Goodbye summer activities - Shanghai Zoo - Shanghai Aquarium - Minghan Sports Park End of Summer Company party - Shanghai Sculpture Park End of summer team-building trip - Qian Dao Hu (Thousand Island Lake) - Hangzhou
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After eight months, I finally recovered enough from my flight to China to get back on a plane. Five of my colleagues and I celebrated the end of summer course and our week off with a trip to Xiamen, a city in southeast China. Xiamen is a popular vacation spot for the Chinese because of it's beaches and nearby island. After all this time of a beach-less existence, my Florida blood was ready to be back on the sand and in the sun (with sunscreen of course - I may have been born and raised in the Florida sun but my skin looks more like the pasty complexion of a child raised in a locked basement). My skin tone has often been remarked upon both here and at home. Some variation of "You're really pale" has been a common refrain in my life. I have long since given up trying to tan and have just learned to accept "ghostly" as the descriptor of my complexion. Everyone I've met agrees I'm very light skinned. However it's interesting how the reaction to that varies in different countries. In America, "You're really white" is usually followed up with "You need a tan!" However in China, "You're really white" is followed by "I'm so jealous!" This isn't surprising considering every face product I can find is marketed as 'whitening,' but it is interesting to experience firsthand the difference in societal beauty standards around the world. On our trip we stayed one night on the island and two nights in the city. The island was neat because there are no vehicles allowed within the island, only a few golf carts are allowed on the perimeter. This is a benefit when exploring but a negative when you're trying to find your hostel while lugging around a suitcase. I brought a backpack but my coworkers with heavier bags struggled a bit. The island was lovely but also touristy. Most things were expensive because you're on an island and there is no escape. Drink prices were especially heinous in the downtown area. Can a foreigner not get a reasonably priced Long Island Iced tea? The city was also fun. We went to the temple, Xiamen University, and the famous shopping street. But most importantly, we went to the beach. Ah, home again. I had not previously traveled with any of the people on this trip, so I wasn't sure how it would go. Overall it went fine, although I do think even short trips with people either reinforces what you already knew about them or opens your eyes to something you missed before. I won't dwell on the negative, but I will say that traveling with my male colleague was a joy. He switched between childlike wonder and dramatic exasperation throughout each day. This trip was the first time he had been on a plane and the first time he swam in the ocean (he doesn't know how to swim). I will never forget the way he excitedly galloped toward the sea, jumped in the water, then resurfaced sputtering and complaining "It's so salty!" Bless him. There are few things I enjoy more than conversing with non-native speakers. You couldn't make up the misunderstandings, and spending an extended period of time together lends itself to more misinterpretations. For example, when my South African colleague expressed how tired she was after a long day, one of the Chinese girls said "Could you pass away right here?" We got a lot of mileage out of reminding each other to not pass away the rest of the trip. Later on the bus when I was explaining to the same girl the difference between pass out and black out, I mentioned getting punched as an instance where we use black out. My male colleague turned around and said "I've never punched." "Good!" I responded. "It would hurt your hand." He paused for a moment and then said, "I meant the drink." I could've passed away right there. |
SARAH ELLENTPA - SHA - BNA Archives
December 2016
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