1) Chinese massages: A prominent shopping road 5 minutes from my campus houses the first massage parlor I have been to in China. My one-hour massage cost me $7.50 and was one of the most intense and satisfying massages I have ever had. Traditional Chinese massages focus on deep-tissue areas and do not include any oils. They rely on targeting pressure points, and sometimes it can be just plain painful. I know relaxing oil massages are all around China too, but I was eager to try a new kind, and pleasantly surprised by the results. The spa was so beautiful and accommodating, that I'm sure in the states a comparable experience would have been well over $100. My next adventure is to try a blind massage spa. Now you may be wondering what in the world is a blind massage spa, and I'm pretty sure that where in the world should be the real question, because only the Chinese would capitalize on this venture. Blind massage spas employ legally blind masseurs, who supposedly give such good massages due to their superior sense of touch. This has become such a respected institution in China, because it aims to employ and train some of the 8 million blind citizens. I have yet to try this massage, but my friend, who I went with the other day, recently went and said that he had a 2 hour body/foot massage for $12, and it was the best massage ever. So that is something to look forward to!
2) Shopping: My first adventure with the crazy Chinese markets exemplified how cheap and how overwhelming shopping can be here. Not knowing how overwhelming it would be, Danielle (my American roommate from GW) and I asked Carolyn (our Chinese roommate) to take us to a shopping road we had heard of called Qipu Lu, which sounds like Cheap-O, and it is just that. Immediately she called two of her friends stating that it would be impossible for her to help both us and our friends. I did not understand this until we got there, and I saw the masses of people, food vendors, small children, rows of shops, and little asian puppies that crowd the streets. The only time this clears in even the slightest way is when cars come, because drivers don't understand the meaning of pedestrian. We split up with one Chinese buddy each with two girls, and shopped for far too long. Having Carolyn with us was actually quite helpful, and I came out with the peacoat and Ugg boots I needed for the cold weather, and both together only set me back $19. I had one Chinese man follow me while I was shopping and tell me that he loved me, and that I was so beautiful, but that seemed like the only English he knew as he continued to repeat those two lines. The people we bargained with were clearly making fun of my roommates and I (even my Chinese roommate) calling us "bendan" (not clever), but my Chinese roommate says this is because we are educated and they are not, so they are jealous :) Also she says this is a ploy for them to get more money for what they are selling. Either way, I didn't feel very "bendan" coughing up a mere $6 for a peacoat that could easily have been sold in J.Crew.
3) Traveling: This weekend I will travel to Nanjing with a bunch of people on my program. It's nice that there are so many places to go in China, and so many that are only a train ride away from Shanghai. I'm fortunate, because I got a multiple-entry visa into China, which means I can leave and enter as many times as I want until next year. However, many people only got single-entry visas, which means they cannot leave until the end of the program unless they reapply for a visa, which they may not be granted. Even though I would love to travel to Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, and other amazing Asian countries, as I plan my travels, I am more interested in visiting Chinese cities to get the most out of my experience of China and it's culture. Nanjing should be fun to visit, because it has a lot of history and classical Chinese elements, which will be a nice contrast from the modern aspects of Shanghai. We will take a 3-hour train ride and stay in a nice area right in the middle of town. We were able to book rooms in a very high-end hotel for $17/night per person. Traveling seems very ideal when it is affordable and the locations are easily accessible.
Speaking of traveling, I am off to plan my list of sights that I want to see in Nanjing and then to make a comprehensive check list of Shanghai to-dos. Hope all is well!
Chinese Word of the Day: 笨蛋 (bendan: not clever, fool)
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