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Daily journal by Bryant students in the Bryant-Lingnan Summer Exchange Program Eleven students from Lingnan College of Sun Yat-sen University (China) and 13 students from Bryant University are participating in the first Bryant-Lingnan Summer Exchange Program. The program, funded in part by the Lingnan Foundation, is overseen by the U.S.-China Institute at Bryant. From June 5-16th, the students will complete the program in China. Follow the experiences of the Bryant students here: June 19, 2006 After a restful night on the train (once again we were lucky to be on the first class Z-Train) we arrived in Beijing just as the city was beginning to get busy. As the train rolled into the station, we watched a man casually brush his teeth along the track right in front of our window. Although this looked very tempting, we decided to hold back on the "open-air bathroom experience."
During the bus ride from the train station to the Capital Normal University campus, it was fascinating to watch the people of Beijing perform their early morning activities. The numerous parks are prime spots for the elderly to take leisurely walks and perform Tai Chi or other gymnastics in small groups. In the streets, waves of cars and taxis, and a myriad of bicycles fought their way through the spacious, highway like streets during the morning rush hour. School children, enjoying relaxing rides on the backs of their fathers or mothers bicycles, dashed past our bus. Watching the myriad of people making their way through the city, I began to wonder how the future of Beijing would look. How will the city be able to deal with the increasing wealth of the middle class, where eventually each family will be able to afford their own car?
Having arrived at the campus, we enjoyed our last Chinese-style breakfast with rice porridge, pickled vegetables and stuffed dumplings. We then retired to our rooms for a cooling shower and some relaxing hang out time together. At noon we met for lunch and were treated with a farewell meal by our hosts. For one last time we enjoyed a wide selection of tasty dishes. Then it was time to say goodbye. We thanked our hosts for their generosity and benevolence during our time in Beijing and bid them farewell. On the bus ride to the airport, everyone's emotions were mixed with the excitement of returning home and a shade of sadness at leaving this exciting country. Continental Flight 88 left Beijing at 3:45pm and the way back seemed to take forever. We could hardly wait to get home and share our impressions and new understanding for the Chinese culture with our families and friends. We arrived at Newark airport at 5:30pm, where our group split for the remaining journey. While some remained in the New York area, several continued their journey to the Providence airport and 7 of us waited for our flight to Boston Logan airport. While waiting, the excitement about the first Uno's turkey sandwich was hardly containable! Unfortunately, due to bad weather, our flight was delayed and instead of leaving at 6:45pm we finally boarded around 10:15pm. Needless to say, everyone was pretty exhausted by the time we finally landed in Boston. Several parents had been anxiously awaiting our arrival, killing time with various activities such as visiting Bed, Bath & Beyond. Looking back at the past four weeks of the Lingnan - Bryant Exchange program, it has been an exceptional opportunity for all of us to get to know China and the Chinese in a personal way. Thanks to the participation of our Chinese peers, we experienced an exclusive insight. The personal connections and friendships that originated are an important step in building a bridge between the two schools as well as our cultures and countries. Traveling and experiencing foreign ways of life first hand is an essential part of our education as future business leaders. As China's economy continues to grow and gain further importance, it is vital for us to attain a better understanding of its people. June 18th, 2006 After a restful stay at the Joy Inn, everyone gathered their items to head out for a day of museums and shopping. Our first stop was the Shanghai Museum of Natural History. Here Chinese artistry, ranging from jade ornaments to furniture to calligraphy, filled the four story marble museum. Personally, I was fascinated by the Chinese calligraphy and painting exhibits, where I spent the majority of my time. While some students wanted to hop around to see as many exhibits as possible within the allotted hour and a half, I choose to narrow my time down to three exhibits. The first one I went to was the development of calligraphy from the Warring States period in 475B.C. The calligraphy is written in the modern Chinese Style of writing, from the Qing Dynasty in the 1700s. Characters actually started out as pictures representing items or figures. Now these pictorial characters make up only 5% of all the characters used today. As the language developed from its primitive form, it became more complex and abstract during various eras and dynasties. One type of script that caught my attention was the cursive script of the 1600s. This script was essentially one motion intertwining all the characters together, as they move top to bottom, right to left. Leaving the Calligraphy gallery and entering the Chinese art gallery, I went from beautiful language to majestic scenery. Chinese art became more picturesque as the culture developed. Many of the paintings were written on scrolls that either "ran" sideways or "hanged" from a wall. Hence, these pictures were called running scrolls or hanging scrolls. The scrolls ranged from paper to golden silk. The depictions on them were either monochromic lands that shimmered or color landscapes of gum-dropped shaped mountains, rivers, birds and townspeople. I think there is nothing comparable to them in Western art. Additionally, many of these pictures had poems written on the parchment which described the scenery for the reader. Unfortunately, since my Chinese is limited, I could not come close to recognizing 95% of the words written. Once I noticed that I only had 15 minutes left and only passed through 2/3 of the exhibit I quickly glanced through the rest of the artwork, swiftly eyeing farms, fruit, and animals on my way to the jade exhibit. Unfortunately, I took a longer time walking out of the art exhibit and could only spend about five minutes in the jade exhibit, though, what I saw astounded me. Jade, a rare stone that varies in color depending on the site of excavation, filled the dark room where spotlights illuminated the delicate and intricate carvings of past ages. Here, items no bigger than a half folded dollar contained intricate scenes of interlocking dragons full of scales and lifelike people with detailed facial expressions. Of course, there were many objects in the room that were larger in scale including several disks that had inscriptions for the emperors and used as jewelry. After leaving the Shanghai Natural History Museum we gathered everyone together and headed out on the bus to another museum. After a 10 minute drive, we arrived at the Museum of Arts and Crafts. Inside the museum, which was once a mansion, we watched a master paper cutter who has been practicing for over 30 years. With a pair of normal scissors and a red square of paper we saw him cut out an intricate dragon without stopping once, leaving the shell of the paper as an outline of the red dragon. Next, a woman who was skilled at molding took several colors of a putty-like substance and formed a panda with bamboo leaves right before our eyes. The rest of the tour was a showcase of craftwork ranging from jewelry to bottles with pictures painted on the inside. After about 45 minutes, we rushed out to have lunch and go to the highlight of everyone's day: the shopping district. Everyone was eager, surprised, excited, energized, and awed by this makeshift market bazaar, which we were told before we arrived was a special marketplace. The reason it was so special was because this marketplace carried only one type of items, fake ones. That's right, we went to a marketplace which only sells *imitations* of all the hottest brands, from Gucci and Diesel, to Abercrombie and Fitch. The students formed groups and were let loose for three hours with a few tips. First, we were told that, most importantly, we must take care of our safety by not going into any backrooms, keeping our money separated, and not going alone in the marketplace. Second, we were told that when negotiating in the market, there is an 80% rule - meaning that if someone offered you a Prada purse for 400 Yuan (50 US dollars), you start the negotiations at 80 Yuan (10 US dollars). Eventually, you may be able to, depending on your skills, purchase something at 1/3 or 1/4 of the actual price. Third, we had to be wary of US regulations and not purchase fake DVD's or golf clubs, for which US customs will penalize you heavily if they are discovered. As the students ran off into the market place in different directions -- like kids in a candy store -- I actually went outside the market place in search of something that could not be found there. I was told that the street I was looking for was one block down, but because of my stubbornness and not asking for directions, I walked about 1.5 miles before I noticed the next street and decided to go around and head back towards the market. I was in search of a violin, which, even though I have never played before, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase a handcrafted and inexpensive violin which is not available in the US. After searching through several music stores, I found a beautiful handcrafted violin which was 600 Yuan (75 US dollars) which is worth maybe 300-400US dollars in America. Grabbing my prize, I ran back to the bazaar to catch up with the rest of our group and to look around the area myself. I quickly found Felix, who told me that a Belgian woman, who spoke perfect Chinese, was helping Anthony and Felix negotiate the prices with the vendors. Apparently, she was good - because many of the things Felix and Anthony had purchased were originally being offered at 7-10 times the amount they paid. As we passed by some of the students from our group in the market place who were briskly walking to the next Gucci "outlet," we waved and headed to look around for some shoes. Trying to negotiate is one event I will never forget. First I saw a Brazilian soccer jersey, which looked nice so I took a second look. Immediately, as I was walking by, the woman saw that I looked twice, pulled the item off the rack and ran over to me to show me her merchandise. She held the item in front of my face and shouted in broken English "Hey dis shirt very cheap only 280 (Yuan)". Instantly, I thought of the 80% rule and said, "Ehhhh...30 Yuan". Boy, did this upset her. She started yelling at me, saying how I was mean and was playing a joke on her thinking that this was funny for me when she was trying to be serious. I told her I was willing to negotiate but she was still berating me so I walked away. After I took about five steps she shouted and ran over saying "wait wait, you give me bettah price". I stopped, turned around, and we started to volley back and forth until we struck a deal. What intrigued me most about the experience was that I was able to have a full conversation with many of the vendors with only a few words in Chinese consisting of: 'don't want,' 'too high,' 'not good,' and numbers no higher than a thousand. After finding several students, we gathered together to head back towards the bus while discussing our treasures from China. Students bought various items, ranging from Burberry socks for a dollar, Gucci shoes for 22 dollars, Polo shirts, Prada bags, and Rolex watches for an insignificant fraction of the price of the genuine merchandise sold in retail stores. Of course, many were fakes or duplicates and cannot be counted as the real thing, but unless you work for the company, you won't be able to tell the knockoff from the real one. Excited and drained, we headed to the train station to take our last overnight train to Beijing where we will fly home to our awaiting families and beds. June 15, 2006 We all woke up this morning with mixed emotions anticipating the big day. The banners were posted all over Lingnan University, reading New England vs. Pearl River. Split up into mostly groups of three, all we knew were the solely the single words describing our specific groups debate topics. I didn't even eat breakfast, I was so nervous. Instead I woke up just in time for our meeting with the deans of the school's program for international students. We had a discussion with three students; one from Canada, California and Australia. Some of them were taking Chinese language courses at Guangzhou University toward their undergraduate degree, while one girl was spending her post-graduate studies there not only trying to relearn the Mandarin she once knew as a child at home, but she was also there getting paid to teach English. Once the meeting was over, the pressure was on again.We had about three hours after lunch to work on our projects or debate topics. The internet wasn't running too well and we only had a few hours to prepare. It was intense. However, ready or not, by 2:30 we were all down in the lobby, dressed in our business suits, ready to represent Bryant University and show what we knew. Two groups presented an updated version of the PowerPoint presentations we had to do in the states on power distance and social corporate responsibility. The Lingnan students provided journals on their experiences in the United States. One of their presentations focused on something even fascinating to me - Felix's car. Other journal presentations reflected upon houses in Newport and their homestays. Zoey mentioned that the most fascinating aspect of the homestay was meeting Robin Warde's mother and looking at all the pictures and memories captured and displayed all throughout the house. They certainly had an enjoyable time in the states. After the journals, it was down to business - debate time. All we knew were our topics, so when they called the first topic "social," Elsa, Willard and I got on stage. The Challengers, who were three of the students selected to participate in next year's China Institute program, were clearly better informed on the format of the debate and were expected to stump us. They asked questions about job unions and how people in the United States negotiate the relationships between upper level and lower level management. We were up there for about 5 minutes discussing social topics before the next groups went up for their presentations on ethics, the environment and business. Some of the topics were very intense and sensitive, as the Challengers adamantly asked about the United State's position on the Kyoto treaty and dumping in other countries. It almost seemed as if they blamed our country for not better handling the world's problems regarding CO2 emissions. However, Fu-kun gave both sides a better sense of clarity when he pointed out that China releases CO2 into the air and Americans also release CO2 into the air, so it is both our problems. Fu-kun was right, in that we have to stop blaming each other for problems and work together - even at lower levels, we could all do our part in finding ways to communicate with each other. The China Institute program itself is an example of this. With increased globalization, countries need to talk and communicate with each other, even on sensitive topics so an exchange could be made. By the end of the debate we learned this principle. Throughout the debate, help from our broad minded Lingnan peers was useful because they were able to explain things from a neutral perspective - understanding the classmate's ideas and the ideas of the Bryant students after their stay in the states. Both groups did well and all the worry was for nothing as the event turn out to be less of a challenge and more of a learning experience for both parties. Once the debate was over, we realized that we would soon have to say "good-bye." At dinner, we introduced our peers for the last time to the deans. I think all of us made lasting friendships. Who knew that we would go all the way to the other side of the world to meet people that were so similar to us and make friendships that may last forever? So we decided to end the day with a party Chinese style. Our Chinese peers invited us to their graduation party - which was similar to a talent show or some sort of non-competitive performance with skits, picture slides and fashion from the graduation class of each school. It was a great way to spend our last hours together. We stayed there like little Cinderellas until the clock struck 10, rushing to make it back to Annie's for our end-of-the-day meeting. I think Bobby was saddest to leave the party as he sang Chinese songs he heard through headphones they provided on stage while the Guangzhou students had to guess what it was. Half of us didn't sleep that night, faced with the sad prospect of leaving our peers and Shanghai in the morning. June 14, 2006 "The New Chinese Farmer" Today started out as any other day in Guangzhou; Andrew diligently came around to everyone’s rooms to make sure that we were all up and ready to begin the day. By eight o’clock the lobby was filled with all of our luggage. Soon after transporting our luggage to a storage room, the Lingnan bus drove up to take us to Zhongshan. With all twenty-nine people and their overnight bags, it was slightly cramped, but no one seemed to mind. Due to the late start, we ate our dumpling breakfast on the bus. After about one and a half hours, we arrived at the city of Zhongshan. The city is nationally designated as a clean city and this was proven by the sight of green everywhere. Fu-Kun acted as the tour director on the bus and informed us that the city is the hometown of the founder of their University, Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The diverse, coastal city is growing with economic and trade opportunities and an increase in tourism. Our first stop of the day was to drop off our bags at the Hua Yuan Hotel. This is the first hotel that we have been to where we were not given a key. Instead we must show our card to the front desk, and then a hotel employee will come to let us into our rooms. After a quick break, we all took a short walk to Shuichu, also known as Aquatic and Foodstuffs Export Corporation. There we were greeted by the head managers of the company. Inside the conference room, we were all excited to see plates of lychees. The meeting was divided into three parts: a video, a PowerPoint slideshow, and question and answers. One of the Chinese students, Connie, translated the entire meeting for us. The video explained the basics of the company and the slideshow informed us how the company was performing. Shuichu is a firm that exports some agricultural products, mainly fish, within domestic and international markets. It also provides supplies with technical products, such as lights. Currently, the firm uses franchises to expand. One key feature of the firm is that it uses technology to breed their freshwater fish; this helps local farmers and the local economy. A trend that has become apparent with the companies that we saw yesterday and this company is that obtaining the ISO certificate is quite common among Chinese firms. The firm also uses video cameras throughout their facility as a state requirement and to maintain the quality of their products. Besides security, they are used to make sure that workers are doing their jobs properly. A cultural difference that became apparent yesterday and also happened today is that even during meetings, the Chinese do not turn off their cell phones. Several times throughout the meeting, cell phone rings were heard. Since we are not used to this kind of behavior, many of the Bryant students found it very distracting. After the meeting we piled back into the bus to get lunch on location. I do not think that anyone could have expected the amount of food they would be serving us. From fish soup to fish cakes, almost every dish we ate contained fish. And of course for dessert we were served more lychees. Following our feast we took a walk around the facilities. In the exhibition hall, we were all grateful to feel some air conditioning. After engaging in a conversation with Fu-Kun, we learned how networking works in China. The Lingnan professor, Dr. Xu, was able to plan this day based on the connections that she has made over the years. Fu-Kun informed us that in exchange for the managers showing us around and providing us with meals, she may do some research for them. Our next stop for the day was to go shopping in the center of town. A few of us were able to try the local dessert known as double skim milk. It was very light and had a pudding like texture. Other foods sampled were fried squid and almond cookies. While walking around, another cultural difference that became apparent was that store employees will often clap to get your attention to come into their store. The last part to our day was at the Jinghun Hotel where we ate dinner. Again, we could not believe the amount of delicious food that was served to us. Despite still being full from lunch and our late snack, we all found some room to try some more authentic dishes including fungi soup, shrimp, and more fish of course. June 13, 2006 We met at 7:30 this morning to eat breakfast at the cafeteria at Zhongshan University. The sky was a dreary gray as we piled into our tiny 28 passenger minivan to travel to Dongguan City. An hour and a half's drive took us out of the smog and soot of Guangdong into the vast industrial park of the largest manufacturing base in China. Signs proclaiming harmonious living with nature adorned the largely empty four line boulevard passing through the center of Dongguan and the sky took on a decidedly blue tint rarely seen throughout our stay in China. All of the heavy polluting industries had been moved out of the area in order to make Dongguan more attractive to foreigners. The entire city was planned and built in only fifteen years. The air was heavy as we fell out of the bus into an empty exhibition center. Thankfully, the enormous glass structure was air conditioned. The exhibition center is used to show off Dongguan's development to government and business leaders in a two story museum presentation. The exhibit captions extolled the virtues of foreign investment in producing an area deemed to have more growth potential than any other area in China. Solid facts on the current economic and social situation in Dongguan were less common than the optimistic comments containing varying degrees of propaganda. Following the tour, we proceeded to the local government office in Liao Bu. Our hosts were alumni on Zhongshan University and treated us extremely well. Liao Bu is a small section in the center of Dongguan City. It is the lowest level of government in the area and is responsible for the Dongguan area. Our hosts treated us to a massive feast including fresh water eels and lichi for desert. Lichi is a grape like fruit covered in a hard shell which must be peeled before eating. After thanking our hosts, we hastily left leaving Annie Liang behind frantically calling mobile phones to get one of us to answer. Finally, we realized what had happened and returned for Ms Liang. We drove for another half hour to the Song Shan lake Science and Technology district where the director explained how Dongguan was attracting foreign investment as well as linking academic research to business needs. Once again we piled into our van to travel to the Kingway Beer's manufacturing plant where we learned the history of beer and conducted quality control. On the way, we learned about the farmers who had to give up their land to make room for the massive industrial park. We also saw the buildings were many of the maintenance workers stayed in poor living conditions. Dongguan does not have bus service or many private cars because all the workers live in dormitories at the factory. The newly built dorms were in excellent conditions however we could not see the interior. After leaving Kingway, we visited the Ability Company digital camera manufacturing facility. AB Co prides itself on adherence to cleanliness and intellectual property regulations. The group was required to don hats and booties to prevent dirt from getting into the electronics. This seemed to be precautionary but ineffective given the lack of air filtering and the lobby being open to the outside. The presentation was led by a knowledgeable employee making a valiant attempt at speaking English. We learned that the company not only acted as an Original Equipment Manufacturer but also an Original Design Manufacturer designing, manufacturing, and exporting cameras for Microsoft, Samsung, and others. We also learned about how they protected intellectual property by assigning different design teams to separate companies. AB Company is based in Taiwan and is currently working to move all its manufacturing to Dongguan. We quickly said our goodbyes and headed back to Zhongshan for dinner followed by World Cup soccer on TV. June 12, 2006 The day started with an early wake up call at 6 AM and we were on the bus bound for Hong Kong by 6:45. Miraculously, we all managed to make it on time or close to it. Apparently you can't just drive into Hong Kong, however, and we had to stop at two customs offices before we could enter. Once in Hong Kong, our first stop was at a museum displaying the history of Hong Kong from before the dawn of man to modern day. The group was cut loose with the mission to learn as much about the history of Hong Kong as humanly possible. Through various displays and short movies we gained a better understanding of the land and the people. One of the most important periods that would shape the future of Hong Kong was the Opium Wars. The British Empire was constantly looking for more trade partners and land to acquire. Hong Kong and China had rare resources and good land, so naturally the British were interested. Unfortunately, they had nothing of value to the Chinese - except silver, which was little more than sufficient trade material. This all changed when opium was harvested and cultivated in India. England had already established a good trade system in India, so moving it to China was easy. Opium hit hard, many Chinese became addicted to the poppy derived substance. It reminded me of drug addiction and drug dealers of today; getting someone hooked and then becoming the exclusive dealer. It wasn't until Lin Zexu, one of the head advisors in the Qing dynasty, was appointed, that the Chinese brought an end to this opium craze. China eventually banned all importation of the drug. England was back to square one in the trade department. Later, the Qing dynasty, which was the Han people, ended and was replaced by a new dynasty of the people of Man. When dynasties switch, they get rid of all the officials from the previous dynasty and despite Lin's stellar work, he was no exception. Britain resumed opium importation to Beijing (Peking at the time) and the opium problem was just as prevalent. The second opium war broke out, and China was no match for the British Empire. China was forced to surrender the island of Hong Kong. The Treaty of Nanjing in 1842 was signed and stated that Britain would own and occupy Hong Kong for 99 years. During WWII, Japan also had its eye on Hong Kong. Not long after Pearl Harbor, Japanese fighter planes ambushed British defenses during the night and crippled the British forces. Japan now controlled the skies over Hong Kong and parts of China. With the skies controlled, the rest of the British defenses were little problem for the Japanese. Famine and starvation devastated the people of Hong Kong for years, and over 600,000 thousand people were shipped out by the Japanese back to mainland China. Then the US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese were broken. Chinese Guerillas took advantage of this situation, and used assassination tactics and prison breaks to further weaken and eventually eliminate the Japanese presence. Hong Kong was once again under British rule. Today, Hong Kong is part of the People's Republic of China, yet they keep the same economic system from yesteryear and will continue to do so for another 50 years. I learned that one of the changes from 1997 was replacing the British Coast Guard with the People's Republic Coast Guard. Britain was very apprehensive about giving up the territory and tried to get an extension. Naturally, the People's Republic wouldn't hear of it. After a short ferry ride, we were on the actual island of Hong Kong. From what I've seen of China thus far, Hong Kong seems like another country entirely. Naturally, after 100 years of western influence, Hong Kong is very modern and trendy. The mall in Hong Kong was like nothing I've ever seen, filled with high class designer stores that dwarfed the Providence Place Mall we had visited back in the states. Adjoining the Mall was the Hong Kong stock exchange and the monetary center. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we weren't able to get a good look at everything in this area. The monetary center, however, was fairly interesting - especially the security of the Hong Kong currency, which seemed redundantly secure. Oddly enough, Hong Kong has one of the lowest counterfeit rates in the world. I justified this by considering the fact that rather than waiting for counterfeiting to become a major problem, Hong Kong would take the first step and make it that much more difficult for a problem to arise. After my first "real" hamburger in what seemed like an eternity, we were headed back to the mainland. One of the students mentioned that the restaurant they went to was no longer accepting $1000 bills because of counterfeiting. Of course we had to hit the same two customs offices on the way back, but this time we were ready and made it through with no delays - except for Tony, whose passport somehow was stamped twice. All in all, it was a very educational day and a good look at the other side of the spectrum that has been our adventure in China. June 11, 2006 Our day began with a delicious array of dim sum (which means small dish) at a local restaurant a few blocks off campus. The walk was pleasant as the day dawned on a waking city. The businesses that were clustered side by side to gain their much needed daily sales were slowly waking, as their metallic gates reflected and radiated the day’s beginning brightness and warmth. In Smithfield, Providence, or even Rhode Island, this sight is rarely seen where people are so eager to sell something that they would walk up to a large group of taller, bigger, stranger foreigners to sell fruits, plastic toys, or other paraphernalia. We Americans may consider the foot of space around us as our treasure, our personal space, but to them our distance may mean only another step needed to take in order to get a sale. However, I have noticed in Guangzhou people are not as aggressive selling their items and do not stare as long as when we were in other cities. In Wuhan or even Beijing, people stopped and stared at you as you walked away, making you feel like you were either a freak show or a movie star. People pointed, wanted to take pictures, get up real close to an American, and maybe even touch one to tell their friends and family when they go home. Guangzhou is different; besides the occasional glance, we Americans, in our loud attention-getting manners, are hardly noticed as before. Some of the girls in our group would stop and look at a cute little Chinese girl as the mother simply smiled. The little girl would practice the small amount of English she knew such as "hello" and "good bye." Some of these little girls know more English than most of our group knows Chinese. After discovering that we were having a special Southern Chinese dim sum breakfast, we were all wondering what was inside these doughy pastries. Many of the students found it tough to have shrimp, fish, pork, and beef at 8:30 in the morning, but most of them enjoyed tasting the flavors of Guangzhou. One interesting dish that caused a commotion was the chicken feet prepared like general Tao’s chicken. Some students wanted to try it and be brave, while others haggled them by making clucking chicken noises. After tasting, putting down, and trying again, some students decided to eat all the meat there. Other interesting comments were made to each others’ chopsticks skills. Some professors offered classes to the desperate students, and others, whose chopsticks skills were above average, were actually uncomfortable not using chopsticks to pick up other pieces of food. Apparently that once we, Americans, get a hold of how to do something, we want to do that thing all the time. It seems weird for me and many other students, that if you cannot pick up something with the chopsticks, you can stab it and bring it over to your plate. This is Chinese etiquette, but for me, I’d rather try for five minutes trying to pick up a slippery dish than stab it with one chopstick. Walking back to the University where we are staying, many students had the urge and longing for American home-style breakfast consisting of a bowl of cereal and/or an omelet. While pork and fish are tasty, I, too, could not help but think of Cheerios or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Since we are in China for another week, I’ll decide now to suck it up and eat the roast barbecue pork and seafood for breakfast; as they say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." My mom used to tell me when I was younger, "If you don’t finish your dinner, you’ll have to eat it in the morning." Our main stop during the day was at the Guangzhou Postal Logistics Center. Here mail is more than received and delivered. At this logistic center there was an abundance of automated processes. The Postal Logistics Center which spans more than six football fields long seemed empty with the slight hum of mechanized letter sorters, belts, and, cranes. When we asked if the machines have replaced the workers, our tour guide immediately corrected us. She stated that there are three groups that shift back and forth with two groups working everyday and the third resting. We were also later told that because this is a state owned institution that the state could not lay-off their employees. However, because the Postal Logistic Center is now hiring contract workers, they are able to get around this regulation. After a tour of the center, we headed to the board room to receive a quick Power Point presentation and then a question and answer period. Although many of the students asked questions I noticed that there some information lost in translation. For example, the first question asked about how packages are tracked caused a commotion as many people tried to correct the student translator and interpret RFID (radio frequency identification) - a newer tracking technology that will soon replace the barcode. After the students received several answers that did not relate to the question, one of the professors was able to explain the questions thoroughly enough to the director so he could answer us fully. Apparently the Postal Logistic Center offers two types of tracking. First, they are able to track a package by reading the barcode as it arrives and transfers between postal stations. Second, for a fee or for an overnight package, the center can track the package via satellite. The valuable knowledge we gained while experiencing these cross cultural differences will help us learn, in depth, various aspects of the Chinese culture. June 10, 2006 While today was a day like so many others in our trip, one packed with activities, excitement, and exploration, it may be said that it was different in a very significant and meaningful way. Today, our weary but hearty lot arrived in Guangzhou and reunited with the students from Lingnan College with whom we had spent two incredible weeks within the United States. It is fascinating for me to think of the friendships that we have made with them. Though these friendships have been short in terms of time, they have been profoundly strong in depth and character. The excitement and anticipation that we Bryant students felt on our arrival in the railway station was immense and I believe they were feelings shared by our Chinese counterparts. After our reunions and greetings, the Lingnan students provided for us a taste of Guangzhou culture, tradition, and hospitality. We experienced the majestic and tranquil beauty of a Qing dynasty era home, rich in sculpture and craftsmanship, and an ability to transport us (and many older Chinese) back to an era that was far different from our own. It was a time, and a trip, well spent. Shopping in Guangzhou was an experience unlike anything I had previously encountered. The mass of humanity approaching and passing on each side was quite overwhelming at first for someone used to the relaxed atmosphere of Smithfield, Rhode Island. Still, by days end, any initial apprehensions had been overcome and I was enjoying fine dessert and conversation at a local market. Perhaps the most meaningful event of the day came when we students spent the afternoon at the homes of our Chinese peers. Many of our students dined at the actual houses of their counterparts. Though my group did not, our experience with authentic Cantonese cuisine at a picturesque restaurant overlooking the Pearl River in no way lessened the experience of our group. Both at the restaurant and later at their homes, the warmth of our host family was readily apparent. Even though the food was perhaps in some ways alien, the generosity, caring, and good feelings of our hosts were not. It was an incredible day, one which I will treasure forever. June 9, 2006 After a good night's sleep and a variety of choices for breakfast, including Chinese and American food, we explored the engineering marvel known as the Three Gorges Dam. We started off at a museum that displayed the model of the dam and proceeded to observe a panoramic view of the Gorges, taking many pictures to capture its beauty. It was interesting to hear the Chinese students' perspective of this controversial project. Most were aware of both the pros and cons of the project. However, the benefits of the dam providing 1/7 of China's power as well as the dam's control of the Yangtze River's deadly flooding were deemed greater than the cost of many buried archeological treasures. When getting ready to leave the Dam, we noticed that Tony was missing so Annie went to look for him. Meanwhile, on the bus, we were being entertained by Felix, who demonstrated his hidden talent: dancing. Once we were all on the bus, our journey to Yichang began. On our way back, we stopped at a silk factory, where Andrew unsuccessfully searched for a silk robe, and the rest of us shopped. While others purchased authentic Chinese qipaos in the form of "coozies," for our parents of course. Once done with the shopping we were ready to embark on our long ride back to Wuhan. The five hour bus ride didn't seem too long because we were conversing with our new Chinese friends from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) about various topics such as movies, food, religion, politics, etc. After making new friends and exchanging e-mail addresses, we arrived to the train station where we waited for Professor Hong Yang to arrive with our dinner. While waiting, we noticed that many people were staring at us and there was even one guy who came up and talked to us and decided to hang out with us. We felt a little bit unconformable with this because in the American culture staring at others is rude. After an "All American Dinner" consisting of McDonald's, we were ready to start another journey; this time to Guangzhou. Another overnight train ride. Woo hoo! - Elsa Guzman-Galvez June 8, 2006 What's the word of the day, boys and girls? Travel! We began our travels at 8:30 pm. The group reluctantly boarded a train heading south, away from Beijing, a city many of us were just beginning to get familiar with. However, we all knew that more adventure and culture awaited us in Wuhan, and not even a 12 hour train ride would deter us from reaching our destination. While we're on the subject of the train, let me comment on my new found respect and adoration for our dorm rooms at Bryant University. I would like to say I now know how sardines feel in a can, but at least sardines have the pleasure of death before the canning process begins. Traveling on the train gave all of us the opportunity to see the China seldom seen on television and tourist magazines. Farmland completely covered the countryside and those of us awake at 5am only had to look out of our windows to see how dedicated the farmers were to their land. We arrived in the sweltering city of Wuhan at 7am, ready to take on the day. Within an hour, we were greeted with a beautiful campus at the China University of the Geosciences. There we met a group of Chinese students attending the school. These students befriended us quickly and gave us a tour of their spectacular campus and its museum. Although the heat was against us, it would take the weather 7 hours to knock us down. After the tour and lunch, there was still more traveling to be done. The CUG students joined us on a four hour bus ride to the city of Yianching; Home of the 21st century technological marvel, the Three Gorges Dam. Once there, our group, now twice the size, enjoyed a very fancy meal that filled us all like kings. I said it before and I'll say it again. "This is the best 2 weeks of my life!" June 7, 2006 We awoke this morning at 7:00 AM to catch an authentic Chinese breakfast consisting of oatmeal-like rice porridge with salted duck eggs, pickled Chinese cabbage, and other preserved vegetables. Andrew learned the hard way that the salted and pickled veggies are meant to be eaten along with the rice porridge. We boarded the bus at 8:00 AM, heading for the Forbidden City. Once there, we were led by a Chinese tour guide who insisted that she be called "Coco," like Coco Chanel. We saw the results of some of the renovations to the ancient city, consisting of 9,999 rooms, with vibrant reds, golds, and greens in the detailed architecture. After about an hour of seeing the buildings, thrones, and ancient artifacts, we took a short break in a coffee house, where we enjoyed authentic Beijing pastries. Once we returned to Capital Normal University, we packed and showered, in time to attend our farewell dinner at the college, where we presented small gifts to our hosts. We boarded the bus at 6:30 to make our train at 8:30. We found that we had to descend two flights of stairs with all of our luggage, some of which we did by sliding creatively down a steep ramp with our feet dragging behind. A very comfortable train with beds long enough for even me, at 6'3", to sleep comfortably, left right on time. With a short game of musical roommates, we finally settled down after a few of the guys made friends with a couple of Chinese businessmen who would be in Washington, D.C. in 3 months. Professor Lu was surprised that my friends and I didn't cause any trouble on the train, but is trouble really made if no one is there to see it? Overall, it was a fairly easy going day compared to the past few days and the days to come. -Bobby Fox June 6, 2006 "A true hero should climb June 5, 2006 After crossing the International Date Line, 15 exhausted students and teachers arrived at the Beijing Airport at 1:19pm on June 5, 2006, putting us one day ahead of family and friends back in the United States. Annie Liang met us with a warm welcome at the airport and instructed us to obtain our baggage and exchange monies. We were then transferred us to our destination for our stay while in Beijing, Capital Normal University. The drive to the University was an adventure in itself - most of the students have never traveled across the world to this foreign country and were feverishly looking out the window upon the surroundings while taking as many photos to capture the vast culture of China - the smog, the intense heat, the bicycles, the Chinese characters, the buildings, the people, the strangeness. Upon arrival to Capital Normal University, we separated into separate rooms and settled down to our home for the following 2 days and nights. After, we were treated to a wonderful Chinese dinner to replace the sub par airplane food that we had eaten all day. Though many students were drained of energy after dinner, wishing only to sleep, sleep, sleep, a Beijing Opera was on the itinerary for our evening activity. At the infamous Laoshe Teahouse, we were able to enjoy the bright colors, unique singing style, comedy, and talent of the opera with delicious tea and light refreshments served during the show. Despite being very tired after losing almost a full night's sleep, we all enjoyed very much the culture and entertainment that the Beijing Opera offered us. Tomorrow we head to the Great Wall and Summer Palace. June 4, 2006 Jasmine Kamber Our journey began this morning at 7:30am. After having said goodbye to our Chinese peers at 5:00am, we were all pretty tired when we had to get up a few hours later. Gary provided us with a quick Dunkin Donuts breakfast and then we were ready to hit the road. We were escorted to TF Green airport by Brian's parents and Elsa's Mom. Once having arrived there we checked in our luggage and experienced a first crisis when Tony, Andrew and Bobby realized that they had overweight luggage. The group waited patiently until they were done rearranging their things and then we said our goodbyes to Dr. Hong Yang and the parents. Our flight to Newark took off at 9:50am and we landed about an hour later. We did not have much time until our connecting flight and everyone was eager to finally get on the plane to Beijing! While Sarah couldn't stop smiling and hide her excitement, the boys took the opportunity to grab one last slice of real American pizza. At 11:30am we began boarding and departed around 12:10. The 12 hour flight was long but everyone was able to keep themselves busy. While Greg and Ericka slept, Andrea and Elsa chatted away happily over a Glamour magazine, Steve enjoyed a real authentic Chinese martial arts movie, and Felix played some videogames. Professor Lu was entertained by the little Chinese girl sitting next to him while Professor Segovis decided to enjoy a little night cap that transferred him straight to dreamland. Willard was kept awake by Shantel who kept nudging him every time his head began to slowly move towards her shoulder. Jasmine prepared herself by reading through her Chinese phrase book and teaching Andrew and Bobby how to say "I'm lost, where is the tourist bus?" in Chinese. We arrived in Beijing around 1:30pm and were greeted by Annie Liang and Professor Zhang who then brought us to Capital Normal University.
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