Sorry that I haven't posted in so long! I just realized that it's been a full week since I've updated the blog. So fair warning, this post might be a little long...here we go!
Friday was the first day of Spirit Week and it was Pajama Day! Watching everyone walking around in pajamas, robes, and slippers was quite a sight. It seemed like most people were a lot more relaxed as well, but the students did look rather sleepy. I never thought I would be able to teach in sweatpants! After school, I went to a Chinese restaurant down the street from the school with both Sarahs and Haley, the other student teacher at ISW. It was interesting to see another part of town that I hadn't been to before and try some new food! We had more jiatsa (which are delicious dumplings, possibly my favorite food here), won ton soup (Shout to Sky for the won ton sooooouuuuup!!), and of course lots of rice. We may have eaten other things too, but at this point I just can't remember. It was great! I was able to get some money out to take to Shanghai and also have my first milk tea. I got an iced, cherry chocolate milk tea and I'm pretty sure I have a new love now. It was so good :) Upon getting back to the apartment, I was able to rest and get to sleep early on a Friday night with all of my lesson plans for the week already completed!
Saturday and Sunday were so full of events that I'll just give you the short version for now. I went with 7 other wonderful women from ISW to Shanghai for Saturday and Sunday. Four of us got to the train station with plenty of time to find out gate with the help of our new friend within the apartment just as we realized that he dropped us off on the wrong side of the train station. Here, there are slow trains and fast trains. We were taking a fast train to Shanghai, but we soon realized that we were at the gates for the slow trains. Thankfully one of the women in our group knew the train station well enough to lead us all the way around the station to the other side. We got to our gate after some running and got in line to board our train 3 minutes later. What a praise! The train station and the fast train reminded me a lot of an airport with the baggage checks, boarding gates, and seating, except there's more room for your feet on trains! I enjoyed talking with the other women as we traveled 280 km/hr to Shanghai.
When we got to Shanghai, all I could think of was that it was probably the equivalent to NYC in the states. The streets were full of people, there were name brand stores lining the streets, and people without homes on just about every corner. We bought 24 hour subway passes right away which was a great idea because we rode on the subway more times than I could count. The subways were completely packed every time, and I think I got a seat on the subway twice throughout the times that I rode. It's just part of the culture to push through when you need to get somewhere, so I got used to pushing myself on and off of each subway so I didn't get left behind and get separated from the group. Definitely an interesting experience! That same day, I went to a restaurant called Wagas, bought a knock off pair of TOMs the equivalent of less than ten dollars, got a pomegranate chicken sandwich at Element Fresh, attended a truly awesome worship service at the fellowship in Shanghai, and went to a jazz club to end the night. A full day spent with lots of food, fellowship, rain, and shared experiences.
On Sunday, we got to sleep in (until 8:30!) and go to a bagel restaurant (after quite a hunt) which was really exciting for the teachers here! Bagels are something a lot of them miss, so they loved being able to eat bagels again! I got an omelette with meat, cheese, and avacado in addition to an everything bagel. It was absolutely delicious :) We then went to the import store where the teachers who have been here for a while were able to pick up some of their favorite foods that you can't really find anywhere else here. However, all of these foods were super expensive as well! Let's just say if you wanted Cheez-Its, they were the equivalent of $11 or $12. Crazy! After the import store, I stayed in Shanghai with Sarah M, Haley, and Kim (the PE teacher at ISW) to explore a little bit more. I got Costa Coffee for the first time, had some deep conversations on couches in one of the many malls, saw the Pearl Tower and The Bund, ate at a curry restaurant, enjoyed frozen yogurt, and went back to the train station to buy our tickets and head back to Wuxi. It was a wonderful weekend to get to know more about these amazing women, and had a perfect ending as I worshiped with three others in an apartment with a guitar and beautiful voices :)
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