Orientation in Shanghai Part II: Museums, Vegetarian Cuisine, and Chinese Acrobats

Shanghai orientation: Day 2!

No worries. I’m not giving up on this blog. Not yet, at least. Let’s try and finish up orientation today, yeah?

On the second day of orientation, after early morning Chinese survival lessons, we had a lecture on teaching issues in China. We broke up into groups and proceeded to present our lessons to a “class.” With this one exercise, the four day orientation in Shanghai gave me more “teacher training” than the one month’s worth of training I had at the charter elementary school where I worked last year.

Yeah…
I’m not bitter at all.

That said, my experience last year has helped me loads this year, and I do think that I’m a much better teacher because of it. Anyway – we’re jumping too far ahead into the future. Let’s take a step back to this second day of orientation… because, right after lunch at the Faculty Club, we hopped on a bus to the Shanghai Museum.

The Shanghai Museum had a special Maori exhibit (Think… the indigenous people of New Zealand). I was PSYCHED to see that. All ready to nerd out, and explain all the Maori exhibits to my fellow teachers. The only problem? I couldn’t find it.

Why?

For the first time in my life – first time ever – I walked straight to the stairs and climbed up to the second floor without being coerced to. I didn’t need to go up there. It didn’t even make sense to go up there first. But, still, up I went… missing the Maori exhibit and all the other displays on the first floor.

See? Goes to show you that stairs are bad luck. Simple logic means that I should avoid all stairs in the future.

Anyway - here are some pictures from the Shanghai Museum, from the 2nd floor up.

Pottery: Archaeology isn't archaeology without some good old-fashioned pottery.





The monkey king! I think. Probably not. He's a mythological creature of some sort... but he's in the pottery section too.



And.. a kirin. Definitely mythological. I think it's a part deer/dragon/lion thing. Not quite sure.



A model of a pottery workshop:





Calligraphy. Look at the writing on the rock below... They basically stamped it onto paper so that it'd be easier to see and read the writing.





I loved these stamps. They're really small but very intricate.






Paintings (Or rather, one. One painting.)



Another exhibit that I really liked: Ethnic costumes, with a giant kirin hanging over the displays.







Some neat masks:







And... here's my favorite bit: A Mongolian chess set. I mean - woah! The kings are little Buddhas!






I went down to the Maori exhibit after that and managed to look through all of it. Got really into explaining everything that I remembered from my time in New Zealand... and completely forgot to take pictures. It's probably for the better though. If you're interested in New Zealand, check out my New Zealand blog.

I... will fully update that sometime.
Sometime.
Yep.

When we were done looking through all the exhibits, I headed to the tea room to wait out the last few minutes at the museum. I was waiting so... naturally, I started doing magic.

But, honestly - this time, I was asked!
Really!

I performed for the CIEE crew until the tea shop closed (it was near that time anyway), and it was time for us to meet up with the rest of the crew. From the Shanghai Museum, we took a bus to one of Shanghai's most famous vegetarian restaurants.

I didn't take any pictures here either. I was too busy eating...

After that - exhausted, jet lagged, and ready for bed, CIEE brought us to watch some acrobats perform. When I wasn't asleep (and I was, I think, for a couple of minutes during the show), I was enjoying their performances. It was... really... quite stunning. How so?

Observe:

Two Chinese acrobats swinging on a stick-



One of them jumps!-



And then he grabs the rope!-



But he doesn't just grab it. Zoom in. Look carefully... He's catching the rope with his LEGS!



Ouch, I think...

And here's a taste of the rest of that show:






And yes. That last one? The giant ball? That is... indeed, one-two-three-four motorcyclists in that ball, going at full speed.

And finally - after all that - sleep.