Wow-time really does fly when you’re abroad! In the blink of an eye it’s been a few weeks and I haven’t uploaded any new posts! A few weeks back during the last day of our independent travel week, two of my friends and I woke up, having no idea what the day would hold for us! All we knew…
Category: China: IFSA Shanghai
Fall Festivities
When you get the opportunity to travel other parts of China, with one of the most fun loving people in your program – you take it! When deciding what to do for independent travel, I immediately look to going somewhere that would interest me, somewhere new and somewhere I would both enjoy and learn a…
Beijing Weekend
Conquering the Wall Last weekend was amazing. I had the privilege of taking the bullet train or as the Chinese would call it, the Gao tie, to Beijing. Beijing was a spectacular city despite all of the negative things you may here about the pollution there. The pollution can be bad in Beijing, however we…
Happy Halloweenie
Just enjoyed the celebrations of Halloween, China style! Visited a local school with one of my program directors whos daughter attends kindergarten there. We were introduced as waiguoren (Foreigners) and greeted happily. And as someone who doesn’t celebrate Halloween often, it was an adventure – carving pumpkins, sending around candy, decorating the classroom and more….
The China Art Palace
The China Art Museum Finding the place was a struggle in itself. We started by taking the train line 10 out to line 8 where we began our journey to Peoples Park. Once we got above ground the park was beautiful. There were tons of people and we managed to find a nice looking art…
The Art of Packing
So it’s the day before you leave and you’re figuring out how to stuff a weeks worth of living into a carry-on and a backpack. I’ve been there! Some items are obvious (i.e. clothes, toothbrush, cell phone) but others can be easily forgotten. I’m particularly forgetful and negligent so I always take 5 minutes and make…
Planning for Independent Travel!
Independent traveling is one of the best aspects of studying abroad, without a doubt! It’s both a time to explore your host country’s culture and enjoy a wonderful break from schoolwork! But you should be careful to not underestimate the time it takes to properly plan a trip and make the most of your holiday. Thinking and…
China from a new angle.
Before I embarked on this 4 month journey to China, I was able to derive one question that was often asked by the folks around me. Each time the concept of me traveling to Shanghai cam about conversation, people tend to assume the country to be a potentially culturally dangerous place. NOTHING, and i say…
Bargaining in Shanghai
I try to venture out a little more and more each day. I finally bought a bicycle and started to learn the wonderful art of negotiation here in china. In shanghai the price of almost anything can be negotiated and its perfectly fine to try and do so. By all means go as far as…
Straight Outta Shanghai
I’m really excited about writing this blogpost, because it’s time to educate some people. I decided to search the Internet for common stereotypes about China from the West – and then prove them wrong. Coming from an international country myself, this is one of my favorite things to do. 1. (and my favorite) Not all…