Greetings from China! Our day being professional was great. First, we toured the Vidal Sassoon Academy, which only took about five minutes. It was very small but it was a very neat place. Very modern. After that the principle of the academy, Mable, talked to us for about a half hour about the academy, their philosophy, how they train their students, how they differ from other salons, etc. Mable was awesome. She was rather young and had a very unique sense of style but she had the right amount of confidence to pull it off but did not come off as conceited or cocky. Then the Director of External Relations of Greater China Proctor and Gamble, Dr. Li Chen, talked to us. She discussed a few different problems in China and how Proctor and Gamble is turning the problems into ways to innovate their products. We were running a little behind because Mable was a little bit late so we had to leave to get to our next place on time. We got back on the bus and headed to a publication company that publishes magazines such as Elle and Marie Claire in China. Li joined us for this part of the day as well. We met with two of the head publishers. They had a small conference room with a powerpoint show about the sales of the magazines and advertising in the magazines and where their magazines fell on the various scales. From there we all headed to lunch. They had a room at a restaurant for our group with the food pre ordered. We split up so there were five of our students at a table along with two of our professors and a publisher and his assistant. The food was interesting to say the least. They served us small cold dishes first that serve as appetizers that everyone shares. That ranged from cucumbers to cow stomach. Needless to say I did not eat much. Next was smaller hot dishes. We all got a type of soup that was pretty good. Everything is served to share and there is a large lazy susan in the middle. There was a variety of foods such as eggplant, chicken, ribs, fried rice, tofu, fish, etc. They really do eat anything here. We had to rush out of there to head to our mandarin class. We only learned a few simple sentences but the chances of us remembering how to actually say them is slim. I have it all written down but my pronunciation will be a little off! After that we came back to our rooms to relax and get ready for the night. All of the students and one professor went to an American restaurant in the French Concession for a late dinner and drinks. Afterwards, my good friend Maria and I wanted to go out but most people went home. We had another girl and a guy along with us. We went out for awhile and when it was finally time for us to go home one of the girls realized her wallet was missing. So after searching for an hour with no luck, we finally headed home. So her phone, debit card, money, and ID is all missing. We didn't get home until very late so we all slept pretty late on Saturday.We woke up and eight of us walked to a little restaurant for a late lunch. We were split up in two tables but everyone at my table had amazing food. My friend Kim and I had a clay pot with rice, beef, bean sprouts, chili, and a fried egg. One girl got fried rice with chicken and mushrooms and the other got udon noodles with beef and vegetables. My table also split dumplings which were amazing. We came back and took naps and got ready and headed out for the night. We went to downtown Shanghai and walked along the main road in the rain for awhile until we decided we wanted to eat. There was nothing quick that looked appetizing so we ended up eating at the same restaurant that we ate at for lunch! Four of us went out afterwards to the same place  we went on Friday night. Luckily nothing was lost or stolen! We met a group of students that go to Grand Valley State University. My friend Jess, who is from Michigan, and one of the guys we met had a few mutual friends too! Small world. Today, eight of us along with one of the professors went to downtown Shanghai again. Five of the students are in the video productions class so they had to shoot film. Two girls and I walked along the main road for a few hours and we just got back! We all have some reading to do for class tomorrow so will probably just relax tonight. We heard that a restaurant in the French Concession has all you can eat tacos tonight so we may check that out! Tomorrow we have class in the morning then are going to head to Yuyuan Gardens. They have internationally known steamed dumplings along with the pearl tower so it should be a fun day!