Yesterday was the last day of a boy in our program so we all went Kareoke-ing again. SERIOUSLY. they should TOTALLY have kareoke places in America. no joke no joke. Afterwards we went to McDonald's for like the 13984239042th time in my life this last month. We were devouring our food and then I look up and I'm like ohh a hummingbird.
it was not a hummingbird.
it was a FATASS f-ing bug.
it was SO GROSS AND SO BIG.
ahhh.
I will seriously never eat McDonald's again. although this city should totally have more places open 24/7. BESIDES clubs.
anyways, I saw the sunrise again, for about the 5th time this last week.
Today, after my restful 3 hours of sleep, I managed to drag myself to the first half of class (guilty conscience) but after falling asleep in class, decided it might be better to just sleep in my bed. Then we went to go get massages.
O.
M.
G.
it's true, everything they say is true. 90 minute massage, 118 kuai (about 16 bucks). HEAVEN HEAVEN HEAVEN.
tonight. food + clubbing.
of course.
last week, gotta live it up.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The Bund at night because Shanghai is sexy..
we didn't have time to eat dinner, so we hit up a convenience store...
the other side of the Bund, European styled buildings..
Zapatas for good measure.
There are these apartments on the Bund, with probably the most amazing view of Shanghai ever. They go for $1 billion. That doesn't even make sense in my brain.
Needless to say, they've sold like one so far.
yi bai san shi ba hao huai hai zhong lu.
So, my fanlings....
I suppose there's nothing desperately new and exciting to update you on. We've gotten more comfortable getting around and figuring out where we want to go and what we want to do so it's more about repeating what we like rather than incessantly trying new things. Although there is still so so so SOOOO much in Shanghai to see. I dont think I could ever grow bored in this city. [Nina, seriously, so excited for you...] I still have to get used to transportation, which actually forbids me from venturing too far, but given enough time i swear i could figure out. The metro is actually probably easier to take then BART. & also the weather. It's just too damned hot here. This week is going to be the high 90s. & NOT EVERYWHERE IS AIR CONDITIONED! you try exploring a historical garden in 97 degrees.
The last couple nights have degenerated into bar-ing and clubbing because it's just THAT amazing here. Every morning we wake up and swear 'never again' but every night we somehow end up out again. I suppose I will probably never get to be quite as frivolous as this ever again, so i guess "when in shanghai..." Whenever I miss class (I swear only a few times!!) I just tell myself that I'll make up learning Chinese by talking to shopkeepers and bargaining. My mastery of the chinese language only extend to shopping & bargaining. & that only consists of "tai guai le, ni keyi pianyi yi dian, wo shi xuesheng, wo meiyou qian" (that's too expensive, can you make it cheaper, i'm a student, i dont have money). I still have to figure out phrases like YOU SUCK, and STOP RIPPING ME OFF, and THE QUALITY IS SHIT. Baby steps man.
So, because my days & nights have become a regulated pattern of eating, shopping and going out, the last couple days are slightly indistinguishable. I know that somewhere in the last few days there was shopping, eating and going out but for the life of me I could not tell you when and where. I know we hit up a lot of KFC and McDonalds (only place open 24/7) & i swear to god if i see one more french fry again i'm going to cry. I've eaten so much fast food here, more than like my whole life at home, it's ridiculous. I'm reading a book, recommended by my boyfriend dear, called "Foreign Babes in Beijing" which is actually really appropriate reading right now because it's about a girl who ends up getting a job at a PR firm in Beijing and just moves there by herself and it chronicles her adventures and getting used to life in China. She also randomly ends up getting a job on a Chinese soap opera as a foreign girl - kind of ends up playing herself on TV. Anyways, the book is pretty spot on and it's cool to be able to relate to her observations on a personal level ("oh my god i totally know what you're talking about" and the like). She talks about how the emergence of McDonald's has led to an increase in the obesity rate among children in China from 4ish% to 12ish% (oh the horror! what is it in America, like 85%???) and so a worried government increased funding on health & fat awareness (like pamphlets i guess?) i would say that i'm totally coming back fatter, if it wasn't for the fact that i drink about 10 water bottles a day, and sweat it out in my 1000 miles of walking a day.
lots of walking.
that and the dancing.
lots of dancing.
in related news, here are some pictures of a sunrise in shanghai:
it has come to my attention that i didn't ever come back to the title.
it's an address.
it's the address of the club Babyface.
it's the address we've told cab drivers for about 4 nights in a row.
it's the address of the sunrise pictures.
that is all.
I suppose there's nothing desperately new and exciting to update you on. We've gotten more comfortable getting around and figuring out where we want to go and what we want to do so it's more about repeating what we like rather than incessantly trying new things. Although there is still so so so SOOOO much in Shanghai to see. I dont think I could ever grow bored in this city. [Nina, seriously, so excited for you...] I still have to get used to transportation, which actually forbids me from venturing too far, but given enough time i swear i could figure out. The metro is actually probably easier to take then BART. & also the weather. It's just too damned hot here. This week is going to be the high 90s. & NOT EVERYWHERE IS AIR CONDITIONED! you try exploring a historical garden in 97 degrees.
The last couple nights have degenerated into bar-ing and clubbing because it's just THAT amazing here. Every morning we wake up and swear 'never again' but every night we somehow end up out again. I suppose I will probably never get to be quite as frivolous as this ever again, so i guess "when in shanghai..." Whenever I miss class (I swear only a few times!!) I just tell myself that I'll make up learning Chinese by talking to shopkeepers and bargaining. My mastery of the chinese language only extend to shopping & bargaining. & that only consists of "tai guai le, ni keyi pianyi yi dian, wo shi xuesheng, wo meiyou qian" (that's too expensive, can you make it cheaper, i'm a student, i dont have money). I still have to figure out phrases like YOU SUCK, and STOP RIPPING ME OFF, and THE QUALITY IS SHIT. Baby steps man.
So, because my days & nights have become a regulated pattern of eating, shopping and going out, the last couple days are slightly indistinguishable. I know that somewhere in the last few days there was shopping, eating and going out but for the life of me I could not tell you when and where. I know we hit up a lot of KFC and McDonalds (only place open 24/7) & i swear to god if i see one more french fry again i'm going to cry. I've eaten so much fast food here, more than like my whole life at home, it's ridiculous. I'm reading a book, recommended by my boyfriend dear, called "Foreign Babes in Beijing" which is actually really appropriate reading right now because it's about a girl who ends up getting a job at a PR firm in Beijing and just moves there by herself and it chronicles her adventures and getting used to life in China. She also randomly ends up getting a job on a Chinese soap opera as a foreign girl - kind of ends up playing herself on TV. Anyways, the book is pretty spot on and it's cool to be able to relate to her observations on a personal level ("oh my god i totally know what you're talking about" and the like). She talks about how the emergence of McDonald's has led to an increase in the obesity rate among children in China from 4ish% to 12ish% (oh the horror! what is it in America, like 85%???) and so a worried government increased funding on health & fat awareness (like pamphlets i guess?) i would say that i'm totally coming back fatter, if it wasn't for the fact that i drink about 10 water bottles a day, and sweat it out in my 1000 miles of walking a day.
lots of walking.
that and the dancing.
lots of dancing.
in related news, here are some pictures of a sunrise in shanghai:
it has come to my attention that i didn't ever come back to the title.
it's an address.
it's the address of the club Babyface.
it's the address we've told cab drivers for about 4 nights in a row.
it's the address of the sunrise pictures.
that is all.
my day with the barthelona boys
crazy boyyy
crazy boyy and shopkeepers
shanghai museum + barca boys. pimpinnnn' hahha.
i love the people's square skyline.
birds! in shanghai!!
people's square
people's square
they actually work and keep you cooler
shanghai museum
i swear they kept making other people take pictures. i have like 60 pictures of us in various parts of the museum..
arrr
Sat/Sun pictures. just one week behind, not that bad.
tea factory
more tea factoryy
apparently the smoke from this brand of green tea is really good for your eyes.
the super super green tea and the super super super green tea. the president only drinks super super super green tea which is super expensive.
its a flower, it's tea. ahhh.
yeah i haven't really figured it out either..
gardens, hangzhou
Hangzhouuu, so pretty! me, jen & the canadians.
gorgeous. west lake.
dragon boat arrrrr
so gorgeous
they just don't make malls like this in america
yeeeesh.
i can't believe i'm coming back in a week. i never want to leave everrr!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
pictures to be added later.
Saturday we slept in after our looooong night. We hit up frankie’s Bar and Grill which turned out to be MONEY Italian restaurant. It was really good & really expensive. But really good. So it was okay. Then we went all the way to the Shanghai Zoo but realized it closed in like 45 minutes so we decided it wasn’t really worth it and decided to go see a movie instead. The only movies out here are Pirates, Transformers and a bunch of Korean and Chinese movies. So of course, being with the boys I was with, we saw Transformers which of course sucked shit. And I’m pretty sure there were scenes cut out…
After a cheaper Middle Eastern dinner, we went to BonBon which is a club we’ve been meaning to go since the first night. Turned out to be the superskank club of Shanghai with whorish girls but good music (funny how those coincide). I’ve decided to single handedly fight the stereotype that Asian guys can dance because there were SO MANY MEN in that club that could not DANCE if their life depended on it. Like full on flailing arms, stepping on everyone’s feet and invading personal bubbles. Anyways, once the DJ’s starting rapping and what not and they no longer played the good music they were playing, we left, but not before I got to meet a Chinese DJ woo!
Sunday we took a day trip to Hangzhou, which is supposed to be a really beautiful place in China. & beautiful it was. We took a boat cruise on the West Lake – pictures will be updated at a later date. We also went and visited a Tea Factory.
Monday after class I hung out with the Barca boys. We went to People’s Square again and went shopping and then we were walking around and it was so hot that we ran into the first air conditioned building we saw which was Shanghai Museum, which not going to lie, was actually kind of cool.
Tuesday, the girls skipped class to go shopping at Qipulu for more knockoffs and what not. & then we were craving American food so we went to Malone’s American Pub, which turned out to be amazing burgers. Then we walked around TongrenLu (a famous bar street) and hit up a bar called Woodstock and then ended up at Babyface.
Wednesday after class we went back to Qipulu (big place, lots of stalls, heaven, can’t miss it) for some more quality bargaining and shopping (one of the bows on my shoes already fell off :[ ). Then we of course went to Zapatas for another classy night of free margaritas and bar dancing.
Thursday we got to visit the Pudong Municiple Government which was actually pretty cool. We saw like cityplanning and stuff and learned about the history of Pudong, which is like a district of Shanghai on the other side of the River. Like 20 years ago wit was all farmland but now its like a crazy metropolitan city – what you imagine when you think of Shanghai. So crazy. Then, since we were in Pudong, we went to a Science and Technology Museum which I assume is the same everywhere. Then I went on a personal mission to BUY my Chanel bag but failed sadly and miserable. MUST NOT LOSE HOPE. Last night we just ended up bar-ing and clubbing again.
After a cheaper Middle Eastern dinner, we went to BonBon which is a club we’ve been meaning to go since the first night. Turned out to be the superskank club of Shanghai with whorish girls but good music (funny how those coincide). I’ve decided to single handedly fight the stereotype that Asian guys can dance because there were SO MANY MEN in that club that could not DANCE if their life depended on it. Like full on flailing arms, stepping on everyone’s feet and invading personal bubbles. Anyways, once the DJ’s starting rapping and what not and they no longer played the good music they were playing, we left, but not before I got to meet a Chinese DJ woo!
Sunday we took a day trip to Hangzhou, which is supposed to be a really beautiful place in China. & beautiful it was. We took a boat cruise on the West Lake – pictures will be updated at a later date. We also went and visited a Tea Factory.
Monday after class I hung out with the Barca boys. We went to People’s Square again and went shopping and then we were walking around and it was so hot that we ran into the first air conditioned building we saw which was Shanghai Museum, which not going to lie, was actually kind of cool.
Tuesday, the girls skipped class to go shopping at Qipulu for more knockoffs and what not. & then we were craving American food so we went to Malone’s American Pub, which turned out to be amazing burgers. Then we walked around TongrenLu (a famous bar street) and hit up a bar called Woodstock and then ended up at Babyface.
Wednesday after class we went back to Qipulu (big place, lots of stalls, heaven, can’t miss it) for some more quality bargaining and shopping (one of the bows on my shoes already fell off :[ ). Then we of course went to Zapatas for another classy night of free margaritas and bar dancing.
Thursday we got to visit the Pudong Municiple Government which was actually pretty cool. We saw like cityplanning and stuff and learned about the history of Pudong, which is like a district of Shanghai on the other side of the River. Like 20 years ago wit was all farmland but now its like a crazy metropolitan city – what you imagine when you think of Shanghai. So crazy. Then, since we were in Pudong, we went to a Science and Technology Museum which I assume is the same everywhere. Then I went on a personal mission to BUY my Chanel bag but failed sadly and miserable. MUST NOT LOSE HOPE. Last night we just ended up bar-ing and clubbing again.
Monday, July 23, 2007
I GOT THIS ICEBOX WHERE MY HEART USED TO BE.
Friday.
Woke up with a sore throat.
CRAP.
Went to class anyways because I have this complex about missing class EVER even if I'm dying-sick. Ended up skipping out early cause I felt like death and retired to my bed to watch bootleg movies. Rush Hour (realized Jackie Chan actually speaks Cantonese for half the movie), Gangs of New York (intensified my love for Leo and my utter disdain for Cameron Diaz) and Notes on a Scandal (creepy, yet superb). I basically just wanted to rest up to make sure my Friday night would not be wasted. Friday night is THE NIGHT man.
Turned out to be one big (sort of?) disappointment. The night of 6 clubs, some might refer to it as. After a semi-disappointing sushi dinner we were ready to hit up the numerous clubs and bars on her list. Little did we know...
First we went to the Absolut Ice Bar which was actually really cool. I've never been to an ice bar, let alone in a really really HOT country. It was about 13 bucks (including 1 drink) and was worth every penny. I'm really going to have to get used to the fact that things are so expensive back home.
After the ice bar, we him up Rojam which was supposed to be one of the best techno/house music clubs in Shanghai. I was totally getting into the groove but apparently some of the guys we were get got like harassed...by other guys...in the bathroom... and demanded we depart immediately. We wanted to go to a club called Pegasus but apparently it no longer existed & instead had been transformed into Judy Q, into which the guy at the door shoved us in and promised us free drinks. Who were we to say no to free drinks?, especially since we've already been to two places and were still stone sober. Turned out the free drinks were shots of JUICE with a hint of alcohol and the dance floor turned out to be empty. & that was the end of Judy Q.
So we went to California Club, which I had heard good things about and was thusly and RIGHTFULLY expecting good things. It turned out to be super small, had really expensive drinks and really weird people. & by now I really had my fill of house music. So we proceeded to the club next door, Luxe, which thankfully had hip hop music. But we left (I dont know why). So ended our adventuresome clubbing experience and we decided to retire at Babyface, where we had already been last weekend. We ran into some of the French and Spanish kids we knew from our school. Babyface turned out to be the best time of that night, according to my slightly faded memory.
Woke up with a sore throat.
CRAP.
Went to class anyways because I have this complex about missing class EVER even if I'm dying-sick. Ended up skipping out early cause I felt like death and retired to my bed to watch bootleg movies. Rush Hour (realized Jackie Chan actually speaks Cantonese for half the movie), Gangs of New York (intensified my love for Leo and my utter disdain for Cameron Diaz) and Notes on a Scandal (creepy, yet superb). I basically just wanted to rest up to make sure my Friday night would not be wasted. Friday night is THE NIGHT man.
Turned out to be one big (sort of?) disappointment. The night of 6 clubs, some might refer to it as. After a semi-disappointing sushi dinner we were ready to hit up the numerous clubs and bars on her list. Little did we know...
First we went to the Absolut Ice Bar which was actually really cool. I've never been to an ice bar, let alone in a really really HOT country. It was about 13 bucks (including 1 drink) and was worth every penny. I'm really going to have to get used to the fact that things are so expensive back home.
After the ice bar, we him up Rojam which was supposed to be one of the best techno/house music clubs in Shanghai. I was totally getting into the groove but apparently some of the guys we were get got like harassed...by other guys...in the bathroom... and demanded we depart immediately. We wanted to go to a club called Pegasus but apparently it no longer existed & instead had been transformed into Judy Q, into which the guy at the door shoved us in and promised us free drinks. Who were we to say no to free drinks?, especially since we've already been to two places and were still stone sober. Turned out the free drinks were shots of JUICE with a hint of alcohol and the dance floor turned out to be empty. & that was the end of Judy Q.
So we went to California Club, which I had heard good things about and was thusly and RIGHTFULLY expecting good things. It turned out to be super small, had really expensive drinks and really weird people. & by now I really had my fill of house music. So we proceeded to the club next door, Luxe, which thankfully had hip hop music. But we left (I dont know why). So ended our adventuresome clubbing experience and we decided to retire at Babyface, where we had already been last weekend. We ran into some of the French and Spanish kids we knew from our school. Babyface turned out to be the best time of that night, according to my slightly faded memory.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
the day i put a SERIOUS dent in my [new] wallet...
Thursday morning (the dreaded 'morning after...') we woke up at 7:30 (YES! unbelievable) to go visit a goddamned Coca Cola Factory. Which I suppose would have been a lot cooler if I wasn't as desperately hungover. It was actually pretty interesting and cool looking and I suppose I just realized how big of a deal Coke is here. Especially with the Olympics coming up and such.
it's like Willie Wonka's goddamned chocolate factory..
After that, Anna, Jennifer and I went shopping at what we THOUGHT was QipuLu. We sort of just trusted the taxi driver to drop us off and when we departed he mumbled something that was clearly important but indiscernable. Maybe we should have made a greater effort to have figured it out. As soon as we left the taxi we were chased by RELENTLESS man shouting 'WANT WATCH, BAG, WATCHES, SHOES, BAGS.' It was actually kind of ridiculous, the extent of the chasing. So we escaped into the nearest building which turned out to be stalls of really cheap clothes. Some might know this place as Heaven. I picked up some sweet stuff, but i have to admit the place was super sketchy. At every turn would be shopkeepers yelling for us to COME INto their creepy stalls and freaky women would invade our personal bubbles and try to pull us to get our hair and nails done. This place was friggin weird I say. And finally when we reached the third floor, we hit the motherload. KNOCKOFFS! yessss. First it was just shoes and I asked about a specific Chanel pair to which the shopkeeper asked if I could "wait 10 minutes". I really had nothing else to do so I obliged. In the meanwhile, my friend had wandered off and the next thing I know, another shopkeeper is pulling me into the store next door - Kimonos. "No Kimonos" I try and protest but she opens a secret door BEHIND THE kimonos. OH MAN. OH MAN! rows and rows and shelves of lighted up racks containing all sorts of Guccis, Pradas, Miu Mius and Louis Vuittons. All of course ridiculously overpriced but I was able to whittle down my new Fendi spybag from 780 to 200 yuan (about 25 bucks) and my friend's Guccis and Chanels. I swear word had spread because all of a sudden, EVERY STALL we went to had a secret backdoor. It felt so illegal and surreal, I'm DEF going back.
[I got yelled at for taking this picture!]
Anyways, a couple hours later, we were probably some of the happiest (albeit a little bit poorer) girls in all of China.
Turns out that the building we were in was only ONE of many buildings. QipuLu is not a street but like a 4 block radius FILLED with similar buildings of similar cheap clothes. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...
it's like Willie Wonka's goddamned chocolate factory..
After that, Anna, Jennifer and I went shopping at what we THOUGHT was QipuLu. We sort of just trusted the taxi driver to drop us off and when we departed he mumbled something that was clearly important but indiscernable. Maybe we should have made a greater effort to have figured it out. As soon as we left the taxi we were chased by RELENTLESS man shouting 'WANT WATCH, BAG, WATCHES, SHOES, BAGS.' It was actually kind of ridiculous, the extent of the chasing. So we escaped into the nearest building which turned out to be stalls of really cheap clothes. Some might know this place as Heaven. I picked up some sweet stuff, but i have to admit the place was super sketchy. At every turn would be shopkeepers yelling for us to COME INto their creepy stalls and freaky women would invade our personal bubbles and try to pull us to get our hair and nails done. This place was friggin weird I say. And finally when we reached the third floor, we hit the motherload. KNOCKOFFS! yessss. First it was just shoes and I asked about a specific Chanel pair to which the shopkeeper asked if I could "wait 10 minutes". I really had nothing else to do so I obliged. In the meanwhile, my friend had wandered off and the next thing I know, another shopkeeper is pulling me into the store next door - Kimonos. "No Kimonos" I try and protest but she opens a secret door BEHIND THE kimonos. OH MAN. OH MAN! rows and rows and shelves of lighted up racks containing all sorts of Guccis, Pradas, Miu Mius and Louis Vuittons. All of course ridiculously overpriced but I was able to whittle down my new Fendi spybag from 780 to 200 yuan (about 25 bucks) and my friend's Guccis and Chanels. I swear word had spread because all of a sudden, EVERY STALL we went to had a secret backdoor. It felt so illegal and surreal, I'm DEF going back.
[I got yelled at for taking this picture!]
Anyways, a couple hours later, we were probably some of the happiest (albeit a little bit poorer) girls in all of China.
Turns out that the building we were in was only ONE of many buildings. QipuLu is not a street but like a 4 block radius FILLED with similar buildings of similar cheap clothes. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...
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