China... a different world

We only had 2 days in between Japan and China, both of which were filled with classes and port meetings.  I was still processing everything I had experienced in Japan when our ship docked in Shanghai, China on February 16^th.  (Again, excuse the delayed posting.  I haven’t been blogging as much because I don't want to waste any time when we are in port.)  That being said, I’ll begin sharing my first day in Shanghai.

My friends (Anna, Amanda, Andrea, Mike, and Jane) and I decided we would spend the first day getting to our hostel, which we had reserved ahead of time so we didn’t run into the problem we had in Japan where they were all booked.  We had someone write down the name and address of the hostel in Chinese and we got into cabs.  Unfortunately, the place where he dropped us off was not where our hostel was so obviously something got lost in translation.  Luckily, we had some idea of where it was so we decided to walk a few blocks and ask people.  We soon realized that hardly anyone spoke any English.  Even when we used major words and hand gestures, we were getting empty stares.  It made me realize how much I’d taken for granted the number of people who spoke English in Japan.  Either way, this wandering around allowed me to get a taste of China.

I have to say, I definitely experienced a bit of culture shock.  Crazy driving.  Loud honking.  Dirty streets.  Big mobs of people.  Not a lot of English.  Pushing and shoving.  Litter everywhere.  No toilet paper.  Completely the opposite of everything I saw in Japan.  As you can see, I have found myself comparing what I observed in China to everything I experienced in Japan, almost as much as I compare it to the United States.  This is mainly due to the fact that I now realize how drastically different China and Japan are from each other, despite my prior tendency to group together all the countries in Southeast Asia. 

It only took a few minutes walking around Shanghai for my perspective to change completely.  Unlike any of the cities I visited in Japan, this street in Shanghai was covered with filth, on the ground and in the air.  People were blatantly throwing their litter on the ground, even when trash cans were close by.  My impression grew worse when I saw what appeared to be human feces on the sidewalk.  It didn’t help that just a few minutes earlier a man standing next to me loudly coughed up a huge chunk of phlegm and spit it out right in front of me.  This was completely different from Japan where it was not polite to blow your nose into a tissue in public.  We were definitely in a different world.

We eventually made it to our hostel (Captain Hostel) and were given the keys to our room, which was only $7 a night for each of us.  When we walked into the room, the beds hadn’t been made yet and there was hair everywhere.  The communal bathrooms down the hallway were dark, dirty, and had no toilet paper.  At first, none of us said anything.  I think we were all just playing it cool so it didn’t look like we couldn’t handle it.  However, once someone said something, we all admitted that we were totally freaked out and would much rather sleep on the comfortable ship which was only about 10 minutes away.  (What a relief!)  In the end, we got our money’s worth since we were able to keep our stuff in the room all day and use the internet.

That afternoon, we took two cabs to the Pearl Tower, a major tourist attraction.  Jane, Amanda, and I got out of our cab and walked into a mob of people.  We realized that we were naive to think we would find Mike, Anna, and Andrea at the entrance.  So the 3 of us gripped each other’s hands, made a pact that we would not get separated, and took on the crowd of people.  We waited on a long line which wrapped around the entire building and appeared to have no end.  I think because of the Chinese New Year it was even more packed than usual.  Eventually we made it inside and took the elevator up to the top where we were able to look out over the entire city.  It was really cool because we were able to see our ship from where we were.  (I should also mention that we ended up finding Mike, Andrea, and Anna while we were waiting in line.  Thank God for blonde hair!)

After a long day (the first day in each port always seems to be the most exhausting) we went to a Chinese restaurant in the mall.  Mike and I had some trouble expressing to the waitress that we didn’t eat meat, but other than that our meals were delicious.  One observation I made was that they did not give us napkins.  Instead, we were expected to bring our own or buy tissues.  At the end of our meal, when our bill arrived and we did the conversion, we were shocked at how low it was.  It was too cheap to even fathom.  (This was one thing that I certainly didn’t miss about Japan!)

Later that night the 6 of us went to a club called Lux where we were the only westerners.  It was also one of the only times in my life that I was in a social situation (not service-oriented or academically related where it is set up that way) and was the only white person there.  It was a unique feeling to be in the minority for once.  Then we walked to another local bar where were the only westerners again.  We got food, danced, and hung out with locals.  Our original plan had been to meet up with SAS people but with the cab drivers not speaking English, it was difficult to end at the same places.  However, it ended up being a fun night and a good way to see what the real nightlife is like in China.

Overall, my first day in China was great.  However, it was definitely going to take some getting used to.  I needed to realize a few things: that it is okay for cabs to make U-turns into oncoming traffic; that it is perfectly common to see a grown woman picking her nose in public; and that there are more people in China than in any other place I’ve ever been in my life.  (The only country that is more populated is India and I haven’t been there yet.)  Keeping these things in mind, I walked away from my first day feeling confident that I am going to enjoy China.  If nothing else, I will definitely grow from the experience.