to our bus and our next destination was dinner at a place that specialized in roasted duck (which, I surprisingly enjoyed).

The following morning, we visited the Temple of Heaven

….and were given these fancy “hacky-sacks" that looked like cat toys (feathers with weights to make them stay upright). They were so fun! 

It was a beautiful, windy day- and our groups had so much fun together in this foreign land. But that time had to come to an end, we took a flight to Hong Kong to meet the MV Explorer.

Our group met up for dinner on the ship to discuss plans for the next day, which turned out to be me, Tricia, and Frances for the day.

It started with Sunday morning Mass at a nearby church.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THIS ACTIVITY:

1.   I’ve never been to catholic mass before

2.   We missed the English service, so we went to the service in Chinese

I must say, I enjoyed it despite not being able to truly follow what was going on. It was nice to be in a place of worship where I felt comfortable. They were not worshiping idols, awakening gods by ringing bells, and filling the air with incense- they were singing and praying to a God that I know and love.

It brought about peace in me, and quite a bit of excitement, hearing God’s word spoken in a foreign language. How rad that everyone in that room had something so amazing in common.

After mass, we wandered around finding other entertainment- and wound up at the (really quite impressive) mall that acts as a ship terminal. My goal, however, was to fix mine, or buy a new chain for my scarab (which broke back in Hawaii).

Frances broke away to go to a half day excursion, so Tricia and I (first) bought a new chain, then left the mall to find a postcard or two at the small shopping center just outside. We got the goods, and had a few Hong Kong dollars to spend.

Which leads me to the final (and sweetest) hour left in Hong Kong- we went to a nearby bakery, bought a small strawberry cake, and to the convenience store next door for some wine. We had a lovely little “picnic” on the pier and returned to our floating home.

China treated us incredibly well.

Things I love about today:

1.   The surprise tentacle did not make me sick

2.   Exploring the world with friends is so fun

3.   I got to drink some wine (and paid less money for the bottle than I would have for a glass on the ship, I might add)

4.   I got to worship with folks who love Jesus

5.   I can wear my scarab again! …even if I had to buy a new one.