Shanghainigans

Ok, so we've been back from Shanghai for almost a week now, but I might as well round out my family's and my trip around China.

Our last stop was Shanghai, which I absolutely loved. The weather (to me) was pretty comfortable, a little humid, but guess what: I COULD SEE THE SKY! Seeing the sky is actually a pretty big deal for me. It was so exciting! LOOK:

This is us on the Bund. The Bund is a walkway along the river that features Shanghai's modern architecture on one side (pictured above) and not so modern architecture on the other side of the river.

Something I didnt realize before was that Shanghai was modern to this extent (dont know if that made sense, I think I just wrote that sentence in Chinese gramatical form). My parents were disappointed that there wasn't a whole lot of history besides in this museum, which we stayed in all day on a rainy day:

But nonethessless, much to my dad's shagrin, there was SHOPPING! Shopping Galore! On Nanjing street (like NYC Times Square, but much bigger) and the Yu Gardens (actually more like a bazarre) every two seconds people were accosting us asking if we'd like to buy a watch or bag or whatever. At first it was really annoying and I was mean with my "BU YAO!"s (I don't want/need). But by the end of our stay, I started having fun with it. I tried to yell "BU YAO!" before they could even utter a word to us. It was fun... well, at least for me.

Here's my dad at Yu Gardens taking a break from pretending to shop:

Speaking of breaks, we always made sure we knew exactly where on of these were just in case we ran out of steam from all of the bargaining:

In the middle of the bizzarre is a rock garden, that meiyou yisi (was not very interesting). But here are the parents for a little photo session:

At Yu Gardens we also met my friend from college, Jackie, before she headed back to GW. Here we are at lunch. Does it look like my dad is enjoying the food?

(and yes, that's frenchfries inbetween Jackie and I)

After 2+days in Shanghai, I think we all were ready to return to Beijing (and in my parents case, return home).

They had one full day before leaving home and decided to check out the Birds Nest (Main Olympic Stadium), Natatorium, and the Egg (Performing Arts center) while I went back to the Pearl Market to buy them some things they forgot to pick up.

That night they treated me to an AMAZING dinner out the Outback. Things I take for granted, eh?

After a tearful goodbye, they left for America last Saturday and arrived home safely.

All in all, it was a great trip. I loved being with my parents, and despite my earlier thoughts, my Chinese improved over the trip. I think I spoke more Chinese on the trip than at school. haha.

Anyways, I would just like to thank my parents for a great time. I LOVE YOU!