The Diaries

July 9, 2009

Final thoughts...

Posted by Nick Hanson

June 24- Today it was very tough to say goodbye to our Chinese friends. We left to go to the airport at 8 am from the hotel and the students went with us to the airport. We said many goodbyes and exchanged many hugs. We will miss our friends and hope to keep in touch!
We flew from Dalian to Shanghai and then from Shanghai to Chicago. When we got on the plane in Shanghai they informed us after sitting on the plane for a half hour that we could not take the suggested route because of excessive turbulence, and that they would have a route and be ready to go in ten minutes. An hour and a half later, we finally took off for Chicago. For thirteen hours I had a 7 year old kid literally pounding his shoulder into the back of my seat, and the lady beside me not caring how much space she took up. We then got to Chicago after a total or 15 hours on that flight and thought we were going to miss our next flight to Cedar Rapids. Luckily it was delayed an hour, which turned into a couple hours. Finally, we got back to Cedar Rapids at 10 pm, where over half of our groups luggage managed to be lost.
Overall, the trip was a great experience and I am very glad that I participated. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I am not trying to catch up on sleep and keeping in touch with our new friends. It is an experience that I will never forget and thank everyone that made this experience possible.
June 23- Today we had a final exercise in our global skills class, and then had a banquet in the evening. The banquet was at a really neat restaurant overlooking the ocean at a table that sat thirty people with a huge lazy susan in the middle. After dinner we then went outside and lit Chinese lanterns, which is similar to a hot air balloon, but with a candle.
June 22- We had our Chinese language assessment, in which Grace (our teacher) told us that we had the best pronunciation. So, I guess we learned more Chinese than we thought we did. For the rest of the day we did a little shopping and relaxed, and then that evening we had an American dinner with the Chinese students, and the others that assisted us in our stay. We made hamburgers, potato salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, and apple crisp. It was very interesting to watch our Chinese friends make their burgers, as some of them had never made one before. This was a great ‘last’ event to hang out with all of our Chinese friends and have some time to relax and visit.
June 20-21- This weekend was very eventful. On Saturday we went to Golden Pebble Beach and toured all around that area. We went to a museum, rock park, shooting range, driving range, and the beach. This was a really cool experience and got to see much more of Dalian. On Sunday, Stewart and I went with a local businessman (Chen Wang, Account Manager) and one of his friends to go do some shopping, to eat, and then went to a golf lesson. Although we could not understand anything they were saying, we could pick up on about everything because he used a lot of gestures, so the lesson was really interesting.
June 19- Today was our last day of classes, so we did the final wrap-up and brushed up on our Chinese. In the afternoon we were supposed to go hike up Big Black Mountain, but unfortunately we got rained out.
June 18- Today we gave our presentations on the US and how some of the things we do work. I gave my presentation on UNI Homecoming and what it is all about. Our presentations were just like we were to do them in school, which is with little or no animation, opposite of the Chinese. After the presentations, one of the Chinese students asked Samantha if we like to make plain presentations. This was a very interesting difference between us and the Chinese
June 17- We started the day again with Chinese and Global skills class, where we continued to be overwhelmed with the difficulty of the Chinese language. That afternoon we went and visited San Te Garment factory in Dalian. This company made very nice men’s suits. It was really interesting to hear her talk about their export market and how they do not like doing business with this US, because we always want the ‘cheap’ product.
June 16- We continued to try and improve our Chinese as well as Global Skills class. In the afternoon we did some Chinese paper cutting. I was a little better a paper cutting than I was at painting, but still was not blessed with art skills. The teacher was very good and made some really neat things.

June 10, 2009

Updates...

Posted by Nick Hanson

June 5-After a good night sleep I was ready to go for the first big day in Beijing. Today we saw Great Wall, Jade Factory, Ming Tomb, Vase Factory, and went to a dinner theatre. At the dinner theatre we saw some really interesting acts. This was a great way to get the trip started and start to understand their culture and way of life.

June 6- After a full day yesterday, we were ready for another full day today. Today we went to Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Silk Factory, Pearl Factory, and a couple other places. After a long day, we all went to the train station to take a train from Beijing to Dalian. As we got on the train it was about 90 degrees and 4 of us had to get ourselves and our stuff into a 6 by 10 ft room that had 4 beds in it. I thought this was going to be the longest night of my life, but as we got settled it did not end up being bad at all. This was a great cultural experience and allowed us to see much more of China. They said that in China, the treatment you get on the train is some of the best.

June 7- We arrived in Dalian and met our Chinese classmates. They were unbelievably happy to meet us and had an extremely warm welcome. They had a sign made for us welcoming us and had a sign on the front of the hotel welcoming us as well. We then went to breakfast and lunch with them and then went on a campus tour. It was amazing to see the similarities and differences that exist between our universities and theirs. In China, you have to take a test in order to get into college and achieve a certain percentile rank, so it is very competitive.

June 8- We had our first day of classes. We started the day off with a Mandarin class where we started to learn the different sounds of Mandarin. We all seemed to struggle a little, just as you would when learning any language. After that we had our global skills class, where we got to meet the rest of our Chinese classmates. All of our classmates are International Trade majors and have very good English. In the afternoon we went to the Dalian port which is just a few miles from the university. The port was absolutely huge. They said the economic slowdown has decreased exports, but imports remain unchanged. This was a great experience, and I learned a lot from it.

This evening we went to dinner with the Vice Major of the Dalian Development area, Dean Moussavi, and Associate Dean Wilson. At this dinner we had what was called hot pot. This is where you have a boiling pot of broth and you pick the raw items off the table to cook for 3-5 minutes to be able to eat it. This was a great cultural experience and very good meal!

June 9- Today we had our second day of classes. We seem to be doing a little better with Mandarin, but today is the last day the Grace, our teacher, is going to speak any English at all, so we will have to see how that goes tomorrow. This afternoon we went on a tour of the Dalian Development Area Headquarters. This was an unbelievable facility, which had a 1:1000 model of the whole development area. The development area used to be just a small fishing village 25 years ago, and now has boomed into what it is today. We then went out with our Chinese classmates and did some sightseeing in the city.

June 10- Today we continued to learn more Chinese as well as Global Skills. After class we went to visit a Canadian business in Dalian called Quacent. Quacent is a pre-fab housing company that uses SIP or Structural Insulated Panels. They essential build the house in pieces, send it to the job site, and it is put together like a jigsaw puzzle. SIPs is insulating built into the pieces that they are sending. This is supposed to be a much more energy efficient house. We then went out for Chris’ birthday. Our Chinese friends treated her very well, and we had a very good time together.

June 11- Today we started out the day as normal, with Chinese class and Global Skills class. In Chinese class we are seeming to finally get some of the simple phrases. We all got Chinese names the other day, mine being Da Sheng. When I got it, the girls told me that it meant superhero, like a Chinese Superman, but today another instructor told me that it means Monkey that causes mischief in heaven. So, I am not really sure what it means after all. After classes today we then went back and had a Chinese painting class, where I realize no matter my location in the world, I still have not artistic ability. We then went and enjoyed some KFC and walked around a local mall. Another great day!

June 12- Today was another day of us continuing to struggle with Chinese, but beginning to improve quite a bit. After class we went to Gala Candle factory and took a tour of that. It was very interesting that they employed about 300 people this time of year and do not sell candles domestically due to intellectual property. That evening, we went out with some of the Chinese students and played pool, darts, foosball, and learned more about each other and each other’s culture.

June 13- Today we had a full day out on the town. We got on the bus at 8:00 am and headed to the aquarium. At the aquarium we saw a couple really neat shows with dolphins and sea lions. While we were there we also did a Zip Line over the water, an experience that I had never had! We went from there to a Chinese Opera. This was a very traditional Chinese experience, and was very interesting. We then went and did some shopping and then went on a night tour of Dalian. This is a very neat city, and looks really cool at night.

June 14- Today we got on the bus at 9:00 am and headed out on the city again. We started by going to a famous park in Dalian where we rode a ride similar to that of the Sling Shot that can be found in the states. You are in a couple seats with a cage around you, and it shoots you into the air and spins you, as well. We then went to the Russian district and did some shopping there. We are now getting ready to go out and do some karaoke with our Chinese friends, so Stewart and I are the room getting our singing voices ready!

June 15- We began today just like any other, with Chinese class and Global Skills class. During our global skills class, the Chinese students gave 10 minute presentations on everything from history, sightseeing, relationships, to economics. These presentations were very well researched and thought out, but were put together a little different than we are taught. They use a lot of animations, where we are taught to use minimal animations in the US. In the afternoon we then went to a very interesting technology company that just came to Dalian in February, called Counter Mast Technologies. This company makes doors and openers, but does not do any business in the US at this time. This evening we went to a BBQ restaurant with Cindy, Chero, and John. It was a kind of Chinese food that we had not had yet, where I managed to try chicken heart and cow tongue.

May 22, 2009

First Thoughts

Posted by Nick Hanson

June 1- The fact that I am going to China is finally starting to hit me, but I do not think I realize what a trip this could be. My bags are ready and packed sitting on the floor, and every time I look at them I am thinking about what I could be forgetting. This will be the first time that I have really been out of the country, let alone halfway across the world. I am looking forward to an experience of a lifetime, and really don’t know what to expect.

June 3- The day that I thought would never come is finally here. It is 6:30 am and the bags are packed, sitting by the door and waiting. The group arrives at my house and we get the truck packed and ready to go. I did not realize how much stuff five people could have. We had the back of the truck stuffed so full that we have to tie the truck lid shut. We got to Cedar Rapids with no bags falling out of the truck, and got all checked in. Next thing I knew, it was 9:30 and we were on the plane and heading to Chicago. When we got to Chicago, we had a couple hour layover, so we ate a little, and played Monopoly to pass the time. At about noon we began boarding the plane for Beijing. I had never been in any vehicle for 13 hours and not been able to get out, so I was a little nervous on how this would work. As I got on the plane I noticed that the seats I was walking by were fairly big, so I was thinking this might not be that bad after all. As I got about 3 rows from my seat, the seats got drastically smaller. I looked at it, and thought I was going to have claustrophobia before I even sat down. I sat down and the sweat began to fall from my forehead as I thought there was no way I could sit in a seat, no larger than a domestic flight, for 13 hours. I took a couple deep breathes, put my headphones in and decided I didn’t really have a choice at this point, I had to find a way to make it. About 5 minutes after we got off the ground, my head hit the window and I was asleep for a couple hours. I slept most all of the flight except to eat and watch one movie, Mall Cop. They served us three meals on the plane, which was more than enough, but I kept eating them because I was not sure when the next time we could eat was. Right after then got all of the trays taken from the last meal, they told us to buckle up and prepare for landing. At this point, I knew I could be in trouble after eating right before landing. As I was opening my window to watch as we landed I realized that I had not stood up once from my seat the WHOLE flight. Yes, that means I did not go to the restroom or anything in 13 hours. At the same time I realized that I had not moved, I realized how dehydrated I must be to not have used the restroom yet, and how this landing could be very bad. As we began to approach Beijing the turbulence on the plane made it feel like a roller coaster. I began to feel like I was going to throw up and it took all the concentration and deep breathes in my body to keep it down. We finally made the landing at about 2:30 pm Beijing time (1:30 am Iowa time), but not without making it the roughest landing I have ever experienced in a plane. We then had to have people come on the plane to take our temperatures to make sure that no one on the plane had the swine flu.

We got through all of the customs things, met our tour guide in Beijing for the next two days and now we were ready to head to the hotel. We got all checked in, got our bags in, and then laid down for a nap. What I thought would be a couple hour nap turned into 13 hours of sleep.

China Diaries

Kelly

China Tour

Samantha

Nick

Stewart

Joe

Alex

Faculty Members

Christine

Gordon

David

Map of China

July 9, 2009

Final thoughts...

June 10, 2009

Updates...

May 22, 2009

First Thoughts

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