2010 Shanghai World Exposition

Guess what flavor this is

Dehydrated Milk

Carrefour

What I love about living in Shanghai is how small the refrigerator is because it makes it necessary to go to Carrefour or Pines Grocery everyday for food. That is not sarcasm, I actually really enjoyed doing this. I loved trying new flavors and foods; some of my favorites were pomelos, GREEN TEA flavored ice cream, Chinese Snickers (which are so much better than American Snickers), seaweed, kafta, and all different kinds of dark chocolate to feed our chocolate addiction. Chinese candy is much different than American candy; a lot of it resembles jello, every time we would pick a new candy to try. 

I ventured out into the neighborhood for a walk today and to snap some pictures to show my family back home that where Jeff, Jen and the boys live is actually quite a bit like home-- minus the chinese writing.

Fierce

Tension Structure

View of downtown from Saudi Arabian Pavilion

Saudi Arabian Pavilion

Hai Bao!

The best ice cream ever

China Pavilion

BIG -- Danish Pavilion

Since I learned that I would have the opportunity to travel to Shanghai the number one thing on my to-do list was to visit the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, specifically to see the Danish Pavilion. Second year of college I did a research project on this building and thus began my love for Bjarke Ingels Group. We walked around the remains of the 2010 Expo and went through the Saudi Arabian Pavilion which was a continuous ramp up to a roof deck with great views of the rest of the Expo and the city. I was determined to find the Danish pavilion, so our driver, Kevin, drove us throughout the entire expo until we found it. I was so happy to see something I had studied so intensely in three dimensions, that I hardly payed any attention to the erie, abandoned state of the buildings. 

Jewish Settlement Tour

Pudong Skyline from Puxi 

Funny story: driving along the Bund I was taking pictures from the backseat of the car; with one eye closed and the other focusing on capturing the perfect image of the Pudong skyline, I failed to have any knowledge of what the street scape ahead of us would provide. As fate would have it I snapped the above picture moments before I recognized the large obstruction of my view. Nice, real nice. 

Shanghai Street

Beautiful

Me and my Aunt Jen 

Exercise and entertainment in the park 

"Do not pee on this wall" 

Little boy holding shrimp

Bartering on the street

Stepping on the Nazi's

Even though I do not have any Jewish roots that I am aware of and I have never attended a Mitzvah, I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and I am accustom to the Jewish religion and culture, so the Jewish Settlement Tour really hit home for me. During the holocaust about 20,000 Jewish refugees found a home in the Shanghai Ghetto because Shanghai was an international port city and was one of the only options open for Jewish immigration. It is eye opening to witness the conditions that some people live in to this day and I can't help but be appreciative for everything I have and all the opportunities I am privileged to experience.

Anthony's Choir

Nico's Choir

The rest of the day was spent in the neighborhood; we ate lunch at Element Fresh which has excellent humus and we went to Nico and Anthony's choir concert. For Mother's Day the boys and I headed to the stores to "get some ice cream" with a hidden agenda to find Jen's flower lady and buy her some flowers. While we were out we also fed the koi fish and walked around the neighborhood. It is nice to spend time with Nico and Anthony, they are very smart and are very curious, which often gets them in trouble. I hope they continue to question everything -- it is the only way to evolve and find truth. 

First Impressions

World Financial Center surrounded by smog 

Nico and Anthony in a Shanghai Mall

Dragon Landscape

The Pearl Tower

Busy, busy

"Mind your head"

Watermelon Juice at Haiku

Dried Pork Flavored Donuts

Although my family lives in Shanghai, Jeff works in Chongqing, and comes home only on the weekends, so I did not see him for the first few days of being in China. I was very excited to see Jeff because not only is he my Uncle, but he is also my God Father, and is very special to me. We spent some quality time together getting massages --my very first-- and then went out to dinner at Haiku, an incredible sushi restaurant in downtown Pudong. We walked around downtown, exploring all the nuances of Shanghai, and just enjoying being together.

We come from a very close family; up until Jeff, Jen, Nico and Anthony moved to Shanghai, everyone on my Mom's side of the family was within 45 minutes of each other and we often get together for Sunday dinner. I admire Jeff and Jen's choice to take this opportunity to move to a completely foreign country and create so many new experiences for their family. I have learned a lot from them about courage and taking chances; their example has undoubtedly opened up my mind to the possibilities of where I can go and the things I can learn. Although skyping them in on our family dinners while they are just waking up is not the same as having them with us, I appreciate their sense of adventure and it is all worthwhile when we are reunited again!

nǐ hǎo

At the airport with my Mom 

With my Dad

Ice blocks in the ocean

Chinese Candy

Aunt Jen with seaweed strips

Chinese treats

My aunts favorite tea

About a year ago my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jen and cousins, Nico and Anthony, followed my Uncles job to Shanghai, China to begin a three year adventure across the world. I was fortunate enough to not only have them fly me out to live with them for five weeks in the spring of 2012, but to completely spoil me with the luxuries of living in China.

My expectations for Shanghai and the realities of what the city was actually like differed quite a bit. My first reactions upon arriving in China:

• Complete surprise at the amount of smog that seemed to loom over the city at all times.
• Being quite impressed with the amount of greenery in a very urban location; any potential green space was taken advantage of including medians, along highways and overpasses, and roof gardens. 
•  The buildings are all very tall, but they are set back from the side walk so the street scape is not as defined as in other cities, like Chicago.
• Coming from The United States, the melting pot of nationalities, it was very interesting to see the conformity of facial features and body types in China. I stuck out like a sour thumb where ever I went and was often stared at, which was a new experience.
• Taking my first high speed train (200 MPH!) to my cousins basketball game-- we traveled between two developed cities and in between there were extreme rural conditions.