6 Things I'm Already Loving in 2018

I've started this year in a positive way already so I'm hopeful that this year will be soooo much better than 2017. 2017 wasn't the best year for me, even though I did travel to some pretty amazing places, meet lovely people and live in China for a year, there were some hiccups along the way which I'd love to move on from and forget. I want a big change in 2018 and there's already a few little changes/additions that have left me feeling happy.

Shanghai Wilderness || Photo Diary

You never really hear much about the greenery or parks across Shanghai and they're all very underrated. As you probably know by now I am a country girl as I've grown up in the country and lived in the country for most of my childhood. Therefore, city life isn't all my cup of tea. I have been living in a city since I've been at university and I can't say I've enjoyed every minute of it but it's really convenient to have everything nearby rather than having to drive everywhere to get to the closest supermarket etc. 

Life Update || Travelling Again in Two Weeks

Time to freak out slightly.

- Semester 1 ends in a weeks time.
- I start travelling again in 2 weeks time.
- Still yet to book one more flight.
- Have to start thinking about packing.
- Need to get my life together.

Experiencing my First Chinese Massage

A few weeks ago me and my friend decided to get a massage to get rid of some of those tight muscles and relax for a bit before our work load gets more and more! Tilly had already been to one before so she had a good idea of what it would be like, little did I know, it would be slightly painful. By slightly painful, I mean agony!

Christmas in Shanghai

Shanghai Christmas will never compare to Christmas back home. However, a few friends and I have made the most of keeping ourselves in the Christmas spirit by travelling around Shanghai to find Christmas markets, shops, events, parties and more. Even though it isn't England, and we aren't with our families, we are not being grumpy and sad about it, we are trying to keep it as Christmassy and happy as any other Christmas. I think this is actually the first Christmas I have spent away from my parents. When I say that, it actually makes me feel very homesick, which I have been feeling a bit of lately, but I am travelling down to Hong Kong to spend it with my friends family so at least I am taking a break from Shanghai and have a sense of home from them.

Exploring All of Shanghai

Thought I would create a post mainly showing photos that I have taken from my adventures around Shanghai so far. I will keep updating it as the year goes on.
There are some famous and well known places and some unknowns which aren't usually shown across the media.

Why I'm not Flying Back Home in the Holidays

Through the months of January and February, we have our CNY (Chinese New Year) break which consists of a glorious 6-week holiday. This is our only big holiday so we deserve it after a hard, long and quite painful first semester. This is the time where us international students either choose to go travelling or take a trip back to our home countries. It is also when the first semester has ended so some people will be leaving and replaced by new arrivals.

Life Lately || Buying a Bike and Getting a Job

Bit of an overdue post as it's all oldish news but there's been a few funny incidents since so thought I'd share them with you all.

My third week of lectures I finally gave in and bought a bike. I had been delaying this for several days now and all my fiends had got theirs so thought it was about time I got one. It takes 20 minutes just to get to my classes building...and I live on the same campus, so a bike is necessary.

Ever since I got it, my bike has been my saviour. I don't have to leave as early for class, I can cycle to the closest shopping mall in 20 minutes (rather than 40 minutes), and it saves me taking a taxi whenever I feel lazy and don't want to walk.

There have been a few funny incidents since getting my bike. The other day I got pulled over by the police for doing absolutely nothing wrong. When I saw a guy next to me giving him money I was getting slightly worried. After 10 minutes I just asked a different policemen if I could go and he didn't seem to care less what I did, so I went.
Other incidents that have happened are very common, such as crashing into other bikes or having to suddenly break because of people being in the way (always happens, there's so many damn people in China).
To be honest, being on 2 wheels in a city like Shanghai is the most unsafe way of transport but it is also the easiest to get around with.

The other good news is that I managed to get a teaching job. I teach a 6 six year old girl twice a week a few metro stops downtown. The family is so lovely and I feel very fortunate to have been given this contact so soon. I have now been teaching her for 3 weeks and, even though it can be challenging at times, it is such a good feeling knowing you are helping a child learn and improve on a difficult language. They always invite me to dinner and give me dinner in-between teaching and also invite me out to see and do things, such as Archery.
I am also going to start teaching her to swim better. They have an inside and outside pool in their compound which is very useful.

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City Trip with the University

Remember those school trips you would go on in primary and secondary school and you would get all excited because you're going away from campus and exploring something new. Yeah, this is how I felt today. We were taking a free trip to multiple attractions in Shanghai, including Xintiandi, Yuyuan Gardens and a cruise across Huangpu river with dinner on top of that. Being spoilt or what? There were 3 routes to choose from as well but the other two I thought were too common and have already been to some of the places. Either way, all trips sounded amazing!

Crazy Cheap in China

People who have never been to China do not realise how incredibly cheap it is. With the exception of accommodation and flights to China, once you are here then you can live quite easily on a small budget. By small, I mean about £200 a month, for a student though. I am living on campus so my dorms are extremely cheap, they go down to £4 a day, that's about £84 a month, which is the equivalent to what I roughly pay a week for university accommodation in England!

40 Minutes Late to our Reservation

After a good three days being bed bound after a horrible illness I caught, I was eager to get out into the fresh (well Shanghai fresh) air and get a nice dinner along the Bund. Me and two friends booked a reservation at a restaurant called Lost Heaven. If you ever get to China, you need to visit this restaurant, the food is so nice.

Obviously Aneta, my flatmate, was running slightly late (she always is), which made us late for our reservation. When I say "slightly late", we were 40 minutes late... We got the metro to East Nanjing Road and then walked from there to the restaurant as it is nearly impossible to catch a taxi around that area on a Saturday night. So after a good 20 minute walk in about 27 degrees we made it to the restaurant. We went from a clean team to sweaty Betty's...lovely. The walk was worth it for the views I guess.

LIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!

GOOOOD MORNING! Guess who finally got internet after a good few days? It was quite nice to have a break from it all but glad to be back in the social-networking world. Been in China 1 week now and I am actually loving it. That sounds surprising but it is for me as I had a vision of the first week feeling homesick, confused and a bit under the weather about the whole "moving abroad" process...I'm the complete opposite though. I have met so many friendly faces (including my crazy flatmate Aneta who I've already planned to travel with), walked around campus a fair amount and settled in to my new home on campus. 

My dorm is average, bit on the small side but I won’t be spending much time in it anyway…all you need is a bed and desk right? Having a balcony is a definite bonus! Did I mention that I’m on the 5th floor and the Chinese like us to struggle and don’t have lifts in many small buildings. Apparently buildings 8 floors and below are listed as “small buildings”, which if you see Shanghai you would agree. One thing I know by the end of this year is I’ll be mega fit, climbing 10 flights of stairs at least 4 times a day…

We ventured off to Lauren’s flat, as she’s living off Campus, and ended up getting caught in the rain storm which we were not expecting. No umbrellas or waterproofs on us; we got soaked through! 

The views from the buildings on campus are pretty insane. We are pretty close to the Bund which is where all the beautiful skyscrapers are, including the second tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower.

I went out on Wednesday night with all my friends after seeing my friends in Shanghai, the Percivals, after 4 years, who treated me to a lovely dinner and birthday presents. 

We went to a club called Fusion where my friends surprised me with a birthday cake and endless alcohol, I was not complaining. 

Yesterday was the first proper day where I was able to get out of campus and properly explore around the area and get the metro to other places. Obviously I chose to go to Nanjing East Road (南京东路) which is where the Bund is situated. Just opposite of the metro station is the 4 Floor Forever 21, how could I not take a trip into there? 

I found a cafe for lunch and got a sandwich and juice. Just my luck, I managed to spill all the juice over me half way through my lunch. Even worse, this juice was thick and lumpy so the aftermath was not good. I went back into Forever 21, bought an outfit and changed into it right away. 

I made my way over to The Bund which was packed with locals and a few foreigners and admired the beautiful view. Sadly, the pictures are not the best as I only had my phone with me and it was starting to get dark so it looks dull. 

I also made it to one of the upper market malls, where I definitely did not fit in as I looked like a tramp with a dress and trainers on, no make up, and sweaty hair...not the best look I must admit. 

I am glad to have settled in though. I didn't have time to get over jet lag as I had to be up early everyday. I am so tired still but fighting my way through it! 

 

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