Guest Post: Nick’s Journal, from the first day to present!

Nick’s been an industrious journaler on this trip, which can be hard with the go-go-go pace of international travel. He has kindly passed along his journal entries to share with us. Take some time to read over his days, they give a great sense of what it has been like for our sixteen students!

 

Safe Arrival in Shanghai

We arrived in Shanghai yesterday and have been touring non-stop! Yesterday we went straight from the airport to an old Chinese “water” village, where the houses are on either side of canals. We also toured a silk factory to see how the silk is harvested from the silkworm cocoons–there were many lovely silk items on sale–although everyone is holding out for the Red Bridge Market in Beijing. We ended our day with a river cruise along the Huang Pu river–watching a spectacular light display on all of the skyscrapers on the east side of the river. We finally reached our hotel about 8:30–even our most intrepid students took to their beds pretty early. A good nights sleep + a hot shower seems to have revived everyone for another day of sightseeing in Shanghai!

 

The Basketball Game & new video!

Steve organized a basketball game between SU & DUFE. Let’s just say that DUFE’s team had a much deeper bench to draw from–but our guys scored an acceptable 29 points to their 33! Click on the image below to view the new Flickr slideshow including pics of the game, their lesson in paper cutting, shots from campus and the students exploring Dalian.

Dr. Kathie Wright has also snapped some photos of the Chinese students they all have come to know–explore all of the Flickr photo albums they are well worth a look! Also, our students were treated to a concert of traditional Chinese music. Check out the Youtube channel to see new video uploads!

In just a few hours our fearless students will brave the airlines once more on a trip to Shanghai, and then off to Beijing…. check back for more updates on their adventure!

 

A hectic week in Dalian- and DUFE sings our praises…

This week has been a test of everyone’s perseverance as we have hit the ground running on our courses (“you mean, we actually have to attend classes!?!”) while still trying to soak up as much culture as possible. Of course the students immediately made friends with their Chinese classmates, so they have had to juggle all of this with many social invitations and excursions around town. Our students have been very popular—the administration at DUFE has praised their good manners and friendliness—and they have been excellent ambassadors from Salisbury University.
Just a few highlights from the week:
On Monday we walked to the Dalian Software Park which is just up the road from DUFE. As with all development in China, it is almost mind-boggling to grasp the pace at which all aspects of business are growing. The Software Park is on track to become a premier software development and business process outsourcing facility for Northeast Asia (including Korea and Japan) and the US. Most of the global tech firms are represented—and the Park is in negotiations with others, such as InfoSys in India. By coincidence, I ran into two colleagues from the University of Georgia who brought a group of students over to attend a course they are teaching at Neusoft (the largest software firm in China). Neusoft has created a private university that is fully accredited within China to meet the tech demand. I’m hoping that we can provide similar opportunities to our SU students in the future!
On Tuesday, we were given a lesson in Chinese paper cutting from a master craftsman of the art. As we struggled with our clumsy hands and slow progress, the teacher would almost instantly create a beautiful paper silhouette for us to admire. Several of us purchased some of his work—sadly, new technology is rapidly replacing the ancient art and such delicate works of art will no longer be produced by human hands.
On Wednesday, we were privileged to attend a remarkable concert of traditional Chinese music by a renowned group of musicians. I will be uploading a few videos of the concert along with some pictures of our comings and goings.
I think everyone will be relieved when we finish the final exams tomorrow—although that also means we will be leaving the beautiful city of Dalian early Sunday morning. We will fly to Shanghai early—about two hours—arriving at 10 am. I haven’t checked the latest incarnation of the itinerary, but the last time I looked it was pretty packed. I know we will be going on a river cruise Monday evening that is spectacular—as we all know, the Chinese are masters of light, and the riverfront is apparently a mesmerizing display at night. From all reports, Shanghai is a sophisticated and cosmopolitan financial center of China, so it should be a fascinating visit. Just FYI, we will be leaving Shanghai on Tuesday evening to fly to Beijing for the last leg of our journey—I can’t wait to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall!
We will be reversing time as we fly back to the US on the 13th. I’m sure we will be tired travelers upon our return—but what a strange and wonderful trip it’s been!

 

Guest Post: Andrea’s Best Day (thus far!)

Friday, May 29, 2009:

Today was our first free day to roam the city on our own. Two of my new Chinese classmates, Aaron and Kira, took four of us girls out shopping to victory plaza for the day. It was my first experience with public transportation in Dalian, and what an adventure it was. Public bus drivers are even crazier than our tour bus driver! Once we got there I didn’t realize how huge the shopping plaza was. Thank goodness we had those two because we would have definitely been lost without them! They also helped us haggle and told us what was a good deal and what wasn’t. They were lifesavers!

After shopping, we decided to take Kira and Aaron out to dinner to thank them for helping us out. At first they didn’t want to let us pay, but after we insisted that it is an American tradition they finally gave in. This goes to show how important customs and respect are to the Chinese culture.

After dinner, we all went to Xinghai Square to hang out and ride the rides in the park. It was here that we finally really started truly bonding with Aaron and Kira. Throughout the whole rest of the day, we had been talking about all the differences between our lives in China and the US, but by just hanging out and having fun, we realized how similar we all actually are. After today, I have started to understand that, despite differences in cultures and customs, humans in general share many similarities. We all share the same dreams, we all like to have fun and enjoy ourselves, and we all have the same emotions. Today was one of the best days so far in China!

 

YouTube Channel for Perdue China Express!

Just a quick post to let everyone know about the new YouTube Channel created for the Perdue China Express group. There are currently two videos posted, more to come. Check it out! And don’t miss Will’s guest post of his thoughts on the past few days, or the new Flickr album!

 

Guest Post: Will’s First Week Journal

Will was kind enough to pass along the journal entries of his first six days in China, May 24 – 29th. It would be a shame to skip this post- Will’s curiosity has afforded him experiences that are insightful and wonderfully humourous. Check it out, and don’t forget to check out the Flickr album (link is in the previous post!)

 

New Photos on Flickr

This is a message from the blogger back Stateside- what a treat it has been to go through all the photos coming in! If you would like to see the full Flickr album click here. Pictures will be uploaded and added to this link as they come in. Bring on the breath-taking vistas and bizarre eating adventures!

 

Guest Post: Allison (from May 25)

Today we went on a city and country tour. It gave us the opportunity to see additional sides of Dalian that we had yet to see. Our first stop was at their City Park. To me, this was the equivalent of New York’s Central Park. We climbed to the top of the park and admired the view of the city. There was some sort of cultural anniversary being held at the park because there were large signs and flowers around the Buddha at the top with the dates 1949 – 2009. After visiting the park, we went to look at some of the country side. We stopped a restaurant in the country and it was interesting to see the literal translations into English. The place where we stopped was called “The Village of Fictiti ous Land ofPeace” and it was spaced out exactly like that. I have noticed that a lot of signs have extremely interesting translations and this is a perfect example of one of them.
While we were at lunch, we had wonderful food. At one point the waitresses brought out an entire fish that had been cooked and Will decided he wanted to eat the eyeball from the fish. As adventurous as he was, his face seemed a little disturbed by the consistency of it. Also while at lunch, I finally used the unique Chinese bathrooms for the first time, and all I will say is that it was an interesting experience and I appreciate the bathroom set-up I have at home.
While driving through the country side on our way to a Buddhist Temple, we drove through curvy roads and through farming areas. The people who lived in those areas looked as though they had little or no money. It is very hard to imagine living in run-down homes on the side of the road. The beautiful foliage of the country side masked the poverty.
Once we arrived at the temple, I was amazed at its structure, beauty, and peacefulness. The details and the amount of work put into the temple in order to maintain its wonder must take a lot of effort. Before leaving the temple grounds, we stopped at another structure that led to a tall golden statue. The size of this statue amazed us all. We climbed what felt like a million steps, but once we saw the golden statue up close, it was worth it.
Before heading back to the hotel for dinner, we stopped by Xinghai Square. When we first arrived at the square, we were able to see a castle in the distance. Steve informed us that this castle used to be the Shell Museum, but now it was converted in to condominiums and hotel rooms. This castle reminded me of something that belongs in a fairytale—perhaps something out of Cinderella. Also while observing the square and the monuments within the square, it surprised me how many Chinese citizens wanted to take pictures with us. Yesterday people wanted to take their pictures with us, but I just thought it was humorous and did not think too much of it. Today however, there must have been at least ten people that wanted to take pictures with our group. It felt as if we were celebrities from Hollywood. This is definitely one thing that boggles my mind because in the United States we would not question or be shocked about seeing someone from a different culture, but here it is the complete opposite. When we asked Steve is this was a normal thing and if it was because Americans never visit, he told us he even thought it was really strange. So, I suppose the mystery continues!

More photos and videos from China soon to come!

 

Steve Xie

Our adventure in Dalian would not be complete without a description of our host and intrepid leader, Steve Xie.

As the students would say, “Steve is the MAN.” He has been assigned as the DUFE representative to our group from our arrival (giving up his comfortable apartment to stay with us at the hotel while we were quarantined) and he has spared no effort in making sure that we have a great experience taking in Dalian and its attractions.
He’s been a perfect fit for us. Steve’s English is excellent—with a slight British twist from his six years at the University of London. He’s originally from Dalian, but left for England after his first year at university. In the Chinese education system, students place into schools solely based on the entrance exam—and once the course of study is selected, it is fixed. In Steve’s case, he received a score that enabled him to enter a tier 1 university (good thing, because you only get one shot at taking the exam) and he entered as a mechanical engineering student. Unfortunately, after one year, he decided that he hated mechanical engineering. Changing majors or transferring within the Chinese higher education system is unheard of—so he left the country to pursue a degree in International Trade and Logistics (Supply Chain). So he has a unique perspective on both western society and China that the students really appreciate.
Steve has answered innumerable questions—including: “Steve, my shoe size is 9, what is it in Chinese?”—all with good will. He has seemingly limitless energy; many times he is leading our bedraggled troop back from our latest jaunt saying “OK—what if we just stop at ‘xyz’ on the way home?” with a responding chorus of moans. Actually, I think he is having as much fun as we are!