Traveling in China

Two weeks ago I traveled to Dalian to visit a friend. Felicia was a visiting scholar at Bloomsburg University last fall semester and when she found out I am in China she invited me to visit her. To get there I took a 6-hour high speed train. The train was very comfortable but a little too cold for me. During the summer in most of the places in China we pray for an air conditioner, but on that train I was freezing the whole time.

Once I arrived in Dalian Felicia and her husband were waiting for me at the exit. When we got to their apartment Felicia gave me a little care package with towels, pajamas, sleepers and even a toothbrush. The next day we drove all over Dalian to Felicia’s favorite places and took lots of pictures. She introduced me to her friend’s daughter, Shellmy.

During that weekend Shellmy and I became good friends and planned to travel to Qufu, hometown of Confucius, the last weekend of July. In Dalian we visited a place called Little Venice. There are multiple canals around the downtown of Dalian where anybody can go on a boat ride. Felicia also took me to meet her sister that lives right by the beach.

When we went to the beach, even though it was really hot, I didn’t see too many people tanning. Most of the women in China don’t like to tan. There is even a saying for women “bai fu mei” which means white, reach and beautiful and for men it’s “gao fu shuai”, tall, reach and handsome.

Dalian cuisine specializes in seafood. Just in two short days I tried a variety of fish dishes such as boiled muscles in a sea shell and pumpkin fried crabs. If I ever come to China again I will definitely visit Dalian.

Just last weekend our whole program traveled to Xian for four days. One of my favorite parts about the trip was a 13-hour overnight train ride. Since we came as a big group, it was really fun to just play card games and talk. After we arrived and settled at a hotel, our tour guide took us on a City Wall tour. The City Wall used to be used for protection against enemies, but now it’s an important historical monument of Xian. Then instead of walking the 9-mile City Wall we rented out bikes and rode around the whole City Wall.

It was really fun and mesmerizing but it was really exhausting to ride the bikes in near 100-degree heat. When we had free time, we went to a market street. There they sold all types of souvenirs and foods. Xian is famous for “rou jia mo” which is meat sandwich and for their noodles. There were people stretching super long noodles right outside of the restaurants to attract more customers.

The next day we went to see the terracotta warriors. The site is divided into 3 pits with over 10,000 warriors. The 1st pit has 6,500 warrior statues and is the biggest one out of the 3.

Each one of the warrior statue is different from the others because it was sculpted by a real terracotta warrior. Our next stop was the Giant Goose pagoda. Right next to it there are multiple Buddhist shrines which are open to the public. In the evening many people gather on the square in front of the Giant Goose pagoda for group activities.

Every park in China has activities mainly for retired people, such as dancing, card games, martial arts, etc. When we went to the square at night we were welcomed to dance the traditional Jiao Yi Wu dance with the locals. So far everywhere where I have traveled, the foreigners are always welcomed.

Right now I am a little sad because I only have two weeks left in China, but at least every single remaining day is planned so I will not waste a minute of my time here. This Saturday we will be taking the HSK 4 test, which is a standardized Chinese language knowledge test. I really hope that I can pass so that I can apply for internships in China. My last weekend in China I will spend traveling to Qufu with my friend Shellmy and my roommate. Ethan, one of the Chinese students in Bloomsburg, is also there for the summer and he will be able to show us around Qufu.

— Anastasia Timofeeva, junior engineering and Chinese major #HuskyAbroad #ProfessionalU

Timofeeva is studying abroad at the Beijing Foreign Studies University this summer, courtesy of several scholarships earned this past year. She received a Professional Experience grant from Professional U, a grant designed for students seeking to get involved in their career path or learn more about the world. Timofeeva also received an International Faculty Association scholarship dedicated to students with interest in fostering globalism and internationalism. Moreover, she received College of Liberal Arts study abroad scholarship and a scholarship for good academic standing from the university.

17 days in Beijing

The biggest event we’ve had so far is the overnight trip to the Great Wall last weekend.

It was a two-day short trip that included lots of hiking. We drove about two hours out of Beijing and started our first hike right away. We went to a part of the Wall where not too many tourists go to, so that we could enjoy it without being overcrowded.

It was about a 30-minute hike up the very steep stairs. I did not expect to be as difficult as it was, but everybody in our group made it up to the Wall. Seeing the mountains surround the Great Wall was one of the most beautiful scenic spots I have ever experienced. After we came down, we had taxis take us to a small village near the Great Wall for a homestay. We stayed with a very nice Chinese family that often hosts groups of tourists. Right at their backyard we could see the Great Wall and enjoy the sunset. That night our group stayed up pretty late and we just joked around all night.

The room that we slept in was just a one big bed. Boys and girls each got their own room. Next day at 4 a.m. we started our second big hike. The grandfather of the Chinese family lead our group because it was on a mountain beside the Great Wall. Once we got to the top of the mountain we sat down and watched the sunrise. I’ve never been much of an outdoor person, but after these hikes I want to start hiking more.

Another historical trip that we have had last week is a trip to Temple of Heaven. Temple of Heaven is located near the Tiananmen Square and is a popular place for school field trips and Chinese and foreign tourists. Our history professor told us that the Temple of Heaven was a very important spiritual place for the emperors of every dynasty and if the emperor did not perform the rituals at the Temple of Heaven he was looked down upon. Each dynasty had their own rituals, but the Emperors always prayed for a good harvest or for a victory in a war. If there was a famine, Chinese usually thought of it as if the gods were upset with the Emperor.

Yesterday we went to one of the famous hutongs a Beijing. Hutongs are streets surrounded by houses. They are popular for their markets and museums. Right now more and more authentic Chinese businesses are bought out by big franchises such as Starbucks and KFC.

Back in the day most of the officials lived in hutongs. Each profession and rank had their own type of entry gate and if an official was demoted, he would be required to change his gate. Since hutongs did not have a plumbing system, there would always be one or two saunas located in each hutong. These saunas were mostly used for gathering purposes where groups of men and women would play cards, gamble or drink. In the 60s and 70s hutong saunas were especially popular. As more and more businesses started to develop around hutongs, some of the saunas were not able to keep up paying high rents, so eventually they would run out of business. That usually affected the whole hutong because communities would lose a place to gather and their way of life would change.

In the first few weeks of my shopping experience in China, I have also learned that in most places you need to bargain for a good price. Last weekend my roommate She and I went to the Pearl Market. That market is famous for a variety of souvenirs and other goods. Especially for foreigners the starting prices are pretty expensive.

Usually I go 60 to 80 percent down the original price. At first the sellers try to convince you that they can’t lower the price, but a few minutes into it they give you the price that you are happy with. I think this is the only time when I feel confident talking to the sellers.

Usually when I go to a store I try my best to find everything myself so that I wouldn’t have to speak Chinese to people that I don’t know. Sometimes when I walk around Beijing I have no idea what I am reading on a billboard or what someone is saying to me and there are other times when I perfectly understand everything or at least 80 percent and it honestly makes my whole day. A few days ago I went to a train station to buy a ticket to go to Dalian to visit a friend. In U.S. or in Russia it wouldn’t be a big deal for me, but in China it was. It made me so happy that I had enough vocabulary to buy it for the right date and time and even get a ticket back to Beijing.

Yesterday me and another student decided to go running. The track and basketball courts are located within a two-minute walk from our dorm so we had no excuses not to go running. A wide variety of groups gather around track every day. There are many women that dance together to Chinese folk music, guys and girls my age who ride bikes and skateboards, children who play basketball or soccer, families spending time together playing badminton. In contrast to American campuses, we were a little surprised to see so many people that are not BFSU students involved on campus.

Next weekend I will be traveling to Dalian, which is north-east of Beijing by myself. If I survive this trip, you can read about my experience in Dalian in the next blog :)

— Anastasia Timofeeva, junior engineering and Chinese major #HuskyAbroad #ProfessionalU

Timofeeva is studying abroad at the Beijing Foreign Studies University this summer, courtesy of several scholarships earned this past year. She received a Professional Experience grant from Professional U, a grant designed for students seeking to get involved in their career path or learn more about the world. Timofeeva also received an International Faculty Association scholarship dedicated to students with interest in fostering globalism and internationalism. Moreover, she received College of Liberal Arts study abroad scholarship and a scholarship for good academic standing from the university.

First impressions of China

It’s been a week since I’ve arrived to China. Life here is quite different, but I really like it.

I am staying at an international student dorm with a Chinese roommate. Ever since the first day, we have bonded and she helps me adjust to my classes and to life at Bei Wai (a short name for my university).

On the second day after arrival the summer IES students had to take a placement test. Surprisingly to me, I did better than I expected and was placed in a 300 level. Four days a week we have classes for three hours a day.

Compared to my Chinese classes at BU, classes here are really hard. My Chinese classes are only in Chinese, and we took a language pledge where we can only speak Chinese to other students and roommates.

Every day we have a listening quiz where we have to write all the new words we have learned in the previous day.

We learn 30 to 40 new words and we have to memorize how to write the characters for these words too.

My university has two big cafeterias. It costs me 50 cents to a dollar to eat there. Outside of the university there are little restaurants on every corner that are also really cheap. If we have to spend $5 or more on a meal, it is considered pricy here.

Every day after classes, the program has something planned for us. A few days ago we traveled to the Olympic village and looked at the Bird Nest and the Water Cube.

Just yesterday our history professor took us on a trip to the Tiannamen square and told us about the different stages of the palace during each dynasty’s rule. I cannot wait for many more trips that we will have with IES to other historic places.

— Anastasia Timofeeva, junior engineering and Chinese major #HuskyAbroad #ProfessionalU

Timofeeva is studying abroad at the Beijing Foreign Studies University this summer, courtesy of several scholarships earned this past year. She received a Professional Experience grant from Professional U, a grant designed for students seeking to get involved in their career path or learn more about the world. Timofeeva also received an International Faculty Association scholarship dedicated to students with interest in fostering globalism and internationalism. Moreover, she received College of Liberal Arts study abroad scholarship and a scholarship for good academic standing from the university.