Arrival in Shanghai and Day of Touring

We arrived at Pudong International Airport on time and were exhausted. We were greeted by the two teachers from Weifang, Miss Liu and Miss Kerri, who guided us to our pick-up van. The ride to our hotel was about an hour (we hit some traffic) and a little unnerving. The lines on the road seem pointless as drivers are constantly crossing and re-crossing, cutting each other off, and they do not use their signals. So, you can imagine the number of honking horns on the road!

Below are some photos of the hotel, the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Hotel. We’ve been told by our course leader Anne that we should not expect this kind of luxury at the hotel in Weifang, so we are certainly enjoying it while it lasts!

We had dinner at a restaurant in the airport since we were tired of travelling. I was nervous about finding foods without meat, as almost every picture I had seen of food while we were searching had meat in it. But our hosts Miss Liu and Miss Kerri spoke with the waitress and found me vegetarian things– fried rice without meat and tomato soup with veggies. There’s a picture below!

Today my roomie Heather and I naturally woke up at 4:30. Still trying to get used to the time change. We were to meet Miss Liu and Miss Kerri in the hotel lobby to go for breakfast before exploring the city. We ate at a small breakfast spot in the airport. I really enjoyed my meal, a green onion omelette wrapped around two light, fried sticks (almost like long skinny doughnuts), with a thick soy sauce inside. Every meal came with hot or cold soy milk, but I couldn’t stomach it!

We headed to the subway after breakfast and went to Yuan Garden, a beautiful garden with old architecture. The garden is surrounded by street vendors with extremely cheap merchandise. The owners have calculators and they use them to negotiate prices with you (bargaining is an appreciated art here).

We then went to a reputable shopping district where there are high end designers. Lunch followed, family style (equipped with the rotating table). The day was incredible hot, so I enjoyed a smooth coke with lemon. Our final stop was the Jingan Temple, an ancient Buddhist temple that was turned into a plastic factory during the Industrial Revolution. It is located directly in the centre of the Bund, in the city, and it was strange seeing such a beautiful, historic place in the middle of tall buildings. The temple had incredible large statues, and locals were paying respects, bowing and kneeling in front of these marble structures.

It was back to the hotel after this tour considering how hot we were. And here I am, reporting back! These first two days have been incredible. Our hosts have been so accommodating and have made sure we are fed and comfortable with what they have planned. We fly out tomorrow at 9:30 to Weifang, so our bags need to be packed for 7:30. Not looking forward to another flight, but excited that the teaching experience is getting closer!