expats

There are many, many foreigners in Shanghai. I just didn't realize how many until I left Shanghai when I visited Nanjing. When I was in Nanjing, I had seen maybe about two other white people and I actually spoke more Chinese than English. It had just really hit me how many Westerners there are in Shanghai. Shanghai has always been known for the strong Western influence, but there still isn't that many. Shanghai is a city of 17 million people and only about 800,000 are foreigners. And they all tend to live in the same area. The area of Shanghai that I live in, Jing'an District, has a lot of expats. Expats (short for expatriates) is a name that Shanghainese people like to call foreigners. In Jing'an, I see about a good mix of whites and Chinese. Plus there are many, many Western cuisines around the area. Like I said in my last entry about Christmas; Shanghai is not starting to feel all that different from home anymore.

However, there are things from the US that I definitely miss. Bagels with cream cheese is probably number one on my list. In a foreign country, the first thing you miss is food and you will never stop missing it. Plus, I also miss being able to find books in English (kind of shocking
that it's hard to find books written in English in a city with a strong Western influence...). But there is one thing here that is very American. Fast food restaurants. I think there are actually more McDonald's here in Shanghai than there are in the state of Maryland. The number of KFC's is unbelieveable too. Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Subway, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns...you name it, it's here in Shanghai. And their food is nasty. Even a McDonald's Big Mac from America is a delicacy compared to these shit burgers here. I was actually watching a YouTube video that a Hong Kong KFC serves food from the garbage. It had grossed me out so much that I will never eat KFC again, no matter what country I'm in. All of these writing has actually gotten me hungry. Time for some ramen noodles and sushi. Hmmmm, Japanese food. My favorite food in Shanghai!