Preconcieved Notions Are Shattered: Quarter Away in Shanghai

Wieden + Kennedy, Shanghai
David Aronson, Hamburg, interning with my team partner Juri Zaech, Hamburg

After 20 hours of flying and 30 club sandwiches I finally arrived.?The first thing that hit me was the intense smell of fumes. The air quality is currently three times worse than Los Angeles, something you get used to.?Shanghais population is a staggering 18 million and the city has more skyscrapers than New York. This was my first time in Asia and I loved it, I was and am really amazed by China and its people.

Our time in the agency was an experience itself; it was a mix of western and Chinese people. From the first day we were treated as family. We came to know many wonderful people. We worked hard, as all people at the agency. ?Even though we worked most of the time, we still had time to see many different things in Shanghai. A very interesting place was the animal market, where you could find almost any kind of animal (sometimes in very small cages) and watch the locals bet money on cricket fights (they're like cock fights). The sound of thousands of crickets and birds was incredible.

Another day we went to a beautiful Buddhist temple on the outskirts of the city. ?People threw coins in wells, and on the roofs. It was so interesting to see people in China pray, so different than the Europeans. ?In Shanghai, the difference between rich and poor is extreme. It is also why the city is so interesting. There are high tech skyscrapers everywhere, but at the same time there are areas where people live far below European living standards. I came to love these old streets and there is always something interesting going on. The big shopping streets didn't interest me as much as the old neighborhoods. I walked around with my camera to record, and absorb as much as possible.? China's economy is booming, and construction sites work around the clock (I don't know how you can build a skyscraper in the dark but it seems to work).

A few things that make me love Shanghai:
People clear their throats and spit everywhere?.
You see people walking around in pajamas outside?.
Many people walk backwards in the park since it is said to be good for the brain?.
There is a live karaoke for volunteers in the parks?.
In the daytime people sleep everywhere.
When you flush the toilet water runs the other way.
People bet money on cricket fights.
You can eat snake?.
You don't have to care how you eat.
People want to take a picture with you only because you are white?.
The Shanghai people are warm and curious.
There are bikes so heavy loaded that they block traffic?.
There are bikes everywhere.
There doesn't seem to be any traffic rules?.
People want to sell you DVDs by saying: "Hello DVD."

It's very hard for me to explain how Shanghai was, because for me it was such an amazing, and unique experience. I have never missed a country so much after coming home as China, and if you ever get the chance to go, you should. It will change you, and  give you a new perspective on life. You will for sure get the culture shock of your life.