3 Czechs in Shanghai? everything is possible & AI party with Brodie /PAI/

Finally, i`ve met Peter`s in Shanghai / Petr Skvaril from AI and Peter Podstreleny -undershooted from MC MoC...these days were great and unforgottable...
After 4 years in @ i`ve met current PAI / Brodie, my chinese friends told me about Brodie - he has innoncent blue eyes and he`s handsome so i was waiting...Brodie is really cool but im wondering if he is so innoncent as his eyes...

• Dinner in expensive chinese restaurant, i eat crab for the first time in my life, there were members from Fudan and also SJTU, trainees, alumnies...very nice evening.

AI party
what about after dinner??? enjoy night and partying. Really hardcore party / as usuall in club where you pay entrance fee and you can drink what you want.

• 9-10 tequillas, lot of bottles of beer, some mixed drinks...the only bad thing was that the club close at 1 a.m...So another club was waiting for us. Bar dancers, beer & mixed drinks again, dancing and lot of fun....

Finally i slept in Zhenia`s flat - my home was too far - thanks once more.

Football evening/night

On friday 11.december, our friend Sandra(for sure from Germany) invited us for document night. Im not really big fan of football, i prefer Ice hockey and for sure Czech national Ice Hockey team, but i decided to watch smthg interesting and get to know more about football.

We saw really cool document about football, parts of game…this movie or document consist of more short documents from whole world…really amazing, i saw football from another point of view…This document was done also for promotion of FIFA Fussball Weltmeisterschaft 2006(i should start to practise more my german)

World of football full of differences - at one side ppl who play football in USA at streets and than ppl playing football at Sri lanka, in beach or field,…different ppl, different countries but all of tem love football and when i saw their smile, how are they happy from goal…and all of them believe in better future, taht they will became famous and it will change their life…Good luck to everyone and mainly to Czech national footbal team, after 16 years we will again fight at World Championship !!!

Alumni reunion – 1st part : brunch

Amazing brunch organized by Lu Eleen at very nice place – La Seine, french restaurant. Finally there were about 30 @ers. Everything started slowly so when we start with meal it was already lunch time..but for much money, we have a lot of everyting – „swedishtables“ so everyone of us tried, for sure, as much meals, desserts,…as possible. Ii was so tasty!!! Sometimes there is need to change chinese meal and fast food and try european style – normal cheese, pasta, all variants of potatoes…At this days, i tried for the first time in my life sea food – exactly somesea coctail-it wasnt so bad J maybe that there helped fact, that it was served in salad leaf with vegetable and it was mixed so i couldnt see what is it made of. After lunch came coffee and desserts and at the end birthday cake – we were really full.
But the main goal of this event was networking and not meal, btw in China, meals is very important and i think that this topic is as usuall as weather in UK.
At all this networking events i feel ow incredible is Aiesec and all ppl who are somehow connected with. There was about 30 ppl, mostly chinese, for sure in china, but foreigners from lot of countries, everyone was sharing his experience, mainly from Aiesec life, but also from China and collecting business cards and contacts J Nowadays world is only about contacts.
There have been a lot Aiesec generations…i think that the „oldest – sorry most experienced“ Aiesecer(Alumni) joined Aiesec in 1990 !!!

Alumni reunion :2nd part – Volunteer activity in hospital

When we all were full, we were thinking about some another activity…we didnt want to finish such a great day so early. Some of us wanted to go for beer but we decided to join group of ppl who were going to hospital to spent some time with children who are after operation or they have some problems with heart.
It was for the first time in my life, i joined this kind of activity and i was so surprised, to see these children, play games with them, try to communicate (mostly they were small and they didnt want to communicate with chinese so there wasnt language barrier) really amazing. To saw their smile, shining eyes, because some of them saw foreigners probably for the first time in their life…unforgettable experience…everyone of us became children for a while. Really nice.

Alumni reunion : 3rd part : party in park at ppl square

After volunteer activity, we had meal again (now it was in cantonese restaurant, we tried fried gooses tongues- really tasty) and after we were doing decision where to go – if bar or pub…but after expensive brunch we didnt want to spent so much money,sooooo…as in czech republic, supermarket – some bottled beers – going to drink to park and finish it somewhere. Place was nice park close to ppl square, with amazing lake and gooses, some homeless ppl and couples (we were really sorry, but we disturbed some of them and they had to leave). So we were sharing some roll calls – mainly Czech one with czech and international version and we finished the beers.
At this evening i realized really strange thing, i have lost my drinking skills during my stay in China!!! I had 2 bottles of beer and i felt it in my legs!!! I havent been drunk, for sure…but i felt that i drink alcohol!!!! So strange, but Peter told me !its not so bad, oyu will not spend so much money when you will drink“ ok, i started tothink about it, and thats true,but…

Shoppinggg !!!!! Amazing Nanjing Road !!!!

Nanjing Road was the first commercial road in Shanghai. In the early 20th century, there were only four department stores along this stretch. Today, it has become the number one place for shopping in the city. The money at work in the road has encouraged many companies and businesses over the years to set up bases near here. Nanjing Road is fantastically located, stemming off the Huangpu River and the Bund at a right angle and linking the city's main commercial and residential districts to the mouth of the river. The road to the east of Tibet Road is called Nanjing Dong Road while the road to the west is known as Nanjing Xi Road.
In the past few years, mammoth changes have taken place here. The street was beginning to look a little down at heel and Huaihai road was pulling the wealthier customers away from here. A huge improvement plan was put into action and completed just in time for Chinese New Year 2000.
New shopping centers have been erected and a large section of the street has been pedestrianised. There are also some first class hotels scattered along the road including the Peace Hotel, and the Portman. In the evenings, the street looks at its best, with neon lights and advertising billboards illuminating the glorious buildings along the road.

For ppl who loves shopping as, me this is very interesting part of Shanghai, i have never seen so many shopping malls and luxory shops, also you can find there fake markets, in the small streets, at one place. Really here, you can buy everything from whole world, whe you have enought money. I saw for the first time in my life shopping centre, which has 11 floors!!! I was like, wow..everything in Shanghai is so huge and high, and sometimes also price.
I visit shops, in Europe boutiques into which i never go in Prague, because its so fucking expensive that for my credit card is better to go around but here, im foreigner and they expect that i could buy something so its very nice feeling.

Bottle of beer. Small for 6ORMB(10RMB=1EUR) !!!!

Unbelievable…this days started as every saturday…running somewhere and be really bus. I joined David @ carlos for shopping, and i also wanted to see Yu garden, but we didnt have time for it, so i hope that i will visit htis beautiful garden before i left Shanghai.

We all wanted to buy something and also practise our barganing skills, really when you have to bargain its much more better that pay what they want. At the end, i didnt buy anything…i couldnt decide what exactly i want and i will do some list of thigs which i want to buy, than its easier.
Lunch – in China is meal very important, something like weather in UK…so we tries dumpligs filled with everything, we had 52 pcs of dumplings for 3 ppl!!!little bit crazy, butt very, very tasty. After this came 2nd part of shopping, again shops- or markets-where you can bargain – but for now clothes and shoes. You have to be carefull, not everything has so high quality, but we bought what we wanted.

In the evening, obvious question…what to do now…Ikea for sure, cool coffee, european meal and swedish cakes. There we met another ppl and we went to club called Luna. Today there was band called Goldfish, the music was really good. Ok, we decided to try Heineken, limited edition – for 60RMB…i think that oonly oone what can be called limited, was new koind of bottle, some difference between beer? Nothing. So after this fucking expensive small beer i decided to try margarita, which was cheaper than beer!!! Normally this cant happen in Czech republic. This mixed dring was cool, nice change…but, i relaized that i lost my training, i cant drink so much as before, its very bad…

Vegetarian restaurant

On saturday last week i was invited to special restaurant for LC lunch. Something interesting, without meat…ok vegetarian restaurant. I was thinking about fact that i have never been in vegetarian restaurant before and that i have to enjoy it. Also Adam form MC MoC join us, he had already exoerience from such restaurant in China, what i heard wasnt very good but its challenge – and it was… Menu was in english but when i saw pictures and description i decided that it will be better when ppl who already tried it will order something...another surprise in China. I think that i wil never be vegetarian.Eat something what looks like sausage and taste like sausage but it is from…better not to know this or fish, which has nothing similar with fish…ok, maybe form :) At the end we order some sweet cakes and also fruit. How i loved apples and water melon there. After this really cool lunch which all of us experienced we went to one street which is known as street with lot of restaurants where you can get typical Shanghaienese meal. We tried dumplings with meat and soup inside…it was s tasty :) really cool !!! so after vegetarian experience back to meat :)

Mexican restaurant and Barbarossa bar

This week Primrose from MC MoC was visiting Shanghai, everyone of us had few meetings at chamber of commerce. Our last meeting was on friday at EU chamber of commerce in Shanghai. There we had meting with Silvia, during meeting we realized that she was somehow in touch with Aiesec, when she studied in Italy so we decided to invite her for todays dinner with ppl who are somehow connected with Aiesec and they are in Shanghai.
After long time ive met ppl from Europe, really its cool to be abroad but sometimes you need tospeak with ppl from your country or continentJ
We had really cool dinner in Mexican restaurant at ppl square, really tasty and also really expensive. When we wanted to make photo, so someone from us said Aiesec and some guy asked us if we are really from Aiesec, if we are not joking…This guy, was in Aiesec –MC Taiwan i think that 10 years ago and now he works in Dell in Shanghai, so we have another member of Shanghai Gathering group.
After cool dinner we decided to go Barbarossa, club in the middle of ppl square, in park…We spent there great night, everyone was enjoyig this night, we tried some mixed drinks, smoke water pipe, listened club music and share our experiences from China and all countries we have been or which we come from or which we visited. This night i relaized how small is world…in every country you meet ppl, from Aiesec, which knows someone who you know. Really Aiesec network.
If you will be in Shnaghia, I can recommend you this club,it has few floors, some are open air, so you can enjoy music, drinks, water pipe,…and cool view around ppl square. Really amazing feeling when you see alll this skyscrapers.

Tian´anmen Square

is the largest square in the world. The museum of Chinese history and the Museum of Chinese revolution are erected on the eastern side and the Great hall of the People on the wester side.

Many celebrations and military reviews are held there.

I was surprised, because i expected square similar to Czech :-) with lot of old buildings, traffic is there very limited,...but this square is really huge, from all sides is 4 round busy street and in the middle big memorial. Also everywhere you can meet security,ppl who want to sell something or students who want to attract you to some exhibition which is in the museum. Also, you can find there in front of Museum big clock, where are days´and hours which left to Olympic games in Beijing in 2008.

Also, when i stand at the square and i imagine all historical things which happend there...it was freezing me.

Our trip to Great Wall

together with my friends Thomas(Germany) and Carlos(Colombia) we decided to explore part of Great wall where you have to climb 10 km...its part from Simatai to Jinshanling.

Our yourney there was crazy, as i wrote before, there are no rules at street...We had several opportunities how to get there -bus, taxi and not official taxi. Because this part is not the famous one and we wasnt sure how is it with bus and mainly when is going the last one from Great Wall back to Beijing we decided to take car, without taxi sign. Its much more cheaper and in Beijing you meet ppl who offer this service at every step.

Driver and car were crazy but finally after 2 hours we were in small mountain village in the bottom of The Great Wall. There we tryied to explain to driver, that he should wait for us at the another place and that we will pay only half of price and another he will get in Beijing---these ppl dont speak English, but thanks to Carlos who is improving his chinese we agreed somehow.

We got 3 guides, womens who are farmers in this area. Together with them we went about 1 hour maybe more in nice mountains to entrance to Great Wall. The yourney was quite exhausted but when we saw finally Great Wall...everything was ok, again. It was amazing to see this great monument.

Climbing 10 km was also very exhausting, but at whole yourney we saw nice nature, Great Wall we met lot of ppl who wanted to sell us many and many things and we, like right tourist after hard bargaining bought a lot of things - pictures, T-shirt with "I climbed Great Wall" and many other.

We went through 30 towers, saw different parts of Great Wall, spent money for entrance and presents, cross one really "cool" bridge and after 5 hours when i challenge myself, because the climbing wasnt very easy after sometime here in China without bigget activity, i didnt feel my legs and feets but now i can say that i was in China and for sure i have unforgottable memory.

The Great Wall

is a symbol of dauntlessly indomitable spirit of the Chinese national and a crystallization of the wisdom of the CHinese ppl in ancient times. During the age of cold weapons, it was a comprehensative defense work, and in modern times, it is a tourist attraction that draws a constant stream of adventurous explores, sightseers and those who cherish the past.

The Great wall extends 5ooo kilometers form east to west in north China like a gigantic dragon wriggling its way across the deserts, grasslands. To either heaeds of state or ordinary ppla from every part of the world,it, being a wonder in the history of world architecture, stands high as the irrisistible allurement. Many of iuts section and passes have been designated by the CHinese governement as key national cultural sites.

It took moe than 2 millennia for the Great Wal to be completed, beginning form the 7th century BC, that is, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, when the dukes -Chu, Qi, Wei,Han,Yan,Qin,Zhao-constructed walls around their territories for self-defence.

The wall as we see today was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty until it reached an awesome length of 5,660 kilometers, starting form Shanhai Pass in the east to Jiayu Pass in the west by way of Hebei, Beijing, Shnaxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu.

Great wall has several parts: Badaling, Juyong Pass, Mutianyu section, Jinshanling, Gubeikou section, Huangya Pass, Simatai Section and Shanhai Pass.

Famous chinese saying : "One who fails to reach the Great Wall would not be regarded as a hero"

The Palace Museum

is located in the middle of Beijing and is the former palace of the emperors of the Ming and Quing dynasties. Is tha largest and the best . preserved group of ancient wooden architecture in the world. First built in 1406 in the fourth year of Emperor Yongle, it is the place where 24 emperors were enthorned.
Occupying area of 720,000 square meter, The palace museum has 8,707 rooms. In 1987 , the UNESCO listed the Palace museum as part of the world cultural heritage.

Sightseeing in Beijing

after conference we decided to spent some time there and enjoy Beijing...It was little bit random. At the end of conference we didnt know the most important think - where we will sleep...but thanks to MC MoC we were safed

Our plan was brief-to see Forbidden city, Tianmen square, Summer palace and for sure Great wall. First we thought that we can do it in 3 days..but we stayed 1 week.

Whole week we were like tourist. We used taxi, bought a lot of things, visited many sightseeing and made hundreds of photos... All of us spent some time in China(me, Carlos and Thomas) we accept some habits, which are not typical for us at all...but its different culture :-)

In Beijing you have to try public traffic and traffic jam. Its really crazy, everywhere is so many ppl,they do everything for having seat,sometimes you have to fight in bus to have place where you can stand...

Traffic in China is very different...Yourney from Shanghai took 13 or 24 hours by train-the train was beter than in Czech Republic. In Beijing, you can use metro, taxi or bus. I was surprised that there are 2 types of buses-slow and fast but in traffic jam, you dont see the difference :-) Basically, the slow has more stops.

Like i wrote we lived in MC flat and its situated in business area and traffic jam is there whole day so we enjoyed a lot overcrowded buses and also street in taxi.Typical for Beijing are small "cars"? i dont know exact name but you can meet it everywhere, its usually for 1 person. People who drive it are crazy, but rules at street in China...ok for foreigners is better to jon group of ppl and follow them, dont think about rules. In China it doesnt matter if there is green or red - if you want to go and you feel that its safety you can :-))) I think that i will never understand to this and eveytime im surprised and shocked when i saw everything at the street,going in different directions...but there has to be some secret system, which foreigners dont see because i have never saw accident...

Meal

is little bit different from Shanghai, its not so much sweet. When you visit Beijing, you have to try Beijing Duck-great meal, price depends on restraurant and for one duck (we thought that it will be whole duck according to picture) is from 45 RMB.We also tried some Thaiwan restaurant and Australian, with great steaks - i had "cool" chicken, smashed potatoes and potato soup !!! and the most incredible think drafted beer !!! in China, For LC Prague members favourite summer beer -FOSTER :-)

Global village and National Induction Conference

was held in Beijing, for 3 days...i was there for the first time like facilitator and also CEED, representative of my country...Great experience. After all my experience from organising committee member, i enjoyed the conference :-) i waked up when i wanted, there were no gossips so i wasnt afraid of who see me and where...

Global village
for foreigners one of the best part of conference and for members opportunity to see their results and meet different culture. I think that at this global village were about 10 maybe more different countries, everyone had information about "home" country and for sure typical meal and mainly alcohol sooo members of AIESEC MoC had lot of opportunities to enjoy party and try strong alcohol. Maybe that you will not believe but in China you can also find alcohol, which has about 52%.

Believe me or not, but at this conference was Czech & Slovak table. I was together with Peter(China MC) and Matus(trainee in Beijing, form Slovakia). This idea appeared when i found map of Czech Republic and SLovakia together and its in Chinese !!!

Ok, we decided to have typical Czech&Slovak meal...bread with salt and "sadlo" and onion..but in China is very hard to find real bread. Ok, they have here bread, its totally different from Czech and SLovak, its like toast bread but bigger and sweet...first problem..the second "sadlo" in china ppl use only oil and find something like "sadlo or "skvarky" was problem. So finally we had bread which was the most similar to our with salt and to this typical spa waffels and for sure Slivovice, Becherovka and Borovicka.
We also prepared surprise but because there wasnt so much time and party finished early we didnt do it. First was "bouchana" but another problem...in CHina is hard to find Tonic, second..."zapalovana" Slivovice and Borovicka...but when we decided to do it, when party started and everyone was in good mood we realized that we are out of alcohol. Another surprise should be "light" form of body shot but finally, becasue the party finished we didnt do it. I believe that it could be fun, because i was there with 2 boys and usually you have to show example...

This party was cool, everyone had good mood and at the end there was also Topalky competition. I think that all foreigners enjoeyd it.