Nanjing, Day 30

Today was the last day of our internships. I had the pleasure of working at Map Magazine with Lian and Mingli, where we got to translate articles into English, copy edit, and even had the opportunity to write short editorials to be published in the July issue. Though we only interned at Map for a week, I'm a bit sad that today was the last day. It was pretty interesting to learn about the magazine industry, especially at a bilingual publication. One of our more interesting assignments was rewriting poorly translated high-end jewelry advertisements. Quite a few laughs were had over the ridiculous, over the top descriptions of Cemni's fine jewelry, such as this gem, "2, the same year, Anderw Mark and wife traveled to Europe, the glass pyramid at the Louvre, he will be faithful lover vows engraved on the fingers."

After we got back from our internships a few of us decided to go to Nanjing's underground mall, Fashion Lady. Fashion Lady has got to be one of the most overwhelming places I've ever been. It's all too easy to get lost in the vast catacombs of stores selling unique Chinese clothing or knockoff handbags. We think the designers of the mall tried to help prevent people from getting lost by having a unique theme for each hallway. One hall was designed to look like a cave, while another looked rather fancy with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There was even a hallway designed to feel like a club with lots of neon lights and bass-heavy music thumping away. Though, I feel that the designers' efforts were in vain, as we were hopelessly lost anyway. While experiencing such a unique shopping experience, it didn't do much good for the ego as every piece of clothing was made for tiny Asian bodies. I guess it's a good thing that fake Louis Vuitton bags are a one size fits all. After we finally found our way back to the surface, the harsh realization of our impending exam hit us. In retrospect, we probably should have used the time spent in the mall to study for our exam, but bargaining for lower prices is a pretty good way to practice Chinese so all was not lost. However I should probably start reviewing, so I'll cut this short. 再见！

－ TJ Beard