I've been fascinated by World Fairs ever since third grade when I read about the invention of the ice cream cone. There's just something about the world's nations gathering to showcase their food and art alongside their technological and industrial innovations.... In fact, it's this very variety of colors and mascots and styles that makes me love the World Cup (even though I care very little about sports), and that, in a way that is too complicated to explain on this blog, contributed to my childhood obsessions with Pokémon, Street Fighter, and the board game Clue. The World Fair even made multiple cameos in the Formation of American Culture class I took last semester, when the class examined how the Fair served to boost America's growing image as an industrial power during the Gilded Age.
Anyway, I had in my head a very romantic idea of the World Fair the night before I visited it. I planned to wake up at 6:00 the next morning to avoid the long lines, but I accidentally slept until 7:20. I left my hostel as soon as I could, and the romantic expectations I had of the Expo were shattered as soon as I stepped foot on the metro to Nanpu Bridge. Hundreds of people (even young children and the elderly) were pushing and shoving to get on the metro, rushing to grab seats, running for the door to be the first one out of the metro station. This is definitely the number one pet peeve I have of this country. Chinese people don't seem to have any patience. It was the same story in the train station from Beijing to Shanghai. I mean, I guess I understand the rush to grab a seat on the metro train, but why are people in such a hurry to be the first one on a sleeper train? After all, everyone has an assigned bed. Whether you get there as soon as the opening whistle blows or a minute before the train sets off, your situation won't be any different. The foreigners I've met in my hostels feel the same way. It gets me angry.
Anyway, as soon as I saw this frenzy I knew that if I didn't act the same way, I'd be waiting forever and a half on lines that day. So I ran, too. I also pushed and shaved and glared at people trying to get past. I may or may not have even tripped a kid. It wasn't a proud day for Paul Robalino.
But once I got to the Expo, things got better. It was awesome! It blew Disney's Epcot Center out of the water. The lines were pretty long, but they moved quickly. Still, I had to be selective about what pavilions I visited. I ended up entering the pavilions of the USA, the Philippines, France, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Colombia, Peru, Hong Kong, and the United Nations, as well as the joint pavilion of Central and South America and a development-themed pavilion called Urban Planet. Most of them were just so-so and had pictures of the country and various cultural artifacts and information. The Urban Planet Pavilion had impressive technology; a lot of thought and money were invested in it.
I thought I would be treated like a VIP at the Ecuador "Pavilion" since I figured not many other Ecuadorians had come to Shanghai to see the World Expo. When I got to the pavilion (it wasn't even a pavilion; it was a large-ish room in the Central and South American Pavilion), I told one of the girls working that I was Ecuadorian and she got very excited and hugged me. Her name was Veronica and we chatted in Spanish for a while before she gave me some presents: a small paper flag, a pin of the Ecuador flag crossed with the China flag, and a sticker. I asked her if they had any latin food but they didn't. So lame! They did have a folkloric (is that a word in English?) band of "cholitos," though. Vero even offered me a job at the Expo. For a brief moment I considered extending my stay in Shanghai for a few weeks and working at the Ecuador Pavilion, but then I changed my mind once I realized that my job would just be to pass out paper flags and stickers to Chinese tourists. She also invited me to go out dancing with all the Ecuadorians that night, but I politely declined.
Although they didn't have any food, I have to say the Ecuador room was definitely the best of the nations represented in the Central and South America Pavilion. I think Panama was the worst. They had a small model of the canal and two pictures on the wall.... that's it. They didn't even have any real Panamanians working there.
I didn't get VIP status at the USA Pavilion, but one of the workers there did let me cut the line. I have to say, it was kind of disappointing. We watched three short films in a row about American values like diversity, teamwork, and optimism, and then we were led into a room where we could learn about the pavilion's corporate sponsors.
I had a delicious lunch in Peru and kept walking around. The China Pavilion, which was supposed to be the most impressive of all, had a sign outside saying reservations were required, so I didn't try to get in (although I heard afterwards that I still would have been able to get in). The longest I had to wait was an hour and 45 minutes for Hong Kong which was also kind of bland. After ten hours of walking around the Expo, I headed back to my hostel - overall, an awesome day.
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