Madeleine´s adventure in China (Shanghai)

This picture is kind of published due to a internal "thing" beween me an my lovely mum back home in Sweden. here you go Mum, this is my scorpion. How does your look like?

Since I am a person that see opportunities in everything, I like to maximize my time. During my time in China I have not been burden with to much f studying. It is only during two weeks (this one and the next one), that I have a lot to do. Otherwise, I will be done 11 of November since I choosed the "right" courses and speed up my paper writings. And, therefore, I have two weeks to do whatever I want to do. Since I have travelled a lot in China, my new destination point is Thailand. I know that I will suffer economical during spring next year, but who knows if I ever again will have two weeks just doing nothing again. I realize that my life as a student might end soon and the "real life" will start nect year.....so I am going to Thailand, two weeks in November. As it looks now I am going on my own. Off course I would have loved to have someone to travel with, but it dosent stop from going. I am flying to Bangkok. The question is: where in Thailand should I go? Hm? Hard decision. I serached for a bikini, and actually find it. I guess it was ment to be, me going to Thailand. Why did I otherwise packed my biking when I left fr China i August? Thailand, here I come!

I wasn´t to excited to be in the city today. My plan was to go to Starbucks for some studying, using their WiFi. Either the first Starbukcs had access to internet, nor the second. The third was so crowded so I gave up. Screw the planned study session today. Crap. My plan was (still is I guess), to go to the last day of EXPO tomorrow. I just have to find time for it. Maybe half day essay writing and haf day EXPO? I will figure it out. But today.....the picture I took says it all: just to much people everywhere!

I have a confession to make. My healthy lifesyle is totally waisted over here. No exercising, no salad, bad sleep. The only thing I still not do is drinking alcohol. I have many excuses but that dosent help. My stress level and patience is not good over here in Asia. I know it from before but still make the misstake: whitout exercising, Madde dosent work as she should. So....I went for a run this morning ( AMAZING CRAZY AWSOME ), a good start on my way back to my normal "me". But, when I was walking in the city,  at the very crowded Nanjing road, my blodsugar reached the bottom in one second. I ended up at KFC......and I more or less justs pointed at some pictuers in order to get food as soon as I could. The picture says it all....yeah, good Madde, your healthy lifetyle need some commitment. Tomorrow, yes,tomorrow is another day. I had at least IFROM magazine in my bag! I read about how to make it to the half marathon. My plan was to run "Göteborgsvarvet" in May, but I missed the deadline. I guess I just have to find another competition to sign up for. We will see. On monday, a run is allready scheduled. Will do my best to get back on track during November. Wish me good luck!

I got a new haircut today. It was both a fun and a hard experience for me. Letting someone that dosent understand me to cut my hair scared me to death. The result is ok, but not really what I wanted. At least, I have fresh hair now. But the best thing about it was the massage I got as added value for shampooing my hair. In total I paid 20 RMB; kind of ridiculous cheap.

And the funniest this week: every chineese I meet when I walk in the stores outside campus wants to become my friend. Kind of nice, to bad for me that I don´t speak any chineese! What makes me a little bit angry sometimes is that the chinese people, they do know english but pretend not to because they are so scared for doing misstakes. Give it a shot people! You can if you want!

My lovley, read bicycle died yesterday. The pedals and the brakes broke down. I dont feel for doing a reperation since I only have a few weeks left here in Shanghai as it looks now. I dont use it that much, so walking will be my substituion for transportation to class this ending time period. Just to bad for "him"...I thought he was very cute!

I. Miss. You.

If you are at Disney you should behave as a child to fit in.....so we did. Did we succed? I think so!

On Friday we went to Disenyworld in Hong Kong. Spontaneous we took the decision late thursday night. I was still sick so I left allready six at night. But the six hours I spent in the park gave me so much energy. Disney characters, music and shows. Winnie, Kalle, Mimmi, Zimba, Blunder....yeah, all my favorites! I just want to go back now. I guess I have to get a child, and then I have a good reson to go back. Maybe next time in France (since I allready been in Orlandos park). We will see. Anyhow, I had a great day!

At 11 a.m., Severe Typhoon Megi was estimated to be about 450 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong (near 19.6 degrees north 117.4 degrees east) and is forecast to move north at about 8 kilometres per hour across the northern part of the South China Sea and gradually edge closer to the eastern coast of Guangdong

Yesterday (wednesday), we took the cable car up to the highest peak in Hong Kong, Victoria Peak. This is one of the "must-see", counted for China! There is seven "must-see" and I can cross check five of them: Victoria Peak, Yellow Mountain, The Bund, The Forbidden City and The Great Wall. I honestly have to say that I am more than satisfied and start to feel ready for getting my way back to Europe. I know that I will be back, sooner or later. I some times feel sad about the fact that my best friends and boyfrined miss all theses amazing places I have seen the last months, not just to talk about such an event as EXPO. Yeah, yeah.....some day it is your turn as well!

But right now, today: Hong Kong is waiting for another day!

Six student, in Hong Kong! Do I have to say more?

Yesterday we arrived to Hong Kong. After a 20 Hours train ride, we finally made our way to HK, our highlight for the semester in China. A student mate from Sweden, David (german guy thought), studying in Hong Kong met us at the station. He played tourist guide the rest of the day and was our private guide in order to get to our hostel and visit the night market. Nice Nice! Tonight we are off for some hourse racing. But this far, I am in love!

This is my lovley new bag. I found it at a market in Beijing two weeks ago. It is one of the best bags I hever had. Plenty of space! The best about it is that you can turn it into a backpack!  

Strange color = stragne taste



Normal fast food


Don´t ask me how it taste!

The most famous walk in Shanghai is the one along the Bund. It is Shanghais most memoriable walk and you can simply understand why when you see the view. This picture is not taken towards the river, where you can have the most amazing view at night. I wish I was living closer to the city center, than I would have been walking around every night amazed! Don´t miss this if you come here! It´s a must!

Today, we also went to the porest part of Shanghai (next to the old city)......sad, but a good lesson to see how some people´s living standard in China is. The ironic with this picute thought, is the Paul Frank pyjamas. Did they have money or not? Oh, yeah, forgot I was in China where everything is fake=)

I did it again....I went to another more temple! My mind for being a real chinese and follow the culture is a challenge, that I don´t really manage in the best way. But dont blaim me for not trying!

When we was about to leave the area of the Great Wall, I bumped into this dressed man (dont ask me what his dress is a symbol for). He wanted to play some jokes with me....I was all in! The only drawback was off course that he wanted money for it later (suprice)....I gave him a small amount, It was not THAT FUN!

Inside "Temple of heaven" Maybe they are all toursist as well. Happy anyhow!

A lady at the entrance to the great wall watchin crazy tourist passing by

China desreve high credit for their spiritual mind. Happiness is on the top of their list. Easy-going and always very friendly. These people on the pictures just smiled at me when they saw me with my camera. I just smiled back=)

It is not often here in China that you can have the sight of such a blue sky like this!

Hey people. I am blogging about my life in China. How is your lif in the rest of the world? Send me an email to my mail ([email protected])  or comment. I am curious about all works, studies and realationship. Need some gossip!

At the "Himmelska fridens torg", the green clothed mans rules the place (whole Bijing for that matter). I believe I have stoped thinking in the country where they drink tea constantly and abundand suntan. I have started to do crazy thinks (which I love). Dont ask me if we were allowed to take a photo or not, speak to him, that was for shore not allowed. I had fun!

FROG

 ROAST DUCK


Our last dinner in Beijing togheter (wednesday this week) was BAM BAM BAM! We went for eating the famous dish "Beijing duck" or more known as "Roast Duck". In case of bad taste, we ordered ceveral other dishes contained of beef, chicken, potato and frog....yes FROG! I have now tried both roast duck and frog. If one of these is one of my new favorites, no!

During our first day, we went to the forbidden city. It was VERY crowded so we never went into the "real forbidden city". Just passed around it and had a look. The plan was to go there another day. Oskar did, Pernilla and Andreas are still in BEijing and they will. But I, I feel ashamed to say it: I didnt went to the forbidden city more than from the outside of it. Tooo bad! Maybe I need to study on it now, so I provide som facts taken from wikepdia both for me and for you:

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five hundred years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms^[1] and covers 720,000 m² (7,800,000 sq ft). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture,^[2] and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987,^[2] and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War.

Our third day in Beijing we went to The great wall. Right now, I feel to sick in order to tell you about my adventure. I just wanted to post some pictures for all you people back home. I write another day about the day. But I can tell you: it was just as great as the wall!

After a week without internet, my blogging is left behind for the moment. I will try to make it up. Many photos, many memories, many histories to publish. I start of with two pics from "Temple of heaven". The weather was amazing for being October and my cultivatice mind was "on". More pics to come!

Guess I feel even more worse than this man I was making a photo of in Beijing.



Yesterday after a night on a crowded chinese-train (the most disgusting I ever experienced), I arrived in Shanghai. Came back to my dormitory at school around three. Directly went to bed. Around seven at night, I was hungry and went out to buy some food. Dont ask me how I manage to get back home, but I did. Lyckely for me, Oskar was home and helped me. Today (saturday) I am spending the whole day in bed. The night was a nightmare but I allready feel better. I guess I have eaten something bad. The only reason why I left Beijing was because I should be working at EXPO tomorrow.... guess my  mind feel much more worse than my throat and head because there is no chance that I will make it. My bed is my best friend this weekend. Lovely China!

 
-yesterday we arrived to Beijing. Find the hostel quite smothly....the hostel is awsome....almost in love, and only 50 RMB/night. Today we have only been walking around. Passed some famous "must-see" spots. Spend most of my time with my camera. The internet at the hostel is really bad....so you have to me good with one pic only. Well, tomorrow the Great Wall is waiting. Now off to bed!

Good night from China, Beijing.

Today, the chinese national holiday begins. It last for one week adn EVERYONE is off. Me myself, is going to Beijing tomorrow morning, gone for a week. Alarm set on 4.30. But tonight, we went to the city. It was crowded, but sooo beautiflue. We did both People Square and the Nanjing are.The pictures speaks for themselfes!