Settling into Life in Shanghai

The first thing that struck me about the campus is how green it is.  Tons of trees, bushes, and even forests everywhere with a couple of lakes and rivers too.  The buildings, for the most part, are very modern.  The dorms look like they were built in the 80’s or 90’s, and most of the classrooms look very new.  There is also a new library which is very nice.  (It puts the UGLI, or even the Dude to shame).

I had my first class on Monday.  It was VE280, which is equivalent to EECS 280, a class on computer programming.  I arrived a couple of minutes early with other friends from the Joint Institute, and almost every seat was taken.  All of the Chinese students were early.  A few minutes into the class two more girls on the JI walked in and there was a raucous.  Originally, I thought it was because they were late to class and that was forbidden, so I made a note to myself about that.  In reality, there was a first wave of shock among the Chinese Male students that white girls were in the class, and everyone laughed because of the first “OMG” sounding noise from the Chinese men.

Then I met my Joint Institute buddies, John and Zhao, and I went grocery shopping with them.  I bought a  bunch of necessities as well as this Chinese which tastes kind of like a rice cake with a salty frosting.  It’s pretty good, and I have  been snacking on them for breakfast, but I’m not quite sure if that’s what they’re meant for. 

On Tuesday, I do not have class, so I went with a group of people down to the French Concession area in Downtown Shanghai.  This is the area where the French settlers came to Shanghai, and you can see it in some of the architecture and buildings.  Lots of fancy fences.  We ate at a French restaurant, but each restaurant in the city seems to have some sort of Chinese flair, specifically in the culture.  Usually, the dishes will not be brought out all at the same time, so it is not unusual to be finished with your dish before others get their food.

We use the metro to get around Shanghai.  There is a station that's a 15 minute walk from our dorms, and after one transfer, you can be in the heart of the city in around an hour, which is not bad considering the true size of the entire city of Shanghai.  This is a picture of the map of the metro.  It's huge and very tangled.

Then, we went back near People’s Square and Nanjing Road, which is a bit like Time Square in its form/function.  However, People’s Square is more of a park.  It has a ton of greenery, some old architecture, and some ponds.  We sat there and relaxed for a little while before heading to the fake market on Nanjing Road.  The fake market is simply huge; it has 5 or 6 floors of pure boutiques with pushy salespeople willing to bargain.  Nothing should really cost more than 60 RMB, or 10 USD, except maybe some brands of watches.  A lot of the stores are almost identical, selling purses, watches, clothing, i-phone cases, and knock off beats headphones which are apparently really low quality.  Other shops will sell more extreme items like knives, lasers, and even Tasers.  It’s kind of scary how accessible these things are, but violent crime in Shanghai is essentially zero.

Right now I am dead tired from a day traveling around Shanghai.  I have class early tomorrow morning, so I should go to sleep soon, especially since you have to get to class extra early for good seats.  Good night/afternoon/morning!