Sportsgirl lace jumpsuit. GAP denim vest. Wittner Boots. French Connection Bag.
I'm here!! And I'm back!! By that, I mean I arrived late Thursday night to both incredible humidity and the tangible excitement of some of the other interns that I'd be living with that I met at the airport. (And by I'm back, I mean 'The Great Firewall of China" has meant accessing websites like blogspot and facebook has been impossible but a VPN just solved that problemo)
See, unlike Bella, I'm taking part in a formal internship program that sets up international placements in China (because that just seems mind-blowingly difficult from the other side of the world) - so that's how I got here! A sleep almost as restless as the one proceeding it, I woke to meet my roommate in a most comical fashion and then spent the day in orientation, meeting interns from the world over (Italy, USA, the UK, you name it!) It's been so busy here that I'm already embarrassingly behind on the blogging front but I thought I'd give you an update on the places I've been!
The Bund (Wai Tan-外滩): Arguably Shanghai's most touristy hot spot, The Bund is Shanghai's famous river, a picturesque waterfront with an amazing skyline (especially at night when The Pearl is lit up to its fluorescent pink glory) and we spent a good part of the afternoon taking pictures, posing for pictures and enjoying the Shanghai we'd always pictured before we came! Loving the spot so much, we ended up stopping by Seagulls Restaurant on the river's edge and enjoying a tsingtao and some chinese as we watched the lights turn on!
Nanjing Road: This is westernisation at its finest. One of the busiest shopping strips in the world, the architecture blends a mixture of traditional chinese and modern European and the strip is filled with the likes of Zara and a 4-story Forever 21. After a bit of shopping, had to stop off for some good ol' Shanghainese Haagen Daaz: A friend and I polished off some Belgian dessert aka chocolate icecream, chocolate cake, chocolate everything! There's also a market close to the West Nanjing Station filled with all the fakes and cheapies: bags, shoes, jewellery, all that; it was good for a browse, to get the lay of the land and some ideas on how to avoid being majorly ripped off for the rest of the trip!
Murals: Our first night out and after gathering the troops we headed off to this underground club with an 100rmb cover charge for all you can drink: this is code for, FAKE alcohol aka the solution for expensive alcohol in Shanghai clubs, lower grade stuff that has been known to send you temporarily blind (not even joking) So, attempting to steer clear (if you want to be careful, stay away from the spirits and stick with beer) we danced the night away with lots of fellow tourists (seems a popular hangout for young expats) to the American top 40.
So, that was the first weekend pretty much, will have to get back to you about work soon!! Will keep you posted.
Love Jess
xoxo
