While most of the vendors speak English, knowing Chinese can help when negotiating because it shows you are not just a tourist and know how to get a good deal. There are small stores everywhere that you can get most food items from them. I like to get Doritos or Lays chips and noodle cups to make in my dorm. The shops also carry a lot of Chinese cookies and crackers, as well as fruits and vegetables. My favorite fruits here are bananas and apples and, unfortunately, I haven’t found other tasty fruits such as strawberries or grapes. There is also a western-style supermarket at a mall one metro stop away from my school called "Carrefour". This store has products more recognizable to me but these items are a bit more expensive. Before I came to China, my family helped me invest in a nice camera to take good pictures while in China. I really like photography and have taken some great pictures around the city, on campus and at other destinations I have visited outside of Shanghai. I think that taking pictures is fun and, in my experience, people have been very kind to me by waiting to walk and giving me smiles when I am using my camera. I think that the people in China appreciate my admiration of their beautiful natural and man-made structures. There are a lot of beautiful buildings, places and plants that are great for pictures all over China. Chinese people also love taking pictures and selfies and it is not uncommon for foreigners, like myself, to be photographed by the locals. Some people have asked to take selfies with me as if I were a celebrity! At first I felt weird about this, because it's never happened to me in the U.S.
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