This is Shanghai, China. Cold, foggy, mysterious and land of contrasts. This is where one can find adventure. I was able to go to shanghai for two months(march-july) working under my cousin in an architectural firm as well as staying in his house located in the suburbs of the city, since he is an American citizen we happen to live in the more western part of town where there are a lot of expatriots. It was amazing, amazingly foggy mornings, crowded streets and busy gloomy faces of the people, there seems to be no one standing still everyone seems to be in a hurry to go somewhere. Some carry huge loads on bikes while others just carry it on their backs. I guess everyone is trying to grab the opportunity to make money since the city is still in its booming stage.
But for me, i was not part of the gloomy scene, i was here for adventure. The first day into my job i was sent out to check out ancient chinese artifacts and capture digital images for inspiration on a chinese interior design project. We had to capture images of chinese art, well the good chinese art and try to develop a more modern chinese theme to it. I didn't even bring a coat with me, i wore a t-shirt and almost froze to death, i wasn't able to talk, so my bro who accompanied me did most of the talking and interviewing. I was surprised that a lot of people didn't even wear coats, some were even shivering in the cold on their way to work. I was a bit saddened by the situation, maybe they didn't have enough money to buy a coat, or maybe they were just used to the weather.
There are many streets in shanghai where people make copies of ancient chinese bottles, books, jewelries, well almost anything, and if you know how to bargain, you get to keep most of the money in your pocket, its always about bargaining in China, well a rule of thumb is anything sold in the states will cost around 1/4 lesser in china, so do not be fooled. I saw many foreigners buying stuff for 1000 rmb when it costs only around 15 rmb.
Well the food here is great, the street food is great, specially the dumplings, the lamb barbeque, the real lumpia shanghia, and a lot more really cheap food you can check out at night.
Also shanghai is a city of foreigners, there are so many foreigners that it almost doesn't feel like china. As for foreign food, There is almost any type of foreign food here. Not only the ones run by chinese, also many are run by foreigners. I was able to visit an all french restaurant and the people were all french, as well as an irish pub where i grabbed some pint and a 0.2 meter high burger that ic ouldn't fit into my mouth, haha. So if you dont trust what the chinese put into their food, there is not problem at all, there are hoardes of western restaurants run by westerners.
As for cheap designer good, one should ask the locals for the market. The market usually moves every few months to different locations. They sell brand like gucci, prada, and a lot more, but they are all fake. And it isn't illegal in China.
This is China, land of the fog, grit, and surprisingly...fun.
This is the university of my dreams. It was founded by christians long ago, and is located in the city of Taichung. This university has many interesting architecture, the chapel here was even designed by I.M. pei and the whole university is lined with huge trees. It is located on top of a hill and one has to take a bus ride that costs 1 nt dollar (1/30 dollars) or ride a scooter up. The university is really laid back and has many open areas, they even produce their own milk and the students can buy fresh cow's milk easily. Surprisingly most of the students here are female, maybe because of the more relaxed atmosphere, the school also has indoor cafes, dormitories, music clubs, and even christian activity areas. During early morning the students can take a good morning walk in the freshest air. Well i am not familiar with the courses being offered but i know that they have high standards and they offer engineering courses, botany, and even architecture( the architecture building is really cool and relaxing, even though the building is quite old.) So if you plan to study in Taiwan, this is one of the good universities here.
