This fall break, I went to Shanghai. I ate my weight in pork buns. I went to temples and museums. I walked down avenues and as I looked up I learned why skyscrapers were called such. It’s a surreal experience to be in places and with people beyond what you know and what you’re used to. I had no clue what people on the street were saying next to me 90% of the time. I refined the art of communicating without words, at the expense of looking like I was playing charades with the taxi driver.
When things are lost in translation, you start to notice things that weren’t apparent before, like the Jade Buddha temple. Hidden away in a quiet Shanghainese neighborhood, you might even miss it if you pass by. It’s a traditional residential area. It might not even strike you as anything outside the norm until you notice the Buddhist monk driving next to you.
Before this trip, I couldn’t even imagine what a Buddhist temple in the middle of Shanghai was like. The doors of the temple opened up into a large plaza ornamented with red paper lamps. There was an overwhelming smell of incense as people lit wild flowers scented sticks and threw them into fire pits. The square gave way to many rooms, nooks and crannies. In the Grand Hall, the primary place of reflection in the temple stood three golden Buddha statues—a stark contrast to the art I’m used to of cathedrals and religious icons. Even more beautiful than the structures were the people inside—fully devoted and immersed in thought–provoking meditative practices. I spent the afternoon myself trying to get that same feeling through my own reflections.
Here at Penn, it’s easy to get lost between 30th and 40th Street. We get caught up in everyday things. The midterm next week. Fulfilling class requirements. Going out or staying in. The meetings on meetings on meetings that are nothing but the norm. The piles of reading waiting for you. The job search struggle. We construct these lives for ourselves and we keep it all together, but we forget that there’s a universe beyond Market, Chestnut, and Walnut. We forget that our education goes beyond Finance 100 textbooks, calculus problem sets, and Art History essays.
You don’t have to go to Shanghai to explore beyond what you know. Beyond our campus lies an incredible city at our fingertips. There is so much to see if we give it a chance. We have seven or eight semesters guaranteed in this city. And for that time you’re here, this city is yours and it’s mine. Some of us might leave it to never come back, and others might decide to settle here. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t appreciate and explore the community that we live in.
So go to Chinatown, and find the most legit dim sum you can find. Go to the PMA and explore the Islamic art collection. Teach English to children who don’t speak it at home in West Philadelphia schools. Go to a BYO with food you’ve never in your life tried before. Spend a day in Old City. Learn how to do an Irish Jig. There’s culture here that surrounds us on a daily basis.
