Nanjing, Day 9 - Same but Different

   By our third full day in Nanjing, I think we’ve all pretty much settled into our daily schedule: wake up, class, lunch, guest speaker, break, language partner, free time/journal/homework.  We’ve all gotten a chance to explore Nanjing a little on our own and maybe get lost once or twice.  As we’ve gone out in search of food, we’ve found that even the normally familiar things are slightly different in China.  For example, Lays potato chips can be found in nearly every convenience store, grocery store, and snack stand.  However, besides “original flavor,” Lays is as foreign as Nanjing’s most famous dish, duck’s blood.  Commonly found Lays flavors include Mexican Tomato Chicken, Italian Sausage, Cucumber, and Blueberry. Even Oreos have taken on new flavors, like raspberry-blueberry and mango-orange.  (If you’re wondering what blueberry potato chips taste like, it’s basically like salty blueberry syrup in crunchy form, and surprisingly not that disgusting.)
    This afternoon our entire group walked over to the Nanjing Stock Exchange where we met our guest speakers, all of whom are currently or once the director or general manager of the Nanjing Stock Exchange.  There we got to learn about the history of the Chinese stock market which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.  The guest speakers explained how the stock market has been able to positively contribute to the Chinese economy.  China’s stock market is now listed number two in the world, just behind the United States, and it has raised 1,000 billion Yuan in funds, making it number one in the world for raising funds.  While some aspects of the stock market were the same or similar to the American stock market, many things were done differently than they are in the American stock market system.  For example, Chinese stock holders like to handle their own stocks and dislike stockbrokers, so everything is electronic and all shares can be traded from the computer or a smart phone.  This was the first year a Northeastern Dialogue has been able to visit this place and it was an incredible opportunity to get to better understand the Chinese economy.
    Learning about the Chinese stock market reinforced the idea that things that some of us are familiar with in the states are always slightly different in China.  Whether it’s Lays potato chips, Oreos, or the stock market, I’m finding that things are different, exciting, and delicious (yes, delicious) in China.

- Lian Partridge