Susie in Shanghai

So sorry I have been MIA this past week.  I was really busy exploring Shanghai, but also I unfortunately got a terrible migraine Tuesday night which basically knocked me out for two days.  Usually when I take my medicine I just experience visual aura for a while and then I am ok, but this migraine had me up all night, throwing up and feeling like someone was trying to hammer out my left eyeball…

ANYWAY, all better now and in desperate need of giving yall an update on this week in Shanghai.

So Monday I had an interview with the CEO of a contract research organization out in Chuansha Economic Park.  It was about an hour and a half trip, but it was definitely worth it because we had a really nice talk.  I will post that ASAP, I am just waiting for him to look it over first to make sure everything is accurate. Monday night I went to dinner with Matt and Arthur and ended up going to The Bund afterwards just to check it out.  The Bund is a gorgeous area in Shanghai that is super swanky and has amazing views of the city.  We sat and enjoyed the views from the top of Hotel Roosevelt with Bowen, Faith, and Peter.

I was very excited about Tuesday because after class I decided to go to the Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology and then visit a market nearby.  Science and shopping…two of my favorite things :).  Anyway, the museum was pretty interesting, and everything was translated into English, which was great.  I thought one of the coolest exhibits for kids was in the human health section where they basically could do fitness testing for fun.  There was also this crazy rainforest and cave exhibit that I liked, although it would have been a little more fun with a travel buddy.  I will just have to deal with getting to do really fun things all day by myself while my friends work til 6pm. It’s a hard life.  So I decided to see an imax movie even though I knew it would be in Chinese. I figured I could listen and try to pick up some vocabulary words at least.  Unfortunately, I literally sat down in the theater and started to get the visual aura that alerts me I am about to have a migraine.  I took my medicine instantly and proceeded sleep through the whole movie.  It was a waste, but there was nothing else I could do.  Afterwards I went to the “fake market” — that’s definitely not the official name, but my friends call it that.  I used my bargaining skills to get a new work bag.

Tuesday night (pre-migraine) the craziest thing happened to me.  I was going with Bowen to trivia night at an Australian bar and we were going to meet up with a girl he met in China last year.  Anyway, her cab pulls up and we make eye-contact and immediately start freaking out…the girl and I met on a cruise to Alaska when we were 12 years old and hadn’t seen each other since!! We immediately recognized each other because a) we were inseparable on the cruise and b) we are facebook friends, although we hadn’t talked in years. She goes to GW, so for 2 years she has literally been living 15 minutes away from me, yet we meet in Shanghai. Such a small world! I am so happy because it is like nothing has changed since we were 12 and it’s nice to have another girl friend here.

Once I recovered from the migraine circa Thursday afternoon, I tried to catch up a little on the class I missed and make a schedule for the rest of my interviews.  I have a lot coming up in the next few weeks, so I wanted to solidify the times/locations etc. Then last night we went to a Georgetown Alumni Happy Hour at a bar/restaurant called The Boxing Cat. It was amazing how many gtowners are living in Shanghai and there was a great turnout.  I met some new people and even got some business cards for possible interviews coming up.  I was asked for my card at one point…I guess I am really getting old.

I got really lucky today because the other two students in my class didn’t come in and I got a private session with my teacher. We’ve been having full-on conversations now and I am really loving the language.  My biggest thing right now is memorizing vocab.  I can make sentences and answer questions, but I frequently have to flip through my notes to remember certain words.  My teacher agreed to come out to lunch with me so we could practice talking, ordering food, etc.  In fact, I am about to go run through some vocab now before the gym…

I promise to write more frequently now that I am feeling better!

Oh ps- the rainy season is finally over (crossing my fingers)and it has been beautiful here! Granted it is about 100 + degrees, but compared to incessant rain, I am loving it!