I have arrived!

I have arrived at the place where everything is made! Prior to leaving I bought some Razorback goods to give as gifts... ironically enough all the items have traveled half way around the world to return home!

After being sandwiched smack-dab-in-the-the-middle of a row of 9 seats for 15 hours, I arrived in Shanghai! The flight was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I sat between two college students who were returning home for the summer. All three of us were very excited for our journey that would begin on the other side of the airport, so conversation was fun and lively. They humored my questions like, "Will I get a fortune cookie after every meal?"So, that was fun and reduced my uncertainty of the since of humor I would be dealing with this summer! They also taught me a few key words that I have and will continue to botch, but at least I have them to throw out! Outside of drinking too much water and coffee and giving my row a workout to support my bathroom habits the trip was smooth.

Going through customs was a breeze and finding my ride was painless... locating a place to stay for the night was not. I had a couple of places that were recommended to me listed out, but sure enough, they were all filled up. My poor drivers drove me around for about 2 hours looking for a place. The hotel I wound up in was super nice definitely nicer and pricier than I would have preferred, but it was a place to stay.

I was starved, exhausted, and jet-lagged or you could say very fragile. After I "regrouped" in my room for a minute I ventured out again. The restaurant across the street was hoppin! I got some Taiwanese women to order for me. I ordered chicken and vegetables with noodles and a beer. There were a few things I learned last night about the dining experience in Shanghai:

Number one: Beware of bones. I'm talking shards of bones. This is not fried chicken bones... they took the chicken, carcass and all, chop it up into bite sized pieces and throw it into the soup or whatever. (It's as difficult as eating a wad of sunflower seeds that are still in the shell!)

Number two: If you are eating something that you can't or don't want to eat, just spit it on the table. Seriously, just pile it up.

Number three: Beers are served at room temperature during this time of year. If you are lucky enough like I was last night you might even get a paper Care Bears cup to drink out of!

One of the Taiwanese women spoke English and loved telling everyone that yesterday was my first day in Shanghai and my first day in ASIA. Everyone definitely laughed when they heard that! Whether they were laughing at me or with me I didn't really care. We were all laughing and that is a language that I definitely understand!

That ended my epic first day in Shanghai. Bottom line: everyone was great, really great.