My first 41 hours in Shanghai are already filled with adventures and surprises, including buying swim trunks at a supermarket, joining a gym with my Airbnb host, going out for drinks with coworkers from eight different countries, and successfully cooking Chinese vegetables.
After a 13-hour flight, my classmate and co-intern Amit and I arrived at the airport in Shanghai. We navigated over a mile through the massive metro station, making our way towards our Airbnb in the district of Xuhui, a residential neighborhood near the French Concession and not too far from the city center. Riding on the metro, I realized how large Shanghai must be. It took us almost an hour to ride two lines on the metro to Xujiahui, the station near our Airbnb. Luckily, our host Rebecca met us at Xujiahui to welcome us to our new home for the month (Amit and I are staying in a different Airbnb for our second month in Shanghai).
After unpacking and talking with Rebecca and our other housemate Paul, we went to bed at 10:30, thus beginning our journey of overcoming jet lag. My night of sleep was not as restful as I would have liked, but I managed not to get out of bed until 7am, which I consider a success. I woke up hungry and ready to start the day with an errand to Carrefour, a French-based supermarket chain close to our Airbnb. Amit and I bought essentials for home cooking: vegetables, olive oil, red wine vinegar, seasonings, noodles, tofu, eggs, beans, and yogurt. We did pretty well and only spent around $30, plus $3 for a not-too-shabby pair of red swim trunks (Carrefour really does have it all). Another noteworthy item we bought was bottled water; in China, even in highly developed cities like Shanghai, tap water is not safe for drinking. It's amazing that something that I would never consider special in my home country is actually a luxury in another place.
We dropped off our groceries at our new home and returned later with fruit from the market next door. Even though the air quality and water is bad here, the fruit at least makes up for some of it. Everything we bought -- lychee, watermelon, apples, grapes, mangoes, and peaches -- was juicy, sweet, and delicious. After breakfast, we walked to the Xuhui police station to register as foreigners there, as foreigners are required to do by law. The officers told us to return with our housing contract but were very kind to us, easing our annoyance at having to deal with this slight hassle.
We continued our culinary quest with a home-cooked lunch of noodles with tofu, bok choy, and tofu. We managed to make this nutritious and delicious meal in under 30 minutes and without burning anything. #Adulting.
We finished off the day with a fun excursion to Cotton's, a popular bar among expats, where we met eight of our coworkers at Shanghai FIELDS China Trading Company for the first time. We were all there to bid goodbye to Laure, our marketing and sales director who is returning to France with her family this month. I was struck by an impression of a family-like relationship among the team members. In fact, a former FIELDS employee who now works for a wine merchant joined the get-together, showing how long-lasting the relationships at FIELDS really must be. I'm looking forward to starting work this Friday and getting to know all these folks and more.
After unpacking and talking with Rebecca and our other housemate Paul, we went to bed at 10:30, thus beginning our journey of overcoming jet lag. My night of sleep was not as restful as I would have liked, but I managed not to get out of bed until 7am, which I consider a success. I woke up hungry and ready to start the day with an errand to Carrefour, a French-based supermarket chain close to our Airbnb. Amit and I bought essentials for home cooking: vegetables, olive oil, red wine vinegar, seasonings, noodles, tofu, eggs, beans, and yogurt. We did pretty well and only spent around $30, plus $3 for a not-too-shabby pair of red swim trunks (Carrefour really does have it all). Another noteworthy item we bought was bottled water; in China, even in highly developed cities like Shanghai, tap water is not safe for drinking. It's amazing that something that I would never consider special in my home country is actually a luxury in another place.
We dropped off our groceries at our new home and returned later with fruit from the market next door. Even though the air quality and water is bad here, the fruit at least makes up for some of it. Everything we bought -- lychee, watermelon, apples, grapes, mangoes, and peaches -- was juicy, sweet, and delicious. After breakfast, we walked to the Xuhui police station to register as foreigners there, as foreigners are required to do by law. The officers told us to return with our housing contract but were very kind to us, easing our annoyance at having to deal with this slight hassle.
We continued our culinary quest with a home-cooked lunch of noodles with tofu, bok choy, and tofu. We managed to make this nutritious and delicious meal in under 30 minutes and without burning anything. #Adulting.
We finished off the day with a fun excursion to Cotton's, a popular bar among expats, where we met eight of our coworkers at Shanghai FIELDS China Trading Company for the first time. We were all there to bid goodbye to Laure, our marketing and sales director who is returning to France with her family this month. I was struck by an impression of a family-like relationship among the team members. In fact, a former FIELDS employee who now works for a wine merchant joined the get-together, showing how long-lasting the relationships at FIELDS really must be. I'm looking forward to starting work this Friday and getting to know all these folks and more.