Day 25: A Different Sort of Meat Market!

Location: Shanghai

Lauren and I got up this morning out-of-our-mind-excited to see the sunrise. We had heard last night at pre-port that our arrival into Shanghai would be a really cool one! It definitely lived up to the hype!

We planned for the cold and layered up! As soon as we popped our head outside – the temperature slapped us! We could see ships docked and floating up/down the river as well as the land on the horizon! It was pretty dang dark outside for it being the time the sun was supposed to come up.

 Our view as we came into Shanghai

As we were snarfing down our breakfast (about 7am) we arrived at our port and were an hour early! It was really cool to watch the boats travel up and down the river and see the city as we began to approach it. 

My words cannot explain what it feels like to see land when you spend this much time at sea. We had heard the immigration process could take a while so we were excited that we had arrived early.

Lauren & I went back to our rooms to gather up everything we might need for our field labs. I had my Nutrition field lab and Lauren had a field lab for a different class. We hung out while we waited to meet our classes and be briefed on the day.

As soon as I met with my class it was time to make my way through immigration. You may remember, people with field labs get first priority when going through immigration and getting off the ship. (Oh, joy!!) Those who have field programs get to get off the ship and go through immigration next. Everyone else on the ship has to patiently wait their turn.

I wasn't very excited about this field lab. Our class is so big that they split up the class into two field labs and, all of my friends were on the other field lab. Not to mention, this is by far my least favorite class.

Luckily meeting with an immigration officer and getting through customs went smoothly. I got off the ship and boarded the bus which took us to the Zhenning Road Food Market. We had a tour guide on the bus ride who gave us tidbits about China, pointing out important parts of the town. After this food market, I don't want to go to another food market even remotely similar. Ever. Again, I saw wayyy too much. There were the obvious fruits, vegetables, and rice. And every kind of fruit and veggie you might expect. On to the meat department. I saw fish…live fish…get their heads and tails cut off. They would still flop around after their parts were missing. I saw frogs get their heads cut off. I saw live chickens getting their parts chopped off, too. This is soooo not my thing. I just wanted out of there. And, did I mention the smell? Use your imagination. Your worst imagination. It stunk. There was a roof covering the market and two of the four sides were covered allowing the smell to only escape out of small parts of the huge market. I will spare you the pictures! I will forever remember while working hard to forget this market!

Next up…lunch! You have got to be kidding! Oh, boy. We hopped back on the bus and you can bet your lunch money that I was one of the first ones on! Again, much like Japan, it was hard to recognize some of the stuff we were eating. I am becoming a very skillful chopstick user though. Pure necessity!

We returned to the ship after lunch; with an hour to spare until we were expected to listen to Professor Liping Zhao speak. In the meantime, I was freezing and needed to warm up somehow, so I took a shower and then turned on my China phone. {I was given a China phone by my dad’s friends before I left home}. I needed to tell my dad when and where to meet me. It was a challenge to try to figure out that phone. I resorted to just texting him because I wasn't sure which number to call. To text, I drew the letters to spell words on the screen. This device was sooo different than my iPhone that I’m used to.

It ended up taking another hour and a half to get the Professor, along with the colleagues he was bringing on board, onto the ship. The Chinese immigration officers weren't letting them on, as strange as that sounds. Apparently, they did not have the proper paperwork filled out. I was able to continue talking to my dad and catching up on my emails. 

My professor had told us (before the delay) that the field lab would end at 5pm. I had made arrangements for my dad to be able to come onboard and tour the ship where I have spent the last month. The stinky thing about this field lab (ha! Did you catch the pun??) is that I could have/would have done everything we did on my own time with the exception of listening to the professor talk. And I could have done it with my dad or at least in less time. {Well, we all know that I would have scooted out of that market much quicker than I already did!} The professor’s English was very difficult to understand, add my antsy-ness to meet my dad and it was nearly impossible to stay engaged. 

With all the delay, I got to the dock to see my dad sometime after 5:30pm. Thank goodness he had his friend “Bob” to keep him company! We had to find the Port Agent to give him a pass to let him on board the ship. I had filled out paperwork about two weeks ago asking permission to let him come on board the ship. The Captain, Semester at Sea, the Institute of Shipboard Education, and the Chinese government had to give approval. It turned into a much bigger fiasco than I had expected. I guess I could say that it’s nice to know that the ship is secure! The Port Agent couldn't find his invitation letter that Semester at Sea had already submitted. I had to get into a very long line (a lot of students and crew were making their way back on the ship) to get back on board the ship to make my way to the front desk and request a new invitation letter. Once I got the letter and headed back down to give it to the Port Agent we had to wait another half hour or more before the Port Agent gave him the approval to get on the ship. By now, the sun had gone down, it was quite windy, and in the low 40’s. Quite chilly, if I do say so myself.

Two hours later and we were on! (Bob, his friend, waited at the port). I gave him a tour of the ship, showing him the Union and all the other “hot spots”. He was pretty shocked, to say the least, at the size of our room.  He brought a whole bunch of snacks and other goodies my mom had sent and I sent a few things that I wasn't using home with him. It was a nice little trade.

Once the tour was over and we were off the ship, Bob was waiting and took us to meet the driver and his nice warm car. The driver took us farther into downtown Shanghai. We hopped out of the car and grabbed a nice warm Starbucks drink! 

 Really, does a smile like this need a caption?

We walked along the sidewalks looking at how crazy-beautiful Shanghai was at night, I believe across what is known as the Bund. When all the buildings light up it is absolutely gorgeous!

Shanghai at night

We got back into the car and headed to dinner. The meals in China are different than the meals in the States or Japan, for that matter, and served family-style. A bunch of dishes are brought to the table and everyone ends up having a little bit of everything. This is how our lunch was today, too. (I think Dad was quite impressed with my chopstick skills. I was picking up peanuts left and right at dinner!)

After dinner, Bob and Mister Lu (the driver) dropped us off at the apartment. Dad gave me a quick tour and showed me where I was going to be sleeping as well as which bathroom was mine. Then Bob took us across the street to get a massage. Ahhhh, I was so grateful for the massage. After sleeping on the stiff/uncomfortable bed on the ship, not to mention all the walking we do, it was very much appreciated!