Update: In SHANGHAI

Well I have arrived safe and sound in Shanghai. My internet connection has been an interesting experience here to say the least! I have had to download another proxy to just access some of my favorite websites.

I have been a terrible blogger these past couple of months, but it is mainly due to the internet connection in the places that I have been. I left Malaysia on the wee morning of September 5th. It was very difficult for me to say goodbye to my dear friend Emily and her family who were so kind to me the entire time. I was also so grateful to get to meet so many of her friends while I was there in Malaysia. I definitely hope that some day I can return to Malaysia some day... i really loved everything about the country: the different ethnicities, the FOOD, all of the "la's" at the end of the sentences, running across the street( possible risking getting run over) and the traffic, getting to go to a Catholic church, hearing the morning calls to prayer, Old Town coffee, Kaya spread( the most delicious spread I've ever had, Milo drink, Ratti Tissue( spelling?) but most of all just getting to spend three weeks with my friend was the most amazing part.

I definitely am missing all of the wonderful things about my vacation there as I have begun school this week. However I know that I'm going to have so many experiences during my time here in Shanghai.

As I was saying, I had my week of orientation this past week, which was fun and exhausting. There are about 80 students in the Ciee program, which I think is awesome since it makes you feel not so along in a country. Some of the things we got to do during orientation week were see an acrobatic show, tour around the campus, visit the Bund, and go to the world expo. Of course we also had a lot of sessions, where we were given lectures about the program and expectations. I originally had planned on staying with a host family, however I realized that shortly after I arrived I really wanted to live in the dorm and have the experience of being right on campus. I also didn't feel any connection to the family that I was living with so I am now living in the beautiful CIEE dorm with a Chinese roommate, so I think this will be a wonderful experience as well.

My first weekend here:

Friday, I went out to a club for a student's birthday who is in the program as well. It was so much fun to get to experience the night life in Shanghai. I also got to meet up with my friend Annie who is an alum of my college. It is so wonderful having someone I know from the same school as me and who did the CIEE program for support while I'm here in Shanghai.

I met up with some of my family's friends, whose daughter is attending the same high school that I went to. I met them on Saturday evening and had such a wonderful time with them. They took me to the most delicious restaurant ever and we had all of these famous Shanghainese dishes. After dinner we went to an area called Xin Tian Di which has a lot of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. It was so wonderful to sit out at night in such a lively city.

On Sunday, I went to this beautiful Cathedral in Shanghai for church. It was so nice, because it only took about 20 minutes travel time to reach. After church I started working on the homework that I was given before classes had even started. I'm so grateful that I got help from my family friends, because I'm not sure if I would ever have been able to complete the homework. Speaking of homework, I should probably go and get started on it now, since I have plenty of it to work on.

I hope everyone is doing well. Sending my love to my friends and family back home