A while ago, I went with my bosses and a coworker to Insect Kingdom, a purported bug museum. We were there to research and prepare for a field trip where we would be taking some students to the museum to complete tasks as part of an English language experience. It was a pleasant afternoon, however I was unconvinced about the suitability of the Insect Kingdom as a site for an English language field trip. For starters, the English translations on the signs were cringe-worthy. Entering one area, a sign informed me "Here you will learn about births, then perish." I also observed very few actual insects at the Insect Kingdom. To make up for the lack of insects, there were spiders, a number of reptiles, and a petting zoo. The petting zoo was awful, primarily due to the two goats in residence. The goats were kept in an extremely small pen, and they were vocal about their dislike of it. They screamed and butted their heads against the wall and the very low fence keeping them caged in. I made the mistake of getting close enough where one goat had the opportunity to start eating my jacket.
I recently took a trip to Xitang, a water town in my friend's hometown. It was a lovely overnight trip. There are several water towns near Shanghai and other nearby cities. This water town has the claim to fame of being a shooting location for Mission Impossible: III, so there are a few posters of Tom Cruise placed around the town. Despite this, it's a beautiful town.
This was my first trip out of Shanghai. I really enjoyed it and was happy with how smoothly everything went. Of course, this was because I traveled with two Chinese friends who could ask for directions and read menus with no problems. They booked the hotel, they booked the bus tickets, they ordered the food. So it occurs to me that while it was nice to not have to worry about any of that, I was perhaps too spoiled for my first out of the city trip. |
SARAH ELLENTPA - SHA - BNA Archives
December 2016
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