First Day in China

My first day in China was an interesting experience.  I had never been on an airplane before.  After about 15 hours on the airplane I landed in Shanghai, China.  It was a bumpy ride because of the storm we were getting into.  When I landed there was a typhoon coming.  After following people to the area to get get registered for visiting the country and getting luggage, I followed others to the exit.  As I was pushing the cart full of my luggage I was able to see Yu standing at the area to greet people.  I noticed him right away.  He didn't think I did so he was waving his arms in the air and calling out my name.  Heehee.  He had been worried my flight wouldn't make it because of the typhoon.

I was tired, sick feeling, and too warm, but I was excited. I couldn't believe I was in China!

Yu and I took the subway that was connected to Pudong International Airport.  It was cool that it was connected so we didn't have to go outside in the rain.  I had no idea there was a storm.  We made our way through the subway with all my bags.  Yes I packed too much, so dumb and troublesome.  Tip:  Pack light even if you are packing for a plan B.  You need to pack light.  It was a work out to get things up and down the steps.  Some areas of the subway did not have or had a broken escalator. For those who have a handicap, like my mother, this is very difficult.  Some areas have service to elevators but some do not so you might run into some issues.

Yu needed to get his phone fixed so we didn't go to his place right away.  We went to a shopping center that was filled with all kinds of electronic shops. It was overwhelming.   I was overwhelmed with the amount of smoking, how warm it was around, and the many crowded walkways.  Another tip for those who need elevators:  Some places have barriers in front of the elevators which can make it a challenge.  Try to ask for assistance from someone as to where a more accessible elevator may be located. This particular shopping center had barriers in front of the elevators which was very strange.

After getting his phone fix, Yu said it was time to go home.  Finally, I get to go home.  I was tired from the travels to China and around town.  It was very dark outside and very stormy.  It was hard to get a taxi so it was back to the subway and then the train.  Once we got off the train we finally got a taxi.  So glad no one took the last taxi as I was heading down the steps. That happens in any busy town.

Once we got home Yu made me some food.  It was very kind of him to make me something to eat even though I didn't like it.  He ate the food for me and then took me outside for something else.  There was a break in the rain so we were able to walk without getting wet.  We found a small food stall to order a rice dish.  It was great but because I got sick on the airplane my body couldn't eat much.  On our way back Yu picked up some fruits  We got dragon fruit and figs.  I had never had these foods fresh.  I was excited to try.

Eating dragon fruit!  It was so humid outside that my hair freaked out. haha

That night Yu gave me my engagement ring.  He put it on the wrong hand at first.  It was fun trying to explain to him why it was put on the left hand. The Greeks believed that there was a vain that went straight to the heart on the left hand.  After taking a shower I was able to relax and feel better.  Have you ever been so sweaty and sticky that you felt gross?  That is how I felt most of the day.  I was able to feel refreshed after a nice shower. Yu's apartment was set up a little more compacted than I am used to.  The shower was in the same area as the toilet so don't leave toilet paper in the open because it will get wet and gross.

That night I feel asleep to the sound of thunder.  I do not like thunder.  Hearing thunder in a new place made it a little more scary.  I didn't hear it for long because I feel right to sleep.  This night was my first night in China.  I learned some new things about the culture and how to make the light for walking across the street, you have to rush, rush, rush to make the light, train, or subway.  It was a fast-rushing atmosphere that I was not used to.

Yu was so happy I was finally in China. 

Public Transportation

Public transportation is important to a lot of cities.  In China, there is a sophisticated system that has been developed in many cities. Buses, trains, taxis, subways, and other vehicles that I really do not know the names of.  I have never been on a subway before I went to Shanghai.  It was an interesting experience for me.  I learned quickly that in big cities, public transportation becomes very crowded which can be troublesome to those who are not used to it.  I felt overwhelmed at first but I soon felt more comfortable with it.

Subway ticket in Wuxi, China

What I learned about taking the subway and the train is to always keep your ticket.  Tickets could be a card, a paper ticket, or even a plastic token.  Do not lose your ticket because you will need it to exit the station once you are at the location you need to be.   Train tickets have valuable information and it is helpful to know some Chinese to fully understand what it says.  You can at least understand where you are going, the platform, the seat and car numbers, and the time the train will leave.

If you do not speak Chinese, most of the time I was able to know where my stop was due to the helpful voice on the loudspeaker translating the Chinese to English.  It was helpful to know where I was going though, Yu would sometimes not tell me where we were going (surprise dates were always fun), or would tell me and I got confused to the many stops that sound similar to it.

Yu had a special transportation paying card for Shanghai.  It was great to use the card to pay for the bus, train, subway, and the taxi rides.  I was so shocked that the card was able to pay for all that.  My metro card only pays for the bus and the light rail.  Yu kept saying, "See, China is better!"

I was able to ride a few time on these taxi-like vehicles that is like a cart and a tri-wheeled motorcycle in-one.  This kind of transportation was cheaper than a normal taxi cab.  It is usually under $1 USD per person.  It was a great way to travel the around town. I had never been in one before nor have I seen them where I have lived or visited in the USA.

In the motorcycle taxi.

The train was the main rail transportation where you are likely to have a seat.  There was times in Shanghai when we were unable to find a seat.  In the subway most of the time in busy cities you are not going to find a seat unless it is in part of the town that is not so popular. Some lines was not as busy as others.  It was great that all the cities we were going were connected in some way with transpiration.  

The train ride to Nanjing.

Culture Shock

Shanghai, China

Hello, I am back in the USA.   It feels good to be back to catch up with people and get back to work but I also feel sad because my husband is in China right now.  We are hoping he will be able to come to the USA soon.

My trip to China was great.  I learned so much and hope to share what I have learned with you.  My travels was in four cities in China.  I was able to visit Shanghai, Wuxi, Nanjing, and Nantong.  These places were great to visit.  I loved seeing family and friends when I was there.

I am shocked at how comfortable I was in China.  My thoughts before I went to China was that I would feel lost without knowing the language or get physically lost among all the people.  Once I got there, I felt better about being there.  When I was in Shanghai there were so many people in the subway that it was a little worrisome of how to enter or exit the subway car.

Something that shocked me was the different culture about environment upkeep.  It was acceptable to throw trash on the ground, other than in areas that have signs posted.  This shocked me since the place I live in the USA where there has been a more successful movement of keeping the Earth clean from litter. My husband was always wondering why I would yell at him every time he would throw trash on the ground.  He was shocked at how much trouble you could get into in USA.

Smoking is very common in China.  Expect to always be around smoking unless you are taking public transportation.  Public transportation, more often than not, will have signs that say "NO SMOKING"  and sometimes where would be videos of what is acceptable to do on transit. When you are walking down the street, some shops, and going out to eat are common places to find people smoking.  At my wedding cigarettes were handed out as part of the celebration.  It was hard for me to be around so much smoke.  There were many times where I had to excuse myself to get some fresh and cleaner air.  I have breathing problems because of my asthma and smoke is a trigger for my asthma attacks, so I was always prepared with my asthma medication.

Those were the top few things I had difficulty with at first.  As my stay continued I learned more about Chinese culture and some beliefs my Chinese family holds.  It mainly felt natural and normal, I didn't have much shock really.

Has anyone experienced culture shock before when you traveled or even where you live?

When I came back to the USA I had a little trouble getting used to the culture here.  Things were just a little different since I had became accustomed to China.  Food was one thing that I had a hard time to get used to again in the USA.  I still miss Chinese food, good homemade foods from China.

Foods to cook at the BBQ restaurant.