Nanjing, Day 8 - Pineapple Express

I woke up early this morning in the hopes of connecting to gmail. Epic fail. Unfortunately I think there may be a Chinese conspiracy because google and gmail just don’t work. Realizing my efforts were futile, I resigned myself to reviewing my Chinese before my 8 am class. It was a good thing I reviewed my characters because my professor had us all memorize the entire lesson (written in Chinese characters) and then recite it to the class.  After getting through class I decided it was worth rewarding myself with a mini pineapple.  In Nanjing some of the best food is from the street vendors. Not only is SUPER cheap but it’s also ridiculously delicious. Around campus, the vendors sell fresh fruit like pineapples, watermelon, and apples. I couldn’t stop myself from buying a pineapple to eat as a snack before our afternoon dialogue especially when the weather was 很热 (very hot). I didn’t think this purchase through and it resulted with me walking around with a mini pineapple without a knife. I decided the only choice I had was to dive into the pineapple head first (literally) and it just ended with me getting my entire face sticky.
Post pineapple, my classmates and I had our first dialogue of Nanjing. We had the opportunity to meet with Patricia Enzmann, the general manager of the EU Chamber of Commerce in Nanjing. She explained to us how the EU Chamber of Commerce functions in Nanjing and explained to us what it is they do. Basically the main goal of the EU Chamber of Commerce is to be the “independent voice of European business in China”. They serve to establish constructive dialogue with the Chinese authorities and create a working network within China. Being a Biochemistry major, my understanding of most of the discussion was pretty limited. However I was able to ascertain that essentially the EU Chamber of Commerce serves as a lobbying group representing European businesses. They collect the concerns and problems European businesses are having while conducting business in China, and present those concerns to Chinese officials and those in governmental positions.
Although the dialogue we had with Patricia Enzmann was interesting, I find that the only thing I can think of is which street vendor I’m going to go to dinner. The options seem endless and the outcome is almost guaranteed to be delicious!

- Tasha