My First Impressions of Shanghai

Greetings from Shanghai! After a grueling 14 hour flight, I finally landed. I’m currently writing to you from my hotel in downtown Shanghai. I will be staying in this hotel for five weeks. It’s pretty nice and very Western..thank God! However, as soon as you step outside the hotel, its a whirlwind of new sights! There’s so many people, cars, noises, and restaurants. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Everyone here rides mopeds and bicycles and is hustling and bustling everywhere. Anyway, I woke up around 6:30 AM today (12 hour time difference from the U.S.) and headed downstairs for breakfast which was complimentary from the hotel. Since the hotel is very Western, the food was exactly like what I usually eat at home. After breakfast, I headed to Starbucks to get an iced coffee. It was $5.00… I definitely won’t be going there again! I headed to class after fueling up on coffee and sat through an interesting but long three hour lecture. When class ended, we ventured to a noodle place for lunch. It was very intimidating ordering lunch because no one spoke English!!! I had my doubts but the noodles were amazing…so flavorful and spicy AND ONLY $2.00! After lunch, we went on a tour of the ancient Gardens and went to an acrobat show. I had such a good first day and am looking forward to new adventures to come!

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