Readjusting from China

Time to be 100% honest.

With the start of the new semester and reuniting with old classmates, I've been getting the question, "How was China?" more than once a day. To make things simple, I go with the generic response of, "It was great! A true learning experience."

This is my cop-out response because I honestly don't know what else to say. I've been home for three months now after spending an entire semester abroad in China. But within these three months, I never got the chance to sit down and really reflect on my experience in China. There wasn't any time for reflection and truth be told, I didn't want to think about my semester abroad.

A few weeks ago, my friend Madison, whom I met in Beijing, came to DC for a short weekend visit. Madison, like me is an American-born-Chinese (what we call ABC) and was my rock in China. We held each other up. One night during her visit, we were at dinner and finally talked about our experience in China and readjustment back to the States. It was a tough night for me because I finally faced everything that I had suppressed. So...here we go.

China WAS a great experience but at the same time, it was extremely difficult for me. I learned more than I had bargained for in those 4-5 months. I saw things that I never expected, heard stories that broke my heart, and it was all worth the money I paid for to go to China. I think that I was never able to fully answer the "How was China?" question because, I don't know how to put my experience into words. No one can fully understand me unless they were physically there in China with me. I walk around campus and drive around Washington, DC thinking about the people around me. They have no idea what I went through and have no idea as to the condition of other places in the world.

In a way, China opened my eyes to the speed at which the country is changing. You have the richest of the rich and then the poorest of the poor. It's incredibly sad to see and hear the stories! Visiting the broken down, agricultural areas truly puts so much in perspective. Some of these people who live in homes with dirt floors, are actually the happiest people that I've ever met. They are so at peace and have found contentment in their current situation. It was so humbling to see.

If anything, my semester in China made me proud to me a Chinese-American. While in China, I found myself knee-deep in something I'd like to call "Identity Crisis." The Chinese saw me as an American while Americans saw me as Chinese. I really was in limbo! But you know what, why not be proud of being both Chinese and an American? The Chinese culture is so rich and the people are so strong in adversity. The Americans are also so strong and the country is filled with diversity and opprotunities. I come back to the United States a little less high-strung and more appreciative of what I have but more importantly, who I am.

A Month Back Home

Happy July! It's already July? What? Halfway through year 2012! I honestly can't believe that it has been a month since my homecoming from abroad. Time has flown by. It really doesn't feel as though it's only been 30 days. China feels so far away!

It feels great to be back home. I've gotten myself back into the swing of things and am keeping myself busy with: travel, interviews, meetings, work, and volunteering. Being home though has made me realize the things I took for granted prior to spending 5 months in China.

What are some things that I realized I missed about the United States?

1. No yelling in restaurants

2. Peaceful streets

3. Cheap Starbucks (about $5 for a tall hazelnut coffee? ridiculous!)

4. Normal bathrooms

5. No spitting

6. Being able to drive

So happy to be back home in the U S of A!

Summer Reads on My Kindle Fire

One of my favorite things ever is snuggling up and spending time buried in a book. Call me a bookworm if you'd like. While abroad, I haven't been able to read very much...and have resorted to online magazines. It was tough trying to shove books into my luggage when packing for the semester. I was able to fit 2 books: The Help and an Ann Brashares' novel. Sadly though, I blew through both within a month into my semester in Beijing.

My awesome father though surprised me and told me that he bought me a Kindle Fire! Y'all, I'm SO excited to get home and start using that e-reader. Don't get me wrong, I will still be purchasing hard copies of books! I've always been so adamantly opposed to e-readers because I absolutely love the feeling of holding onto a book and flipping through the pages. However, after spending an entire semester away from books, I've come to the conclusion that e-readers are VERY practical and am now in support.

Not only am I on the hunt for the PERFECT Kindle cover (preferably teal, chevron, monogrammed?) but I have started thinking about summer reads! My list of summer reads is growing by the day. Some will be purchased on the Kindle, some will be hard copies. Here are a few:

Love Does by Bob Goff

I've been so excited for this book since its release and haven't heard a single negative comment about it!



The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Yeah, I'm getting on this bandwagon. Gotta check out what all the hype is about.



How Remarkable Women Lead

I love me some self-help books!

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

A summer isn't complete without a Nicholas Sparks' novel!

Baby Proof by Emily Griffin

HUGE fan of Emily Griffin and her writing.

What are some "Must-Reads" on your summer list?



No Regrets, No Missed Opportunities

Currently, I'm enjoying my last couple of weeks in China at my grandparents in Fuzhou. It's weird being away from Beijing, being away from the two week study trip. I realized this morning that I am officially a senior in college. It hit me and I had a minor panic attack but am now letting this scary thought fully sink into my brain. Where has time gone? When did this all happen?

Being away from Beijing and the entire study abroad experience for a few days now, I've been processing a little bit--thinking about all that I've learned and seen. I smile the most thinking about all the conversations that I had with my friend Madison. We met way back on the first day in January when we both arrived at Peking University and instantly clicked. Throughout the semester we got to know one another more and more but I think we truly grew close during the two week study trip.

This girl and I had many, many heart-to-hearts about almost everything: school, internships, faith, futures, family, boys, life, and anything in between. We had this saying: No Regrets, No Missed Opportunities. I'd like to think that I have lived the past 20 years of my life without any regrets. I truly believe that I haven't and I pray that I continue to live without having any regrets. When I'm old and probably sitting next to Madison again, I want to be able to look her and anybody else and tell them that I've lived my life to the fullest. NO REGRETS.

It's hard though sometimes to make that one tough decision, knowing that you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life. But honestly, don't rush the decision. Give yourself time to sit quietly and think through options. As cheesy as it may sound, follow what your gut tells you. It's true when they say that your gut doesn't lie. Lastly, don't let others make a decision for you because when you let that happen, that's when the regrets start creeping in. Do things for YOU, not for anybody else.

After hugging Madison goodbye in Guangzhou, through tears we choked out: No Regrets, No Missed Opportunities. At the airport, I was surfing through Twitter and came across the most perfect Jane Fonda quote:

It's never too late - never too late to start over, never too late to be happy

Truth be told, a few months ago I was feeling stuck. Not completely sure what I was doing with my life and where I was headed. Remember that mid mid-life crisis? It hit me though. I'm 20 years old. My life is just beginning. I shouldn't feel stuck. This is the time in my life where I am the most free! No obligations. I can do whatever I want. Chase after those opportunities! Chase after those dreams! Like Jane Fonda says, it's NEVER too late! Make those changes. Create that new beginning for yourself. 

Grabbing Onto Life in Guangzhou

Guangzhou was by far my favorite city out of the entire trip. It may not have necessarily been the city that I loved the most but the group I was with definitely grew a lot closer by the time we reached our last city.

Before arriving to Guangzhou, we took an early morning bus to the city of Dongguan for a couple of site visits. I'm pretty convinced that we saw EVERY library in the city of Dongguan. By the time we reached Guangzhou, I was in desperate need of a shower and food. After dinner, a few of us decided that the night was still young so we spent HOURS in a Papa John's laughing away. The employees were probably so entertained by the four of us.

I was so bummed that my time in Guangzhou was going to be so short. I honestly only had two full days in this city and wanted to take full advantage of the two days. Guangzhou is a diverse yet so chaotic of a city. But, I loved it!

Day 2 kicked off with an early morning site visit to China's second largest asset management firm. We had a sit down Q&A session with the managing director and managing HR director of the company and learned so much about investing in China. It was definitely a wonderful opportunity and another great site visit!

Following the site visit, we changed and adventured out to find some Nigerian food! Authentic Nigerian food is the bomb dot com! So glad we were able to better understand the Nigerian culture and we made a few friends along the way.

With a full stomach, we headed to a park to check out a few museums. For some reason the blue line group just really enjoys amusement parks because after the museums, we stumbled upon yet another amusement park. We spent an hour at the bumper cars and we drew a crowd around the pen. We were quite the attraction! Bumped out, we headed to dim sum for dinner and then the Canton Tower. Y'all, there are no words to describe the beauty of the Canton Tower! This 484m high tower is lighted up at night and has a gorgeous view of the Pearl River Delta. I fell in love! One of the attractions at the Canton Tower is the SkyDrop. Pretty much your standing up, strapped up, and you drop along the outside of the Canton Tower at a slant. Alex, Matt, Madison, and I thought, "Why not? You only live once!" So we dropped 30m (about 100ft) and we yelled like BABIES. It's such a peaceful ride up, overlooking the entire city and ALL OF A SUDDEN, THEY DROP YOU. The operators thought we were adorable so they gave us one extra ride. Honestly, there are no words to describe that feeling! It's terrifying...yet liberating. Makes you really appreciate life as your life flashes before your eyes. Once we were able to feel the ground again, we just laid on the ground for half an hour in silence staring at the Tower.

The Canton Tower! The structure changes colors every few seconds. What a sight to see!

City of Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta

Sat in on a dress rehearsal at the Sun-Yat-Sen Memorial



My last day in Guangzhou was quite interesting. We were all having a ton of fun and all of a sudden we had a little run in with the police. Nothing too major but I'm glad that we were all able to get out of that situation together! My last night on this trip was great! We all pulled all nighters (as I had an early flight back to Beijing) with some drinks, heart-to-hearts, and card games. I've grown close with the four other people on the trip and I couldn't have asked for a better group to travel with! Thank you so much Blue Line!

Shenzhen the Land of Leisure

We were all VERY glad to wake up early and grab an early flight out of Wenzhou to Shenzhen. But, of course a visit to a city would never be complete without a bit of drama. My question is: WHY must cab drivers feel the need to take advantage of foreigners? Honestly, I don't want to deal with your nonsense at 7 in the morning. Never in my life have I met someone as dishonest nor manipulative as this cab driver. And never in my life have I ever raised my voice like that at someone NOR do I ever want to again. After getting out of that cab ride, I just felt AWFUL for having to yell at someone. NEVER AGAIN.

I was so happy to land in Shenzhen and put behind the morning drama that had taken place. Shenzhen was going to be a happy city! I mean, HELLOOOOO it's the richest city in China! Shenzhen is filled with malls and amusement parks. That's pretty much the entire city. No, I'm being completely serious here! People in Shenzhen have the money to spend! ...as did we. After realizing that we had not been spending much of the money we had been given, the five of us treated ourselves to an amazing, 5-star dinner. I about melted in my seat from all the delicious food we ordered. Steak, salmon, sushi, curry, chicken, pasta... Well deserved treat, I say!

Window of the World Amusement Park

 

The rest of our time in Shenzhen consisted of: site visit with Lexmark, melting in the sun, haggling at the biggest electronics market, trying to see the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, drinking these REFRESHING mango drinks, and also causing a scene at said mango drink store.

I visited both of China's only stock exchanges--one in Shenzhen, one in Shanghai



Most refreshing drinks ever!

Had a wax apple for the first time. Absolutely delish!

It's always an adventure on the Blue Line!

Why Are We in Wenzhou?

"Why are we in Wenzhou?" This question ran through all of our minds...multiple times during our two day stay.

When I thought Hangzhou had very few foreigners, I should've waited for Wenzhou. I'm pretty sure that my friends and I were one of the only few foreigners in Wenzhou besides the Turkish ice cream guy we met. We got some weird stares, people chattered, people pointed.

We got into Wenzhou our first day pretty late so the only thing we had time to do was find some dinner. Thing is, our hotel wasn't really in a "commercial" part of town so we settled on a hole-in-the-wall restaurant on the side of the street. The group decided to pick a restaurant that served Fuzhou-cuisine. If you all know anything about me, you know that this was done intentionally because my family is from Fuzhou. The group wanted to try some authentic Fuzhou food.

After a few confused looks from the owner of the restaurant, we finally got some home-cooked food and chowed down. Over a table full of food and beverages, we all sat around enjoying food and sharing stories with one another. My favorite kind of night!

Funny thing about Wenzhou? There isn't even a full page of things to do in this city in our travel book. Since we didn't have a site visit in this city, we thought: "Why not hit up the amusement park?" The second I got off that ferry and stepped onto that island/amusement park, I started laughing. We all felt as though we were in the Twilight Zone. SERIOUSLY. No one was there and it was completely silent except for the creepy music playing. There really are no words to describe this place.

Sad how this one photo sums up Wenzhou and our time in this city

Top: View of Wenzhou before boarding the ferry to the island

Bottom Left: Tower on the island

Bottom Middle: We decided to have some fun on a kid's playground. Two grown men on a swingset?

Bottom Right: We were highly entertained by the Turkish ice cream man.

Wenzhou was extremely odd and to be honest, I don't even know how exactly to describe this city.

Let's Get Down to Business Shanghai Style

I can't believe that today was my last full day in Shanghai. Reflecting on my day right now, I couldn't have imagined spending it any other way. As a business student, I'm constantly curious to explore business opportunities anywhere I go. Being in Shanghai doesn't change that. In fact, it only made me even more interested. Shanghai is China's commericial and financial center. The city is FILLED with these tall skyscrapers, especially Pudong where all the businesses are.

Day 3
Exploring Pudong District only made me want to live in Shanghai that much more. It consists of clean streets, modern buildings, cute shopping retailers, China's Wall Street, and the list could go on forever. Madison, Andrea, and I hit up the Shanghai World Financial Center, International Finance Center, as well is Jinmao Tower.

While being surrounded by these buildings, I found myself thinking "THIS is why I became a finance specialization. THIS is why I need to work hard and stick with it." It was just an incredible feeling being there.

The Shanghai World Financial Center was my favorite building. SWFC is the tallest skyscraper in mainland China and is the world's third tallest building. The building is shaped like a handlebar/bottlecap opener.

Such a beautiful building. I WANT TO WORK HERE!

Jinmao Tower. The detailing on this building is absolutely insane in a mesmerizing way.

After falling in love with these financial buildings, we came across a macaroon shop in Pudong. I have never had a macaroon before and have always wanted to. I thought, why not. Let's go! The lady at the shop said that the most popular flavor was Tiramisu so I went with it. It was delicious and I am now officially hooked!



I was extremely tempted to buy one of every kind. Unfortunately, a price tag of 10 kuai for each one was a little out of my price range.

 

With my macaroon in hand, the three of us hopped onto the subway and headed to Shanghai Fudan University. This campus is the complete opposite of my university in Beijing, Peking University. Peking University is one of China's ivy league schools ranked at number 1. The campus has these buildings incorporating China's history and culture. On the other hand, Fudan University is ranked at number 3 and the campus is modern and very open. It reminded me of an American college campus with its quad! Quad-ing anyone?

 

The main attraction at the Fudan University campus: the Two Towers

 

At the gate of Fudan University

 

My three days in Shanghai were incredible! I have a feeling that I will be seeing Shanghai VERY SOON.

 

Next up: Hangzhou!

 

Hanging out at The Bund

There was no way I could write 3 days worth of Shanghai fun in one post. It would be a novel.

Day 2
We woke up the second day refreshed and ready to take on Shanghai. Who cares if it was suppose to rain! One hour into our day we realized that rain wasn't necessarily going to be our main problem of the day. Instead, humidity was our biggest enemy. I was definitely not expecting Shanghai to be this hot or this humid so early! Nevertheless, my roommate Andrea and I braved it and spent the day exploring The Bund. The area is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Shanghai. Historic western buildings, modern skyscrapers, terrific shopping with multiple plazas, and a beautiful Huangpu River waterfront.

Best way to spot The Bund? The Oriental Pearl Tower!

A few snapshots of the day for you!

As much as I love seeing the landmarks of a city, I will admit it's not my favorite part about traveling. In my opinion, the best way to experience a city is through their food. I am a lover of food and the best part of my second day in Shanghai was eating, of course! We stumbled across this great food court where there were desserts everywhere and a few other very interesting food stands. Let's just say, a ton of business ideas were firing away in my brain as I walked through this area. It really brought out the differences between Shanghai and Beijing. Shanghai is a city that loves cute desserts as well as...CUPCAKES.

Not entirely sure what these are, but they looked too beautiful to eat!

Donuts are a HIT in Shanghai.

After browsing the stands for a long time (more like drooling), we finally decided on a french fry stand. The line was long so we figured that was a good sign! Who knew Montenegro knew a thing or two about french fries? There were too many options to choose from! The most popular selection was the Japanese Wasabi one as well as the Honey Mustard one. Unfortunately, they sold out of both flavors! So, Andrea went with the chili on regular fries and I opted for the cheddar/mozzarella on zesty curly fries. We topped the order off with an order of chicken nuggets. BEST DECISION EVER.

I asked this kid for recommendations and he suggested the chicken nuggets. Smart kid!

 

Dreaming of these at this very moment.

 

 

Day 2 in Beijing left me with a full stomach and very satisfied!

Romping Around Shanghai

Spending my last night in Shanghai blogging about my adventures! The lady at the hotel bar was kind enough to let me hole up in a corner, blast my Spotify playlist, and work away on the WIFI. Very grateful!

I have loved every second in Shanghai and am in love with this city. It is completely different than Beijing in that it's very modern and business oriented. Such a bummer that I haven't been able to blog every day but let me catch you up right now.

Day 1
We left Beijing Friday night on an overnight train to Shanghai. The train was MUCH better than what I had envisioned. I thought we were going to be sitting in seats for the entire twelve hours but instead we had these soft sleepers. Each compartment had four beds which was perfect for us. The four of us kindly asked some natives to allow us to all move into one compartment and one of the guys was in a different compartment. We stayed up chatting away, getting to know one another, and playing cards. We woke up early Saturday morning, got off the train and rushed over to the hotel to drop our luggage off. With a 10 minute time limit, we got changed into business casual and jumped into a cab to our first site visit. I'm pretty sure that we scared our cab driver because the five of us squeezed into a tiny cab and forced him to drive. Pretty much, I felt as though I were in America's Next Top Model headed out on a go-see.

After sitting in the cab for an hour we finally reached our first site and it was a marine engineering company. They build ships, yachts, platforms, and all kinds of different structures. It was definitely a good warm-up first site visit to get myself back into the swing of being a business student. The company was so incredibly welcoming to us and even gave us a sneak peek into their 3D simulation program. RAD.

Later on in the day we headed back into the city and hit up Yuyuan Gardens. I've heard great things about the garden and it didn't fail! There were little ponds with fish, pretty archways, and the scenery was beautiful!

Mini photo shoot with my trip-roomies at Yuyuan Gardens

It was a great first day to kick off the Shanghai leg of our study trip. Day 2 coming up in the next post!

Headed Down the Coast of China

I am packed (well somewhat packed) and ready to head down the coast of China for two weeks. Within the next two weeks, I along with 4 other students will be visiting various cities along the coast of China in order to study the economic development of China. These cities include: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, and finally Guangzhou. Although there will be site visits in each of these cities, there will also be plenty of time to be tourists and adventure around. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the growth of a couple of these cities since I last saw them in 2005.

The two-week adventure will start tonight on an overnight train to Shanghai. I'll have internet access (or at least I hope so) so keep your eyes out for updates on the blog!

ALSO, Happy Birthday to my little brother Michael! I can't believe that the kid is already 19. Is this serious? It's a bit terrifying to say the least. I'm on the hunt for the perfect birthday present for him and I think I've got just the idea!

Birthday boy and I at a Redskins game last season. Can't wait to be back and watch RG3 rock the stadium!

TGIF!

Happy Draft Day!

I finished my semester with my internship today and it was so tough saying goodbye to everyone! But, who knows...maybe I'll be back...VERY soon! The greatest thing though is that all of the interns and I are already planning trips to see one another. So exciting!

Now, it's time to pack. Totally dreading this process. However, I will suck it up and just get it over with. Do you know what I'm excited about though? THE NFL DRAFT. It's one of my most favorite events of the year because it officially kicks off the season. Oh how I miss football during the off-season. Can't wait till the second pick of the draft! REDSKINS WILL BE DRAFTING RG3. They better!!! I absolutely am STOKED for RG3 to grace DMV with his presence and hopefully bring life back to the franchise.

It also means that I am THAT much more excited to get tickets for 'Skins games this fall.

Pure talent right here

BUH-BYE Rex. HELLOOOOOO RG3!

Once it's official, I am TOTALLY getting one of these shirts and will sport it proudly!

SO excited for the draft! I will be up quite early to catch some of the action. I promise I won't live tweet the draft this year (except for the major draft picks of course!).

Happy Draft Day! HTTR!



Finals, Papers, and Presentations? Check, check, and CHECK.

I am officially done with classes for the semester here in Beijing! My brain is dead after a two and a half hour Chinese exam early this morning and a four hour long night class tonight. After presenting my last PowerPoint and handing in that final paper, it felt as though a weight was instantly lifted off my shoulders.

To be honest, I can't believe classes are finally over. It flew by way too fast! And it really hit me today that I am leaving Beijing...in 2 days. Is this serious?? Where has this semester gone!?

So, classes are done. All that's left is one more day of interning. Once again, I can't believe tomorrow is my last day interning at Octagon. The goodbyes will be tough. I will be savoring every moment of it!

PS. In a couple of hours, it will be the 26th in Beijing. Tweet @johnisner and wish the guy a happy birthday!

...Club La Bamba???

I AM STILL ALIVE.

Finals has got me in a completely crazy state of mind. I never would have thought finals abroad would be stressful but let me tell you, I definitely underestimated Beijing. I have been swamped with papers, presentations, and studying for those finals. The amount of time that I've logged at Starbucks is quite impressive and the baristas all know me now (I do spend about 7-10 hours a day in there).

What my days have been looking like since last Friday.



Tomorrow night. 10pm. I will officially be done with finals! One more day of interning on Thursday and then I'm off for a two-week study trip down the coast of China. Unfortunately I still have a paper due a week after the trip but we'll push that aside for now. I'm qutie excited for this two-week trip because it pretty much equates to two-week time of relaxation and site visits. Not sure how I'm going to pack my entire room up though. ...I guess I should think about that now...

As we're getting ready to wrap up this semester, I realized that it's time to start saying goodbyes. I absolutely hate this part. Some of the greatest friendships have been created in the past few months with a couple of people outside of the CSI program. Tonight we decided to get together one last time for dinner! We headed to this fabulous place called La Bamba. My chimichanga was divine but the music was...questionable. We were having a great time eating and chatting away when all of a sudden the music was cranked up and the lights completely dimmed down. Oh hey, Club La Bamba?

But nevertheless, I had a fabulous time with my roommate Andrea and our friends Marcus and Leah. (Just realized we didn't take pictures!) It was a well deserved study break. I love the fact that we can have such a deep and meaningful conversation one minute and the next we're talking about Carly Rae Jepsen and other things that have us dying from laughter. I'm going to miss those two so much! Saying goodbye was too tough BUT we already have plans for a DC trip as well as trip to visit Leah and learn how to wind surf.

Alright, BACK TO STUDYING.

Goodbye Beach, Hello School

Waking up early Monday morning and doing homework before class was rough. I already miss the beach!

Qingdao Day #2

The day started off early as we wanted to take advantage of our last few hours in Qingdao. Did we really go to the Tsingtao brewery at 9am? Yes, yes we did. It was really cool to see the history of Tsingtao beer as well as seeing the current manufacturing and packaging system. There were cans and bottles of Tsingtao beer being filled, labeled, and packaged. I can't even imagine having a job that requires me to stand all day and stare at cans and bottles! My favorite part of the brewery would have to be seeing the marketing and PR of the company through the years. I gotta admit, it could use some work. The funniest part though would have to be the Drunk House. It was this interactive/optical illusion building and it definitely threw me off balance as I walked through. Definitely an attractive spot of brewery tour.

After our ridiculous 9am tour of the Tsingtao brewery, we took a mini tour of the city while sitting in a cab en route to the beach. The city is quite beautiful with its Western influenced buildings. Back in the day Qingdao was controlled by Germany so the city is filled with German influences. It was so pleasant to see pretty single family homes in China. The little things that I miss!

Day 2 on the beach was even more fabulous than day 1. We were on a true, legitimate beach (not the pier) and it was sunny and balmy out. I had an absolute blast sitting around, baby watching, and spending time journaling. I swear, I was made for the water. There are very few things that beat the sound of waves crashing, the smell of saltwater, the satisfaction of sinking my feet in sand, and the feeling of sun-kissed skin.

Appropriately, we ended our Qingdao trip with a seafood feast! Qingdao was fabulous and a great de-stressing weekend.

Tsingtao Brewery

too many wedding photo shoots on the beach

riding first class on our way back to Beijing! ...not worth it. seriously.



Basking in the....Cold?

Qingdao Day #1.

So I guess we were VERY wrong about the weather? How is it possible that it is warmer by approximately 20 degrees in Beijing than it is here in Qingdao. I'm slightly concerned. After hauling our tire selves to the train station at 5:00am on Saturday we FINALLY arrived to Qingdao by noon. Checked in to the hostel, dropped our bags off, and immediately went exploring.

We stumbled across a busy food street by accident and basically gorged on seafood the entire afternoon. After getting our fix of clams, shrimp, and grilled squid on sticks, we finally hit up the beach. Oh how cold it was!! After trying to bear the cold for awhile, we finally gave in and purchased the cheesiest fleece blanket to bundle ourselves up in. Best RMB 29 I've spent. Bundled up, we began to do what we do best: PEOPLE WATCH. Children are simply too adorable here.

The beach, while GORGEOUS, was not particularly the cleanest. Trash everywhere, people spit and do their personal business on the sand, and in general I don't even want to think about what I stepped in. As we packed our belongings up and headed off the sand, people were so fascinated by the fact that Rachael and I were Americans. A few conversations were struck and we made a couple of new "friends." We actually met the smartest girl ever. She was five years old and spoke Chinese, Spanish, and English. Talk about impressive.

What did we end our night with? More seafood and fresh brewed beer. Both exhausted, we headed back to the hostel and hung out in the cafe. Old souls...or I just am.

Driving through the country-side

Rachael and I gorging on seafood while visiting Food Street

Sunset at the beach

Dinner!

love this



Worst Trip Planners Ever

So Rachael and I had the BIGGEST fail of our lives yesterday (Friday). After her Chinese class, we threw everything into a bag and RAN to the train station...only to find out that there were no more tickets available for the day. Seriously? Who's going to Qingdao?? We ended up booking tickets for the next morning (Saturday morning) for a 7:10am train. Waking up at 4:30 was not pleasant whatsoever.

In order to redeem ourselves last night from our poor trip planning, we wound up embracing the "freebird status." I'm quite in love with this term that my Little cMm created while she's abroad in London. "Freebird status" is pretty self-explanatory: doing things for the heck of it because you only live once. So last night, Rachael, Andrea (my roommate), and I decided to adventure around the city. The first task on the list was to hit up a bookstore to find some beach reads. After walking out of the store empty-handed, we hopped onto the metro and headed out to find a Russian restaurant.

Russian restaurants in China? Interesting. The entire restaurant was mainly Chinese and was owned by a Chinese native. The funniest moment of the night would have to be our little sour cream debacle. Rachael had asked for some sour cream for our potato pancakes and guess what the waiter brought out. ...cream. We all burst out laughing because it was COMPLETELY off target but we survived without the sour cream. At the end of the meal the sour cream came back into the hilarity of the entire night. The waiter wound up charging us RMB 5 for the tablespoon of "sour cream." We honestly could not believe it.

All in all, I'm glad we missed the train on Friday night and had our little Russian dinner adventure.

***Poor Internet connection means no pictures available right now***

I'm currently in Qingdao right now typing up this post. It's been a great first day! However, it has now been affirmed that I am not a hostel-type of gal. My friend Sam is 100% correct whenever he calls me high-maintenanced.

Headed out for the Weekend!

TGIF! Registration was a success! I was able to get into all of the sections I wanted. Next semester will most likely be my toughest semester: Private Wealth Management, Export/Import Management, International Marketing, Investment Analysis, and Business Policy and Strategy. It's a bit terrifying!

Just one more class and then my friends and I will be booking it to the train station to catch a train to Qingdao. Can't wait for this trip. All I can say is, beach, sunshine, endless amounts of seafood, and a brewery. Sounds like the most relaxing trip ever.

I'm not sure of the wifi situation in the hostel but if I can't connect onto the internet, see you all on Monday!

April and Cake Place

Happy April!

Can y'all believe it's April already? The first quarter of the year is already done. Where is 2012 going!? April is also the last month that I will be at Peking University. One more month of classes, just one more month.

My friend Rachael and I celebrated the first day of April by having a laid back day. We headed over to our favorite little cafe/study nook. After a delicious brunch, we planned out our traveling plans and hit the books for awhile. While heading back to the bus stop we saw this massive line of people waiting at a food stand. Every day, all day there is always a line in front of this food stand. Being the spontaneous individuals that we are, we got in line and decided we wanted to see what the craze was all about. All we knew about the food stand was that it sold some kind of cake but we figured that if so many people were in line for this every day, it MUST be good. (Later on a friend pointed out how it's ridiculous that we waited for something we didn't even know.)

After waiting in line for an hour and a half, we FINALLY got to the window. Rachael and I dubbed this place the "Georgetown Cupcake of Beijing." Long lines and people taking pictures as they passed by. We paid 10 kuai for a bag full of cake and immediately dug into the bag of cake. IT WAS DELICIOUS! It was made with some kind of fruit and the cake was amazing. So moist (yes, I hate this word but it perfectly describes the cake) and not too sweet.

Top (L): The "Georgetown Cupcake of Beijing" cake stand

Top (R): Rachael and I "patiently" waiting in line

Bottom (L): Happily eating our long-awaited cake

Bottom (R): Yummy cake in bag

It was a perfect cake-filled day to celebrate the start of April!

Beijing Job Fair

Last Friday my Chinese professor was nice enough to cancel class and take us on a little adventure to a job fair. As always, I didn't really know what to fully expect. My expectations were pretty low though as my professor told us that we didn't have to be in full professional dress; casual was fine.

The job fair was generally targetted towards those in the IT industry. The venue was quite small and only had a few booths. Although the event didn't exactly align with my major and career aspirations, it was still a great experience to attend a job fair in a different country. I have realized that many of the job opportunities in China are IT, service, and sales related. Interesting, right? All of the companies and recruiters were extremely laid back and not many of them were dressed in professional suits. When I sat down to talk with them it had nothing to do with the job. I'm pretty sure they were more interested in talking to an American than actually hiring me.

Overall, it was a great experience. I'm really looking forward to one of the job fairs in April with multinational corporations. I will be all over that.