Day 4 – Let’s haggle!

Today was fairly uneventful.  We had a language/culture lesson in the morning during the first hour of class where we learned to count to 100 in Mandarin.  We then had a great discussion about the Panopticon which we related to what we’ve observed in Beijing so far, and what we have observed about America in many different ways.  The discussion was quite interesting.  We did not get to finish everything we would have liked, so we are going to continue the discussion on Monday morning during class. 

After class some folks ventured out to the famous Silk Market to go shopping.  Many folks came back with stories about how they began to learn to haggle with the local shop owners.  As is true to form, the group jumped right in with both feet.  They immediately started haggling with shop owners to get the best price possible. Some folks learned that the ‘lowest price’, doesn’t really mean ‘lowest price’.  But they are getting better at their haggling skills.  For some, it seems like haggling for items is going to become a favorite pastime.  Folks have purchased many items for both personal use and for gifts at the Silk Market.  However, we’ve been told by Ian (an amazing volunteer – a post to come about him later) that there is another market we should be going to that is quite a bit cheaper than the famous Silk Market.  On Sunday we’ll likely take a trip to that market to see what prices we can negotiate. 

Until tomorrow……

Day 3 – Introductions

We had our first in-class lesson today with some wonderful people from the Communication University in China.  We learned how to introduce ourselves, say our name and mention that we are American.  Test the students once they get home – they should all be experts in introductions.  We are all learning to use new muscles in our faces and mouths trying to make the different sounds associated with the Mandarin Language. After just one lesson we are able to differentiate sounds now.

After our lesson we all headed to the Media Museum on campus for a tour. This was not scheduled in our itinerary, but after the campus tour yesterday and getting to see just a glimpse of the media museum, I decided it was a worthwhile experience for the students to learn about the history of media in China.  What the students quickly learned was that American media and Chinese media are vastly intertwined.  We also observed many replicas and a plethora of examples of different forms of media, i.e. radios, television, video recording, mass media equipment and much more.  The tour lasted just over an hour and it was well worth the time we spent.

As an aside – I teach Comm 131P, New Media/You Media at SJSU and I’m already trying to figure out how to incorporate the information from the Media Museum tour into my class back in the states.

The students were able to break away from the instructor for a little while after the tour – I had to deal with some logistics on campus, and they were glad to have some unstructured time.  We had to, once again, try and deal with the internet situation. Thankfully it was an easy fix and now the students should be fully up and running when it comes to the internet. 

The students continued their adventures into the local cuisine by going to the cafeteria to sample some more delicious dishes.  I must commend the students for jumping in head first with the cafeteria food.  They are adventurous and not afraid to try new things.  This group of students is truly an amazing group.  Although the students are not restricted from going off campus to eat, most eat at least a couple meals a day there.  The food is incredible, super tasty not to mention cheap.  One of the things we were concerned about is tummy trouble and picking up a bug from the food here.  However, no one has had any issues so far.  To be honest, we prepared for the worst by packing pepto and immodium, but from what understand, no one has yet to use it. 

After lunch we met as a group and took a brief tour of Tian’ an men Square in the early afternoon.  We were not able to stay too long, but I have a feeling most students will venture back on their own to spend a bit more time there.  We had to rush back to get a few things worked out on campus, then freshen up to prepare for our acrobatics show.  We left campus with ample time to find the theater, and we ended up having over an hour of free time.  But since we missed dinner on campus, some of us were a bit hungry. When arose from the subway steps to see a Starbucks and a McDonalds.  The students voted to have a slice of fast food from home, so we headed to McDonalds for a quick bite.  Some folks finished early and headed down to an indoor market to see what they had to offer, which means that some have been fully bitten by the shopping bug.  We had to wrangle everyone to get them to the theater on time, otherwise I have a feeling we would have been late because the students wanted to shop.

The Acrobatics show was a lot of fun.  The students were thoroughly entertained with feats of strength, agility, skill and amazing flexibility.  Once the show was completed we hopped back on the subway to get us home.  We used a little well known motto “no child left behind”, meaning everyone gets on the subway and everyone gets off.  We stayed together as a group and had no issues at all with the transportation. 

It was a very long day filled with many observations and activities.  The students, and their weary professor were exhausted.  However, some of us found the strength to gather in one of the dorm rooms and have some great bonding time. 

I continuously hear whispers about how well the group is getting along and how we are just one big happy family now.  It is wonderful that the students are getting along as a group, and that they are looking out for each other.  With an open-door policy from both me and the students – meaning we wonder in and out of each other’s rooms at will most of the time – it’s hard not to become one big happy family. These relationships are going to last a lifetime!!!

Until tomorrow…….   

Day 2 – Getting Acclimated

The second day in Beijing was eventful.  Most of us woke up early in the morning at around 4am.  Some students were able to sleep later, but most of us were acclimating to the time different.  Since the students generally didn’t sleep on the plane we were able to get a few hours last night.  Most were just a bit tired, but jetlag didn’t really set in which we are thankful for.

Since the cafeteria was closed last night we weren’t able to experience the on-campus food just yet.  So this morning I went around to all of the rooms to let the students know that we were going to head down to the cafeteria as a group.  We entered the area and quickly observed how to order and how to pay for our meals with our campus card.  The cards contain enough money for the students to eat all three meals on campus without having to spend additional money, but I think most will venture out on their own. 

Since it was the first day I wanted to make sure the students had a positive experience with the cafeteria and the local cuisine, so we jumped right in with ordering and eating local food.  The students were great – they sampled quite a bit of different food and we talked about how tasty everything was.  The response was incredibly positive, and now that they’ve had breakfast on campus, they are able to order and pay without issue.  I’m glad they explored the food and were able to find things they enjoyed for breakfast.

After breakfast we took a tour of the campus.  We were shown the libraries, media buildings, performing arts buildings, administration, classrooms and more.  Our contacts did a great job of showing us around.

Upon completion of the tour we had to go to a mobile store to get SIM cards for those that needed phones.  The students now have my contact number and are able to get in touch with me in case of emergencies.  I suspect though, with how well they are working together and how they’ve quickly learned to go with the flow, they won’t need to call much if at all.  They are a pretty self-sufficient group as a whole.

The University then invited us to the restaurant on campus for a welcome lunch.  We were able to sample many dishes including duck skin dipped in sugar, and duck meat wrapped in a thin pancake wrap.  We also had fried rice, chicken dishes and pork dumplings.  Students jumped right in.  We had great conversation and laughed a lot. Everyone was amazed at how tasty the food is, and they can’t get enough.  Their adventurous spirit is carrying them through just fine.

Once lunch was finished we headed out to a local bank to exchange currency. Everyone who needed local currency was able to exchange American dollars for Yuan also called RMB.  On our way back we stopped at a local shop and everyone purchased pads for their beds.  The beds were so hard it was like sleeping on the floor, but we quickly remedied that. 

After our purchase we headed back to campus to deliver the mattress pads to our rooms.  The students came back to the dorm while I went to deal with the internet situation.  We had to sign up for an internet plan for two months, so now the students have internet access in each room.  Our biggest complaint about the internet is how spotty and frustrating it is.  We can reach our email sometimes, but not other times. There are many restricted websites, and sometimes our email services – gmail and yahoo are inaccessible.    But I have reminded students to contact home as much as possible.

We had dinner at the cafeteria even though most students weren’t that hungry.  We sampled some simple things and called it a night. 

I heard some rumblings that students were going out to shop last night.  I’ll get an update as soon as we meet for class tomorrow morning. 

Until tomorrow…….

Day 1 – arrival

We made it through our flight, customs and to the university ok.  The bus ride from the airport to the university was interesting.  We were able to observe a great many things while driving.  Of course the students connected the drive and some of the things we observed to our readings, which was great.  They were making theoretical connections already, or what I call TC’s. 

There were some snags the first night, but nothing we couldn’t figure out as a group. Each room had a couple bottles of water which was great, but we had no food.  After we got off the plane and arrived at campus we were pretty hungry.  Thankfully I had exchanged money ahead of time because I had to use it to buy everyone dinner.  We headed to the market on campus to purchase some cases of water and tried to find something for dinner. 

We discovered the market had a few American essentials, so we purchased some peanut butter and jelly and made sandwiches.  My students gathered in my room and we hung out wherever we could find space and I made dinner for everyone.  We bonded over PB&J and our bottles of water.  I think this set the tone for the whole trip – the students learned to go with the flow, and they also learned to trust that I have their best interest at heart.  I think they also got a kick out of their professor sitting on her bed making everyone sandwiches as best she could.  Pictures were taken.

We discovered the dorm rooms are sufficient.  Of course this is not a 5-star hotel, but we are decently comfortable and have all of the necessities. 

The first day ended pretty late, so after our PB&J we all settled in and tried to sleep. 

More tomorrow…….

We're here.....

Hi Everyone,

We have arrived.  I'm sorry this post has been delayed, but we hit a few snags along the way trying to gain internet access.

The short version of what's going on:  We're here, and everyone is doing great!  We had a great flight even though it was a bit long.  Everyone is getting along great and the group is bonding very well.

I will update again later, but I just wanted to get a quick note out there to all family and friends who are following our journey.

Until later......
Carol

Airport Happenings

A quick note before we get on the flight:

Everyone arrived to the airport on time. We made our way through the incredibly long security line and found our gate. The students are now wondering around the international terminal grabbing a quick bite to eat and purchasing last minute items.  We will be boarding the flight at around 2:15pm and the flight is scheduled to depart at 2:50pm.  In short, everything went smoothly at the airport and the students are incredibly excited to get their adventure started.

I will update again as soon as I can - shortly after arrival.

Less than 48 hours......

Hello Everyone,

I assume by now this blog address has been given to family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances of the folks traveling to Beijing in a few days.  If this is you, welcome to the Beijing 2013 blog.

I will try to post to this blog at least a few times a week with updates about what the group is doing.  I can't promise though, so please don't be alarmed if it is not updated - we might simply be too busy.  However, I will continuously remind students that they need to contact home to let people know that they are ok.

As it stands right now, we are staying on the Communication University of China campus in the dorm rooms.  All of our rooms should be in the same vicinity of one another allowing our group to bond well.  As you can imagine, bonding with one another during this type of trip is important.  It is my hope that these friendships will last  a lifetime. 


The next time I update this blog we will have just arrived in China.  So keep an eye out for a blog update sometime on Tuesday. 

Until then......
Carol-Lynn Perez