One week

Today marks the 1st week anniversary of my temporary departure from China.  Eager to taste more of the "adventurer's life", I've started reading Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Gelman, as recommended to me by Mat's fiancee (Nora Davis).  Rita describes the beginning of many travels after a proposed "break" in her 23-year marriage as something that she had always been longing to do.  Growing up getting lost on car rides and then, many years later, living the bourgousie life in LA, Rita's catalysts for going off by herself to the unknown are very different than my own.  My disappearances to different countries are not disappearances, but instead are visits well-supported by friends and family.  Unlike Rita, I am not going against the flow of mixed family politics.  I'd like to think that I am digging my own riverbed that feeds into the family tree.
Wow. Even writing a paragraph is exhausting.
 Life back in the States is pretty routine.  I'm heading off to "Hello, Dolly" this afternoon to spend time with my parents, whil Mat is away in New York for Nora's sister's wedding.  I keep busy these days, between hanging out with childhood friends and cleaning up from Christams while also planning for New Year's at Aly's house.  Not much else to say, except that I am very grateful for everyone who has given warm welcomes back into America (even if they were dressed up with silly reindeer antlers) and those who sent very thoughtful and useful gifts to me for the holidays!

list of contacts

hi!

I wanted to keep this list just as record keeping - it's my list of contacts while I was in Shanghai:
Alessandra
Amelia
Badminton
Carla
Chacha
Clara
Derek
Duchunding
杜春鸿
Ellen
葛亮
Hiro-chan
James
Jessimuhcuh
Jin Hee
Josh
节福
Kary 王凯
Kei
林鸿
Maren
Matt V
Max Diddams
Me
Meghan
Mr. Pingpang
Nick
Noodles
Old Man Shu txt
潘老师
Sally
Simon
Temmy
Tim
Virginia
王慧
王佩君
Xiao Bao
Xiao Li
小白
易可
云云

December 23rd

Hi Everyone!

I left Shanghai on Dec 22 at 4 pm and arrived in O'Hare on Dec 22nd at 4 pm.  Going back in time is pretty awesome (and a little boring, too).  My good friends, Emily, Alyson, Michelle, and my Mom surprised me at the airport by wearing reigndeer antlers and holding balloons to welcome my return - a huge difference from the long, lonesome walk back to the car!
The flight was uneventful.  I helped a Chinese lady from Suzhou in the seat next to me by letting her borrow my cellphone to call some people in Shanghai.  Started and finished "Norwegian Wood" by Harukami - who did "Underground".  Norwegian Wood is about 2 japanese youths falling love in modern times.  Outside of that, it's a little hard to explain.  Beautiful.

Alright.  off to bed.  I finished a show I was watching, and it has left me tired.  I should probably write these in the morning when I'm not so tired.

Up to you if you want to keep reading.

Leaving.

*poof*

and I'm off....back the the West.


Goodbye China.  For now.

Shanghai, snow, and delays.....

So my plans to go to Qibao fell through not once, but two times!  The cloud gods decided that cold wasn't enough - and that snow was necessary，especially on the days that I planned to head out to Shanghai's river town.  Well, we decided to make the most of it anyways (and move the day to this coming monday).  Instead of trucking ourselves to the outskirts of the city, Josh, James, Temmy, and I (as a result of a blackout in our dormitory) grabbed some steaming mugs of SwissMiss hot chocolate and moved over to a nearby cafeteria.  A deck of cards and Bananagrams in hand - we determindly overcame boredom and the cold.  It was epic.  Passing time and talking was so much fun - but it made me miss St. Olaf and the days slipping away into Thorson's fireplace room with blankets at midnight even more.  I'm coming home soon - and my body knows it.

; )

mmm, hot cocoa! hangin' with James....

Josh and I - the only time we took a nice photo...haha

TEMMY!  The greatest host in the world -- he looked after all the St. Olaf kids and showed us the ups and downs of Shanghai.  He became and remains a great friend.  And an awesome SuperSmash Bros gamer.

....it's not raining?

Bananagrams.  Who will win this next round of speed Scrabble?

I've noticed in the past few weeks how much I am psyced up for Christmas back in the States.  Because there is little to no decoration around in Shanghai (or, at least, no where near the amount St. Olaf puts up), it's easy to forget that Christmas Eve is just around the corner.  There is a particular feeling of Christmas in the States - people are a little more upbeat, the music on the radio changes, your work desk acquires a snow globe or two, shirts and socks flaunt reindeer and penguins with santa hats (or, if you my mom, frogs would be the choice of animal).  Here, the holidays is like a cold, early November day in Chicago: windy, grey, and a little bleak.  The one Santa Claus dressed up on the street is a reminder, but the stares and unsmiling faces of the passerbys say that he is out of place. 

Shanghai!

Hey!  It looks like things are just beginning to wrap up around here.  I'm going to be going to do some "lasts" and "firsts" while I only have 1 week remaining here in Shanghai.  On Monday, my friends and I are planning to head out to Shanghai's "River Town" which is supposed to be the Venice of Shanghai.  Judging from the pictures, it retains what old Shanghai is supposed to look like - white and brown houses, stone bridges, cobblestone roads, up-turned roofs in that "oriental" style, etc.  I'm really excited --- I meant to travel there during the summer time and, again, when my mom came to visit.   Both times I backed down - but this time will be different.  Plus, I'll be bringing people who I got to know a whole lot better through this semseter (James and Josh - from Salford, England). 
It's still not cold enough to use the air conditioner (which also doubles as our heater) to warm the room.  Instead, Virginia and I huddle under our blankents in fear that we have to pay outside of our electricity limit.  The quilts that are sold on the street tempt us, but we both know that we would never be able to fit them in our suitcases (maybe wear it as a sweater while walking around the O'Hare airport?  I feel like the security wouldn't be too happy....). 
It's kind of odd -- I won't be ending my Chinese lessons with a definite end, seeing as my final has already passed as well as leaving mid-week and mid-lesson.  It's almost poetic - as if my Chinese won't have ended here, and that I'm expected to carry it out by myself.  I guess I don't have any qualms with that -- being here has made me realize how wonderful it would be to be even more fluent and come back to China!  Although I'm still not interested in interpreting or translating, I really want to use Chinese to guide my way around China.  Like some others I know, I always catch myself thinking how neat it would be if I could stay out in the west -- where 外国人(foreigners) have left less cultural "footprints". 

Even in this cold weather, flying kites can be seen outside of my window.

whatcha' up to??

As the weeks for this semester are coming to a close, our class attendees seem to be exponentially dropping.  I tend to be one of  4 people who show up at that start of class.  As for the rest of our 13 classmates....who can say? 

Today was the coldest day it's been so far.  And it was surprisingly cold -- probably somewhere in the low 30s.  Despite hailing from a college in the middle-of-nowhere-where-the-cold-is-so-cold-that-your-nosehairs-freeze kind of place, the cold came as quite a shock.  Personally, I miss the 100 degree summer and wish it came back.  I'd better buck-up, Chicago is still even colder yet.

Alright, I need to get going.  I'm heading off to a tea marketplace with a classmate and her roommate.  We make an odd group when we walk around - a slightly pudgy, curly brown haired American, a very tall semi-red headed Swedish girl, and a fashionably dressed Korean.

Tea City is close by - two stops on the 224 bus.

done.

Done with paper and done with midterms.

that means I'm done with anything substantial here.

3 weeks of freeeeeeeeedooooooooooooooom!!!!!

done with midterms and thus, FINALS!!!!!

In gay and joyous celebration, I give you...PICTURES!!!!!!

Me and Jessimuhcuh - when she stopped in Shanghai for a visit....YuYuan and night, a glorious time.

Classmates who eventually bought swords and mock battled - some other guy joined in and won ;)

woooooooooosh.......

Me and Little Confucius (小孔）

The haze is aesthetic until you realize it's smog and pollution....

The pagoda in Hangzhou -- it was nice, they hadn't redone the paint on the outside....

We got to take a boat ride to the Islands of Hangzhou!!!!

Well- wishes and locks.....

Sign in front of a snake pit. "Violet Toxicity Snake No Catchlt"

Open space that is usually filled in the morning or late night by Taichi-ers

The new phsyics building - which was built in only 3 months

If you look hard, sweepers still use straw brooms.....

3 cats taking an afternoon snooze in the sunlight

Hope you enjoyed!!!!

500.

Today marks a great day.

I have completely run out of the index cards I brought with me.

With 100 in a pack, cut into quarters, I have (for sure) studied 400 words. Now add that amount plus the extra 100 words (in the mini essays for each lesson), and that makes 500.

Yes, folks, I have been asked to remember 500 words (and, thus, probably 1200 characters) for my reading/writing midterm.

500 words. That's 1000 for the semester. Awesome, but crazy.


And that doesn't even include my listening, newspaper, and dialogue skits.......

Fire -- 火灾

Hi everyone!

I know that some of you more well-informed individuals have heard already about the huge fire outbreak in the Shanghai downtown. I'm okay and everyone on is campus is fine. The fire began mid-afternoon in a 10 story apartment complex in the center of the Jing'an district静安区 (famous for its Jing'an Temple 静安寺).
Apparently, some of the scaffolds caught on fire and set the uppermost floor on fire. From there, the fire spread and the building was quickly evacuated. However, this evacuation did not keep 90 people from being injured and 14 deaths (a number of victims that could've been avoided).
If you don't know something about construction in China, scaffolds are not made of steel, but bamboo. Our guess (although the press would never say so) is that a worker was smoking and failed to be careful about putting out his cigarette, but the news has not mentioned the cause of the fire. The fire was put out around 7 pm last night. During the day, I saw a huge chimney of black smoke through the bathroom window (I live on the 15th floor of my building) and only at dinner did I find out what happened. I do not live far away from the Jing'an district - only 3 subways stops, so the smoke was more than visible (although the building was not). People stormed the area like tourists, taking pictures and trying to get a better view -- a reaction that I very much dislike. People dying is not something to gawk at. Where the rest of the survivors are going is beyond me. It is hard to find space in Shanghai. That being said, the building won't take long to be reconstructed. Things are built quickly in Shanghai and things move on.

Things that I roll my eyes at....

I forget to describe the usual life here and what it feels like to live in Shanghai...here's a brief description of life here:

Right now I'm living in one of the nicer dorms here on campus. Chinese service extends a gracious hand to making sure international students are well-pampered during their stay abroad. We have nice warm beds, an air conditioner (that can also act as a heater), nice showers with full time hot water, and a clean** bathroom (I'll return to this in a minute). Provided in the room is a tv, a hot water thermos (hot water tap is in the bathroom because you can't drink the water), desk with western outlets (my american plugs work!),etc....In comparison is the Chinese students dormitory, which has a less comfortable bed, slightly less space, no air conditioning unit, and no full-time service shower. Instead, at night, I often see groups of girls in their bathrobes and towels walking back from the showers (located outside and around their dorm) carrying their shampoo, etc. The hot water is timed, and the showers are of lesser quality. I'd also like to mention that this is one of the top three universities in Shanghai. So when the girls on my floor decide to smoke it up in the bathroom and leave their cigarette ashes everywhere (the sink, toilet, and on top of the toilet paper dispenser) - I have to roll my eyes. Not only this, but some people think it's okay to cook their meals (which is fine by me) and then leave the food remains in the sink or on the counter - which inevitably leaves at least 3 of the 6 sinks clogged EVERYDAY. Not to mention the toilets, which are clogged at least 4 or 5 times a day, both by people who can't take care of their #2s or by understanding that toilet systems in China DO NOT SUPPORT throwing away toilet paper. It clogs the system, and don't tell me you don't know because it is CLEARLY marked on every single door. You are just lazy and rude. Furthermore, it's not the Chinese way to go up to floor and ask for a meeting about proper bathroom etiquette, but instead accuse the person who happens to be in the bathroom at the time the maids are cleaning up the mess (3 times a day). On some days, this is my roommate, and on some days it is me.

These things can be helped. Toilet paper can be thrown in the waste basket located right next to the toilet, cigarettes can be smoked out on each corridor's balcony, food can be thrown away in the trash (instead of down the drain), and if a mess is made, it usually takes 1 minute to clean up. That way, when I want to brush my teeth or wash my face in the morning, I don't have look at a clogged sink of previous food scraps and food spittle staring back at me. Not pleasant, folks. And it hurts to know that these people don't understand how spoiled we are for being in this dorm in the first place. All I can really do, though, is just roll my eyes.

River Town: 2 years on the Yangtze (长江）

Usually I'd write about something exciting that's happening here, but things are pretty calm as Midterms are approaching (one full week from now). Luckily, I only need to take one week of my midterm exams, and then no more tests until I leave!!!! (how sweet is that?!?!) Thus I'd like to dedicate some of this blogspace to a book I've been reading for my St. Olaf culture class sponsored here. The book, River Town: 2 years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler (who also did Oracle Bones), is utterly fascinating.

Peter Hessler, after graduating from Oxford, leaves America with his good friend to join the Peace Corps. With no Chinese experiences before, he and his friend are shipped off to Fuling (a small city near the 3 Gorges Dam -- under construction at the time) for the next 2 years, employed to teach English and Western literature. And the story goes on -- Peter writes detailed accounts of mistakes he makes (wearing shorts in China to an assembly and arguing back to teacher) and his life as a foreigner living among Chinese (one of two in the entire city....the other one, being his friend). A lot of the cultural differences I already knew, from growing up around Asian Americans and being in China a good number of times already. But the fact that he led this life right after he graduated from school made it all the more relevant to my journey in the east. As I continue to read his memoirs, I find that I'm not just reading about his journey, but lining up similar aspects to my own.

ah, well -- that's enough ramblings for now......
not much is going on. just studying and relaxing......

ADDRESSS

pleeeeeeeease, if you are going to send me a letter by snail mail, be aware of a couple things (even though it's probably too late)

1) it takes 3 FULL weeks to arrive. Please do not send post after the 1st week in December because of this reason
2) you MUST put my room # on the envelope: #1501
3)please PRINT your handwriting (not cursive or sloppy etc etc) -- the people receiving post have very little English skills. Bonus to you if you use CAPITALIZED LETTERS.

thank you everyone!!!

Expo con't

Recently I’ve been thinking how fitting it was for the Olympics to be hosted in Beijing, China’s symbol of “Ancient China”, and the Expo hosted in China’s international capital: Shanghai.  This year’s World’s Fair theme was “Better City, Better Life – 城市，让生活更美好”, inviting all other countries to see China’s current progress into a 发达国家 (developed nation), and to share their own achievements as well.  Aside from putting quite a bit of time and money into the outside of the pavilions, the insides were themed so that the browser could easily see the progress made in different technologies, culture, and social welfare.  

My Mom and I only stopped in a couple of the pavilions, namely because the rest of the lines were ridiculously long.  Unusually, there were only a handful of foreigners walking around – the vast majority of the Expo participants were from mainland China.  Even more unusually, they would wait 3 hours in line just to see pavilions like Lichtenstein, the Netherlands, Sweden, and other non major western countries (such as France, Germany, England, etc..) – even the line for Poland was long!  For those of you who don’t really know how the Expo works, here’s a quick description:

----Imagine a large area (the length and width of a couple city blocks) that, instead of being filled with apartment complexes, contain a uniquely designed building from each country of the world.  There buildings aren’t small either – some were about the size of a football stadium!  The place was so large that they had their own “expo subway” and “expo public bus” systems – crazy, huh?  Then add the number of people.  Each line had about 3 hours wait with a TON of Chinese people.  On October 16^th, the visitors numbered 1,000,000.  One million people.  It was definitely a 黑压压 (a sea of black).  You have your entrance ticket and then can wait in line.  After waiting in line, you get ushered through a mini-country museum.  It take 10x the amount of time to wait in that line than the amount spent in the actual pavilion. =(  Disappointing.  I was really hoping that each pavilion would have free food or free stuff, but my dreams were crushed.  Food was super expensive – 4x the amount you could pay for it outside of the Expo.  I wouldn’t go back unless there were some massive changes to it (like the museum parts had more information) or they had free food. =D  (you know where my heart is, right?)  The thing that they did best was the relevant connections to China and China’s development.  Each country had something to point to a growing relationship with China – even with countries I wouldn’t associate together (such as Luxembourg….which is still ruled by a monarchy…I did not know this…)

It was great to go there, but I think some change and more enthusiasm from participating countries would be nice.  And taking down the advertisements posted in the USA pavilion would be even better. (really people? Did you have to put up 100 company logos at the front??? *sigh*)

As of late, I have been escorting my mom around (who just left for the states yesterday).  She can tell you all about it.  And as of now, just studying and hanging around.  Sleeping – a lot.  I’m supposedly going to an art museum today with a friend…..let you know about that later…..

expoEXPOEEEEEXXXPOOOOOOO

I finally got around to making it to the World Expo at Shanghai (上海世博 - literally: Shanghai World Museum) after many weeks of studying, hanging out with cool people, and doing other more interesting things.  I don't really like tourist places unless they have something really neat and unique to offer.  I like to learn about the history of places and go see them, just without the crowds and the repeated items everywhere.  Why would they ever want to make a 1000 copies of the same necklace?

What made it even cooler is that I got to go with a very special person: my Mom!  100 years from now, we will look back on this event and commemorate it as being a very special day.  Out of the 200 pavilions offered at the Expo, we managed to get into about 6 of them: Poland, some chinese metal industy, Africa, Colombia, USA (with our flashy VIP status), aaaaand Luxembourg.  All the other lines were at least a 2 hour wait.  Why would anyone ever want to stand in line for 2 hours, much less 6 hours for some of the pavillions!!?!?!  That's just crazy.

I'm tired, so I'm going to hold off from describing it for now. ;)  peace.

Fall in the East

Fall has arrived here in Shanghai and it is not nearly as beautiful as Wisconsin or Minnesota.  It is grey, windy, and as chilly as Chicago, some days including scattered drizzling.  BUT, amongst all this grey, obscure weather, two bright lights shine there way through.  Ms. Jessimuhcuh Yau has stopped in for the 2nd time into Shanghai - so I was able to do really neat things with her.  We checked out LaoXimen (Old West Gate -- 老西门) and walked around that older bit of town.  We scoped through an animal bazaar, of all things.  Chinese people apparently adore Chinchillas much more than cats.....strangely enough.  Even crazier was the fact that you could find crickets in small wooden cages, just like in Walt Disney's "Mulan"!!!  SOOO stereotypical. and awesome.  I was thinking about getting one, but then I don't think my classmates would appreciate a cricket chirping during our listening class....haha.  They had a pretty large range of animals - cats, dogs, chinchillas, crickets, salamanders, frogs, fish, ferrets, turtles....and a chipmunk or two ; )  (try sneaking those things through the American customs department....haha.  good luck.)  Sorry Uncle Brian, no kamodo dragons like in "The Freshman".  maybe they had them in the back......

Around the same area were antique chinese souvenir shops --- really really neat places! (although the products we not super old -- maybe only 20-30 years old, so not really great quality or anything like that)  It was quite fun to take a look around.  I think Jessica had enough of antiques though.....haha.  AND, it was neat because I recognized some things that could be found in my own household (gifts my dad receieved from business partners in Japan/Singapore) and friends' households.....needless to say, it was really neat.  I plan to return with my mother, the second light of my eastern travels in Shanghai's fall.

Mom comes in tomorrow!  I plan to take the Maglev (Shanghai's super super fast train between downtown and the Pudong Airport).  What normally takes a 45 minute taxi ride will now take a 15min bullet train ride.  BAM.   super fast. super excited. Unfortunately (and fortunately) my mother's arrival means that I will be obligated in attending the World Expo.  For someone who hates touristy areas, it might spell eternal doom -- especially with the expected 1,000,000 visiters PER DAY. ><;;; 6 hour lines, here I come.....Prices are double this week, but hopefully I can go somewhere at the back gate to barter them down to half.....yay for Shanghai's infamous markets ; )

Sorry -- I haven't taken any photos in awhile, otherwise I would post them to show you my adventures.....especially when I attended the Shanghai circus the other day --- they had some really neat tricks!  and motorcycles.....among other things....

well -- I'd better get started on my homework.  Heading out later today to get dinner and a radio with a friend so we can better practice our listening skills (one of the harder classes here....for anyone....).  Although, despite the difficulty, our class fully agrees that our reading class, even after preparation, is the one with the highest standards.  加油！ Go, go!

until later,
~fran

yay! new post!

Sorry-- Just realized I haven't written in awhile.  Most things around here are pretty calm.  Us, students, are back to our school-groove, dedicating time to homework (and play....mostly this for a majority of students).  This past weekend I was up late working on homework and attending an electronic concert with my classmate!  The concert was awesoooomeee~~  I danced the night away, as some might say.....

Among other things, my Canadia-land friend, Jessica Yau, was touring around China and came to Shanghai!!!!!  So I hung around her for a day and had a good time walking around YuYuan and chatting. AND, to make things even more awesome, she's coming back!!!!! wooohoooo!!!

While I was talking with Jessica, I realized that I've gotten used to things that are not so quite normal back in the West......here are some things we found:

1) toddlers usually wear pants with wide slits (enough to see those fatty butt cheeks).....both for the purpose of cooling off in the heat, but also so when they have to go....they can just go.....anywhere....
2) Chinese people, while they are waiting for something and can't find someplace to sit, will instead squat....
3) workers, while working, are entitled to watch TV, sleep, play games, run around...etc....
4) dormitories always provide a hot water thermos for the residing students
5) most people eat yogurt at night -- and with a straw (the literal translation of yogurt to chinese is "sour milk" 酸奶)
6) it's not rude to ask what your income is, where exactly you live, and how old you are
7) taxi drivers sometimes will not know where you are going and also not tell you that they don't know until the last second.....（so they will drop you off near, but not exactly at, your stop)
8) street food is safer than one would think...in fact, my friends have had worse incidents at KFC than on the street....you kind of have to have an iron stomach all the time
9) if you ask for a glass of water in a restaurant, they might come back with hot water and a glass of ice (even at KFC)
10) honking your horn (on bike, car, motorcycle, etc) is not rude and is used as a form of politely saying "I'm here, please move before I run you over" --- even if they are telling a pedestrian


hope this has enlightened your eyes to china a little bit more.....

~fran

Back to the regular schedule....

Now that break is over, we are returning to our regular schedule which looks something like this:

Monday: 3 hours of reading (and talking about) chinese mini-essays
Tuesday: 3 hours of listening to different types of broadcasts (ranging from weather news to short comedic sketches)
Wednesday: part of the day we learn colloqiual speech, the rest of the day we read a newspaper article
Thursday: finish up the lesson taught on monday
Friday: Full day of colloqiual speech

Just 3 hours of intense chinese a day and then FREEEDOMMM!!!  I usually go out to eat with my classmates or st. olaf friends.  It's useful to be around other international students who can't speak english because then I am forced to use my Chinese.....Also, for each of these classes I have different teachers (3 total: speaking/newspaper, listening, reading) -- all of whom are amazing!  There are very clear in the their explanations (at least, when I can understand what they are saying).  However, the general philosophy here is to push tons of new vocabulary on the students and see how much they remember.  Not a favorite studying priniciple of mine --- due to this philosophy, I have as many as 100 new words for a new lesson.  This doesn't include the extra passages that we read for that lesson (there is generally the main essay and then 3 other shorter essays....with more words I've never encountered before).  Needless to say, I'm trying my best.  Other than that, my classmates are fun to be around -- despite being in a standard level class, we are all different with our chinese abilities.  Some students can speak really well, but can't read, and some others are the other way round.  We help each other get by ;)  (although, I'm not joking when I say I'm on the lower end....haha)

hope those who are taking classes are having a good time, and those who remain at home are also having a good time! love you all....

Trip cancelled. China has too many people.....

RIGHT.

So my plan was to go to Guilin and have an excellent time with classmates for 3 nights and 4 days in one of the prettiest places in China.  Upon arriving at the train station, we decided to book tickets for our returning train (which we couldn't do earlier because you can't book tickets more than a week in advance....).  and EVERYTHING was sold out.  Did they have trains to nearby cities? No.  Did they have seats on the trains coming in a day earlier? No.  All they had was standing room.  On a 22 hour train?  Both the ticket sales lady and I laughed.  No way that's happening.  SOOOOOO, I ate a snicker's bar, went to pizza hut with my friends, and decided that we were going to have an AWESOME break in Shanghai instead.  But, really? Bummer.

some random pictures!!!!

My room!  This was my first day spent in my actual dorm room, and not the hotel room that they stuck me in the first night.  It is nowhere near this clean now...haha

This is on my campus. Can you believe it?  So gorgeous and greeeeeeen!!!  Thank you, ECNU (East China Normal University) - the prettiest campus in Shanghai....

Out and around the corner....we are located near the downtown of Shanghai -- only a 10 min subway ride!

YuYuan -- neat, no?  The Yuyuan garden in Shanhai is one of its main attractions.  The bridge is literally called the 18 corner 9 side bridge.....go figure.

TheBund --- riverside view of Shanghai's TV tower....

Just a random street that looked pretty peaceful....

The Bund (the riverside view -- the "hot spot" of Shanghai --- similar to the tourist attractions that Chicago's Millenium park has to offer....)

多伦路 Duolun Road - A famous historical road that houses the "great thinkers" during China's revolutionary period ~ then, a coffee shop filled with radical writers and now, a street filled with statues commemorating their desire to seek truth and spread wisdom

Cock fighting ring at one of Suzhou's gardens --- entertainment for the locals, I suppose....

and just as entertaining for us as well...I put my bets on Meghan ~ (on the left)

Traditional lantern + light bulb = globalization.

The Crew: Virginia, Nick, Meghan, Me, Ellen ~ Suzhou 苏州 lookin' good

Group photo! I felt ambitious....

View from the bean-hole.  pretty neat, I thought...until I got badgered to turn around and be part of a group photo.....

more than one went East......

So! This is my 2nd time trying to type this update…….and I will thus be less thorough.

I apologize for not updating in awhile, unfortunately my internet has been broken for the past couple days.  

Just as a recap as to what has been going on here:

Sept 22^nd was 中秋节 ZhongQiuJie (Mid-Autumn Festival – or moon cake festival, as some would call it).  Traditionally, you go back home and celebrate this festival with your family by eating lots of food and mooncakes (月饼) (pastries with different fillings, decorated with pictures in the pastry dough).  However, my family is back in America and none of them like mooncakes anyhow.  So, so much for that.  Despite the traditions, I did still have a fun day (played badminton with some friends) for at least 3 hours ~ It was great.  On top of this, we did get to take off 3 days and rest a little while (although, we did have to make up the missed class time by attending classes on the weekends. L no one liked that part)  For one of those days, I took a day trip out to Suzhou (苏州), a city famous for its gardens.  In fact, it is so famous that there is a well-known saying that goes like this: 上有天堂，下有苏杭 (literally translated: Above there is heaven, below there is SuZhou and HangZhou --- both noted for their luxurious and old gardens).  Only a 45 minute train ride outside of Shanghai’s downtown, we spent the day garden-hopping and touring around.  What the saying doesn’t mention that Suzhou is also super famous for its wedding dresses – which were sold in every store.  Nick, the only guy in our group, was not appreciative of that fact.  However, we all had a really good time climbing on the rocks in the gardens and exploring all the nooks and crannies.  One entrance ticket even got us a neat little boat ride on the small river at that garden’s center!  I wouldn’t want to provoke the lady who was rowing the boat, though – her muscles were huge!!!  We enjoyed the trip so much that we plan to take a Saturday and head back out to check out some of the other places we didn’t have the time to go see….. However, the best part of the day was when we got lost and asked some white people (a rareity in the city) for directions to one of the gardens.  One of these white guys took a look at my sweatshirt (from my dorm last year – Thorson Hall) and asked: “Hey! Where’d you get that sweater???  I lived there last year!”  Lo-and-behold, we had come across some recently graduated Oles who were teaching English in a nearby city (Yangzhou) and were staying in Suzhou 苏州 for the 3 day holiday!!!  I guess I wasn’t the only one with the intention to head east…..

Other than that, I’ve been studying – trying to cram 80 new vocabulary words in one go is not an easy feat ><; haha  (I’m rethinking this level…..but I can’t change now, oh well…..the grass is greener always on the other side)

And chilling with my buddies from England =D

After craziness in the train station, I found out that I cannot go to see my friend in 九江 （Jiujiang）because all the trains are already booked (a week in advance….and you can’t book a ticket more than a week in advance……too many people in china)…..and instead I am heading out with Nick and Meghan (Oles) on October 2^nd to 桂林 Guilin (pronounced: “Guh-way-lean”) which has lots of caves and neat hiking spots.  It is also a 22 hour train ride.  We will be sitting on chairs the entire way L  oh well, at least we’ll have each other (for 22 hours)! Awesome.  (actually, truth be told, I am thrilled.  I really wanted the long train ride to see everything pass me by!!!!)

Okay.  I need to go play badminton now…..

Love you all – thanks for reading!! Update photos later……

End of classes - week 1

Hi everyone – I apologize for the slow updates --- things are crazy here~

We are in the midst of our first week of classes and everything is chaos.  A good kind of chaos, but chaos nonetheless.  After taking the placement exam (last week), you get “recommended” to a certain level and class.  Currently there are 3 main levels (1 , 2, 3) and multiple small levels (1-5).  So, class 1-1 is super beginning I-can’t-even-say-hello-in-Chinese Chinese class, while 3-3 is the step right before taking university level classes in Chinese (so, pretty darn fluent).  When I took my exam (which took all of 5 minutes – a matter of having a conversation with the professor asking “Can you read this passage?” and how long I’ve been studying), they recommended me to do 2-4  (levels are as follows: 1-1, 1-2,1-3,1-4,1-5, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 3-1, 3-3….where 3-2 and 2-5 are, I don’t know, haha) or 3-1.  Level 3-1 (as I explained in my last email) is pretty complicated.  You have 4 classes: 1) Reading newspapers 2) reading literature (short stories, memoirs, etc) 3) watching movies in Chinese and describing them, and finally 4) taking a Chinese culture class (in Chinese)  **note: I will be taking a culture class, but it will be taught in English. Hooray.  The first two days of this class weren’t bad – I was struggling to keep up, and the reading was just outright HARD.  But because I really really liked the professors (amazingly funny and witty) and the class (who actually wanted to talk), I tried my best.  However, after going to class yesterday and not understanding a good 60% of what the professor was saying, I decided to drop down to 2-4.  As of yet, this is the class that I probably will remain in.  It was a little irritating to find that my classmates in level 2-4 have stayed in Shanghai (or china) for an extended period of time (1-3 years) and thus know a lot more 口语 (colloquial speech) than I.  A lot more.  So when I know one word for taxi, they know 3.  But, I speak just as well – just without the large span of vocabulary.  And in level 2-4 I will probably remain (and my classmates, who do know a lot more speech than I will help me expand my vocabulary.  A win-win situation!).  Although, if you do want another complaint, I still really want to be in 3-1.  I like literature and analysis that much.  Sad day, oh well.  Perhaps I’ll have the chance to read literature in Chinese at a different point in time – but in the meantime, I guess I’ll need to play catch up with my vocabulary….haha….

As a side note, I did meet some cool people here.  One guy (in his late 20s, from Australia) is married to a Chinese woman and teaches in Guangzhou (a large city in the south --- If you find an object that says “Made in China”, it was most likely manufactured there – especially clothing)!  He teaches English to university students, but he felt the need to connect with them so he decided to come to Shanghai to perfect his Chinese.  AND he plays badminton (quite well).  Which makes him super awesome.  He (and another girl, Xiao Li (pronounced “She-ow Lee”)) have become my mates in practicing Chinese (especially since Xiao Li – whose background is Chinese and Japanese – doesn’t speak any English).  There are definitely a large number of cool students in my place of residence – and I often hang out with some guys and gals from the UK.  However, we Oles do still like each others company.  This doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t meet Chinese people.   It just happens to be old retired guys who kick out butts at ping-pong and badminton ><;

Oh.  And I partially forgot it was my birthday 2 days ago…..Virginia (my roommate) had to remind me with a cute (and very delicious) chocolate cake!  Thanks to you all for send me emails, phone calls, and facebook posts on my birthday!!!!! I loved reading every word~

Finally made it to 20, but it still feels like I’m 19 (haha)

Sorry for this long rambly note……..love you all very very much!  Keep sending me emails~

2 week mark.

Cool.  I've made it to the 2 week mark without too much diffuculty.  Monday we start classes, and already I have met so many international students (both language-studies like me, but also full time students).  Currently I have a friend who I'll be tutoring in English and who will be helping me in Chinese.  He and his older brother are from Hanoi and speaking Chinese pretty fluently, but would like to learn English.  Crazy，no?  I've gone and seen most of the famous places here (the Bund, Nanjing Road, Yu Gardens).  Currently, I am a little too tired to write anything about them and I didn't have my camera on me.....(haha, sorry!!!)
Just relaxing today.  It's raining in Shanghai.

SHANGHAI --- Arrival

and so ends my blog for Taiwan.
But, now, on to Shanghai -- the international capital of China:
It’s been a full day and 2 nights since my arrival in Shanghai. Other St. Olaf students (Virgina Ma, Matt Venker, and Nick) will be arriving today (and possibly Tim Knutson?) ~ Um YaYa!~
The campus here at ECNU is GORGEOUS!!!! It’s like taking a leaf out of Hangzhou’s or Suzhou’s book….(two famous Chinese cities, known for their gardens). The campus is big, I got lost at least 4 times trying to find my place of residence and then a place to eat…..albeit, I did arrive at night. The staff have been super friendly, and the maids always say hi when you walk by. My room is comfy and does have air conditioning. The weather isn’t much of a change – although, it is a little smoggier and rainy here =(
Today I’m heading out to the Yu Gardens with a friend, Ling Gu, who is also a St. Olaf student – but who will be returning to St. Olaf’s fall semester on Sept 9th or so. I’ll face Shanghai’s elaborate subway (which has at least 14 lines) in about an hour. 0___0; it’s huge compared to Taiwan.
I live on the 15th floor of my building, which is of average height for an apartment complex. I have my own TV! And the bathrooms are nice – and partially western style (they have western toilets, as compared to squat). As of yet, I do not have a roommate – but that will probably change later in the week. School starts next week, on the 9th? (I should figure that out, haha). Before then, I look forward to exploring. Already, I’m comfortable with some parts of the campus and 2 entrances. There is a huge statue of Mao Zedong at the center of the campus, which serves as a great place-marker. ECNU is well known here – a good school for many different fields of academia.
I do have internet, but quite a bit of my regular sites (including this one) is blocked. The way my room is set up, I can have either internet or power, but not both. The skype connection, for those of you who want to talk with me face to face, is not so great – as Thu, Erik, Alex, and Kelsey found out……email is best for contact. (among other things)
I’m on the north-west side of the city, and the architecture is CRAZY. It’s like taking random things from Italy, Beijing, France, Hong Kong, the US, England and shoving them in random places and random buildings ><; very confusing for the onlooker. Very confusing, BIG, and exciting.

Leaving Taiwan - Last thoughts....

hello!
Just wanted to quickly compile some interesting last-thoughts about my travels and internship in Taiwan.  Without further ado, here is some top 5 quickies for you ~~

Top 5 best foods:
1. Scrambled eggs and tomatoes over rice (or noodles) -- a simple dish that even I have made!  this will continually be my favorite thing to eat.  I don't really know why, because it's nothing special.....but soooo tasty
2. 剉冰 (cuo4bing1) -- shaved ice with fruit (like fresh mango) and coconut milk (or condensed milk).  This can't be beaten in Taiwan's summer. I eat mine like lightning.
3. 豆花 (dou1hua1) -- soybean milk pudding with a syrup and other goodies. delicious and taiwan-style. I'm attracted to sweet things.....
4. 猪跟 (zhu1gen1） -- shaved pigs heel with cilantro and some salts....
5. 蛤金格面汤 （ge1jin1ge2mian4tang1) -- clam and ginger noodle soup, mmmm! the clams are fun to eat, too!
 

Top 5 best places:
1. 九分 Jiufen-- <3  want to return....and ascend their mountain.....
2. 背投图书馆 Beitou Library --- the architecture is old, wooden, and relaxing. 
3. 剥皮了 Bopiliao - One of Taipei's oldest streets, Bopiliao has seen masses come and go, and it still remains.  It smells like damp wood......
4. 十分 Shifen-- who can resist all those lanterns???
5. 士林夜市 Shilin Night Market -- a little materialistic, but I do like to browse through all the cute objects

Top 5 activities:
1. making mochi balls for the ghost festival and talking with all the volunteers!
2. going to the 88 floods remembrance and seeing the president of Taiwan　(how neat is that??!)
3. practicing Chinese with my coworkers (this was a lot of fun -- trying to explain phrases or words)
4. walking around Beitou and the hot springs.  We went to "thermal valley" where the water is so hot you would receive some 2nd or 3rd degree burns!  But it looked gorgeous with billows of steam around the green foliage....
5. taking the Green 9 bus back to the IHouse.  This small, often cramped, bus that again and again defeated the mountainside with sharp turns always made for interesting nightly returns........and conversations!

Top 5 unfortunate happenings:
1. mistaking $600 for $200 by mishearing and being too stubborn and embarressed to not buy a shirt.....
2. having a 6 hour delay at the San Fran airport =(
3. asking a ladｙ on the the street (who was selling bread (mianbao)) how much her noodles (mian) cost.....oops....
4. having to kill a cockroach at 3 am in my room.....
5. not getting to go in the hot springs at beitou (my coworker wasn't feeling well, so I bailed out as well....)

Top 5 reasons why I don't want to leave Taiwan, and why you should come! :
1. the food
2. the really really nice people
3. the cheap prices
4. the food.....
5. the aethetic, natural fauna - everywhere.

<3
to be continued......but in Shanghai!
(thank you everyone, for bearing with me.....)

Last Day of Work and Relaxing

Wow.  Cheesy to say it, but time went by really really fast.  Yesterday was already my last day at work.  Nothing too special, finished up my translations (I was working on translating an interview/new article on Lu Laoshi - the executive director of Begonia foundation - and another spreadsheet.  We had a wonderful lunch, and then, at 7pm, we went out to dinner!


We went to a fantastic vegetarian restaurant (one of my coworkers is vegan) that mimics meat dishes, but instead uses vegan substitutes.  Within our main courses we at "sashimi" (some kind of root vegetable gelatin), "black pepper pork medallions" (??? don't know what vegetable this was...), "deep fried fish" (??? again didn't know), ginger and mushroom aged soup, fried taro and something cubes in papaya, actual vegetables imitating vegetables, and tea!  Although I've eaten at a restaurant similar to this one in Beijing, and am still surprised that a lot of vegetarians will come here to eat.  In the states, I've never met anyone (who is vegan) who wants to eat this kind of fake "meat" --- because they oppose eating things with the cooked form of animals in any way, shape or form -- that's a good part of the reason they became vegetarian in the first place!
 Quite a few buddhist monks and youth like this type of restaurants -- it offers something unusual and tasty.

This weekend I'll be writing postcards, updating this blog, heading out to Longshan Temple, and Beitou (where all the hot springs are!).  And packing. : (

I thought I'd be doing more things in taiwan or that it would feel as comfortable as Beijing.  Now that I am close to leaving, I wish I traveled more in the area, and went down to the southern tip.  But more about that later......

(From left: Yu-san, Xiao Jin, Me, Lu Laoshi (CEO), Xiao Hui)

九分 Jiufen

Out of all the places gone and seen as of yet, Jiufen stands out as the most beautiful. I don't use that word lightly. Located on a mountanside, the town of Jiufen receives the refreshing breeze from the bay area below. While once a prosperous town in the early 1900s, supplying gold from their mines, it is now a historic day-visit to both Taiwanese and international tourists. Actually, this tourism is only quite recent (in the late 1900s, early 2000s) - Jiufen actually had a large downturn after running out of gold in the 70s. This spike of tourism in recet times was helped by Miyazaki's Spirited Away (a movie that I own and cherish), which used Jiufen's downtown as a model for the place Chihiro enters. More history can be read here.  Regardless, you cannot beat the 80TWD (less than $3.00) train ticket from downtown Taipei to Jiufen.

(ok, so this isn't the ocean, but it's still really pretty - taken from the museum)

From left: Harry (xiao jin's boyfriend), Yu-san, me,
xiao jin, and xiao ming (their friend) 

Turning away from staring at the blue seacarpet before you, the first thing you notice is the air - a mixed ocean and foresty sent that you know only gets better the higher you go up the mountain. Standing at the entrance of the Gold Ecological Park/Museum, you can see the entire bay area and the town below! Walking around the museum with my 2 coworkers (Xiao Jin and Yu-san), Xiao Jin's boyfriend, and their friend, we had a fantastic time.

Here I am talking about gold, pirates, and the Song dynasty. 
In the same conversation.

We learned about some of the other types of minerals that were mined (byrite, pyrite, quartz, and the like) and read about the history of gold as Taiwan knows it (and, of course, its role with the rest of the world). The museum even has a solid gold brick that is surrounded by a transparent case, open with 2 holes so one can stick their hand through and touch it！ (Which we all proceeded to do and shout - "we're rich people!!!!" haha). I was a little bemused when I read about gold and electronics, keeping in mind my past internship at Kester Solder (or ITW-Kester, however you like to call it now）with Dad.

A golden touch.

I was downright amused when we noticed a large group of caucasians (seen above) following a tour guide. Getting the courage to talk to them, I found out that they were all from Canada and are having a great time touring around Taipei! The next time we saw them, Xiao Jin went, "Fran! 你的外國朋友來一次！" and then proceeded to ask "他們為什麼呢麼大？" ("Fran! Your foreign friends are back!"...."Why are they so big?"). I was glad that they didn't understand Chinese, and hoped that the tour guide head wasn't listening. Finished eating our bakery goods (I had a walnut-something muffin and cream stuffed bun), we headed to the downtown.

The streets kind of reminded me of Venice's - except a little narrower and more...Taiwanese. They maintained that nice dark brown cobblestone and "old-style" buildings (although, like Venice, most of these shops are newly built for the tourist boom in recent times). Every square inch packed with either people, various food stands (stinky tofu included, unfortunately), or gift stores, Jiufen's "Old Street" quite a bit of variety.

Known for its fried taro, 肉圓 (this is a little hard to explain...), fishball soup, and sweet yuyuan冰淇凌 (another dough, like mochi, except different, put ontop of shaved ice), customers leave happy and full. Always a good thing in my mind =D And, like the rest of Taiwan, all the food is really inexpensive - dinner (plus snacks and dessert) would be around $5. Some of the souvenirs that can be bought are wooden goods (shoes, massagers, mooncake molds), jewlery, and other knicknacks. This is all very nice, but you really want to go there for the food and the mochi. ^__^ At night, strings of lanterns, which line the posts from store to store, all light up, and you can see the uncanny resemblence to the nighttime for Chihiro (in Spirited Away). The same coworker who was amazed at the Canadians got to use her two favorite words over and over: "so beautiful" and "so delicious". I couldn't help, but agree!

P.S. Grandma & Grandpa --- Look they had mini golf for the prince! (look near the grass - the long stretches of concrete are minigolf holes/fairways...haha!)