Well actually, I've been back for...around two weeks already but I haven't gotten myself to write this journal.

*Warning* If you wish to be spared a long journal about my trip to China, skip to the part after a large void.

So, it was my first time to go to Shanghai- and to China- and my first time riding in Philippine Airlines. XD; (I never knew that it could be so boring flying in economy; I've always taken Singapore Air and they have personal entertainment systems.) Our group was comprised of students, teachers, staff, alumni of my school; we also had Fr. Ary, Fr. Zulo, Fr. Guy and Bro. Coloma joining us.

After we got off the plane, we had to look for our travel guide (naturally). But we had a hard time spotting her since she didn't bring a large sign; she brought a tiny pointer. XDD She lead us to the bus and once we stepped outside the airport, it was pretty cold- kinda like LA temperature. While on the bus, she introduced herself and the driver to us- her name was Winnie and the driver's was Lu- she also gave us some info about Shanghai- she mentioned that the cost of living there is expensive. With lots of time to kill due to extreme traffic- probably worse than here during rush hour- I looked around the bus windows and noticed that they have strange building designs. XD;

First night in Shanghai, first dinner, probably one of the worst I'll ever have. There wasn't enough food, it was okay but wasn't that great. And weirdest of all, they served French Fries and had Spam in the soup! I was like "WTH, French Fries?! I thought this was a Chinese restaurant!" but only in my head. XDD At least the experiences after made up for it. We went to Nanjing street, a walking street full of shops, and we also went to Xin Tian Di for some late night fun! 8D My mom and I went with 3 of our group members to a Jazz bar where my mom and I tried Coconut Iced Tea and Orange Cheese Cake. X3 Jazz was good- and the band was surprisingly Filipino (or at least I think they were)- so was the drink and the cake. <3

2nd day, we visited Sheshan, a holy hill with a shrine at the top; we prayed the Stations of the Cross while we were climbing up to hear mass at the shrine. I was surprised to find out that there are so many faithful Catholics in China- also that you can't wear sleeve-less in public and that it's okay with them to push people around. After lunch, we visited yet another shopping street and the prices there were insane! They were either really high or bargain prices! (One of our groupmates got 3 Beijing t-shirts for 150 RMB but later on found out the others got it at lower prices, worst of all, he was tricked by the man who sold him the shirts (told him that he had fake money but the man gave him back fake money) fortunately, he was able to sort it out); we came back the next day though and he was able to get 9 shirts for a 100 RMB!). I was also surprised to find out that there are so many poor people there; some of them would even steal your belongings (Equality for all? I think not!)! In the late afternoon, we visited the Cathedral nearby our hotel and we were able to visit Bishop Jin. For dinner that night, we ate at a Cantonese restaurant with some of the alumni based in Shanghai. They gave pretty good speeches, saying that we should make the most of our education and try our best to learn Chinese; they also mentioned that they would be willing to help us if ever we went back and needed it.

The third day, we went to the Guang Qi park nearby our hotel to visit the man which our school gets its Chinese name from. We attended mass after our trip to the park and I was surprised to see many Americans there-it wasn't till I got home that I found out that they could be there with their families due to conferences or meetings. The group who sang for the mass was also surprisingly Filipino- turns out, a lot of the performers are from the Philippines. In the late afternoon, we first visited a Jade factory- since we had to or else the tour company would make it more expensive for us- and we learned how to tell the difference between fake, real, and high quality Jade- the higher the pitch, the higher the quality. Finally, we went on a cruise, once around the area. It was the first time I got on a moving boat; it was pretty cool (cold and nice XD). After all of that, we still had some free time after dinner; most of the group decided to go watch an acrobat show- which they said was good- the rest of us either went back or shopping. After we went out of the restaurant, I noticed a small shop and 6 of us went to have a look at it. There, I helped my mom haggle for a lower price in Chinese. XD; The man was offering 5 for each cellphone holder but when we got 8, gave it to us at 35 -much cheaper than the market; those people in the market were offering it at 20 first then lowered it to 10! Then after we were done shopping, only 4 of us decided to go out for some fun. We went back to Nanjing road to meet a friend of one of those who was with us and we went shopping for more stuff and went to a coffee shop for some dessert.

Last day wasn't so exciting. We visited a silk factory, a museum, ate lunch and headed for the airport- unfortunately, our plane got delayed from 4:00pm to 5:15pm. Yeah, pretty boring, except for the jokes and all the stuff we got to see. XD















Okay. My summer's almost over, just to let you guys know. I would also like to know if anyone of you could help me. My wrist is aching from me banging it against the wall last night due to my anger at my father and I need some way for the pain to go away. It hurts to move it; meaning I'll have a hard time drawing, typing, playing games and doing other stuff. ;^; Help would be very much appreciated. ;^;

Clubs I'm in:
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