My Year in Shanghai Post 1

My feet are now firmly planted in Shanghai.  I have been here for two weeks and I'd like to take a moment to document my thoughts and observations so far.  First, my job is amazing.  I felt some definite apprehension about potentially teaching younger children and fittingly enough I teach two sections of phonics for 8-9 year-olds as well as one section of pre-school aged children (2-3 years old).  It's definitely different from what I'm used to, but I've re-calibrated and really genuinely enjoy it.  The kids are so cute and loving.  Each day with the kids is rewarding and full of laughs.
As far as the culture, despite the enormous size of the city and a vastness of population unlike anything I've experienced there is a tangible feeling of peace.  Staring and shoving are huge parts of the culture and yet neither insight violence; they are simply daily norms, whether it be on the metro or walking down the street.  There is an amazing variety of options for socializing and discovery from night clubs, to bars, to jazz clubs, to malls, to karaoke, museums, parks, nature, landmarks... I can't imagine putting a dent in all of it with merely one year, but I'll do my best.
The food is great, as I imagined it would be.  There are so many options and all of them that I've found are great.  The other very nice part of that equation is the price of things: much lower than I'm used to at home.  You really have to push hard on ordering to spend more than 15 dollars on a meal, everything included.  Most meals cost between 2-5 dollars.  Sharing is also a big part of dining here.  The tables have spinning centers where each plate is moved around the table in a circular motion (great perk!).  Essentially, you can't go wrong on ordering because someone inevitably will have gone right.  I'm a big fan of this concept.  Eating with chopsticks was also a transition for me, but now I feel completely comfortable doing so.
As far as the people I work with and have met, I've definitely found comradery and friendship to be something easily acquired.  Specifically with the people I work with, I've found that we all have a very similar story and reason for being here in Shanghai: simply to experience something completely different than anything we've experienced so far in our lives.  This immediately creates a bond and a desire to help one another with adapting and learning to live in this completely new world.  Each individual discovery becomes a discovery to be shared with all.  Each struggle, is a burden to be shared by all; in that we all came here alone and desire to help one another through in the place of the no longer nearby families and close friends we've left behind for this time.  The other cool thing about this is that I am making friends from all over the world.  I work with people from Russia, the UK, China, Canada, America etc.  I can't imagine in my life ever having the opportunity to come to one place and establish so many international friendships.  
There is so much I could say, but it can generally be summed up in this:  coming to Shanghai was one of the best decisions that I've made in my life.  I enjoy each day and I experience something new each day.  The people here are great, the culture here is great, and I wake up with the same feeling each day of "am I really here on the other side of the world doing this?    yes?    yes!!"