SARA POOLEY (photography) writes:
I have grown up traveling. My father is from England, so we went there almost every year until I was a teenager.
Even after that, my family and I traveled throughout much of Europe. It was always a big part of who I was and I felt like I had a different perspective on life and more specifically, life in the United States, because of it.
I remember being eight years old on a playground in Whitehaven, England. A girl several years older than me came up and asked me if I was from America. I said yes and she simply replied, “Lucky bitch,” and walked away. I always remembered that, but didn’t know what to make of it at the time, being so young. Things are a little different this time around, though. The biggest thing America is associated with now is our moronic president.
One Chinese student said that “people in China think he has brain damage,” to which you can only laugh and agree. It seems like people in China know that our president is not supported by the people either, though. They know that making fun of the president doesn’t mean they are making fun of all Americans. But I must admit, I feel like a dumb American. I don’t remember ever feeling so aware of being so obviously American in all my life or in all my travels.
On the Shanghai underground I looked up to see my reflection in the window. There I was, a blonde-haired, light-eyed American girl in a sea of dark hair and eyes. I stood out like a sore thumb!
Ironically, it’s kind of easy to continue being so obviously American on this trip. For all the elements of traditional China we’ve encountered, there’s another equally prevalent Western element. China is a strange place in that way. You’ll be walking down the street and find a McDonald's next to a street market where they sell live eels and whole chickens. At the Jade Buddha Temple I saw a monk in mostly traditional garb wearing Nike socks, and a woman wearing designer clothing praying to a Buddhist god. We’ve exported our corporate culture all over the world and it’s infiltrated even the most sacred traditions.
While I find that kind of sad, I also found that BigMac to be the tastiest thing in the world after a week of nothing but Chinese food. I don’t even eat fast food at home, either! Although this place is so different and strange in some ways, it’s totally familiar in others.
Sara Pooley is a photography/art history major.
HADLEY VOGEL (art history) writes:
Coming home was the hardest part of the trip.
It was only after I came home that the jet lag hit, and the culture shock set in. I was still processing things that we had seen and done days after we had done them. It was such a whirlwind of events that I needed space from Shanghai to collect my thoughts and formulate my own understanding of everything that had been introduced to us. I needed to step back and take a breath.
Prior to the trip I thought that the culture shock would most likely be something I would experience when I first arrived in Shanghai, but this was not the case. Everything felt so surreal and foreign to me that it was as if I were in an amusement park. We had at least one translator around, always, and when we would go to a garden or a temple I was not familiar with the Buddhist customs they practiced so I would stand back and observe. The old city felt especially surreal because it had been refurbished in a traditional architectural style and layout.
Somewhere along the way I got used to not being able to read the signs immediately and instinctively searching for the English subtext, being in a crowded street and not being able to hear what people were shouting at one another (but Xhingyu assured us that all they were shouting was “HI, WHAT CAN I GET FOR YOU?” or some other equally ordinary street-vendor chat), or overhearing gossip in a cafe, not having any clue who was in the popular media, and being totally detached from any form of immediate communication for the better part of the day, and being able to easily afford a cab across town. The list goes on too, but somehow I got used to these things, and now that I’m home I really miss them.
Hadley Vogel is a junior art history major.
SARA POOLEY (photography) writes:
It’s interesting to imagine what the equivalent of Columbia College would be in China. Could there be a school controlled by communist regulations echoing the mantra, “Create Change”?
Sure, Tongji University may not be making the same lofty claims with their slogan, but their curriculum seems similar enough. Our visit with students from Tongji left me with so many nuggets of revelation to digest, even long after our short encounter was over.
After watching a few student video productions we were prompted to start interacting with the students. Everyone had stories about who they ended up talking to and what they learned, but I really think my guy was the most interesting. We first discussed our obvious similarity, photography. He expressed his disappointment with the program he had just started and his worry for the future of his work.
Of course I could relate to having felt this way at various points in the last four years. I wanted to know how he felt about the censorship on art and especially on information. He said that censorship affected the work of artists in China because they were forced to try and "see with blind eyes." This was the first person I’d talked to who seemed to actually be aware of the extent to which these constraints were affecting them. Then again, I guess it was the first Chinese person around my age I’d encountered who spoke English. I had expected to relate to a photo student on at least that base artistic level, though. Surely we were worlds away from each other in every other way, right?
We started talking about music like Slayer, Metallica, black metal, and specifically about Norwegian and Swedish metal bands. He was wearing an England jersey so I filled him in on my British heritage and my family’s insane passion for the team. About halfway through our conversation I realized that if we’d gone to high school together, we would still be good friends today, so it was incredibly appropriate that we ended up sitting together. I asked if he’d ever been to any shows in China or if they even had shows like we do in the U.S. He said that it was not allowed because the government doesn’t want anybody to hear those messages. It makes sense that a communist government wouldn’t be too partial to music with anti-establishment and free-thought themes. We agreed that we’d email each other about music and art because his exposure in China is limited.
At least he is seeking out new and different things. He said that a lot of the kids he goes to school with just do whatever their parents tell them and whatever the school deems appropriate without questioning anything. It is dangerous to question these things in China. It made me wonder how different I would be if I’d grown up anywhere else. I’m so convinced that it is my right to question everything and anything. What if I’d grown up without that right?
The whole encounter reminded me of the bird and cricket market in a strange way. This place was basically a warehouse full of animals in cages. There were crickets, rabbits, birds, cats, and dogs amongst others. All of these creatures are intended to be pets. As such they are paraded around the city and shown off. Birds in cages have always really upset me because I just imagine that if I had a set of wings I’d sure as hell wanna fly! That’s kind of like the students at Tongji. From what the student said, parents just want their kids to follow the rules and be successful and well respected. They don’t want their children to spread their wings, but rather they want to keep them in cages so they can show them off to all their friends. I would really like to see the cage door left open for this kid so he can one day liberate himself. Caged artists are as sad as caged birds to me.
Sara Pooley is a photography/art history major.
KAAREN FEHSENFELD (cultural studies) writes:
Coming home was pretty surreal. I noticed a lot of cultural differences while we were over there; just little things, like the fact that there isn't heat in most buildings, despite the 30- to 40-degree weather. Maybe this is based more on economics, but economics don't explain the habit of constantly leaving windows open. We would get back to our hotel at night, and walking down the hallway, several windows would be cracked or almost completely opened. I suppose that if it's already cold, you might as well get some fresh air circulating; this seems pretty logical.
Another thing about the cold—I got used to layering my clothes and wearing my jacket indoors while I was in Shanghai, and this has made the adjustment to Chicago's five-degree weather so much easier. We have strange mental and cultural blocks to a lot of random things; I was always the type of person, for example, who would rather turn up the heat than put on extra clothes. Now, this seems pointless, if not just plain stupid and extravagant.
Another thing I loved about Shanghai was the difference in what is considered rude compared with the United States. The first night we arrived, I asked Xhingyu, our guide, how to say "excuse me" in Mandarin. She gave me a word, but quickly explained that it wasn't a direct translation, and that people don't really excuse themselves if they bump each other on the street. People also hawked loogies at free will, and more than once, as I stood in line, another person simply stepped in front of me. I considered that maybe this was because I looked pretty thoroughly American, but when I started to take note, I realized that it happens constantly, to foreigners and locals alike. While these differences made me a little edgy and uncomfortable at first, after awhile I saw how they made sense. In a city of almost 20 million people, there isn't time to say "excuse me" every time you bump into someone. What is socially important in Shanghai, according to hearsay and Lonely Planet, is never making someone lose face. This might be the sentiment behind big projects like the 2010 World Expo site, which shows off China's architectural and economic prowess to the world.
Kaaren Fehsenfeld is a junior cultural studies major.
CATHERINE RIGOD (journalism) writes:
Tonight a group of us decided to go check out a local hangout, and we tried to experience a more mellow evening on the town (since the night before we had gone out to a club called the Paramount and stayed out until the wee hours dancing).
So, we went off to what we were told was the only dive bar in Shanghai, called Time Passage.
Time Passage is a cool little hole-in-the-wall located off a side street, Huashan Lu, in the French Concession district of Shanghai. As the night drew on, more and more people crammed into the little joint and things clearly pointed to the fact that this place was an ex-pat favorite.
At the bar, a group of us had the Chinese/European version of Western fare, consisting of hamburgers and chicken fingers served with steins of beer. The all-Chinese house band soon went on and began playing their best English versions of everything from Bob Marley to The Eagles.
Everyone in the bar was enjoying the entertainment until a guy from Long Beach, California decided to take a stab at singing for the crowd. He was a pretty large guy with a beanie and dreads, and when he started to make attempts to channel the band Sublime, it was an experience that could’ve been forgotten. And we weren't the only ones who felt that way. A group of guys sitting next to us who lived in Shanghai but hailed from such places as England, Germany, and Oregon, decided that it was time for the singer to step off the stage by booing him.
“What, you’re going to boo me, I’m from Long Beach m*$!*r f&%$*r !!,” said the singer to the rowdy crowd. “I don’t see you up on the stage. I’m from Long Beach!”
A few more words were exchanged and the singer eventually left the stage. The table of non-fans leaned over to us and explained that in Shanghai where you’re from has nothing to do with where you are.
Historically, Shanghai has been known as a city with an open-door policy, letting immigrants and refugees enter its gates for a better chance at a life free of persecution. With this idea of community comes a melting pot unique to the area, where cultures mix and where the country you were born in is simply a place on a map.
In fact, the ex-pat community is so large in Shanghai it's quite common to see Europeans who speak Mandarin better than they do English. And while many Westerners do come to Shanghai to teach English, some take up residency with local companies in order to gain a better life.
Our tour guide, Xhingyu Chen, explained that in Shanghai you might get a lower salary than in the States, but your money will go much further. Cheaper housing, food, and transportation, combined with a cosmopolitan way of life has made Shanghai a hotbed of Western traffic today, just as it might have been before the Revolution.
At the end of the night at Time Passage the singer eventually sat down with the booing table and made peace. I suppose that’s what it’s all about here: different nationalities coming together to form one community. It almost sounds idealistic, and believe me there are many problems here in Shanghai, but at least in this bar, segregation by nationalism isn’t one of them.
Catherine Rigod is a senior in journalism.
SEAN CONNER (film and video) writes:
I felt we didn’t get a chance to experience traditional Chinese culture on the first few days. Then we visited the Shanghai Museum earlier on Friday. The museum was full of tons of historical pieces and little kids running around and screaming. It was nice to relax later in the day when we saw a great performance at the Café Bandu.
It was on a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. The performer was very passionate and played us contemporary and traditional Chinese songs. You can often hear this instrument in traditional Chinese music, but what made it a great experience was to actually watch it. His hands flew around on the 21 strings. He was very talented, and it was a very stimulating performance not only to listen to, but to also watch.
Sean Conner is a sophomore film and video major.
SEAN CONNER (film and video) writes:
I felt the most helpful parts of the trip were interacting with the younger people of Shanghai.
One of my favorite parts of the entire J-term was going to Tongji University. We had the opportunity to spend half of the day with students who were the same age as we are and experiencing the same things. We all related very well, and as soon as we got over the language barrier, we all bonded.
We talked about everything from our majors, to what we do for fun, to music. We traveled half way around the world and met new people, but we all could relate to each other. Everyone was very friendly and interesting. I wish we had more time to spend with them.
Two of the people I was talking to were animation majors. They invited me to their dorms to show me some of the stuff they created. We did not have enough time, but I traded emails with a few of the students and I've already have been in contact with them.
Sean Conner is a sophomore film and video major.
KAAREN FEHSENFELD (cultural studies) writes:
During our trip, we've seen and discussed several different forms of visual arts. But I have also always loved music, and I was really curious to see what the music scene was like in Shanghai.
According to Xhingyu, our guide, and Lonely Planet, Shanghai's music culture is generally lacking. So on Friday, when we went to a concert at Bandu, I was really excited. Bandu is a café/music shop/venue that is located right near BizArt, and we had eaten lunch there before.
We spent Friday visiting a couple different museums, and for dinner we returned to Bandu and watched a live performance of an instrument called a GuZheng. The instrument has several strings and sits on a stand, and is played from above.The performer attaches fake plastic fingernails to pluck the strings. A bar separates the strings into two sections, and while one set of strings is plucked, the other side is manipulated to change the pitch.
The performer we saw, Liu Le, had been playing for 15 years, starting at around age seven. It was amazing to see him play; you could really see his comfort level with the instrument and his technical abilities were phenomenal, all adding to a dramatic and dynamic performance. He played traditional songs, songs from the communist era, and contemporary songs.
In some of the contemporary songs he actually came off of the strings themselves and used the body of the instrument almost as a percussion instrument, which was really cool to see. Liu Le himself represented Shanghai's mixture of tradition and modernity. When I closed my eyes at the concert, I could romanticize a traditional, pastoral Chinese scene. When I opened my eyes, there was Liu Le, dressed in gold cowboy boots and a silver-studded T-shirt, surrounded by an audience of Westerners.
And speaking of contrast, after the traditional music at Bandu, we all went to a hip-hop club. We saw some live hip-hop that was pretty mediocre at first; the volume kept fluctuating and the rappers were kind of off. The music got a lot better as the night went on, though. Eventually, Xhingyu mentioned that one of the rappers who came on was Jin, and that he had the song "Learn Chinese" back in 2003. It was interesting to see a hip-hop aesthetic in Shanghai that I didn't know existed there, and cool to hear hip-hop in Chinese.
Shanghai does have a music scene after all, but it seems like the underground element of American shows isn't there. After all, there were uniformed security (and/or government) guards at the club, standing menacingly in front of the stage watching the crowd dance.
Kaaren Fehsenfeld is a junior cultural studies major.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film + video major) writes:
Since today we are leaving, I had to wake up and make sure I had everything charged for the plane and packed up. I did this as fast as I could, then got down to the lobby with everyone else. Everyone was checked out and we had to put all of our luggage in the corner of the lobby while we went out.
This day was completely free, so everyone started it by just walking around the area near our hotel. We found an open-air market where there were all kinds of crazy eels and huge frogs that could be bought. From here everyone hopped into a taxi.
They next place that we ended up was at the Pearl Tower. Everyone wanted to go up in it, but the place wouldn’t accept credit cards and many were running low on Yuan. Most ended up going up, but one other person and I didn’t have any way to pay, so we decided to search for a restaurant that would accept credit cards.
We only had a short time, so we tried to find somewhere that would have fast food. Assuming that little shops wouldn’t accept cards, we tried bigger-name chains. After going to Subway, Burger King, McDonald's, and KFC, we had no luck. We waited for everyone to come down and headed back to the hotel.
It was time to head for the airport. Instead of taking the long bus ride, we decided to take an incredibly fast train, which reached up to 275 MPH. We got to the airport in around eight minutes, and my time in Shanghai was coming to an end. It was an amazing trip, and I would recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to travel. I met a lot of great people and I am incredibly glad that I was given the opportunity to participate in this experience.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film + video department.
NICK FORRISTALL (audio arts and acoustics major) writes:
The city of Shanghai is so mixed up. Before we left, I was under the impression that the people living in the city would be, well, mostly Chinese people. Upon arrival, and frolicking around in the city, I have come to discover that the city is filled with a very mixed culture. Not only are there Asians (big surprise), there is a large mix of Europeans, Americans, Russians, and some from Iraq and surrounding nations.
The whole event of seeing all these people mixed together in a place where I didn't expect it was really fascinating. With China being a communist (and somewhat capitalist, ironically) country, I had also expected very uniform buildings and dwellings. This was of course expected outside of the main skyline.
But Shanghai doesn't really stop there. Like some other cities we know of (cough cough, Chicago), it keeps moving. I am very unaware of exactly where we are in the city at any given point in time. But no matter where we may be, there is always at least one lone standing building, probably a building which nobody in our group has seen yet.
Not only are the architecture and human population of Shanghai very mixed and matched, the neighborhoods are as well. We can walk down 10 streets in an area of, say, 10 by 10 blocks, and each street may feel different. Some are trademark China, the China I've read about in books and seen pictures of. The next second, we're seemingly strolling toward the Champs Elysées in Paris. Ten minutes later, we're located in Times Square. And then boom, back to China (but this time it's older, or worn a bit more). The cycle continues.
Long story short, if you want an American-style mix of people, a New York skyline, a beautiful Chinese garden, a long walk in Grant Park, or the art of San Francisco, it's all in one city. Go to Shanghai.
Nick Forristall is a junior audio arts and acoustics major.
HADLEY VOGEL (art history) writes:
Today was our last hurrah in Shanghai.
I woke up later than I would have liked to because I thought that we were meeting a half an hour later than we really were. Once we had all congregated in the lobby we took off on an architectural tour that commenced at the Children’s Palace. It was unreal how decadent it was, and seemed a little cold to have been built for a father and his two sons.
Upstairs they were having workshops for children, and outside of the classrooms there were some of their projects on display. There were robots and cars and a sculpture of a man playing a saxophone, as well as a very crude representation of African culture. After leaving the palace we had a long and grueling walk through a very cold and wet Jewish ghetto. Dvir, our guide, was extremely informative and was able to bring us into one of the homes. I felt like I was entering a film noir set with a single fluorescent light hanging over an old kitchen table.
After warming up and getting some lunch, a nap, and a hot shower we met up with everyone at an Uighur restaurant, a cuisine from the northwestern region of China. The waiters were all dressed in traditional garb and danced through the restaurant pulling diners onto the stage. The music sounded Turkish with an energetic beat and the waiters were very enthusiastic and tried their hardest to keep as many people on stage as possible at all times. It was definitely the most fun dinner we had as a group, and I was glad that Davide from BizArt was able to join us.
I’m going to miss BizArt and ripping into half of a lamb with my hands, as well as the unapologetic mannerisms I’ve grown accustomed to.
Hadley Vogel is a junior art history major.
AMINA DOCTROVE (retail management) writes:
Every day I wake up, go with my group, do my activities, and then I go to bed.
While I walk up and down the streets of Shanghai, go out to restaurants and eat, or go around shopping, I feel the gaze of something while I am walking. It’s the kind of gaze that causes the fresh faces of young girls in horror movies to turn their heads and gasp in horror as their fate is then sealed in the next scene. I experience this weird, ominous feeling of being watched every time I go outside.
Walking along the streets of Shanghai, which in the final days of our trip have become muddied with rain and dirt, I feel a presence so potent in the air that it presses against my shoulders. I look up to see what’s pressing against me, and I see them. I see them all, skinny bodies under the protection of umbrellas walking pass me.
Before losing sight of me they look into my eyes deeply, as if to look into my soul. Some of them look at me for a while then move along; others look at me and have a good laugh about something funny about me with their friends; and others even stop dead in their tracks to have a look at me. No matter who it is, if I walk by them or they walk by me, they’re likely to stare at me.
This was not a surprise to me, as I already knew it was not considered rude to stare at someone in most Asian countries, but to actually go and experience it, for me, nothing could prepare me for it. At first, I thought it was very cute and I felt like someone famous walking around Shanghai and my adoring fans looking closely at me to see if it was really me. But as the days went by, this feeling quickly left me and I became bitter. I felt that I was being treated as nothing more than a zoo animal, something weird, rare, strange, and amusing that is to be stared at for enjoyment. I even snapped at a group of men yesterday while they were staring at me and yelled at them, in English of course, so they didn’t understand and walked right pass me.
While I personally hated being the target of stares from everyone we passed by in Shanghai, I then realized something: In a place where only up to now individuality and uniqueness was frowned upon, the people of China struggle to make themselves unique from everyone else around them. For me, at least maybe to them, I am already unique. With a different skin color, I stand out from what seems to be a crowd of people all wearing the same masks.
Amina Doctrove is a sophomore retail management major.
HANNAH ROVNER (visual art management) writes:
Whew, it’s raining heavily today, just got back from lunch and a tour of Jewish Shanghai.
Despite the weather the tour was great, and our tour guide Dvir Bar Gal is an expert on the subject; he knew the ins and outs of every neighborhood we toured.
The Jewish people have a relatively short but very interesting history in Shanghai. Dvir explained that the migration of Jewish people to Shanghai is divided up into three major waves. The first was a movement of Iraqi Jews shortly after the Opium War in 1839, which brought over two of Shanghai’s most famous families, the Sassoons and the Kadooris. The second would be Sfardic, or mostly Russian Jews escaping the Pogroms. And the third would be the at least 20,000 Jewish refugees during WWII.
Shanghai was an easy place for people to take refuge due to its open port policy, which meant that anyone could enter without a visa or passport. It was good for business and good for refuges. (It was also good for mobsters and criminals. But that’s another story.)
As with much of the architectural history of Shanghai, the physical history of the Jews of Shanghai is also disappearing due to urban development. Dvir is working with several others to rescue the disappearing neighborhoods where the Jews of Shanghai once lived.
While the Chinese government does not officially recognize Judaism as a state religion, according to Dvir, there is a thriving Jewish population of almost 3,000 in Shanghai today. As he puts it, even though the government does not condone the practice of Judaism, it is practical and is willing to overlook it.
Throughout my trip I’ve noticed this constant struggle over preservation and development. Gentrification is not just a problem in Chicago; it's a problem all over the world.
In China it appears to be even more intensified. Architects put their best efforts into preserving traditional forms by incorporating theses motifs into new buildings, such as the Shanghai Museum. But in the crush to bring the new, places such as the Jewish Ghetto and other monumental buildings along the Bund are being lost. It will be interesting to see the skyline of Shanghai a year from now, and I wonder what will be the fate of these historic landmarks several years from now.
Hannah Rovner is a senior visual arts management major.
RACHEL CORSINI (fiction writing) writes:
The French Concession is a unique sort of place. Some people are still living as they did a hundred years ago: washing their hair outside, cooking in the outdoor courtyards and dividing up the communal space among four families. Others are living with modern conveniences and have the benefit of shopping in a chic secluded area at 210 Taikang Lou.
All along the small lanes were tiny clothing stores, handbag shops, accessory places, and a teddy bear store. It looked innocent enough and, truthfully, I love teddy bears. So I went inside to have a look around. Everything seemed pretty generic, mostly the same things I could get in the States. I peered around a corner and noticed a hallway leading toward another room. Of course I ventured down that way. Before my eyes was a teddy bear museum. Teddy bears from years past sat behind a plastic cover, staring out at me forlornly. Okay, now this was weird. From out of nowhere a woman came up behind me.
“You like? I make teddy bears, do you want to see? I show you. Upstairs is teddy bear café.” Right, it kept getting stranger. So I followed her up a narrow circular staircase and enter a teddy bear haven. Teddy bears sat on shelves and were littered about the room as though they were guests at the café. Then she led me over to where she made her very own teddy bears. Being who I am I just had to buy one ... so I did.
Let’s fast forward to the day before yesterday. I fell asleep with my handmade white teddy bear which I lovingly named Sleepy-time. I woke up and Sleepy-time was wedged under my arm. So I left him tucked up underneath the covers, just so he stayed warm while I was gone. Hannah and I went to meet the group and then we returned. Sleepy-time was nowhere to be found. I was in distress. Complete and utter distress! Where could he be? I checked everywhere, but once again we were leaving. So with a pout on my face I left the motel to party at Paramount.
Paramount was a Chinese hip-hop club complete with scratching DJs and flashing lights, as well as people dancing in neon-covered body suits and a couple doing pas de deux (a French form of ballet meaning "step of two") on the smaller dance floor. The Paramount used to be an old theater which was renovated into a modern day dance club. The grand staircase was still intact and the stage was as well. It was pretty awesome. I drank Chivas and green tea all night, which I’m told is a popular Chinese cocktail.
We returned again and this time I slept restlessly, wondering if Sleepy-time was all right, wherever he might be. Today Hannah and I decided to pack up everything just to check if he was misplaced somewhere. Nope, he was still gone. It’s upsetting. I enjoyed cuddling him every single night without him breathing on me, snoring, smelling bad, or farting. He was comforting without the groans and weird noises that others can sometimes make, mostly men. I miss my dear Sleepy-time. Rest in peace.
Fuzhou Lou is basically the art supplier for the entirety of Shanghai. There are many stores that have paints, calligraphy brushes, ink, and seals. Everything that a Chinese artist would need is on this road. I was there looking for something special to add to my final project for this class. I finally settled on calligraphy brushes and a cheap bottle of ink. God only knows what I’m gonna do with it.
When I returned to my hotel room, who should be waiting for me with his cute little face … Sleepy-time! He’s alive! Sleepy-time’s alive! He had a bit of an adventure I’m afraid. See, he was washed. That’s right; Sleepy-time had a bath, a bath which took off most of his fluffy white fur. He’s still irresistibly adorable though; even though he’s less cuddly, I still love him. I couldn’t help but squeal, “Sleepy-time!” I picked him up right away of course, seeing as he could have been frazzled from his couple of days spent away from me as well as being thrust into a washing machine. He has returned, a little less fluffy, smelling like Chinese food and strange detergent.
But he’s safe.
Rachel Corsini is a junior fiction writing major.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film + video major) writes:
We started today by heading out to get a tour of old Jewish Shanghai. To be honest, I thought this was going to be long and somewhat dull, but our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and made everything incredibly interesting. We started the tour in an old mansion, which was beautiful, but this was not what caught my attention the most. The old Jewish neighborhood by far was the most interesting to me, but we did not head straight there from the mansion.
We next got the chance to head to the Bund and see a great view of Pudong. I finally got a chance to see through the fog and see the Pearl Tower. Boats filled the river, carrying everything from garbage to giant advertisement signs. I also got a great view of the famous Peace Hotel. We heard some history of the area and then headed out to the old Jewish town.
In the small area, we got the chance to see many different things. We were told that the buildings’ addresses are the same now as they were years ago, during WWI. We even got the opportunity to enter a house. You do not understand how small these houses are until you are actually inside one. The entire house is almost smaller than a closet in many American houses. Multiple people live in these small places, where there is absolutely no heating and a concrete floor. Seeing this would help anyone living in the U.S. to gain much more appreciation for what they have.
After a few more stops on the tour, we ate lunch and then got a short time to ourselves. Some people went shopping, but a few others and myself decided that we just wanted to hang out back at the hotel for a while. The bus ride back took so long that we only had about an hour to ourselves before we were supposed to go back out for our last dinner.
Yet again we got the chance to eat at a Muslim restaurant, and since the last one had the best food on the trip so far, I was excited. While we were waiting for our food, men came around and handed out something that resembled a calzone that was filled with lamb. It was very good, kind of tasting like a White Castle, in my opinion. After this we got the entire rear end of a lamb, which everyone received gloves in order to eat it with their hands. The meal was amazing. Also while eating, people were pulled up to dance with the waiters. I had to cling to my chair in order to prevent this, as did all the other guys in our group. It was a fun night.
We ended the night by going out to yet another club with everyone. This was a more relaxing night and for most of the time everyone just sat together and talked. I was running low on Yuan by now, so I left pretty early and got some sleep. This was my last night out and I had a great time once again.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film + video department.
SARA POOLEY (photography) writes:
I was looking out the bus window at rows of identical high-rise housing. The repetition of shapes and the way they rose against the gray, smoggy sky reminded me of the scenes in The Matrix where human beings are literally being grown in columns of pods.
These buildings are all around the city, mingling with debris and new construction. Gigantic cranes bend over buildings like the machines in the movie do as they pick pods off of the human-cultivating towers. These cranes are appropriately symbolic of the people who have been displaced to make way for these enormous new developments.
New projects go up by way of government order, and the people have no say in what happens to their homes. They are not free to really do anything about it here. In fact, they are not free to think for themselves at all.
The government censors all the information they possibly can before it reaches China. We cannot even access Wikipedia here. Like the motionless bodies The Matrix feeds off of, the citizens of China have a reality constructed for them. They know only what they are programmed and allowed to know. They do not have the basic right of information.
Some people are painfully aware of this fact, as characters like Morpheus or Trinity were aware of their construct, while other people seem to have no concern about this issue whatsoever. I suppose when you have to worry about where you're going to get the money for your next meal you don't have time to think about the fact that your government is ruling not only your providence, but your mind as well. It is clear that not everybody is ready to take the red pill, but I guess I always thought that I would at least like to have the choice.
I think about the things we take for granted back in the States and wonder if sometimes it seems our lack of appreciation will help our own government put similar constraints on us some day. And I wonder if the majority of people would notice because some people here do not seem to care.
Sara Pooley is a photography/art history major.
CATHERINE RIGOD (journalism) writes:
In Shanghai, one of the most interesting ways to get around the city is to travel by taxi. There are taxi stands strategically placed near intersections, hotels, and places of interest, and with one push of a button, cabs are supposed to respond to the call.
However, that would be in an ideal situation, and everyone knows that things never work like they’re supposed to. Cabs are incredibly cheap in Shanghai, starting between 11 and 14 RMB per fare (or about two dollars)—just as long as you can get one. Today it took us approximately 40 minutes to get a cabbie to pick us up. Demand outweighs supply here in Shanghai, leaving people lining up on the side of roadways just trying to get somewhere.
The general practice is as soon as a taxi pulls over to drop off a passenger you must immediately enter the cab before they finish paying in order to claim the ride. If you don’t act quickly, someone else will.
There are also other cabs available where you negotiate an agreed upon fare, but being that these taxis aren’t exactly legit, it’s a little risky to hope that you will actually get to your destination. I remember using these underground cabs in London, but since I have such a huge language barrier here in China, I think I better learn some patience and simply stick to the real cabbies for now.
Catherine Rigod is a senior in journalism.
HADLEY VOGEL (art history) writes:
When we are without the luxury of having Elena or Xhingyu translating for us, we all instinctively end up playing charades, waving our arms around and speaking louder. But after a few days of this approach, Sara and I discovered an English phrase that seemed to work very well when we were in a pinch without a phrase book.
The other night there were six of us trying to squeeze into a cab after dinner to go to a bar in an area we hadn’t been to before. We showed the driver an article in a magazine about the place we wanted to go to, and the cab driver appeared to understand. Unfortunately, not all six of us could fit into this cab and two of us had to take a different cab.
We hopped into the next cab we saw and frantically gestured to the cab in front of us and jokingly said, “Follow that cab!” It actually worked, and we successfully ended up at the shadiest bar in all of Shanghai. Needless to say it was an experience, and we danced to music we hadn’t heard since junior high, played pool, and I surprised myself by getting a few bull's eyes on the dartboard.
Getting dinner is also an interesting time to be without a translator. A couple of us ate at a restaurant around the corner from our motel and somehow ended up being seated with a Chinese woman named Terry who could speak English. After getting a few suspicious-looking dishes she had ordered for us, we regretted not ordering what she had.
So, in addition to “Follow that cab,” we have also added “We’ll have what they’re having” when out to dinner.
Hadley Vogel is a junior majoring in art history.
HANNAH ROVNER (visual arts management major) writes:
Before writing this blog I must provide a little disclaimer: I am so happy that I am on the J-term Shanghai trip. Shanghai is truly an amazing city and I am traveling with a great group of students and instructors.
But there is one thing that I must poke fun at, the gourmet breakfast served every single morning 7 to 9 at our motel, Motel 168.
This is not your standard continental breakfast fare. The breakfast itself is not actually located inside the motel but in small building adjacent to the construction site next door.
Each morning you grab a ticket at the front desk that must be presented to the sweaty cook before grabbing a plate. It’s amazing that he is able to sweat because the room is rather cold and the food, well, let’s just say it’s lukewarm at best.
The menu changes day to day, but rice gruel in a pot comes standard. It is a grayish-white porridge that a few people on the trip seem to enjoy. Then there is a selection of red bean paste rolls (my favorite), scallion pancakes (my roommate's favorite), sweet potatoes, and Hot Tang. Yes, I mean hot orange soda. I have yet to see anyone drink the hot tang, including the locals.
Even though we find the breakfast quite odd, since the rest of the food in Shanghai has been absolutely incredible, you will find my roommate and me faithfully each morning, chopsticks in hand, eating breakfast.
There is something about this single-star breakfast, and its little quirks, that is making this trip so much better and so much more unique.
Hannah Rovner is a senior in visual arts management.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film + video major) writes:
Today was practically a free day for everyone, since all the galleries that were planned were closed for different reasons. All that we had to do as a group was to get together and talk about the trip in general and our final projects. Once this was out of the way, we were free to do whatever we wanted.
The first thing that was on everyone’s mind was to get something to eat. We headed to a nearby restaurant and ordered a lot of family-style food. Everyone was surprised when the bill came out to be $2 per person, but no one complained. From here we had to battle for a taxi to head to our next destination.
After a long taxi ride due to traffic, we arrived once again at old Shanghai. It was pouring rain, but this didn’t stop anyone from getting the shopping they needed done. At one point someone was going to buy a watch from one man who was asking around, but after he tried to lead us down an alley to some dirty door to get to the watches, we quickly got out of there. After a short while of hunting for everything that I wanted to get my family and girlfriend, everyone met back up and we once again searched for a taxi.
To end the night, a group of people went out together to another bar. This turned out to be the most American bar yet, with everything from burgers to chicken tenders on the menu. After some pretty good food and a few beers everyone went back and got some sleep.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film + video department.
GEORGE NIENHUIS writes:
We began our day with a visit to the Shanghai Museum. Visiting the actual Shanghai Museum building was an experience in itself, as it was designed by architect Xing Tonghe, the chief architect of the 2010 World Expo, who we met earlier on in the trip. Having personally met the individual responsible for creating the building which we visited was a great experience, and something which we all appreciated.
As far as the actual exhibits of the museum, we began with a reasonably thorough tour of various artifacts from the ancient Chinese Dynasties, artifacts which dated as far back as the 20th century B.C. Many of these artifacts were food and drink vessels, and were representative of the artistic and cultural trends during the various time periods at which they were designed.
Following a quick lunch at another fabulous Chinese restaurant (I had the dumplings), we took the bus to the Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Pudong. While the bus ride was extremely long due to the traffic, the museum was well worth the trip. The Zendai Museum was not open to the public during our visit, and it was in between exhibitions, but we were still able to get a good idea of some of the art which the Zendai Museum displays.
During our visit, Zendai Museum was in the process of putting on a solo exhibition featuring work from (American) artist Julian Schnabel. I found Schnabel’s work to be quite interesting. The colors and shapes he uses have a way of creating playful yet meaningful images. My favorite painting by Schnabel was an image of a woman in front of a red background looking straight ahead. What interested me most about the painting was not the subject matter (although the subject matter remained interesting), but the approach which Schnabel took to creating the image. The entire image was compiled from several broken dinner plates covered in various colors of paint. As one might imagine, the texture of this painting was rather rough, yet it was this roughness in contrast to the smooth colors and soft expression of the woman which caused me to enjoy and appreciate the image as much as I did.
After having a chance to explore the Zendai Museum, and a meeting with one of the museum’s curators with regard to modern art in Shanghai and the history of the Zendai Museum, we took the bus to Bandu (a café near Bizart which often features live music) to hear a live musical performance. The performance was great, and featured a solo musician who specialized in playing a traditional Chinese instrument referred to as the “Guzheng.” The musician was extremely talented, and played both traditional and contemporary songs for us.
When the musical performance came to a close, the students and I went out to a night club at which Xhingyu (our tour guide) reserved us a table. Xhingyu really did us a favor by reserving us a table, as we received a sort of “VIP” treatment, and had a chance to meet with the owner of the club as well as various performers who provided the musical entertainment. I was especially happy about meeting renowned Chinese rapper, “Jin.” Jin has released a few hit singles in the United States, but is more popular in China than the U.S. He seemed really nice in person, and he performed a great show.
Overall, I really enjoyed our day in Shanghai. We started off with some interesting museum visits, and ended the day on a high note.
George Nienhuis is a sophomore in the film + video department.
TANYA ROBBINS (fiction writing major) writes:
Tongji University is one of the biggest universities in China, and today we went to the main campus to meet with Chinese students. The girl I spoke with the most called herself Paris because she wants to study French in Paris and is studying French currently through the school.
The school is for arts and communication, and she is majoring in news, or journalism as we would call it in the States. Her English was very good and we had fun talking about everything about life in Shanghai, from favorite bands and movies to what we want to do when we graduate. It was a great experience to be able to speak with someone one on one who is so culturally different from me. She was fascinating and we exchanged email addresses and hope to keep in contact. She wants me to send her some of my writing, and she is going to send me some of the articles that she’s written for the school newspaper. We had lunch with all the students, and she told me that apparently I can use chopsticks very well. (I was under the impression that I was not so great, so that was good to know.)
It was sad to leave, as I was having so much fun talking with her and getting to know both her and more about Shanghai from a Shanghainese person. After that, we left there and went to an animation studio.
Radiance is an animation studio that mainly puts out internet games, and they showed us the three main ones they are working on now, one of which is about volleyball, and they have spent a lot time working on how to get the women’s breasts to look just right. I’m not really a gamer so this wasn’t my forte, but it was rather interesting to find out all the work that goes into making a video game. The guy who runs the place, however, seemed a little sexist to me, saying that guys like to blow things up and women like to solve puzzles, which is why there aren’t many video games for women. I know that I certainly like to blow things up every once and a while. Overall, it was an interesting experience.
Then we finally went for massages! The massage hurt so badly in some parts, but felt phenomenal at the same time. They pressed so hard in all the sensitive spots, but they got out all the knots in my body, which definitely needed to be done. Now, when I got in there I was under the impression that we were getting shoulder and back massages, but it ended up being full body. I was definitely not complaining. This is the first professional massage I have ever had and boy was it good ... and not horribly expensive as this would be back home. However, right now I can feel the bruises forming along my shoulder blades. But it was so worth it.
After this we went to a giant DVD store called “Even Better Than Movie World” (Movie World is across the street from this store). They have really cheap DVDs and box sets of every TV show imaginable, but I decided not to get anything. I’m not a huge fan of watching movies, but it was still cool to see all the different box sets of things that I never knew were on DVD.
We had dinner at an Indian restaurant with Xing Yu and some of her friends and it was very tasty. I’ve never been to a specifically designated Indian restaurant before, so it was quite the experience. They had a drink called Mango Lichee, or something like that, which was really good and the perfect thing at the time. We had a variety of food, most of which was mildly spicy, just what I like. I took a cab home after that and now it’s time for bed.
We have a long day tomorrow. We're going to different museums and then to hear some Bandu music and then to a hip-hop club. Goodnight.
Tanya Robbins is a junior in the fiction writing department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film + video major) writes:
Today we did a vast array of different things, starting with a trip to the Shanghai Museum. The museum was huge and shaped to look like an ancient Bronze. The main hall of the museum a huge square, while above was a gigantic circular skylight. I thought it was very interesting when we were told that the reason for this was because in some Chinese beliefs the Earth is square while heaven is circular.
The first area of the museum that we looked at was the bronze section. There were many amazing pieces in this collection. I personally liked to see the contrast of how different animals were portrayed on bronze throughout different periods of Chinese history. On some pieces, many animals were even blended together to form a new creature. We also got to see one of the largest collections of bronze bells in this section as well. After this we were allowed to explore the rest of the museum. Everything was amazing, but if I talked about it all this would go on forever.
Next we took another long bus ride to the Zendai Museum in Pudong. Here we saw many different pieces of art that also took different forms. Some were normal paintings, some were cracked ceramic bowls that were painted and assembled to look like the artist's wife, and some were in a league of their own. On example of this kind of work would be the video of a naked woman who was covered with Braille dots. Then multiple blind men continued to feel them. I am not sure what the deeper meaning of this was, but it was definitely interesting.
Also while at the museum, we got the chance to hear from a museum head, Biliana Ciric. From her, we got to hear many different things on many different subjects. The most interesting, however, was her talk about the censorship of art in Shanghai. We were told that sometimes paintings were just taken with nothing left but a note. I did not know that censorship was this severe in some cases, but I guess it can get far worse than this.
After dinner, we got the privilege of attending a private concert. We heard the playing of a Gu-Zheng, which was an amazing opportunity. The music was beautiful and the musician was incredibly skilled. I felt very lucky to be able to attend this and it instantly became one of my favorite parts of the trip.
To finish the night off, everyone went out to a nightclub that our guide Shin Yu got us into. Bacardi sponsored it and we even got our own private table. The party was insane and had everything from people dancing in full glow suits to people appearing out of lights. It was awesome and everyone got a chance to have good time and just relax with each other. By the time we left the party everyone desperately needed sleep and headed straight for a bed.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film + video department.
KAAREN FEHSENFELD (cultural studies) writes:
Even in doing seemingly simple things here the language barrier has been really hard to cross.
A few nights ago, for example, I wanted to have some laundry done. I called the laundry line with a dictionary in my hand, ready to say the word "xiyi" (to launder). Of course, the conversation would invariably be more complicated: What is your room number? What type of laundry service? When do you need your things back? These questions may or may not have come up during our "conversation"; I can't tell you what exactly was said, and I definitely did not have any answers for the clerk. I just kept saying "xiyi" and my room number in English. Eventually I got so embarrassed and flustered that I said "goodbye," "thank you," and hung up the phone. I sat there kind of defeated. I supposed I just wasn't going to get my laundry done after all.
A few minutes later, though, the laundry clerk knocked on our door. She must have had my room number on some type of caller ID! Among many "xie xie's" on my part, I did an inventory of my things and she took them downstairs. A few minutes after she left, however, I remembered that I didn't write down one pair of pants on the inventory. I didn't want anything to get lost, so I ventured downstairs to the front desk, knowing that while I spoke no Mandarin and that my dictionary could only get me so far, I had to try.
I pointed to the characters for "forgot," "write," "one," and "pants," It was totally out of context and the clerk had no idea what I was talking about. I pointed to the character for "launder." I also pointed to the character for "sorry." My inability to communicate was, after all, getting pretty ridiculous. After a fair amount of quizzical looks and some confused laughs, the front clerk called the laundry clerk to the desk. I was able to explain my predicament to the laundry clerk and went upstairs, satisfied to finally be finished with the whole thing and glad that, in the end, the communication barrier wouldn't result in me losing a pair of pants.
We went out to dinner that night, and coming home satisfied and full, we walked back into our rooms, ready to pass out. I stepped around my bed to get to my suitcase, and then I saw them: The pants!
The pants ... I had not—in spite of my strenuous conversation (or, rather, my exercise in pointing to characters) to make sure that they were marked on the laundry inventory—given them to the laundry clerk in the first place. Instead, here they were, right in front of me. "It figures," I said to myself. I washed them in the sink.
Kaaren Fehsenfeld is a junior cultural studies major.
NICK FORRISTALL (audio arts & acoustics major) writes:
We've been to around four gardens so far. These gardens are traditional Chinese gardens as they might have been in the days of Confucius. The gardens were created as a place for intellectuals to wander and think. It's no wonder why; they are completely serene and I can think of no emotion which comes from them other than contentment and complacency.
The first photo is taken at The Humble Administrator's Garden, which is located in a smaller city about an hour's drive from Shanghai. This garden was phenomenally beautiful- with rock formations, water, grasses, and trees; it was impossible to deny its beauty.
This photo is taken of a view from across a pond. I had become burnt-out on gardens in general...we had been to a lot that day. But after taking a look again, I realized that the garden view looked fake. The formations, the foliage, and lake...it all looked like a mini-golf course. I say mini-golf course in the sense of a place my family took me to in the fifth grade. The course was called Pirates Cove, and the whole place had fake rocks, rock speakers, and green plastic carpets. This is what the garden looked like.
The second thought I had compares to the first time I saw Stanley Krubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I have since faded in my interest in the film, but nevertheless: I thought the backdrops were the most crazy thing I had seen ever. They looked real-they were perfect-but most were made in a studio, specifically for the film, and then discarded. This view was backdrop material for something phenomenal.
We're all having a good time, and seeing a lot of stunning, sometimes even shocking things.
Nick Forristall is a junior in the audio arts & acoustics department.
TANYA ROBBINS (fiction writing major) writes:
This morning we woke up at 5:00 a.m. to go see the exercises in the park. It was mostly older men and women, doing dance and Tai Chi to music. It was really interesting to watch their form of exercise, as it’s so different from America. There were a ton of cats in the park, too, and a cat lady who was feeding them some type of block-like food. I can say that I successfully did use the squatting toilet today, and it's not as bad as I imagined. In fact, I used them twice. After the park we took a two-hour bus ride to Suzhou, a town much older than Shanghai, where many intellectuals studied.
The first stop we made was the New Suzhou Museum built by I. M. Pei. The design of the building, the shapes inside, the use of wood and other materials, are all traditional Chinese designs, but Pei transformed them to be more modern. In the center of the museum, outside is a lake with stone bridges going across it and a beautiful green and rocky landscape. There were some koi fish, but not as many as I expected. The exhibits were interesting, featuring old jade and bronzes, some scrolls, and other ancient Chinese artifacts. There was one that was a Ming study room where intellectuals during the Ming dynasty went to study and students went to learn. The museum is a lot smaller on the inside than it looks from the outside, and I think the architecture is the more intriguing part about it.
After, we went to a large garden where you could get lost for hours. It was beautiful and tranquil, and if it wasn’t so cold out, it would have been a nice place to sit and write, but it was freezing! There was a bonsai tree museum in the garden which was really neat to look at. All the trees were contorted and shaped and mingled together. Some of the trees in there were 100 years old.
We had lunch at a Muslim restaurant which was really good. I ate a lot of lamb, which isn’t my favorite thing, but there it wasn’t as tough as it usually is. There was also great rice and noodles, spicy chicken and potatoes, and bread that I could eat all day.
We went to a smaller garden after lunch that was quaint and serene. I climbed up on top of one of the rock caves and just sat there for a while looking around and thinking. It was really peaceful and the perfect place for Chinese intellectuals to go.
Then we went to the silk factory where we got to the see the process of making silk. The tour showed us how they clean the cocoons and wash the silk, and then stretch it to make quilts and other things. They explained to us that if there is one worm in a cocoon they can use the silk to make anything, but if there are two, making it a double cocoon, it can only be used to make quilts. We got to stretch some of the silk ourselves and feel how soft it is. Apparently, the silk is high in protein, so all the workers at the factory have really soft hands, and the only way to wash the silk is with shampoo like you could use on your hair, because that is also protein. After the tour we went into the silk shop where I bought a beautiful mauve long silk robe. I’ve wanted one for a long time, so I figured why not now. They are much less expensive in China than they are in the States anyhow, and getting it at the silk factory where they make it also ensures that I’m purchasing real silk.
The bus ride back to Shanghai took another two hours and we watched the sun set on the way. For dinner we went to a vegetarian restaurant attached to the Buddhist temple we had been to previously. We had won ton soup and some sort of coconut dessert which was pretty tasty. The Chinese idea of dessert, once again, is much different than in the States. After dinner we came back to Motel 168 where I’m typing this. But, I think it’s time for an early sleep. Tomorrow we’re going to school to talk with some students and later we get MASSSAGES! I can’t wait.
Tanya Robbins is a junior in the fiction writing department.
RACHEL CORSINI (fiction writing major) writes:
The Glamour Bar on The Bund is one of the more chi-chi places in Shanghai, where cocktails cost just as much as in the States. Through the windows is the perfect view of Pudong, with the pearl tower’s flashing lights glittering through the snow.
I sat quite comfortably on a plush couch and sipped slowly from my martini glass, looking at the rose-colored haze above the bar. The group of us had been there for quite some time and we decided to take our business elsewhere, more specifically to a cheaper spot. I had no problem with that, but Hannah, my redheaded bubbly roommate, had no clue how to get to The Captain’s Bar on Fuzhou Road and either did anybody else. I was elected by the crew to ask for directions from the myriad of ex-pats who were tucked away on the couches and corners of the bar.
So off I went into the world of the Shanghai ex-pats, more specifically the two guys sitting next to us.
“Excuse me, do you speak English?” I asked politely. Don’t laugh, I was very polite which is highly unusual for me and takes quite some thought.
“I would think so.” He spoke in his arrogant French way, setting his beer down on the table in front of him, reclining back onto the couch. Great. Leave it to me to get an arrogant Frenchman. He already hated me from the second I opened my stupid American mouth.
“Right.” I halfway rolled my eyes, “Do you know where Fuzhou Road is?”
“What road?”
This exchange continued on like this, “Fuzhou Road?” “What road?” “Fuzhou Road?” Again and again, until finally he decided to tell me the proper pronunciation which I still can’t say.
“No, I don’t.” Wonderful. I turned my head over my shoulder to see where the rest of the group had gone, only to discover I was left to my own devices. I just prayed they hadn’t gotten in the elevator and left me to the wolves.
“Okay.” Immediately I turned to flee the scene and reconnect with people who didn’t actually hate me, but was stopped.
“Where are you from?” I wanted him to be smoking a cigarette and wearing a beret but he wasn’t, which still disappoints me even now.
“America.”
“Obviously.” Alright I had to give him that one, it was a stupid answer. “Where?”
“New York.” I answered with my thick borough accent and a smirk on my lips.
“Where in New York?”
“Queens.” I had no idea why this guy was asking me this. There was no way he was going to know Queens, let alone where I live. No one knows Queens unless you live there and never decide to leave like every single one of my friends, but that’s a different story.
“Where in Queens?” Okay now this was getting a little old.
“Maspeth.”
“I do not know where that is, but I know Astoria and Forest Hills.”
“Really? I live like ten minutes from there.” I actually smiled at him. “Me and my girls hang out in Astoria all the time.” He nodded a curt nod.
“I lived in New York for five years. Great city.” His tone was genuine. Evidently since I’m a New Yorker it was OK that I existed in the world. It might have even been OK that I was American just because I’m a New Yorker. Who knows, but he stopped being rude. We chatted a bit more; I gave a final thank you and with no directions to Fuzhou Road returned to my friends with a bigger ego then before I left them. I had the seal of approval from an arrogant Frenchman because I’m a New Yorker.
Rachel Corsini is a junior in the fiction writing department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film + video major) writes:
Today we got the chance to talk to Chinese students who are studying in our same fields at Tongji University. Even though I didn’t think this would go too smoothly with the language barrier, everything was awesome. I met two students in particular that I talked with for almost the entire time. Since everyone was unable to pronounce the students' actual names, they told us their “American” names. The two students, Austin and Dura, were incredibly nice and very excited that we were there. Even though we couldn’t leave, Austin wanted to go to his dorm room with a few others and myself to show us some of his animation work. I will definitely remember this for a long time and I hope to keep in contact with the students through email.
Also while at the university, I got the chance to watch a few short normal and animation films. Even though the normal films were good, the animation was really good. I was very happy to get the chance to see what film students were learning in China compared to in America. After lunch we left the school.
After a while of driving, we arrived at Radiance Studios. Since I actually play video games, this was very interesting for me. We got the chance to walk around the studio and actually look at what the programmers were working on. After that, we got to hear from the owner of the studio, who told us a lot of different things about the video-game industry. I know I’m here to view and learn about actual contemporary art at different galleries, but the visit to Radiance was one of the most interesting things I have done yet.
Once our day of learning was over, we got some free time. Almost everyone went to get a massage. This was great and it was also a nice break from all the walking in the freezing cold we had been doing throughout the week. From here everyone went to a DVD store. Even though all the DVDs were most likely pirated, they were sold packaged like any other DVD in America. I ended up getting eight movies and two TV series for the equivalent of $30. By this time it was late and everyone headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film + video department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film & video major) writes:
Today we had to wake up very early, and after spending all previous days doing a lot of walking, it was hard. The first thing that we did was go to a very big garden where many people from the city go to exercise in the morning. Going into the garden I couldn’t have even began to imagine how many people would actually be doing their morning routines. The place was massive and there were people everywhere you looked. A group of elderly women danced in sync with music, a group of people swung their arms violently to the beat of music, and others moved very slowly while practicing Tai Chi. By far the most interesting form of morning workout, however, was the old man I saw practice fighting with a sword. He was not young, but he was still able to jump and spin in the air while keeping great control over his blade.
While here, we were told that people do this every morning because it is said to help prolong life and is very good for the body. I was skeptical to believe that these basic exercises could do this until I met a 92-year-old man who walked around and acted as if he were 20. He told our group that two minutes of small squats per day would grant us these abilities as well. After seeing all this, we headed out on a two-hour drive to our next destination in Suzhou.
Once we got to the I.M. Pei Museum, we got to see something completely new. The entire building was a mix of old garden tradition with modern architecture. It was incredibly clean in and around the museum and all the works it held inside were amazing. After this, however, we visited The Humble Administrator’s Garden, which was the traditional style of gardens. Here we saw everything from incredibly old Bonsai trees to caves that multiple people could walk through. It was a huge and beautiful place.
After this we visited a few smaller gardens, then got a chance to eat. The restaurant we went to has Muslim cuisine. In my opinion, this was by far the best place we have gone to eat throughout the entire trip. Everything tasted amazing, and it was the first time that I stuffed myself past the point of being full.
Our last place to visit before we drove back to Shanghai was a silk factory. Here we learned the entire process of making silk clothing and quilts. Even though this was all a strategy to sell us silk, it was still very interesting. After the tour, we got back on the bus and took the long ride back, ate one last time, and headed for the hotel. By this time everyone was so exhausted that we all went straight back to our rooms instead of going out on the town. Hopefully tomorrow everyone will have more energy.
Josh Sniegowski is a sopohmore in the film/video department.
CATHERINE RIGOD (journalism major) writes:
First off, let me begin by explaining that in Shanghai the person-per-pavement ratio is pretty unbalanced. The city streets are filled with cars, trucks, vans, mopeds, bicycles, small animals ... and let’s not forget people. And if there was a pecking order to all this chaos, the king of the urban jungle would have to be the bicycle.
While Shanghai has definitely acknowledged its dense population by creating separate bike lanes to be shared by mopeds and bicycles alike, maneuvering through this city has never felt more like a video game to me than now. So it’s no surprise that in the reality version of a game on the Nintendo Wii system my number-one arch nemesis has got to be the bicycle.
I myself am a cyclist back home and I have a lot of friends who are even working as bike messengers, so you would think that I would be really excited to see all the cyclists working and getting around Shanghai. However, in reality here, I'm more inclined to see them as a possible cause of an early death than to rally them on in some sort of international sports camaraderie.
If I could cash in the number of times that I have almost been taken out here by a bicycle I might just run out and buy a villa. Cyclists in Shanghai apparently have places to be that are more important than the rest of us, because their bicycles just don’t stop. Period. They don’t yield to pedestrians, obey traffic lights, or back down when a truck is coming full-speed toward them. Now, the bikes here aren’t terribly fast, and I’ve seen one road bike in the entire time I’ve been here. The majority of bikes are old rusty cruisers or mountain bikes whose riders seem to never switch gears or raise their seats to their correct heights.
But bikes here are not a luxury item; they’re not for a weekend hobby and not for the kids to have fun and joy ride around the block with. Bikes here are a mode of transportation, and like it or not in China, they’re going to be around en mass. And when it gets down to it, that’s fine with me. I just wish I could stop and appreciate it all instead of having to play a game of personal Frogger every day.
Catherine Rigod is a senior in the journalism department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film & video major) writes:
Today we spent almost all of our time wandering around the general area of the Bizart offices. We stopped at a huge number of different galleries. Even though I would like to cover them all individually, I am only going to speak of the things I found most interesting.
After a bit of walking through different galleries, I saw all kinds of things that caught my eye. For a while I got the chance to mess around with actual remote-control exercise machines. The point of this exhibit was to make a comment on how most people today are operating like machines, doing repetitive tasks. No matter what it was saying, though, it was really fun. At the same gallery, I also got the chance to see a piece of art made completely by silk worms.
At another gallery, we got a chance to meet the main artist. His students' and his own paintings all seemed to have to do with the city of Shanghai itself. The painting I liked the most here was one that from afar looked to be a traditional painting of Chinese mountains, but once you got close, you realized that the mountains were composed of all modern-day things like buildings and cars. So far, this has been one of my favorite pieces that I have seen.
Some other pieces of art that blew my mind included a huge statue of an elderly Chinese man, pictures of soldiers running through a battlefield trying to reach a microphone, and a huge group of men in a battle in what appeared to be hell. These paintings and statues were beautiful and also made one think a lot about what you were seeing. Even though I saw a lot more than this, I saw so many pieces of art that caught my eye individually that I found it hard to remember the rest.
With the rest of my free time throughout the day, I got a chance to go to some general stores. One of the stores was huge and resembled something like a Wal-Mart back in the States. They sold anything you could need. After that, I ate a great dinner of steak and an egg, which comes with almost every meal you eat in Shanghai. By the time I got back to my room, I was very tired.
Josh Sniegowski is a sopohmore in the film/video department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film and video major) writes:
We started this day by walking back to the Bizart gallery. Here we got the chance to learn a lot of new things about the past and present of art in Shanghai. We had previously read about them, but we heard more about the Stars movement, which held one of the first exhibits to be closed by authorities. We also heard about the movement from painting to other styles of art in the '90s. In 2000 the Chinese government finally allowed contemporary art into a sanctioned exhibition space.
From all the pieces that I got to see while at Bizart, there were a few that stood out over the rest to me. I do not recall the artists’ names, but their artwork will stick with me. In one, a man tried to sell knowledge in a jar. What was actually in the jar, though, was ground up human brain. Another thing being sold was sausages, but next to the sausages was a disgusting video of them being made. Needless to say, not many looked to have sold. The other two pieces that stood out were completely different from the first two pieces of artwork I mentioned. In one, a man’s arm came through the ceiling and he held a chandelier. Once he could not bear the weight any longer, he dropped the light and it shattered on the floor. In the other one that I liked, an entire room was slowly tilted upward until everything inside of it slid out. I’m not sure what these pieces of artwork were trying to comment on in society, but they definitely will stick with me.
After a nice lunch followed by short talks from some of the heads of Bizart, we were off to the next gallery. The next one we stopped at, Made in Shanghai, included multiple pieces of art which were made within LED lights. This was a school, which I found incredibly interesting, that tried to bring young artists into the main contemporary scene of Shanghai. The main work that stood out to me here was a drummer video that was superimposed onto an actual drum set.
After this we made one more stop at a gallery that contained old-style ink-based paintings. Even though this was more like the art I have been used too, it was a good break from the experimental art we had been seeing for the last couple of days. The pictures were all beautiful, especially the ones that the curator himself painted, which included black-and-white paintings of traffic. After that we ate dinner and were done with the day together as a class.
Later at night, a few classmates and I went out to the New York Bar as a joke to see what it was like. The only thing that made it seem even somewhat American was the fact that it was playing old pop songs like Will Smith’s "Miami." It turned out to be an incredibly fun time though, as some played pool while others danced on the little dance floor. Once again the day was fun and I couldn’t wait to see what we were doing on the next day.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film/video department.
NICK FORRISTALL writes:
This trip has been exactly what I have just called it: a trip. Shanghai is a much, much different city than Chicago, which is of course to be expected. But the two don't even compare. Here, you have some of the most ornate, eccentric skyscrapers just two or three blocks from truly poor people selling cigarettes and old scarves out of their homes, which open onto the street. It's a eclectic blend of fish guts, smog, bricklayers, rice, and so much more.
Yesterday we went to Bizart, which is our hosting art group here. Our friends there told us a lot about the art scene in China, which was quite interesting with the dueling powers of poor/rich, eastern ideals/western ideals (which are quickly melding here).
The thing that is find most interesting about Chinese art is the fact that until around 1979, there was no such thing as the "creative, free art" which we know today. It was mostly Mao Propaganda. In '79, everything came together, and the art which people in China had been missing out on came flooding in. This created a new wave of very fast, quick-handed growth in the art world, and soon enough, as expected, the Chinese artists came into experimentalism.
The most interesting "gallery" of note (to me) is Art for Sale, an event which happened in 1999. At this event, people interested were invited into a real supermarket, where on the shelves they viewed and were able to buy many funny/ironic/random things which the artist(s) had designed for the event. Items of interest included many things: small paintings in a pile of oranges, etc. There was also an area for installations, performances, and videos.
Soon enough, after about four days or so (I think), the government came in and shut it down. This was the most shocking to me. The items being shown, and the art being streamed, was apparently too "pornographic" and "borderline disrespectful."
It's a very interesting place and very interesting time to be in Shanghai. I am loving every minute of it.
Nick Forristall is a junior in the audio arts and acoustics department.
TANYA ROBBINS (fiction writing major) writes:
This morning started out at the French Concession section of Shanghai at a Starbucks (the most American thing we could have possibly done!). We went to a small village-like area called Xian Tian Di, or New Heaven. All the original buildings from Old Shanghai are still there and we got to look inside a few of them. They are very small and cramped and sometimes the owners of shops live directly behind them. We walked around and saw a lot of shops and different food markets as we walked to catch our bus to go to get some lunch.
We got fried pork dumplings, which were pretty tasty. Now, I'm not a fan of pork, so I mostly took out the pork, but I did give it a try first. The soupy juice inside of the fried dough was very good. After consumption, we went to the Urban Planning Museum and saw a mini replica of the city of Shanghai, at least what's in the inner circle, anyhow. I think at least three or four Manhattans could fit inside of Shanghai. It's huge! You could see where the older parts are because the buildings are shorter and cramped together as where in the newer parts there are many skyscrapers and architecturally unique buildings. After that, we went to meet up with the head of the biggest and most important architectural group in Shanghai.
How many people in the world can say that they have met the architect of the major buildings in Shanghai and the head architect of the 2010 Shanghai World's Fair? I can. Xiang Tonghe of Xian Dai Architecture is a very prestigious man who made us all feel very welcome today when we went to his business to hear a lecture on the concepts for the future of Shanghai and the World's Fair. We went into a board room with the fancy leather chairs and big rectangular table. We were served traditional Chinese candy, bananas, dragon's eyes, oranges, and water. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but then again I don't really know what I was expecting, anyhow.
The theme for the 2010 World's Fair is "Better City, Better Life." It is going to run from May to October, which is about six months, and an expected total of 17 million people are expected to attend, roughly 400,000 per day. It is being held on either side of the Huangpu River, and that site was chosen because some students from all over the world gave proposals for it and it seemed like the best place to have it.
The expo is 5.28 square kilometers, and many of the old buildings that are in that area have been renovated to accommodate new facilities for the expo. Some buildings were demolished to make space and some new buildings have been designed as well, including new buildings for each country's portion of the expo. Some countries create their own concepts for design and some use buildings that have already been created.
Guess who has yet to submit their design for the fair? The United States, of course! Only about one third of the buildings from the fair will remain after it is over. The theme and China Pavilions, International Conference Center, and Art Performing Center are a few of the buildings that will stay. There are 1,800 seats in the Art Performing Center, and it is the hub for all art performances.
We learned also about some new skyscrapers that are going to be built in the future. A 492-meter-high one and a 580-meter one are just two of the many that Mr. Xiang showed us, along with a very interesting statistic. Apparently, before 1949, when communism was created, there were about only 100 houses with more than eight floors, and as of 2005, there were more than 10,034.
The weather has been a bit chilly and very cloudy. It was sprinkling a lot today and the woman who is basically our tour guide told us that it is much smoggier than usual.
The Chinese don't seem to use a lot of toilet paper, because there is barely any on the roll in our hotel room, and in the bathrooms there is very little if any at all. And mind you, in Shanghai there are two different types of toilets, the sitting, normal kind that we Westerners know, and then the kind where you simply squat over what looks like a urinal in the floor. I have yet to try to second option, and hope to avoid it as long as possible.
What I've really noticed about Shanghai, since we've been traveling a lot by foot and by bus, is that people will simply walk out in front of cars, and that also cars do not stop, almost ever. They would just as soon run you over than stop to let you cross the street. There are tons of bicycles and mopeds, and they don't stop, either, so you really have to watch what you are doing and where you are going at all times. The drivers here are crazy as well; they cut you off so often and drive really close to your vehicle. It gives a whole new expression to driving offensively and defensively. Here doing both are a must.
It is definitely a different experience being an American here in China. We get stared at constantly. People will stop walking or biking just to watch us walk by. It's like they've never seen white people or Americans before, like were from outer space or something, it's really awkward. I don't really understand it, I guess, and try to ignore it as much as possible.
For dinner we went to a hot-pot place, where there are two big vats of boiling soup in the center of the table and you get raw meat and vegetables to cook inside of them. Personally, I didn't really like anything that was ordered or the taste of the soup, but I really liked the concept of it. We all had a fun time eating and laughing and trying new foods and duck's blood and tarp.
We walked back from the restaurant to Motel 168 where I sit now, freezing at my computer and trying to figure out why the internet doesn't work. I think I'm going to go cuddle up in the nice hard bed with a blanket and read some of the book I brought with me. Goodnight.
Tanya Robbins is a junior in the fiction writing department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film and video major) writes:
This was the first day that we did not have an extremely full day of activities already planned. We did wake up as early as always, however, and head out for what we had planned. Our first stop was the Jade Buddha Temple.
After walking for a while, we reached our destination. This temple is one of the few remaining Buddhist temples in Shanghai, and it is very impressive. One of the first things that I noticed when I entered was that people were doing the same rituals as in the Taoist temples with the smoking sticks. I was told that many rituals were shared by multiple religions in China. While here we were also given the opportunity of seeing the Jade Buddha. This was amazing and the statue was beautiful. I will remember seeing it for the rest of my life. Also while at this temple, I got the chance to see a man who painted intricate landscapes using only his hands. The pictures were beautiful, as was the entire temple.
Once we were done walking around the temple, our group got the opportunity to see a traditional tea ceremony. This blew my mind, as they mixed different herbal teas, meant for specific purposes right in front of me. I don’t like tea that much, but the tea here was very good and I was glad to take part in the ceremony. After this, we were all allowed some much-needed free time.
The first thing everyone thought to do with their free time was to get some rest. The jet lag was still getting to people at night, and a short time to just sit was exactly what everyone needed. Nobody sat for long, however, as everyone almost instantly wanted to go out and explore Shanghai on their own. A small group of people and I decided to go out and get a meal of our choosing. After eating some skewers of steak, we got a huge meal for extremely cheap. The food was prepared in front of us and again everything was very good.
After this I planned on going out with everyone again, but as soon as I sat down for a few minutes I fell asleep. The remaining jet lag, mixed with the amounts of walking we had been doing, put me out instantly. My day was cut short here, but the sleep helped a lot for the next.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film/video department.
George Nienhuis (film + video) writes:
We began our day by visiting the Yu Gardens, a Taoist temple, and a marketplace. The market, however, was not the average Shanghainese market where produce goods are sold alongside fish and meats; this market was an insect market! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Crickets were sold alongside grasshoppers, and goldfish were sold alongside rabbits and hens.
All sorts of insects and animals were up for sale in this dilapidated-warehouse-based market. By the time we visited the insect market, the sun had already set on Shanghai, and the only light illuminating the bazaar came from a combination of sparsely scattered, green-tinted fluorescents and blue moonlight, which seeped through gaps in the plywood and aluminum-panel roof. There were potholes in the dark, cold concrete flooring, and collapsible tables scattered about as makeshift kiosks throughout the warehouse.
I have been working on gathering footage for a video piece, which I am planning to prepare as a final project for this class, and the insect marketplace provided what I felt to be an ideal setting for the acquisition of interesting and even bizarre visuals.
After the insect market, our group walked across the street to another market, which was nearly equally interesting. This market was referred to as the “antique market,” which was outdoors, and similar in ambiance to the insect market. The antique market specialized in selling various ornaments and trinkets; it could be described as a Shanghainese flea market.
While at the antique market, Sean Dunder, one of my fellow classmates along with me in Shanghai, noticed a Chinese fighter-pilot helmet of Soviet stylistic resemblance up for sale. Sean found the unwieldy green helmet so fascinating that he began bargaining with the seller of the helmet as a means to get the price of the item within his affordable boundaries, which are rather low. After giving various disgusted facial expressions in response to the numerous unaffordable asking prices of the seller, Sean was able to get the price of the helmet within his range of spending, and purchased the item.
Mere minutes after his purchase, it became apparent that Sean’s decision to acquire the fighter-pilot helmet was the best choice any Westerner could have made in the Far East. When Sean placed the helmet on his head for the first time, he became an instant star in the city of Shanghai. People flocked from all directions to catch a glimpse of the most amazing person to visit Shanghai since Yo-Yo Ma commenced his latest world tour in October of 2007. Cameras were flashing, wives were leaving their husbands, people were cheering, and some even burst into tears of joy.
A few days back, I sat next to Sean on the bus which picked us up from the airport, at which point his hand accidentally touched my jacket. I told this to the man standing next to me, and he viciously attempted to tear the jacket away from my back. I personally did not care, as I was in ecstasy that such a highly coveted figure as Sean actually knew my name. A large swarming crowd of Shanghailanders soon formed around Sean. People were pushing and shoving just to catch a glimpse of the man; it was pandemonium. Yet in the center of all this madness, Sean remained calm. Little did I know some quite irregular was soon to happen.
As the crowd’s anticipation grew with ferocity, Sean raised his arms toward the heavens, and for a split second, the dark, polluted sky of Shanghai parted at its middle, and the most wonderful ray of golden sunlight seeped through the opaque clouds and kissed Sean on his forehead (which was actually the top of the helmet). A smile appeared on Sean’s face, and on the face of each and every Shanghailander. At that very moment, traffic in the streets came to a halt, birds in the trees began to sing with joy, a taxi driver helped a cyclist off the pavement, dogs and cats embraced, and the people of Shanghai started to rejoice in song. The song they sang was by great Shanghai native Cah Mun, a song entitled “The Food” (a rough translation of course). It is a song which embodies life. A song which identifies life as a struggle, but a beautiful struggle nonetheless. More appropriately, it is a song which embodies the existence of Sean and his helmet.
After all that jazz, we got some really great dinner and went back to the hotel.
George Nienhuis is a sophomore in the film & video department.
JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film and video major) writes:
Once again, we had to wake up at what seemed to be a very early time due to everyone’s jet lag. Once everyone was ready, we headed out to a Catholic church. This was extremely interesting because I have never seen a statue of Jesus with Chinese characters surrounding it. The entire church was beautiful, and even though I don’t think this trip was planned, I was glad we went here.
Next we went to Old Shanghai, where we first visited a Taoist temple containing the city god. Here, I got to see multiple statues representing different gods and even see rituals of those people within the religion. People held sticks, which were lit on fire in order to create smoke. The reason for this is because the belief is that smoke carries things such as prayers up into the afterlife. Others also did things such as burn special money made for the deceased. I had never heard or seen anything like this and I was very excited to see it all.
In the same area, we left the temple and entered the shopping areas of Old Shanghai. Before we went shopping, however, we went into the Yu Gardens. This was once again beautiful, as we saw gardens that resembled those shown in movies having to do with traditional China. After the gardens we were allowed to shop all throughout Old Shanghai.
While shopping, I got my first chance to barter with a salesman in Shanghai. People may think this is easy, but I assure you that this takes a great amount of skill. Once I bought what I had wanted at a much lower price than originally given, I walked away thinking to myself that I could have gotten the price down further. It felt almost as if I was gambling and I wanted to go out and “save” more money.
After shopping for a while, everyone went out to eat in a group. We had the VIP treatment as we were led up into a room where we ate alone at a huge table. Again, the food was delicious as I tried the many different tastes of dim sum. After this we got lost for a bit, but this led us to many different interesting places. I saw street vendors selling huge fish and full ducks. As we continued to walk we also got the chance to visit another temple, which once again was very interesting. We didn’t get a chance to see it, but we were told that an entire paper house was going to be burnt in order to send it to someone who had passed away. This was a surprise stop, but the next stop was what I thought to be the most exciting of all.
After the temple, we stopped at the bird and insect market. Crickets, birds, turtles, cats, and dogs were being sold as pets. The most surprising of all of these were the crickets. They ranged from being very small to being as big as your finger. I got the opportunity to see the buying of a cricket, which seemed more like an underground dealing of illegal goods. I thought the lucky crickets were awesome, but unfortunately these bugs could not be brought back to the States and therefore not bought by anyone in the group.
Finally, everyone went out to eat together once again as a group. The restaurant was very fancy and the food very good. I finally got the chance to try the Peking Duck, which was much harder to eat that I had imagined due to all the bone left in the meat. My favorite part of the meal, though, was the ground duck meat and vegetables, which were put into a lettuce wrap then dipped in sauce and eaten. It was VERY
