Well...

It's over.

When it's all said and done I did things I never thought I could, would, and yes, sometimes even should do. I realize that all of this was an important experience. But when people ask me those annoying questions like "OMG, was it TOTALLY amazing?!?!" I really just don't know how to respond. In some ways, I recognize what an important thing it is to go to a far away place, look at the culture and examine how you yourself react to it and adapt to it. However, the I am still not entirely used to some of the changes I've seen within myself and in how I look at myself and the world--and I'm not entirely sure I like it either. I guess only time will tell how the lessons I've learned in China will manifest themselves in my life here.

Home

I'm home....

I'll post some reflections later.

Saying our goodbyes to IES

I'm still around.

Although I haven't been hearing clamoring for more posts I suspect that you might want to know what I've been up to. It's hard t keep updating with so many final projects and stuff going on. Plus its in the back of everyone's mind that we're all leaving China soon so (sub)consciously we're trying to cram all the experiences we can into this last few weeks (well...less than a week).

I'm not harmed by the earthquake at all, so nobody has to worry about that.

My trips in sum:

Shanghai--more modern and fast paced compared to Beijing. Tall buildings. Scary cabbies. I wasn't really there long enough to get any big impressions of the place.

Qingdao-- probably should have done more here. Home of Qingdao Beer. I found some water so my spirit was happy.

Here's Pics:

奥运会

The Olympics.

People keep asking me how my everyday life is effected by the up and coming Olympics and I'll tell you...it penetrates every aspect of my life. Everything from the diet coke I drink everyday, to yogurt to people's clothing (yes I saw a girl with jeans with the Olympic rings sewn on the butt) is littered with Olympic paraphernalia. You can barely walk a block without seeing a sign that says “同一个世界，同一个梦想“ (One world, One dream) and sometimes I think that if Beijing could name itself after the Olympics it would. It's not so much 'exciting' as I would say, fascinating, that a city (hell, an entire country) with over 3000 years of cultural history would place all of its energies into a modern event.


This is 'traditional' Chinese paper cutting. Normally you would see things like zodiac animals or good luck symbols. These however, are paper cuttings of the Olympic mascots, little pandas. If you find a street with peddlers its almost guaranteed there will be at least 5 seeling keychains, stuffed animals or t-shirts with these pandas on it.



This is a more clear picture of the mascots. Their names are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, YingYing, and Nini--which together essentially mean "Beijing Welcomes You" I like the green one! Also worth noting are the Cube and the Birds Nest--two newly built sports centers that I've heard many a taxi driver refer to as "nan kan" (ugly)

Perhaps more interesting however are the preparations that aren't overtly Olympic but somehow you know they're related to the Olympics. For instance there's construction going on all overt the place. You Minnesotans might be familiar with the saying that Minnesota has two seasons Winter and Construction...but this is a little different because as far as I can tell most of the construction is for aesthetic reasons not functional. I've seen a lot of facade restorations and painting going on. Also, Beijing, notoriously known for its um...creative... English spellings and translations is changing the signs at all of the primary touristy sights to be more correct. Food prices are going up , visa availability is going down, subways are being built, not to mention our Chinese lessons can always be SOMEHOW tied to the Olympics (that or Gaigekaifang yi hou). Somehow you know that its latent in every business decision...the buzz among the masses ...it's just everywhere.

I don't know... all of this sort of reminds me of parent's weekend at UPS. The grounds workers cut the grass all extra nice, and the sub serves all the good food. Beijing preparing for the Olympics is a lot the same way--it might not be an exact reflection of the way things really are.

This post wasn't as cool as I wanted it to be.

I'm alive!

I'm alive. Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm trying to cram as man experiences into this last month that I can. Last weekend I went to Shanghai. Tonight I'm headed to Qingdao (like the beer...Tsingdao). I will be more detailed upon my return, but I thought I should write to say I haven't forgotten you all!

这个不是八达岭

I went to the Great Wall at Jian Kou yesterday, one of the most dangerous parts of the Great Wall because it is in such disrepair. Even though at times it indeed was very dangerous the scenery was beautiful and not overrun with tourists. So here are some obligatory pics.

The sign greeting us when we got to the wall. Greeeeaattt....


We had to climb this!