It’s been almost four days living in the great country called China. So many things have happened and so many thoughts have crossed my mind I don’t really know where to start. I apologize now if this post jumps from idea to idea randomly. This is going to be like free writing with Timothy McGee. Oh yeah, and I apologize if this is really long.
Day 1:
I’ll have some pictures up later of my room, but it is a single with its’ own bathroom. A little small I think, but manageable. The bathroom is interesting with my own sink, shower, and toilet within one step of each other. The water smells horrible; very similar to metal. I have a fairly good view of the city from my room though, so I guess that makes up for everything. Outside my window I even I even get to see the national bird of China: the crane…get it! haha
Right after getting set up with our rooms and unpacking for a bit it was time for lunch and a little bit of shopping. For our first meal in China our program director, Danny, took us to a soup shop and ordered us all this spicy soup so that he could gauge our tolerance levels. For someone who doesn’t eat soup too much, it was really delicious. I took a picture of our first meal so you’ll all get to see it. There was this really cool spice called the numbing sauce which basically numbs your mouth completely if you use too much. I used enough that I couldn’t feel my tongue it was pretty cool haha. This is highly recommended for pranks on siblings.
First experience shopping was at a Walmart like shopping center, Danny basically just let us loose. Everything was basically in Chinese; luckily the aisles were also in English so I knew at least what aisles to go down. At the moment I feel like a child because trying to do basic things alone is impossible right now. Danny does everything. We are growing though; I have gone out with fellow students without Danny. The rule of thumb in China: always say hao (good) repeatedly, dui (correct), or zhe/na ge (this/that) – and then pointing at the object. This hasn’t failed me yet.
Day 2 & 3:
Basically Danny just took us around Dalian, nothing really special. We got to see the sites and the malls basically. Took the bus, only one 1 kuai! 1 dollar is like 6.7 kuai so very cheap for a bus ride. After today I felt like I could really handle this. I remember basically everywhere Danny took us and could get there on my own. So I feel like this I can handle this, this city is nothing compared to NYC. There is only one outstanding difference and that’s the drivers in China. I learned this today as I crossed the street: pedestrians never have the right of way – as I’m almost hit by a car. They are scary. I definitely understand the joke about how Asians can’t drive now.
So yeah, that’s basically everything that’s happened so far. Let’s see…oh internet that’s a fun topic. I get 2gb of bandwidth every month, so I have to use the internet sparingly. Good thing facebook and basically any other site you would want to look at is blocked. I guess this is a good thing to learn and live with for a bit: understanding the life of someone under an oppressive government. This is what PACs (Peace and Conflict Studies) students dream for: complete understanding of an oppressive government and finding ways to fight it. As I write this blog I am fighting the Chinese government and their Great Firewall! Viva la revolucion!
I think this is good for now and probably already too long for most so I’ll stop here. Next post soon hopefully.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Quick Thoughts
As I wait at Incheon International Airport in South Korea for the plane that will take me to Dalian, China with five hours to spare and nothing do I find myself being gravitated to finally starting this blog. After a few moments of spontaneous creativity the blog is named and the layout completed (for now) and I am writing my first post.
As I sit at the terminal in the dark because it is 5am here and with no lights on because I guess they're trying to be sustainable here as well; I just wanted to reflect on a few thoughts and feeling that have already crossed my mind.
So initial feelings...first anxiousness, then nervousness, next humility, and finally ending in confusion.
My first feeling of anxiousness comes from the wait and I guess the feeling of the fact that it is finally happening. After spending the entire sophomore year filling out forms after forms and attending meetings after meetings I was finally on my way to the airport. As excited as I am to be traveling and studying abroad I do worry about my proficiency of the Chinese language and my ability to communicate and function in society once I am over there. For instance, just trying to get a hair cut. It worried me so much that I just decided to chop off all my hair so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to describe how I wanted my hair cut.
Traveling to South Korea was an experience in itself. In the U.S. public announcements always go, with some exceptions, in English and then Spanish. On the plane however it went Korean and then English. This small difference struck me for two apparent reasons. First, it showed just how vast the world truly is. How no matter how big America is or tries to be English is not the most prevalent or most spoken. It shows how we are the secondary/foreign language. Second, just waiting and listening to the public announcements was longer. In the U.S. we could listen and then after it was all done we could just continue what we were doing. But for us foreigners we had to wait listen to it in Korean - to make sure we wouldn't miss it in English - and then listen to it in English. While I'm not attempting to make a huge deal and debate out of this, it does give off an air of inferiority.
Which has lead to confusion. Why have I attempted to do something so different, so outrageous and crazy? Why did I decide to go to a country that speaks a completely different language with only mediocre to beginning proficiency? Why am I here? To me that answer has always been simple: to become fluent in Chinese. But I guess I forgot to thing deeply about the actually learning process and how I will survive that. The question becomes what am I doing here? Why didn't I just take the easy route and go to school in central Pennsylvania? Am I the adventurous type? Do I like a challenge? I don't have an answer. Just a hope.
To finish, a quote from the movie Inception which describes my feeling pretty well:
You're waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't be sure. But it doesn't matter - because we'll be together....China here we come!
As I sit at the terminal in the dark because it is 5am here and with no lights on because I guess they're trying to be sustainable here as well; I just wanted to reflect on a few thoughts and feeling that have already crossed my mind.
So initial feelings...first anxiousness, then nervousness, next humility, and finally ending in confusion.
My first feeling of anxiousness comes from the wait and I guess the feeling of the fact that it is finally happening. After spending the entire sophomore year filling out forms after forms and attending meetings after meetings I was finally on my way to the airport. As excited as I am to be traveling and studying abroad I do worry about my proficiency of the Chinese language and my ability to communicate and function in society once I am over there. For instance, just trying to get a hair cut. It worried me so much that I just decided to chop off all my hair so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to describe how I wanted my hair cut.
Traveling to South Korea was an experience in itself. In the U.S. public announcements always go, with some exceptions, in English and then Spanish. On the plane however it went Korean and then English. This small difference struck me for two apparent reasons. First, it showed just how vast the world truly is. How no matter how big America is or tries to be English is not the most prevalent or most spoken. It shows how we are the secondary/foreign language. Second, just waiting and listening to the public announcements was longer. In the U.S. we could listen and then after it was all done we could just continue what we were doing. But for us foreigners we had to wait listen to it in Korean - to make sure we wouldn't miss it in English - and then listen to it in English. While I'm not attempting to make a huge deal and debate out of this, it does give off an air of inferiority.
Which has lead to confusion. Why have I attempted to do something so different, so outrageous and crazy? Why did I decide to go to a country that speaks a completely different language with only mediocre to beginning proficiency? Why am I here? To me that answer has always been simple: to become fluent in Chinese. But I guess I forgot to thing deeply about the actually learning process and how I will survive that. The question becomes what am I doing here? Why didn't I just take the easy route and go to school in central Pennsylvania? Am I the adventurous type? Do I like a challenge? I don't have an answer. Just a hope.
To finish, a quote from the movie Inception which describes my feeling pretty well:
You're waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't be sure. But it doesn't matter - because we'll be together....China here we come!
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