TWENTY CITIES IN ONE

Another week has passed and Shanghai is slowly starting to become my home. The first impact with this metropolis was harsh, however, those negative feelings are gradually fading away, and I couldn’t be gladder about it.

I realized that the easiest way to overcome the initial difficulties is to explore the city as much as possible. After all, Shanghai is the biggest city in the world, hence it’s bound to be full of contrasts. It might look like a city from the future in certain areas, like a European capital in others, and a rural Chinese town in others more (just to name a few categories). And no, you don’t have to be in Lujiazui in front of the Pearl Tower to fully appreciate what this city has to offer, and to capture its beauty. Personally, my favourite district in Shanghai is Jing’an (I talk so much about it that I guess people around me just want to punch me in the face), thanks to its perfect blend of local and foreign elements, its clean, modern architecture surrounded by well-kept parks, its tiny bars where stylish youths (both Westerners and Chinese) gather for a coffee or the happy hour. Too often in Shanghai, I felt that the two communities were separated (which, in all fairness, was a big disappointment for me), however, that doesn’t exactly happen in Jing’an.

My second weekend in Shanghai started with a rainy Saturday spent at one of the (in) famous fake markets: great for buying souvenirs, chinoiseries and (maybe) a pair of Onitsuka Tiger, but that’s pretty much it. Also, it could be quite a painful process if you’re like me and don’t like to bargain over items. Didn’t like it in Istanbul, didn’t like it in Morocco. But hey, what needs to be done, needs to be done.

The next Sunday graced us with spring-like weather (which might be a rare occasion in China, albeit the fact that it is Spring technically) so we visited the Jing’an Temple, as we had planned (talking again about Jing’an…). For me, it was the first time visiting a proper Buddhist temple, and the chants of the monks gave me Goosebumps (I had to film them- couldn’t resist). We then made our way to People’s Square, and I only have one word for that place: impressive. The metro station alone looks more like an airport- plus is a great place, as we’ve discovered, to go shopping if you want to avoid the most touristy markets and buy what also the stylish locals wear (platform sneakers, here we come).

As far as the job in the agency goes, I can say I’m pretty satisfied: most of my tasks are marketing-related so I get to be creative, design ads and landing pages, which means writing- which is always good for me.

On Thursday, we had team building, and considering that these activities are organized only 3 or 4 times per year (at least in our company) the other intern and I were quite lucky to take part in it. Team building means essentially to get to know your colleagues better but for me it was also something more since I got to do things I had never tried before: ever heard of the Mr.X Venue for example? It would take me too much time to explain this (and I’m sure the explanation would be rather sloppy as well) so why not check it out on the internet? All I can say is that it’s great fun, trust me and that I already know I’ll miss it when I go back to my home country.

After a great lunch where I got to taste the typical Yunnan cuisine (delicious, by the way- as everything I’ve tried in China thus far) we went to… Yeah, you guessed it. KTV. And what else?!

In all honesty, I was rather sceptical about it. I’ve always known what KTV represents for people here in China (as well as in Japan) but it has never exactly been my cup of it. That was, until I tried it, and realized that staying in nice, comfortable, cosy room with your friends, eating snacks, having drinks and singing (or screaming…) your favourite songs is actually not that bad. No, it’s not bad- it can be awesome if you’re with the right people. I’m actually afraid I might have caught a case of KTV fever.

Another work week is (finally!) coming to an end but since my time in China is rather limited I want to make the most of it. So no, no sleeping till 11 a.m. for me, neither on weekends: this Saturday I’m planning to visit the Shanghai Museum (and maybe do some *cough* shopping*cough* at People’s square metro station and in *cough* Nanjing Road *cough*) and on Sunday we have scheduled our first trip outside of Shanghai: Suzhou.

So stay tuned for more! And keep your fingers crossed for me- I’ve never tried to buy tickets at Chinese railways stations and I hope it won’t end with me messing things up.

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