Chinese "Homestay"

As part of the IES curriculum, I was required to stay the night in a Chinese family's home. I was fortunate enough to be placed in my Chinese history teacher's house. The goal of the homestay is to experience what it is like to live a day in the life of the Shanghainese. We met up with our teacher and his son late afternoon and went to a restaurant where they ordered the food for us. I found out that the Chinese, similar to Americans, have a tendency to eat early around 5 or 6pm. I had the pleasure of eating chicken feet, pig feet, salted pork in vegetables, and a variety of other dishes that I didn't dare ask what they were. After this "delicious" feast of ours, our hosts brought us to get massages in a hair salon. Apparently any hair salon gives massages. It only cost us about $1.50 for 1/2hr massage. The next morning after a 7am wake up, we went to a park to practice tai chi morning exercises, fly kites (which is very competitive in Shanghai) and even ride a couple roller-coasters. Afterwards, we returned to their house and learned how to make and cook pork dumplings. I really enjoyed being able to experience the Chinese family culture that I have read about in classes for a few months now. In 15 days, I will be returning home to Villanova. I cant believe how fast it has all gone, but I am definitely ready to be home with my friends, family, and the comfortable American culture that I am used to. 

Pictures from the Chinese homestay to come...