Friday, December 2, 2011
Socializing in Shanghai
Trent and I have both been lucky enough to have coworkers who have reached out to invite us to hang out and explore Shanghai. My coworkers are really a lot of fun and I have gotten to know them and their families which makes Shanghai feel a little bit more like home. We had a small get together for my coworker Charry's husband's birthday and we had a karaoke party for my coworker Eddy's birthday. We also had a really Chinese and very entertaining Halloween party at school that really helped me snap out of a homesickness funk I was having at the end of October. Trent's colleagues helped introduce us to a couple from Florida, Rebecca and Todd, who we went to Happy Valley with (Shanghai's only theme park until Disney opens in two years). More to come on Happy Valley in another blog post. Anyway, here's some photos from the birthday celebrations and from Halloween. It was really nice to see some of my students outside of the classroom enjoying themselves and expressing some creativity. Groups of students created themes for the classrooms and organized games and decorations which were really cute and fun.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Longhua Temple
Since we decided to stay in Shanghai for the holiday, I asked my colleagues where their favorite places to go in the city were, and Melina, my colleague from the Netherlands recommended the Longhua Temple. We found it one cool, breezy day with little trouble at all and I can definitely understand why she loves going there.
Longhua Temple was really beautiful, and it is one of the oldest places in Shanghai that has been preserved. It has been built and rebuilt for hundreds of years but the construction and space have really been preserved quite nicely. We accidentally snuck into the temple with a German tourist group, bad karma I know (see the photo of white people near the gate below). It was sort of an experiment because we were both taking pictures of the really tall pagoda that you also will see below, and I saw people paying for tickets and then I saw the Germans going in and I said quick Trent, I think you have to pay but lets see if they'll say anything. The guards didn't even notice, so it wasn't all that exciting but it was funny to pretend to be part of the group.
Being in the Temple was a really wonderful experience from the break in the weather, which at that point in the first week of October, was the first time we had really had relief from the humidity and the high 80s to 90 degree temperatures. The smell of the incense burning everywhere and the smoke from incense really made a lasting impression. It was such a relief to be in a relatively quiet place, and a welcome contrast to the excessive Holiday crowds literally everywhere else we went. They also had temple cats that I OF COURSE fell in love with, especially the scrawny little one with one green eye and one blue eye that came right up to me and was talking to me in between some really amusing attempts to "hunt birds."
After going to the temple we wandered around the corner and discovered the Longhua Park of Revelutionary Martyrs, according to a quick Google search:
"The park is on a site of mass execution. The Kuomintang carried out a purge of suspected Communists here in 1929 – a long, underground tunnel will lead you to the exact place where the remains of many victims were found and to the jail where prisoners were held. Less morbid, and more interesting, are the excellent, massive Soviet-realist sculptures that dot the grounds."
Unfortunately, Trent and I didn't do this quick Google search before discovering the park, so we didn't go into the underground tunnel or the museum that is also on the grounds. It just means a return trip is in order!
Upon entering the park, I did however get in trouble. I was trying to sneak up on some men doing Tai Chi in the park to take a photograph, the particular stretch of grass I used to approach my subjects was apparently off limits. I was completely unaware until Trent called my name out to which I was going to turn around and say, "Shhh, I'll be right back" but instead was met with the sight of a small Chinese guard furiously waving his finger at me. I quickly got off the grass feeling quite embarrassed and especially guilty because I had been trying to sneak a picture. But, we didn't let that incident get in our way and wandered through the park and enjoyed the day. The park is quite beautiful, and the history behind it helps me understand the layout and the monuments a little better than I did the day we were there.
Longhua Temple was really beautiful, and it is one of the oldest places in Shanghai that has been preserved. It has been built and rebuilt for hundreds of years but the construction and space have really been preserved quite nicely. We accidentally snuck into the temple with a German tourist group, bad karma I know (see the photo of white people near the gate below). It was sort of an experiment because we were both taking pictures of the really tall pagoda that you also will see below, and I saw people paying for tickets and then I saw the Germans going in and I said quick Trent, I think you have to pay but lets see if they'll say anything. The guards didn't even notice, so it wasn't all that exciting but it was funny to pretend to be part of the group.
Being in the Temple was a really wonderful experience from the break in the weather, which at that point in the first week of October, was the first time we had really had relief from the humidity and the high 80s to 90 degree temperatures. The smell of the incense burning everywhere and the smoke from incense really made a lasting impression. It was such a relief to be in a relatively quiet place, and a welcome contrast to the excessive Holiday crowds literally everywhere else we went. They also had temple cats that I OF COURSE fell in love with, especially the scrawny little one with one green eye and one blue eye that came right up to me and was talking to me in between some really amusing attempts to "hunt birds."
After going to the temple we wandered around the corner and discovered the Longhua Park of Revelutionary Martyrs, according to a quick Google search:
"The park is on a site of mass execution. The Kuomintang carried out a purge of suspected Communists here in 1929 – a long, underground tunnel will lead you to the exact place where the remains of many victims were found and to the jail where prisoners were held. Less morbid, and more interesting, are the excellent, massive Soviet-realist sculptures that dot the grounds."
Unfortunately, Trent and I didn't do this quick Google search before discovering the park, so we didn't go into the underground tunnel or the museum that is also on the grounds. It just means a return trip is in order!
Upon entering the park, I did however get in trouble. I was trying to sneak up on some men doing Tai Chi in the park to take a photograph, the particular stretch of grass I used to approach my subjects was apparently off limits. I was completely unaware until Trent called my name out to which I was going to turn around and say, "Shhh, I'll be right back" but instead was met with the sight of a small Chinese guard furiously waving his finger at me. I quickly got off the grass feeling quite embarrassed and especially guilty because I had been trying to sneak a picture. But, we didn't let that incident get in our way and wandered through the park and enjoyed the day. The park is quite beautiful, and the history behind it helps me understand the layout and the monuments a little better than I did the day we were there.
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