One Girl, Two Coasts: Day Sixteen: Melissa Becomes a Racer

Day Sixteen

My my, today was a good day! It got off to a slow start, but it doesn't even matter. We had planned to spend this Sunday with my other cousin, Zabrina, who is in her late twenties and is working like crazy these months. We hadn't seen her yet since we had arrived, so she would be taking us out for the afternoon since she didn't have to work today. It was another chill morning spent entirely inside, with our beloved soap operas (Jason has gotten strangely addicted to the show my grandma watches daily...he knows every detail about the drama, it's a little scary.) and more postcard-writing.

We had a nice lunch made by my aunt, and Zabrina showed up shortly after, so we were off! She had given us two options for activities: we could either go speed karting or we could do this popular interactive game in Shanghai where you're trapped in this room with your friends and you need to find/figure out clues so you can escape. Cool, right? We obviously had a hard time choosing, but she said we'd probably be able to do both before we had to go home, so we picked karting. Jason and I both LOOOVE speed karting, so we were beyond psyched!

We hopped into a taxi and went off to kart. However, the first karting place we went to, near a huge mall, was under construction, and we all groaned in disappointment. Zabrina soon found another place we could race, so we got another taxi and went for round two! The new karting center was in an amusement park-type area, and when we walked in, we saw karts zooming through a large indoor race course. Yessss!!!

We got our tickets (each ticket was for 8 minutes a person), a helmet off of the shelf, and stood in line. There were a lot of other foreigners here, excited to race. When it was finally our turns after a few 8-minute rounds, we each claimed a kart, buckled in, and they started each kart up! Zabrina's was first in line, then Jason's, and then mine, but I quickly passed them on the first lap. I actually lapped them and a few other people during the 8 minutes! People kept getting stuck in the first turn and creating roadblocks because it's a super sharp one. The wheels on the karts are really stiff, so you really need to yank them hard to turn...also, the turns are sharp, so it's best to use your brakes right when you turn, and drift around them. Once you get that, it's a breeze!

I felt absolutely euphoric during those 8 minutes...every time I zoomed around a turn, or passed another driver, I couldn't help but smile under my helmet. I didn't crash or get stuck once. I was a speed demon. It was just so much fun. If I'm ever rich, I'm buying a race track and a few karts and I'm going to drive all day. You can't stop me.

When time was up, it was a very sad moment...but I'm so glad we did it. I didn't think it would be that much fun, but it literally was amazing. I wish I could never leave and just drive and drive and drive. What if racing is my secret talent? I don't know...I just hate that driving and racing are always so directed towards men. Who said women can't enjoy it, or kick ass at it?

We left the race course after we'd finished, and took a taxi to the People's Center (人民广场). It was a huge area with tons of malls, designer brand stores, cafés, restaurants, and more. Zabrina had a friend that would be joining us for dinner and he was already waiting in line at the restaurant where we'd be eating. It was such a popular place that you'd have to wait at least a few hours to get a table...and she said that many of the restaurants were like this! A side effect to the obscene amount of people here...

We walked around for a little bit while our friend hadn't yet gotten a table, and ended up in an enormous shopping building. Hellooo, knockoffs! I was elated...now this was where I could spend an entire day! I bought and haggled for a few longchamp bags that my friends had requested, and got a few tiny little souvenirs as well. Then we got the message that it was time to go, since Zabrina's friend had gotten a table. Yeah!

The restaurant was absolutely packed. The most crowded restaurants I've ever seen near our westborough area would probably be the Cheesecake Factory or Minado, but this was even worse; people were sitting on stools everywhere in the lobby and inside the actual place, there were people everywhere rushing back and forth...just a bit overwhelming!

This restaurant also used an ordering process where you sent an emissary from your table to go up and choose all the dishes you wanted. Zabrina and her friend both chose a bunch of things, and we ended up eating a feast! There was duck, chicken, dumplings, sweet cakes and soups, pork buns, and lots more...we ate as much as we could and packed up the leftovers to bring home.

Zabrina's friend was really nice and generous; he brought us each a jar of Hershey chocolates! Definitely a nice touch...and I really liked talking to him. He loved to travel too, so I asked him a lot about his trips to Barcelona, Prague, Vienna, Paris, and more. Sooo jealous that he's been to so many places in Europe...gosh.

We finished up with dinner and said goodbye to Zabrina's friend. She decided to take us to a large mall next, since there was a gaming arcade inside. We took the subway there and had loads of fun shooting hoops, shooting at zombies and bats and giant spiders, racing motorcycles down icy roads, and trying to grab stuffed animals! I rarely visit places like that, but I really enjoyed being in such a kid-centered place for a whole. We'd been doing a ton of adult, intellectual activities lately...you gotta have some fun too! We also explored the mall a bit and found a place called the Scent Library that had little bottles filled with a huge array of different smells. Examples include dirt, New Zealand, and clean window. Hahaha! Such an interesting place.

Around two hours later, we were back on the subway and heading home. We couldn't stay out too late because we would be getting up early tomorrow morning for another mini-trip. All in all, it had been an amazing afternoon. Thanks so much for taking us out, Zabrina!