Heyo! It’s Talia. I am excited to say that I am writing the blog for today. Yesterday was very eventful. During the first half we got to shadow Iffany (our host student), which was very fun. Bianca and I ran into Avery and Bella, because we all had P.E. together. Their P.E. class looked very intense. They played a very elaborate game, which seemed to have a ton of games combined, including freeze tag, capture the flag, bowling, dodge ball and more. After the game they split off into 9th and 10th grade, so we ended up downstairs as they did cross fit. They have an amazing fitness center with tons of equipment. Our next class was English. In the class they all discussed the book that they read. Each student was allowed to pick a book that they were interested in, to present about to the entire class. Being able to participate in an English class in another country was something I had never considered or thought about.
At lunch there were tons of options of food, from pizza and fries to fried rice and pork sausage. Many of the students at CISS are from American families, while others are Chinese citizens, and it was nice to see that both food options were offered for the meal. I personally got a plate of fries and they were very yummy. Then we went to assembly, it was awesome to hear a little bit of Jesus, and get reminded of who gave us this amazing opportunity. Assembly is Concordia's equivalent to Chapel at FLHS, where students can reflect on their personal morals, while learning more about what Jesus says in the Bible. Then we had a break to work on homework and other things for the conference. 
After our homework break we went on a 15-minute walk to the metro station to get our cards. While we are in Shanghai and exploring on our own, the metro system will be our means of transportation. There are approximately 20 different lines of rail underneath the city, and is the preferred method for most Shanghai citizens. It is very cheap, at about 50 cents for a one way ticket. This upcoming Thursday, we will travel through the downtown area on the metro. We found this adorable vending machine there. It took us a few minutes to figure out how it worked, but in the end Bella got this cute little dog.
Before we went back to the school, we walked to a shopping center called Carrfour, where lots of kids got to order traditional Chinese boba milk tea. I got lemonade but everyone really enjoyed their drinks, and experiencing the environment of a Chinese mall, food court, and shopping opportunities. At school we had a quick MUN meeting with people from CISSMUN. They helped explain the entire process of debate, and how the conference was going to go. The rules and procedures that are used in the States are quite different here at CISSMUN, so this was an important opportunity to be taught in a small-group setting. This meeting helped up to feel better about the upcoming conference on Friday. We didn’t realize how different this was from our normal conferences/ even though it's different it still sounds so fun, so I’m looking forward to it.
Next we all went our separate ways with our host families. Bianca and I went with Iffany and her friend Kaylie to get dinner. Bianca and Iffany got sushi to go, and brought it to a restaurant called Bluefrog, where Kaylie and I got a burger. It was nice to see that even being halfway around the world, I could still enjoy the comfort of a cheeseburger in this new environment. Enjoying ourselves, but still missing home! We hope everything is going well back in Vegas.
We ate our delicious food 
and headed on home. We were eager to shadow a Chinese class the next day, and see the acrobatic show!
Things I’m Thankful for…
- No one has gotten lost.
- I got to eat American food and was reminded of Vegas.
- Everyone loves their host families and the CISSMUN kids are so helpful and generous.
- Everyone gets along and has fun together, our group is having a great time!