Quality Education in the Benedictine Tradition.

search

Bearcats on the Road

Raw Prawns and Other Shanghai Aventures

Posted by Maggie Loya on Thu, Feb 19, 2015 @ 04:04 PM

I hopelessly stared at the four grey shrimp-like creatures, and they stared back with black, lifeless eyes. A warm pot of soup was the only other indication that these prawns were indeed meant as food.

Prawn or no Prawn? Maggie Loya's First Shanghai ExperienceJohn, my travel partner, glanced over at my meal. “Are those cooked?”

I poked one tentatively with a finger, and it left a trail of fishy slime on my hand. “I don’t think so…” Glancing around for support, I searched for an instructional pamphlet or even another diner who had ordered this particular dish. I found no help, and thoughts of disgrace and insults were filling my head. My sleep-deprived brain struggled between two options: make a fool out of myself and potentially offend the restaurant owner or suck it up and eat the nasty prawn.

“Maybe prawns are a different color in Asia. Maybe it really is cooked. Is this sanitary?” I took a deep breath, peeled off the shell, removed the legs and head (the eyes seemed to admonish me), and ate the whole prawn in one bite.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” I thought, taking a gulp of the soup. I reached forward to devour my next prawn victim, and the waitress arrived—carrying two plates of uncooked rice noodles, raw mushrooms, rare beef, and thick, inedible kelp. She murmured something unintelligible in Mandarin, and turned a tiny knob located behind my soup pot. The broth began boiling, and she motioned from the plates to the pot.

I was supposed to cook my own food.

*****

image2John and I had ended up at the hot pot restaurant after over sixteen hours in a plane. It was a small miracle that I even made it to Pittsburgh International Airport in the first place; I had been weighing the advantages of jumping out of my roommate’s car and begging for Academic Affairs’ forgiveness with the disadvantages of ditching John and destroying my pride. It had been a close battle, but I finally made it to the gate. Even after we had travelled to Dallas and our plane was taxiing out to the runway to leave for Shanghai, John and I looked at each other in terror and asked, “Think it’s too late to run?”

The minute we left the Shanghai airport, though, I was sold. I was no better than a kid, gawking at the huge buildings and not wanting to sleep. I was finally ready for the adventure.

Where does this leave us, fellow adventurers? To begin, last night I slept on a wooden pallet with a padded sheet as my “mattress.” This wasn’t a shortcoming on my part; I think that was actually just the bed for temporary housing. I also have no idea how to work the HVAC unit, so I spent last night bundled in two coats and sweatpants, wrapped up in my Guardians of the Galaxy fleece. Everything kind of smells gross, and I’m afraid to know how badly I smell too. I can’t figure out the shower (who knew these things could be so complicated?!). There isn’t really a shower floor either…it’s literally just a drain in my bathroom floor next to the toilet.

Maggie Loya's Balcony, overlooking Shanghai

Would I have it any other way? Nope.

This finally brings me to the most recent discovery—my ninth floor room has a balcony (and a much nicer bed). It’s time to go find some breakfast and relax on my beautiful little porch overlooking the city; I think this is what they call heaven. Zaijian!

Shanghai up close

Topics: study abroad, Maggie Loya, Shanghai

About this Blog

In Bearcats on the Road, students chronicle their lives while studying abroad or completing internships away from campus.

Michael Orange

 

How can you study abroad?

Study abroad learn how

 


Join the Community

Subscribe to this Blog

Schedule a Visit

Request Information

Apply Now to become a bearcat


Latest Posts

Bloggers 

Paige Casario

Paige Casario is a junior International Business major with minors in Spanish and Operational Excellence. She is studying Business and Spanish and living with a host family in Sevilla, Spain, for the spring semester. She is very excited for this opportunity and experience and can't wait to venture all over Spain and Europe.

Nicole Reitz

Hi! My name is Nicole Reitz and I’m a junior psychology major at SVC. This spring, I’m studying at Edge Hill University in England.

Gianna Boburka

Hi! My name is Gianna Boburka. I am an international business major with minors in operational excellence and entrepreneurship. I will be studying abroad in Thessaloniki, Greece, this summer for five weeks. In addition to taking two classes abroad, I will be exploring many different sites around Greece.

Theresa Thimons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theresa Thimons is a sophomore majoring in mathematics. She is the proud little sister to nine siblings and aunt to seventeen nieces and nephews. Theresa believes that each encounter she has with another human is an opportunity to better understand the heart of Jesus, as every person is the result of God’s love. In whatever career path she ends up taking, she looks forward to solving problems and hopefully inspiring more people to explore the world of fun that is found in math.

Sam Geer

 

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Sam Geer. I’m from Murrysville, Pennsylvania, and I’m a junior at Saint Vincent. I’m getting my major in Environmental Science and minoring in Public Administration. I’m a work study at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve and am a member of the Benedictine Leadership Studies Program. This summer, I'll be traveling to Bhutan in the Himalayas of Central Asia, home of the bearcat, where I’ll be studying environmental sustainability and Bhutanese culture. 

Gabrielle Kohl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi! Im Gabrielle Kohl, an avid reader who loves to travel around the world! I love to experience new culture, literature, people and food. I aim to make a positive impact in the lives of people with whom I interact in order to make the world a happier place.

Nicole Berry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi! My name is Nicole Berry and I am currently a junior studying communication and psychology. I also am minoring in children studies. I am a commuter and currently live in Delmont, PA. I am hoping to graduate in May 2017 and go on to graduate school for my Masters in Social Work and Juris Doctorate.

Anastasia Jaeger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anastasia Jaeger is a junior English education major with a minor in German and a minor in peace and justice. She has always dreamed of being able to travel around the world and is thankful that Saint Vincent College has these opportunities available to students. When she is not at college, she is likely working her part-time job at a local bakery. In the future, she hopes to travel more and do humanitarian work or teach high school students English.