In which I wander into a ball of light, among other things

Yeah, I know I already posted something today.  But that was actually written my first day here.  Now I have more to say!  Yesterday we went to the Former French Concession!   I saw Zhou Enlai's house, and the first copy of the Chinese translation of the Communist Manifesto, and a cannon that was used by the Qing army during the Opium Wars!  Aw yeah.  I love me some history.  We also saw the campus.  It looks good quality for a Chinese uni.  It certainly isn't up to American standards in regards to facilities, but all the kids who have studied at other universities in China say it is one of the good ones.  The floors in the classrooms are concrete with spots on it, and there is a decoration hanging that has Santa on it that shouts in all caps: MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY NEW YEAR.  According to Kelsey White, this isn't uncommon in Chinese classrooms.  Christmas decorations all year long.

This is me, standing in the very building where the first CPC meeting was held!  I never thought I would have the opportunity to stand in that former girls' school!  But I did!

My, I'm such a terrible photographer.  My scavenger hunt group: Nick, John (normally he looks a lot better), Hannah up top, Tiffany down below, and me.  Obviously.

A close in the Former French Concession

At Zhou Enlai's old house.  Very cool.

Shanghai has crazy buildings.

They brought me, John, and Nick forks and knives.  They brought Tiffany chopsticks because they thought she was actually legit Chinese.  Success!  And I told you John looks better normally...  I had just made them laugh in this picture.

I ate some really great Chinese food today.  Thus far, I haven't died, and I haven't been sick, either.  Apparently even boiling the water doesn't cut it- there is still high metal content (like lead, etc), so I will be drinking lots and lots of bottled water.
Good stuff.  These people are awesome.  They make me realize that I can actually learn Chinese through study.  People CAN learn Chinese without going to the MTC and going on a mission.  Whodathunk?  It is so fun being surrounded by awesome people who all CARE.  It rocks.  They are so funny.  Today I spent a lot of time with a boy named Daniel, who is from Raleigh, NC, and Bart, from Little Rock, Arkansas.  During the Scavenger Hunt at the French Concession, I was in a group with Tiffany, my awesome roomie, Hannah, a girl from Seattle who looks like Melinda from IWA, Nick who lived in Taiwan for 2 years, and John, who is from Wisconsin.  He actually studied in Harbin for a semester!  They are really fun people.  At the end Hannah went to hang out with a friend in Shanghai so me and Tiffany and John and Nick went and ate at this priceyish place (touristy area, it is) and then found our way home somehow.  It was so great.  We only got sort of lost for a second there.  We got off the metro at Wujiaochang, which is the closest stop to Tonghe.  But we started down the wrong road, so we had to go back to the crazy intersection (called Wujiaochang because wu means 5, and 5 roads converge there) and cross it.  We took an escalator down and expected it to be underground.  Instead, it was open air in the middle.  You could see the traffic going around above you and this crazy light ball.  There were ponds and it is very indescribable.  So I'll add some photos.  They still don't do it justice.  We were not expecting anything like this, and suddenly, it was there.  It was magical.

五角場 （Wujiaochang)

When we magically found ourselves under the crazy light ball, surrounded by ponds at our feet and zooming cars about our heads

This is where the closest metro stop to my apartment is.  Aw yeah.  Legit.  I'm in China.

Today we had a placement exam.  It went alright, I suppose.  The most frustrating bits were the grammar structures I know I knew at some point, but I've forgotten how to use them over the few months since school let out.  I knew not studying would curse me!
I ate lunch with Jamie and John.  We just ate at a little Sichuan restaurant on Guoding Road, the road that the main entrance to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) is on.  We had more safety information, and later tonight we are going to go see an acrobat show!  Woohoo!
To celebrate Duanwujie (Dragon Boat Festival), we ate zongzi.  If you want to know the story, ask me.  We performed it in CHIN 3010, and I was the poet who jumped dramatically into the river.  Sadly, there are no dragon boat races nearby.  Ho hum.  We pretty much have all of Monday free because of the holiday.  I wish we could have Sunday off instead.

Me and my roommate, Yehong.  That's a zongzi in my hands.  Also, appreciate how good my hair looks.  The humidity is KILLER.  My hair is hating me.  Everyday.  It's worse than Belgium.

It is so hard to describe this place... you go from fancy shopping malls to little local shops in mere seconds.  It was deadly hot and humid the first day.  Today, it was pouring.  Absolutely, Scottish pouring.  My rain jacket was drenched.  It was very fun.  :)  I was singing a Regina Spektor song that goes: "I love Paris in the rain!  I love Paris in the rain!" but instead, I sang "I love Shanghai in the rain!  I love Shanghai in the rain!  I love!  I love!  In the rain!  Oh..."
Speaking of songs, there is a girl named Alicia who is rather fantastic.  She's from Texas.  Anyway... Bart called her Cecilia once, so every time I see her, I sing her the Simon and Garfunkle song but I changed Cecilia for Alicia.  Good stuff.
Life is good.  These people are great.  I'm excited to begin studying Chinese again.  I just don't know enough to even have a decent conversation alone with a waiter or a salesperson.
Peace OUT!