Tsinghua University or National Park?

5/7/12

Today we started our day off with a delicious, yet different breakfast. I never had greens and noodles with my breakfast before, but hey it was delicious to say the least. After breakfast we had our first lecture, it was extremely interesting. We learned about the different dynasties that occurred in Chinese History. The emperors of China were all so hungry for power, some had many people killed, including the only female emperor: Wu Zetian. Then, we went to some sort of mall to eat lunch. Now I can officially say I have tried chicken feet! I am not going to lie they were pretty unappetizing, but at least I can say I tried a chicken’s foot. Following our lunch, we went to the grocery store, which was pretty westernized. I got a pack of water bottles, so I could be set for the rest of the trip. Next, was our tour of Tsinghua University, which was absolutely beautiful. My favorite part of the university were the many different ponds through out, there was one even with a little waterfall. Also, I really enjoyed the environmental building. It saves about 30 percent of energy, which is pretty cool. By the end of the tour I was so tired and ready to head back to the hotel. Now I am about to nap and then get up for dinner and see what Beijing has in store for us tonight! Bye!

Watch out Beijing , we have arrived!

5/6/12

We have officially made it to Beijing, China. It all feels so surreal. The 13 hour flight to get here was awful. Well first of all, while I was putting my chair back, the lady behind me had her coffee on the tray table and it spilled all over her, I felt terrible. Then, after sincerely apologizing multiple times she insisted on going off on me like we were 12 year old girls fighting in the lunch room—meanwhile, she was probably 60 years old. Besides that, the flight was truly not that awful. They served us a lot of food, including cup of noodles and chop sticks. Yum. Overall, the flight was not as bad as I thought it would be and it was so worth it considering I’m in Beijing, China right now. I still cannot believe it.

Right after we arrived at the hotel—which is surprisingly nice, I was expecting more of a hostel type environment—we went out to dinner. The food was very delicious, and there was so much! I liked the chicken dish the best, but I am not too sure what flavors and what not were in it, but needless to say it was very yummy.

Now I am back in the hotel room. Tomorrow we have our first class, which starts at 9:30 am. I am super tired, so I think it’s time to shower and crash. Good night and good morning to those back home.

-Jasmine

And Our Journey Begins!

16 of us plus Vanessa have began our journey to Beijing, China! A lot of emotions were running through me initially– nervous, excited, scared, unsure– but now that we have actually began our travels, I have only one emotion running through me and that is excitement. I feel like once we land in Beijing, it will feel totally unreal. Right now we are in Toronto–we unfortunately have a lay over. The plane ride to get to Toronto was horrendous. The air conditioning was broken, and we were all squished on a plane made for infants– not literally, but you get the gist. Thankfully, the plane ride was only about an hour, so we didn’t have to struggle for too long. Now I’m just praying the same doesn’t happen on our plane ride to Beijing because we all know that would just be 13 hours of total fun. Okay, I’m hungry now so I am going grab something to eat! 

-Jasmine Lichtman

Travel Experience & China Predictions

My international experience to date is pretty decent. Two summers ago I travelled to Europe with a group called People to People. I went to Belgium, Wales, England, The Netherlands, and France. It was a very big learning experience for me considering I have never travelled with out my parents before that, thus the trip made me a much more independent person.

I want to go to China because I always hear how it is a great place for business and I am extremely interested in business. Also, I believe this opportunity to study abroad in China is a once in a lifetime opportunity because my family has no interest in going to China for vacation. I am intrigued by their culture and all of China’s amazing sites that I have seen on postcards and television, but never in person.

I think the main professional work differences I will experience will be that the Chinese are not as confrontational and direct when it comes to addressing issues and problems in a business. Also, they are more laid back when it comes to showing up on a time. For example, business meetings in the U.S. will clarify a starting time at 4:00 pm and expect each party to be there at 4:00 pm. For the Chinese, 4:00 would be more of a suggestion.

I think the main cultural differences I will experience will be adjusting to the different clothing style. Another cultural difference I will experience will be how respectful Chinese citizens are compared to U.S. citizens. The Chinese are very sensitive to one another’s needs, while American citizens are more selfish.

I think the main political differences I will experience will be the social structure of China. China has a different form of government than the U.S. In the U.S. we have a representative democracy. In China, the government is the People’s Republic of China. It is much for formal and hierarchical. Each social class is distinguishable and it is uncommon for two people of two different social classes to interact.

I think the students I meet in China will be very friendly and eager to learn about the U.S. culture as well as eager to show us all about the Chinese culture. I hope to learn a lot from the students I meet in China. I think learning from them will be very beneficial because they are the same age as us, we will be able to relate more even though we are coming from two different cultures.

I predict I will be surprised to find that the food in China will be very different than the food here in America. I have a feeling that the Chinese food that I am used to eating here will taste different in China. Also, I think there will be way more options for Chinese food, whereas here I normally eat the same thing whenever I order from a Chinese restaurant.

I think the major differences in living conditions will be the way the room is arranged. Although I know that we will be staying in a hotel, so I think it will be clean and will not give us a good sense of the actual living conditions of China.

I am extremely excited for my trip to China because I have never visited Asia before and I always have wanted to. I have been to Europe, but the cultural differences from Europe to the U.S. are not as big as China to the U.S., thus I am very intrigued to see those differences when I go to China.

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