Ayo

Aight, so blog number 2. I've been sick for the last little bit (prolly too much crazy Shanghai livin') so I'll try to take it easy for the next while, cuz this place is mental.

Like take a few days ago. Me and my teaching friends were coming home late trying to get in the Subway and there was honestly an insane crowd of people like as big as the population of my hometown (1400 people Burford represent) also outside trying to get in. Then something was said in Chinese over a PA system and everybody started screaming and surging forward and cops were shouting and me and my friends were separated like instantly and folks were sprinting into the station, like people weren't paying just flying through. I just kinda went with the flow hoping I wouldn't die or end up stranded an hour from home in Shangai without a working phone, and we all eventually found each other again. So that was an experience. I've never encountered Burford rushing a subway station before so that was something unique

Yeah, anyway. It's interesting trying to communicate with people, It's kinda like a game. Like, try to figure out what I'm trying to say to you. I have this interaction with store clerks and cashiers like all the time, and it always feels good when we figure it out. Like I pointed to chicken wings once, and held up three fingers, and he billed me 80RMB which is the equivalent of 16 dollars, and i was like that can't be right, and eventually he realized I didn't mean three boxes of chicken wings. Or like when I needed a comb and went to a convenience store and was trying to show what I wanted with my hands, and he kept offering me shampoo, and we were both confused. But these things always seem to work out in the end.

I'm in a coffee shop right now trying to come up with a lesson plan for this week. Lowkey, a few of my kids are kind of divas, but I'll get them to love drama (or Public Speaking. Or at the very least gym, cuz those are the things I'm teaching).

We also were told that we wont have any electricity in the office tomorrow, which is where the classroom is also, so that means no AC. Shanghai is blistering hot, so hopefully I live to blog another day.

Stay cool (or whatever the weather is like over there) ✌