As I prepare for day 2 of this Shanghai trip, I am still trying to process the fact that I am literally on the other side of the world! The first daunting aspect of the day was first the dreaded 15 hour plane flight; which, turned out to not be as enduring as anticipated with the help of several in-flight movies and sleeping for about 6 hours of the trip. My first impressions of China itself were highly influenced by the massive and very nice airports in both Beijing and Shanghai. While they weren’t near as populated as they usually are due to the timing of our arrival, how clean and well-kept and impressively constructed they are provided an early picture of what we were to see in the rest of the city for the day. You are literally thrown into the fast-pace of the city once the high-speed train takes you 300km/hr on a quick 7 minute trip into the city and then you experience the every astounding driving culture that is bold, aggressive, and efficient all at the same time. The “difficult” drivers and driving conditions that we say are in Houston pale in comparison to what is here!

We kept the day rolling not taking a significant moment to rest (which I prefer) by having our first session about the Shanghai education system which featured a teacher from one of the top high schools in the city and another man who helps write the standardized tests for the middle school students. What I found the most intriguing was the different point of emphasis here in China for the selection of the students who are deciding on a college to attend after high school. The approach is not only very selective but primarily based academic merit and performance on the entrance exams. Compared to the general approach here in the US where, while a major component is how well your grade point average and SAT/ACT scores are, your extra-curricular activities, community service, and other marks of merit are taken into consideration. Continuing this point I asked whether or not exceptional athletes (the ones that are on the track to compete professionally) have to go through the same testing process, and it turns out that athletes don’t go through this college acceptance process but instead focus solely on their sport. This allows for the athletes to pour themselves into to being as best they can without the heavy burden of school along with it. Then after their career is over with, however old they may be, they have the opportunity to attend any top university that they would like. This is completely contrary to what is done in the states, and as a collegiate athlete myself, I see the substantial difference this would make by completely focusing my will power and efforts. While musicians weren’t brought up, I would assume they would follow a similar process. Overall, the perspective gained from this session was very insightful and it provided a great perspective on the comparative aspects between the American and China education systems.

This introductory day to this great city was capped off with a trip to the Bund. Walking amongst the many high rise buildings lite up down Nanjing road really was awe inspiring and along with the first authentic Chinese dinner, provided for the best way to end this first, sleepless day.