My day started off at the crack of dawn. 6:30 am. But as usual I waited by the phone for my daily wake up call from Snyder. Only one more to go and then that will be the last. I will not lie to you, readers; the most exciting part of my morning was the American breakfast that was served at the Holiday Inn we are staying at. I have kind of gotten tired of having rice at every meal, and traded in my broccoli for an egg, sausage, and bacon.
The first thing we were shipped off to do in the morning was explore the Yu Garden, where instead of the classic red, blue, and green paint seen all across China, the walls were painted in red, black, and white. The Garden was pretty, but as Lauren and I noted there are only so many pictures of gardens you can have. There is no way I will know which is which, chronology will be the only way to tell.
Afterwards we shopped the local vendors with our bargaining caps on buying last minute Mao watches, t-shirts, and hats. There is a point when communist paraphernalia stops being ironic, but Zach doesn’t seem to have reached that point yet! Emperor Mo and Chiz bought stamps. The vendors are one of the things I will be happy to escape back home seeing as how the attention they give you is like the paparazzi, but instead of camera they wave products in your face until you have no choice but to avoid eye contact.
The silk factory was a must for us girls. Melanie picked up the perfect dress, Snyder found a dress for his daughter, Kevin bought boxers, and Dr. Moline actually walked out empty handed.
The Bund was the next stop on our fast pace tour of Shanghai. The Bund is China’s lookout where the skyscrapers can be seen. Shanghai is a bustling metropolis of neon signs and modern architecture that has been assembled in an attempt to repave history. To disassemble the temples of old, and make way for the glass structures that we found at the Urban Planning Center. We paused and took photos, almost got our stuff stolen by a creepy man, and had Sam take “The Sweat Series” a beautiful montage of photos that will be at a local exhibition upon arrival back in Royal Oak. Check the website for the date of the Picture Exhibit at the Photiades home where “The Sweat Series 1 &2” is most likely to be featured in a few short weeks.
The Urban Planning Center is where the Chinese and local Shanghai government get to show off the thought process that has gone into the building of a new global economic market. Within the mountains of jade that we visited on our way to Shanghai, beneath the pearl veneers of our tour guides, you can see how hard the men and women of China are working. Like a million worker bees the laborers of China are working into tandem towards a common goal, one 39 days away, another 664 days away. There was a model of the entire city of Shanghai that showed the development that should occur by the Expo in 2010 and it is astounding to think of the restructuring that has to occur to make the goals of the Chinese government come together.
Unlike in Beijing where silence stretched like a slinky, in Shanghai the hustle and bustle of city life can be heard in the music, horns, and chatter of the locals. Girls giggle behind dainty hands, and men roll up their shirts to mid-waist (a local custom that is now been acquired by our Future Sec Gen, Domenic).
The Shanghai Museum was an impressive sight of currency, vases, and furniture of the past, but to be entirely honest I think the whole group was just excited by the prospect of air conditioning. Mel, Lauren, and I walked through the museum viewing the ancient artifacts but quickly found our brains shutting down in need of sleep.
While our stomachs were still not entirely ready for dinner we sat down to eat at 5:30pm. As a senior, the dinner was a nostalgic last toast to everything the club has represented to me. It was casual, but I was just glad that all of us got to sit down and enjoy a terrific last meal that included pastries and ice cream, not to mention a bottle of water instead of just a shot glass. At the banquet I was allowed to tell myself that we had more time. Now that time has run out. Dinner was mostly spent recounting our job experiences, and informing Snyder of the inter workings of the Oberweis Ice Cream Shop.
The Acrobatics show was a spectacle of leaps, high wire feats, and gravity defying jumps.
Tonight, upon arriving back at the hotel, we gave Lucia her gift to which she said thank you’s and expressed her sadness upon seeing us leave tomorrow. The night time has been the time to explore, and we opted to forgo the Euchre Tournament for a little search for Tang. While we were unsuccessful, we did see Domenic walk around in his American Apparel Track Shorts that show off his long legs. Best quote of night was Dr. Moline saying, “Domenic, you look excited!”
The foothills of China are where dreams go to die, the panoramic the site of the remnants of old. But Shanghai holds the future within its grasp. Or at least the city hopes it does. Because they are banking on it.
— Ashley Hull
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