The week after Xinjiang, I felt depressed and lonely. I was bored and felt I didn't really have anyone to talk to. Good thing Sinky came back from Canada and she told me all about her trip. I felt homesick and I think I hit culture shock. It seemed I had trouble dealing with Chinese relationships. I needed close friends! I talked with Jingle and then with Allen so it really helped.
My last week I went to the tailor market with Rearn and then had delicious hot pot with trainees. It was amazing to be with people all from a different country at the same table, speaking English while none of us had it as a first language: French Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Italy, France, India, Norway, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hungary, the Netherlands. This is the multiculturalism of AIESEC and of Shanghai. Then we went to Zapatas and it was really fun! The Uygurs we met on the train came because Chris invited them. On Thursday we burnt in the sun doing recruitment during club day at Fudan. I had hot pot with my meimei Susan. I spent the afternoon doing cold calls for education traineeships. It's really easy in China! Then there was an alumni mixer at Barbarossa and it was time to say goodbye to many people as I was leaving the next day. We then went for all night long KTV! Everybody was sleeping haha.
On Friday I got up and packed. Then we had lunch with a few friends and Allen saw me off at the airport. Arriving in Hong Kong, I tried following the bus directions Maryse had given me but I couldn't find the place, and she wasn't picking up her phone! I was homeless on the side of the street. Finally I managed to reach her and we went to her apartment. We chatted a lot with beer and popcorn. It's crazy how we have both identified to our respective part of China. We were comparing Shanghai and Hong Kong saying 'you' and 'us'.
Saturday she had a cultural activity with her Cantonese class, most of whom are AIESEC trainees, so I joined them. We got up very late and went to a Cantonese restaurant. Lunch was paid by the government, yay! Then we went to a temple and they had their future predicted with little sticks. What a scam! After that we went for a massage. Fortunately it didn't hurt as much as the first one in Beijing. That was it for the cultural day. We went for dinner at a Japanese restaurant and then me and Maryse hopped by Lan Kwai Fong, the bar district, just so I could see it. There is a restaurant named cul-de-sac where they serve poutine!
On Sunday we went to see the giant buddha. I think this is a funny tourist attraction. We then wanted to go to the beach but the bus driver forgot to tell us when we were there so he didn't stop. We walked like half an hour down the hill because that's how far the next stop was. It was the perfect temperature for the beach: hot but with clouds so I don't get sunburns. We stayed there for a while, until it got dark. We were talking about Haiti and dreaming to start AIESEC there. We then went to some trainees' apartment and cooked Quebec food for them: sheppard's pie and pasta salad.
The next day was my last day in Asia. I went downtown alone since Maryse was working. I visited Hong Kong Park. There is a SRAS memorial there. You can see SRAS has had a tremendous impact on Hong Kong. They are a lot more serious about hygiene there. You can get a fine if you spit in the street. I also went to the Teaware museum. It was so cool! They had a contest of teaware making and there was an exhibit with all the entries. Some were so original! Then I took the train to the Peak. Such a tourist attraction. It was foggy so I couldn't see that much. On the way back I stopped by the bank building where you can admire the view from the 49th floor. Then I went back to Maryse's place, we had dinner and I left for my plane.
My plane arrived in London at around 5-6 AM local time on Tuesday the 18th of September. I took the subway to downtown and got to Westminster at 7 AM. When I got out of the subway station, I really loved the feeling. The sun was coming out behind the buildings. The air was fresh and cold. There were very few people in the streets, some doing their morning jog. I walked to St Paul's cathedral and then went to the British Museum. I found it funny that so many people were lining up for an exhibit about terracotta warriors for which you had to pay 12 pounds whereas I didn't even care to go to Xi'an when I was in China. I chatted with some old lady while waiting for the exhibitions to open and then wandered around. After the museum I went back to Westminster and had 'Asian' food. My first Western Asian food in a while! Then back to the airport for a long wait and I finally arrived in Montreal around 7 PM. Family picked me up and then home sweet home for a few days before moving to Toronto.
This is the end of my CEED tales. I told myself if I missed China too much I could always go back in January and here I am now. I shall update you in an upcoming post. Good luck to the future AIESEC Canada CEEDers in China and I hope you make the most out of your experience.
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