Major Characters
Jeanni
The angel during my first 48 hours in Shanghai and now my big sister, hopefully for life, Jeanni is the closest thing I have to family here in China. Our shared interest in all things out of the ordinary, along with her daring and heart always makes her a welcome addition to anything I do, but you already knew that if you have been reading my blog posts because she sure shows up in a lot of them. Even though she never seems to have time for me anymore (or as much time as I want) Jeanni still manages to take care of me, which I am thankful for. Looking forward to starting a chapter of a nonprofit with her in the coming months and, of course, going to try hard to keep in touch with this amazing girl once she leaves Shanghai.
Crystal
My go to girl for whenever I need company for an adventure, Crystal always seems to have free time and the willingness to do something,. There were a couple of weeks when I spent nearly every day with her because she was always available to explore. As a person, Crystal manages to be a walking contradiction. She is openly opinionated yet frustratingly secretive, often quite bold but other times very shy, and most intriguingly, shamelessly brash while having a huge heart. As a friend, Crystal is one that can always be counted on, as evidenced by her willingness let me pass out drunk in her bed with a broken heart. With this in mind, it looks like I have another good friend in New York, watch out Emoinacloset you have some competition now.
Linda
Hands down my favorite person out of the whole UC program, Linda is the down to earth architect from Berkeley who I always feel comfortable talking to. It is actually a shame that I did not start getting close to her till so late in the semester. She has some great insight and I wish I had more time to dig out more of it. At times Linda has been known to be very direct, but whenever I seem upset by something she said, she quickly takes it back and passes it off as a joke, a sign of her soft heartedness. If fortune allows, I hope to run into her again once I get back to the states.
Minor Characters
Varun
The big brother in the apartment, Varun cooks, cleans and keeps me on the level. In many ways Varun is Jeanni’s foil and has kept me firmly grounded during my stay in Shanghai. It was him who knocked some sense into me when I hit rock bottom in Shanghai. Despite being a fairly safe guy, Varun does have some mischief in him, which makes him a willing participant to some of the dumb things that I do. With the addition of Varun, it looks like I am fast building an international family.
Elena
Innocent, shy and sweet are the words that come to mind when I think of Elena, coincidentally those are also the words that least describe me. So it is no small wonder that I am able to have hours long conversations with this foil of mine. Elena’s youth (just a sophomore!) hides much wisdom and in many ways she reminds me of Ellie, just younger and less experienced. Look for Elena to start showing up in blog posts when I get back to San Diego.
Nick
I am not quite sure how to describe Nick other than constantly shifting. Nick acts very differently depending on who he is around so my experience with him ranges from annoyance to appreciation. A self proclaimed follower, Nick is wherever the action is, which surprisingly means that I am around him a lot.
-muffinman
