In the beginning of the semester, before we
all knew each other, everyone in the program would travel as a herd, and I
yearned for the awkwardness to slip away quickly so we could get to the point
when we would find comfortable friend groups. Going to clubs, which I am not a
big fan of to begin with, is overwhelming on its own, let alone with a huge
group of new acquaintances. And before long, we all found our place and started
breaking away from the pack. Yet when the goodbyes started over a week ago, we all
found our way back together and I realized what made my experience in Shanghai
so incredible: the people. There were around 100 people in our program, and I was
friends so many of them. When people started leaving early for internships and
what not, we all went to the same bar on their last night to send them off the
way we started. That togetherness lasted until the very last day, and it was
awesome to go out and recognize a majority of the people wherever we were.
There is something to be said about people that choose to study abroad in
China. These crazy people elected to go to a country with a culture completely
different from their own, with one of the hardest languages to learn, on a
program with strangers from across the country and across the world. We could
have picked something easier, a culture more similar to our own, somewhere
comfortable, but these people stepped out of their comfort zones to have
adventures they will never forget.
 |
| Last brunch at Pancake House |
These are the people who helped me smile
when enduring visa complications and flight problems, made me laugh when
getting anchovied on the metro or getting hit by a moped, and kept me sane when
cars drove on the sidewalk and old ladies hocked loogies in my path. I fed
pandas, paved a road, went to the crazy Chinese gym, rode elephants, explored Southeast
Asia, walked a plank on the edge of a mountain, hiked rice terraces, tried
strange food, and conquered Shanghai with these people. While I may miss
Shanghai, what I will miss the most is the experiences I can’t capture in
words. I’ve tried to express my adventures through pictures and blog posts, but
I can never articulate the way our life was for these 4 months.
CIEE did a really nice job
wrapping up the semester. After our week of finals, we dressed up and took a
group photo by the Mao statue and then had an awards ceremony (I got the
Chinese language achievement award woo!), followed by a farewell luncheon. Our
teachers were all there and presented the winners with gifts. A few Chinese
classes, mine included, performed skits or songs at the ceremony. While ours
was pretty ridiculous, it was admittedly very funny and everyone seemed to
enjoy it. It was nice to wrap everything up with everyone in one place. Of
course, the fun didn’t end there. We spent the rest of the weekend as a pack,
traveling from our local bar to restaurants and clubs to the Bund for one last
time. People came out who didn’t usually go out, and while I still don’t like
the club environment too much, seeing everyone in one place dancing and having
fun made it all worth it.  |
| Me, Becca, and our Laoshimen |
Most of my friends left Sunday afternoon and
some of the remaining students walked to the bus to see them off. It was like a
scene from a movie with everyone hugging and tears flowing until the bus drove
off with their faces pressed against the window and us waving from the
sidewalk. And the craziest part is, a lot of these people live in New York,
will be working in New York, or go to school in New York. Some of my closest
friends even live just 20 minutes away from me. So while we will definitely be
seeing each other again, it is weird to know this part of our life is over.
That these people will never be just a walk down the hallway away again. That
it will no longer be acceptable to have soup dumplings as a post-workout dinner
multiple nights a week. While this experience is over, its effect will last far
longer, and I am excited for my next undertaking. When I finally left a few
days later (after impatiently waiting around Shanghai for my visa), I had just
one friend left to see me off as I got into the taxi. I was definitely grateful
he was there, and even though I’m starting this next journey independently, I
know it will not remain that way for long. So zaijian Shanghai, time to start Danielle’s
Excellent China Adventure (Part 2) in Wuhan, Hubei, China.
No comments:
Post a Comment