Today is the last day of our program. Last night, we were warned (very harshly) not to get too out of control, in order that everyone could wake up and make the departure time of 11:30am for the airport. Of course, I’m staying in Shanghai, so that doesn’t directly apply to me, but I still made sure everyone stayed in line last night. We went to the Park Hyatt Shanghai, on the 83rd floor of the SWFC, courtesy of Yeongjun Chang (we all pitched in a little), and it was incredible. The best part was that we all made it. Remember what I was saying about everyone starting to hate each other? We were getting worried that we all wouldn’t show—but we did, and it was a great time. Mostly, we just talked about the good times we had had in China, and called each other out on our apparent faults. Of course, nobody got drunk (otherwise, our teacher would have given us a D, and we wouldn’t have made it home!), and we all made it home with plenty of time to make sure we were all packed and ready for the morning.
In the morning, checkout went without a hitch. No one lost keys, was (too) late, or a general mess, so around 12am, my class left me. I stayed behind, and watched the bus leave with all my friends. Finally, I was on my own, and it was scarier than I had imagined. I walked around for a little while, still without money (save the Y100 that Liu Laoshi gave us as a refund), and managed to order a cheap lunch before I took refuge in the air conditioning and free WiFi of our hotel for a few hours until I attempted to fight the subway to get to my next destination.
XiaoXia didn’t get off work until 5pm, so I was supposed to meet her at the entrance to the Shanghai Museum (again, where she works) when she got off. I got there—with my 50lb suitcase in tow—at 5:20pm, at the wrong entrance. Luckily, she found me 15 minutes later, and we took the subway back to our new temporary apartment. It was rough.
We made it though, and I met my wonderful new “landlords”, Alan and Kristin, graduates of Amherst studying language in Shanghai. The apartment is beautiful—great views of this part (far west) of the city, and plenty of amenities—pictures will surely come soon.
Also, I made plans a few days ago to visit Yeongjun in Seoul, South Korea. This adds another dimension to my trip, and I can’t wait. Shanghai will be exciting for sure, but I want to fill up my passport as soon as possible with as many experiences as possible, and South Korea is a place I’ve always wanted to go (thanks Albert!).
I miss the structure of the class already though… of course. And the people, believe it or not. I think I’m excited for what next semester holds, and can’t wait to continue learning Mandarin, whether it’s just with Rosetta Stone or if I get to sit in on Liu Laoshi’s lectures.
