A Guizhou Country Bumpkin in The Big City of Shanghai

Exactly one year ago from yesterday， I arrived in the unfamiliar city of San Francisco， eager to step into the unknown world of China。  Now， one year later， I step into the unfamiliar city of Shanghai， eager to step back into the now unknown world of America。

Arrival in Shanghai was overwhelming。After saying goodbye to the friends who accompanied me to the airport， I stepped into Shanghai airport and was overwhelmed by the amount of foreigners at every corner。  I was fortunate enough to get the nicest taxi driver I've ever encountered who could tell from the get go that I was from a remote part of China because of my "accent"。　　When he discovered that I am from Guizhou， he took it upon himself to be my guide， and during the entire drive （almost 1 hour）to the  hostel he pointed things out to me and told me the history or significance of each building。  I， humiliatingly enough， was like a deer caught in headlights。  Crouching to look out the window at the tall buildings all around， oh'ing and ah'ing at Shanghai's architecture （I forgot what archetecture looks like！ I'm so used to drab slabs of cement uniformly placed on top of each other），I forgot myself and kept remarking "Shanghai and Guiyang are so different"， "Shanghai is so clean！"，　"Shanghai is so beautiful！"。  The driver was so patient and kind to me that he offered to wake up early and drive me back to the airport this morning。

Whether unfortunate or not， Shanghai's weather yesterday was awful。  The rains were torrential and after a 10 minute walk with an umbrella and rolled up trousers I found myself sopping wet from head to foot。  As a result， I decided there was no other option but for me to relax at the hostel。  As luck would have it， within moments of sitting down I was joined by an older， extremely well-traveled Kiwi who sat down with me for at least an hour to talk about our experiences in Asia （he lived in Indonesia for 30 years）。  Soon enough， 2 English boys who he had befriended earlier joined us， followed by an English girl I was sharing a room with， followed then still by a few others more。 We had a great time relaxing， sharing travel and experience stories， playing games and just enjoying each other's company。 One year prior in San Francisco， I was meeting fellow Peace Corps trainees， discussing the same things，playing similar games， and then late at night we walked to the Golden Gate Bridge。  One year later in Shanghai， late at night when the rain stopped， I and my newly acquired friends walked to "The Bund" （the beautiful riverwalk in Shanghai） and waltzed down the riverwalk。  It was a rather poetic year-to-date moment。

Now，  as I nervously anticipate the taxi pulling in， I find myself running through a list of the same excitements and anxieties about America that I felt coming into China。  Will I do something culturally inappropriate？Will I get sick？What will it smell like？ What will the food taste like？But， at the same time， I've never been more excited for a hug from family or a delivered pizza as I am now。 ：）