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.
