How to survive biking/ traffic in China

     China’s cities can be fascinating, culturally stimulating and very exciting. They are a city lover’s dream (especially Shanghai), but most of all they are BUSY! With a population of close to 20 million people living in Shanghai alone, the term rush hour takes on a whole different meaning.  There are many ways to get around the city from taxi, tuck tucks, busses and subways but I find my favourite is cycling. Now I know your probably thinking that riding your bike in China, probably not the safest idea. Well your right, it’s not safe it’s actually terrifying! That is why I am going to give you some helpful tips on how to survive Shanghai Traffic on your bike. Follow these rules and your sure to arrive at your destination alive… you just might encounter a couple of bruises along the way.

Rule # 1) There are no rules: Forget everything you’ve learned in drivers ED, bike safety or even that safety village school we all went to when we were kids; rules of the road do not apply in China (especially for pedestrians)!

Rule# 2) Get yourself a bike with good breaks:  your breaks are the most important thing you have, without them you will die… DIE!!!

Rule# 3) Watch out for pedestrians:  people walk in massive clumps just about everywhere and have no regard for their surroundings (much like any type of vehicle on the road) so keep an eye out for that random person who will walk right in front of you without a second glance.

Rule #4) Get a bell or air horn on your bike: It is a valuable thing to let other cyclists, motorists, mopedists, pedestrians and cars know that you are there. If you can’t afford or find a bell then you can always bust up your bike a little so it makes a clanking noise when you ride (that’s what happened to me J)

Rule #5) Practice your agility: Do some pregame agility training before you hit the streets, it will keep your mind fresh and enable you to ride quick and nimbly on the road, dodging whatever comes your way.  

Rule # 6) Stay Alert Stay Alive!: probably the most important rule of them all. Keep your eyes out for anything (and I mean anything); always drive defensively but don’t be afraid! Panicking is the leading cause of bike accidents because guess what… when you panic you dont think and if you don't think you will not be able to dodge the massive  spill of plastic water bottle from the truck in front of you.

Keep these 6 simple rules in mind when biking the streets of China and you will survive, ignore them and well you may end up like this guy....

This could be you...

Shanghai's Old Town

When I traveled to Shanghai’s old town I expected to find a piece of history standing strong within the ever growing and modernizing city. I longed to see a hidden sanctuary of the past, undisturbed from the changes occurring around it.  Instead what I found was something totally different. The old town was a tourist haven. It was busy loud and just as modernized as the rest of Shanghai. With the McDonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC trifecta staring at me from every corner I couldn’t help but feel a slight disappointment. The old town was not what I had expected and I did not feel a sense of culture, only manufactured tradition. We decided to walk around and explore the area and came across a Buddhist monastery which was hidden away from all the hustle and bustle of the town. The monastery was practically empty and a peaceful quite swept over every one. I found it hard to believe that there existed a place so quite within the borders of Old Town. The monastery was a lovely change and I really felt the history and tradition of the place. After words we decided to check out a different monastery located more in the centre of the town. This monastery unfortunately had the complete opposite effect as the last one as it was swarming with tourists. There seemed to be no respect for the practicing monks as it was loud and people were snapping pictures every second.  The differences between the monasteries were astonishing and I felt that the essence of the second monastery was lost because of all the commotion.  From visiting Old Town I could really see how globalization has impacted China. Western influences were everywhere, from restaurants to shopping to the mass amounts of tourists. Globalization had taken over and to me it meant the death of a once beautiful and historical place within the city of Shanghai. When we left we decided to bypass the busy crowd on the main street and take the back alleys. It was then that I began to see the real China and experienced the most authentic part of the day.  It was then that I learned if you want to see China for what it is you must step outside the boundaries of what is presented to you.

Internship- Roots & Shoots Shanghai

Hey Guys,
Now I know this blog has been lacking in posts recently and I do apologise, but in my defence I have been very very busy! I promise I will get back to “THE NATIONAL WEEK” story as soon as I tell you about my placement. After being in Shanghai for 3 months I have not mentioned my internship placement to you all. I’m sure that a few of you have heard me mention it in private e-mails or what not but for those of you who haven’t I will explain. I have been working at Shanghai’s Roots & Shoots with their Kid Strong program: a program dedicated to teaching health and hygiene to migrant children. Me and my partner, Grace will travel to a total of 4 migrant school located on the outskirts of Shanghai, about a 3 hour trek there and back. At the school we proceed to attempt to teach migrant children proper health and hygiene techniques and habits. I should clarify here; Grace teaches the children health and hygiene while I pathetically attempt to teach them fruits and vegetables in English.

So far the internship has had its pros and cons:

PROS	CONS
I have gotten to know Grace very well, she is a wonderful partner and helps me with my Mandarin	I am really bad at Mandarin
I get to work with Children and test out my teaching skills	They only speak Mandarin
I have learned a lot about the inequalities and living conditions in Shanghai	Knowing that migrant children automatically have less of an advantage to succeed and cannot peruse a higher education in Shanghai due to their hukou is very hard, especially when you can see how much potential these children posses.
I can build my resume	Hearing the stories of the children and their families can be heartbreaking. I recently found out that one of the students and his younger sister at the kindergarten were found living under a bridge for a year and a half because their family could not afford the housing costs in Shanghai.
I teach the children English	The schools are located on the boarder of Shanghai, which means 3 hours of travelling there and back
Somehow I would like to believe I am making a slight difference to the lives of these children	The Schools and its surroundings are unbelievably appalling to Western standards. The kindergarten was small dirty and was surrounded by a garbage site with exposed metal and electrical wire merely 2 feet from the schools walls. The primary school is surrounded by factories pumping out pollution. Both schools have no heat or air.

Well there you have it the pros and cons to my internship placement. I am glad that I was chosen to be a part of this organisation and although they are a bit disorganised I always keep in mind the situation they are in. NGO’s in China have a hard time implementing or facilitating their programs as the Chinese government enforces strict rules and maintains a watchful eye. Roots and Shoot’s is still in the process of fine tuning their methods and with our help they will be able to see what can be improved.  A few weeks ago Grace and I had to write an article for the organisation which I just found out has been published online on Shanghai Expat. If you would like to read it here is the link: http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/article/shanghai-charities-kid-strong-roots-shoots-9769.html

I also want to apologise for the grammar, I believe they took parts from the English version and also parts from the Chinese version, re-translated it and thus some parts do not flow that well.  Any way that’s not really the point, the point is that I have an article published online and I think that’s pretty cool….