Weekend Update

Hey everyone!

Internet is kind of a problem here...like it is almost impossible to find. Luckily, Mary Catherine Beck is a genius and set up some sort of VPN crazy proxy thing and now we can get internet access with no problem. Awesome!

The past couple days have been crazy! I have seen and learned so much about Shanghai. We went all around the city and then to the World Expo. That place was ridiculous. There were so many people and so many things to see. Each country has a pavilion at the World Expo, and to get into the coolest pavilions the wait can be anywhere from three to nine hours. The longest wait of the day was at Saudi Arabia (9 hours), so I decided not to waste my time in that line. My favorite pavilion was Switzerland, with a chairlift ride that showcased their ingenuity and gave a great aerial view of both the Expo and Shanghai. Unfortunately, all my pictures are gone. Yep, all of them from Shanghai. I decided it would be a great idea to change my camera's language to Chinese. As soon as I did that, all of my pictures were gone. I really don't know how it happened (it was probably my fault), but at least McKay and Mary Catherine (the other girls on the trip) have pictures I can steal.

Shanghai was an interesting city. Our tour guide Robert has been so helpful with cultural ideas and insight about the city. He told us about Shanghai Girls, the giant real estate bubble in China, the interesting origin of city names in China, and the one word we have to know to understand Chinese people (mianzi, face). I have so much to blog about and so much more to say, but I don't have enough time to write it all down. Once I get to Beijing, I will do a comprehensive update with all the funny and interesting situations I have encountered. For now, know that I am having a great time and learning so much about China.

Best, Kelsey