Today, September 1, is the national first day of school in China. It just so happens that today there was a typhoon warning for Shanghai and the first day of school was canceled for all Chinese students, with the idea that people would stay home and be safe. So, what did Grant and I do today? Well, go to the World Expo, of course!
We didn’t knock out as much as we did when we were there last time, but here’s a rundown of what happened:
- Despite the typhoon warning, up until the early evening it was actually the clearest day I’ve seen in Shanghai since we arrived. The sky was a bright, bright blue and there were beautiful white clouds. I actually got a little color from the sun today!
- We went to the Indonesia pavilion, where it was as hot and steamy inside the pavilion as it was outside. (It was also a partially outdoor pavilion.) I think this was meant to simulate the tropical weather in Indonesia, but it just made me grumpy because I am really not cut out to handle the humidity in Shanghai. Or Indonesia either, I guess.
- We were denied entry into the China and Taiwan pavilions, because apparently you have to reserve entry tickets for those particular pavilions days in advance. It would’ve been nice to know that before, but whatever. Instead, we went to Hong Kong and Macao. Both had nice pavilions, but I feel like there’s so much more about both cities that could have been addressed.
- Australia had a pretty awesome pavilion, but the video wasn’t working due to “technical difficulties.” Since they had no idea when it would be fixed, we left. That was a bummer, as I’m sure the video would have been really good to match with the rest of the pavilion.
- That earlier bullet about a clear, sunny day? Yeah, by the time early evening rolled around the heavens opened and it was true typhoon style weather. It kicked in while we were walking to wait in line for the France pavilion, and even though we had umbrellas, they only do so much when water is coming at you from all sides.
- Because one lady decided to tip her umbrella on my head so that I got totally soaked, I decided to stand on a block in the middle of the queue for the French pavilion until the rest of my party got to the covered area of the queue. I didn’t want to be part of anymore of the vicious “umbrella fights” (where people jostle each other with umbrellas in an attempt to get ahead in the queue) and I was afraid my camera would be ruined from the rain. I got very odd stares whilst standing on the block, but I did make a Chinese friend! (He knew English.) I also slipped and fell as I climbed over the queue fence to rejoin my party, which I’m sure surprises no one, but I managed to catch myself in time before I got hurt. I think I scared a bunch of strangers, though.
- When there is a typhoon, some pavilions will close due to leaking caused by the heavy rain. See: Spain.
- The fries and waffles outside the Belgian pavilion were wonderful. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Belgian waffle that tasted that good.
Assuming the typhoon doesn’t interfere with flights, I’m headed for Beijing tomorrow. As much as I’ve loved Shanghai, it’s really just been a vacation. Beijing is where things will really start to feel like I’m living in China, rather than sightseeing.
