There is always something going on in Shanghai. We decided to pass on watching a Rugby game and instead chose to explore the city. Jason and I haven’t really seen much of Shanghai, so we were excited to get out! My Saturday morning started with getting my permeant visa! Luckily, I didn’t have to do much for this, and it was just like a trip to the DMV, take a number and wait. The whole process took about an hour! For some reason Jason did not have to go so when I got back home we biked to get some coffee and breakfast. My whole plan after these excursions (since it was just 12:00) was to take a nap, but instead I laid on the couch and Skyped with Julia and my parents! So no nap for me!
Tag: China
Potpourri
Angela here and sorry I’ve been MIA! Not much new happening here but things are going great! I’ve been waking up very early to go swimming at school. It’s nice to drag myself out of bed and jump, bike to school, and jump in cold water….no really it’s fun! Tonight Jason and I are meeting up with a friend of his from high school! It’s crazy how small the world is. This week, I told myself I’d be better about cooking at home which turns out has been a failure! Monday and Wednesday we had plans! Tuesday we had leftovers—Wait I ate the leftovers, Jason had PB&J! That leaves me tomorrow. It’s so different cooking here. Going to the grocery store is a chore and then after all that work you have to cook….but thankfully I can have my groceries delivered! That’s right! I haven’t gotten to that point yet but I’m thinking it will be worth it!
Below are a few pictures from my phone! China win: having convenient Gum packets! China fail: Said gum comes in a green package (I think mint) turns out it’s flower-ish! Oh well!
Monday Fun-day.
We celebrated our second Monday of the year by going to our friend Joel’s apartment to watch a movie. We watched Ghost Busters. This past Friday, we had a school happy hour that a lot of staff attended. We stayed there a long time, and then went to our Canadian friend Cat’s house to have a low-key night. Saturday we went out to dinner via bicycle in the French Concession to a place called Abbey Road, based off of the Beatles album. It was a very fun adventure.
On Sunday Angela and I got foot massages! We went to separate places. Both of us had awesome foot massages, but my place was much more expensive! All for now.
Bikes!
We got bikes! This morning we took a cab to the Giant store to search for a bike. The store had a great selection of bikes that were all decently priced. After going back and forth between a cruiser and hybrid bike, I decided on the hybrid. The guy at the shop let me take it for a test drive down the street….the breaks felt a little weak so they tightened them up for me. The bike felt a little small but the weight and color sold me. It didn’t come with a kickstand but was able to have one installed before we left. Oh and of course I bought a helmet! Less than $500 for a brand-new bike, kickstand, and helmet. The only weird thing about it is the disc breaks….not sure how I feel about those! Since we had cabbed it to the bike shop one of us was going to have to ride the bike home. Jason volunteered and ended up beating me home! After an afternoon nap we rode our new bikes to the pearl market to pick up my clothes that I had ordered last week. The whole adventure took about 20 minutes and was pretty easy. Having a bike really makes getting around a lot easier! Actually biking in Shanghai is pretty nerve racking because you don’t really have to follow any traffic laws! In fact I noticed the more careful I was, the more dangerous it seemed. Cars yield for you but you can never really tell if they will! So for example when the light was red we just went for it and weaved in and out of traffic! Not to worry –we wore helmets and really, we were the only people wearing helmets! Once all of our friends get bikes it will be nice to bike around the city!
Oh and the clothes I picked up are awesome. The dresses that I got are a perfect match and fit great!
Good Morning!
For most that are reading this, it’s probably evening time, but for me its morning. Normally I’d be using this time to be working out but for some reason the heat and what not is too much. Once school starts I will get back on it! Anyways, in one week school will start for real! Both Jason and I are excited and nervous about our new jobs but know once we get settled, we will do great! Yesterday, the school took all the faculty on mini-tours of the city! We were divided into 14 different teams! My team took us to a sculpture garden as well as this cute little shopping place made in a brick alley! The whole staff ended up at the Shanghai Brewery for drinks and social time! I will totally go back to both places when it’s cooler. The heat is getting unbearable. This morning at 6:30 it was 95! The high today and for the rest of the week is around 103 and yes there is humidity…tons of it! Our schedule for the rest of the week is pretty low-key. Today and tomorrow is all meetings and classroom time! Friday night there is a party for the entire school at the Ritz Carlton! Check out those views! Continue reading
Friday
Tonight was a staff party at the restaurant 1221! The food was amazing and good times were had by all!
Phones, school, and more
Today was a very successful day! After venturing out at 8 am we went to find the school and fix our SIM cards! This sorta worked but using the phone was more difficult! After leaving school we went to find a pedestrian mall known as Golden Street but to our dismay, everything was closed. At this point it was 90° and we were hot! We went to a bakery with free wifi, ate, and FINALLY contacted our parents! We then went home!
Later We had to go back to school to deliver our passports and find Jason a new SIM card. Apparently my $50 worth of photos didn’t make the trip! We went to school ( about a 10 min walk) and met a lot of helpful ppl who gave us directions to a better cell phone provider! and we made dinner plans with the vice principal! After a long walk we finally got cell phones with 3G! Facebook is blocked here so for now we will be posting updates here or via Instagram! More later…exhausted!
Adios USA
Made it to our 2nd to last flight! We have a row with 2 seats which will be nice since I’ve lost the ability to control my tears! All of a sudden this is real! Our plane was delayed so hopefully we will have enough time to get the flight to Shanghai! Time to shut down! See you in China
Iowans Abroad 