I left yesterday on a 10-day trip around China. We have the week off from class and were allowed to go anywhere we wanted. Five friends and I have already arrived in Xi'an today, after a comfortable 13-hour train ride. The weather is bad, cold and rainy. I've done limited sightseeing so far, eating in the muslim quarter and seeing the drum and bell tower. Tomorrow I will go to see the Army of Terracotta Warriors. I'm pretty excited.
From there, on to Beijing by myself, where I'll stay not far from the Forbidden City. The rest of the group is going to Dunhuang and the Gobi Desert, so I thought I would take the opportunity to visit my frat brother in a Beijing study abroad program. I'll also see the great wall and all that touristy stuff. I'll finish up coming down with said friend to Shanghai for the weekend, where several other people I know will have already been staying for a few days.
Probably won't update the blog much, and there will be no pictures until my return.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Turtles!
Meant to post this a while ago:
Mr. and Mrs. Turtle chilling in their tub under the sink in my bathroom. Don't let their supposed adorableness get to you, they smell awful.
The exclamation point indicates surprise, not excitement
On Sunday or Monday, I came back to my room to find two turtles on my bathroom floor in a mesh bag. For some reason it didn't seem that odd, the turtles weren't moving, so maybe Jerry was going to eat them or something.
Jerry informed me that he and LuBen down the hall had each purchased a turtle and planned to keep them as a pet. He also said something about keeping a turtle giving you long life. Or maybe that's people who eat turtles.
I wasn't too concerned because he said that LuBen had bought a tub to keep them in, and they'd be kept in his room.
About a day later, after the turtles had been moved to their tub, one crawled over the edge and neither LuBen or his roommate saw it. It was at large for about 3 hours before it was discovered hiding in the corner of their room. Either way, LuBen's roommate told him the turtle must go, so for now it is in my bathroom.
The biggest problem is the food they're giving the turtles. Their pretty much feeding them raw chuar. I don't actually know how that's spelled, but it's the meet on a stick sold by street vendors. They just put it in the tub, and it reeks until the turtles eat it all. Since they're slow turtles, this can take days.
They should be gone to people in my roommate's old dorm by the end of my weeklong independent trip, which ends October 7.
Mr. and Mrs. Turtle chilling in their tub under the sink in my bathroom. Don't let their supposed adorableness get to you, they smell awful.The exclamation point indicates surprise, not excitement
On Sunday or Monday, I came back to my room to find two turtles on my bathroom floor in a mesh bag. For some reason it didn't seem that odd, the turtles weren't moving, so maybe Jerry was going to eat them or something.
Jerry informed me that he and LuBen down the hall had each purchased a turtle and planned to keep them as a pet. He also said something about keeping a turtle giving you long life. Or maybe that's people who eat turtles.
I wasn't too concerned because he said that LuBen had bought a tub to keep them in, and they'd be kept in his room.
About a day later, after the turtles had been moved to their tub, one crawled over the edge and neither LuBen or his roommate saw it. It was at large for about 3 hours before it was discovered hiding in the corner of their room. Either way, LuBen's roommate told him the turtle must go, so for now it is in my bathroom.
The biggest problem is the food they're giving the turtles. Their pretty much feeding them raw chuar. I don't actually know how that's spelled, but it's the meet on a stick sold by street vendors. They just put it in the tub, and it reeks until the turtles eat it all. Since they're slow turtles, this can take days.
They should be gone to people in my roommate's old dorm by the end of my weeklong independent trip, which ends October 7.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Shanghai
Me on the Bund. The area along the Huangpu River in Puxi, the west side of Shanghai, that looks onto the buildings in Pudong, the east side of Shanghai. Driving in by taxi the first night, it was a pretty awe inspiring sight. Less so with the bad weather. The Oriental Pearl Tower is the famous building in the background.Two days, barely any sightseeing
Left for Shanghai Thursday after our cooking class (I'll update about that some other time), and got there at like 10:45 p.m. We dropped our stuff off at a hostel, and then went on to this bar called C's to meet up with some people. I was traveling with Alex, who had done a year study abroad in Shanghai when he was a junior in college. He's since recently graduated, but is still doing CIEE Nanjing to study Chinese. So he had a bunch of friends in Shanghai with an apartment who were just working and living the good life. We met those four guys (One NU '07 alum) at the bar and chilled for a little bit before heading back to there place.
Their apartment was amazing. For 10,000 yuan a month (Like $300 US per person split up), they had a two story apartment with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen with an oven, a large living room and dining area, an awesome staircase leading to the second floor, and two balconies. Not to mention it came furnished very nicely. Upon seeing this, we made the decision to just crash in their living room rather than back at the smell hostel. The hostel was nice by hostel-standards, and we had already spent 70 kuai on it. But we didn't want to sleep in a room with 10 other people and possible have bed bugs if we didn't have to. Cabbed there and back to pick up our stuff and turn in our keys. Crashed late at like 2:30 a.m.
The next day we were supposed to all wake up to go with Tom, the other guy from NU/CIEE Nanjing, to the consulate so he could see about replacing his stolen passport. Alex and I needless to say, just slept through while he went and did that. He came back around noon, and we all went out for dim sum at some world famous place with other locations in New York and San Francisco. That was hen haochi and lasted like 2 hours as we sat around and Alex caught up with 2 of his friends from the apartment.
Duck jaw, just prior to my eating it at dim sum. I don't know if you can make it out but the big thing next the the foil is the tongue. It actually tasted pretty good, but didn't have much meat on it.We then commenced on what would become a 4+ km trek from the restaurant to the Bund. It was raining, so we stopped into this store called Hotwind, which gives out free umbrellas. It operates on the honor system that you will return them to some other location in the city. We walked first to Tomorrow's Square (I think) which is a lounge on the 38th floor of the hotel overlooking people's park. People's Park used to be a race track in like the 1920's for rich white men.
Renmin Gongyuan, or People's Park. Note the oval shape indicative of it's race track past. The building with the tower at the bottom is the old club house.We meandered through the park to the beginning of Nanjing Road East. This part of Nanjing Road is famous for all it's retail stores. In my 20th-century Chinese history class, we read about the huge silk emporiums on this street, the jingles they wrote, and how it was all related to the New Life movement in the 1930's and 40's under Chiang Kai-shek.
Nanjing RoadWe walked down that to the Bund which is where the picture of me at the top is from. As I was waiting to buy an overpriced bottle of water to quench my extreme thirst, this girl came up and asked if she could have her picture taken with me. I proceeded to have my picture taken 3 different times as each of the 3 girls individually posed with me. I figured I'd humor them, I mostly thought it was funny. It's the first time I've gotten what people call the "rockstar treatment" that westerner's sometimes get.
We went to the nearest subway station, which was during rush hour around 6 p.m. It was chaos. People were packed like sardines into cars. We watched the first train come, and people just pushing onto these trains. One women couldn't fit but kept ramming into the people trying to make room. As the doors started to close, it got stuck on her back. A subway worker came over, and started trying to push her so that the doors could close. They did this three times before finally she squeezed in. It was ridiculous because in the U.S., any reasonable person would say to wait for the next train. I wish I had taken a picture.
The four of us, Alex, Tom, NU alum guy, and I, had to split up to cram onto two different trains. It was like being at the most packed concert ever as everybody was pressed up against everybody with no personal space. Alex and I made our way to a Brazilian steak house, as the other guys were going to Hot Pots (we found out later they went and got massages instead). The steak house was 88 kuai for all you can eat, as they come around with various barbequed meat on spits and cut you off pieces. It was quite the shock to my stomach after usually skimpy meat portioning in Chinese food, but it was a welcome shock. I ate beef, lamb, duck, chicken, chicken wrapped in bacon, garlic bread, pork, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Totally worth the price tag.
We then went back to the apartment, finding out that nobody else had gone to dinner. We slept while they did so, and then people came over for a house warming party. I played mahjong and got my ass kicked by this Chinese girl. She actually is one of PingPing, the program assistant's friends. Small world, I know.
We then almost went to KTV, but when it was discovered that only one person wanted to sing karaoke, we just decided to go to C's again. Fun was had by all, we came back and went to sleep around 4:30 a.m.
Woke up Saturday at 11:15, to rush off to pick up Alex's laptop that he had lost in LAX, had been mailed to him, but then waylaid in Shanghai because of some import tax. We had to pick it up from his uncle at the end of some subway line. So we took a cab to the subway, 40 minute subway ride there, and then just went to the train station to buy train tickets, and came back. Pretty quick trip in all. I'll be back in 2 weeks for another couple day stint, and I'm sure with only a 2 hour train ride, I'll be back many times.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Weekends
Two Weekends
There have only been two weekends since Lianyungong, but it seems like I've has been here a lot longer. For those of you wondering what I do on the weekends, I thought I'd write about it. I've mostly been going out to bars/clubs with people in the program. A couple times at least, PingPing, our amazing assistant director (assistant to the director?) has suggested places to go.
Babyface, located in the 1912 district, which is the largest club district in Nanjing. We just went there and went to one of the first places we saw, so I didn't think it was that great.
Nothing much more exciting than in the US. Lots of dancing. Thank god, the average dancing ability in China is low, so I don't stand out very much. Our dorm's little side street always has a lot of people hanging out around the drink shop on weekend nights, so sometimes we'll hang out with other international students or locals there before or after going out.
This weekend, I may be going to Shanghai, a 2 hour train ride away. I may have more to report after that.
Tomorrow I have 8 hours of class because I had to shift around the time I meet with my one-on-one professor. So I'm going to do homework and go to sleep.
There have only been two weekends since Lianyungong, but it seems like I've has been here a lot longer. For those of you wondering what I do on the weekends, I thought I'd write about it. I've mostly been going out to bars/clubs with people in the program. A couple times at least, PingPing, our amazing assistant director (assistant to the director?) has suggested places to go.
Babyface, located in the 1912 district, which is the largest club district in Nanjing. We just went there and went to one of the first places we saw, so I didn't think it was that great.Nothing much more exciting than in the US. Lots of dancing. Thank god, the average dancing ability in China is low, so I don't stand out very much. Our dorm's little side street always has a lot of people hanging out around the drink shop on weekend nights, so sometimes we'll hang out with other international students or locals there before or after going out.
This weekend, I may be going to Shanghai, a 2 hour train ride away. I may have more to report after that.
Tomorrow I have 8 hours of class because I had to shift around the time I meet with my one-on-one professor. So I'm going to do homework and go to sleep.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Nanjing University
Meant to post this Saturday, but got distracted:
I've been in Nanjing for just over three weeks and already am having trouble coming up with what to write about.
So here's some basic information about Nanjing University courtesy of Wikipedia.
Nanjing Daxue
Nanjing University has existed in some form since the third century A.D. It became China's first modern university in the 1920's and was given it's current name in 1949.
It's a public university with 12,200 undergraduates, 9,900 post graduates, and 3,000 faculty. There is a suburban campus for underclassmen and an urban campus mostly for seniors and graduate students. I'm on the urban campus, and it's like 30 minutes to an hour on a bus to get to the other campus.
There's a long list of scholars that have graduated from here, but if you're not Chinese, you probably haven't heard of any of them. Most notably, Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Guomindang and the president of the People's Republic of China (the ones who fled to Taiwan), served as president of the university for 2 years when it relocated to Chongqing during the Japanese invasion.
Going to the Canting
Near the center of campus there is the huge student cafeteria, that's at least 4 stories tall and has at least 3 dining halls in it. I went to the lower level canting, because I know how it works. I'd never been there during the lunch rush though. It was completely packed with students, and with all the other people I saw converging on the place, there had to be thousands of students making use of the building at that time.
People during the lunch rush. This line was stretched out for a long ways.
I got a plate of noodles with a fried egg, some greens and very sparse beef for 5 kuai ($0.75). It's probably one of the least expensive things there, but it is more than enough to fill me up.
Right outside the cafeteria there were all these thermoses (plural?) lined up because the dorms don't have hot water so they have to come get a thermos and fill up. I actually have to give a 5 minute speech in Chinese about the difference between our international student dorms and the Chinese student dorms. It's due in about 12 hours, and I haven't started. The lack of hot water is just one of the differences. The largest difference is that many of the dorm rooms have 7 people in them. Maybe after I write my speech I'll write more about the differences (one being how
I'll update again tomorrow about my weekend exploits.
Thermoses. It was impossible to get enough in a shot to give you an idea of how many of these things there were.
I've been in Nanjing for just over three weeks and already am having trouble coming up with what to write about.
So here's some basic information about Nanjing University courtesy of Wikipedia.
Nanjing Daxue
Nanjing University has existed in some form since the third century A.D. It became China's first modern university in the 1920's and was given it's current name in 1949.
It's a public university with 12,200 undergraduates, 9,900 post graduates, and 3,000 faculty. There is a suburban campus for underclassmen and an urban campus mostly for seniors and graduate students. I'm on the urban campus, and it's like 30 minutes to an hour on a bus to get to the other campus.
There's a long list of scholars that have graduated from here, but if you're not Chinese, you probably haven't heard of any of them. Most notably, Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Guomindang and the president of the People's Republic of China (the ones who fled to Taiwan), served as president of the university for 2 years when it relocated to Chongqing during the Japanese invasion.
Going to the Canting
Near the center of campus there is the huge student cafeteria, that's at least 4 stories tall and has at least 3 dining halls in it. I went to the lower level canting, because I know how it works. I'd never been there during the lunch rush though. It was completely packed with students, and with all the other people I saw converging on the place, there had to be thousands of students making use of the building at that time.
People during the lunch rush. This line was stretched out for a long ways.
I got a plate of noodles with a fried egg, some greens and very sparse beef for 5 kuai ($0.75). It's probably one of the least expensive things there, but it is more than enough to fill me up.
Right outside the cafeteria there were all these thermoses (plural?) lined up because the dorms don't have hot water so they have to come get a thermos and fill up. I actually have to give a 5 minute speech in Chinese about the difference between our international student dorms and the Chinese student dorms. It's due in about 12 hours, and I haven't started. The lack of hot water is just one of the differences. The largest difference is that many of the dorm rooms have 7 people in them. Maybe after I write my speech I'll write more about the differences (one being how
I'll update again tomorrow about my weekend exploits.
Thermoses. It was impossible to get enough in a shot to give you an idea of how many of these things there were.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Well, I guess I haven't written lately.
I thought it was odd that only as I'm starting to write this I looked at the date and realized it was Sept. 11. Nobody even mentioned it today; no memorial stuff here obviously either. Just weird considering how there's no way to avoid all the memorial stuff in the U.S.
All us laowai look alike
So, as suggested by my parents, I thought I'd talk about being a tall, skinny, white guy in a place where tall, skinny, white guys are less common.
Food and studying
I seem to spend most of my time on school nights either eating, study, or watching the sopranos. I guess I talk to people too. But still, nothing exciting.
I've been increasingly eating baozi and guotie, which are different kinds of dumplings. I don't know the specific name of the baozi I was eating today, or even if it really was that or something else. Whatever it was has meat of some type and soup (probably mostly grease) inside of it. I ate some today and the soup squirted all over the place. Since most restaurants don't seem to believe in napkins, I got my hands and arms covered in grease.
Tonight, I had Indian food at a Punjabi restaurant. It was really good although really expensive. 80 kuai, in all, but it would have been more like 60 without a drink. I was thankful to just have a little variety in my diet. I ate lots of nan, and some things I also don't know the names of. One of these days, I'll order things myself and know what things are called.
I eat a lot at a place called Laodifang, roughly translates as old place. Stuff is relatively cheap, tastes good, and nobody from the program has gotten sick off of it yet. That restaurant is pretty much our dining hall--on any given day, at least a few people will eat there.
All us laowai look alike
So, as suggested by my parents, I thought I'd talk about being a tall, skinny, white guy in a place where tall, skinny, white guys are less common.
- Foreign looking people (ie of European descent) are politely referred to as waiguoren (literally foreign people), but more often referred to by the impolite/rude term laowai (literally, it doesn't make much sense). My roommate explained it as calling Russians ruskies, or British people limeys, but I'm unsure of the exact level of offensiveness.
- Lots of people don't seem to really look at me or care, but a good chunk will stare as I walk by. It's way more common to get stares if there is a large group of us are walking somewhere.
- Coming back from Lianyungang, our bus was in heavy traffic and came up alongside a bus filled with Chinese. Lots of them stared, and when I looked back at them, some of them would look away all embarrassed. It's apparently especially embarrassing if you look back and smile, but in a situation like that, I couldn't help but smiling because it just seemed funny to me.
- As for clothes, people here dress very similarly, and I was surprised by how many fashionable people there actually are.
Food and studying
I seem to spend most of my time on school nights either eating, study, or watching the sopranos. I guess I talk to people too. But still, nothing exciting.
I've been increasingly eating baozi and guotie, which are different kinds of dumplings. I don't know the specific name of the baozi I was eating today, or even if it really was that or something else. Whatever it was has meat of some type and soup (probably mostly grease) inside of it. I ate some today and the soup squirted all over the place. Since most restaurants don't seem to believe in napkins, I got my hands and arms covered in grease.
Tonight, I had Indian food at a Punjabi restaurant. It was really good although really expensive. 80 kuai, in all, but it would have been more like 60 without a drink. I was thankful to just have a little variety in my diet. I ate lots of nan, and some things I also don't know the names of. One of these days, I'll order things myself and know what things are called.
I eat a lot at a place called Laodifang, roughly translates as old place. Stuff is relatively cheap, tastes good, and nobody from the program has gotten sick off of it yet. That restaurant is pretty much our dining hall--on any given day, at least a few people will eat there.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Birthday Party
The Party
Last night I went to a friend of a friend's Grandfather's 70th birthday party (another one of Dongxu from Madison's friends). It was in Tai Zhou City which is a 2 hour drive to the northwest, about half way to Lianyungang.
The guys extended family is originally from Tai Zhou and his father had moved to Nanjing. There were about 22 people who went to some fancy restaurant for a big dinner. His grampa, grandma, aunts, uncles (by far the most were uncles which constituted both his dad's cousins and brothers), and some others who I had no idea how they were related.
The meal was huge and started with this delicious cake which I proceeded to eat with chopsticks. Then on to the other dishes with new ones coming out pretty much continuously. I ate fish stomach in tomato sauce which was surprisingly good. Cow stomach was OK I only had a strand. A lot of fish and other seafood. The meal ended with the traditional birthday noodles that you eat for longevity or something like that.
Throughout the meal people kept moving around the room making toasts and having me raise my glass and cheers with them. The impressive thing is how much baijiu they were drinking. Baijiu is a "white wine" distilled from sorghum, rice, or pretty much anything you feel like. It's over 100 proof I know and tastes pretty awful. I did one toast with it and was like I'm done. But some people drank entire wineglasses full of this stuff. I was impressed.
Baijiu. Note how much the bottle looks like it could contain motor oil.
Photo Credit: Mark Bussinger (Wikipedia says I can use it if I credit it)
It lasted probably two and a half hours in all. I really didn't know much of what was going on because people had accents and would periodically speak in some local dialect. It was very interesting and I'm glad I went. I shared the guy's hotel room and got back the next morning just before noon.
Unfortunately, I had left my camera in the car so I didn't get any pictures. The guy, William might send me some that I can post.
Posting comments is now alright
So apparently tuition at Northwestern pays for something because NU IT has a section on there website about making a computer portal to get around blocked stuff. The other guy from NU showed it to me and I can now view this blog along with Wikipedia. So feel free to respond to these posts however you feel like.
Last night I went to a friend of a friend's Grandfather's 70th birthday party (another one of Dongxu from Madison's friends). It was in Tai Zhou City which is a 2 hour drive to the northwest, about half way to Lianyungang.
The guys extended family is originally from Tai Zhou and his father had moved to Nanjing. There were about 22 people who went to some fancy restaurant for a big dinner. His grampa, grandma, aunts, uncles (by far the most were uncles which constituted both his dad's cousins and brothers), and some others who I had no idea how they were related.
The meal was huge and started with this delicious cake which I proceeded to eat with chopsticks. Then on to the other dishes with new ones coming out pretty much continuously. I ate fish stomach in tomato sauce which was surprisingly good. Cow stomach was OK I only had a strand. A lot of fish and other seafood. The meal ended with the traditional birthday noodles that you eat for longevity or something like that.
Throughout the meal people kept moving around the room making toasts and having me raise my glass and cheers with them. The impressive thing is how much baijiu they were drinking. Baijiu is a "white wine" distilled from sorghum, rice, or pretty much anything you feel like. It's over 100 proof I know and tastes pretty awful. I did one toast with it and was like I'm done. But some people drank entire wineglasses full of this stuff. I was impressed.
Baijiu. Note how much the bottle looks like it could contain motor oil.
Photo Credit: Mark Bussinger (Wikipedia says I can use it if I credit it)
It lasted probably two and a half hours in all. I really didn't know much of what was going on because people had accents and would periodically speak in some local dialect. It was very interesting and I'm glad I went. I shared the guy's hotel room and got back the next morning just before noon.
Unfortunately, I had left my camera in the car so I didn't get any pictures. The guy, William might send me some that I can post.
Posting comments is now alright
So apparently tuition at Northwestern pays for something because NU IT has a section on there website about making a computer portal to get around blocked stuff. The other guy from NU showed it to me and I can now view this blog along with Wikipedia. So feel free to respond to these posts however you feel like.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Wierd Food
Sea Cucumber
I forgot to mention the meal I had immediately after arriving in Lianyungang. It consisted of all the local sea food "delicacies," plus a few other weird things. The main attraction definitely had to be the sea cucumber, also known as the sea slug.
I ate part of one of these. Yeah, I know, I'm BA. I'm probably also violating some sort of copyright law by posting this picture from a random web site.
Sea cucumbers come with the optional spikes and are pretty much gross looking floppy logs that somehow eat and breath. What I ate was a slice of a sea slug that had been prepared somehow, although it was served cold. It was really slimy and didn't taste very good, so I really don't know why people eat it.
Other than that I ate a couple kinds of squid, fish that came with heads and an awfully dangerous number of bones, dried shrimp (crispy/salty), and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. I also tried duck stomach, which I actually really enjoyed. I've had it once since then, but the second time wasn't as good.
I forgot to mention the meal I had immediately after arriving in Lianyungang. It consisted of all the local sea food "delicacies," plus a few other weird things. The main attraction definitely had to be the sea cucumber, also known as the sea slug.
I ate part of one of these. Yeah, I know, I'm BA. I'm probably also violating some sort of copyright law by posting this picture from a random web site.
Sea cucumbers come with the optional spikes and are pretty much gross looking floppy logs that somehow eat and breath. What I ate was a slice of a sea slug that had been prepared somehow, although it was served cold. It was really slimy and didn't taste very good, so I really don't know why people eat it.
Other than that I ate a couple kinds of squid, fish that came with heads and an awfully dangerous number of bones, dried shrimp (crispy/salty), and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. I also tried duck stomach, which I actually really enjoyed. I've had it once since then, but the second time wasn't as good.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Thank God the Internet is Back
Homework
I can't remember getting so much homework since high school. It took me like 2 hours to do my homework for my speaking, and I'm probably looking at 2 or more for my reading class. I was up until 1:30 and woke up at 6 to work some more. It's kind of refreshing to have work like this after just biding my time this summer.
I went to my B section reading class today and could understand most of what my professor was saying. It was pretty awesome. Except when she tried to ask me one question. Still, it's progress.
Street Food
I had my first street food today, at a whole in the wall place, one that's really more of a nook with no door. It was plenty busy though which was a good sign. I got 12 fried dumplings stuffed with some sort of meat (everyone was under the impression it was a mix). It's the first time the food here has stuck with me. Usually I'm hungry like 2 hours after eating. We'll see if my gastrointestinal system can stand the test.
Taijichuan
I had my first Taiji class today for about an hour. Very relaxing. We just went over the opening exercises, mostly stretches. Only 2 squatting ones were challenging. I'll probably keep doing it in the future.
I can't remember getting so much homework since high school. It took me like 2 hours to do my homework for my speaking, and I'm probably looking at 2 or more for my reading class. I was up until 1:30 and woke up at 6 to work some more. It's kind of refreshing to have work like this after just biding my time this summer.
I went to my B section reading class today and could understand most of what my professor was saying. It was pretty awesome. Except when she tried to ask me one question. Still, it's progress.
Street Food
I had my first street food today, at a whole in the wall place, one that's really more of a nook with no door. It was plenty busy though which was a good sign. I got 12 fried dumplings stuffed with some sort of meat (everyone was under the impression it was a mix). It's the first time the food here has stuck with me. Usually I'm hungry like 2 hours after eating. We'll see if my gastrointestinal system can stand the test.
Taijichuan
I had my first Taiji class today for about an hour. Very relaxing. We just went over the opening exercises, mostly stretches. Only 2 squatting ones were challenging. I'll probably keep doing it in the future.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
So Wet
Lianyungang
Got back from our weekend trip to Lianyungang yesterday around dinner time. I thought for some reason in went until Sunday, so I was pleasantly surprised.
I spent about half the weekend completely drenched. About as soon as we got there Thursday , the weather started to get bad. For some reason every time we got on the bus to go somewhere, it would start to rain.
It started the first night when we were walking back from another KTV for yet another birthday. This particular KTV was in a hotel that our program assistant led us to. It was pretty much the shabbiest place ever, and we quickly discovered it was primarily a front for a brothel. Still fun though.
The next day we went to Hua Guo Shan, the highest mountain in the Yuntai Range. We took vans up to the top of it, and I was pretty terrified about rolling down the side of the mountain. I don't think I've been so terrified about the roads since I went to Irealand. As soon as we got out, it started to rain. We all bought chinsey ponchos. Mine had a whole in the butt, which was admittedly pretty hilarious.
We stood around at the top, but we couldn't see much because visibility was maybe 50 yards. It still was pretty cool and felt like we were floating in the middle of nowhere. After about 10 minutes at the top, the program director informed us that we had to walk to the bottom. Probably two hours later we got to the bottom, pretty drenched. And for being the home of the monkey king, I only saw 2 monkeys, and one was on a leash at the base of the mountain.
Some of the many stairs on the way down the mountain. My roommate, Jerry, is in the foreground.
We then went on a boat tour which pretty much meant riding down a river toward the Pacific. With the rain and everything, the whole environment seemed pretty post apocalyptic.
After that we walked up the road to the Pacific. It was really pouring, so we couldn't actually go swimming. The water was really warm, so I waded in anyway. It was actually a lot of fun.
Me in the Pacific. Despite the poncho, I was completely wet.
We retired to the 5-star hotel we were staying in. The fact that we had instant hot water was probably the best part; the nice beds being a close second.
On Saturday we went to another scenic spot, the weather once again rainy. They let us wander in the valley for a couple hours. Once again rainy, but overall the waterfalls and everything made by the river in the valley were very cool. The rain probably made it even better, only fueling the river more.
At the head of the waterfall. I had to climb hundreds of steep, wet, uneven stairs to get here. I decided not to cross since it would have meant being even more wet for the bus ride back.
The trip was worthwhile and fun as a whole. I can only imagine how great it would be in good weather.
The Prices
Right now, I'm probably overstaying my welcome in a cafe using their internet. It is so heinously overpriced. I had to pay 25 yuan for a sprite. But the internet is out in the dorm, so I guess I had to make due.
For less than the cost of this sprite, I bought the first season of the Sopranos on DVD. While I know the DVD store probably does something illegal, it can't be any worse than illegally downloading shows and movies.
Class
I switched my reading class from the C section (easiest) to the B section. I'm in one of those tough situations where I have to choose between a class that's too easy and one that is very difficult. The teacher is pretty much brutal. She purposely talks fast, and just says to deal with it. I couldn't understand much of what was going on. She also does this thing where she goes around the room, and criticizes something about everyone. In my case, it was the way I was saying my "x." I have another week to switch around classes, so I'll give this one another day or two. I may go with the harder class and not worry about my grades. I only need a C to get credit, and it doesn't influence my GPA.
Got back from our weekend trip to Lianyungang yesterday around dinner time. I thought for some reason in went until Sunday, so I was pleasantly surprised.
I spent about half the weekend completely drenched. About as soon as we got there Thursday , the weather started to get bad. For some reason every time we got on the bus to go somewhere, it would start to rain.
It started the first night when we were walking back from another KTV for yet another birthday. This particular KTV was in a hotel that our program assistant led us to. It was pretty much the shabbiest place ever, and we quickly discovered it was primarily a front for a brothel. Still fun though.
The next day we went to Hua Guo Shan, the highest mountain in the Yuntai Range. We took vans up to the top of it, and I was pretty terrified about rolling down the side of the mountain. I don't think I've been so terrified about the roads since I went to Irealand. As soon as we got out, it started to rain. We all bought chinsey ponchos. Mine had a whole in the butt, which was admittedly pretty hilarious.
We stood around at the top, but we couldn't see much because visibility was maybe 50 yards. It still was pretty cool and felt like we were floating in the middle of nowhere. After about 10 minutes at the top, the program director informed us that we had to walk to the bottom. Probably two hours later we got to the bottom, pretty drenched. And for being the home of the monkey king, I only saw 2 monkeys, and one was on a leash at the base of the mountain.
Some of the many stairs on the way down the mountain. My roommate, Jerry, is in the foreground.
We then went on a boat tour which pretty much meant riding down a river toward the Pacific. With the rain and everything, the whole environment seemed pretty post apocalyptic.
After that we walked up the road to the Pacific. It was really pouring, so we couldn't actually go swimming. The water was really warm, so I waded in anyway. It was actually a lot of fun.
Me in the Pacific. Despite the poncho, I was completely wet.
We retired to the 5-star hotel we were staying in. The fact that we had instant hot water was probably the best part; the nice beds being a close second.
On Saturday we went to another scenic spot, the weather once again rainy. They let us wander in the valley for a couple hours. Once again rainy, but overall the waterfalls and everything made by the river in the valley were very cool. The rain probably made it even better, only fueling the river more.
At the head of the waterfall. I had to climb hundreds of steep, wet, uneven stairs to get here. I decided not to cross since it would have meant being even more wet for the bus ride back.
The trip was worthwhile and fun as a whole. I can only imagine how great it would be in good weather.
The Prices
Right now, I'm probably overstaying my welcome in a cafe using their internet. It is so heinously overpriced. I had to pay 25 yuan for a sprite. But the internet is out in the dorm, so I guess I had to make due.
For less than the cost of this sprite, I bought the first season of the Sopranos on DVD. While I know the DVD store probably does something illegal, it can't be any worse than illegally downloading shows and movies.
Class
I switched my reading class from the C section (easiest) to the B section. I'm in one of those tough situations where I have to choose between a class that's too easy and one that is very difficult. The teacher is pretty much brutal. She purposely talks fast, and just says to deal with it. I couldn't understand much of what was going on. She also does this thing where she goes around the room, and criticizes something about everyone. In my case, it was the way I was saying my "x." I have another week to switch around classes, so I'll give this one another day or two. I may go with the harder class and not worry about my grades. I only need a C to get credit, and it doesn't influence my GPA.
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