Shanghai Survivor: Shangri-La EFT

What an amazing week. Now that we've had a few days back from our adventure in Yunnan Province, I honestly cannot believe how much we experienced. As my cultural mentor put it, living in Shanghai is "soft" China. We have every culture represented in accessible and safe food, transportation easily labeled in English, and in a city with the population of Australia: we are safe. I think the EFT came at a perfect time to remind everyone in the program that we are not immune to the struggles of being abroad. In fact, out of the 49 people that attended our Shangri-La Educational Field Trip, only 11 avoided food poisoning/vomiting/diarrhea. It was absolutely insane.

For me personally, I was not one of the 11. I actually lasted quite a long time in comparison to half of the group that earned the label "puke bus" after the second day. I even ran around Shaxi buying electrolyte-filled drinks for my boyfriend, Rhett, as he lost all of his food contents for the day. But I earned my 5 AM wake up call, completely immobilized because of food sickness.  Rapidly loosing fluids, I knew that I was facing a 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride and I was adamant on not soiling my pants/throw up on the bus. So I inadvertently dehydrated myself to the extent that when we finally arrived at a Lijiang restaurant, I was incapacitated. After attempting to go to the bathroom before our bus ride to the hotel, I collapsed. Rhett picked me up, and I passed out seconds later. He informed me later that he had to fend off random Chinese people attempting to put some sort of smelling salts on me while carry me down to the bus where our directors were. Next thing I knew, I was in Lijiang hospital, IV attached and being poked and prodded. Despite my fears, the hospital was just fine but lacking dozens of regulations like in the US. Doors were wide open on a 40-50 degree day, sheets not changed in between patients, people smoking in the lobby, and nurses needing to be tracked down rather than being attentive. But, as the title of this post reiterates: we survived.

Everything was exaggerated because of sickness but the bottom line was that the trip was the unexpected journey we knew it would be. We all needed some un-comfortableness in our lives and we got it by the bus-load. Though everyone would have been much happier avoiding sickness, nothing was serious and the sites around us were an amazing distraction from the negatives. I haven't expanded enough on all of the sites we saw, but I did create another video for everyone to see the trip first-hand. Don't worry: it doesn't document the events mentioned above besides a few pictures inside the hospital. I hope you like it! Also, other people in the program have begun to make videos as well and I wanted to share them all for your viewing pleasure. They are listed below and are incredible. Enjoy!

1. My Video: Shangri-La EFT
2. David Hong: Yunnan "Educational" Field Trip
3. My Video: Hong Kong & Macau
4. Justin Lew: ~China Begins
5. Zach Chen: Shanghai | Orientation Week

love,
kpk

Pass the Jellyfish

Life and Shanghai is surprisingly easy now. Between making solo trips to supermarkets and confidently bargaining at fake markets, there have been relatively few "culture shock" moments. Until last night. Group dinner was at a high end, family-style Chinese restaurant. As dish after dish came out, the less and less I recognized. Kung pao chicken, beef and celery root, rice were in the clear. Lotus root, bean curd, and last but most certainly not least, jellyfish were another story. Somehow all of the adventurous eaters were at my table, asking permission to take the fishes head and getting excited when pickled eggplant came to the table. Encouraged by those around me I did, in fact, try ALMOST everything on the table. Though I narrowly escaped eating the gooey bean curd, I did in fact, have to try the raw jellyfish. My verdict? Not terrible but unexpectedly crunchy. Happy Weird Food Wednesday!

love,

kpk

PS. As always, here is the link to the most recent Shanghai Newsletter: CLICK HERE

Hong Kong & Macau

Our first trip has successfully been completed! After our wonderful weekend I find it hard to believe that I was so worried about it all. I could tell you all about it but I think this video will do our trip justice. Enjoy and share the link :)

love,
kpk

ps. Check out the special travel edition of the shanghai newsletter! CLICK HERE!

Pre-Travel Gitters

I cannot believe it. A month has passed since we arrived in Shanghai. There have been some low's but an overwhelming amount of high's. As my parents have said a few times over facetime: China has been treating me well. But as September comes to a close that means it's time for October (Duh I know, but hold on -  I promise I have a point). In America, October is pretty much synonymous with Halloween. In China, it's all about The National Holiday. Like Fourth of July for an entire week, China spends every October 1-7 celebrating the founding of The People's Republic of China on September 21st, 1949. During this holiday, I will be traveling to Hong Kong and Macau. I am so beyond excited, however, there are always a few butterflies when it comes to traveling. Expect the unexpected has always been my motto for travel, however, in Asia I feel it is best to have as much planned out as humanly possible. But even then, you still can't account for all things going on around you. For instance, yesterday 38 people were injured in Hong Kong during a protest and the situation is still shaky (read more here). Not exactly what I had in mind for the long weekend. I have been assured by many locals that I would have to literally join the protest to be in any danger, but the fact that it is still going on is worrisome. Needless to say, pre-travel gitters are abundant. I am trying to shake off the general worries about traveling and focus instead on the wonderful things we have planned. From firework watching in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong Disney, and a daytrip to Macau, there is no doubt in my mind that we are going to have a fantastic time. But to all those who are still concerned (Mommy), I promise to keep updates frequent and to be extremely careful!

PS - Newsletter 2 is out! CLICK HERE to read it! <3

love,
kpk

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

I am the Communications Specialist for the Shanghai International Program and while the day-in-day-out work includes updating white boards, Facebook posts, and emails to reflect current news of the house, I am also responsible for publishing a newsletter. In my job description it really leaves the newsletter open-ended in terms of its contents and style.  This has been so daunting to try and incorporate all of the amazing things that have been going on in the Jia into a few simple pages to reflect our entire program. But the first issue is officially out! With the burden of first impressions over with, I am fairly confident that the newsletter accurately represents our program. So, without further adieu, here is the first issue of the "Jia Newsletter!" If you're interested in subscribing to its weekly publication, please send an email to shanghainewsletter@gmail.com with the subject line "Subscribe." Share it with everyone! Thank you all!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE "JIA NEWSLETTER"

// the newsletter \\

love,
kpk

Missed Trains and Lost on Mopeds

Last I left you, I was anxiously awaiting my first weekend trip to Hangzhou and MY oh my have things happened since then. So first, Hangzhou was beautiful. The picturesque West Lake (pictured on the back of the 1 kuai bill) was everything I was hoping it would be, even in the overcast weather. But getting there was not so picturesque. While waiting in the train station for our 8:47 AM to Hangzhou, we stopped to get food. We finished in plenty of time, but right before we returned to our terminal someone in our party was MIA. Minutes ticked by and sooner or later it was 8:36 when we were all back and sprinting to our gate. We arrived only to be stared down by the ticket agent. Obviously, communication was a little issue so he just stood there and let me attempt to scan my ticket. A large, red, and clearly english sign read: SEE TICKET AGENT. Joy. So two hours and 18 kuai later, we boarded our train to Hangzhou with a sigh of relief. Five straight hours of walking around the lake were wonderful but I definitely learned a lot more that day than I was expecting to. But the lessons did not end there! Monday night a group of students decided to drive their mopeds for the first time to dinner. To assure we wouldn't get lost we quick looked up directions beforehand. A mere 1 mile and 4 turns total awaited us - how could things possibly go wrong? Well somehow in the sea of mopeds I got separated from the group and it took me over an hour to get back. I wish there was a better excuse but truthfully I just refused to go on the sidewalk like the locals when the streets were "no moped" zones. On the upside of my two misadventures, I learned a lot about how China functions in the transportation sector. I confidently can navigate train stations and drive my moped safely. To whatever adventures await until next time!

love,

kpk

We Survived Week 1!

Simply put: being in China is awesome. There are a lot of alienating factors, but overall the atmosphere is intense and exciting. We spent the week in an orientation daze running all over the city for various activities. The highlights would definitely have to be Tianzifang, Shanghai circus (which will ruin all future circus experiences it was so cool), and our Shanghai scavenger hunt that brought out the competitive sides of the group while making us all realize how much of the city we had already mastered and how much more we have to go. The pictures of the scavenger hunt are currently being judged/scored but they will be shared soon because they are absolutely hilarious. It is pretty incredible how, as a group, our program has matured from barely being able to find our way across the street to driving mopeds across Shanghai and back for groceries.

Today is the second day of classes and it seems as if a rhythm has set in. Between classes we talk about cities, restaurants, and bars we want to visit and it is great. Time is a hot commodity here but I feel confident in saying that we are all making the most of it. On the docket for this weekend is a day trip to Huangzhou with a good portion of program and then our first full week of classes. I can't wait to share all highs and inevitable lows of our first weekend trip! Until then...

// the bund - downtown shanghai \\

love,
kpk