Chinese School - summershanghai

About My First Adventure to Shanghai in my Life Time

By Wondering

Dear Betty,
Would you please allow me to tell you something about my trip to
Shanghai? It seems I am so lonely living in Old Captain Hostel on Fuzhou
Road. I insisted on coming here all-alone, not accompanied by my parents,
making it somewhat an adventure.

A strange city Shanghai is, and I felt quite taken aback when I got off
the bus this evening and got astray looking for a subway station.
However, Shanghai is a city that never truly falls asleep. Under a
friendly native girl's instructions, I soon arrived at People's Square.

Standing amid the skyscrapers of banks and commercial centers, I lost my
sense of direction a second time. Luckily, I had recognized a landmark
where I was to angle my direction.

It was raining heavier and heavier, the wind, too. From time to time my
umbrella folded itself against the strong wind, leaving my poor self to
suffer from the rain. What's more, when I was crossing the street on
hearing the whistle, a girl at the front of the team of the pedestrians
shouted out:"Oh, how ugly!" I was sure she meant both me and my umbrella.
My hair was rumpled and my face wearing an exhausted expression, my new
coat soaked by drops of rain. And my umbrella, a cheap one bought in
emergency at the subway station, would be broken down at any minute.

Thank God at last I was on Fuzhou Road. The fickle wind, the unceasing
rain and the fear of walking alone in half-darkness on a strange road had
driven me into a miserable state, but as I was walking, a queer emotion
aroused in me. At the very moment my spiritual world was free from all
the restraints and pressure. I believed what I was doing was a great
success already.

Finally I arrived at the hostel with the light still on. Dad had booked a
bed for me by telephone, so that I could register and get the key in less
than five minutes. It was the type of hostel I appreciated most:
Foreigners appearing on elevators or at the reception desk; English heard
in corridors and French read on the walls, "Voulez vous coucher avec moi
ce soir", Hamburgers enjoyed on the top floor in an atmosphere of feeble
candle light and noisy American Film; and English girls as my roommates.

Tomorrow is another day. I will have interviews with different companies.
Maybe I will be accepted or rejected. But that does not count. What's the
most amazing, I will have a Christmas in Shanghai soon, and meet a former
friend of mine, a guy returning from the States and lands in Shanghai
airport. And so,

Best Regards,
Wondering

(P.S.: This passage was written in the corridor of the hostel with my
hair still wet. I took the washing machine as my writing desk. The light
in my bedroom is already extinguished and benches in the bright corridor
are fully occupied with talkative young guys.)

Chinese School