Shanghai Adventure
After a hasty night of packing, dad took me out to the airport on August 31st with plenty of time to catch my flight. I hopped on and spent the next 12 hours alternating between listening to my iPod, talking to a Chinese Australian and watching one of the 5 movies they played (Ice Age II, Take the Lead, Failure to Launch... why for the love of God can they not play anything good?)
So I finally arrived in Shanghai at about 3:00 PM on September 1st, I lost a whole day. The Chinese Australian named Richard helped me through all the customs and stuff and by 4:00 I was wandering past hundreds of waiting, expectant faces when I spotted my name on one of the signs people were holding. Dad had put me in touch with a local Shanghainese named Minnie and it was a major relief to see her standing there with my fate in her hands. There's no way I would have made it through the day without her help. This is what transpired from the airport, and I still can't believe this worked out:
I called my roommate Rian from Minnie's cell phone, and it turns out that this was his last day of work so he was being taken out by the people at work. In order for me to access our apartment, Minnie and I were required to 1) Take Bus No. 3 into the city where we 2) Hopped on the subway after waiting in line to buy a card. Then, 3) we tried to catch a taxi during busy hour which is impossible so we ended up catching a makeshift one driven by some kid that wasn't officially marked as a taxi. So we ended up near where Rian works where 4) we had to meet up with his coworkers who had the only key to our place. We ended up waiting for them at a corner store, and they ended up waiting for us at a corner store of the same name about 2 blocks away. ANYWAY, we finally met up with them and then again had to 5) try and get a taxi which by some ridiculous stroke of luck, we were able to do. Then Minnie had to explain to the driver where I lived using a makeshift map and the chinese characters of our address which we had also received from Rian's coworkers. I live on a side street named "Lane 457", and believe me, most taxi drivers have no idea where that is. Finally we arrived at the place and she 6) had to convince the doorman to unlock the gate and let us in to the apartment building since I didn't have a swipe card yet. We finally arrived and collapsed into some chairs. Keep in mind that during this entire time I had my backpack and two bags with me. My traps took days to recover.
Now, this may not sound like quite the ordeal but when everything's in Chinese, you've just spent 12 hours on a plane, and you have absolutely no idea what's going on it gets to be a little strange. Now imagine me trying to do that without the help of a local. eep.
I will be uploading pictures soon and don't hesitate to leave comments by clicking on the link!
So I finally arrived in Shanghai at about 3:00 PM on September 1st, I lost a whole day. The Chinese Australian named Richard helped me through all the customs and stuff and by 4:00 I was wandering past hundreds of waiting, expectant faces when I spotted my name on one of the signs people were holding. Dad had put me in touch with a local Shanghainese named Minnie and it was a major relief to see her standing there with my fate in her hands. There's no way I would have made it through the day without her help. This is what transpired from the airport, and I still can't believe this worked out:
I called my roommate Rian from Minnie's cell phone, and it turns out that this was his last day of work so he was being taken out by the people at work. In order for me to access our apartment, Minnie and I were required to 1) Take Bus No. 3 into the city where we 2) Hopped on the subway after waiting in line to buy a card. Then, 3) we tried to catch a taxi during busy hour which is impossible so we ended up catching a makeshift one driven by some kid that wasn't officially marked as a taxi. So we ended up near where Rian works where 4) we had to meet up with his coworkers who had the only key to our place. We ended up waiting for them at a corner store, and they ended up waiting for us at a corner store of the same name about 2 blocks away. ANYWAY, we finally met up with them and then again had to 5) try and get a taxi which by some ridiculous stroke of luck, we were able to do. Then Minnie had to explain to the driver where I lived using a makeshift map and the chinese characters of our address which we had also received from Rian's coworkers. I live on a side street named "Lane 457", and believe me, most taxi drivers have no idea where that is. Finally we arrived at the place and she 6) had to convince the doorman to unlock the gate and let us in to the apartment building since I didn't have a swipe card yet. We finally arrived and collapsed into some chairs. Keep in mind that during this entire time I had my backpack and two bags with me. My traps took days to recover.
Now, this may not sound like quite the ordeal but when everything's in Chinese, you've just spent 12 hours on a plane, and you have absolutely no idea what's going on it gets to be a little strange. Now imagine me trying to do that without the help of a local. eep.
I will be uploading pictures soon and don't hesitate to leave comments by clicking on the link!
posted by Scotty at 2:49 AM
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