Home

I am home. Well, I am in a small room in an apartment I am sharing with my host grandmother on the eleventh floor of a building near Tsinghua and Peking Universities (and, as it happens, just around the block from the hotel we stayed in for IMUSE). Home for the next three months. Before I go any further, I suggest you listen to the song "Home" as you read the next part because it will make my writing seem a lot more entertaining.

My host family consists of the grandmother, who lives in the same apartment as I, smokes all the time, and is incredibly difficult for me to understand (she doesn't have teeth and doesn't wear dentures, so she slurs a lot), the mother, who is a lawyer and who seems like the head of the family in my estimation (or at least the instigator of hosting students), the father, who also smokes incessantly and who I haven't really gotten to know that well yet, and the son, who is a twelve-year-old only child. The rest of the family lives in an apartment one floor up. The smoking in the house is hard for me to get used to, but there is no polite way I can think of asking them to stop. I have played Xiangqi with the son, Jimmy, for the past two nights, and have really enjoyed that. I ate dinner with the family both nights, which they don't have to provide, but which they kindly have offered. They parents and son speak at least a little English, but they have thankfully spoken Chinese except to explain difficult words for me. I think the family will be a lot of fun to get to know (I will provide pictures soon, but for now you'll have to do with HK pictures and a picture of my room).

I was going to live with another W&M student in this apartment, but the grandma decided to return to Beijing from the countryside at the last minute, so it will just be me, which I prefer, since it will hopefully be more personal and more Chinese. If you're interested, here is an interesting story about foreigners in China from the Economist. I think it does a really good job showing the issues and differences foreigners find in China. I'll try to find the positive side to the debate for my next post.

We immersion Chinese students got our class schedule for the next semester:

Class Schedule for Immersion Track

(Fall 2012)

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00am-10:50 am
11:00am-12:00 pm	One-on-One	One-on-One	One-on-One	One-on-One	One-on-One
Lunch Break
1:00pm-1:50 pm	Comprehensive	Comprehensive	Comprehensive	Comprehensive	Weekly Quiz 1:00pm-3:00pm
2:00pm -2:50 pm	Comprehensive	Comprehensive	Comprehensive	Comprehensive
3:00pm - 4:00 pm	Drill	Drill	Drill	Drill	Language Practicum 3:00pm-5:00pm
Dinner
6:00pm-6:50pm	Discussion	Discussion	Discussion	Discussion
7:00pm-8:00pm	Spoken Chinese	Spoken Chinese	Spoken Chinese	Oral Test
Note: There will be a total of 27 in class hours each week for immersion Chinese. Minor changes might occur due to unforeseen circumstances. One-on-One session includes 10 minutes pronunciation tutoring.

It looks like quite a workload that deserves its tough reputation. I like that I will be able to sleep late/talk with friends and family in my morning and their evening. We will also avoid traffic, which saves tons of time (when we took a bus to Tsinghua or Peking during rush hour in IMUSE, it took us about an hour to get to a place that should have taken five minutes). I'm psyched.

 My room. Not unpacked quite yet - I am going to talk with my host mom about getting a dresser

 During one of my last days in HK, I went to Peng Chau, a small outlying island, and hiked around the beautiful scenery

 It felt wonderful to be able to scramble over boulders and beaches without worrying about my back

 The view of Mirador Mansion, the building where both of my hostels (as well as dozens others) were, from the inner courtyard

My tiny little single room (though I did have a bathroom to myself). Yes, that is Nutella on the suitcase. Mmmmm...

Second hostel on the third floor

I'm on my own. The conference finished two days ago with a farewell lunch followed by a mad scramble for accommodations for the night. Several delegates either had flights the next day or planned, like me, to stay in Hong Kong for a few more days, so those of us who hadn't planned so well as others were busy trying to find a place to stay. What made it more confusing was that we wanted to stay together if possible but one person might stay with a friend while another wanted to stay in the dorm we were currently at while another wanted to stay with the second person while the first actually did want to stay with with us if we stayed in the dorm but the dorm would only let us stay for one night and so on and so forth, with one of the delegates, Felix, and I calling hostels looking for rooms for anywhere from two to six people. In the end, the people that were staying only one more day decided to simply stay where we had been and Felix and I decided to go to a hostel on our own.
We were taught the price of our procrastination by being overcharged for a room with a double bed and a bathroom stuffed into a room the size of a walk-in closet, but located much more centrally in Tsim Sha Tsui in "Mirador Mansion," a shabby building full of hostels, guesthouses, and tailors. We settled in and headed to Victoria Peak to meet other delegates for one last outing with a gorgeous view of Hong Kong at night.
The day before, we went to HK University for two really fascinating lectures about social entrepreneurship. I was a big fan of one in particular that was by a young guy who didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life, but came out with a career surrounding the things he loves. It was reassuring to think that he went so long not sure but came out with a career.
After the lectures, we went to a mall in Tsim Sha Tsui (that my hostel happens to be very close to, so I am currently in it writing this) that one of the main sponsors of IMUSE owns. We saw some art installations in the mall including a pretty awesome Mona Lisa made out of toast before going to do some art ourselves. We each got a ~2 by 2 canvas, an apron, a rainbow of acrylic paint, and feast of Pizza Hut and KFC, and were given free reign. A friend of mine and I decided to paint portraits of each other to exchange, which I really had a lot of fun doing.
I have spent the last days exploring HK and spending time with some of the delegates still in Hong Kong. I have mostly wandered and relaxed, enjoying the perplexing freedom of schedule-less days. Felix left to go to Macau, so I took the opportunity to shop around for a cheaper hostel (all in Mirador Mansion so I don't have to lug my bags around too much), bringing me to a single room (safer for my years-worth of luggage) with a bathroom for hk$180 (~20USD) instead of a similar double for hk$420 (~50USD).
In other news, my Kindle broke. Hong Kong seems to have a way with my Kindles, since the same thing happened last summer when I was here. I got by with my iPod for a day before doing some research and going to a huge computer and electronics market and searching for one there. Only one shop had Kindles, and their prices were reasonable (and unchanging when I asked multiple salespeople), so I went ahead and bought one, upgrading to a Kindle touch with 3G and a case (while my Foxtrot cover was undoubtedly awesome, it twice failed to achieve its supposed purpose of protecting my Kindle) for hk$1800, about 225USD, which, at about $40 more than buying in the US, seemed worth it for the ease and speed of purchase and the otherwise high shipping costs.
That's quite a large helping of the inner workings of the mind of Dylan, so I will stop here for now.

Noses are hard... 

 Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

It's a monster! 

 Fresh fish at a market in Kowloon

 I liked the clothing disparity here

 And here. Also, I hope to have eyebrows like this someday 

 Meat.

 Fruits and Vespas

Vegetables and Fruit of the Loom

An island half a world across the sea

The conference has arrived in Hong Kong. We're staying in nice dorms at the Hong Kong Baptist University in Kowloon (check out the map below). Before I get to HK though, I will recount my last few days in Beijing.
We remained busy throughout our time in Beijing, with the exception of one day when we were able to explore Beijing (pictures in the previous post), during which we ate Peking duck, went to Tiananmen, and explored Wangfujing (a street full of strange snacks and souvenirs) and Houhai (an area of bars and restaurants surrounding a man-made lake in the center of Beijing). We had a Model UN-style Rio Conference in which we worked to safe the world from itself, which we of course did, with yours truly named best delegate (I should have warned you earlier, but yeah, I am going to brag to my blog every once in a while). On our last night, we had an exquisite meal with a gigantic cake followed by a wild night of karaoke, which we extended until about 4 in the morning, when we got back to the hotel, packed, showered, and got on the bus for our flight to HK.
Our first evening in HK was free, which several delegates and I took advantage of to go to the Temple Street night market for a dinner of crab and rice (I had never picked crab before - for those of you who are as uninitiated as I was, it is quite a task) and some shopping. I got back early enough to get a good night of sleep to make up for the long night of KTV (karaoke).
A quick note on the differences between HK and the mainland (running under "One country - Two systems"). I think HK is accurately described as a place where traditional Chinese culture meets western culture, put into a separate political and economic system. The cultural differences are subtle, but the political ones are glaring and immediately obvious, with campaign posters all over the city in preparation for an election on September 9 (HK runs on a strange, partially-democratic system, with half of the legislators chosen by popular vote and the other half by interest groups and the CCP - the executive in charge of HK is elected by a similarly convoluted system that strongly favors the government in Beijing). I am sure there are many other differences that I haven't noticed, but that is a glaring one.
Today, we had two excellent lectures at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology about US-China relations and on the effect studying abroad has on the world views of Chinese students. After a lunch of dim sum at the school's canteen, we left in groups to explore HK. The time here has been a lot of fun so far, and it seems like the HK IMUSE staff planned a little better than the Beijing staff (there was often confusion and overly busy days in Beijing). I am getting to know the other delegates better and better, and I think I will have several lasting friendships come out of the conference.
Also, one interesting thing about the conference is that it has kept me so busy with events and outings and social gatherings that I feel like I have gotten accustomed to China without even realizing it. A nice feeling for ten days into a year long stay.

 Beijing traffic

 On The HK Baptist University campus

 Some delegates at the night market on Temple Street

 A man examines jade to check its quality

A woman playing on her phone because who wouldn't if they were staffing a booth full of sex toys 

 A beautiful view for the HK University for Science and Technology

 View from the Peak

 A banner denouncing Japan (Japanese nationalists recently raised a Japanese flag on some islands north of Taiwan, which has led to anti-Japanese protests throughout China - your fearless protagonist bravely took this picture with a Sony camera)

 A rainbow in Victoria Harbor at night

A day in the life

Where to start, where to start… China. Beijing, China. Mostly north-western Beijing, near the area known as WuDaoKou, where universities rub shoulders like my elbows in a Beijing subway car at rush hour. We, the delegates of IMUSE, have spent the last days shuttling around this area getting to know the many facets of China and of each other. We meet in the lobby of our hotel, the Green Tree Inn, progressively earlier each day before getting on a bus (we tried going in groups on taxis, but most everyone (especially American delegates) failed to account for the morning traffic) and sitting in traffic for about 40 minutes as we head to Tsinghua or Peking for a morning of lectures and discussions. Depending on the day, we lunch in Tsinghua cafeterias or on our own. After lunch we may have more lectures or we may go to a company visit. The lectures have been about a wide array of topics, from Sino-US relations to Law to Energy. The company visits have been to a business consulting group, Hejun Consulting, where we split into groups and gave a bilingual presentation on whether a business should expand to the US/China or not (my group, CHJ Jewelry, won!), and to ENN Corporation, where we learned about its  innovation in the field of energy, from solar to natural gas. The lecturers have been university professors, some of them quite famous, such as He Weifang, a scholar who wrote on constitutional law and proposed a new constitution for China, which resulted in his being sent to teach in Xinjiang for two years.

Overall, the conference has been intellectually and socially stimulating and tiring (especially when combined with jetlag). I have met people from all over China and the United States, and even a delegate from Germany and another from Argentina. Actually, let me back up for a moment. Not really from all over the US. From about 9 states in the US, confined to ivy leagues beside one delegate from Carleton College and myself. The German delegate is from Oxford. There is still pretty good diversity among the delegates, but personally I find myself mostly drawn to the Chinese delegates rather than the other American delegates. While there is diversity among the American delegates, for the most part they (we) show the diversity of white and Asian upper-middle class privilege, from the ffrat-y tank-top wearer armed with a smile and a compliment for authority figures and an ego fit-for-three to the Duke college student who has trouble moving her clothes between her houses and goes for weekend trips to Miami and New York. That is not to say this isn’t a smart group of people. These people are very smart and driven. They (we) are also young and naïve, full of them(our)selves and their (our) assured bright future.

The Chinese delegates are, at least to my inexperienced eyes, a different sort. They definitely represent the Chinese upper-middle class, but, for the large part, they are much less full of themselves. Many of them are older, around 24 or 25, and working on Masters or PhDs, so they have had more time to mature. Also, since the main language of the conference is English, they are immediately somewhat humbled by having to use a foreign language.

I have gotten to know several delegates fairly well, and I am looking forward to continuing doing so over the next days. For now, I will get back to IMUSE and Beijing.

 Break time at Hejun consulting

 Group picture on "Explore Beijing" day

 Exploring Wangfujing, a street full of all sorts of snacks and souvenirs

 Correctly guess the flavor we chose for Ryan's (who took the picture) and my first hookah experience, and I'll sing a song of your choice in your honor during my next karaoke outing!

--- Note: I initially wrote this on August 17, but lack of internet access has left it unpublished until now. We arrived in HK today, which I will write more about later ---

The hotel somewhere over that way

I have arrived, safe and sound. My flights (Richmond - Chicago - Beijing) went smoothly and relatively quickly (though my flight from Chicago to Beijing had a dismal movie selection of about 8 mediocre titles. To more than make up for it, I had my seat moved to an emergency exit row with more leg room than you can imagine. There was so much room for activities!

My seatmate was a very outgoing and friendly guy named Logan who works for the Coast Guard as what sounded like an environmental policeman. He shared some whiskey and some stories, and, along with a very friendly and open flight attendant, made the flight very nice overall.

Beijing airport was not so exciting. I spent an hour waiting for my luggage followed by an hour in a taxi cue and an hour actually getting to the hotel (my driver didn't know where it was, so he called two friends figuring it out) for the conference, arriving a little after 3am.

The first day of the conference was an amusement park, fun and exhilarating and leaving me exhausted at the end of the day. I met a few dozen people (about half from China and half from the US) whose names, colleges (mostly ivy leagues), majors (all sorts, from East Asian Studies to Dentistry), and hometowns I am struggling to remember and keep straight. I didn't miss to much due to my late flight, which was reassuring. We had a panel about Sino-US relations, during which I brought up foreign aid competition in Africa, which illustrated the really interested Chinese scholarship on the subject that is available. Following lunch, we all went to a lecture by a famous Chinese academic, He Weifang, who has done a lot of work to establish Rule of Law in China. The lecture was in Chinese, which challenged my Chinese and limited my understanding, but it was a fascinating lecture. We had dinner at a cafeteria at Tsinghua (4 floors, with tons of choices, with gov't-subsidized prices. We then got into groups to work on a group presentation for Wednesday.

Overall, it has been a good first day. I am very tired, but it felt good to be back. There are always the things you forget about, the annoyances that never enter your mind when you think back fondly, like not being able to brush your teeth with water from the faucet. My roommate, Qiu Daolong, is a master degree candidate at Peking University (he will be there one more year, just like me!), and is very polite, helpful, and friendly. All is well.

 All dressed up for the opening ceremony of IMUSE (Initiating Mutual Understanding through Student Exchange) 2012

 A famous Western-style building on the Tsinghua University campus

Some children doing an ROTC-like program on the Peking University campus

Falling

I feel like I am falling. Not falling to death or anything like that, but falling, with no firm ground under my feet, and unsure of exactly what I will find when I reach the ground. With my flight cancellation today, it is like I misjudged my distance from the ground, and suddenly I have to prepare all over again. I am confident in my landing and my preparation, but I am still floating, waiting to hit the ground. 

That is a rather metaphorical way to start a blog (though I plan to treat this more as a Journal (with pictures!) than a blog, so be prepared), but I think it is an apt description of my current state-of-mind. Everything is rushing by - packing, bike rides, goodbyes - and my mind is whirling and focusing and refocusing as I seek firm footing. 

However I am feeling, it is here. China. Tomorrow I will leave for Beijing, arriving just in time to miss the opening of IMUSE, the conference in Beijing and Hong Kong I will be attending for my first 10 days in China. I have a large suitcase, a carry on backpack, and a hulking hiking backpack ready for the journey, for the adventure. For my adventure. For my year in China.