If all the snow flakes were candy canes and milkshakes

A to do in life.... celebrate new years(新年） in Shanghai. number one reason: boom boom boom! we were surrounded by fireworks in the city. From our apartment we could look out and see at least 10 different shows going on and none of which were run by professional...it was like 4th of July on drugs! When we were in a taxi to go to dinner a family lit off a firework less than 10 feet from our cab, safety is overrated. number two: it snowed! ok so i know this isn't going to happen every year but having a snow ball fight on the balcony overlooking the city is a pretty epic way to start the year of the tiger, very fierce if you ask me!
The New Year is a huge holiday here so most of the shops have been closed since Saturday. Our street to so lonely, covers on all the shops and no one is around. Good thing our trip to Yunnan comes at the perfect time!
We're had school off this week since we leave on Wednesday (tomorrow) and all of our teachers went home so we've had the chance to explore the city a little more. While it has been freezing and rainy we have manned up and done it! (Don't worry im not just going to reiterate an itinerary for you all). So we went to an area called Xintiandi. This street could easily be a street in the states. Its very quant and an nice reminder of home. There are many international restaurants and coffee shops. I can't tell you how nice it was to get a cup of coffee and have spleda and milk waiting to spice up my drink! We also went into a really neat store called Shanghai Tang. They take traditional chinese styles and make them more modern, if you get a chance google it! After we went to Tianzifang, while we didn't get the full experience cause we went on new years eve and more stores were closed we saw the windows of the art galleries and it was much more Shanghai than Xintiandi.
Alright now for a un-bias, Aryn interpreted chinese enlightenment! I'm taking a politics class this semester and it has been a great opportunity to understand how the chinese government is set up. I had huge misunderstanding of the workings of the communist party. Now i am no expert right now but something that i did learn that was surprising is that there at 8 other parties other than the communist party here in China. The current Minister of Science and Technology is actually not from the communist party which is interesting because if China wants to keep developing the way they have science and technology are huge factors. In this same class we may get the opportunity to help out with the Expo. My professor is on a committee that is organizing a showcase of the different communities within Shanghai, this will include models of the neighborhoods and short skits. We come in to help them test their english to be able to answer potential questions people might have. Speaking of the Expo if you haven't gotten the chance to check out the website you have to! The pavilions all look so cool, while about 20% of them are not on target to be complete for the start of the Expo you know those are just minor details. The city is in a huge process of developing, everywhere we go there seems to be big fences up covering the construction... two thumbs up for covering things up!

Before I leave you all for 10 days i would like to encourage you to look up the song "Sorry, Sorry" by Super Junior, you lives wll be better because of it!

xoxo
Aryn