Pictures from our Long Weekend

The weekend right after Thanksgiving, we had a long weekend trip planned with the whole group. We loaded up the bus early Friday morning and drove to Suzhou, a nearby water town. There we stopped at a silk factory, a museum, then loaded the bus to Nanjing.

When we arrived at Nanjing, the first thing we noticed was the traffic. While we were stopped in traffic we had the opportunity to watch a lit up sign spark, catch fire, then drop to the road. Needless to say this way amusing in many forms. Such as being morbidly curious, then scared, and somewhat amused.

At the Stinky Tofu place... too bad
 it was a really nice restaurant

For dinner our tour guide took us to a stinky tofu place. If you could imagine sewage and food thrown together... that is kinda close to the smell. It is hard to imagine that people love the food, too bad I cannot get passed the smell to try it.


On the way up to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's
 mausoleum

Outside of the Ming Tombs

Day two in Nanjing took us to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's mausoleum, the Ming tombs, and the Nanjing massacre museum. All of these places were interesting and full of culture.

We finished the trip off on Sunday by boarding the bus early and driving to a Bamboo forest. It was rainy, but I was happy to see the forest

bamboo

Bamboo Forest

 


Elephant outside of the Ming tombs

Street Vendor in Suzhou, I don't know what we
ate, but it wasn't bad!

Gifts for your Chinese roommate!

Some gift ideas for when you make the jump across the pond. The gifts that the Chinese roommates liked.

- College t-shirts
  Most of the roommates really enjoyed receiving a t-shirt with the name of the university you attend on it. Bright colors for the girls, and more subdued colors for the guys. It would be a good idea to bring one in a small, and one in a bigger size. Most of the roommates would fit into a small, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.

- Teddy Bears
  The girls love cutesy little bears that they can put on their shelves. If it says the name of your hometown/college/state/USA then you are good.

- Bracelets/Necklaces
  Girly gifts.

- Hats
  I think most guy roommates would appreciate a baseball cap. Once again with something from the USA/college/hometown etc. Or maybe your favorite team.

- Basketball Jerseys
  Basketball is huge in China. If you brought your favorite jersey, or a jersey of a team close to you, most of the guys will like it. Their favorite team in China is the Heat.


Chinese Male roommates:

These guys were mostly into games and computer things like that. Some liked music and some liked to study. Maybe a relatively simple to understand computer game would be a nice gift to give your male roommate. Unfortunately, I do not know much more than this about the male roommates.

Chinese Female roommates:

Anything cute and little girl-ish. Small nail polishes, lip gloss, lotions, stuffed animals, jewelery, etc. They are easier to shop for that the males. If you get a lotion, don't choose anything too strong. They prefer light, fresh scents over heavy scents.


Hope that makes the process a little easier!
 

What You Don't Need to Pack for China

So I did a post on what you needed to bring to China, here is the post with all the things you can leave behind in the states. This was you have more room in your luggage for other things. Everything listed will be things you can buy in China.

With the International Business program, during the first week they will take you to Walmart and you can buy most of the things there.

1) Shampoo/Conditioner

You can easily find shampoo and conditioner in China. They sell it at even the small convenience stores on the backstreet. I would recommend bringing the travel sizes for when you are traveling, and also for you to have until you can purchase a bigger size.

2) Contact solution

I also recommend bringing this in a small travel size and buying a bigger bottle when you arrive. This is sold at specialty glasses stores. But your roommate or teacher should be able to help you find some if you can't. In the mall, one subway stop over, by the entrance to Carrefour, there is a shop that sells contact solution. The entrance to Carrefour is in the basement of the mall.

3) Towel

You can buy one there, most students didn't bring one over to save room. And just using one towel all semester makes it ratty after a while, so you will probably end up buying a new one regardless.

4) Toothpaste

Travel size is all the is necessary until you buy a bigger tube.

5) Rain boots

You will probably need rain boots while in Shanghai. You could bring Sperry's too, but your feet won't stay warm enough.( In the winter of course) They sell rain boots at the markets, and you can bargain them down. They even have the ones with the lining on the inside so that you can double them as winter boots as well if you so choose. The underground market is at the Science and Technology Museum stop on subway line 2. You don't even have to leave the train station, literally, just get off the subway and you are in the market.

6) Umbrella

7) Notebooks/School Supplies

They have this stuff readily available at Carrefour, Walmart, or even the backstreet. And it will be cheaper than what you paid for in the states.

8) Books

Now, I would recommend you bring a book or two to read in your spare time; but it is not necessary to bring a bunch. There is an international bookstore where you can buy books in English. I brought over 4 books and they took up way too much space.

Letter to Myself

My study abroad advisor just emailed me a letter that I had written to myself back in May. The letter was part of a study abroad class that had to be completed before going abroad. Thought I would share and comment on how my experience in China has progressed from what I thought it would be like.

Dear Me,

I hope you had a good time in China and have come back with many souvenirs and stories to share. Hopefully nothing scary happened, and hopefully you didn’t get sick from any crazy food you may have tried. By now you should be able to converse with other native mandarin speakers. And you should have met many people from around the world who you have added to your friends list. You should have done well in all of your classes, and hopefully this note doesn’t make you upset in case any of the above is not true.

Now is too soon to tell where all you have been, but by the time you get this you will have been traveling around Asia like a pro; collecting information and knowledge that will make you a better-rounded person for the future. Maybe you wrote in your blog regularly so that others could keep up with your journey too, and posted pictures so they can see it as you see it. By the end of your time, no matter how good or bad it was; I hope that you will still be a study abroad advocate and will still want to travel the rest of the world.

Writing this letter to you now, I am on the couch in my house at Tech. We are all packing and getting ready for finals, Clay is even staying with you for the week before we make the 7 hour drive/move back home. I cannot possibly predict what all you will have experienced by the time you read this, or what you have gone through, but hopefully it will have made you a stronger, more independent person. I have to go, but know that I can’t wait to be where you are soon.

-Amanda

I didn't get to travel as much as I would have liked to. This program, although great, is very intensive. I probably wouldn't have chosen this program had I known that we would have Chinese 4 times a week for 3 hours at a time. Coupled with our other mandatory classes. We have Wednesdays off, but it would have been more beneficial to have Friday's off instead. And another thing that bothers me about the program is that they check attendance to make sure you are in class. We are all Juniors in college, I believe we are old enough to make decisions about whether or not we can skip a class. Everyone knows that it is not advised to skip class, but it is a choice we make. To have to explain that gets annoying. And if my grades aren't suffering, obviously me missing a couple of classes isn't going to harm me in the long run. (end of rant)

Anyways... this program is intensive, you have to take at least 2 business classes, and Chinese 4 times a week. It gets old. really fast... I have been in China for 4 months and haven't seen even a fourth of the country or cities. Going to Beijing wasn't in the program, so you have to go to Beijing during your own independent travel week. Then you will have about half a week to explore the rest of China.

Places I would have loved to seen:

1) Xi'an
2) Chengdu (PANDAS!)
3) Yunnan Provence (this is in inland China close to India)
4) Mongolia
5) Climb Mt. Huangshan
6) Visit areas north of Beijing

That's only in China, as you know we are within hours (via plane) to Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. I would have loved to visit these places as well.


I am still an advocate for study abroad, I just should have better looked into programs before I came. I get jealous when I hear stories from others studying abroad in other countries and they are just visiting so many cool areas. I am not saying I haven't been fortunate, or that I am in any way ungrateful for this experience... I just expected more than what I have gotten.

I have been fortunate enough to never get food poisoning while in China, can't say the same for some of my classmates though. I have never truly been sick while here, save for a common cold. The school is right next to a subway station, so traveling around Shanghai has been convenient. And I can almost always find what I need amongst the back street people.

 

 

 

 

 

What you need to bring to China

So for whoever is reading this blog, be it future Alliance students or future China travelers, or people who just want to know... these are the things that are hard to find in China. Or are just good to have.


1) Medicine

You need to bring whatever medicine you take on a regular basis to China. I don't know how many times I have given my classmates simple over the counter medicine such as ibuprofen or tums. Maybe even consider bringing band aids and neosporin. And a allergy medicine. Simple things that you don't need to go to the doctor for. You will not find these things easily in China as you would in the USA or Europe.

2) Bug Spray

Mosquitoes are TERRIBLE here. Even now we are still having issues with mosquitoes. Mainly in the dorm rooms, gym, and classrooms. I have to spray myself with bug spray before I go to sleep or I wake up the next morning with tons of mosquito bites.

3) Mechanical Pencils

Erasers and mechanical pencils are in short supply. Everything else you will be good on. But when you are writing characters, you don't want to write in pen.

4) Skin Care

For the ladies, and men too. I would strongly advise bringing enough face wash and moisturizer for your time abroad. Most of the things here for the face contain agents that are supposed to make your skin whiter. This goes for body lotion as well. Not to mention things of this nature are considered "luxury" items so they are more than what you would pay for at home.

5) Deodorant

The deodorant here is mainly in spray form... and not as efficient. Bring like 2-3 containers of your own deodorant to China. This goes for the men as well

6) Electricity adaptor/converter thing

I got mine at Walmart and it was 10$. It is also for world wide use so that way you can use it in multiple countries. This was handy for when we traveled to Hong Kong and Macau. Not only that but you will need it for things you bring from home. I brought 2 with me.
 
7) For the Ladies

Certain feminine care products aren't available here. You can message me if you would like to know more.

8) VPN

This is a Virtual Private Network. This is how I am able to be on blogger. Otherwise it would be blocked because google and all things owned by google are blocked in China. Normally your school will have a VPN for you to use, make sure that you have it downloaded on your computer BEFORE you get to China, otherwise it will not work. I am using a VPN that isn't from my school because I didn't know about them before I came to China.

9) Hand Sanitizer

This is crucial because the majority of bathrooms here are repulsive and won't have any soap to wash your hands with. They also don't have toilet paper in the majority of them as well. But you can buy packets of hand tissues to use here. However you WILL NOT find hand sanitizer, so I suggest you bring a few.


That is all I can think about for right now. I will also make a blog on what you DON'T need to bring to China. Like things you can buy here so that you have more space in your suitcase.

Random Videos

 

Just what it is like when ever we have a group picture taken and the Asians taking pictures of us.

 

 

 

 

In Macau, by the big casinos

 

 

 

 

 

Top of the Macau tower, people bungee jump off of it. It is also a rotating restaurant. One of the best meals I've had in Asia thus far.

 

 

Banking in China

Hello! Long time no post... sorry.

Live has been busy and distracting... and I did say that I wasn't any good at this. But excuses aside I went on our field study trip, which was an educational field trip with everyone in the program. We went to Guangzhou [g-wong-joe], Hong Kong, Macau [ma-cow], and Zhuhai [juu-hi]. Pictures and more information on the trip to come! I promise!!

But for now I wanted to share some information on something that is important when coming to China for an extended period of time. That is banking. China is still for the most part a cash economy, with that said, it is hard to find places that will take a credit card, let alone a foreign credit card. Places that are international brands like major hotels, restaurants, and clothing stores will take credit cards. But your average day to day things will require cash. So this means you will be at the ATM a lot.

Before coming to China I did a ton of research on which banks had the best deals and partnerships in China. This is what I have compiled between that research and what I know now. I am not saying that these are the best options, or that it is completely necessary to do any of this, but it does save you quite a bit of money in foreign ATM fees.

Banks and deals are:

1) Bank of America

Bank of America has a partnership with China Construction Bank. With this partnership you can use your Bank of America debit card to withdraw money from the China Construction Bank ATM. The only charge is 1% fee of whatever amount of money you withdraw. Not bad huh? The drawback to this deal is that you have to use China Construction atm's. If for some reason you have to use another ATM you are then charged an outrageous fee. I believe one of my friends said it was in the $15 area. This is the most popular method amongst my peers.

2) Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo also has a partnership with a bank in China. This partnership is with China Agriculture Bank. The terms of this partnership are different that with that of Bank of America. With this partnership you have to set up an account with China Agriculture Bank, then have money transferred into the account from your Wells Fargo account. You have to let your banker know ahead of time so that they can be ready for it. You also have to give your banker at home your account information from the China Agriculture bank. The pros to this are that there is only a one time, flat rate charge of $8 to transfer money. So you can transfer over as much as you want for a flat rate fee. Then you can withdraw money from the Agriculture Bank ATM without any charges. You will also get an online card.(You have to have a special card to order things online here in China) The downside to this offer is that you will need someone who speaks Chinese to help you set up the account. The assistant program director went with me, so it was no problem. The other con is that once you transfer money over, you have to use it all in China, because you will not be allowed to transfer the money back to the USA. This is a Chinese policy. They try to keep as much money in China as possible. This was the banking option I took. And if for whatever reason I have to use my Wells Fargo debit card at another ATM, then I am charged a flat $5 non-Wells Fargo ATM fee.

3) Citi Bank
There are Citi Banks in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. And I am willing to bet they are in other cities as well. Had I known they were over here I would have set up an account with them. That way I could have used their atm's without any charges, and without any transferring. Citi used to have this awesome international student checking account that was virtually fee less. Unfortunately it is no longer an option for those who don't already have it. I didn't stop to think that Citi might actually be in China. I just assumed that foreign banks just weren't allowed in.

Anyways... I have friends who use their regular banks at home and just pay the ATM fees... but it adds up after a while. I thought this blog would be helpful for those preparing to come to China for a semester :) Of course I am no expert, and you should always talk to your own personal banker, but hopefully this will help shed some light.

Posts coming up are:
-Field Study trip and pics
-What to bring to China, and what to leave at home
-random videos of my life here

Pictures from Independent Travel

How the majority of my time was spent

In Beijing, outside of the Forbidden City. So many people!

Front of the Forbidden City

Great Wall

Just for size, also in the Forbidden City

At the Temple of Heaven

Our flight from Sanya to Beijing.

You have to have Peking Duck when in Beijing

Independent Travel Week

Sorry guys! I actually had my independent travel week September 28th through October 4th. Normally we would be doing our group travel during this time, but because things booked up so fast our program advisor had to move things around. And I am just posting about it now because I have been sooo busy [aka too lazy] to sit down and upload photos. But fear not! I will post pictures all over the place this time!!!

The first part of our independent travel a large group of us, 13 people, went down to Sanya, China. This little town is the second most furthest city in China, and is often referred to as the "Hawaii" of China. Fun fact: most of the signs were in Russian and Chinese. I guess this is also a hot spot for Russian travelers. Not such a great place for English speaker, but alas... it made us use our Chinese that we have been trying to pick up.

We basically spent 5 days laying on the beach and soaking up the sun. One of the days down there we went on an organized tour with our group to a remote town. There we kayaked on the ocean to a snorkeling spot, went on a short hike, then kayaked back to the private beach to have a barbeque. Fun day, but also very tiring.

The second part of the trip was spent in Beijing. The group broke up after this. It was just me and my four other girl friends out and about. All blond. Lots of attention. Should have charged people for all the pictures we had taken... We did all kinds of fun stuff. Saw the Forbidden City, The Great Wall, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, and went to the Hongqiao Pearl Market. Lots to see in little time. But hey, it was great action-packed fun. We took a high speed train back to Shanghai and proceeded to sleep for hours.

Our routine thus far has been basically the same. Chinese class Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 am to noon. And of course my Management class on Wednesday and Economics on Thursday. We have also had some small field trip like adventures around Shanghai that I will share more with later. (Can't talk about everything I have done in this post... I wouldn't have any more stories to tell later on)

Hope you enjoy my new videos and pictures!!

 

 

 

 

First Vlog (Video Blog)

So I am now going to start uploading some videos along with other pictures and blog posts. I feel like it adds dimension and character to my overall blog. And I feel that you get better first hand experience on my life in China! No worries, it won't be just video based, just a bunch of random things that I want to share with all my family, friends, and anyone else who is following my journey.

Hangzhou

Pronounced hong-joe :)

So the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd my friends and I made a quick weekend trip to a nearby city. Famous for its Temples, Pagodas, and of course the West Lake!

Early Saturday morning we loaded up a high speed train and ventured to the beautiful city. It was really breath taking in its serenity. The main attraction being the lake, we all walked around the lake and made rounds in the city.

Sunday morning we woke up early again and made way to the Lingyin Temple. It was so huge, the scenery was gorgeous. There were several smaller temples inside as well as several tea fields growing. My friends and I didn't really know what to do when we would walk through a temple and awkwardly watch as Chinese people prayed. One of the Chinese roommates was kind enough to explain the different temples, and the different statues and what they meant or did.

Where you go to pick out what food you wanted

Around noon we were famished and made way back into Hangzhou for some food. We found our way to an interesting Chinese restaurant. As we sat down the waiter came by and told us to follow him... confused we followed to see what he wanted. He led us back to a room filled to the brim with tons of live fish and crab and various still alive marine creatures. Apparently you are supposed to pick out what you want, they cook it for you, then you eat it. I stuck to fried rice and shrimp, the others had some crab, fish, and noodles.

After the interesting lunch we finally got to the lake. Paid for a boat and floated on the river/went sightseeing for about an hour.

Boat Tour

The last and final stop we made was to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Museum. Everything dating back to the beginning of Chinese Medicine was to be found in this place. Unfortunately by this point I was so tired that nothing could interest me more than the sight of my bed, after walking all day I was ready to be back in Shanghai.

The trip to Hangzhou was a short, simple, and sweet getaway that is just what we needed. It is nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of such a large city. You take for granted not hearing the subway or the sound of car horns.

Well... That's gonna be it for now, I have another Chinese Test tomorrow that I need to study for.




Still to come are my most recent trips to Sanya, China (the "Hawaii" of China) and then Beijing. And in a couple of weeks our whole study abroad program will be going to Hong Kong, Macau (the Las Vegas of China), and some hot springs.

Part of the hike to the top of Lingyin Temple

Food In China

In my last blog I mentioned a bit about the food here. But I mainly hit on the fast food, and food that is delivered to your door. So I am going to dedicate this blog to some of the food here in China that I have come to love, and eat quite frequently.

One of my major concerns when coming to China was if I would be able to find food that I would like. I always heard food poisoning stories and people told me horror stories. But so far I have been fine and haven't been sick once :)

I would also like to add that it is not hard to find good food here. It is not as cheap as the street food, but its still not expensive in comparison to the USA or Europe.

** Please note that I am a very picky eater. So the things I post here are not as adventurous as what my classmates might have. **

Real Ramen! It is noodles with meat, veggies and a hard-boiled egg. This is about $4.



An Irish coffee I indulged in when we were at M50 (Textile factories that they made into several art galleries)

At Hibachi (a Japanese style restaurant where they cook all food in front of you on a flat grill.) We paid a flat rate of about $20 for all you can eat and drink. We had sushi, shrimp, fish, lamb chops, pork chops, steak, chicken and so much more.



This is at a place called Xiabu Xiabu. Basically you get a pot in the middle of the table to cook your food yourself. You pick the broth you want (we had two kinds) and then what meat and veggies you wanted to put in. About a $5 meal.



I ate street food here. It was actually very good despite my original skepticism. I liked that I was able to watch him cook my food thoroughly. I paid less that a dollar for 3 skewers.



A fried rice dish that I sometimes get at the ramen restaurant. It comes with miso soup and is great! Costs about $4.

This is basically the same meal I get every time I go to the cafeteria on campus. It costs about $1 for everything you see here. And it is what they recommend for us to eat because it is safe food.

Week 3

I have officially made it into my third week of living in China!

Everything is falling into a routine, and I am amazed at how much I am learning and progressing in everyday life. I do not feel like I am in school over here. It's a weird feeling, but I guess I don't associate living abroad with school. Even though I go to class everyday, I guess I have just categorized that as part of the living abroad experience.

This blog is hard to write, because I feel that I haven't really done much of anything. But I realize that even the most mundane of things here is something completely different and new for everyone back at home. And then I realize that since even the small things count, I should include them here in the blog. But then I have no idea how to organize my thoughts, and what to include.

But here goes, this blog is going to concentrate mainly on the day-to-day things that I noticed are completely different than back at home.

1) Traffic: This includes everything when you consider driving. I have not once seen a speed limit sign. Not that it matters because the traffic is so bad that you never can go too fast. People have no fear when it comes to driving here. I haven't yet decided if this is incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. People constantly cut each other off on the road. There is no such thing as taking turns. It is a fend for yourself situation. I hear cars honking all the time. But it does no good to honk your horn when you do it so often. People don't even bat an eyelash at the noise. Mopeds here are a very popular form of commuting. But these guys follow even fewer rules than the cars do. At least cars will stop at red lights, mopeds just keep right on. If I ever get run over, it will be because a moped driver didn't allow me to walk EVEN THOUGH I have the right of way. I would also like to mention that I have only seen like 5 police cars while here. And not one of them were patrolling traffic or trying to stop crime.

2) Food: Food here is completely different. But of course, you all probably know that. Just thought that I should mention here in case anyone had any doubts: Chinese food in America is not the same as Chinese food in China. And of course the same goes here. The American food here is completely different, and doesn't even taste, or have the same ingredients. This is simply because both places have different recipes and food availability. Don't forget that just because the food says "American" on it means that they want to appeal to the Americans in China. Overall, they still want to sell food, and as such, the Chinese people want it to be more similar to what they like.

Almost everything here can be delivered. This is so awesome! My friends and I have had McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and sushi delivered right to our door. I have also seen Subway deliver as well. Pizza Hut can also deliver a bottle of wine if you so choose with your pizza. But, the wine here in China is not a specialty, so not only will you pay more, chances are you will also not enjoy the wine you get. Pizza Hut here is also considered a "nice" restaurant. Literally, when we went in, it was like a nice Italian place, my friends and I were genuinely confused at first. We have also tried Carl's Jr. and Burger King. Both were near misses. Not the same thing as back home.

I also pay about $5 for a meal here. And that is if I go somewhere kind of expensive, i.e. when we go to eat sushi. Most of the time we can go to local places and find full meals, with all the works, for about $2. I foresee having issues when I go back home when it comes to meals because everything here is so cheap.

3) Beauty/Fashion: So here the ideal Chinese woman has big eyes, very pale skin, and looks like a doll. Because of this I have a very hard time trying to find lotion or moisturizer that won't try to make my skin lighter than it already is. Almost everything here has something that will make you "100% White" or something along those lines. I have also seen many Chinese women with orange looking hair because they want to dye it blond, but it doesn't work out that well.

As for fashion... everything is either very cute and little girl like, or edgy with rock undertones. And the clothing here runs super tiny because most of the women don't need huge sizes. Shoes sizes for women that are bigger than an 8 are very hard to find.


4) Animals: There are a ton of stray cats running out and about in Shanghai. They are everywhere. Dogs are not seen as much. Maybe because they are not as independent as cats... maybe because they are used as meat in street dishes. I do not know, and I do not want to think about it too much. I knew this was a part of China, but it is still hard to deal with.

Hmm... That's all I can think about for the moment. There are other things too that I want to talk about, but I don't want to put them all into one blog.

Hope this was interesting for those who read!

Pictures and Updates

 

First week of classes are almost over! I have Chinese everyday except Wednesdays from 9am to 12pm. Then on Wednesdays I have a class that is called 'Managing Enterprises in China' which goes from 1:30pm to 4:20pm. And on Thursdays, along with all the other Alliance students, I have 'China as an Economic Giant.'

 

So far all of my classes have been interesting. I really think I am going to enjoy my Management class. The only downside is that the classes are sooo long. Back at home I am used to classes being an hour and half maximum. Oh well, can't have it all the way you want it.

 

Chinese is interesting. We spent the first 3 classes just going over pronunciation and forms. Writing characters and learning sounds is so difficult. It takes me back to when I was learning German. And the frustration at not being able to communicate and understand someone. It just makes me want to learn faster.

 

I have some pictures of Shanghai. I will take more and upload more of course, but for now here are a few for you to look at.

 

Downtown Pu Dong from the Bund

 

 

View of Shanghai from a museum

Museum again

View from my dorm

Other view from my dorm

 

First Week in China

Alright!

I so thought I would have a blog completed before now, but this past week has been crazy busy and hectic. We have had orientation every day this week, and today was the first day of classes.

The flight over was two hours late because the tv's on the plane weren't working. That flight was the longest flight I have ever been on, and suffice to say that I wouldn't do it if I really didn't want to go to China.

Shanghai is a huge city with people out and about all the time. The roads are insane, and I am pretty sure there is no speed limit. No one follows the rules of driving, and I haven't seen a police car patrolling through traffic yet.

We went to Walmart one day to buy odds and ends... things that we needed and/or forgot to bring with us. The walmart here was four stories tall and a mess of activity.

People always stop and stare at our group as we walk through the streets. I feel like we are circus animals on display. I am getting used to the staring. No one has yet to touch me, which is good.

I am going to upload some pictures and write out more detailed blogs about my life so far. But for right now this is all I can do. I am very tired, but I wanted everyone to know that I am here safe and sound and that life is going well for me.

Gettin' This Thing Started

OOOKKKKAAAYYY!

I have had this blog set up for a while now. I saw no point in starting to post stuff because I wasn't really doing much.

This blog is going to be my way to communicate, describe, and talk about my life as I take on studying abroad in Shanghai, China. As of right now I am still at home and tying up loose ends for my trip. (Getting shots, securing my visa, and saving money) I leave in 36 days and I know that those days will fly right on by.

This blog is about ME, as you can already tell I am not much of a writer and my grammar probably needs correcting. I am not one for eloquent words and witty metaphors. I am simply going to write my experiences in a way that will help my family and friends better understand what is going on. Got it? Good. Moving right along...

Since this blog is about me, I feel as though a little introductory and history lesson about me are in order. :)

I am currently a Junior at Texas Tech University studying International Business. I spent the first year out of high school in Germany. I loved it. I am trying to find a way back. Since I have been throughout Europe I figured I should go somewhere that isn't in the norm. Originally when I went into my study abroad adviser's office I was gonna go to Spain... and yet I ended up in Shanghai? It was all my choice of course. I am going with a program called the Alliance for Global Education. They have programs throughout China and India, and they are fabulous.

What else is there to say? I will be taking 9 hours of Chinese and 6 hours of business classes at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. I will have a Chinese roommate, I look forward to meeting her.

As of right now that is all I can really think about saying. I am super excited to go and experience a completely different culture. From the other blogs I have been reading, I can tell that I will love it!

Until next time!