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View from my room on the 54th floor in the JW Marriott in Shanghai
And so it begins, the 4th residency. The Yangshuo group got back into Shanghai fairly late; our flight was delayed a bit and then needed to take an hour-long van ride from the airport rather than take the 7-minute maglev high-speed train, which closes early in the evening. After arriving at the hotel around 10:45 p.m., I needed to check-in, then several of us headed to Ian’s flat to pick up our other luggage. I should’ve just packed one suitcase and done laundry service…maybe I’ll try that in St. Petersburg, for the final overseas residency.
At 11:30 p.m., I just began to start to unpack. Finishing up the GMI paper that I was assigned by my (former) group brought me to 1 a.m., and here I am.
Rice Terraces - Rural China
It’s a bit early to look back on Yangshuo, but when I do, all I’ll remember is an awesome time. Yangshuo is easily the most beautiful area I’ve ever seen. I realize that’s a bold statement in the face of just having returned from seeing the Taj Mahal, but I’m basing this statement on the natural beauty of what I saw. I’m by no means the traveler that some of my classmates are, but I think I’ve seen a few things; seeing the buildings and how the materials are in harmony with the nature surrounding them, or how the rural Chinese have built rice paddies into the side of fairly steep hills, the pre-experience might turn out to be more impressive than Shanghai itself. Again, it’s a bit early to put in the final grades…and, there’s a Ferrari/Maserati dealer right next to the JW Marriott, so maybe the beautiful sights will just continue.
One thing that is for certain is that I’ve made a bunch of new friends through the Yangshuo experience. While all of us going in knew of each other, I can’t say that we all really knew each other. That’s probably the best part of the pre- and post-residency travels; the events planned by Duke are great, and the educational experience is a bonding one, but the free-form country experience with our fellow classmate travelers is really the experience I’ll remember from the CCMBA program.
Ian at the top of Moon Hill
While it’s a bit early to truly appreciate the experience from Yangshuo, it’s not too early to thank Ian for all the hard work he’s put in to making this such a memorable experience. Like Taniya in India before him, Ian has gone so far out of his way to show off the host country that I don’t really have a suitable adjective. From the “DMF guide” to Shanghai, to coordinating all of our flight schedules, herding all of the ‘cats’ to make sure we all made it from one location to the next in Yangshuo, to getting us back to Shanghai…well, you get the picture. Ian, now that we’re all in Shanghai, hopefully you can relax (at least as much as we can during a residency) and enjoy the time for yourself. If past residencies are any guide, there’s plenty of brown liquor floating around the rooms to keep the toasts to you flowing, but I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say, whatever you need is on us for the rest of the residency.
Except for a Ferrari or Maserati of course. You’re on your own for that one.
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