The Start of Our Shanghai Adventure

These last few days have really flown by. We started our adventure flying to Los Angeles International Airport to meet our fellow Program Leaders as well as our fellow adventurers. For some of us this was our very first flight! To pass the time we played some card games and started to get to know each other. And after a grueling 13 hour flight we made it to Shanghai! We took a bus and got a first look at our school, East China Normal University 华东师范大学. From here we got to finally meet our host families, and then it was a ride to our new home and finally some dinner!  

It was an early start for many of us. Most of us were awake by 3-4am because of the time difference. But no worries it just means we can start off our first day nice and early. We met at school and started off with a campus tour. East China Normal University is one of the most prestigious schools in China. Here we found that there are students from not just China, but all over the country. Our campus is so huge that there's even a river flowing through it. Our tour ended with a lunch at Global Harbor 环球港, this might be the biggest mall we've ever seen. They have all the American brands like Hollister, Sephora, Timberland, Adidas, and more! At Global Harbor, we got our first taste of local Shanghainese food. People from Shanghai prefer sweet and salty foods, and they do not drink cold water. We had around 12 kinds of dishes ranging from cold dishes to a dessert called "The Lucky Ball" made out of sesame seeds and dough. 

After an incredibly filling meal, we headed back to school to have Orientation. We got to hear from the CIEE Program Director Steve Chao, and then from the local staff here. We learned about our classes, health and safety procedures, and things to avoid like "black taxis".

We all had fun getting tangled up in a team-building ice breaker. Then we had a cultural discussion to help prepare us for living in China. Lastly we took our Language Pledge, that to the best of our abilities we will speak 中文. Wish us all luck!