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For the past few days I have been chillin in Shanghai with some Aussies and it's been wonderful! I went out to play rugby with one of them for the first time and I feel like I've had my ass kicked, because literally, I did. The weather is so hot here that I have only left their apartment three times in the past three days, once for rugby, once for shopping, and once for bubble tea! Apparently, it will only get hotter as July and August are the hottest months of the year... I don't think Taiwan prepared me for anything.
View from Aussie's apt. Jealous the Expo view is not like this.
As for the title of my post...it's the clear expression of my experience at the World Expo. It is NOT Disney World and I am clearly not high roller like Obama. Once I stepped foot into the Expo, the massive pavilions just awestruck me. Of course waiting in line is nobody's favorite thing to do (if it is, you're interesting), so I flashed around my staff pass in the VIP line. Too bad for my parents, we found out that at most pavilions, only I can get in. If only I were Obama, I would get in with as many people I wanted...but I'm not.
VIP [staff] pass
At night, however, the lines go pretty fast - there are still hundreds of thousands of people though. We went to Nepal, Taiwan, France, and a few others that had moving lines. Taiwan had an amazing pavilion. While it didn't really cover the topic of urban sustainability, it had some pretty neat effects - a 720 degree movie (it surrounds you), a HUGE LED screen in the shape of a balloon - to submit digital paper lanterns, and a tea ceremony with harp playing. Because of these intricate stages of the pavilion, you must have a reservation ticket (or pass in my case), and only 4,000 tickets are given out a day. I don't even know when they give them out!
720 degree movie.
Largest LED sphere.
While the expo does not strike me as a theme park, it is an opportunity for the native Chinese to explore other cultures and lifestyles. In the French pavilion, many were taking pictures with an Eiffel Tower image, pretending they were there. In the Taiwan pavilion it was fun for me to watch the guys take pictures with the pretty female Taiwanese staff. All in all, most pavilions do not fit the "Better City, Better Life" theme, but they showcase a day in the life of a [country] person.
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Outside of the Expo, my parents and I visited my old stomping grounds - Fudan, Wu Jiao Chang, Wu Dong Lu... as well as the Bund, Xin Tian Di, French Concession, and Tian Zi Fang. All of these places have changed so much over the past year, especially the Bund. But, the magnificent view of the Financial District has not been altered. Always beautiful and always enchanting!
I love my new camera!
The new student ambassadors arrive in 4 hours! I'm so excited to finally be united with the rest of the crew. I will be sure to update in a few days once I get settled in my new apartment!
September 14, 2010 at 12:17 PM
Disney World is such a great place to visit. I recently visited Disney World and stayed at the beautiful Disney World resort, the Swan and Dolphin. You can learn more about the resort by visiting TishmanHotels.com