The job for which I’ve come to Shanghai for does not begin until June tenth so while the rest of the city begins the Monday morning grind, I’m left to my own for the day. Motivating myself to leave the apartment at first was pretty tough, it’s just so easy to sit around and watch movies and do nothing. I ended up doing just that for the next hour and a half until my stomach made it known that staying inside all day was not a plausible idea.
With the thought of dumplings still fresh in my mind I headed off in search of the restaurant from the night prior. Due to my state of jet lag I could not remember the location so I roamed aimlessly for awhile before stumbling into it. Ordering food was the first time the language barrier became apparent. I was reduced to pointing at pictures to order my food. Sadly this will be the limiting factor every time food is ordered without someone who speaks both Chinese and English. Maybe in a few months I’ll have a good enough grasp of the Chinese language to accomplish this task.
After getting my stomach topped off it was time to return home to hang out for a bit while I waited for my appointment to check out an apartment. While heading home, I realized that I really needed to snap out of it, if I keep going home, I might as well have stayed home in New Jersey. To counteract my previous thoughts I did the exact opposite, I got on the subway and took it to a random location. My destination was People’s Square, which I’d heard a little bit about. Walking out of the subway I realized I’d stumbled into yet another large shopping center. I only lasted a few minutes on this street before thinking that I did not want to spend another day roaming through large shopping centers. A random ally appealed to me and I went exploring the side streets. Nothing exciting to report but it was interesting to see the side streets which weren’t all polished and touristy.
Since I had forgotten to get the address of the apartment I was checking out before leaving for breakfast I made my way home. With the address in hand I returned to the subway. Figuring I’d probably get lost along the way, I gave myself a two hour buffer until the appointment. I ended up making it there in about twenty minutes so I took the next hour and a half to explore the area. Arriving early is now my choice for all further destinations. There wasn’t really anything of note to report on but constantly checking out new locations is bound to have some interesting results.
The apartment sat inside a gated community on the seventeenth floor with an amazing view from the room that I might decide to reside in for the next six months. The residence was rather bare but I didn’t require much since I wouldn’t really be there more than to sleep, hopefully. After my quick tour I was wet from the constant rain and stinky from the hot weather so it was time for a shower and relaxation.
As I left the shower my phone rang and it was my friend ready to head off to dinner. With at least the shower accomplished, I met him for dinner. In route to dinner, he let me know that each night would be filled with a new interesting meal; tonight’s menu was Korean barbeque. This was probably my most enjoyable meal in a long time, sorry United States but Korean barbeque just beat you. The style of Korean Barbeque involves ordering raw meats and vegetables and having a grill in the middle of the table which you then can choose what you’d like to cook and eat. Chicken wrapped with bacon was easily my number one choice for the night. After a long dinner, with a full stomach and jet lag the ever constant nag, it was time to head home to rest.
Doing it right: A quick note of the subways, they are awesome. I’ve been on Boston’s and New York’s subway system and neither have anything on Shanghai. The two best parts of the subway are the stickers on the ground constantly pointing you in the right direction and each subway line is completely separate from the other. While on the platform, one side is one direction, and the other side is the other direction for the same line. You don’t have three different trains pulling in going to different destinations and you don’t end up on one side of the tracks for uptown and the other for downtown if you have to make a last second change on which way you’re going.
Lesson Learned: Traveling is pointless if you’re going to go the typical route. Step off the beaten path, get lost, and enjoy the process of finding your way back
