Take A Walk

I lived out my teen years in Hawaii. For a few years, we lived up the road from Pearl Harbor. Like, literally right up the road. You could see the famous harbor’s sparkling water sitting right at the bottom of our hill. Do you think in the 5 1/2 years I lived there I ever went down my hill to visit the historic location? Nope. Not once. The same went for Diamond Head, surfing, and visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center. Ok, I will chalk some of my anti-sightseeing attitude to the lack of coolness I perceived in the role of playing tourist. I was a teenager, after all. But, now that I am grown I view it as a tremendous missed opportunity.

One of our goals in moving abroad has been to see and experience as much as we can in the short window of time we have here. As you may have read, we have already done some fantastic things. Check out a few of our crazy adventures here: Get Lost! (in Nusa Lembongan), Terrific Tucson, 2016: Changes, Chopsticks, and Chicken Feet But, recently we took a step back and realized we were going out having all these amazing adventures in other places, but all the while not fully exploring our own city. Living here for two years found us settling into a routine: going to the same restaurants, shopping at the same markets, and doing the same things each weekend. I didn’t want to look back on this experience as I do Hawaii, regretting not exploring our own hometown.

And what a hometown Shanghai is. At 2,448 square miles and 25 million people, there’s a lot to see! Not only are things constantly changing, but the history here runs deep and can be found in practically every corner of the city. I have learned through our travels over the past two years that many times the best way to really see an area is to get out there on your own two feet. Sure, you could take a drive in a car or a bus and get a feel for the area. But taking a bike, a scooter, or best of all, walking affords you such a richer experience. You can take your time looking at things of interest, or pull over at will and really explore an area that might merely whiz by from the inside of a car. Getting outside allows you to hear the sounds, and smell the smells. I’ll admit though, while it sounds cool, this is not always the best experience in China…imagine smelling what you think might be cooked dog, and the incessant hocking of big, juicy loogies. But my point is, you can just stand in one place and take it all in, allowing your experience to be deeper.

That being said, Brett and I have laced up our tennis shoes on a few occasions, pulled out one of our trusty Shanghai Walks books, and headed off for an afternoon of adventure. It has been so enriching walking through neighborhoods, learning about the history, architecture, and life of the area. Our appreciation of this city we call home has become more layered and deep as a result.

We have driven through the neighborhoods of our walks countless times and missed so much of the detail within their walls. Getting out of the car and taking a walk allows us to really learn and experience a small part of this city we call home. I highly recommend you take a walk; whether it be on your next trip, in your home city, or even just around your own neighborhood. Sometimes slowing down to take it all in can offer a rich and rewarding perspective on a pretty interesting little nook of the world you may not have noticed from the inside of a car.

Be sure to check out one of the 5 Shanghai Walks books by Barbara Green, Tess Johnson, Ruth Lear, and Carolyn Robertson. They are very well-written, and the walks are detailed and easy to follow. You can find a link to the first one here: https://www.amazon.com/SHANGHAI-WALKS-Streets-Changing-Fortune/dp/9627872350/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516603016&sr=8-1&keywords=six+shanghai+walks