Shanghai! Finally!

Well today is my 3rd day in Shanghai China. We were supposed to arrive 2 days before that but due to extreme fog conditions all the ports, airports, and highways in Shanghai were closed and we had to wait it out! I had bought a package to go the Great Wall in Beijing but there just wasn't enough time to go because of the weather conditions. We did get to have 2 free days on the boat and that was a nice time to catch up on many things and just enjoy life at sea. O and I was elected into Student Voice (the student government) with 2 other students from my group and I am also excited to be involved with the social planning as well (my personal forte). The people on this voyage are truly amazing with such different backgrounds and experiences. Everyone here has lived abroad (many to dozens of countries) for extended periods of time and everyone just wants to learn and have a good time. The Scholar Ship is definitely still working on getting everything running smoothly but with a little patience and creativity it all seems to work out fine. We have been playing lots of games onboard and dance almost every night in our student lounge (one of my favorite experiences so far, since dancing knows no cultural boundaries it really unites people and people really let their guards down and have fun). I also attended a salsa class and it was really fun! We will continue to have them as the journey progresses as well. I have also been sticking to my workout routine so yay! moving on. . .
Shanghai is an amazing city though. It is the largest in China and has a huge skyline, but they are constantly tearing down older buildings to build more high rise apartment buildings. There are tons of tourist places, but we have managed to stumble onto several real parts of the city and see a more true representation. I cannot explain how after having drinks at the Grand Hyatt on the 88th floor overlooking all of Shanghai compares with children begging me on the street for change. There are almost shantytowns next to the prestigious Fudan University that we visited today (a partner university of The Scholar Ship). We also went to the Communist Party museum today and then shopping downtown. Did I mention it has been freezing the entire time we have been here? I have not been warm for the past 5 days as I did not bring adequate clothing for such extreme conditions (but thanks Carol for the coat, it definitely helps!). I have been wearing every peice of clothing I own and still shivering. But hey, it's all part of the experience right?
I can't remember what exactly I posted in the last post,since it is so long between posts. We leave Shanghai on the 16th at night and 7 days later arrive in Thailand to start again! Classes will resume on Friday (all weekend, although there is no time onboard,ha) and I will probably have a lot to do (readings and papers) to review my experiences in China and then prepare for Thailand. I did get a dress made in the fabric market here (red silk) but the lady spoke only Mandarin so many hand gestures were involved. We will see how it turns out when I pick up the dress! The people have been very friendly and I have never gotten lost or taken advantage of. I did buy a phone sim card (another cultural debacle-hilarious might I add) but I was unable to buy minutes or understand if I could call the states, so maybe I will have better luck in Thailand.
I also went to a slightly more rural China (Hangzhou-Heaven on Earth) and saw a tea farm, traditional Chinese medicine shop, and a large temple yesterday. And I have been trying lots of crazy foods like this pink food with a dark substance in the middle (I assumed it was chocolate-how naive of me) it turned out to be some strange substance with beans in the middle, a slight let down from the chocolate but o well. I have lots of great pictures but haven't figured out how to post them just yet without using all my precious internet minutes.
Well I love you all and miss the States and fun times,but wouldn't rather be anywhere but here. I am keeping a daily journal of my own so I will try to get other important details in the blog next post, especially since you are all probably bored by now anyways. O and dont forget to write, those of you that haven't!! You know who you are!!
Wo eye nee (I love you in Chinese)
Kasee