Having now lived in Shanghai for nearly two years, I would like to share with you some of the benefits in which I have reaped.
Cultural Awareness:
I’m going to be perfectly honest, prior to living in Shanghai my knowledge of countries outside the United States (and even that was suspect) was quite simply embarrassing. The fact that I was oblivious to my lack of knowledge only makes things worse. Living in Shanghai has significantly increased my understanding of the world around me. I now find myself thoroughly interested in international affairs. I find it troubling so many individuals continue to be ignorant of the world around them. I believe it is imperative we must strive to learn not just about our own country but others as well. Many societies today tend to be particularly close minded a trend in which we must begin to change.
Never again will I look at the world from such a limiting perspective. Being immersed in various cultures from around the world has greatly accelerated my cultural awareness. I make a great effort to continually further my knowledge in this area. I now view the world from a variety of different perspectives.
Living in Shanghai has also provided me the wonderful opportunity to learn Chinese. While I have not been putting as much effort into this as I would like , I have found it fascinating to communicate in a different language. I love chatting with taxi drivers and random people on the subway. My conversations are still relatively basic, but fun nonetheless. I have found Chinese people to be particularly friendly.
I am forever changed in regards to how I view the world and now consider myself a Global Patriot.
( If by chance you are thinking about moving to Shanghai I whole heartily recommend it. )
Service:
My years in Shanghai have been incredibly rich in service opportunities. Whether it be the 30 Hour Famine or the Rice Bowl Dinner or installing running water in a local Chinese village. I have been blessed with numerous outlets in which I have been able to give. No matter where you are service opportunities are out there. The question is, can you find them?
While living in Texas, I did not have the service mindset. However that slowly changed as I transformed into a global citizen. Without a doubt I owe my personal transformation to the many service minded individuals who have inspired me. So many of my classmates exemplify a life a service doing so one only one goal in mind: Making this world a better place. Watching my classmates serve selflessly has sparked a fire within me.
I have found the more I serve the hungrier I am to contribute and give back. As with all things I am not perfect, and still do not serve as much as I would like, but I am proud of my contributions. One thing I discovered is that there is an endless amount of ways in which you can serve. It doesn’t matter how you serve all that matters is that you do. You can serve by being a good friend. You can serve by standing up for the kid being picked on. You can serve by living life to your fullest potential. Be creative. Just serve.
I hope to further explore service opportunities next year at college. 
Friends:
When living in Texas I was blessed with a group of friends that to this day I remain in close contact with. One of my fears of moving to Shanghai was that I would be unable to duplicate these brother-bonds. Fortunately my friendships in Shanghai have been just as strong. I have friends from all over the world. Canada. The Philippines. Korea. Australia. China. My girlfriend is from Brazil. It is wonderful to have such a diverse group of friends.
What’s great about having such a varied group of friends is that they all come from different backgrounds. Not one of my friends is the same. This allows for some interesting and enlightening conversations. In fact I recently had a several hour discussion on religion with my Chinese friend Richard who is Christian. I have a passion for learning new perspectives.
Despite only living in Shanghai for two years I have made some friendships that I hope will continue for quite some time. In living in an international community it can be sometimes hard to open up as many students are constantly moving, but I have found that when they do many are tremendous individuals. I will not soon forgot the many sensational relationships in which I have formed while living in Shanghai. They truly have shaped the person I am today, and for that I am ever grateful.
Weekly Massage:
Do I really have to explain? The benefits of massage are extraordinary. Massages in Shanghai are particularly cheap (12 U.S dollars for one hour.) Upon receiving weekly massages I have found myself to be more relaxed and alert. The amount of time I have been sick has also dropped significantly. Nothing beats an hour long oil massage after a stressful day at school 
Many of my post ideas have come rushing into my mind during a massage. In fact I once had to stop the massage so I could write my idea down. You can thank my weekly massage for this wonderful post!
If you have the money and are not getting a massage once a week your surely missing out
Travel:
Living in Shanghai has presented me with an incredible opportunity to travel. I have visited numerous local villages all over China as well as inner Mongolia and even Russia. While I have yet to visit Beijing I plan to do so this summer. There are numerous places in which I also plan to visit such as Singapore, Nepal, and hopefully Australia.
It has been wonderful to experience so many other countries while living in China. It’s not often you get to roam the endless plains of Inner Mongolia, or visit St. Petersburg Russia. The experiences I have had while traveling have profoundly impacted the person I am today. Each trip I have taken remains a small part of the person I have become.
Each time I travel I expand my awareness of the world around me. My life and travel have been pleasantly welded. I hope to continue to travel around the world as we truly live in a boundless world.
A Beginning:
When I began my freshman year of high school in the Woodlands Texas, I had absolutely no idea that I would graduate in an international school in Shanghai.To this day I sometimes have difficultly believing that I actually live in China. While my stay in China will end next year (as I have chosen to attend college in the U.S) my world travels have just begun.
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I love traveling. And I wish I could afford massages here in Boston!
Please take a look at http://semesteratsea.org
It will change your life, again.
Enjoying life is really good.
Study Chinese hard please.:P
Learning a language can help you to open the door to the related culture. You will find more than you expect by learning a new language. This is my experience.
Hi Bud-
It sounds like your travels have really helped you open up as a person, that’s really cool. I hope to have the opportunity to do some traveling in the next few years as well. My wife and I have been learning French together, so we’ll see.
Btw, your site design looks much better! Thesis rocks.
It’s unbeliavable that we’re moving soon! i’m going to miss all my friends so much =/
But yes, like you said…our journey does not end here.
2 years! That’s a long time in a strange place. You were a local. Love meeting all the new people from diff countries. That was the best part of my trip there. Shame I didn’t have time for a massage though:)