updates from China

So the hole we dug at the beach finally got me to China.

It's been pretty awesome so far. I can't really believe I'm in China sometimes, it's so Westernized. Other times, I slap myself on the forehead in disbelief at some of the stuff that goes around. I guess that actually sums up China pretty well--just so much disparity between the old and new, rich and poor.

Most of my time has been consumed by the conference, and while I do wish there is more time for sightseeing, the conference has been very enjoyable. I've learned a lot about China and China/US relations, and it's really cool to see the delegates actually interested in this stuff. Far cry from MUN, when people complained bitterly and looked for every excuse to cut corners (myself included). Here, we don't really have "supervisors" and while we do hold the delegates accountable for showing up, we are all pretty much adults by this point and there's no real need for chaperoning or anything.

The delegates and Fudan officers are really cool too. I really look forward to keeping in contact with a bunch of them and the connections I believe truly are invaluable.

Tomorrow (Friday) is essentially a free day, and I'll probably go shopping. While I do think I should go to a history or cultural tour, I figure I can do a lot of that when I come here with the parents. Hopefully I can find a bunch of cheap counterfeit clothes and DVDs. :) Oh crap..I probably shouldn't be putting that on the Internet. Scratch that. Hopefully, I will find stuff at the Armani, Rolex, and Ralph Lauren flagship stores in Shanghai. I love supporting these designers who make quite affordable clothing for the college student in a country with such a booming economy.

Random tidbits:
SO CHEAP. half hour taxi rides ending up to be like 7 US dollars. Food that costs like 2 US dollars, etc etc
People love Obama. Sweet.
Apparently it's obvious to tell that I'm not native Chinese
It's kind of awkward having people expecting you to know China well and to speak Chinese perfectly. I feel almost a bit insecure talking to people with my Chinese (which is ok, but my vocab sucks)
The time difference is so trippy. I'm like...blogging from the future!!!! it's almost friday here aleady!
I've spent more money on one alcoholic beverage than on any one meal. Fricken bars designed for westerners (it was my friend's bday and I was obliged to go)
Tsingtao beer is actually quite good!

that's all for now. Look forward to getting home and seeing Alex. Hope you MIT kids have a great thanksgiving too.

Andrew

the countdown to thanksgiving...

... is off by one week. HAHA sorry just had to point that out. In other news, I am super screwed and am really frustrated. There is so much stuff to do by the end of the semester! AHH!

... Sorry if it sounds serious; it isn't really. But I really can't wait for Thanksgiving break to come around, more details to come then :)

DK

Early Turkey

That's right, folks, Thanksgiving Break has unofficially started for me!

I'll be leaving tomorrow morning to fly to Shanghai, and will get back the Sunday before Thanksgiving--flying directly from Shanghai home (with a layover in SF, but that doesn't really count). I'm incredibly excited, though I realized today how many errands I had to do and regretted putting them off.

Exchanging money was a huge hassle, as the banks around here apparently don't carry the Chinese yuan for some reason. I finally tracked down a place, but by the time I got there, they said they ran out of yuan....really? come on now! I figured I would be stuck exchanging and getting ripped off at the airport, but some girl in my dorm had some left over yuan, which I eagerly traded for. Now I at least have enough to get myself a taxi to take to the hotel!

I'm actually pretty nervous, having to figure out so many things by myself once I'm there. I believe some other Stanford people will be joining me Saturday night, but we'll see how the adventure from airport-->hotel goes. Let's pray for uneventfullness.

Stanford itself has been so-so. Finished my last midterm of the quarter yesterday and it was a huge relief. As reflected in my last post, I haven't had the greatest of few weeks here, but after my midterm, I suddenly just had an extra bounce in my step. I guess the anxiety of math had really kicked in and invaded lots of other areas of my life. Of course, the issues that were bothered me before still persist, but I guess my outlook overall is a lot more cheery and I'm not focusing as much on what's wrong. Midterms and stress were probably just the catalysts of a downhill spiral of self-pity and misery.

Well, I'm off to do some more last-minute things and hopefully prepare myself academically to missing a week of school. I hope you all are doing well and I look forward to catching up with you guys during Thanksgiving Break, even if you won't all be returning home.

Andrew

P.S. The Calvin/Hobbes comic today (maybe yesterday for you east coasters) is hilarious. Do girls really serve some purpose? Enlighten us, please, Stephanie.

emoooooo

rawr. Not the best few weeks for Andrew. The weather is gradually getting more and more like Boston, and though the past few days have been quite nice, I do notice my mood getting worse as the weather cools and rain starts falling.

Part of me keeps on wondering "why am I here." I mean, I'm very grateful to be at this school, with so many opportunities and few worries (compared to much of the world). But still, I really feel like I'm just stuck in this routine--that my classes borderline meaningless and that I'm working hard each week simply to get to the next. I guess I see college as yet another step before I get to do "real" things, and not as something that should be enjoyed in and of itself. The novelty and excitement of the new school year has definitely worn off and suddenly I am reminded loudly why I wanted desperately to graduate in 3 years. Arg.


In happier news, I'm headed off to China in a week for a FACES (forum for american-chinese exchange at stanford) to help put on a conference and learn what the conference is really like, since I'll be fully in charge of hosting the conference at Stanford in the Spring. This will be my first time there, and I'm pretty stoked. At the same time, I'm mildly terrified at the prospects of missing an entire week of school, especially since the material is getting ridiculously difficult in a few classes and I'm already struggling to grasp it all; missing a week sure won't help. But hey, the decision has been made and I can't really regret it now. Plus, in 20 years, I'm sure I'll remember this trip to China far more than I will the B/whatever I end up getting in a few classes.

I'll try to update semi-regularly in China....let me know if you guys want something from there; I don't know how much time I will for shopping but I can try. And no, Daniel, I don't think I can bring back a Chinese girl for you, even though I know you love them. Sorry.

Revelations!!

So I found out who my big was . . .

. . . and it's Steph Au :)

I love my family!! yay.

ok, back to studying for hell week quatro.

and ditto to what Daniel said earlier, have fun in LA without us!

countdown to...

uh guys i just realized that we have a countdown to thanksgiving break, except that doesnt help me much, since i'm not going back to LA for the break... but anyways, when that comes around, have fun in LA :)