#erinxia

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Week 8: Cost Breakdown!

Okay 8 weeks in let's get down to business, how much money have I spent and where. First of all, there is the tuition which was base of $5,205 which includes housing and tuition for 3 months in addition to various trips that were planned by IPE. Through the trips, they likely spend a decent amount of money. However, I got a scholarship for $3,500 which most people in the program got if not more. The most pricy part of the program was probably the plane tickets which was approximately $2,000 for a round trip. Since coming to China, I’ve spent ~12,000RMB (1,500 USD). Here is a breakdown of my other expenses and how far everything can go.

In the first week, I spent a lot of my money on various dorm necessities like toilet paper, trashbags, and miscellaneous expenses. In total, it added up to approximately $300RMB (40USD) which is fairly cheap for all the little purchases that added up. Here is the rest of the breakdown for the past 8 weeks.

Utilities/Essentials: 504 RMB (68.85USD)

This includes hot water which we need to pay for separately which isn’t too bad since it is so hot I don’t end up using the hot water much and this also includes laundry which I do often because the hot weather makes me sweat through all my clothes at a lighting pace.

Food: 2043.18 RMB (279.12 USD)

This is crazy cheap considering I only eat out and I don’t pay attention to my food budget whatsoever (before I decided this blog was going to be a cost report). However, this is just my actual meals, I summed my snacks/drinks separately.

Snacks/Drinks: 1469 RMB (209.86 USD)

How have I spent almost the same amount on snacks and drinks as real food? I am ashamed but also it is so easy to buy snacks here and there when there is a convenience store everywhere (including in our dorm) and each snack is approximately 1 USD but those costs can add up for sure.

Shopping: 2964.3 RMB (404.92 USD)

It is sooo easy to spend so much on clothes when everything here is so cheap and cute. I also have been buying gifts and souvenirs for friends and family back home but I think I definitely need to reel in my shopping addiction.

Experiences: 1261.56 RMB (180.14 USD)

This includes fees and transportation for miscellaneous activities such as watching Inside Out 2 (which was really good), doing an escape room, going to a gaming cafe, or exploring downtown. This I would say was all 100% worth it.

Solo Trip: 3290 RMB (449.45 USD)

A few weeks ago, I went on a 4-day solo trip around Shanghai to Hangzhou and Nanjing. I ended up spending 449.45 USD for the train tickets which were approximately 120 RMB (17 USD) each and for the hotel rooms which were 340 RMB (48 USD) per night. Although, my friend who took a solo trip to Chongqing only spent 150 RMB on a hotel so it can definitely vary a lot. It was definitely worth the experience and you can definitely solo travel for even less money too!

Hopefully this helps put in perspective what studying abroad means in regards to money. To be honest, I have not been the most careful with money, because my parents have money in RMB that they won’t be using anytime soon. Regardless, hopefully my breakdown was helpful!

See ya next week!

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Week 13: Reflection

There is a sense of finality, but I am unsure how to describe how I actually feel. I have never been one for theatrics, drama and cheese, but I can’t help but already feel the incoming nostalgia. This experience hasn’t been all rainbows and roses, but I can certainly see myself looking back on my life at 80 and marking this period of my time as my peak. Total strangers that I’ve bumped into thousands of times at Michigan have become my best friends that I’ve experienced so much with. People with such a different mindset have worked side by side and competed with me. A culture that I felt so distantly related to has become close, where I can speak the language without thinking whereas prior to the program I was terrified to even speak in front of my own family.

I had a wonderful time, but at the same time it needed to end. In this program, I felt like life in the middle portion had become somewhat repetitive, especially as I struggled with my classes. I think the urgency of the end quickly approaching drove us to exponentially increase our outings into the city but had the program been longer, I don’t know if we would have had the drive to. Also, with such a small program, meant seeing the same faces day in and day out, which I think was great to create a community, but at times I could feel the need for some fresh faces, perspectives, and personality.

So what was our final week like? Busy.

Immediately coming back from our weekend trip to Chengdu, we were thrown into the finals week gauntlet. I actually had one final prior to the Chengdu trip so I only had two more finals, one game-day (where we finish our prototype for our design class), and one final report.

At the same time, I still wanted to take in as much of Shanghai as possible. I got my hair permed, visited a cat cafe, went vintage shopping, and tried lots of recommended restaurants. It was refreshing going into the city, strolling around, trying as many sweet treats before our teeth rot, chatting/gossiping with friends, and just enjoying the bustle and charm of the city. The sweltering 100 degree humid heat has definitely been a deterrent to walking around but in this final week, it doesn’t seem to bother me too much knowing it will be the last time in Shanghai with these people. On our last outing, we just happened to bump into a street musician singing some songs. We just happened to listen to his last song— 今生缘—which really struck a chord, which wasn’t even A minor. I didn’t understand most of it but one line that I did understand roughly translates to “Who knows who is going to continue to take this road with us, as long as we don’t forget.” Maybe I translated this wrong, but the interpretation really hit home with me.

I honestly didn’t expect much from this program. I wanted to get my credits and practice my Chinese and not worry about finding an internship. While reading other bloggers talk about their study abroad experience, I honestly thought they were gassing it up for content, but I honestly believe this experience has been life changing. I’m not quite sure what it’ll be like back at Michigan as people on the trip all come from different friend groups and have packed schedules back at Michigan.

On a less sentimental note, oh my gosh make sure you prepare an empty suitcase to fill up with stuff from China. I came here with half a checked bag and carry on and I’m leaving with 2 checked bags and one carry on filled to the brim. To be fair, my aunt also packed me 18 kilos worth of snacks to bring back to my family, but still! Also, I had the goal of having one last massive TaoBao purchase (Chinese amazon) before I left and It seems like a lot of other people in the program had the same idea; in the package pick-up area I would always bump into a friend grabbing something from their haul. Everything here is so cheap and the make-up is so high quality! If you come to China I have a few recommendations.

Bars: $$$ Odd Couple (Mr. Miyagi) or $ Perry’s

Clubs: INS (2nd or 4th floor) or Fuxing Park in general

Restaurants: Maki (sushi), Xiao er xiang kao 小二香烤 (KBBQ close to campus and 80 yuan/person), Xiaoping 晓平饭店 (Shanghainese food)

TaoBao Vendors: Mo Kuang (Jeans), Judy Doll (Makeup), Ariseism (fun tops), *not TaoBao but 鹿哥哥 外贸男装 has drip for guys*

Cool Streets to walk: Yongkang (Vintage stores), HuaiHai Zhong (croissant gym?)

China and especially Shanghai is an exciting place full of change and innovation, with friendly people! But through talks with the local students and people, you can also see the negatives of China creating an overall well rounded experience. Hopefully these suggestions can jumpstart your trip if you ever hop on your own adventure to Shanghai!

See ya,

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Week 12: Chengdu

Ahh, the end is incoming! Right before finals week, we are having one more hurrah with a program wide trip to Chengdu—the capital of spice, pandas, and nightlife. So right before I get absolutley cooked by finals, come with me to explore Chengdu.

Day 1

Our trip started at the crack of dawn as we were supposed to hop on a bus at 5:10am Guess when I woke up? 5:20 . But fortunately, for me, our program is chronically late so I still managed to hop on the bus to the airport on time with a double shot of adrenaline anndd without my bag of clothes for the weekend.

Okay okay, shaky start but after a solid two hour nap and a hot meal we finally arrived in Chengdu and oh my goodness there are pandas everywhere! The subway handles, the ATMs, the souvenirs all are an homage to pandas which was absolutely adorable!

Our hotel was really nice and clean with a pretty good location as it was quite close to downtown. The first day was a bit of a free for all, once we arrived. We ended up exploring a fancy mall with a lot of bougie stores way out of our price range but it was really pretty. There, we grabbed lunch and a Chengdu special—a bowl of peppers—which actually wasn't that spicy but it was annoying to pick through the peppers to find the meat. Then, we went to Urban Revivo which has become my favorite chain for shopping in China because we found a three story one and as forementioned, I forgot to bring clothes. But I just want to gush about Urban Revivo because why is everything so cute, good quality, and so affordable, ranging from 70-200 CYN (10-30 USD). After some retail therapy, we grabbed dinner in an outdoor hotpot place right outside of the subway station. The temperature was sweltering and the portions were actually quite small, but it was a unique experience!

After the sun set we went to experience the quintessential travel destination for chinese city we’ve been to—we hit up the ancient night market. This one had a lot of Turkish and Tibetan experiences. We tried lots of snacks from dragon’s beard to Turkish ice cream before going out to experience the nightlife.

Day 2

Day two, was much more calm, still getting up at the crack of dawn to go to a famous irrigation system that was created by the king around 300 BCE to divert the river to the fertile plains of Chengdu. I was so impressed with the sheer force of the river that was flowing through and how people 2300 years ago managed to tame and harness it! We had a scrumptious dinner paid for by the program before heading off to climb a mountain. Although my friend and I were feeling a bit sleepy and headed back for a nap.

This turned out to be a good call because immediately after getting back,Chengdu got hit by a torrential downpour that made climbing a muddy, miserable nightmare. Instead, after our calm nap we had a lockin session for our finals at a local coffee shop.

We still experienced some torrential downpour when we went to a famous fountain with lightup bamboo shoots but we got some fire pics so it was definitely worth it! By the time we were done, all the restaurants were closed so we went to the ol’ reliable Haidilao which somehow was more delicious than ever!

Day 3

Day three was a grueling trek through a panda resort before hopping on a flight back. No but why was the panda resort walk the hardest walk of all? I think the fact that there was so shade really made the difference. I think the most enjoyable experience was just chatting it up with my study abroad friends for hours at a time and I think the walk definitely made the nap on the plane back infinitely better.

Okay so final stretch! As we head into exam week, I feel extra refreshed and ready to lock in.

See you next week!

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Week 11: Xi’An

Hello hello! I just got some post Xi’An clarity and I’m excited to talk about it! Planning it out was initially quite stressful as we navigated the transportation and the booking system for the first time. Still, eventually, after the 20th reservation, the ticket-buying process was almost like second nature. (it also helped that we had someone who could read Chinese who ended up planning everything towards the end). Just as a heads up if you are interested in this program, traveling can be convenient through the high-speed railway system but if you want to go to any tourist location, you better buy tickets online beforehand. Certain attractions are hard to book, especially if you try to buy them last minute or if you are in Beijing. This trip was really fun but it did feel like we missed out on some attractions because we didn’t properly plan. Regardless, here is a play-by-play of our trip!

Day 1

Our trip got off to a rocky start because an hour into the commute to the train station, one of my travel companions realized they had forgotten their ID. A very stressful subway ride later, filled with anxious phone calls and last-minute research on the necessity of identification (surprise it is REALLY important in China), we got someone to take the Chinese version of Uber to deliver the ID. From there, it was just a long 7-hour train ride where we desperately caught up on homework so the weekend could be worry-free. Once we arrived we bought some grapes off the street that no one touched in the subsequent days and checked into the hotel (which was only $15 per night), we took a relaxing stroll around the Muslim Quarters where we tried some street food. One of my friends was sick so we headed back early so she could rest. 

Day 2

Day 2 was all about rising and grinding as we had a day of hiking ahead of us. Unfortunately, we didn’t rise and grind hard enough because we ended up missing our train to the mountain we were planning to hike. It ended up not being a huge blunder as we just booked the next train with a 10 yuan ($1.50) penalty. Once we arrived, we were berated by a horde of taxis offering to drive the final stretch from the train station to the mountain. After picking a taxi, they took us to a somewhat sketchy area to buy tickets to go to the mountain and take the cable cars. I was 90% sure we were either about to get scammed or we were getting our kidneys stolen but it turns out the taxi driver was just a nice guy and just also got a commission off of the sale. Once we got there, we spent a solid 1.5 hours standing in line waiting for the cable cars, and sprinting upstairs before we finally got to look at the breathtaking views. It was actually initially a bit scary as the cable cars accelerated up the mountain but eventually, the view outweighed the height. Up in the mountain, the air felt incredibly clean and cool and the suffocating crowd of people seemed to magically clear up. We got to enjoy the first half and peak in utter serenity as we took in the beauty of the mountains. 

Then we realized we had an hour to climb from one peak to another before we would miss the final shuttle down the mountain and therefore also miss our train going back to Xi’an. The calm stroll through the glorious mountains quickly thereafter, devolved into a sprint up and down the steep stairs to catch our train while hitting as many picturesque places as possible. We just barely caught the last cable car but ended up missing the subsequent train. With our heads hanging low, we took the L and rebooked the high-speed train. 

Day 3

This day was probably my favorite day! We initially went back to the Muslim Quarter to visit the Great Mosque which had crazy intricate architecture and was surprisingly pretty empty. Afterward, we looked around at the various small shops where we bought some souvenirs for our friends and a nice auntie taught my friend how to put up her hair using a hair stick. Following that, we grabbed some lunch (where my favorite dish was actually a Shanghainese special) and headed to a massive Pagoda where we also saw a massive One Piece-themed mall. (also as a note, if you are a girl you have to cover up your shoulders both in the Mosque and in the Pagoda area). After walking in the sweltering heat, we grabbed some Chinese Pizza Hut dressed up in Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothes) and took pictures in the lights. 

The experience was actually pretty fun as there were racks of racks of different styles of Hanfu (most of the options were from the Tang Dynasty because Xi’an was the capital during that era). After picking out the clothes, a lot of people came in with an idea of how they wanted their hair and makeup done but I had no idea so I let my makeup artist have complete creative liberty and I think she did a great job! However, after 15 lb of hair extensions and clips, my head definitely felt a little bit heavy. I was also with guys and they also had their makeup and eyebrows done which they all liked to varying degrees. Once we were all done up, it was actually really hard to get group pictures because most people actually completely ignored us when we asked them to take pictures, which was a bit of a shock. Regardless, it was really fun dressing up and exploring the colorful streets C-Drama style. This was probably the best day because it was the least stressful.

Day 4

Day four was almost solely dedicated to the Terracotta warriors which to be honest I think were kind of average. It was quite out of the way 2 hours by subway + a 10 minute kidney risking taxi ride. I think the actual monument was really cool, it was just so horrendously crowded and busy I felt like I couldn’t properly enjoy the sight. Also, the descriptions were translated to English but according to the one person in my group who could read Chinese, the English translations were really simplified and left out big details. Also, the warriors were kind of far away and I didn’t bring my glass haha. But to each their own, because my friend really enjoyed it! Afterward, we took a calm stroll along the city wall and got a hotpot! To me, the perfect way to end the trip. 

Anyways, I think next week I’m going to Chengdu soooo see you then!

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Blog week 10 Transportation in China! 🇨🇳

Currently, I am writing this blog from a bullet train the Xi’an which I’ll be talking about next week! After rotting in my seat for the last 5 hours, I finally thought of a topic: transportation in China, what a fun and riveting topic.

Daily Transportation:

Class is about a 30 minute walk from the international student dorms so most of the time people find other ways to get to class other than walking.

Renting Bikes is popular especially among Michigan students who are only here for 3 months. There are lots of different bike renting services but the most popular one in the area are the blue Alipay bikes or the yellow WeChat bikes. They are really cheap, only 30 yuan for a 1 month subscription or 1.75 yuan per ride.

Mopeds are probably the most popular among locals. Students aren’t allowed to drive on campus so the next best option is a moped. Also traffic can be horrendous especially with crazy pedestrians and delivery drivers so often times mopeds are faster than cars.

On campus buses are also an option but I only know one person who uses it because he doesn’t know how to bike. I’m not too sure on the logistics but most of the time he ends up walking everywhere because the bus route isn’t very extensive and there aren’t that many buses.

DiDi is basically Chinese Uber but so much better and cheaper. Especially during raining season, sometimes we would actually split a DiDi car rather than or bike in the torrential downpour that lasted a solid month. If you split the car with 4 people it would also only be 5 yuan each so it is really affordable.

Transportation in the City

The dorms and the entire school is actually quite far from the downtown area so outings into the city tend to be a whole affair and a multi-hour trip but the public transportation is top-notch so it really isn’t bad.

The most common method to go to the city is to take the subway. Depending on where you want to go in the city the subway ride can be anywhere from 1-2 hours which can be a pain but normally it is just a 1-2 hour yap session. Most of the time the ride would be 6 yuan so really affordable and you can pay with just an Alipay code or by buying a metro card. The Alipay code is something you can activate in any city with a subway but the normal metro card only works in Shanghai. The subways are really clean and really easy to navigate even as someone who can barely read and never wears her glasses. For navigation on campus I recommend Baidu maps or a local map service but for navigation in the city, Apple Maps is probably your best friend. The only problem with the subway is that it does close at 11pm so if you plan on being in the city late at night, you might need another option.

You can also call a DiDi into the city. It is really convenient as you can track your driver to see where he is and you can cancel last minute if you really need to. However late at night, DiDi’s are a bit more expensive so during the day, DiDi’s are generally 70-100 yuan but at night it is normally 100-170 yuan. Regardless, if you split with some friends it really isn’t too expensive.

When you are in the city, you can also use the metro card or Alipay for buses which are pretty convenient in the city but generally I gravitate to using the subway more.

Transportation outside of Shanghai

Transportation outside of Shanghai has a bit of a learning curve but once you have it down, it is really convenient. You can book on WeChat. Make sure you pay attention to the time it takes for each train because if you are traveling far (like to Xi’an) you don’t want to accidentally book a slow train and spend 20 hours on a train. For far trips plane tickets are actually really comparable in price so if you want to profit/time max make sure you look at all the options and also remember bring your ID! Make sure you arrive early! Security is quite fast but the train stops boarding 10 minutes before the ticket says!

Hopefully this was helpful for transportation logistics! Next week I will talk about the trip I’m about to take in Xi’An! See you then :)

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Week 9: Post-midterms—chat, am I cooked?

Hello hello, I just finished my last midterm so this week I’ll talk about the academic culture here and the differences when compared to Michigan. In this program I am taking four classes but one of them started on Week 6 so we will ignore it. I took Chinese 5 (ASAINLANG 500), Thermodynamics(MECHENG 235), and Manufacturing and Design (MECHENG 250). They each had their own unique preparation process and I had a different experience for each so let’s talk about it.

For Chinese 5, I had a sense of doom because I am definitely not Chinese level 5 level but I also felt a bit more comfortable because the class was almost entirely made up with other Michigan students also not the most versed in Chinese. It was a lot of vocab review but like the English test, it was really difficult to prepare for since the majority of it was reading comprehension. I still don’t know how I did but needless to say, I did a lot of guessing. I think the Chinese classes are a lot less competitive and intense because everyone taking it is an international student. The other two classes were a bit more intense.

I probably studied the most for Thermodynamics and I think it is the most similar to the classes I’ve taken back at Michigan. For our midterm, we were given a cheat sheet that I absolutely filled up to the brim with conceptual questions that I wasn’t quite confident on which was a lot and some homework questions but I didn’t look at the sheet once. The actual exam seemed very fair and I thought I knew how to do everything but I ended up doing really poorly (40%). It seems like the grading here is a lot less forgiving with partial credit which is where I score the majority of my points at Michigan. It also seems like the curve is a lot weaker because every student here is really good at test taking because they must have been in the top 0.2 percent in order to get in. In this midterm, I actually was in the bottom quartile of the class, which is in stark contrast to Michigan where I was consistently in the 80th percentile or above or 90th percentile for mechanical engineering classes. But I still have hope considering every class here is pass fail! But if you come here to take technical classes, prepare to be humbled!

On the bright side, for manufacturing and design, the midterm wasn’t too bad where I got slightly above average. However, this class is a lot less exam based and much more project based. We are about the have our second design review where we present our progress to the entire class. It seems like everyone here is coming up with such innovative and interesting designs!

Something cool about exam season here is that afterwards there is always a session to review your exam and argue for points back through paper checking sessions. This is a great opportunity to really understand what you got wrong and why and if it means you get a few extra points that is great too! Also something that definitely surprised me was how fast everything was graded. The very same day my thermodynamics class took the exam, the papers were graded and the paper checking session was held. This quick turnover is super helpful because you remember what your thought process was while reviewing your exam and I feel like I learned a lot more just from reviewing my exam.

I think this midterm process has definitely been eye opening to me for how crazy smart the students here are. It seems like this is a sentiment that is shared across the board for all international students as local students keep impressing us. It is really hard to gauge or comprehend how smart the class is when no one really asks questions in class or shows up to class for that matter. It is really cool that I am actually here with such crazy students and I guess I need to lock in harder if I want to do well! At the same time, I am only going to have this experience of fully living and immersing myself in China once, so even though I need to lockin, it is also important for me to explore and really take advantage of this opportunity, so don’t worry, I’ll will definitely still be traveling around and sharing new adventures. I didn’t really have any good photos to go with the post so I’ll just add photos from some of the places I’ve studied.

See ya next week!

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Week 7: Community :)

3/22 Pre-departure Orientation

A chilling knot twists in my stomach and sweat gathers at my palms as I stand in front of DOW 1014. Almost reflexively, my eyes begin to dart about the room, frantically scanning for a friendly or familiar face. Who else is going on this trip? Will we get along? Will everyone be fluent in Chinese? Are they going to think I’m dumb? A million thoughts race in my head as I turn on my ultra friendly, extraverted mode at this pre-departure orientation to make the best impression possible.

(Week 7)Halfway through the Program:

I think I might worry a bit too much about making friends so this frantic irrational stress is routine for me. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think there was no need to stress so hard. There are so many opportunities to bond and meet new friends creating a community so I wanted to take this blog to talk about my experiences and the different ways I have met people.

First of all, there are lots of opportunities to hangout with the 40-something people from Michigan. Whether it is gathering to talk to sponsors of the program, or going on a group outing to the city, or participating in a Dragon Boat race. There are plenty of chances to talk to fellow Wolverines while having some memorable experiences that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise and it was all covered by the program which is a huge plus. Here are some photos from the IPE sponsored bonding activities.

On a more casual note, there are also so many activities you can do just in the dorm that really help build the international community. Some of the common gathering places include the scrumptious and cheap dining hall, the basketball court, the ping pong table, the badminton net, the convenience store, and the study area where we all bond over the unofficial dorm cat. The dorm is just so convenient and is filled with international students from all over the world (France, Kazakhstan, UK, Sweden, Germany, Malaysia, Korea, etc.) It really is an international community and it is so exciting hearing so many languages spoken throughout the dorm common areas.

There are also so many opportunities to connect with the JI students/local students. There is actually an International student club that hosts events from time to time. We actually played some tug of war, and enjoyed some delicious fried chicken and ice cream. The JI students are very interested to hear about life in America and in Michigan especially since many of them are coming to Michigian to study for their junior and senior year. There was also a mixer hosted by IPE to talk about just that. Afterwards, we played some football and wow I think we are getting some D1 recruits because the incoming Umich students from the Joint Institute were cooking on the “football field”.

And of course nothing bonds people better than suffering a difficult course together. Two major specific courses here has been really interesting not only because I can compare and contrast learning styles, but I also get to talk to local students interested in the same discipline. In my design course, I have to work closely with local students and it is really interesting to see how they approach problems differently. Then after suffering hours of troubleshooting, we can yap about our days and our life outside of school.

I honestly think the connections I have made here will follow me for the rest of my life and I am truly grateful for the opportunities to make these connections. I am so excited to see what the next 7 weeks will bring!

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

[umichenginabroad]

Week 6: Biggest China Culture Shocks!

Hello! Hello! 6 weeks in and I think I am finally starting to really get accustomed to life in Shanghai! Now when I talk to people in Chinese, people don’t automatically ask if I am Korean or where I’m from so I think that also indicates my Chinese has improved. Although it seems like I’m hitting my stride, there are still some aspects of life that I just can’t seem to get used to.

“Thank you” culture

I didn’t realize this until I came to China, but Americans really like to spam thank you and sorry. We say thanks when a fast food worker gives us food, when someone holds the door, when family comes to visit. But in China it seems like xiexie (thank you) is reserved for more important things. Often I’m told bu yong xie which basically means no need for thanks. Both my aunt and my friend’s grandparents commented on it.

Bathrooms

Actually, I don’t mind squat toilets too much. I am always paranoid I’ll accidentally step in them but I still haven’t but my friends with less ankle mobility have had some “incidents”. My major gripe is often there is no toilet paper in the stall. You need to remember to grab toilet paper from outside of the stall and if you forget, you are cooked and have to walk around with slightly saturated underwear.

Traffic and Bikes

Oh my goodness, Shanghai is biker galore. Almost every street has a bike lane and it is normally in the shade too! Regardless, even in sweltering 90 degree heat, bikers are always covered up to avoid any form of sun exposure so they will be wearing thick coats that cover their arms and hands. They also do not care. The other day I saw a delivery driver rear end an old lady on a moped! But the craziest part was her reaction, she briefly cussed him out and then the two of them parted ways with no fuss or police.

Trash

After being tempted with some yummy sweet treats, there is always some disposable trash but I can never seem to find a trashcan! At any given moment in a public place in America, I feel like a trashcan is within a 30 meter radius of me but here it feels more like a 200 meter radius. This means everytime I return back to the dorm I have at least 3 wrappers on me (maybe it is a sign for me to stop buying so many snacks). Despite the lack of trash cans, the streets are always really clean.

Security

China is really safe. There is very little crime but I also feel like there isn’t much privacy either. The first thing we did when arriving was register our fingerprints and our face scans. Campus itself has extra levels of security as it is completely enclosed except for a few gates guarded at all times or shut down. You need to scan your student ID or face to get into libraries, dorms, and most places.

But overall, I think the transition is made pretty easily especially with all of the local students that help you out and how nice and patient service workers are. Although, something that is just really starting to hit is the awful heat combined with the 300% humitiy. In Shanghai, rainy season has just hit and I am sufferying in the heat but, on the brightside of things, in comparison, the Michigain August heat won’t hit as hard this week. This week I don’t really have many pictures to accompany the subject but here are some from the week!

See ya next week

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute