KATHLEEN HEATH, Cultural Studies major, writes: Stayed home last night, forgoing an opportunity to drink at a local �pub� with my classmates. It's not like me to ditch on an opportunity, drinking in Shanghai being far from ordinary, but the accumulation of jet lag and general fatigue/stress was my nightcap drink for the evening. I instead miraculously caught my boyfriend online before work (poor guy, it was 7:00 a.m.), and finally admitted that even the most �independent� and �adventurous� get a little homesick. Without saying �lost in translation,� I�ll just mention the general consensus of the group being that we�re having a hard time with the language barrier. It�s funny. We�ll be in a crowd of what seems like hundreds and still be capable of having a conversation, in regular volume, simply because it's the only English heard. Our ability to tune into each other is sort of sweet, definitely an attribute to us being close this trip. When a merchant notices us from a mile away, sore thumbs that we are, and addresses us in English, it�s almost startling.
We spent the day at BizArt yesterday, and for its entirety I was just caught up in how lucky I was to be here. I can�t even begin to wrap my head around our location or the massive amount of activities we have specially lined up for us. It's one thing to travel to China, but it�s another to go with like-minded people and teachers who�ve made for us an itinerary that�s entirely unique. We have this access to the city that no college backpacker could stumble upon on their own. At BizArt we spent a good quantity of time looking at art and watching video pieces by famous contemporary Shanghai artists. The works of Zu Zhen were particularly impressive in terms of absurdity, originality, and theory. It will be impossible to forget some of those images, and even more impossible to not subconsciously want to replicate others in pursuit of my own artwork. With a seemingly endless catalogue, one of the many pieces that stick out to me is �renter�s space� in a stranger�s home. On one wall he rented he used the space to install a traffic light, fully functional during the length of its stay. The one that roused the most laughter was the giant white cross in the kitchen sink of what we�re told was a Catholic household. You might guess that piece did not receive the same benefit of duration as the others.
It�s not that I �felt� like I was witnessing something exclusive to the comparatively small amount of Shanghai artists�it literally was a rare, the rarest, opportunity for an art(ish) student from Columbia. The videos themselves were even tricky for BizArt to possess. Today we�re going to visit the numerous galleries that are in proximity to BizArt. But before that can happen, I ought to get some food in me from the motel�s �continental breakfast.� I�m slowly crafting a decent breakfast out of the make-or-break items available. I�ve had my share of pork dumplings for the rest of my life here, so any entity with a mysterious inside is not an option. I guess I�ve learned that despite my previous beliefs, I am...a picky eater. I think the key is to have Elena around when hunger strikes.
