Shanghai, Day 3

“It’s snowing,” yelled Linnea, as we greeted the morning in our hotel lobby. It was cold enough to get a few flurries, but nothing that stuck. Still it was something that would stick with some students as this was the first time they saw snow. We headed out to breakfast and fueled up for the two-hour drive ahead of us: we were going to Xi Tang, the Venice of Shanghai.

We boarded a boat to get to the center of this ancient city in a freezing wind. Immediately, the scenery that began to unfold was worthy of Chinese paintings; old stone bridges flanked by willow trees, square homes with intricate roofs decorated with red lanterns and women washing their laundry in the river – even on this cold day. The students were moved to start singing Chinese songs like “Jasmine Flower,” and then, when that was over, to keep up the spirit with other songs not as well known in these parts, like “Fifty Nifty,” and “One Nil to the Arsenal.”

I’d like to say that we spent hours touring the 120 quaint alleyways of this 1,700 year old city or that we stopped to gaze at our reflection in the river ways. Yet, as the rain started to pick up again, we quickly took shelter in a nearby restaurant. We broke out some paints and pencils and used what we saw on our way into the city – as well as our imagination – to draw what was around us. Afterwards, we did tour the residence of a wealthy businessman and visit a clay museum. But the tour was admittedly abbreviated. Most students retreated to the bus, while just a brave few wandered around for another 20 minutes to do some shopping from the locals.

A two-hour bus ride may not sound fun to most … that is unless you have 16 of your best mates on the bus with you. It was a party tram back to Shanghai, followed by some more socializing back at the hotel – with the added bonus of being able to run room-to-room and ring doorbells. By this time, dinner was duly needed, and with some newfound energy to spare, we took to a local bowling alley. Adam and Sam were definite high scorers, while Ian and Michael have to be commended for their enthusiasm.

The day may have not been what we expected at the start, but it did give us some great quality time together to have fun and lots and laughs.