Leadership Junior Briana Glass in Shanghai, China! – Monthly Update Part 2

Written By: Briana Glass

Briana’s beautiful view from her dorm window!

Hi all! This is my monthly post recapping on a fantastic September full of new experiences!

Firstly, I can’t believe four weeks have come and gone by here in Shanghai! Each day that I have been here, I become more and more comfortable with my surroundings, the SUFE campus, and China as a whole. One major component to this has to do with how welcoming and caring the students on campus have been. Flashing back to my first day here, I knew two words and had trouble with the simplest of tasks such as ordering food or giving directions to a taxi driver. Now 30 days later, I have learned how to say my name, order food (which I need to survive!), give directions to a taxi driver, ask someone for help, negotiate a price (essential for bartering), and say the numbers 1-10. While I have learned more words and phrases while here, the aforementioned are the ones I feel most comfortable with saying and using on a daily basis.

Briana visiting Suzhou, a major city in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, adjacent to Shanghai.

With my Chinese slowly but surely improving, my exploration of Shanghai and neighboring cities is in full swing! Shanghai is a populously as well as geographically ​ large city with a plethora of opportunities whether it be art, museums, gardens, movies, karaoke, festivals, endless shopping centers, etc. In addition, getting around the city is quite convenient with plenty of taxis, buses, and metro lines in close proximity to pretty much any place you need or want to go to. However, the one thing I am slowly getting acclimated to is the traffic. Just like any city there are peak times when traffic is extremely jammed bumper to bumper. However, in Shanghai, traffic is bad more times than not. I have learned very quickly to plan more time for a commute in order not to be late.

Another new experience I love is how big the SUFE campus is and how lively the area right outside the campus feels during all hours of the day. With an enormous selection of street vendors, shops, restaurants, and tea shops, there is always something to do or eat! Coming from a much smaller immediate area at my school back in the U.S., getting use to commuting between multiple campuses here in Shanghai for classes took a bit of time.

Lastly, as I am posting this monthly update, I am in the middle of China’s National Holiday which is also referred to as the Golden Week.  During this week, I get a complete week off from classes. With such an opportunity, my roommate and I  have decided to do some exploring and I will document those explorations via my blog with more stories and experiences to share.   

Thank you to all who have been following me on my journey so far.  It is crazy to believe that I am beginning my second month here…. I’m having such a blast!

 Until Next Time,

BG

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