Nanjing Pedestrian Road
A side street off the main pedestrian road
Being celebrities
Doing Tai Chi
A couple of weekends ago, my brother Michael came to Shanghai with a group from his high school. We met up on Nanjing Road and strolled down the pedestrian road, all the while be jostled by the crowd and implored to buy fake watches and purses by the street vendors. We walked all the way down to the Bund, where the group began attracting even more attention from the locals. There must have been Chinese tourists there who were less used to seeing so many foreigners than the Chinese living in Shanghai, because lots of them asked to take photos with me. (I like to kid myself that they only asked because of my radiant beauty, but I have a feeling that had very little to do with it.) We gathered even more of a crowd when my brother’s group started putting on a taichi performance they had learned earlier in their travels.
After joining them for dinner (in one of those restaurants that caters to tour groups), we parted ways. It was really funny to see Michael on his trip. He was in exactly the same place I was when I went on a school trip to China at the end of 11th grade! Seeing their group made me realize how different my experience this summer and last summer have been from the first time I went to China. I’ve come a long way. I’m moderately conversational now, whereas before my vocabulary was limited to “stomach” and “butt.” I’m actually working. I’m not staying in hotels. I’m actually living here (if only for 2 months)! What a strange concept.
awww
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