I just figured I would let you guys see my first BuzzFeed article since it directly relates to studying abroad! Here's the link:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/kate13a2003/8-reasons-why-im-glad-i-studied-abroad-in-shangha-gsrd
Let me know what you think!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
It's the little things that count
As the semester wraps up, I still have two Chinese tests and a little homework, one Economics presentation and paper, and one Finance presentation and paper until I have completed my Spring semester of my junior year. It’s crazy to think about, but in reality, it has been a long semester. All of my friends in the states have already been out of school for a few weeks now, but because we didn’t start classes until a month after them and we had two full weeks of vacation, we’ve had to make the semester longer than normal. There are some people heading back next week for internships, but for me, I wanted to stay. (And now my sister is even coming-you guys have no idea how excited I am for that!)
Today, on my way to internship, I was walking between metro lines and noticed the escalators were both closed. This is common occurrence and I’m not sure why it happens so often, anyways, we all had to take the stairs. I noticed an older lady is holding up people because she has a bag that she is incapable of lifting down three flights of stairs (she has a rolling one that she’s ever so slowly having fall down each individual stair). I go up to her and politely tell her in Chinese that I can help her and she tells me, “Oh thank you young lady!” She still holds onto the bag as I lift it down. When we get to the bottom, she goes back to rolling it and says some Chinese which I’m not sure what it meant, but I carry on knowing that this lady was extremely grateful. It’s not like I was the only one around that could help, I was the only one who made the effort to help. As I continue towards the metro, a Chinese man looks at me and gives me the thumbs up. Today, just made me realize that despite the whole difference in language and culture, you can still impact people’s lives for the better, even if they are just small acts of kindness.
Since it’s been blowing up on Facebook and since he is from Minnesota, I wanted to write a little about Zach Sobiech. (at this point in time, if you haven’t watched the 20 minute video on him, go do that!) I watched his video this morning and found out about his death on May 20, 2013 which just happens to be the Chinese “I love you” Day because the pronunciation of 5.20 (wu er ling) sounds similar to 我爱你 (wo ai ni) which means I love you. I found this to be incredibly ironic, and it makes his story that much more meaningful (although it is already such an emotional story). It makes me realize how precious life is so go out there and start making the legacy that you want to leave behind. “You don’t have to find out you are dying to start living.” –Zach Sobiech
Today, on my way to internship, I was walking between metro lines and noticed the escalators were both closed. This is common occurrence and I’m not sure why it happens so often, anyways, we all had to take the stairs. I noticed an older lady is holding up people because she has a bag that she is incapable of lifting down three flights of stairs (she has a rolling one that she’s ever so slowly having fall down each individual stair). I go up to her and politely tell her in Chinese that I can help her and she tells me, “Oh thank you young lady!” She still holds onto the bag as I lift it down. When we get to the bottom, she goes back to rolling it and says some Chinese which I’m not sure what it meant, but I carry on knowing that this lady was extremely grateful. It’s not like I was the only one around that could help, I was the only one who made the effort to help. As I continue towards the metro, a Chinese man looks at me and gives me the thumbs up. Today, just made me realize that despite the whole difference in language and culture, you can still impact people’s lives for the better, even if they are just small acts of kindness.
Since it’s been blowing up on Facebook and since he is from Minnesota, I wanted to write a little about Zach Sobiech. (at this point in time, if you haven’t watched the 20 minute video on him, go do that!) I watched his video this morning and found out about his death on May 20, 2013 which just happens to be the Chinese “I love you” Day because the pronunciation of 5.20 (wu er ling) sounds similar to 我爱你 (wo ai ni) which means I love you. I found this to be incredibly ironic, and it makes his story that much more meaningful (although it is already such an emotional story). It makes me realize how precious life is so go out there and start making the legacy that you want to leave behind. “You don’t have to find out you are dying to start living.” –Zach Sobiech
Monday, May 20, 2013
The end is near
Though the title contains a negative connotation, I am having mixed feelings about leaving. Of course, I want to go home, but this place has left so much of an impact on me. Personally, I still have exactly a month left here, whereas other people only have a week or two (one girl has left already!) I have enjoyed my experience here more than I would have ever expected and now have a different view of life. Not only do I want to travel more in China, I want to see the whole world.
Shanghai has so much uniqueness to it. It still shocks me how accustomed I have grown to be to the variety of architecture everywhere I look as well as being a white person in a country where everyone is Asian. The traditional Chinese pagodas mixed with European influenced buildings is so perfectly blended and allows for each one to shine through. In regards to being a minority, I don't think I will ever like being stared at how much I do here, but I think I would be able to get used to it if I lived here longer.
I've been lucky enough to have found an ultimate frisbee league that plays every Monday night here in Shanghai. It's a great mix of people who all enjoy ultimate just as much as I do. They have taught me so much thus far and have even invited me to play in the Shanghai tournament June 1st weekend. I am so happy I have this opportunity and hope that the sport of ultimate frisbee continues to spread all over the world.
My sister always asked me where I wanted to be buried just so that if something would happen, they would know what I would want, but I don't even know what I would want. I found out that in China, they bury their ancestors on mountains because there is a holiday that is called Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节) where they go home and go clean their ancestors graves off. After hearing about this day, I realized I had not seen a cemetery this whole time in China. I think it would be neat to be buried on a side of a mountain because then my family could climb the mountain to visit me while enjoying the beautiful scenery. Which mountain...I'm not sure yet. What do you guys think?!
With that being said, I hope you guys take some time to watch this video. I find it to be very inspirational and definitely worth your time! http://www.ted.com/talks/david_foster_wallace_this_is_water.html
Places I want to go (maybe since finals are coming up!):
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Malaysia and Singapore!
Here’s a rundown of what happened. My friend Sally and I took a red eye to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & arrived at the hostel around 9 am. We signed up for a tour through our hostel which started at 10:30 am, giving us enough time to go eat breakfast and explore a little bit. Once on the tour, our tour guide ended up being rather interesting both in a serious but not serious manner. He informed us about his knowledge of lady boys in addition to his opinion on the election which has created a lot of uprising since the former prime minister got re-elected for the 56th year in a row. Anyways, in regards to the actual tour, we went to seven places: The National Mosque where we had to wear a robe and hijab to cover ourselves according to Islam standards, Sri Mahamariamman Temple where we could hold turtles, Little India where I bought some fresh pineapple, Batu Caves where there were monkeys & ate Indian food for lunch, The King’s Palace where the newly-elected prime minister showed up, The National Monument where we saw a beautiful statue, as well as a traditional Malay village where we ate stingray. We were struggling to stay awake after taking a red eye so we went back and took a rest. Once we woke up, it was raining (it did this everyday around the same time) so we did not want to go anywhere to find food. Luckily, our hostel has a restaurant on the first floor so we had pizza there. We met bonded with some British friends that night and called it a night so we could get an early start the next day.
The next day, we got up fairly early, got breakfast at our hostel (PB&J!), started exploring by ourselves. First, we went to Central Market and then China Town, both of which were right by our hostel. After that, we just wandered and got lost a bit. Eventually, we found a place that served cendal so we decided to stop and try it. It definitely grew on us as we ate it and ended up being a nice refreshing afternoon treat. Then, we made our way to the Petronas Twin Towers. After exploring the inside, buying our souvenirs and eating Auntie Annie’s pretzels, we went outside where there was this fountain as well as a pool that you can swim in. Of course, we had to go in it for a bit, but then we just chilled by the side and watched the little kids enjoy their time there. We returned to our hostel for a quick afternoon nap and then headed out again, but this time we got caught in the rain and had to make a quick decision to escape the rain by grabbing some dinner as well as white coffee! The rain did not stop once we were finished so we decided to just trek back through it and shower once we got there. That night, we ended up having a chill night by watching a movie and then enjoying each other’s company at the hostel. I was shocked by how many people I met this trip who were backpacking Southeast Asia, only to find out from some foreign friends here in Shanghai that it is typical for their countrymen take a “gap year” between school and work.
Overall, Kuala Lumpur was an amazing experience, and the city definitely was not what I was expecting. Despite the rain and there being rats in the street at night, I loved the environment of Malaysia. It seemed to be a very harmonious place even with the diverse group of people. Also, I could not have asked for a better hostel. I highly recommend staying at Reggae Mansion if you are ever in KL.
We made our way to the bus station the next day in order to go to Singapore. Just in the nick of time, we were able to catch the bus right as we arrived so we got to Singapore around 5 pm. Singapore’s customs were a little intimidating, but they are known for all of their strict rules so it was understandable. So once we made it, we booked our ticket to go to Melaka and headed over to our hostel. From there we went to exchange money and find some food to eat. We ran into a Malay restaurant and decided to try it, which ended up being delicious in my opinion. After that, we explored the downtown, harbor area and took some night shots before going to sleep.
The next day, we went over to Sentosa Island which in my opinion is a huge tourist trap, but it had beaches so I wanted to go check it out. We found the Universal Studios as well as Chili’s so we decided to go and get dinner there. I think it would have been neat to see the world’s largest aquarium, but besides that, I wasn’t too fond of the rest of it. I did get to go to the southernmost point of continental Asia though (there even was a Chinese movie being filmed on the bridge to the little island!) That night, we checked out Chinatown as well as Clarke Quay, and of course, we had to get a Singapore Sling! Singapore was a wonderful yet strict city. It was definitely much more westernized than I would have imagined.
Early in the morning, we took a bus to go to Melaka, a very historical city in Malaysia. Once we got there, we spotted a Tutti frutti and decided to get some ice cream because it was very hot, and we also had to figure out how to get to our hostel. On the way to our hostel, we were able to spot the Christ Church of Melaka, took some pictures really quick and then continued our trek out. Our building was one of the many that had paintings on the entire back of them which faced the river. We had to figure out how to get to the airport so after a short rest at the hostel, we decided to go back to the bus station and find a place to buy our tickets for the next day. Tickets were easy to book although there was only one company that offered buses. We were right in town then, so we decided to check out the Melacca Strait Mosque, which appears to be floating. We started walking there, but since it appeared to be so far away, we switched to a taxi which ended up being a very smart choice on our part. Not only would we have been exhausted if we walked all the way there, but our taxi driver was incredibly friendly and even took us to Little India to get Indian food yet again! That meal was plentiful and made us extremely full so we went back to our hostel again and took a little rest before exploring more that night. We walked along the river and then went to Jonker Street which is right next to our hostel. Here we bought many pairs of earrings, but they were so cheap, we couldn’t say no! Then we rested by the side of the river and watched river cruises go by, one by one and reflected on our travels.
The next day, we were able to sleep in a bit and then went and got white coffee and peanut butter toast for breakfast at Old Town White Coffee and then took the bus to the airport. The rest of the day was spent traveling. After arriving in Shanghai, I had a feeling of being home not only because we were driving on the right side of the road, but also because I could communicate with the taxi driver in a language that I’ve been focusing on so much these last few years.
The next day, we got up fairly early, got breakfast at our hostel (PB&J!), started exploring by ourselves. First, we went to Central Market and then China Town, both of which were right by our hostel. After that, we just wandered and got lost a bit. Eventually, we found a place that served cendal so we decided to stop and try it. It definitely grew on us as we ate it and ended up being a nice refreshing afternoon treat. Then, we made our way to the Petronas Twin Towers. After exploring the inside, buying our souvenirs and eating Auntie Annie’s pretzels, we went outside where there was this fountain as well as a pool that you can swim in. Of course, we had to go in it for a bit, but then we just chilled by the side and watched the little kids enjoy their time there. We returned to our hostel for a quick afternoon nap and then headed out again, but this time we got caught in the rain and had to make a quick decision to escape the rain by grabbing some dinner as well as white coffee! The rain did not stop once we were finished so we decided to just trek back through it and shower once we got there. That night, we ended up having a chill night by watching a movie and then enjoying each other’s company at the hostel. I was shocked by how many people I met this trip who were backpacking Southeast Asia, only to find out from some foreign friends here in Shanghai that it is typical for their countrymen take a “gap year” between school and work.
Overall, Kuala Lumpur was an amazing experience, and the city definitely was not what I was expecting. Despite the rain and there being rats in the street at night, I loved the environment of Malaysia. It seemed to be a very harmonious place even with the diverse group of people. Also, I could not have asked for a better hostel. I highly recommend staying at Reggae Mansion if you are ever in KL.
We made our way to the bus station the next day in order to go to Singapore. Just in the nick of time, we were able to catch the bus right as we arrived so we got to Singapore around 5 pm. Singapore’s customs were a little intimidating, but they are known for all of their strict rules so it was understandable. So once we made it, we booked our ticket to go to Melaka and headed over to our hostel. From there we went to exchange money and find some food to eat. We ran into a Malay restaurant and decided to try it, which ended up being delicious in my opinion. After that, we explored the downtown, harbor area and took some night shots before going to sleep.
The next day, we went over to Sentosa Island which in my opinion is a huge tourist trap, but it had beaches so I wanted to go check it out. We found the Universal Studios as well as Chili’s so we decided to go and get dinner there. I think it would have been neat to see the world’s largest aquarium, but besides that, I wasn’t too fond of the rest of it. I did get to go to the southernmost point of continental Asia though (there even was a Chinese movie being filmed on the bridge to the little island!) That night, we checked out Chinatown as well as Clarke Quay, and of course, we had to get a Singapore Sling! Singapore was a wonderful yet strict city. It was definitely much more westernized than I would have imagined.
Early in the morning, we took a bus to go to Melaka, a very historical city in Malaysia. Once we got there, we spotted a Tutti frutti and decided to get some ice cream because it was very hot, and we also had to figure out how to get to our hostel. On the way to our hostel, we were able to spot the Christ Church of Melaka, took some pictures really quick and then continued our trek out. Our building was one of the many that had paintings on the entire back of them which faced the river. We had to figure out how to get to the airport so after a short rest at the hostel, we decided to go back to the bus station and find a place to buy our tickets for the next day. Tickets were easy to book although there was only one company that offered buses. We were right in town then, so we decided to check out the Melacca Strait Mosque, which appears to be floating. We started walking there, but since it appeared to be so far away, we switched to a taxi which ended up being a very smart choice on our part. Not only would we have been exhausted if we walked all the way there, but our taxi driver was incredibly friendly and even took us to Little India to get Indian food yet again! That meal was plentiful and made us extremely full so we went back to our hostel again and took a little rest before exploring more that night. We walked along the river and then went to Jonker Street which is right next to our hostel. Here we bought many pairs of earrings, but they were so cheap, we couldn’t say no! Then we rested by the side of the river and watched river cruises go by, one by one and reflected on our travels.
The next day, we were able to sleep in a bit and then went and got white coffee and peanut butter toast for breakfast at Old Town White Coffee and then took the bus to the airport. The rest of the day was spent traveling. After arriving in Shanghai, I had a feeling of being home not only because we were driving on the right side of the road, but also because I could communicate with the taxi driver in a language that I’ve been focusing on so much these last few years.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Various things I’ve noticed about Shanghai and even China in general:
• I do not think Shanghai has squirrels at all – only stray cats and dogs.
• Chinese police will routinely stop drivers at early hours in the morning to check for drunk drivers.
• Shanghai is extremely international – I’ve met people from allll over the world: Australia, Germany, Israel, Korea, France, Morocco, Burundi, Zambia, Singapore, England, Canada, I think you get the point.
• No matter when I get on the metro, I will always be stared at by someone. It has been interesting experiencing life as a minority for once.
• T^T is a smilie that Chinese will use to show that they are crying or upset.
• It is possible to eat dog here – especially in Guangdong providence.
• For the most part, food is ridiculously cheap & so is pretty much everything else besides rent or cars.
• Most restaurants have pictures of the food on their menus which makes it easier to order if you cannot read the characters.
• People openly talk about their bodily issues and don’t typically just say “I have to go to the restroom”.
• They also make more sound effects than I am used to, not only in basic conversations like “oh” and “mmm”, but will “hock/hawk a loogie” or even snot rocket in public quite often. They view it as things that should not be in your system so you might as well get it out when you have it right then.
• Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut, Haggen-Das, Coldstone, and many other Western restaurants all exist here.
• You may see signs that say Merry Christmas up all year. Most Chinese know that it is a Western holiday but do not realize that you only display these things during that season.
• The sense of personal space is much smaller here & people often times push or run into you and do not even stop to say sorry
• The ultimate frisbee league that I started playing on here in Shanghai is so much fun and I am learning an incredible amount. They have many tournaments and I hope to participate in one!
• Chinese police will routinely stop drivers at early hours in the morning to check for drunk drivers.
• Shanghai is extremely international – I’ve met people from allll over the world: Australia, Germany, Israel, Korea, France, Morocco, Burundi, Zambia, Singapore, England, Canada, I think you get the point.
• No matter when I get on the metro, I will always be stared at by someone. It has been interesting experiencing life as a minority for once.
• T^T is a smilie that Chinese will use to show that they are crying or upset.
• It is possible to eat dog here – especially in Guangdong providence.
• For the most part, food is ridiculously cheap & so is pretty much everything else besides rent or cars.
• Most restaurants have pictures of the food on their menus which makes it easier to order if you cannot read the characters.
• People openly talk about their bodily issues and don’t typically just say “I have to go to the restroom”.
• They also make more sound effects than I am used to, not only in basic conversations like “oh” and “mmm”, but will “hock/hawk a loogie” or even snot rocket in public quite often. They view it as things that should not be in your system so you might as well get it out when you have it right then.
• Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut, Haggen-Das, Coldstone, and many other Western restaurants all exist here.
• You may see signs that say Merry Christmas up all year. Most Chinese know that it is a Western holiday but do not realize that you only display these things during that season.
• The sense of personal space is much smaller here & people often times push or run into you and do not even stop to say sorry
• The ultimate frisbee league that I started playing on here in Shanghai is so much fun and I am learning an incredible amount. They have many tournaments and I hope to participate in one!
The glass is half full!
It is official: I’ve reached the halfway point. I cannot believe that I’ve lived here in China for 2 months already. The way the program was set up, it places our vacations about 3 or 4 weeks apart. This makes the time go by faster, in my opinion. First was the Hangzhou weekend trip, then the Hong Kong weeklong trip, next our independent trip which I’m going to Malaysia, and finally, after the program is over, my sister will be here!
There are many things in the Chinese culture that I love: one of them being how active lively they are, especially the elderly. They all value their health and try to do activities that will be better for them. This can be in the form of eating or even exercise. Fruit stands are everywhere and are considered more of a dessert, and the elderly can be seen everyday working out either in the park or just wherever there is open space. If I had to choose a place to retire, it might just be China because of this aspect, but only if their health system greatly improves by that time.
This last Sunday, we went to a park just outside of Shanghai to get some fresh air and to exercise. We rented boats and went out on them, but the boat that three other guys and I got on, ended up breaking! We were stranded in the middle of this lake. Luckily, one of the teachers was nearby and could call the workers for us, and they sent us a new boat. But once we got it, we called it a day for boating. Instead, we went and played volleyball. There were two little boys that joined us, and they wanted us to help them get better and teach them how to serve. It was so much fun playing with them and trying to teach them with a mix of some Chinese but a lot of slowed down movements.
When it comes to the younger generations, most of them are using technology in some way, shape or form. They will shop online, play video game, or watch TV shows and movies online. Every time that I take the subway, people are always on their phones playing Bejeweled or some video game otherwise they are watching either a TV show or movie on their phone. I think it is crazy how dependent on technology we are. I mean the first week that we got here, everyone was so upset that we didn’t have Internet or wifi in our room because it was a holiday week for everyone (Chinese New Year). I understand telling your family, friends and loved ones that you are safe, but I feel that we place too much of an emphasis on technology and do not enjoy everything else that the world has to offer.
As for the classroom, Chinese class has been pretty much the same the whole time. I’ve learned around 500 new words thus far and can tell that not only my speaking has improved but so has my listening and comprehension. My teacher has been great with everything and my roommate is always there if I need help on homework or to simply just teach me a new word.
My roommate has also taught me about other things. One of them is simply how to order food online from Pizza Hut so that it is delivered to my room. Ha! Another one of them is dating in China. You have to be 21 in order to get married in China. Also, if you aren’t married by 30, your parents will start to become very worried. For example, every weekend you can see parents with flyers at various parks, especially People’s Square in an attempt to match up their daughter or son with someone!
She has also informed me about the education system here. For example, all through your time in school, they will keep a file on you. Each year your teacher will write comments about you and track your academic progress. This file will be sent to future employers so you have to make sure to not do bad things that could be permanently written within this file; however, you are NEVER to know what the teachers have wrote. She made a really good connection about this to the movie Les Misérables. What she said was that in the movie, Jean Valjean got a second chance. He stole the loaf of bread and was punished, but then he stole the silver and should have gone back to prison again. Instead Myriel said that it was a gift and Jean is able to make a very good life for himself. She said that this would never happen in China. If you mess up once, you will lose face and not be respected in the same way ever again.
Sorry my posts are so long but I tend to do longer posts less often than short ones quite often.
There are many things in the Chinese culture that I love: one of them being how active lively they are, especially the elderly. They all value their health and try to do activities that will be better for them. This can be in the form of eating or even exercise. Fruit stands are everywhere and are considered more of a dessert, and the elderly can be seen everyday working out either in the park or just wherever there is open space. If I had to choose a place to retire, it might just be China because of this aspect, but only if their health system greatly improves by that time.
This last Sunday, we went to a park just outside of Shanghai to get some fresh air and to exercise. We rented boats and went out on them, but the boat that three other guys and I got on, ended up breaking! We were stranded in the middle of this lake. Luckily, one of the teachers was nearby and could call the workers for us, and they sent us a new boat. But once we got it, we called it a day for boating. Instead, we went and played volleyball. There were two little boys that joined us, and they wanted us to help them get better and teach them how to serve. It was so much fun playing with them and trying to teach them with a mix of some Chinese but a lot of slowed down movements.
When it comes to the younger generations, most of them are using technology in some way, shape or form. They will shop online, play video game, or watch TV shows and movies online. Every time that I take the subway, people are always on their phones playing Bejeweled or some video game otherwise they are watching either a TV show or movie on their phone. I think it is crazy how dependent on technology we are. I mean the first week that we got here, everyone was so upset that we didn’t have Internet or wifi in our room because it was a holiday week for everyone (Chinese New Year). I understand telling your family, friends and loved ones that you are safe, but I feel that we place too much of an emphasis on technology and do not enjoy everything else that the world has to offer.
As for the classroom, Chinese class has been pretty much the same the whole time. I’ve learned around 500 new words thus far and can tell that not only my speaking has improved but so has my listening and comprehension. My teacher has been great with everything and my roommate is always there if I need help on homework or to simply just teach me a new word.
My roommate has also taught me about other things. One of them is simply how to order food online from Pizza Hut so that it is delivered to my room. Ha! Another one of them is dating in China. You have to be 21 in order to get married in China. Also, if you aren’t married by 30, your parents will start to become very worried. For example, every weekend you can see parents with flyers at various parks, especially People’s Square in an attempt to match up their daughter or son with someone!
She has also informed me about the education system here. For example, all through your time in school, they will keep a file on you. Each year your teacher will write comments about you and track your academic progress. This file will be sent to future employers so you have to make sure to not do bad things that could be permanently written within this file; however, you are NEVER to know what the teachers have wrote. She made a really good connection about this to the movie Les Misérables. What she said was that in the movie, Jean Valjean got a second chance. He stole the loaf of bread and was punished, but then he stole the silver and should have gone back to prison again. Instead Myriel said that it was a gift and Jean is able to make a very good life for himself. She said that this would never happen in China. If you mess up once, you will lose face and not be respected in the same way ever again.
Sorry my posts are so long but I tend to do longer posts less often than short ones quite often.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai
I just returned back from a week of traveling to Guangzhou (广州), Hong Kong (香港), Macau (澳门), and Zhuhai (珠海). Each city was quite the experience! All of them are in the South of China so they use Cantonese to speak, which was interesting to say the least. For those of you who don’t know, Mandarin in most commonly spoken in China, which is what I am learning, but there are still a lot of Cantonese speakers out there. I discovered them last week. (Cantonese is the same characters, just different pronunciations – just like how Shanghainese is.) Though most of them can understand Mandarin, they will reply to you in Cantonese. I had no idea what a lot of them were saying, so I was just glad that most of the week was planned out because I was pretty much helpless. In addition to the speaking, in Macau and Hong Kong, they use traditional characters, meaning the characters are more complex and I am studying simplified so that just made it even more difficult to communicate.
One of the trips was to the biggest sitting Buddha in China during our stay in Hong Kong. This is where I had an encounter with a local Chinese construction man. He was working on the scaffolding, which here in China is always made up of bamboo and some string to tie them together. I look up and was amazed by how they can build it so fast yet gracefully and then I noticed that he just stuck his tongue out at me. Out of shock, I decided to stick mine out back at him. After a series of funny faces, I just start laughing and walk away. Even though, words were never exchanged, I know that I made a connection with this guy by being silly just for a few seconds. These little moments are the ones that I will never forget in China.
Hong Kong and Macau were different than Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and the rest of China because they are special administrative regions of China. That means that China controls the defense and foreign affairs, but everything else is their own responsibility. Hong Kong used to be under British rule, whereas Macau was a former Portuguese colony. You could definitely see the influence of the former rule in each city. For example, Hong Kong still has the double-decker buses and trams, a lot of people there could speak English, and signs were translated into English. Meanwhile, Macau had many people who could speak Portuguese and signs translated into both Portuguese and English. For those of you who do not know much about Macau, Macau is the Las Vegas of China. Gambling is not allowed in Mainland China or Hong Kong, so everyone goes to Macau for it. With that being said, Macau has greatly benefited from this tourism industry. I remember our tour guide, David, telling us (in an attempt to get us to want to move to Macau) that the government makes too much money so they end up giving money back to the residents.
Now for a little bit about guanxi (关系). My resident director was able to get me this internship as well as all of our company visits this last week thanks to his guanxi. What that means is that his past connections with these people have allowed him to have a good reputation in order for them to want him to return (or for them to trust the people they recommend). To them, it is more about the value of the relationships more than the product’s price or quality. Another situation is when people get pulled over in China. If you have the right connections to people or guanxi, you can manage to get away without a ticket or anything by simply calling that person of higher rank, but if not, you have to listen to the policeman. Guanxi can also be applied to wedding culture here in China. Weddings are typically only attended by the bride and groom’s family and close friends. That does not mean that they leave out their neighbors and co-workers though. What they have to do with them is give them a small gift - typically sweets like chocolate - as well as treat them to lunch or dinner. (This actually happened two weeks ago to me since a co-worker got married.)
We had a few field-study visits this last week. One was at a pharmaceutical company, another was at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the last one was at an Italian chemical company. I found each visit to be beneficial, especially the last one. This Italian firm entered the Chinese market, but without copyright laws, the Chinese gave them a shock. Months after opening up their factory, another company selling the exact same product just happened to open up across the street from them. They told us that in China, people feel as though they have the right to copy. It is a different concept, but it is something you just have to get used to and find a way to overcome it.
After all of the traveling and sightseeing throughout the week, we settled down near Zhuhai at the Zhongshan Hot Springs. This resort was more than I could have ever imagined. There were many natural hot springs as well as a variety of other ones like coffee, coconut milk, jasmine, lavender, rose, ginseng, mint and even fish! The fish one was the most bizarre because the little fish would bite the dead skin off of your feet. Eventually, I got used to it but it tickled so much at first!
We left Shanghai in a windy rainy mess, but when we returned the temperature greeted us warmly. Today, it is now 85 degrees Fahrenheit! I am so thankful for this well planned traveling experience, but at the same time, it feels good to return home in Shanghai. And yes, I said home, I truly love this city and have no regrets in choosing it for my study abroad experience. These next few weeks may be a little busy since I have my midterm for Chinese on Friday, and my midterm for Finance next Wednesday, but once it is May 6th, I get to go to Malaysia and Singapore! That is my motivation; I can do it - 加油！(jiayou!)
I've added a few pictures and ill just describe them in order: Baishuizhai (白水寨）waterfall, Hong Kong stock exchange, Hong Kong skyline, big Buddha, the construction worker on bamboo, Bruce Lee's star on the avenue of stars, the Venetian in Macau, and a picture of the streets of Macau.
One of the trips was to the biggest sitting Buddha in China during our stay in Hong Kong. This is where I had an encounter with a local Chinese construction man. He was working on the scaffolding, which here in China is always made up of bamboo and some string to tie them together. I look up and was amazed by how they can build it so fast yet gracefully and then I noticed that he just stuck his tongue out at me. Out of shock, I decided to stick mine out back at him. After a series of funny faces, I just start laughing and walk away. Even though, words were never exchanged, I know that I made a connection with this guy by being silly just for a few seconds. These little moments are the ones that I will never forget in China.
Hong Kong and Macau were different than Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and the rest of China because they are special administrative regions of China. That means that China controls the defense and foreign affairs, but everything else is their own responsibility. Hong Kong used to be under British rule, whereas Macau was a former Portuguese colony. You could definitely see the influence of the former rule in each city. For example, Hong Kong still has the double-decker buses and trams, a lot of people there could speak English, and signs were translated into English. Meanwhile, Macau had many people who could speak Portuguese and signs translated into both Portuguese and English. For those of you who do not know much about Macau, Macau is the Las Vegas of China. Gambling is not allowed in Mainland China or Hong Kong, so everyone goes to Macau for it. With that being said, Macau has greatly benefited from this tourism industry. I remember our tour guide, David, telling us (in an attempt to get us to want to move to Macau) that the government makes too much money so they end up giving money back to the residents.
Now for a little bit about guanxi (关系). My resident director was able to get me this internship as well as all of our company visits this last week thanks to his guanxi. What that means is that his past connections with these people have allowed him to have a good reputation in order for them to want him to return (or for them to trust the people they recommend). To them, it is more about the value of the relationships more than the product’s price or quality. Another situation is when people get pulled over in China. If you have the right connections to people or guanxi, you can manage to get away without a ticket or anything by simply calling that person of higher rank, but if not, you have to listen to the policeman. Guanxi can also be applied to wedding culture here in China. Weddings are typically only attended by the bride and groom’s family and close friends. That does not mean that they leave out their neighbors and co-workers though. What they have to do with them is give them a small gift - typically sweets like chocolate - as well as treat them to lunch or dinner. (This actually happened two weeks ago to me since a co-worker got married.)
We had a few field-study visits this last week. One was at a pharmaceutical company, another was at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the last one was at an Italian chemical company. I found each visit to be beneficial, especially the last one. This Italian firm entered the Chinese market, but without copyright laws, the Chinese gave them a shock. Months after opening up their factory, another company selling the exact same product just happened to open up across the street from them. They told us that in China, people feel as though they have the right to copy. It is a different concept, but it is something you just have to get used to and find a way to overcome it.
After all of the traveling and sightseeing throughout the week, we settled down near Zhuhai at the Zhongshan Hot Springs. This resort was more than I could have ever imagined. There were many natural hot springs as well as a variety of other ones like coffee, coconut milk, jasmine, lavender, rose, ginseng, mint and even fish! The fish one was the most bizarre because the little fish would bite the dead skin off of your feet. Eventually, I got used to it but it tickled so much at first!
We left Shanghai in a windy rainy mess, but when we returned the temperature greeted us warmly. Today, it is now 85 degrees Fahrenheit! I am so thankful for this well planned traveling experience, but at the same time, it feels good to return home in Shanghai. And yes, I said home, I truly love this city and have no regrets in choosing it for my study abroad experience. These next few weeks may be a little busy since I have my midterm for Chinese on Friday, and my midterm for Finance next Wednesday, but once it is May 6th, I get to go to Malaysia and Singapore! That is my motivation; I can do it - 加油！(jiayou!)
I've added a few pictures and ill just describe them in order: Baishuizhai (白水寨）waterfall, Hong Kong stock exchange, Hong Kong skyline, big Buddha, the construction worker on bamboo, Bruce Lee's star on the avenue of stars, the Venetian in Macau, and a picture of the streets of Macau.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Random topics In a weekly update
Today, I want to quickly touch upon a few topics. The first, being the concept of voting in China. It's a very foreign concept for most Chinese people. For example, my Chinese teacher did not know that you shouldn't ask people who they voted for. She found that out by asking us in class. Also, I noticed that our economics professor never wants to tell us his opinion in class. He feels that it isn't important which I think may be correlated to the fact that they don't get to express their opinion often so they are not used to that.
The next topic is self-confidence. I have not met one person who is extremely confident in themselves. Most people will tell me that they want to be skinner, have smaller faces, bigger noses, bigger eyes and whiter skin. Most Chinese girls comment on how pretty I am because my face is so skinny. I think this lack of self-confidence is a major problem, and I never would have imagined it to be this bad. Since fashion is so big in Shanghai, I expected that they would be happier with themselves. The Western influence has really changed the way they view beauty.
Another topic I want to talk about is marriage. Here in China you have to be 21 years old to officially be married. I have heard that some young people here want to be married sooner so they will unofficially get married, but I’m not quite sure how that works. This last weekend, my co-worker got married! The customs here say that a small, but loud ceremony will take place, and since they don’t invite many people besides family friends, they have to treat everyone else with small gifts, typically sweets. Also, they oftentimes treat people to lunch. So not only did I get chocolates from my co-worker on Tuesday, today we went out to lunch. It’s just so ironic that we learned about all of this the class before she told me that she got married (in Chinese by the way). I am so glad that the things we are learning in class can be carried over to my workplace and even just everyday life.
This Friday is 清明节 or Qingming Festival. What that means is that it is a day to respect their ancestors. Most people will go to the cemeteries or just go home in order to celebrate. This is as close to religion as most Chinese get. They value their ancestors so much; they do not want to do anything to disrespect them or make them lose face. Our Chinese professors want to celebrate this holiday so we have the day off as well!
Ultimate Frisbee exists in China. On Saturday, I found out about it through Smart Shanghai (website with restaurants/bars/activities throughout Shanghai), and it said that their season started Monday. So I showed up and sure enough, there were at least 40 people there warming up to play. I got a jersey, and we played one game. I was so happy to be playing, and they are actually really good! I have learned so much and plan on going back every Monday that I am free.
Finally, I have decided to do my capstone project for my Economics class on the reasons that Chinese students decide to study abroad, what they plan on doing after they graduate as well as why there has been an increase in studying abroad. By doing this research I can not only apply it to this class, but also to my internship. I hope that I will be able to learn a lot about this topic and help recruit more students to study abroad. In my opinion, there is nothing better than studying abroad. You learn so much about yourself as you travel the world and study at the same time.
Next week, I will be traveling to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai. I am so excited for this trip. We have two company visits, a stop at Hong Kong Stock Exchange and plenty of time to tour around. Trust me; I will give a full report on everything when I return.
The pictures which are below are my frisbee jersey, a cute restaurant in tianzifang, and my Australian friend Mandy and I at The Beach Boys concert!
The next topic is self-confidence. I have not met one person who is extremely confident in themselves. Most people will tell me that they want to be skinner, have smaller faces, bigger noses, bigger eyes and whiter skin. Most Chinese girls comment on how pretty I am because my face is so skinny. I think this lack of self-confidence is a major problem, and I never would have imagined it to be this bad. Since fashion is so big in Shanghai, I expected that they would be happier with themselves. The Western influence has really changed the way they view beauty.
Another topic I want to talk about is marriage. Here in China you have to be 21 years old to officially be married. I have heard that some young people here want to be married sooner so they will unofficially get married, but I’m not quite sure how that works. This last weekend, my co-worker got married! The customs here say that a small, but loud ceremony will take place, and since they don’t invite many people besides family friends, they have to treat everyone else with small gifts, typically sweets. Also, they oftentimes treat people to lunch. So not only did I get chocolates from my co-worker on Tuesday, today we went out to lunch. It’s just so ironic that we learned about all of this the class before she told me that she got married (in Chinese by the way). I am so glad that the things we are learning in class can be carried over to my workplace and even just everyday life.
This Friday is 清明节 or Qingming Festival. What that means is that it is a day to respect their ancestors. Most people will go to the cemeteries or just go home in order to celebrate. This is as close to religion as most Chinese get. They value their ancestors so much; they do not want to do anything to disrespect them or make them lose face. Our Chinese professors want to celebrate this holiday so we have the day off as well!
Ultimate Frisbee exists in China. On Saturday, I found out about it through Smart Shanghai (website with restaurants/bars/activities throughout Shanghai), and it said that their season started Monday. So I showed up and sure enough, there were at least 40 people there warming up to play. I got a jersey, and we played one game. I was so happy to be playing, and they are actually really good! I have learned so much and plan on going back every Monday that I am free.
Finally, I have decided to do my capstone project for my Economics class on the reasons that Chinese students decide to study abroad, what they plan on doing after they graduate as well as why there has been an increase in studying abroad. By doing this research I can not only apply it to this class, but also to my internship. I hope that I will be able to learn a lot about this topic and help recruit more students to study abroad. In my opinion, there is nothing better than studying abroad. You learn so much about yourself as you travel the world and study at the same time.
Next week, I will be traveling to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai. I am so excited for this trip. We have two company visits, a stop at Hong Kong Stock Exchange and plenty of time to tour around. Trust me; I will give a full report on everything when I return.
The pictures which are below are my frisbee jersey, a cute restaurant in tianzifang, and my Australian friend Mandy and I at The Beach Boys concert!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Local Transportation
Shanghai has a wonderful public transportation system. I have not encountered any struggles with not having a way to get somewhere yet, unlike I may have in Marietta without a car. My Chinese friend showed me this website called ddmap.com which is a better version of Google maps for China. It shows you the fastest way to get from one area to the next and which type of transportation would be the best to take. Bikes and scooters are very common to use, but since our campus is small compared to main campus, none of us have them. We more commonly use these in Shanghai: the metro, buses, taxis and walking.
The first one is the metro is probably the most convenient for us since we have a metro station within a five minute walk from campus. The metro system here has been recently developed thanks to a large contribution from the government. You can definitely tell they’ve been focusing on improving it within the last few years. Every station has a security check where you are supposed to place your bags on the conveyor in order to check them, but barely anyone listens to the security guards. I asked my Chinese friend about this and she said that the security checks were built for the World Expo when lots of people came to Shanghai for it; now people just ignore the fact that they even exist. It is also fairly cheap to take the subway, ranging anywhere from 3 yuan to 8 yuan ($0.48-$1.29) depending on how far you go.
The newest one I have discovered is the bus system. Shanghai has around 1000 bus routes! I was simply overwhelmed when I found that out. There are no apps to help you figure out which route to take. You have to simply know what bus stops are near you and which road you want to know. With that being said, you also have to be able to read Chinese characters in order to accomplish this because the signs on the bus stations are written only in characters. Once you are on the bus, they announce what stop is coming up in both Chinese and English. The way I figured out what bus to take is by looking it up online, but I also have taken pictures of numbers of the buses which are nearest to my campus so if I ever need to get back to campus from somewhere that I am unfamiliar with, I can just look for certain numbers. Buses are only 2 yuan ($0.16) so I like using the buses even though the bus drivers are risky drivers!
Taxis are convenient whenever I need to return to campus later on because the metro closed, or if we have an exact location to go to and we do not have access to wifi to figure out the buses or metro. The rates of the taxis are not too terrible in prices but it just depends on how far you are going.
And finally, there is always walking. For example, this morning at 7 am I walked from school to Luxun Park and then to Starbucks which took about 20 minutes, but it was so refreshing to see so many people up and about so early. The park is always filed with elderly who were doing their various activities, like dancing, practicing tai chi, writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with water, and using the public exercise equipment. Our campus is not too far away from various places, and it’s always nice knowing that you are protecting the environment especially when it is a smoggy day in Shanghai. And let’s not forget about the fact that there are 24 million people living in Shanghai, so rush hour makes traveling so much more interesting! I can now say I have experienced the way that the Chinese squish onto the metro, and let’s just say, I am glad that I am not claustrophobic.
I’ve added some pictures for you all to see. My favorite is definetly the one with the two ladies on top of this giant pile of wood on the back of the bike. Oh the things you see in China…
The first one is the metro is probably the most convenient for us since we have a metro station within a five minute walk from campus. The metro system here has been recently developed thanks to a large contribution from the government. You can definitely tell they’ve been focusing on improving it within the last few years. Every station has a security check where you are supposed to place your bags on the conveyor in order to check them, but barely anyone listens to the security guards. I asked my Chinese friend about this and she said that the security checks were built for the World Expo when lots of people came to Shanghai for it; now people just ignore the fact that they even exist. It is also fairly cheap to take the subway, ranging anywhere from 3 yuan to 8 yuan ($0.48-$1.29) depending on how far you go.
The newest one I have discovered is the bus system. Shanghai has around 1000 bus routes! I was simply overwhelmed when I found that out. There are no apps to help you figure out which route to take. You have to simply know what bus stops are near you and which road you want to know. With that being said, you also have to be able to read Chinese characters in order to accomplish this because the signs on the bus stations are written only in characters. Once you are on the bus, they announce what stop is coming up in both Chinese and English. The way I figured out what bus to take is by looking it up online, but I also have taken pictures of numbers of the buses which are nearest to my campus so if I ever need to get back to campus from somewhere that I am unfamiliar with, I can just look for certain numbers. Buses are only 2 yuan ($0.16) so I like using the buses even though the bus drivers are risky drivers!
Taxis are convenient whenever I need to return to campus later on because the metro closed, or if we have an exact location to go to and we do not have access to wifi to figure out the buses or metro. The rates of the taxis are not too terrible in prices but it just depends on how far you are going.
And finally, there is always walking. For example, this morning at 7 am I walked from school to Luxun Park and then to Starbucks which took about 20 minutes, but it was so refreshing to see so many people up and about so early. The park is always filed with elderly who were doing their various activities, like dancing, practicing tai chi, writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with water, and using the public exercise equipment. Our campus is not too far away from various places, and it’s always nice knowing that you are protecting the environment especially when it is a smoggy day in Shanghai. And let’s not forget about the fact that there are 24 million people living in Shanghai, so rush hour makes traveling so much more interesting! I can now say I have experienced the way that the Chinese squish onto the metro, and let’s just say, I am glad that I am not claustrophobic.
I’ve added some pictures for you all to see. My favorite is definetly the one with the two ladies on top of this giant pile of wood on the back of the bike. Oh the things you see in China…
Unique to China
So every week, we go as a class to eat lunch with our teacher. They call it Chinese tables. During this time, we only speak Chinese and learn things about China. Our Chinese teacher is able to speak Shanghainese which is unique to Shanghai. It uses the same characters as Mandarin Chinese; however it has a completely different way to pronounce them. For example, 你好 is pronounced “nihao” in Mandarin, but with Shanghainese, it is “nonghao”. Only people from Shanghai typically speak it. Most of my coworkers speak it yet my boss can only understand what they are saying when they speak it. She comes from a different part of China so it wasn’t passed down to her through her parents. I can tell when it is spoken but I do not understand it at all. I thought it would be easier to pick up on, but at this point in time, I’m only going to focus on learning Mandarin. If I were to travel outside of Shanghai, knowing Shanghainese would not be very useful.
Going off of that, I’ve been fortunate enough to get an internship at The Study Abroad Foundation. My coworkers are so friendly and helpful! I’ve noticed a few differences thus far between doing business in China compared to in the USA. For example, answering a phone call during the middle of a meeting or presentation is not shocking. Chinese think that if it is important enough to make a phone call about, they will answer it. This can also be said with our Resident Director as he will answer his phone in practically every situation.
The building of the company that I work at is well kept and has a nice environment. There is free coffee, tea and hot water, and the bathrooms are so much better than I ever would have expected (They are American style & they have seat warmers!). Also, on the first floor of the building, there is a nice casual sitting area. If I ever arrive at work early, I always sit down there for a few minutes and read. They have workers on each floor that act as secretaries and the ones of the first floor bring you hot water as well. The perks of this building are nice and I wonder if every business center like this has these amenities.
I have decided that I will do my capstone paper for my Economics class based on my internship. I will be researching and analyzing the main reasons that Chinese students want to go abroad to an English speaking country, what they plan on doing after they receive their education, and why more and more students have been doing this in the past few years. I am excited to look deeper into this topic and will keep you updated with how it goes.
As I have been to more and more universities in China, I have noticed a few differences. To save energy, some colleges will turn of electricity around 10 or 11 pm which means that they have to be in the building before then in order to be able to sleep in their room. Luckily, this is not the case for our campus. Another difference is that oftentimes there will be a central shower room for many residence halls rather than have showers in each bathroom. I found this out because I noticed people walking to and from buildings with their towel and shampoo one day and asked my boss what the reason for this was. I talked to my Australian friend about this and she said that they do that as well so I am not sure how bizarre this custom is or if it was just something I was unaware of.
Lastly, I have noticed that China has different features than the USA when it comes to accessibility for people with physical disabilities. All throughout the metro and many sidewalks, there are bumps on the road indicating whether or not the sidewalk will continue on or if a turn is coming up. At first, I had no idea what they were, but it makes sense now although they are extremely uncomfortable to walk on. In general though, I would not want anything to happen to my legs during my time here because getting around on crutches let alone a wheelchair would not be a fun task to have to deal with here. It is not like the USA where the buildings have to have an elevator and ramps are strategically placed around to help these people.
Oh and don’t think that I have forgotten to mention guan xi. Don’t worry, that will be one of its own blog posts in the near future.
Want to learn some Chinese? 不好意思 (buhaoyisi) literally “I’m embarrassed” in Chinese but is used like we would say “Excuse me” in English.
Going off of that, I’ve been fortunate enough to get an internship at The Study Abroad Foundation. My coworkers are so friendly and helpful! I’ve noticed a few differences thus far between doing business in China compared to in the USA. For example, answering a phone call during the middle of a meeting or presentation is not shocking. Chinese think that if it is important enough to make a phone call about, they will answer it. This can also be said with our Resident Director as he will answer his phone in practically every situation.
The building of the company that I work at is well kept and has a nice environment. There is free coffee, tea and hot water, and the bathrooms are so much better than I ever would have expected (They are American style & they have seat warmers!). Also, on the first floor of the building, there is a nice casual sitting area. If I ever arrive at work early, I always sit down there for a few minutes and read. They have workers on each floor that act as secretaries and the ones of the first floor bring you hot water as well. The perks of this building are nice and I wonder if every business center like this has these amenities.
I have decided that I will do my capstone paper for my Economics class based on my internship. I will be researching and analyzing the main reasons that Chinese students want to go abroad to an English speaking country, what they plan on doing after they receive their education, and why more and more students have been doing this in the past few years. I am excited to look deeper into this topic and will keep you updated with how it goes.
As I have been to more and more universities in China, I have noticed a few differences. To save energy, some colleges will turn of electricity around 10 or 11 pm which means that they have to be in the building before then in order to be able to sleep in their room. Luckily, this is not the case for our campus. Another difference is that oftentimes there will be a central shower room for many residence halls rather than have showers in each bathroom. I found this out because I noticed people walking to and from buildings with their towel and shampoo one day and asked my boss what the reason for this was. I talked to my Australian friend about this and she said that they do that as well so I am not sure how bizarre this custom is or if it was just something I was unaware of.
Lastly, I have noticed that China has different features than the USA when it comes to accessibility for people with physical disabilities. All throughout the metro and many sidewalks, there are bumps on the road indicating whether or not the sidewalk will continue on or if a turn is coming up. At first, I had no idea what they were, but it makes sense now although they are extremely uncomfortable to walk on. In general though, I would not want anything to happen to my legs during my time here because getting around on crutches let alone a wheelchair would not be a fun task to have to deal with here. It is not like the USA where the buildings have to have an elevator and ramps are strategically placed around to help these people.
Oh and don’t think that I have forgotten to mention guan xi. Don’t worry, that will be one of its own blog posts in the near future.
Want to learn some Chinese? 不好意思 (buhaoyisi) literally “I’m embarrassed” in Chinese but is used like we would say “Excuse me” in English.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Long Weekend Trip
We went to Shaoxing (绍兴) which is the hometown of Luxun (鲁迅) who is an extremely famous Chinese writer. When we first got there, we went to eat and then went to all the touristy areas such as his house, ride on a small boat on the canal and tried the famous stinky tofu. Since I couldn't stand the smell and I hate tofu, I did not try it. There were mixed reviews on it. Either you loved it or you hated it.
As we drove there, we had seen houses for the first time. So far in Shanghai, it seems like everyone lives in apartments. There is some type of solar energy that they use on top of their houses that everyone has! I feel like it might be used to make hot water, but I'm going to look more into it to figure it out.
That evening we explored and found a little night market. Our hotel is extremely nice compared to our dorms so I was extremely thankful for the comfy bed and nice amenities. After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we loaded the bus to go to Xinchang (新昌) to go to a valley and hike around for a bit. We were held up by some traffic on the way there due to a car accident on small road. But we eventually got there. In the middle of the hike, we stopped at a little family restaurant which we think ended up making a few people sick later on in the trip, but we are not exactly sure whether or not that was the cause. I added a picture of the bathroom there... lets just say that everyone decided to not use it! This place was absolutely gorgeous though!
Then we went to Hangzhou (杭州) and I was able to meet up with Will and Meg that night! We shopped around Hefeng Street, saw the West Lake night fountain show, and ate at Grandma's Kitchen. It was an absolutely wonderful evening. The fountain show was incredibly breathtaking, unfortunately, I did not have my iPad to take pictures but my friend, Sally, did so I will get them from her eventually. And this restaurant was delicious & I found out they're a franchise which is also in Shanghai! I will definitely be going there again!
The next day was a nightmare, to say the least! My roommate was sick all night from food positioning so we got a late start to the day as we had to tend to her needs in order for her to be well enough to return to Shanghai on the bus with us (2.5 hour bus ride when you have food poisoning is a bit of a challenge without proper medicine). So while she is getting medicine, the rest of us venture out to West Lake, but our bus sideswipes a car on the way there so we had to wait for the bus driver, police and the other driver to verbally fight it out. Eventually our tour guide hands over some money and runs away! It's a whole different story when dealing with car accidents here.
And thennnn after touring around West Lake we go to find our bus which takes at least 45 minutes of walking. At that point in time we are all tired and hungry and some of us were not feeling so well. We show up to the restaurant we have reservations for at least an hour late, but luckily all the food is ready for us. We feasted and then headed out to go see the Tiger Springs (which were pretty neat!). There we were able to try some of the water and explore the park. And finally we pick up my roommate and head back to Shanghai. But of course, we have to stop for bathroom breaks and food. So we got KFC which was an adventure in it of itself since we have 30+ people in our group.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip and makes me want to take more weekend adventures! I was glad to get out of Shanghai for a bit and truly felt more immersed in the Chinese culture. Many more people were shocked to see foreigners (waiguoren 外国人/laowai 老外). I managed to have some short conversations in Chinese with both locals and other tourists which increases my confidence in my Chinese skills a whole lot! Our group is getting along so well thus far. I'm so happy with just about everything. Our next adventure is a weeklong trip to Hongkong, Macao and Guangzhou. I cannot wait! And after that, in the beginning of May, I have decided to go to Malaysia with my friend Sally for a week.
As we drove there, we had seen houses for the first time. So far in Shanghai, it seems like everyone lives in apartments. There is some type of solar energy that they use on top of their houses that everyone has! I feel like it might be used to make hot water, but I'm going to look more into it to figure it out.
That evening we explored and found a little night market. Our hotel is extremely nice compared to our dorms so I was extremely thankful for the comfy bed and nice amenities. After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we loaded the bus to go to Xinchang (新昌) to go to a valley and hike around for a bit. We were held up by some traffic on the way there due to a car accident on small road. But we eventually got there. In the middle of the hike, we stopped at a little family restaurant which we think ended up making a few people sick later on in the trip, but we are not exactly sure whether or not that was the cause. I added a picture of the bathroom there... lets just say that everyone decided to not use it! This place was absolutely gorgeous though!
Then we went to Hangzhou (杭州) and I was able to meet up with Will and Meg that night! We shopped around Hefeng Street, saw the West Lake night fountain show, and ate at Grandma's Kitchen. It was an absolutely wonderful evening. The fountain show was incredibly breathtaking, unfortunately, I did not have my iPad to take pictures but my friend, Sally, did so I will get them from her eventually. And this restaurant was delicious & I found out they're a franchise which is also in Shanghai! I will definitely be going there again!
The next day was a nightmare, to say the least! My roommate was sick all night from food positioning so we got a late start to the day as we had to tend to her needs in order for her to be well enough to return to Shanghai on the bus with us (2.5 hour bus ride when you have food poisoning is a bit of a challenge without proper medicine). So while she is getting medicine, the rest of us venture out to West Lake, but our bus sideswipes a car on the way there so we had to wait for the bus driver, police and the other driver to verbally fight it out. Eventually our tour guide hands over some money and runs away! It's a whole different story when dealing with car accidents here.
And thennnn after touring around West Lake we go to find our bus which takes at least 45 minutes of walking. At that point in time we are all tired and hungry and some of us were not feeling so well. We show up to the restaurant we have reservations for at least an hour late, but luckily all the food is ready for us. We feasted and then headed out to go see the Tiger Springs (which were pretty neat!). There we were able to try some of the water and explore the park. And finally we pick up my roommate and head back to Shanghai. But of course, we have to stop for bathroom breaks and food. So we got KFC which was an adventure in it of itself since we have 30+ people in our group.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip and makes me want to take more weekend adventures! I was glad to get out of Shanghai for a bit and truly felt more immersed in the Chinese culture. Many more people were shocked to see foreigners (waiguoren 外国人/laowai 老外). I managed to have some short conversations in Chinese with both locals and other tourists which increases my confidence in my Chinese skills a whole lot! Our group is getting along so well thus far. I'm so happy with just about everything. Our next adventure is a weeklong trip to Hongkong, Macao and Guangzhou. I cannot wait! And after that, in the beginning of May, I have decided to go to Malaysia with my friend Sally for a week.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The start of week four
I can't believe it's been three full weeks of classes already. This week is going to be stressful with a finance presentation on Wednesday, a Chinese test on Thursday and an Econ paper due on Thursday as well but my reward is being able to travel more in China!!!
I've been meeting so many people from all over the world here. It's been so amazing. Shanghai has so many Chinese people as well as international. Most of the people I've met have been students studying here, but there are a bunch of expats as well.
I looked into scheduling for next semester already and it seems like I will be graduating on time and I will probably graduate with a major in international business and minors in finance, leadership and possibly Econ!
In the next post, I'm going to discuss more about my internship and the differences I've noticed thus far with business in china versus the USA (although the company I work for is based out of the USA). For now I need to focus on getting through these next four days!
I've added some pictures of the shanghai urban planning museum that we went to a few weekends ago. It still amazes me how big this city is and how I've been able to survive here for a month already. I would have never considered myself a city girl before but now I know what it's like. I'm not sure yet wether or not I prefer the city or suburbs.
I've been meeting so many people from all over the world here. It's been so amazing. Shanghai has so many Chinese people as well as international. Most of the people I've met have been students studying here, but there are a bunch of expats as well.
I looked into scheduling for next semester already and it seems like I will be graduating on time and I will probably graduate with a major in international business and minors in finance, leadership and possibly Econ!
In the next post, I'm going to discuss more about my internship and the differences I've noticed thus far with business in china versus the USA (although the company I work for is based out of the USA). For now I need to focus on getting through these next four days!
I've added some pictures of the shanghai urban planning museum that we went to a few weekends ago. It still amazes me how big this city is and how I've been able to survive here for a month already. I would have never considered myself a city girl before but now I know what it's like. I'm not sure yet wether or not I prefer the city or suburbs.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Beautiful day!
So this very moment I'm laying on the grass in front of our ten story residence hall enjoying the beautiful day. Not only is it extremely warm (>70 degrees Fahrenheit) it is also Women's Day. Women's Day is a big deal in China. To celebrate it, women don't have to work and spend the day doing typical female activities like shopping so stores have special sales. At lunch today, all the girls got a bowl soup for free which had soy beans and other things in it which I have no idea what they were. A few minutes ago, some of the female workers on campus took part in a tug of war. Not quite sure why or what exactly but it was still fun to watch.
Today for class, we went to Luxun park and talked to the locals. We had 10 questions prepared ahead of time to ask them. I was shocked how willing they were to talk to us but not everyone received a friendly hello. I was fortunate enough to be welcomed by all the people that I talked to. We saw them doing many activities: tai chi of course (太极拳), tai chi with a sword (太极剑) using the outdoor exercise equipment (锻炼), dancing (跳舞), singing (唱歌), writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with water (书法), and this whipping thing (鞭子). A few of the guys from our group attempted to do this whipping activity and succeeded, while others ended up whipping themselves! Basically what they would do was swing the whip around their head and then snap it real quick making a loud noise! It was pretty entertaining and amazing how many people were there partaking in many different activities and how strong some of these elderly men are!
Today concludes the third week of classes. Next week we have our Chinese test on Thursday and then we leave Friday to go to Zhejiang province. There we will be able to go to Hangzhou and see the West Lake. I'm excited to take a weekend trip. I've been trying to figure out what I want to do for our weekend vacation and have been debating between going to Chengdu and Xian or farther south cities like Guilin. I have to make up my mind soon and start planning it all out. Either one will be great, I'm sure.
During my internship this last week, I was able to visit a few different universities like Jiaotong University and Tongji University. It is truly amazing seeing how large these schools really are. I talked to a girl at Tongji University about wanting to go abroad and her English was really good! Everyone here seems to start learning English at a very young age, just like in the United States but with Spanish. Also I have posted some pictures of Jing'an park which is right behind my work!
The food here has been unbelievable thus far, even though we have eaten American and Mexican food already and it's only been a month. Most meals consist of either noodles and dumplings or meat, veggies, and rice. Here in shanghai you can find pretty much any food you could ever imagine. The quality may not be what you are used to in the United States but I have not had a situation where I've gotten sick from the food yet. (That doesn't hold true for everyone in our group though)
I haven't figured out why there are so many jets that fly by our campus yet, sitting here for only two hours, they've flown by at least 5 times and it seems like each time they are lower and lower. It makes me wonder....
Well I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit and then I'm going to explore Shanghai more tonight with friend. Tomorrow, we will go to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum which has a fake market below it!
Today for class, we went to Luxun park and talked to the locals. We had 10 questions prepared ahead of time to ask them. I was shocked how willing they were to talk to us but not everyone received a friendly hello. I was fortunate enough to be welcomed by all the people that I talked to. We saw them doing many activities: tai chi of course (太极拳), tai chi with a sword (太极剑) using the outdoor exercise equipment (锻炼), dancing (跳舞), singing (唱歌), writing calligraphy on the sidewalk with water (书法), and this whipping thing (鞭子). A few of the guys from our group attempted to do this whipping activity and succeeded, while others ended up whipping themselves! Basically what they would do was swing the whip around their head and then snap it real quick making a loud noise! It was pretty entertaining and amazing how many people were there partaking in many different activities and how strong some of these elderly men are!
Today concludes the third week of classes. Next week we have our Chinese test on Thursday and then we leave Friday to go to Zhejiang province. There we will be able to go to Hangzhou and see the West Lake. I'm excited to take a weekend trip. I've been trying to figure out what I want to do for our weekend vacation and have been debating between going to Chengdu and Xian or farther south cities like Guilin. I have to make up my mind soon and start planning it all out. Either one will be great, I'm sure.
During my internship this last week, I was able to visit a few different universities like Jiaotong University and Tongji University. It is truly amazing seeing how large these schools really are. I talked to a girl at Tongji University about wanting to go abroad and her English was really good! Everyone here seems to start learning English at a very young age, just like in the United States but with Spanish. Also I have posted some pictures of Jing'an park which is right behind my work!
The food here has been unbelievable thus far, even though we have eaten American and Mexican food already and it's only been a month. Most meals consist of either noodles and dumplings or meat, veggies, and rice. Here in shanghai you can find pretty much any food you could ever imagine. The quality may not be what you are used to in the United States but I have not had a situation where I've gotten sick from the food yet. (That doesn't hold true for everyone in our group though)
I haven't figured out why there are so many jets that fly by our campus yet, sitting here for only two hours, they've flown by at least 5 times and it seems like each time they are lower and lower. It makes me wonder....
Well I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit and then I'm going to explore Shanghai more tonight with friend. Tomorrow, we will go to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum which has a fake market below it!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
不同国家的人有不同的习惯 - People from different countries have different customs
So today we had our first Chinese test! The theme was basically the title of this post so I found it suitable to blog about this. The test wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I’ll let ya know how I did on it but I am feeling pretty confident about it. So I’ve noticed quite a few differences between life in China and life in the USA. Here are just a few:
1. When someone sneezes, people don’t say ANYTHING. It is so hard for me to get adjusted to just because in the USA, every time someone sneezes and no one says anything, I feel bad. So I always make sure to say “Bless you” even though it has such a weird meaning behind it.
2. Next, people in China wear their outfits more than once a week. It seems like a strange custom but I asked my new friend Peiyu last night. She said it was because if you didn’t get it dirty, then you can wear it again. Of course they shower and then just put the same clothes on, it is just different than in the USA.
3. Going off of the topic of clothes, we have to hang dry them because the dryers are awful. I wasn’t expecting to have any dryers, but we do. Someone put their clothes in there for four hours and they still weren’t dry. So we have to hang them up on our lovely balconies. This is so common here and you can see clothes hanging up ALL over the city in such bizarre locations (even off of power lines)
4. Free space in Shanghai is used so efficiently. Not only are the buildings well planned out, but the locals seem to have claimed out sidewalks and spaces in subway stations in order to sell their goods. Walking back from the subway station to my dorm, I have to walk on the roads at times in order to get around all the sellers.
5. Walking in the road is dangerous. People don’t have the right away here like they do in the USA. You really have to make sure that there are no cars, motorcycles, mopeds, bikes, taxis, OR BUSES coming. Buses seem to always be the ones that want to run us over.
6. Hot drinks is what we have been drinking allll the time which I have been fine with thus far because it warms me up, but I’m wondering how I will like it once it gets hotter. Milk tea is huge here and it’s one of my favorites. I’m going to have to find somewhere in the USA that has it because it’s becoming an everyday drink for me. My roommate and I bought a water heater for the room so we can have hot water whenever we want!
7. Before you shower, you have to turn on a switch for the hot water at least 10 minutes in advance. This is extremely energy efficient but causes a nuisance on occasion when people want to quickly shower. I haven’t had too much of an issue with it yet, I actually love the idea.
8. Shower stall doesn’t exist here. It’s just a drain on the floor of the bathroom. So after you shower you kinda got to mop up the water a bit. This one bothers me a little, just because you have to wear shoes in the bathroom if someone has recently showered. I’m used to never wearing shoes and so it will take me a little bit to adjust to this difference.
9. Toilet paper does not exist in every bathroom here in China. Most public bathrooms are squatters and require you to bring your own toilet paper. And after using that toilet paper, you do not put it down the drain. This goes with any toilet here; trashcans are always located next to the toilet to put the paper in.
10. Rooms aren’t centrally heated. If it does have a heater, it’s on the wall and is controlled with a remote. In our classrooms, this has been a bit of an issue. There hasn’t been one class yet where we haven’t all worn our coats during the entire class. The buildings seem to be colder than outside. It’s a bizarre concept but I have heard that the other dorms on main campus don’t have any heating at all.
If you have any questions/comments on what I just mentioned, feel free to let me know. I’d love to hear what your opinion is on all of this. I’m sure there are more differences but those are the ones that have stuck out to me during my two and a half weeks here. That’s all for now, folks. Today, I plan on getting a lot of my homework done so that I can be ahead of the game for this week.
1. When someone sneezes, people don’t say ANYTHING. It is so hard for me to get adjusted to just because in the USA, every time someone sneezes and no one says anything, I feel bad. So I always make sure to say “Bless you” even though it has such a weird meaning behind it.
2. Next, people in China wear their outfits more than once a week. It seems like a strange custom but I asked my new friend Peiyu last night. She said it was because if you didn’t get it dirty, then you can wear it again. Of course they shower and then just put the same clothes on, it is just different than in the USA.
3. Going off of the topic of clothes, we have to hang dry them because the dryers are awful. I wasn’t expecting to have any dryers, but we do. Someone put their clothes in there for four hours and they still weren’t dry. So we have to hang them up on our lovely balconies. This is so common here and you can see clothes hanging up ALL over the city in such bizarre locations (even off of power lines)
4. Free space in Shanghai is used so efficiently. Not only are the buildings well planned out, but the locals seem to have claimed out sidewalks and spaces in subway stations in order to sell their goods. Walking back from the subway station to my dorm, I have to walk on the roads at times in order to get around all the sellers.
5. Walking in the road is dangerous. People don’t have the right away here like they do in the USA. You really have to make sure that there are no cars, motorcycles, mopeds, bikes, taxis, OR BUSES coming. Buses seem to always be the ones that want to run us over.
6. Hot drinks is what we have been drinking allll the time which I have been fine with thus far because it warms me up, but I’m wondering how I will like it once it gets hotter. Milk tea is huge here and it’s one of my favorites. I’m going to have to find somewhere in the USA that has it because it’s becoming an everyday drink for me. My roommate and I bought a water heater for the room so we can have hot water whenever we want!
7. Before you shower, you have to turn on a switch for the hot water at least 10 minutes in advance. This is extremely energy efficient but causes a nuisance on occasion when people want to quickly shower. I haven’t had too much of an issue with it yet, I actually love the idea.
8. Shower stall doesn’t exist here. It’s just a drain on the floor of the bathroom. So after you shower you kinda got to mop up the water a bit. This one bothers me a little, just because you have to wear shoes in the bathroom if someone has recently showered. I’m used to never wearing shoes and so it will take me a little bit to adjust to this difference.
9. Toilet paper does not exist in every bathroom here in China. Most public bathrooms are squatters and require you to bring your own toilet paper. And after using that toilet paper, you do not put it down the drain. This goes with any toilet here; trashcans are always located next to the toilet to put the paper in.
10. Rooms aren’t centrally heated. If it does have a heater, it’s on the wall and is controlled with a remote. In our classrooms, this has been a bit of an issue. There hasn’t been one class yet where we haven’t all worn our coats during the entire class. The buildings seem to be colder than outside. It’s a bizarre concept but I have heard that the other dorms on main campus don’t have any heating at all.
If you have any questions/comments on what I just mentioned, feel free to let me know. I’d love to hear what your opinion is on all of this. I’m sure there are more differences but those are the ones that have stuck out to me during my two and a half weeks here. That’s all for now, folks. Today, I plan on getting a lot of my homework done so that I can be ahead of the game for this week.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
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