Jeff Wang Blog

Philadelphia > Singapore > Shanghai

I’ve managed to study abroad in three separate countries in just one year.

I’ve been forced to create new friendships, join foreign communities, and establish routines, each time.

Each time I get on the plane, I get on it alone.

I travel to a new destination with no connections.

But yet, somehow, I am able to find my place.

I see beauty everywhere.

Maybe it’s not the destination, but rather how we look at the beauty?

Look around. Beauty is everywhere.

Some observations about Shanghai:

1. Rules are not strict. People will literally smoke indoors, next to a no-smoking sign. In restaurants are the worst…
2. Poor areas of Shanghai are integrated amongst more developed areas.
3. Traffic is hectic. Many bikes, automatic and manual, will disobey the traffic lights. It looks like a crap-show most of the time, but it works somehow.
4. People are very nice.
5. But initially, people are often hostile.
6. Bikes are parked everywhere. Personal bicycles, motorcycles, and share-bikes, all next to each other, someones just thrown in a pile. It’s messy on the sidewalks.