After 8 months spent in London we said our goodbyes and moved on in different directions. So I packed my bags and I went to Shanghai first. For 6 weeks, i lived in this gorgeous city and couldn't have had more fun. It was not my first experience in China so i knew the downsides of living there. Some people however had a difficult time getting used to it. For me it was just like home in some ways. Little details, like people being rude, spitting on the street, driving without any rules, etc. just reminded me of Romania. It takes a lot of patience to get used to the environment especially since no one, but no one speaks English. You get used to always carrying business cards of the places you want to go to in order to show taxi drivers, you get really good at charades since you have to explain to them everything with signs but you also get frustrated at one point. If you manage to get past that frustration, Shanghai is an amazing place to be. The night life is incredible and every club has a beautiful view of the river, the hundreds of skyscrapers just make you feel so small and insignificant and the food, oh the food. If you do manage to not be disgusted by what they eat, you can experience crazy stuff from snakes to scorpions. It's a whole new world. It is so different from Europe in so many ways and still so many things are similar to Romania. However, i must admit that Shanghai does not represent the real China. Yes, the people are Chinese and they don't speak English but the city is more European than Asian. Most clubs and restaurants are owned and made just for expats so it's easy to find normal food at every corner. The clubs are actually separate- the really good ones are only frequented by expats and in real Chinese clubs i don't recommend anyone to go unless they have a death wish. The alcohol is so fake that you might as well drink nail polish remover! Indeed, it is very cheap and they have all sorts of deals like 8 drinks for the equivalent of 10 quid but you are also guaranteed alcohol poisoning or at least the worst hangover in your life the next day. The good thing though is that they close early morning, not like in the UK where they kick you out at 3. This is another thing that reminds me of home- parties last until the next day:)
So.. how much did we love Shanghai? We are crazy about it, with the good and the bad! I could even imagine myself living there for 1 or 2 years working. It's a culture that everyone needs to experience. Where else can you eat scorpions on the street? Or still smoke everywhere?
