Semester 5 Chapter XX: Over & Out

We made it! I officially conclude the fifth semester in Shanghai. I’m not gonna do bunch of shout outs this time cause I did a round of those recently so let me just thank to all of you reading this thing. Specifically to those who let me know here and there... Kinda makes me feel I’m not talking to a mirror (even though I totally do that still) and whatever bullshit I spill here is worth a while to someone. During my time off, I’ll think whether to expand this blog a little bit... I received some feedback and I have some ideas too... So maybe you’ll get like some playlist here and there, or some veggie shit... How to live in Shanghai like a fucking king spending 10 RMB on food per day or some shit like that... Or maybe I won’t do any of that. Guess we just wait and see...

So yeah, last year was mostly making sure I get all of my shit in order so it doesn’t stack up much during my absence – although I’m fucking sure it will. I also hung out with some of my peers in Minhang (it’s been a while), downtown, did some bike rides, went to my Chinese classes, got a haircut, visited some cool spots... You know... Living the life.

I ended up Daliah and Barules (some real good hig-end shit) on Monday, and the day after I tried this Super Vegan restaurant in a mall in Xujiahui. It’s still fuck malls but the food was awesome. Pretty affordable, lots of top notch mock meat, tasty as hell. On Wednesday, the gang met up at this Muslim restaurant at Yuyuan Road. I’ve literally passed the place hundreds of times but never been in. Even though they work with lotta meat, their veggie options are quite impressive and super tasty. And they don’t take this Islam thing too seriously, as they sell pretty good and cheap beer. We took it to My Place after that.

I also managed to make it Dean’s Bottle Shop at Shaoxing Road on Thursday. Prices are quite high for a beer shop (basically 40 RMB for a bottle of anything) but they do have some solid selection. I got stuck on this stout with coffee and bourbon which was absolute flames.

Today, I met up with everyone at the restaurant at Huaihai/Wanping Road for a lunch, we totally order way more than needed, but it was a killer as usual. Even got some leftovers home cause I refused to waste that much food. So yeah, that’s pretty much it. Gonna go see the gang once more later in the evening but this one’s gonna be short. Still got shit to do, still haven’t really packed, and my fucking plane is leaving Shanghai tomorrow morning. That’s why you’re getting this motherfucker on Saturday, ya dig? And you know the drill. Your boy taeb is going dark for the next three weeks as he’s gonna be dipping his tatted-up vegan ass deep in the Pacific Ocean, eating tropical fruits, changing lives and all that shit. But don’t you worry, in about a month, we gonna kick-off semester 6. We have way more things to experience, way more situations to get into, way more shit to fuck up... The game is not over – this is merely an intermission. One!

Highlights:

• Got asked to do Linkedin promotion for my uni for the second year in a row. Dunno why but here we go!
• Future’s and James Blake’s new albums. Haven’t really gave them the attention they deserve but they both sound super dope on the first listen.
• Fiji. Tomorrow. See y’all!

Semester 5 Chapter XIX: Coffee & Wontons

Yo, we’re getting there. In about a week I’ll be dissolving my ass in the Pacific Ocean. The picture of that keeps me going through these cold ass Shanghainese days. To be honest though, it could be way worse. I mean, it is cold but it’s not freezing so biking and running is still pretty okay. It has definitely been worse...

I’m still on the regular these days. Trying to advance my Chinese, going for my runs, pushing weight in gym, listening crazy amounts of new music, hanging out with my peers... Everything is going smoothly, energy is still on 100%, positive vibes only...

On Monday, I ended up at this Bites & Brews on Fire spot around the corner from my building. I’ve actually visited this bar a few times over the past couple of weeks, as it’s quite cozy and relatively affordable. And they do espresso martinis over there – that drink is the shit man...

Tuesday, I did a little tequila night with a friend topped with some veggie burgers. Good stuff on top of good stuff. Motherfucker has to treat himself... The day after, I went for a coffee with my Chinese friend after quite some time. We met up at that Knowing cafe at Xinzhuang, caught up for a bit and then I biked back home. By the way, biking last week was not the most convenient thing to do, as it was raining for like 4 days straight. Fortunately, it looks that we are out of the worst and this morning, I did my laps outside with sunrays warming up my face...

Thursday, I did a dinner at that Chinese restaurant by Huaihai/Wanping road. They never disappoint.  I also received a text from this guy from Switzerland. It’s actually a son of one of my dad’s childhood friends (whom I know too), and even though I never met the guy, since he and his girlfriend had a two days’ layover in Shanghai on their way from New Zealand, our dads linked us up so we went for a dinner on Friday. Turned out to be a pretty cool evening. We hit Jen Dow (their first hotpot ever) and then proceeded to My Place. Some of my peers joined as well. There’s a good chance I’ll finally make it to fucking Switzerland for the first time in the summer...

Saturday was a biking time. Met up with my biking partner and went to Pudong do burn some calories. This time we took a ferry from the North Bund and shortly after that found a biking path that has obviously been completed over the past couple of months. We’ve been in the area once before around a year ago and at that time, it was all in progress. And boy, did they kill it. It’s a super long and nice ride around the river through parks... You got community centers like every 500 meters which provide free wifi, electicity and shelter for some work or hangout, along with drinking water dispensers and toilets. There’s green everywhere and since they put speakers all over the area, you got a soundtrack to your ride as well. So even though they turned a gallery in this former factory we visited last year into some weird ass posh mall, we had a great time just exploring the new area. You can actually ride all around Lujiazui all the way to across the river from the Powerstation of art where we took a ferry to Nanpu Bridge. However, the lane goes on so we gonna explore the rest sometime soon. And since it’s super nice and there is drinking water everywhere, I started playing with the idea of doing a marathon or at least half-marathon when the weather gets better... We stopped by at the Veggie house for some pumpkin and bean pie on the way and had our dinner at Gwen’s Jiang by Yanqing Road. They had a pop up Szechuan vegan thing going on. Spicy wontons, sesame wontons, soups, noodles. Beautiful. Met up with my vegan plug over there so after the meal, we took it to a bar nearby to check out some chilled musical session of her friends. I wrapped my day up at Bites & Brews again with my Monte Negro squad. Oh, and we did almost 50km on bikes that day. Just so you fucking know...

On Sunday, the whole gang met up for a lunch at the Vegan Hotpot place. For some reason, I’m being asked to introduce my peers to veggie spots I enjoy around here lately. I obviously don’t mind and since they usually seem surprised that the food is actually not garbage, I guess it serves its purpose. I still feel the idea of vegans eating rocks and grass is quite prevalent among carnivores. We had a bit of a feast over there – great way to conclude the week.

So yeah, got back from my run, listening some new rap, having my coffee... And the last week of semester 5 in on. We got one last blog coming next weekend – till then, take it eassy!

 

Highlights:

• Surviving R. Kelly. I mean this guy has been cancelled on my radar for some time but god fucking damn it. Definitely recommend checking this shit out...
• New Black Mirror. Disturbing for a number of reasons...
• My Place – hadn’t been there in a minute and I almost forgot how good the vibe is over there.