Wow, as of yesterday we're 3/4 done with the program--I know I say something every week about how surprised I am that time has moved this quickly, but going into our last week of full classes is very bittersweet. I'm excited to leave the mosquitos behind and have more consistent Internet connection, but knowing I likely won't be back to China for at least several years is more than a little sad. That being said, we definitely made the most of our time this week, so hopefully this post is marginally more interesting than some of my other ones (whoops, sorry).
This week, we had classes as usual, along with a tai chi class on Monday, a trip to the TV tower in the Bund on Tuesday, and our final cultural lecture on Shanghai economics on Thursday. We're expected to give a final presentation at the end of the program, either on our time here or on something specific about Chinese culture, so it sounds like a lot of this coming week will be working on that. Otherwise, we've been continuing textbook vocabulary and grammar, essay-writing, and listening/speaking classes. As for taichi, it's both very fun and very difficult to learn--unfortunately, I don't think I have the patience or grace for something that requires so much focus and coordination. Still, I'm excited for our second lesson tomorrow and am hoping it'll get a little easier with practice.
I think the trip to the Bund has been my favorite afternoon group trip so far. It's a very tourist-y place to go, but the view from the top of the TV tower is pretty amazing, and combined with the museums and gift shops on the floors below, there's no shortage of things to see in the building. It's also the iconic Shanghai building, so as tourist-heavy as it is, it does feel like somewhere you have to visit if you're coming to China as a foreigner; the view is beyond breathtaking.
This weekend was our last completely free weekend of the program, so we tried to take advantage as much as possible. A friend and I took the 高铁 (Chinese high-speed train) back to Suzhou on Saturday, hoping to see a little more of the city than we'd had time to during the group trip last week. We saw the Suzhou Museum, the Lion Forest Garden, Jinji Lake, and some shopping areas, all of which were a lot of fun; Suzhou was definitely an exciting way to spend the day. The train ride was amazing, too--what took us about three hours to reach by bus took only half an hour by train, and I'm still surprised by how airport-like the station was. If nothing else, I'm glad I got the chance to take the 高铁 while I'm here after hearing so much about it, and if you ever have a free day in China, taking it for a day trip was more than worthwhile.
After getting back fairly late yesterday from Suzhou, I slept in today and then took the afternoon to visit Tianshan Tea City (天山茶城), a huge complex of hundreds of tea-selling shops and stands. There are also upper floors that sell fancier teas as well as tea sets and pots, but we stuck to the first floor and the shops surrounding, which were a little more catered to foreigners. We ended up with a few other small groups of tourists from America, Italy, and Quebec trying all different types of tea with one of the more popular tea sellers as our host. I can't say I'm personally a huge tea fan, but I can't deny the intrigue of sampling such a widespread variety of Chinese teas, and with the overwhelming quantity of shops in the area, I'm glad we were able to find a stand that was a little more beginner-friendly for if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. It also sold every tea in a spectrum of qualities, so there was something with a reasonable price no matter how experienced (or not) you are with different kinds of tea.
Yesterday was also a friend's and my birthday, so we decided to have an expensive dessert day at the mall--I'm a little ashamed to say my dessert ended up costing more than my dinner, but at the same time, five U.S. dollars was definitely worth the rolled ice cream I got, so I can't say I have any regrets. It was also a pretty huge coincidence that we both had the same birthday (same year, too!), so I'd say it was worth the occasion.
Well, that was a much longer post than usual, but this week was very eventful--exhausting, but a lot of fun, too. I can already tell how much I'm going to miss it here once I get back to the U.S., so thinking about going home is very strange--as nice as returning home again will be, I feel like I still have so much to do and see in China that I haven't gotten the chance to yet, and I'd hate to go home feeling like I had unfinished business. Still, we definitely have some time left before we wrap up the trip, and it sounds like this week will be similarly hectic between more taiji on Monday, paper cutting on Tuesday, an acrobatics show on Thursday, and our fourth and final trip to Zhujiajiao on Saturday. In any case, thanks for reading and there'll be another update next week!
P.S. I've been generally avoiding American food just on principle while in China, but a group of us decided it would be interesting to try some Chinese pizza while we're here, and I have to say, it might actually be better than American pizza--less oily, stuffed crust options I've never even heard of (mocha, sausage, and sweet potato, to name a few), and an impressive variety of toppings. Maybe not something I'd get every day, but, like most things, definitely worth a try, and I figured also worth a picture or two.