Thursday, June 16, 2011

Final Post

So it’s over! Many of the students headed back to the States today, with a few taking the opportunity to explore the country more. It’s been a very hectic intense six weeks. Guess it will take the students, and me, a while to recover. The Dialogue is certainly challenging physically, with long days, short nights, and occasional jogging in between. The program is also tough intellectually. Besides cramming one-semester worth of language courses into four weeks, the students are constantly challenged to observe, reflect and examine themes, ideas or problems from a different perspective. They are confronted to answer many hard questions as complex as China is.  The end of the program is emotionally draining too, as many of us have formed strong bonding with each other, the host family, the language partner, the internship mentor, the random people we talk to on the street, and the country itself. But I’m sure many of us will find our way back soon, by which time many familiar faces will already be waiting for us.
Zaijian!

-Hua Dong     

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Shanghai, Day 37

>

>
> Today's the last day. Pretty weird feeling we've all got. It seems that after spending every day immersing ourselves in the culture, we're about to yanked out so quickly. Today was the last discussion day, and we were all over the place. In short, we definitely were making reflections on our experience, but also discussed the contradictions we've been finding in different speakers. In this huge country, though, I guess it's easy to find these contradictions.
> Afterwards, we headed out to the China Business Network channel of Shanghai Radio and TV and got to talk to the "head honchos" of the network. We were literally on the set of some huge Shanghai TV stations. Some of us took pictures on set, and some got to see what we looked like on screen. One of the more interesting aspects of the trip was when we heard from the big producer himself that the most difficult part of his job was dealing with "his bosses". What he meant by this was the government, and I guess it only reinforced all of our presumptions on China's government being a bit authoritative (to say the least). Pretty interesting stuff.
> After splitting up into smaller groups and wandering the city (I myself found a neat alleyway which was filled with antiques), we met up at Taishousi, a Japanese restaurant. Lots of sushi, lots of delicious Japanese cuisine, and a whole lot of us vocalizing our appreciation for one another, especially Hua Dong. Cedric started us off with his own personal toast to her for her awesome… teacher-ship I guess is the word, and a whole lot of other students followed. It was a good night, and though the closure is there, I guess it will still take a while to adjust to living back in America. I'm sure most of us will be back soon, though. I know I will.
>
> - Malcome M.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Shanghai, Day 36

Today we finally met the faces behind the ever-so-helpful voices at
http://chinesepod.com. Jenny and John showed us just how much effort
goes into putting out their daily casts. With complete radio studios
and a full staff, it is no wonder they have such a huge fanbase. Their
western perspective on learning Chinese also plays a large role in
their success. 70% of their users come from America and John has
struggled through everything they have.
        Later on, we stopped by the global powerhouse General Electric. Their
existence and growth is a clear indication of how American companies
can grow quickly in this environment. We were given free objects which
could only be described as stapler-like gadgets to play with. We were
told to figure out what they do. This type of thinking out of the box
is a signature of GE. We also saw the future of clean technology
through various interactive displays on their compound. The most
intriguing of which is a train from Shanghai to Tibet that can carry
passengers even though the weather is extreme.
        Finally, we stopped by the house of Li Bin, a wealthy artist who had
been doing drawings since he was a red guard in China. Having a live
talk at a house was a nice change of pace. His daughter even came home
from Germany while he gave us a talk! His paintings were magnificent
and satirical. For instance, the one posted took him 2 years with some
assistants.

- James S.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Shanghai, Day 35

Since our descent on Shanghai - and a jarring transition from the low-key, down-to-earth lifestyle of Nanjing - the most consistent feeling among our group continues to be "overwhelmed." A city of 20 million, and only one among +100 Chinese cities over 1 million compared to the US' 10 such cities, Shanghai - from but a passing glance - begins to rival New York. With the luxurious Graceland hotel as our base of operations and a long day's rest from the night before, today was a contrast to our precious time off. With a day starting at 8 AM, we returned to contrasting Chinese and Western business through two talks, one from a German entrepreneur and the other a Chinese national. The usual cliches came up: a historical focus on practical excellence over creative freethinking, the importance of guanxi, and the Chinese language as key to unlocking the rest of China's secrets. Unique, however, were the personal insights offered by our German host. Among them, he stressed giving the Chinese specific directions: the difference between having a machine fixed and broken further can be as small a mistake as a vague command, but be specific yet non-confrontational with your needs and the Chinese will astound you.
Such was the case at GM Shanghai - touring the factory floor was like stepping into a bleak sort of future, with machines increasingly more preset than humans. Still, workers blazed through the assembly line as an example of Chinese efficiency and cars were being churned out with not just speed but precision. Still, at $10,000 a car, some corners were cut - these fine-looking autos don't meet Western environmental regulations, and as authentic as they look, are not purchasable Stateside, much less street legal.
While the true exploration of industry was a welcome perspective, the day peaked at our arrival at the Pudong side of Shanghai from our home in the east side. The skyscrapers claw at the heavens, truly, here more so than anywhere else. More accurately, they "bottle open" " the heavens - the city's premiere landmark (until the construction is finished on the next tallest building, a swirling spire to be the world's second tallest construct) is the World Financial Center, +90 floors peaking at an observation deck looking much like an homage to China's lack of alcohol regulation. Further speakers contextualized Shanghai's big - and indeed politically forced - boom, and more than that, pointed us towards the future. The whole of modern Shanghai was constructed in the last 20 years, primarily through city planning that amounted to government coercion of financial institutions in forcing banks to open Pudong offices and creating a central park at the focal point. Yet for its possibly shady inception, Shanghai looks beautiful by nightfall. The modern Pudong financial world center across the historic European-inspired colonial era Bund district on the Puxi shore are like no other place in the world. However, with Shanghai approaching sleek but anonymous modernity at the cost of less practical historic beauty, the question remains: if 20 years created this Shanghai, what will the next 20 bring?

- Michael G.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Shanghai, Day 34

Today was our first and last free day of the trip. It was real nice to
have the chance to really catch up on some sleep. Shanghai is probably
my favorite city in the entire world. Moving here completely changed
my life, and even spending two years here I still have so much to
find. It feels so great to finally be back, I can’t believe I am only
going to spend a few days here. There is just so much to do and see,
it’s almost hard to decide what to do with our free time. Today Tommy
Greb and I went into Pudong, right around the area I used to live in.
We went to the fake market to buy some gifts and souvenirs to bring
back with us. It’s always fun to bargain with the shop owners to get
the lowest price. I think we did pretty well. We also ate at a really
good German restaurant that I used to eat at when I lived here, called
Hofbrauhaus. It’s incredible how much this city changes in such a
short amount of time. We went to the Lu Jia Zui area also and there is
so many new additions that have been put there in the 16 months since
I was here last, including a huge sky bridge over the intersection and
a lot of new shops. Pudong is really becoming a lot different than it
used to be.
The weather wasn’t too nice today, it was so cloudy that you couldn’t
even see the tops of tall buildings (which are everywhere). For me, I
think the city looks best at nighttime. All of the buildings look
really cool being lit up in so many different ways. The combination of
all the lights really makes the skyline look amazing. If it wasn’t so
hazy all the time it would look even better.
Now that we are here in Shanghai, I really feel this trip is winding
down. It’s kind of disappointing, this trip has gone by really fast
and I’m not ready to leave yet. We have put so many great experiences
into such a small amount of time. The time really flies by when you
are busy, and having so much fun at the same time. I have learned more
about China than ever before, and now see it in an even newer light. I
will surely enjoy these next few days in China, and I will also surely
miss this place very much when I leave. At least I know China will
welcome me with open arms a year from now when I am back.

- Michael M.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Shanghai, Day 33

After a month in Nanjing, having gone through our homestays and Anhui, I think we have all started to consider Nanda our home. Now four weeks have quickly flown by and it’s time to leave.
 
I was personally really excited to head for Shanghai. I have heard from somewhere that Shanghai is like the Paris of China. When we arrived, I immediately saw the difference in architect and style that makes Shanghai a city loved by so many.
 
We took a two-hour bullet train ride to Shanghai. It was very comfortable. I think most of us were surprised by the comfort of the train, as the past two times took us by surprise. This time I literally felt like I was on a plane.
 
We had some time to explore the area before dinner, so we wandered around the supermarket nearby. It became clear to us that we were in Shanghai when we saw the price increase of our usual snacks. Our hotel rooms came with a scale and as we were depressed about our excessive weight gain since China, here we are severely snacking right before dinner again.
 
Afterwards, we were welcomed with a very delicious dinner at our hotel alongside our guest speak for the day, Jesse Parker. He spoke of how much China has developed over the past 50 years. The US is amazing in the sense that we have become what we are today in the matter only 200 years of existence. It’s been unheard of before. But China is just recently beginning. Looking out at Shanghai during our ride to the hotel, you can definitely see urban life here. And what makes China even more amazing is that its only been these past 50 years that have brought China from an agrarian society to what it is today.

- Linda K.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Nanjing, Day 32

Wow, I can't believe its finally over. I think we all felt a huge sigh of relief that the classes and finals are over, but I'm actually kind of wish we were just beginning again. The short four weeks we stayed here was more than enough for us to call this beautiful city home!

After finals we had a delicious lunch given to us by the school, but unfortunately I couldn't go. My boss from the homestay took me to another branch to meet with his big boss, which was really cool. I was surprised because it was a woman, and I haven't seen many women bosses in China very often. She was extremely smart and I could tell she knew exactly what she was doing in the huge bank. After the meeting I hurried back to meet everyone for the mystery Nanjing!

No one knew what to expect from laoshi when she handed out the instructions of what we were going to be doing for the rest of the day. We had to break into teams of 4 and 5, and were given a ton of different tasks to do all around Nanjing. They ranged from taking a picture of a man with a long beard, to answering what gate the Japanese first entered during their invade of Nanjing. What ensued when we all ran off in different directions was definitely one of the most fun times we've had this trip.

My group went all out, running 95% of the time and trying to fit everything into the short amount of time. We had some great achievements, like climbing into the huge water fountain in the middle of xing jie kou, and convincing the manager of McDonald's to let us wear the delivery man helmet!! Some tasks were really hard, like holding an Asian baby. The best I got was holding its hand but the mother was way too protective to let me hold her, for good reason. After 4 hours of craziness we had to meet at a soup dumpling fanguan. The problem was at 530, when we wanted to start heading back, all the cabs were switching shifts. It is literally impossible to hail a cab, unless you offer an extra 30 kuai!

After everyone's points were tallied, me cedric mike and aaron were victorious, laying waste to all competition. Our reward was a 90 minute massage at the blind massage place down the street! We had a delicious meal of soup dumplings, and then headed to the massage place! The character for blind is 盲。I think its really interesting because the parts of the character are death and eyes combined. While their eyes were dead, their hands were certainly not, and the massage was absolutely amazing. Now fully relaxed, its time to celebrate the last day in Nanking!

-汤明阳

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Nanjing, Day 31

Hey everybody,

Today was one of your last days in Nanjing and I can say that we are all sad to leave this gorgeous city so soon. I personally have never been here, and I ended up falling in love with it right away. It's nothing like Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, or any cities I've ever been to in Asia. It's just something of its own consisting of the charm of the Chinese cultural in a semi-developed city. I am taking advantage of every minute left here, but first I have to get ready for our upcoming final exam. Yes, today was our last day of a very demanding 4 week Chinese program at Nanjing University and tomorrow we are getting tested on everything we've learned this far. Hao Yun to you all. I am sure we will all do great.

Today was a very interesting day as we got to go to the famous Deloitte accounting company. It was the first time a group of Northeastern students got the chance to visit their office in Nanjing on a dialogue and we were all very impressed by the way we were received. We were given a brief talk from managers about the history of their company, what they stand for, and how they manage to stay at the top of rankings by investing much effort and money into human resources. Intensive and varied training of staff really makes up for a huge part of their success. We also had a chance to practice our Chinese by introducing ourselves and describing what the Chinese language dialogue was all about. I am really glad we got to go there today and I believe this is truly a great opportunity for all our finance and accounting concentration fellow students.

The rest of the day went by very quickly. We unfortunate had to say goodbye to our language partners. They've really been an amazing help for us to practice speaking Chinese on a regular basis. I could not let my Chinese partner go this way, so I decided to invite her for dinner right after our last talking session. She took me to her favorite Sichuan restaurant and I ate some spectacularly spicy food. I could not make it last as long as I wanted since I had to go back as early as I could to get as much study done as possible. Tomorrow is going to be our last full day in Nanjing and we are going to participate in a treasure hunt after taking our final exam. Let the fun begin!

This is my last post for the dialogue and I hope you enjoyed it.

Your Admiral,
Cedric A.

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

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Nanjing, Day 29

Today was a pretty chill day.  Woke up early, went to class early.  Our Chinese teachers are really great and we learned quite a lot today.  We actually ended up skipping about 4 or 5 lessons recently but we’re still powering through the chapters.  A chapter every two days and a final on Friday.  Things are looking grim for some but I think that as long as everyone studies hard and does their work everything will be fine.  Our teacher Zhang Laoshi usually goes through all the new vocabulary with us and then we go over the conversations in the book with the new vocab she went over as we put it into practice and learn how to use it. Jiang Laoshi’s teaching style is a bit more preferable to me because instead of just reading and reciting we do drills with the new vocabulary and grammar and it really sticks to you. She also talks a bit faster and uses a wider range of vocabulary so our listening comprehension really improves a lot because of that.

Everyone went back to their internships today, we didn’t go yesterday since it was the dragon boat festival and all.  Tommy and I work together at 兴业银行 (Xing Ye Yin Hang) which is a Chinese bank.  When put into my handy little translator it means Societe Generale – I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone but it sure doesn’t to me, so it probably isn’t the actual meaning.  Today was a very busy day for them so when I got there I had to just sit around and translate some of their contracts into English for about forty five minutes or so.  Then Tommy showed up (he had opened a bank account with a different Chinese bank for funsies) and our boss came over shortly after and started chilling with us.  They didn’t have much for us today our boss Kevin (his English name, I already forgot how to say his Chinese one) gave us some brochures of a new product they’re offering and told us to translate it and then after he’d test us.

The product was a Fund that had a minimum investment of 100,000 yuan which is around 15,000 dollars and lasted for 10 years.  After we finished translating and passed his test (we only passed because we’re lucky enough to both have electronic dictionaries) he just sat and talked to us for a while.  We spent a lot of time discussing investing in China.  Apparently many Chinese companies will take a lot of their income and invest in products such as the one he showed us earlier just so that they won’t have to pay any taxes on that income.  In America there’s a tax on dividends so American companies may not want to invest their income like this, but in China there’s absolutely no taxes on stock dividends or capital gains.  Anyone else who invests knows how truly awesome this is. China’s stock market is growing pretty fast right now and it’s a really attractive market for investors, I myself would love to invest in it, but unfortunately cannot since I’m not a Chinese citizen and therefore have no ID number which is required.  Anyone out there reading this and does should definitely try their hand at trading, as long as they can keep up with it of course.  If you do heed my advice you may also want to know that in the Chinese Stock Market, Red indicates an increase, and green indicates a decrease.  Completely opposite from the United States.

After internships we all went to language partners.  My language partner is really funny and nice, and I know that some people don’t really like theirs or going to language partner time, but I love it.  It’s a great chance to practice my Chinese, learn more Chinese that I actually want to use, and just unwind a bit.  I have about 10-15 pages of paper completely filled with stuff my language partner taught me, so for me it’s a very rewarding experience.  And afterwards I always feel like practicing my Chinese even more.  I went out to eat after and spoke Chinese with anyone I could.  Anyways that was about all I really did today – the only thing I have left to say is never try to do laundry after the Dragon Boat Festival.  I’d smell baaaad tomorrow if it weren’t for the fact I was lucky enough to remember to bring febreeze with me.

- Aaron H.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Nanjing, Day 28 - 端午节快乐! Happy Duan Wu Jie!

Today was a pretty relaxing day. Although we woke up early for class, most people went back to their rooms to take a nap right afterwards. Today is Duan Wu Jie, an important holiday in China, where food, family and celebration consumes the lives of the Chinese for the day.
 
The story behind this day comes from the death of a poet. This man was also a high official who worked for the emperor. The emperor did not have much favor for him, which, one day drove him to end his own life by jumping into the river. On his death anniversary every year, people will eat zongzi, or rice wrapped in banana leaves. This tradition started because when the poet died in the body of water, people would throw zongzi into the water for the fish to eat so they won’t eat away his body. Another custom on this day is dragon boat racing, which is done to commemorate by representing the race to find the body of the dead poet.
 
Today our group had free time after noon and groups separated to enjoy this day off in different ways. After a much needed nap, I went to “Bird Flu Alley” with my roommate and some friends to eat zongzi and baozi (meat, vegetables or red beans in buns)…and fried chicken. It was rather chilly outside today, compared to the last couple of days. Afterwards, we just walked around and bought some fruits to being back to the hotel/dorm. I am coughing a little bit today, so the day was rather uneventful. Tomorrow, we’ll be back to the old class/internship/language partner routine. This starts our last weekend in Nanjing before we leave for Shanghai this weekend; the time has passed so fast.

- Silvia L.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Nanjing, Day 27

It was our first official free day in Nanjing. Although there was an optional Bike tour of the City, I chose to explore it on my own. I slept in a little, reviewed the new Chinese words we learnt during the week, and went down to the Café to use the Internet.

After having lunch at the ‘Western’ Café on Campus, sometimes the craving of Western food is too hard to resist and it serves as a good break from the daily Chinese food we eat, I ventured of with James and Michael to Fuzi Miao.

Fuzi Miao (20 min cab drive from Nanda) is a huge Market and the Site of one of the Confucius temples in Nanjing. We walked around, trying different Chinese snacks and buying little Chinese souvenirs.

Our bargaining skills in China have definitely improved! I must admit that bargaining in China sounds easier than what it is. It takes time, perseverance, and depending on the shop-owner a little joking around. At the end we were pretty successful and felt satisfied with the prices we got. We bought some bracelets, fans, key-chains, chopsticks, and such souvenirs for our families and friends back home.  

As for walking around next to the two blond boys on the trip, we had to stop for several pictures to be taken. I have a theory that one day our picture will be displayed in the living room of a Chinese home. As for now, the attention we get as foreigners has been pretty funny. People either want your picture and/or they just want to interact with you for a bit.

A 10-year-old boy started talking to us for at least 5 min asking us where we were from and if we liked Nanjing, while his dad was taking a picture of us.

After eating some noodles for dinner at the market, we headed back to campus to make it in time for discussion. We talked about our experience so far at our different Internships and our thoughts on the Nanjing Massacre Museum.

-
Alexandra S.

Nanjing, Day 26

Nimen hao. Nice to see you again!
 
Last night, we had some of the best food we’ve had in Nanjing so far. It was cuisine from Yunnan province. It was “fei chang”(“extraordinary”) delicious. It began with coconut worms and ended with pastries filled with rose petals … literally. As shocking as it may be, coconut worms don’t sound appetizing to Tasha, so, in cahoots, Ming Li and Shan Shan ordered them on the sly. Once Tasha heard the worms described as tasting like “raw funnel cake,” she decided to give them a try. She figured, “ru xiang sui su入乡随俗!”(“When in Rome, do as Romans do.”) Tasha now describes the experience as “enlightening,” though she has no plans to re-experience coconut worms.
 
This morning, we visited the Dragon Boat Festival. A lot of the companies for whom we intern competed in the event. Ming Li and Bei You Si, interns for MAP Magazine, saw some familiar faces out on the water. We also had a great time checking out all the kiddie rides, one of which was a glorified hamster ball for kids to roll around on top of the lake.
 
[subtle transition into the phenomenally sad Nanjing Massacre Museum]
 
This afternoon, we learned how textbooks just don’t do the Nanjing Massacre justice. It was shocking for us to see all the photographs and artifacts from such a traumatic event in history. We were even moved by the sculptures surrounding the outside of the museum.
 
Later in the evening, we got a chance to go visit a filmmaker named Hu Jie. We met him and his wife in their beautiful home, which doubles as his art studio. We discovered he’s an accomplished painter in addition to his work as a documentarian. We were thrilled for an opportunity to ask him personal questions, which he graciously answered with a smile. Ming Li was ecstatic to find that she and Hu Jie share a mutual appreciation for Roman Polanski and other Eastern European directors. Bei You Si was almost as ecstatic about the watermelon we were served.
 
Gotta go eat our McDonald’s midnight snack!
 
Zaijian,
 
Bei You Si, Mai Anna, Ming Li, & Shan Shan

Friday, June 3, 2011

Nanjing, Day 25

Ni men hao!

Today was another great day at the xin ye bank. We've met almost everyone, and the pictures have finally subsided. Since this is the first time I've worked on China, I was intrigued to find out how business works from the inside.

My experience here was almost exactly the opposite of what I thought it'd be. I imagined a silent, strict and dull bank with stern faced managers. However, the people are really energetic and always laughing about something. Today was awesome because we got to meet the big boss of the entire bank. As you can see in the picture, he rocked a BMW collared shirt, the LV belt, and a gold and diamond Rolex, hao xiang yi ge da laoban. He was so excited to meet Americans and as a gift he gave us books on finance and green energy, full of 100% Chinese characters, definitely going to be an interesting read. It was hilarious because atleast 50 pictures of us, forcing the camera guy to take pictures from all angles, together, alone, and retaking each one vertically and horizontally. The excitement and kindness towards wai guo ren amazes me everytime.

The employees said that their boss was unlike most bosses in China. He would sit down and listen to their problems and complaints, taking each one with a smile and helping them out. They stressed that he forgave them for their mistakes, which is very rare here. I will definitely take these philosophies into work back on America. I'm really excited to be so imbedded in the business culture and can't wait to expand our guan xi!

-汤明阳

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Nanjing, Day 24

大家好!

Today was our third day doing our afternoon internships in Nanjing. I am doing my internship at the European Chamber of Commerce and so far it is been a really great experience. Today I got to interview the Marketing and Business manager who recently got hired, Jane Lu. It was my first time interviewing someone and writing an article about her. I had never thought it would be that challenging to conduct an interview, but I feel that I got the hang of it after a while. I am still working on the article, which they will publish tomorrow in their weekly newsletter. I also got to work directly on their website, editing their content, uploading articles, and redesigning their newsletter layout. Mike, a fellow 同学, and I also started to work on a project that consists of putting together a fashion album picturing Nanjing street life. It was a really great day at work, and even though I have only been working for 3 days I am already feeling like I am getting more responsibilities. I am really glad we all have the opportunity to have these internships. While they are very short, we are still getting a small bit of experience and also getting to make some connections, which are very valuable to us as students. This internship is simply one of many great experiences we are packing into such a small period of time.

The rest of the day went by pretty quick. We had our usual language partner meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 and a run down of what the rest of this week will consist of. Saturday we will be going to the Dragon Boat Festival at a nearby park and also getting a chance to see the Nanjing Massacre Museum. We will have a little more free time this weekend, and I am very excited for some much needed relaxation.

Your admiral,

Cedric A.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Nanjing, Day 23

Today was the second day of my internship at SPD bank. Lop and I arrived at 1:50 pm after having some difficulties with our taxi driver and his knowledge of directions. When we get to work, we greet our boss, the vice president of the bank, by saying “你好,我们来上班了”(Hello, we have come to work), because she likes for us to speak Chinese with her, and not English. Yesterday, we stayed at the bank branch and took a lot of pictures of us doing daily tasks such as talking to customers, and using a machine to assign numbers to customers waiting to be helped. We work with two other interns originally from Nanjing: Ruth, a grad student at University of Pennsylvania, and Lester, a sophomore at University of Montana. Ruth and Lester help us by translating when we are unable to understand either the workers at the bank, or the customers who are talking to us.

Today, after arriving at SPD bank, we talked to Guo Hang Zhang (President Guo) for a few minutes, and then headed out to see a hospital with Lester and Zhang 老师, a worker at the bank. The hospital was called BenQ Hospital, and it is a Taiwanese hospital that is well known for its international doctors as well as its Western and Chinese traditional medicine. BenQ is a technological company that sponsors this hospital, and the hospital is also a center for medical research and development.

SPD has a long working relationship with BenQ hospital, and as a result they were willing to take us on a tour of the building. We walked around the whole hospital and had a tour of most of the departments including the OBGYN center, Endoscopy center, Transfusion center, and Pediatric center. The hospital was really clean and looked like it was either fairly new, or recently renovated. In the lobby they hire a piano player, and while we were there I heard him play traditional Chinese songs and western ones, such as Auld Lang Syne and My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.

So far, I am really enjoying the internship, although it is keeping me very busy. With four hours of Chinese class, four hours of internship, homework, and a paper due tomorrow it seems like no one is getting very much sleep these days.  This weekend we have some free time which everyone is looking forward to, and hopefully we will all be able to catch up on some sleep.  

Love from Nanjing,

Kelly