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Tag: Shanghai

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By maxleo43

31.5 Hours. This is the amount of time that I will spend traveling to get from my house in small town Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania to Shanghai China. I am currently sitting on a train, two hours into my travels as I write this. I had to drive thirty minutes to the train station in Harrisburg, then take a four-and-a-half-hour train to JFK airport, then fly sixteen and a half hours to Taipei, Taiwan, and then fly another two hours to Shanghai China, where I will land two days ahead of when I left. That doesn’t even include my time spent waiting at airports or in layovers. This will not be my longest travel period (getting back from Kenya took forty-two hours), but I am sure not looking to it. Regardless, I am starting to truly get excited. For the last nine months I have been telling people that I am going to Shanghai, and now it is finally here. It still hasn’t hit me.

...continue reading "On My Way!"

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By maxleo43

Hello and welcome to my first Blog Post! My name is Max and I am part of the second cohort of GW’s Global Bachelor’s Program (GBP). The Global Bachelor’s Program is a comprehensive study abroad program with students from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of International Affairs, and School of Business. There are around 26 of us who are in GBP and we will all be going to Shanghai shortly, along with Stephen Suranovic, an economics professor at GW. As part of GBP, I am required to either spend two semesters abroad (Shanghai included) and hold an international summer internship or spend three semesters abroad. The idea is that by spending this time abroad, students will develop a truly global perspective of the world.

I will be studying at Fudan University, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Shanghai. The semesters at Fudan do not match up perfectly with GW’s, and so I do not leave for China until February 11th and don’t start classes until March 5th. The last day of finals is July 6th. Unlike universities in the U.S., spring break isn’t a thing at Fudan, and I only get about three days off for holidays during the whole semester.

I am in a rather peculiar situation in that instead of returning to the U.S. after my semester at Fudan, I will be heading straight to Mumbai, India, to intern for VIVA Group, a real estate development company. I am studying Finance and Real Estate and am considering a career in real estate development. As such, I am hoping that this internship will provide me with some clarity. As a result of this internship, I will be gone from the middle of February through the beginning of September, almost 8 months total.

I keep getting asked how I feel about leaving, and I am still struggling to find a good answer. I am excited for the change of scenery and way of life. Unsurprisingly, I am also nervous. I do not speak the language, I have never been to China, and I am still not even sure what a typical Chinese meal looks like. While I could describe my feelings as nervous or excited, I think that I could best be summed up as optimistic. I do not know what I will encounter. I just simply have no idea what the next eight months of my life will look like, and I am completely okay with that.

 

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My name is Mahalia Xiaoqi Smith. Born in Maoming, China in 1998, I was very likely my parent’s second born, meaning I was destined to be part of China’s “missing generation” — one of the millions of girls who went “missing” during this time due to the PRC’s one-child policy. However, I was lucky. I was rescued from the streets at six weeks old and taken to an orphanage. My mom adopted me when I was 7 months old and I have been immensely grateful for all of the opportunities I have been offered since.
Although the way my life began was a decision I cannot change, I will never let it define me. Nonetheless, my identity at birth has continued to drive my curiosities to the edge — to find myself and my place in our world.
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Despite the confidence I find within myself and exploring this world today, I was quite the exact opposite growing up as a child. I was always shy, always anxious, always nervous. Eventually, my mom made me personally answer all of her phone calls in order to improve my communication and people skills.
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...continue reading ""In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart." —Anne Frank"

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By shannonfitzz

I have just returned home from two weeks of traveling in Europe and Iceland, and currently sit at my computer with a huge mug of green tea and a snowy view outside my bedroom window in upstate New York.  In just a couple of weeks, I will begin my study abroad program in Shanghai, China. Since Chinese Universities do not resume classes until following Chinese New Year in February, I have had an extended winter break, thus providing me with the opportunity to travel a bit before I leave.

I decided to travel to Europe and prior to departing, my future adventures and experiences were largely unknown. I had a one-way ticket to London and plans with a volunteer organization in Greece, but other than that, the future was sort of a black box. I intended to spend a week exploring the city of London prior to heading to Serres, Greece, where I would volunteer with Refugees from Iraq, teaching yoga to women and children. Upon arriving in England, I met up with a friend with whom I was staying, and began ironing out the details of my arrival to Greece. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a mishap with the volunteer organization where I was scheduled to work, and my exciting service plans fell through. Life has a funny way of throwing little curve balls into your world and seeing how you respond- almost like some sort of game set up by the universe to see how you react in different situations. I knew I had to make the best out of my situation. After all, I had never been to England and was excited to be in a new place.

So, I was in London, without much of a plan. As bummed as I was that I couldn't spread my love for yoga to others, I used my time in Europe to explore different experiences and cultures, and to see things I had never seen before. From bustling market places, to ancient Catholic churches, to sacred Buddhist statues, I made it my adventure and task to explore new sights, sounds, peoples, and cultures with the goal of expanding my perspective beyond what it had been when I left New York . From London, I was even able to plan a trip to Iceland on my journey back to the States and experience the magic of this Nordic island country.

...continue reading ""And we danced on the brink of an unknown future, to an echo from a vanished past."-John Wyndham"

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White privilege is a real, and saddening, phenomenon in many developing countries where people of Caucasian descent are treated in a different way than those of other descent. In China, this is clearly seen in all matters of daily life. Even in Shanghai, a city with a huge international presence, people of different races are treated differently, as well as different from Chinese locals. Sadly, foreigners in China still operate as if fixed within a tier system. Yet that system is not organized by country of origin, it is strictly constructed through color of skin. Those with white skin are treated with best, making up the most privileged tier. Those with darker skin, such as Latinos or African Americans, are given a second tier status. Lastly, Chinese locals are disrespectfully placed in the third tier.

In China, white preference is clearly showcased in beauty standards. Unlike in the US, in China skin color is not a sensitive topic, instead it is a bluntly discussed topic. Chinese people try hard to keep their skin as pale and white as possible, because in China whiter skin is a symbol of high status. Chinese people will carry around special umbrellas to keep the sun from darkening their skin, put on skin whitening creams, and wear long pants and shirts in the heat of the summer to protect their skin. Aside from skin, people in China also believe that Western eyes are the epitome of beauty, and many will get plastic surgery to change their appearance to be more similar to that of Westerners. For example, in China the most common plastic surgery is a surgery to pull back your eyelids, making the eyes bigger and rounder. Chinese women are naturally beautiful, and it is upsetting to me to walk around and see all the fake eyelids on the streets.

...continue reading "White Privilege in China"

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Shanghai is a very international city, and therefore I have the exciting opportunity to interact with people from all over the world. As well as interacting with Chinese people every day, the international community in Shanghai makes it very easy for us “foreigners” to meet and share experiences. On one hand, these interactions have mainly been positive. On the other hand, I have gotten many mixed reactions to my being American. Most Mexicans I have met here have come off very offensive until I told them I didn’t vote for Trump. A lot of Europeans just shake their heads when they hear I am from the United States and proceed to emphasize their intellectual and moral superiority.

Chinese people have a broad spectrum of views on Americans. Government propaganda, over the years, has worked to highlight the worst of US life, which sadly now they have a lot of material to work with. For example, Trump’s whirlwind election and subsequent first 100 days in China are widely broadcasted in China, whereas Obama’s wasn’t. In addition, news of racial prejudice and violence against minorities is also present in China, to the point where I even had a Chinese person tell me he hated African Americans because he wanted to be welcoming and thought I did too because I was American. Some other weird conceptions of Americans include: we work out too much. Our staple food is McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Every person is in a fraternity. We think we are the best in the world.

Chinese people are also fascinated by some of the knowledge we have about China. When I was in Beijing last summer, my teacher was shocked to find out we had any idea that the Tiananmen Protests occurred. Many Chinese are also stupefied to learn that I am really interested in learning their language. Most younger people in China have had more exposure to the international world and are less surprised by the things that Americans do. A lot of them use VPNs, have very liberal values, and easily laugh and mingle among foreigners.

...continue reading "How China sees US"

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By juliareinholdgw

This weekend I went on one of the most challenging excursions of my life – hiking through Wuyuan, China’s mountainous rural landscape. Me and two other classmates hiked 50 miles over the course of 2 days in one of China’s most beautiful areas, got lost over 100 times, and even accidentally ended up climbing a mountain into a different province than what Wuyuan was in. It was an amazing, yet tiring, experience, and taught me a lot – not only about how far I could push myself, but also about Chinese rural life.

...continue reading "Trekking Through Rural China"

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By juliareinholdgw

Shanghai, like many Chinese cities, is known for its skyscraper forests and busy downtowns. In the United States, we usually think that a city is composed of the downtown area and suburbs. China does not have what we would usually consider “suburbs”. As China underwent its rapid developmental race, people rushed to live downtown in the big cities. Huge apartment buildings were constructed to hold the increasing population of the east coast. Yet in this rush to put up some of the tallest buildings in the world, Chinese cities never developed a gradual transition from city to rural area. The “suburb” is not a concept in China the way it is in the US.

...continue reading "Suburbs of Shanghai"

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By juliareinholdgw

Midterm season is upon me, and my hunt for the perfect café is on. Luckily, Shanghai seems to have been influenced heavily by its French colonizers, and has a bustling café culture. There are cafés everywhere, not just downtown in the European Quarters. Interestingly, a lot of these cafes try to mimic European style cafes, with croissants and cheesecake.

But, instead of like other “Western” restaurants that try to serve Italian or French food, the baked goods in the cafés are absolutely delicious. Shanghai has absolutely amazing cheesecake, it’s light and fluffier than the cheesecake found in the States. However, all of these cafes have a great Chinese twist, they sell intricate teas that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. A big trend in China now is fruit teas, teas that are made from a mix of dried fruit and flowers. They are served in clear pots, and are not only sweet and wonderful tasting, but also look fascinating.

Because midterms at Fudan University are a lot like finals at GW (where everything is in one week), I have recently spent a lot of time in cafés. Here are a few of my favorite:

Pain Chaud. Pain Chaud is interesting because it’s part of a restaurant complex that includes a bar and an Italian restaurant. Despite the fact that was created specifically to target international students at Fudan, the café has really great croissants. It’s also located in the middle of a street that I would call “old China”, where trash, peddlars, dust and crumbling buildings dominate. So, this café is an interesting mix, but close to my apartment and a good place to work with good pastry and free lemon water.

...continue reading "Shanghai’s Cafe Culture"

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By juliareinholdgw

This week I went to one of China’s most famous and beautiful tourist attractions, the ancient water village of Zhouzhuang. This water village, also known as the “Venice of the East”, is an quiet, small, ancient village built atop a lake inlet outside Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu province. In my opinion, the name “Venice of the East” is a bit of a misnomer because the only thing that ZhouZhuang has in common with the large European city is its canal structure. Unlike Venice, with its multiple story tall buildings, ZhouZhuang portrays a serene, almost pastoral-like paradise. The villages’ canals and houses are shadowed by weeping willows, and the air is filled with smells of roasting pork sprinkled with mouth-watering spices. Although ZhouZhuang is kind of built up like a tourist trap, it is not crowded, and the day we went was beautiful and sunny so the overpriced food and yelling hagglers put no damper or stress on our visit.

Getting to ZhouZhuang itself was neither hectic nor troublesome, we simply took a tourist bus from Shanghai there and back. The route was only 2 hours and passed through what can only be described as “Chinese suburbs”. When people think of China, they normally think of the giant, busy cities and ancient architecture, but are not familiar with what may lie in between. On our way to ZhouZhuang, we passed by multiple story houses clumped together, rice fields, busy downtown areas with flea markets, a few apartment buildings, and many factories. In order to reduce pollution in its large cities, the Chinese government has been working to move factories outside of its sprawling metropolitan areas like Shanghai and Beijing. As the weather was beautiful and the trees green, it was surprising to drive by civil defense manufacturing factories on our way to the ancient water villages.

...continue reading "The Floating Village"

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