A glimpse of Saudi Arabia old and new

Hey Everyone!

Guess what? I’m going to Saudi Arabia!

I have the amazing opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia for two weeks over winter break. This opportunity presented itself after I became involved with the Model Arab League (MAL) on campus.

MAL is a model that mirrors the inner workings of the Arab League. Participants in the MAL learn about Middle Eastern politics and diplomacy. The organization that runs all the MAL conventions, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, sponsors study abroad, fellowships, and other opportunities to experience Middle Eastern culture.

Once a student has participated in one MAL convention, they are eligible for one of these study abroad opportunities. I was nominated for the Saudi Arabia Fellowship by my MAL advisor Nawal Bonomo. Once nominated, I had to apply and write an essay explaining my plans for my fellowship year.

In a fellowship program, after you spend time abroad you come home and talk about your experiences in public forum. I had to plan what kinds of public lectures, articles, and other activities I was going to do. I was selected for the program about two weeks later. This is my first time traveling out of the country and it is a dream come true!

During my two week visit to Saudi Arabia, I will see both the old and new Saudi Arabia. While many Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia are moving forward and becoming bustling centers of business and commerce, old traditions and customs are still the focus of everyday life.

I am really excited to be traveling abroad. This is truly a rare opportunity. I will be blogging from Saudi Arabia, and I will be keeping you up to date on my adventures!!!!!!

xoxo Maddy

 P.S. websites you all might be interested in reading further:

• Saudi Arabia Exchange Fellowship
• Travel.State.Gov: Saudi Arabia

— Madalyn Goss is a junior political science major with a Middle Eastern Studies minor.

#BUAbroad #HuskyUnleashed #CoCurricularLearning

The First Month: Time Moves Quickly

Though hard for me to believe, I have been a college student for over a month. It has not taken much time to get acclimated to campus life. For the first two weeks, it seemed slightly overwhelming with all of the club interest meetings and finding time to joggle class readings with tangible homework and than tossing in eating, sleeping and actually attending lecture, but I quickly developed a routine.

The Campus Food

I purchased a smaller meal plan than most other students. I have ten meals a week, while most other dorm residents have fourteen meals a week. I purchased the smaller plan because a meal plan can be increased but not decreased.

So far, I have run into no problems with my meal plan and am glad that I picked the smaller plan. I always eat breakfast in my room, I normally eat lunch in my room and than I eat dinner at the dining halls with friends. I enjoy eating lunch in my room for it forces me to do homework instead of spending the hour in between classes socializing. By the time dinner rolls around, I normally have the majority of my work done and I can afford an hour of socializing.

When I do eat in the campus facilities for dinner, I normally eat at Scranton Commons. There are many different choices and the selection helps to keep my food options exciting. The Commons, as it is often referred to, has many stations that rotate the choices. My favorite is the soup, I have a bowl nearly every day, and the pasta station.

When I eat lunch on my meal plan, I often choose Subway. I have eaten more Subway in the month I have been here than in the last two years combined. Since I get a six inch sub, it is only a few cents over my meal swipe (the dollar figure assigned to a meal on the meal plan).

The one thing I have not been able to experience yet with dining is Monty’s restaurant night. Monty’s, on upper campus, is transformed into a sit down restaurant. Unfortunately I have a Wednesday night class, so maybe next semester.

Downtown Bloomsburg

I have not experienced much of what the downtown has to offer as of to date. One Sunday morning, a group of friends traveled down to Blooming Bagels. I enjoyed my bagel, though I must say it is large. I struggled to eat the second half of the bagel, but I guess that just means it is worth the money.

The night of the power outage (the campus lost power for a night and all classes were canceled) I ate at one of the Chinese restaurants downtown. The food was better than the Chinese restaurants in my hometown, so I must say that I was impressed.

From the second I entered the restaurant, the aroma filled the air and I was ready to eat. By far my favorite place downtown is the frozen yogurt shop. I have been there multiple times and am working my way to a free cup on the stamp card. I have not yet visited the shops downtown.

Hopefully by my next blog I will have visited a few shops and the burrito shop! It is convenient to have downtown Bloomsburg only a few blocks away, especially late on the weekends when you get a food craving.

Bloomsburg Invades Kutztown

A group of my friends made the drive over to Kutztown to support the Huskies football team. It started on an adventurous note when my GPS decided to take us on nearly all backroads. At one point we traveled a one lane dirt road for close to five miles. It made for some laughs and us praying that we were not part of a horror movie.

Once we got to the game, the Bloomsburg section was full. One of my friends found it to be a bright idea to invade the Kutztown side and cheer loudly for the Huskies. The people surrounding us stared every time the Huskies pom pom was waved in the air and we were screaming loudly for Bloomsburg, anything to support Bloomsburg!

Last, But Not Least, The Fair

This year is my first time at the Bloomsburg Fair. I walked down to the fair, for I went on a day that the shuttle was not running.

The walk was not bad, though it seems far away.
Before I made any purchases, I looked at everything that the fair had to offer. The games do not strike my interest too much; I find them to be a waste of money. I went to the fair for the food.

A week’s worth of calories were consumed in a matter of two hours. I started with old fashioned lollipops, than purchased cream soda from a tap. These were my starters, I tried wings for the main food of the night.

There was homemade ice cream that they were making right at the fair. I tried peanut butter and it was by far the best ice cream that I have ever had. I thought that I was done until I passed the beef jerky stand. Of course I had to try one, it did not disappoint. As you can tell, I highly enjoy food.

To finish this blog I will end with the most interesting thing I saw at the fair. There was a small “zoo” set up under a tent. At the “zoo” you could hold and get your picture taken with a baby kangaroo. I find this to be nearly one of a kind to the Bloomsburg Fair!

— Morgan Lewis is a biochemistry major with a pre-medical studies concentration. 

#FutureHusky #HuskyUnleashed

A New Beginning: Freshman Year

Hello!

I come from a medium sized high school of about 300 students. Small enough to have a personalized education but large enough that I did not know some of the students walking at graduation. Bloomsburg in many ways reminds me of my high school. The people are friendly enough that I feel as though I know many people, than I walk into my Concepts of Biology 1 lecture and the 200 students in the auditorium remind me that I do not know all that many people.

The town of Bloomsburg is so very different from the postal code that I called home. That is right postal code. I come from Etters, Pennsylvania. It is not a city, not a town and not even on the map. In Bloomsburg it seems as though there is always something to do and pretty much anything is available just by walking down the hill into town (though walking back up can be a struggle).

I love the availability of food and shopping, which is a sharp contrast to my hometown. About a year ago, a walmart was opened in my hometown. It is the only shopping available besides a dollar store and it was one of the events to ever happen in Etters.

Why Bloomsburg? Why Biology and Finance?

Bloomsburg was the last school that I visited. It was a day in October and I had already applied and been accepted. I applied to Bloomsburg primarily because of the price. I had applied to some expensive schools and I knew that I needed to consider a school that was a little more affordable.

My aunt is a Bloomsburg alumni and she convinced me to give the university a chance. With my trusted aunt as my guide, I made the two hour drive up to campus and was given the grand tour.

Everywhere from the dining hall, to the classrooms, to navigating the library and of course the best places in town. Though I was reluctant at first, I quickly realized that Bloomsburg was everything that I had been searching for in a school. It was a school that had school spirit, lively athletics, a decent size, enthusiastic professors and a walkable campus and town.

So here I am!

Since I was young, I have always dreamed of attending medical school. The pre-medical sciences track was a no brainer. The bigger debate was should I major in Biology or Chemistry? I decided on Biology after comparing the requirements to earn each degree, but i still questioned the decision when I arrived on campus. I thought that I would most likely change my major before the end of the semester. That was until I attended my seminar class and I realized that Biology is where I belong.

Now I am guessing you are thinking “Finance? That is a strange pairing with Biology.” It is, but I want to explore a major outside of the typical science pre-medical studies route. I decided on Finance because of its practical application as a doctor. Many doctors own practices and I will need to know how to manage the financial aspects. Even if I do not own a practice and I work in a hospital, I will still need to manage personal finances.

A Summary of My First Week

When I arrived on campus, college became real. I was on my own. My parents left and I was stuck in a room alone staring at blank, white walls. Half of my room was empty for two days until my roommate arrived and I was at a loss on how to handle my free time. The time was quickly filled with honors orientation and than with the university orientation. The honors orientation quickly injected me with excitement.

We had a wonderful dinner at Dr. K’s house where we met all of the new students, a few returning students and played a game of wiffle ball. We also had a campus scavenger hunt and visited Knoebels. It made me look forward to spending four more years at Bloomsburg with the people that I was meeting.

Than the university orientation was a little less exciting, but there were enjoyable moments if one stayed optimistic and engaged. The comedy show was hilarious and many of the night time activities were well worth attending.

Once the orientation settled down it came time to make friends and settle into the place that I will call home for the next four years. I quickly connected with a girl that I believe will be my friend for a while. I found ways to fill my time, people to socialize with in the dining halls and people to call study buddies.

My classes are just getting started but I know that I will need to put a lot of time into my studies and that I have a semester ahead of me that will help ease me into college life slowly but surely. The first week has made me proud to be a new husky!

— Morgan Lewis is a dual biology and finance major with a pre-medical studies concentration. 

#FutureHusky #HuskyUnleashed

Teachers, we invite you to dinner

The day we climbed the Great Wall was a gorgeous one: Low humidity, warm temperature, and no visibility issues. The two-hour bus ride was worth the wait. When we left the city limits and entered the Mutianyu village, the surroundings reminded me of my hometown’s green countryside landscape.

When we arrived, several students wanted to take the cable car up to the wall and later walk down, and others wanted to climb the stairs that led to the wall. I wanted to climb since I did it last summer, and I remembered the distance to the wall was not as far of a climb in comparison to last week’s Mount Tai climb.

Ashley joined me and we started to climb because we wanted to reach the top because we only had about two-and-a-half hours to walk around the Great Wall, buy gifts, and eat lunch at the bottom.

It was a very hot climb. I was drenched in sweat by the time we made it to the wall section. At the top, we walked around, took some pictures of fabulous views from the Great Wall because the skies were so clear.

It turned out to be a pretty relaxing rest of the trip because the surroundings were so nice and there was enough time to have a sandwich at the Subway after buying some gifts. I really hope I get to return to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall in the future. It was a great time the second time around.

老师们，我们请你们吃完饭，可以吗？

As our final ethnic meal, we had to invite our teachers to dinner. This time, Josh and I took our teachers out together because we were the only students who were the only BU student in our Chinese classes.

I can understand as a teacher it must be difficult to find time to have an organized dinner or lunch due to the work schedule and family. Luckily the only teacher who could not join us was Josh’s hanyu (general Chinese) teacher. So altogether it was me, my hanyu and kouyu (spoken Chinese) teachers, Josh, and his kouyu teacher.

The restaurant our teachers chose was one I was familiar with because I had eaten there once last summer. In fact, it was the same restaurant my teachers from last summer chose when I took them out to dinner for the final ethnic meal. It was a little restaurant known for its pear drink. It also served a cheese and custard-flavored dessert in the shape of a fish. As written in last summer’s blog, “Everything we ordered was delicious, and the cheese fish tasted like custard.”

Chinese dinner conversation was also good. My hanyu teacher was very lively. My kouyu teacher happened to be a substitute teacher for our last week because my real kouyu teacher had to leave for a conference. She was a little quiet during dinner, but I think she still had a good time. I found that I was much more comfortable with the language than last year. We talked about our classes, our upcoming final exams the next day, our experiences in China, and my previous teaching job. My teachers were very impressed when I told them that I often cooked Chinese dishes while I was living on my own.

All in all, it was a nice final ethnic meal. It’s one of the only times we could talk to the teachers outside of the classroom setting, so it was a great way to get to know the teachers on a more personal level.

Leaving Beijing, Hoping to Come Back Again

Now that the program is over, it is time for me to go home and figure out what is going on next in my life. I had said before that I wanted a future with Asia, and a future with Asia I received. As of now, I will return to China next semester to work at SDUT for at least one more semester, and then I am considering possibly finishing a Chinese bachelor’s degree from BU since I already completed most of the credits.

Coming home to America even if it is for a few weeks after living in China for about six months is going to be a bit of an adjustment. I had gone home for a few weeks during the Chinese New Year holiday during the winter, and I remembered how quiet home was compared to Beijing or even Zibo. It was also very different seeing and hearing everything in English instead of Chinese after coming home for the first time being gone for a long stint of time. However, this time I would be coming home in the summer, so I had the nice weather to look forward to.

I think I will be back to Beijing in the future, if not the near future at least to visit next semester. I will remember all of the fond memories from this summer’s study program. I think this time was the best time around. I really liked our group, and just being more familiar with China and Chiense made the whole experience better.

Chinese Haircuts

I decided to try to get a haircut in Beijing. I had gotten my hair cut in Zibo, the city I currently work in, but I wanted the Beijing experience!
I also paid a little extra RMB to have an experienced barber, a head massage, and tea. April, Harry, and Devin also all accompanied me to the barbershop because they also wanted the Beijing haircut experience. I also helped the others translate what they wanted for their haircuts, but they seemed to do okay without me this time.

The Chinese barbers really took their time cutting and styling our hair, and the overall experience was very relaxing. This was very unlike the barbershops in the US where they try to finish a simple haircut job as quickly as possible. We arrived at 7:30 p.m. and did not leave until about 9PM.

It was nice to have some Chinese conversation with the barbers. They were friendly and very interested in cutting our foreign hair. It was funny to see all of the black hair around the barbershop excluding the places where we sat.

April and I were very satisfied with our haircuts. We even all managed to get a group picture before we left so we could remember the experience. Hopefully I will be able to get another haircut in Beijing in the future.

The Old Beijing HuTongs

The Beijing Hutongs were a sight to see at 南锣鼓巷Nanluoguxiang. Also it was not a far subway ride from Peking University. Some of the features of the Nanluoguxiang Hutongs are a main street with many restaurants, stores, an old Beijing feel, and not to mention, many Chinese and foreign tourists.

I had visited Nanluoguxiang during previous occasions in Beijing, so I was somewhat familiar with the surroundings. I ended up checking-out some of the stores to see what kinds of merchandise could be found. I ended up buying some strong Chinese Oolong tea at a cute little tea store.

The group then ate at 烤肉季 kaorouji, a Chinese restaurant famous for meat dishes. It was a delicious except for the 香菜 xiangcai they put in the barbeque meat dish. This is one spice similar to parsley only with a strong, bitter flavor that I do not like in Chinese food.

Since we did not have a lot of time to shop when we all went to Nanluoguxiang as a group, April and I decided to return one evening to have some of the old Beijing food and do some shopping. We all really enjoyed the old Beijing feel, food, and shopping both times at Nanluoguxiang.

This is one place I’d recommend to anyone traveling Beijing to see because it is very unique from the other places we’ve seen in Beijing, and the Hutong street structures date back to when Beijing was a much smaller city then the mega metropolis it is today.

Acrobatics Show

Just about everyone in the group loved the acrobatics performance. Even though I had seen the show last summer, I still could not keep my eyes off the stage (except to take an occasional picture).

Several acts have previously won acrobatics competitions in Russia and France. It was a pleasure to see these internationally renowned acrobats perform again. The opening act was a woman who climbed up several chairs stacked on top of one another and then doing contortionist acts while balancing at the top of the structure.

Other notable acts were two men who could climb stairs while standing on one hand, a group of women who could make a human pyramid while the women on the base riding bicycles, and eight motorcyclists who drove together in a limited spherical space. Based on the audiences’ gasps and applauding, most thought that this act in particular was the most nerve-wracking and exciting one to watch!

— Sarah Halter '12, English major #HuskyAbroad

A moment to last a lifetime

One of the events that we got to attend was an acrobatics show on Wednesday July 17. This was by far probably one of the best shows that I have ever seen! We traveled from Peking University to Chaoyang Theater by bus. So, again we got to travel through the insane traffic of Beijing. Cars kept getting so close to the bus that I thought that they would hit the bus, but we ended up making it to the theatre really early and without getting into any accidents.

Once the show began, it was absolutely amazing! The acts were phenomenal. There was a girl doing handstands on at least five chairs high, and she had absolutely no fear. This girl could even switch her hands that she was balancing with and not even fall off of the chair that she was on. Another act consisted of guys jumping or flipping through these small hoops, but they made that difficult task look like it was the simplest thing ever. I was just in awe for some of these beginning acts.

During one of the last acts, these girls would form a pyramid while only one of the girls was pedaling the one bike that everyone was on. It was amazing to be able to see that so many girls were capable of squeezing on one bicycle. Then a total of eight motorcycles all were driving around this gigantic sphere at precise times, so no accidents would ever occur during their time to shine on the stage. It was shocking that so many motorcycles were able to fit into that small of space.

My personal favorite act was these young girls would balance these glass bowls on either their heads or their feet, and these guys would toss them in the air or hold the girls up. Then the girls even did some flips or other gymnastics stunts. While performing these acts, the girls never once dropped those glass bowls. It was absolutely fascinating that the Chinese acrobats had this amazing sense of balance and precision. All of the acts required precise timing and they performed so well. This show will be one that I will remember for a very long time.

Being On the Great Wall

On Saturday July 20, we had the opportunity to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World: The Great Wall of China. We actually only went to the Mutianyu Section, which was a part that was preserved very well, even though some of the stairs on this portion were so large that I had trouble climbing over them. This was probably the one trip that I was most excited about going to. It was a nice and clear sunny day, which is the perfect day for us to be going to the Great Wall. However, it was really hot.

When we got there, we had the chance to either take the cable car or hike up lots of stairs to the Great Wall. I decided to try the hike up. But, not long after I started walking the heat started to get to me, and I was having some trouble with finishing my hike. I was proud of myself for making it up to the Great Wall. Since I was really slow going up the Great Wall, I was not able to catch up to the others in my group that rode the cable car up. So, I spent most of my time at the Great Wall with Sarah just walking around and enjoying the sights.

The view from the top was absolutely amazing! You could see mountains and the beautiful scenery for miles and miles. Even when you would look behind you or in front you can see that the wall just stretched for what seemed like forever. No matter where you went on the Great Wall, you were always guaranteed to have a great view. This made going to the Great Wall an experience of a lifetime. Even though it was really hot, I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. By me just being able to walk all around the wall by going up and down many more stairs made me really feel immersed in the ancient Chinese culture. Also, it was just amazing to now say that I have been on one of the Seven Wonders of the World!

The Joys and Sorrows of Shopping in China

I have been constantly writing about all of the events that we have gone on, but I haven’t really written much about food or the culture of living in Beijing. So, I decided that I would talk about a few adventures that I have had while in Beijing.

Even though my Chinese is not the best, I am getting better at navigating my way through the Chinese subway. This is a major accomplishment for me since I am terrible when it comes to directions. One day this past week (July 21), Laura and I decided to travel via the subway to the Silk Market with some friends from our Chinese classes. The subway is actually very clean by the standards of what I have seen in the New York subways. Some of the subway lines are very beautifully decorated with pretty paintings and beautiful artwork. It is really an interesting thing to compare to the subway system back home. Also, the subways in China tend to get really crowded and you almost always have to stand, but other than that the subway really is a very efficient and cheap way to travel.

After a really long subway ride and one transfer stop, we made it to the Silk Market. Now, shopping in China is far different than the how we would shop back in America. In America, everything usually has a set price or even a sale price that is unable to be changed. In China, you are able to bargain to get an item for a price that you are willing to pay. In my Chinese classes, we have been talking about shopping, so I knew some basics, but most of the people in the market speak English really well. Laura and I asked the one salesperson where she learned English from and she explained that she picked it up from working at the market, so we tried talking with her in both English and Chinese for a little while we were shopping for presents for our family and friends.

Shopping in China is an amazing experience, and very interesting. Some salespeople are very persistent and will yell at you, and others will even grab you and try to get you to come in the store or to even look at their items. I am mainly used to browsing when I shop at home not being bombarded by so many people. I believe that the experience that Laura and I had this past week will really help us when we go to the Pearl Market this Friday (July 26), since we now have an idea how to bargain to get the lowest prices that we could, even though we may have overpaid for some of the items that we bought on this trip.

The Many Places of Beijing

During the last week of the study abroad trip, some of the group wanted to be able to travel more and be able to see more of the great places that Beijing has to offer. One day (July 22), Jackie, Ed, Andy, and I decided to travel by the subway to the Bird’s Nest Stadium. We all wanted to be able to see where the 2008 Beijing Olympics were held at.

It was only a short ride on the subway till we got there. But, when we finally got there, the stadium was amazing to look at. I never realized just how large of a structure the stadium is till I was standing next to it. (We have passed the Bird’s Nest Stadium a few times when traveling by bus to some of our other scheduled events.) Just looking at the architecture of the building was astounding. It really had the appearance of a bird’s nest with all of the steel looking poles everywhere.

The inside was just so huge! And no matter where we sat in the stadium we had a great view. We walked around and got to watch some reruns of the 2008 Olympics. It really was amazing to know that so many amazing athletes were at that location just a few years ago.

Another day (July 23) Jackie, Laura, and I wanted to go to the National Library of China to see one of the largest libraries in the world. This library had over 26 million books and it was huge. It had five floors; the library even had a cafeteria and a gift shop. And, we wanted to be able to practice some Chinese while we were there. One of the lessons that we had during our classes was having us ask where the library was. So, Jackie wanted to walk up to someone after we got off of the subway and ask where the library was in Chinese. The person helped us by pointing in the direction of where the library was. I am really glad that we got to go and see one of the largest libraries with so many books and so much to do inside.

On July 25, we wanted to be able to see China’s most iconic animal: the panda. The only place that we would be able to see a panda was at the Beijing Zoo. Our zoo trip included Jackie, Ed, Andy, Josh, Laura, April, and I. It really was a good time seeing all of the animals such as the pandas, lions, and elephants. It was a very hot day, so many of the animals were exhausted and just sleeping. I was disappointed that the tigers were not out to see, but other than that the animals were all very interesting to see.

The only animal that was shocking to see was a raccoon in the zoo. We have them all over Pennsylvania and in China they have them in a zoo! Jackie decided to tell some Chinese woman how see ran over a raccoon with her car. The poor woman was so scared she quickly walked away after looking completely terrified. The only problem I had with the zoo was some of the people were treating us like an exhibit and were taking pictures of us like we were some weird type of animal walking around the zoo.

After the zoo, we went to the Beijing Aquarium to see all of the large variety of fish and others such as the belugas. The belugas were swimming all around with a driver and doing some really funny tricks. We got to see many fish of all different sizes and colors at the coral reef exhibit. It really was so pretty to look at the coral reef fish and see so many different species and to learn a little about them.

So, we have learned that Beijing has so many places to visit that were not on our agenda to do, and all of us had an amazing time.

On the Stairway to Heaven

On Friday July 26, we went to see the Temple of Heaven. When we were there, we got to stand in what the Chinese believe to be the center of the universe, and where the Chinese would make sacrifices for the over 700 gods. Some of the gods were even trees that were over 500 years old. And, then we got to see one of these tree gods, which was a Juniper tree that was over 550 years old! Chinese legend says that you are to stick out your hand and see what you feel. For example, if you do not feel anything then you are considered to be a bad person. Or, if you hand feels warm then good things will happen to you, such as good health. And, with the majority of our group being sickly with some form of a cold at this point, we were all hoping that we would feel some warmth when we stuck out our hands.

Seeing the Temple of Heaven was amazing. The buildings all looked amazing, even though one of the largest buildings (The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests) has been rebuilt since it was destroyed in a fire in the past. Just being able to look inside of the building and see all of the amazing and colorful artwork that was all over the building was absolutely amazing.

As Jackie, Laura, and I were walking around the largest building, we kept getting our picture taken by some random people since we look so different than them. So, we kept saying how we were going to walk up to some random people and ask to have a picture with them. But, Laura said that she wished that we would get our picture taken with a person with a baby. The reason she wanted that was because then we would get two people with us in the picture (the concept of two for the price of one). Right after Laura said that, a woman walked over to us with her baby and asked if she could get a picture with all three of us. We all laughed and said that the Temple of Heaven has answered one of our prayers.

Overall, it was a really good and sad day. It was fun getting to learn more fascinating history about Beijing. However, it was sad since this was the last day of our cultural field trips during the summer study abroad program.

Reflection

After spending one month in Beijing, I have learned so much about the Chinese culture and language. I have learned how to speak and write some basic Mandarin. I even passed both of the exams in my Hanyu and Kouyu classes. I really feel as though I have accomplished a lot while being in China such as being able to see some of the most amazing places that I have ever seen in my life.

Many people have their own types of misconceptions about the Chinese culture and way of living. But, experiencing the culture teaches you that many of the things that you hear about a foreign country are not always true. Just being able to experience a culture and see right from your own eyes how the people do everything teaches you to form your own opinions. I learned that even though China is considered a developing country, their way of living and handling themselves as a country is working pretty well for them. Many of the people that I got to know that lives there believe that China is a great place to live. Beside the air quality with the pollution, I would agree with them.

I am going to miss a lot of things about China, such as the food since it was absolutely amazing. I will also miss my teachers since they taught me so much. Even though my classes were tough, I am glad that they were able to teach me so much in one short month. And, I am going to miss all of the amazing people that I had the opportunity to meet and get to know over the past month.

Overall, China is an amazing place with many historical aspects to offer. I am very grateful that I have decided to go on this study abroad trip. And, I recommend that you should always try to study abroad while you are in college. It is a once in a lifetime experience, where you would get to meet some of the greatest people. It is probably the best decision that I have ever made in my life to do, and I have many memories that will last a lifetime.

— Ashley Boehmer, mathematics major #HuskyAbroad

Not at all what I expected

One of the coolest things I’ve seen since being in China was the Chinese acrobatic show. There was not a single act that did not amaze me in someway. These people were seriously superhuman. No need to watch the Avengers, there’s real superheroes right here in China! Just kidding, you should definitely watch the Avengers, but as far as real life goes, this was pretty amazing. There were people standing on one hand while balancing twenty feet in the air on one leg of a chair, there were people that could walk down these pegs with while another person stood on their head on their back.

Seriously it was absolutely fantastic. The ending show was a motorcycle riding around in a circular cage driving in circles and upside down. The craziness didn’t end there though… The China men put three more motorcycles in that cage… and then four more after that. A total of eight motorcycles were driving around in a very confined circular space. I couldn’t believe it was even happening. However, this show showed me that there really is no limit to what the human body can accomplish if you are disciplined enough.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is the most spectacular place I’ve ever been to. There’s so much to it. I loved how peaceful it was, it was great to just escape the craziness of the Beijing City for a little while. It was another great climb up, not nearly as long and tiring as the climb up Mount Tai, but still very tiring. Once up on the wall, the view was so amazing. Everywhere you looked you could see mountain stretching on everywhere. No skyscrapers, just the wall and the mountains, with small towns in the distance. It was also very humbling being there, because of all of the history behind the Great Wall. Just contemplating the building of it amazed me. It’s seriously amazing what humans can accomplish. The only regret I had about the Great Wall is not being able to spend a longer amount of time there, I would have loved to have climbed all the way to the top of it, but time was not on our side. Overall, the Great Wall has been my favorite site in China.

The Birds Nest Stadium

On Monday some of us took a trip to the famous Birds Nest Stadium. The Birds Nest Stadium is where the 2008 Olympics were held. The 2008 Beijing Olympics marks the first time China has ever hosted the Olympics. This is a big point of pride for the Chinese. The stadium is one of the coolest modern man made structures I’ve ever seen. The architecture is so unique from anything I’ve seen in America. Being in the Olympic stadium was a great feeling in and of itself. One of my favorite moments was when we went to the fifth floor and just sat and took it all in for awhile. It was a great feeling to be at a place were so much history was made. It wasn’t just another stadium, it was the Olympic stadium! It was especially cool because I’ve never been to an Olympic stadium. There was also an opportunity to ride around on a segway on the track there, but time kept us from doing that. Overall just being there and seeing the stadium was a great experience.

Dinner with Professors

During the last week of classes my classmates from Bloomsburg and I had the opportunity to take our professors out to dinner. It was one of my most favorite experiences. We let our professors pick the place to eat, which turned out to be a fantastic idea. Not surprisingly since they know the area quite a bit better than we do. At dinner I fell in love with one of my favorite dishes in China: Qiezi. Qiezi means eggplant. I never thought I would say eggplant would be a favorite of mine, but it was absolutely fantastic. Oddly enough it’s also what Chinese people say when they’re posing for a picture; like us saying “Cheese!” It was great to be able to talk to our professors outside of the classroom to get to know them better. They had the opportunity to learn more about America from us, and we learned a little more about China life from them. Overall a great experience.

Temple of Heaven/Pearl Market

Our last excursion in China was to the Temple of Heaven and the Pearl Market. Both were very cool and unique places. The Temple of Heaven reminded me a lot of the Forbidden City; it had traditional style buildings, and just had a very traditional Chinese feel to it. The Pearl Market was completely the opposite. We got a look at China’s idea of a Capitalistic economy. At the market we were attacked by the Chinese merchants trying to sell us whatever they possibly could. The problem with stuff in China is that even if it looks legitimate, it most likely is not. This is the reason you can get things for so cheap there. The one fun thing about China markets is bartering. Bartering isn’t something commonly done in America, but it turns out it’s quite a bit of fun. It makes the act of buying things much more fun. This is probably a bad thing in retrospect.

Reflections on China

China was not at all what I expected when I imagined going to China. I loved the experience, but I think I’ve realized that I’m not a big fan of cities, and China in general is a place I would not ever want to live. However, the opportunity to live in China even for only a month is an experience that I will never forget, especially the bonds with friends and teachers that were made. Not to mention getting to fully immerse myself in the Chinese language was fantastic. I still love speaking Chinese, and look forward to continuing to learn it. Not to mention the opportunity taught me a lot about myself, and other cultures. It also convinced me that I want to go visit other countries and experience their cultures as well.

Zaijian China!

— Andrew F. Rector, digital forensics major

One Great Adventure!

Who missed going up stairs?! This girl! After our Mount Tai trip I think I'm pretty sure none of us wanted to see another flight of stairs again, but this is the great wall! It's worth it! (and there was a cable car to it). Not everyone took the cable car, but Jackie, Laura, and I did so we got to the wall pretty quickly. Then we had plenty of time to explore. The view was breath taking, some of us who are from outside of the city felt right at home.

It's a very strange feeling to see something for so many years on television, in books, on posters, etc. and then actually be physically standing there. The connection takes a while to make that is is what you've seen for so long and you can actually reach out and touch it. I'm horrible with heights and it was pretty high, so for some parts I had to take a step back and re gather myself, but it was really worth it.

Fear is not something to keep me from a world wonder! I felt very lucky to be able to see the great wall. More than any of the historical places we've been, here I felt like it really was this little snap shot in time and for a moment you could be a part of the past is no longer present. Maybe it's that the great wall is so big and it must have taken so much power to construct that you feel very small in comparison. It's a very strange feeling. I think we all felt it though and we'll probably hold onto that for the rest of our lives. And someone I'm not going to say who really wanted to hold onto it, and actually took a piece of rock from the wall!

Cheaper! Cheaper! I'm a poor student!

I never thought that line would ever get me anywhere. It never does at home! Today we did some bargaining for things like shirts that said I hear BJ. It means Beijing! Not what you're thinking! As Jocelyn says, if any foreigner from America is wearing that shirt, they're doing it to be funny! Anyway, today we went to the Pearl Market and got to be overwhelmed first hand by all the sellers. Most of them only know enough English to really accost you when you walk buy yelling things like, “Hello! Come look! Pretty ladies need the bags!”

At first it's not too bad, until every shop owner there does it to you! I ended up just walking with my eyes down until I was sure of what I wanted to buy there. The other girls had lists so they ran off in different directions trying to hunt down for the best price on the things they needed. For someone like me though, I just wanted to look around, but it became apparent really quickly that I wouldn't be able to do that. Anytime I would look at something someone would ask me how much I wanted to pay.

Eventually I found Laura and decided to stick with her because she knew what she wanted and while she was bartering things down, I could have a minute to look around without being accosted at every turn. We found the strangest shop owners the first time we both were trying to buy something, you could tell they were pros at this. While Laura was looking at fans I watched some man who wasn't have much luck with the store owner.

He told her 150 for 15 fans.

And the woman had a fit! She was acting like a 5 year old having a temper tantrum. She yelled no no how dare you! How am I supposed to eat, I can't sell them to you for that what do you take me for! The man then took out 200 yuan and tried handing it to her saying 150 repeatedly, but she just got angrier and then they both started arguing again. Finally the man walked away. She yelled at him 200, but he came back saying 150 and the argument started again.

Then Laura and I got to try our luck with her partner. I wanted a wooden fan that smelled like flowers and she wanted to buy 4 fans. Laura said 100 and didn't have much luck with this woman. I said 40 for one fan and she wouldn't go lower than 50. So eventually Jocelyn, our favorite assistant, came to the rescue, but even she couldn't sway these girls.

We left that stand and I ended up buying the same fan I'd offered 40 yuan for for 10 yuan at another shop with a really nice man. I decided to buy some stuff from him because he didn't harass me when I walked by and he also gave me the price of 10 yuan for the same fan I wanted upstairs without me even having to barter for that price!

It's a crazy game! I'll never really know if I got a good price for any of the stuff I bought, but It was fun getting to practice my Chinese and argue with people. Many of the people I bargained with were laughing with me when they would say ridiculous things to try and get me to buy stuff. It was a very fun experience.

What I learned from China

I'm home now, and a little sad. I learned so much from China and I already miss it. I have to suppress the urge when at restaurants to stand up and yell “Hey, waitress!” While in China I learned how to balance on my bike with someone on the back of it. Something I have yet to try at home. My mom doesn't want to try it? I'm not sure why...

I learned how to get into places I really want to go, when I'm not really allowed. Just pretend like you know what you're doing, you're really important, and if anyone is like hey wait a minute you're not allowed in here... just close the show a bunch of IDs at them and press close on the elevator doors. I learned that in Beijing it's acceptable to butt ahead to the front of the line. Especially if you say something like, “I'm sorry I've had a bad day” Even if it's only 7 in the morning.

But one of the most important things I've taken from this trip is how foreigners must feel at home. This experience made me feel like every single immigrant in the states who can only speak in broken English. Even thought I knew the words to get what I wanted done I still felt awful. I felt like I couldn't make the pleasant kind of conversation I would at home with store owners or random people. I couldn't make connections with people I didn't know. The closest thing I could was smile and hope that it portrayed everything I was feeling, but a smile can only say so much.

I realize I'm not completely inept in Chinese. I can go to a restaurant, order what I want, when some other Americans not with our group I saw couldn't even do that. The relief on the clerk's face when I told them what I wanted in Chinese after the group that knew nothing was apparent, but at home I would try and talk to them ask them how there day is, etc. Here I couldn't do any of that.

The best example is the first day I met my friend in class from Korea, Chae ri. She is from S. Korea, but has been in Japan for the past year. I was so happy to meet here because I'd taken 2 years of Japanese when I was younger. The first day of class she pointed to me and I said “April” and she nodded and repeated my name then I pointed to her and she said, “chae ri.” I repeated her name. After this we both just stared at each other and I could tell we were both trying telepathically get our word across to each other. All I could think was, “Know what I'm saying in my head!!!” And for that day we just kept repeating each others names to each other. After the first day our talks were in a weird mix of English, Chinese, and Japanese.

I came to China to learn the language and have a fun vacation, but many people come to the states not because they want to, or want a vacation, but to help their families or because they have to. If I took one thing away from this, it's to be as understand as possible to those who don't speak English. We don't know why they're here or what they've come from and it can be kind of overwhelming at times not being fluent in the language of the country you're in, but being angry at these people is not going to help the situation. I've never be one to angry with someone for not knowing English, but I know I could probably be a lot more amiable.

Feats that Surprise and Amaze!

Be prepared to be amazed! And in my case terrified! On July 16th we went to the Acrobatics show. I was amazed and scared for their lives as I'm sure some of the other girls were! There were plenty of beautiful scenes, but I'll tell you about first, but then the last act had all of us speechless. The first act was a woman who kept stacking chairs one by one by one until she got to the top and began to balance herself at the top. There were other performance with beautiful umbrella tricks, juggling hats, and bicycles. I've never been to Cirque du Soleil, but I imagine it's probably quite similar.

By the time the second to last act came out with all the girls piling onto one bicycle I thought it couldn't get much dangerous, but I was wrong. They ended up putting 8 motorcyclists in what seems like a metal circle cage of doom. They all ride their motorcycles around inside and somehow manage not to die! Every time they added one more cyclist Jackie, sitting next to me kept yelling, “no!” Laura one the other side of me had her hand over her mouth the whole time, and I who was almost certain we were all about to witness a death kept filming on my camera phone in case the police needed evidence later, but thank goodness, they were all safe and came out fine. I think we all let out the breath we'd been holding once the last cyclist rode out.

Hi ho, hi ho! It's off to Houhai we go!

July 15th was a first for some of us. It was the first time we rode the Beijing subway! After we attended an urban planning lecture on campus by Ms. Hu Yingjie, we were off to take a look at the changes in the city of Beijing for ourselves.

The first comment I have to make is how clean these subways were! It's crazy! The subway station is like an air port! Another great thing is that the lanes are enclosed so no one can fall in! After a quick subway ride that wasn't really anymore crowded than a NYC subway ride during rush hour, we ended up in 南锣鼓巷 or the South Drums and Gongs Lanes. It was a place with lots of shops and it kind of reminded me of the promenade back home. Most things in the shops were expensive enough to be at the promenade. It was really interesting to see the fish bone structure of the lanes in person, after seeing them on the PowerPoint slides, and try and imagine how the lanes might have looked only a few years ago before the urban planning helped out the area.

Next we went to Houhai for dinner. We had a great traditionally meal full of all the questionable things that you try first and ask what is later. Then it was off to do some more sight seeing. The area was surround a huge lake and had many bars and restaurants. I think this will definitely be a place to come back to once we're all done with our tests. :)

The best haircut I've ever received was in China?!

Today I got a haircut! I know, I know. So what? Well, let me explain. My friend Huiting had always told me if you get a chance to get a haircut in China, jump on it! She had described to me that it was sooo cheap and they even massage your head. So of course, when Sarah asked if I wanted to get a haircut, I dropped everything! Devon, Harry, Sarah, and I all went to a place just down the street that looked like a fancy hair salon your would find in any big city on the good side of town.

Initially I was a bit worried about pricing, but I was told it would only be 50 yuan, which is about $8 American money. So cheap! Especially for me, my hair is like a Chiia pet! Darn you Greek genes! At home it usually cost me 30 bucks to get a even a trim because they take one look at my hair and say, that's gonna cost you extra! But, here in China, I got the same price Harry did who has like 5 times less hair than I do!

We all sat in the waiting room, Sarah told us what to say to only get a little bit cut off: bu jian tai duo. So while the guys were talking to some staff I kept practicing. I had just dyed the tips of my hair recently and didn't want them to cut it off. I could tell they probably weren't used to our types of hair because one of the girls came into the waiting room and exclaimed, “woah!” as soon as she saw us. Harry went first, then I was next. They washed my hair, massaged my head and even my ears. It was very relaxing. Then we went to get our hair cut. I was sitting next to Sarah who'd paid for a better barber, but I really couldn't tell on my end. I was really happy with what I got.

I'm not particularly picky, so I told him to do whatever, just don't cut off the blonde ombre that took me so long to do. The barber took an hour and a half on my hair. I didn't know what to say, he was so thorough. At times he cut some strands of my hair individually to make sure it was perfect. And as many girls know, hairdressers in America don't always listen to what you want and just do what they think you should have, but this guy kept asking Sarah to ask me if it was okay to cut more and he only cut a little at a time. He seemed worried I'd be upset he cut too much off. I was baffled he'd actually listened to me!

For the guys this wasn't something they liked because I'm sure they're used to fast haircuts with such short hair. I however was sooooo happy. I can't count the amount of places that I've gone to that just chop my hair off and try to get me in and out as soon as possible. This guy really tried to make my hair perfect before I left, he even followed me up to the register when I went to pay and continued moving my hair around until he thought it was perfect.

So guys, you probably don't want to get your hair cut in China, but girls I think you should not pass this up. I can tell you first hand, you'll feel like a little doll that they just want to make sure looks perfect before you're done. It was really nice to feel like the hair dresser actually cared what I looked like before I left.

— April Mavroleon, French major and Chinese minor