These are the rhymes that describe my third weekend living it up in this vast and vibrant city that never sleeps. After the previous weekend's shenanigans in Suzhou, last weekend's laid-back vibes and free-flowing schedule were a nice change of atmosphere.
Full disclosure -- what I just said is sort of a lie. Really, even a tame weekend in Shanghai is never all that tame. Just walk into any metro station and you'll see what I mean. To skirt around having to go into detail about what all I did, here's a listicle of mostly real events...
- (Stanford students in Shanghai) becoming full-fledged Perry's fanatics
- (Stanford students in Shanghai) being trashy Perry's fanatics yet also bougie Maya brunch-goers
- Keeping up a 6-day gym streak (new rhyme: gyms & whims)
- Discovering an unexpected personal shrine -- a rare outdoor track
- Verging on the brink of insanity from hearing "huanying guanglin!" ("Welcome!") a minimum of 50 times in each store
- Buying (actually pretty darn good) speakers at the Japanese equivalent of the Dollar Tree
- Learning to resent even small children in the metro stations just for being in your way
- Amassing a collection of inanity in the form of WeChat stickers
- Being emotionally electrified by all the pretty lights on Nanjing Road
- Being emotionally distressed by all the annoying crowds on Nanjing Road
Also...
Eats & treats!
Let's not leave out all the foodie diaries that add so much joy to my travels. Memories from last weekend through now range from good to great, dirt-cheap to semi-bougie, spiritual to just plain weird:
- Not really being sure what I just ordered
- Visiting heaven in the form of churros con chocolate
- Crying about the beauty of Dip N Dots from the Elmo Theme Park when I was six
- Enjoying an afternoon tea ritual with three Chinese tea connoisseurs
- Gradually processing the wonders of Chinese mall food
- Getting hooked on Korean food for dinner
- Taking pictures of my food
- Taking pictures of other people's food
- Feeding my obsession with salads
There are just too many stories to tell. If you have any questions, feel free to stalk my Instagram accounts @julietchangd (personal) and @notwilburbrunch (food), comment on this post, or ask me anything via Messenger/WeChat/What'sApp/email/my contact form.
Stay classy, Shanghai/Stanford/Healdsburg/wherever-you-all-are.
Stay classy, Shanghai/Stanford/Healdsburg/wherever-you-all-are.