Slave Trade or Mugging???
Ok, so I'm in Shanghai; you're all up-to-date, right? I was walking the streets and definitely enjoying myself. This was my first day out on the town so I got an early start feeling guilty for wasting time on a nap yesterday.

I went to the Old City and the YuYuan Gardens in the early part of the day. I haggled my way through and did not relive my Istanbul incident that I encountered last year. From there, I walked to People's Square which is home to City Hall, a lovely park and a few museams. I took advantage of the student discount and went to the Shanghai Museum for some art and history lessons. Upon leaving the museum, the heavens opened up and the rain started. I headed up to Nanding Road, a pedestrian street with High Street shopping. Due to the rain, I started ducking in and out of stores hoping not to get completely drenched. My goal was to find a taxi to make it back to the University and grab a bite to eat. So standing outside of McDonald's, I started talking to 3 students from Beijing. They happened to be art students and were interested in my exchange program. Although the conversation was limited, it was nice to speak to someone in English beyond the voices in my head. So as we continued, I learned that my new friends were actually in town for an art show. I was really excited to have met people and I was hoping we'd be headed somewhere to grab a beer and to discuss Shanghai and the sights.

Better than offering a beer, they invited me to see there art. It was just two doors down and I obliged, but two doors down was actually a hotel. As I was talking to the two girls, their male mate had rushed ahead to call the elevator to the 4th floor. I know that I've seen way too many Jackie Chan movies, but I'm convinced as I straddled the doorway and reason came over me of "DON'T GET IN THE ELEVATOR!!!!" that I was either headed to Inner Mongolia or was going to wake up with some serious head trama, no money and maybe the hat that was on my head. Not cute.

Random thoughts/things about Shanghai:

• What's up with the toilets?
• I never have any idea what I'm eating. My diet consists of white balls, they're either filled with meat or they're really gooey and sweet. I never know which I'm ordering.
• I love hand sanitizer
• Sometimes when I'm paying, vendors see my Euro coins so I give them away. They just laugh at me. I don't know if they're excited or they just think I'm crazy. I can't tell.
• When you're feeling homesick, just go to Starbucks. I'm learning from Edinburgh, Paris and definitely Shanghai, that Starbucks in the mothership when the "fish out of water" feeling hits.
• Starbucks defeats the toilet issue.
• The elders practice Tai-Chi in the parks; it's great.
• They use American models to sell clothes so people think they're buying American fashion. Random fashion lines: Snoopy and Betty Boop....Why?
• There are definitely not enough taxis to go around. You can get one into the City, but definitely not out.
• Maybe I could start the AQMD here.

That's all for now. I'll try to post pics. I've been having a heck of a time. This is the longest internet connection