The mood of everyone on the ship was very somber and not just because of the weather outside. As we woke, we all learned about the massacre on the Campus of Virginia Tech. It was talked about in hushed conversations between snapshots of the skyline and internet updates. I was asked to begin planning for a campuswide service, or acknowledgment of what had happened, most likely for our first night back on the ship. Many of us were dispatched to find our VT students to make sure they were coping before we disembarked into HK and China. We came together as a campus community for our diplomatic briefing, but instead of listening to the representative from the State Department, we updated everyone on the details we got off of CNN.com or other news sources. We held a moment of silence and the Archbishop said a few words about how he was made sense of violence in the world.Everyone did their best to set aside their feelings and go out and enjoy Hong Kong. Once we were cleared through Chinese/HK customs and immigration, we went out into HK. What a city! When I was in Rio de Janiero 2 months ago, one of the students traveling with me likened the city to a tropical New York City. I didn’t really feel like that was a good way to describe Rio, but it feels like the perfect way to describe Hong Kong. The city is very modern and cosmopolitan, with tall building, trendy shops, flashing neon lights, tabloids, etc. What felt different was that there was a huge mountain in the distance, and the city seemed to grow right up the side of Victoria Peak. Also, there were lush parks and vegetation throughout the city that gave it that distinct, tropical feeling. The fact that we were surrounded by water made it even more spectacular, another thing shared by HK and NYC. Being on the water looking back up at the city provided some of the best views of the city, especially at night. Hong Kong seems majestic and impressive during the day, but the true beauty of the city appears most at night when it blazes with light and color. During the day, the city feels like NYC, but at night it more closely resembles Las Vegas. Every tall building on the skyline is decorated with thousands of lights. At 8pm each night the lights are coordinated into a light show, set to music. The level of organization and sophistication that has gone into coordinating the effort is astounding. A bunch of us staff members were on one of the ferry boats, crossing from Kowloon (the mainland side of HK) to the island of Hong Kong around 8pm and were able to catch the light show from the water. Wow. That’s all I can say. It was breathtaking.
To begin my one day experience with Hong Kong, RD Mindy and I walked around the Kowloon area and checked out some of the malls. OMG, were there ever some ritzy glitzy stores, and everything was expeeeeensive. We managed to find a bank, and then stumbled with our new Cantonese phrases to get out some money. I snuck off for a little while in order to find a travel agency to get Japan Rail Pass, since we were told you can’t actually get them in Japan. Eventually we met up with fellow staff members Kristen, Emily, & Ben for some Dim Sum! All throughout my trip there have been banner moments in my culinary journey. Authentic Dim Sum in Hong Kong was one I had long awaited. Dim sum is a Chinese brunch activity where little carts wheel past tables with small dishes of delicious delicacies. You just pick the dishes of small servings that most appeal and eat those or share with your table mates. It’s kind of like the Cantonese version of tapas, and oh, so good. When I think of brunch or breakfast, I often think of sweets and pastries. Dim sum is much heartier, and often made with savory dishes. The place we chose was right along Victoria Harbor, so we had an awesome view of Hong Kong across the water as we ate, and watched the thick clouds swirl around the tops of the buildings (bringing new meaning to the term sky-scrapers!). I’ve had dim sum a number of times in the US, and I was not disappointed by the Chinese version. We had some gooood eatin’. The experience made me miss my dim sum guru, Nicki back in California, and my friend Irene, who first introduced me to dim sum years back. While eating, I practiced my new Cantonese phrases with the restaurant staff. lay hao (hello), doh jeh (thank you), and mm goi (excuse me). As always the staff members got a kick out of hearing a white guy like me stumble through pronouncing their language. After lunch we all descended into the Hong Kong metro system for a trip across the water onto Hong Kong Island. Mindy and I went our separate way and popped out in the heart of downtown. We walked around a while and stopped to talk with a couple of students. They interviewed us in English for a school project, and then let us ask them some questions as well. They were so proud of Hong Kong and made sure to tell us all about the sites we should see while in town. They were aghast that we told them we were only going to spend one day in the city. Truth be told, after being there only a few hours, I was sad that I was going to be leaving so soon as well.
Mindy and I checked out some of the squares downtown, and the cathedral in the middle of town, and slowly made our way up hill to grab the tram up to the top of Victoria Peak. Once up on top we saw an amazing view of the entire city as the clouds swirled around the roofs below us. Every so often the clouds would sweep away and we could see out over Hong Kong and then across to Kowloon and beyond. It was spectacular. One of the eeriest and coolest things, was when the cloud cover enveloped the Peak and all we could see was a few feet in front of you, or see the wisps of cloud spilling over the side of the embankment and down across the city. It truly felt like being inside of the cloud. It’s really great how we could be in the middle of such a bustling city and still find a place of natural beauty and serenity. I appreciated that in Hong Kong, they made a point of sprinkling little parks and gardens among the bustle of people, buildings, cars, and other business.
While up on Victoria Peak, Mindy and I ran into a bunch of S@S students and we all shopped in the little mall at the upper tram station. Eventually we made our way down on the tram and Mindy and I found our way to the zoo, where we discovered the jaguar roaming around her cage being very active and making loud noises I haven’t ever heard come out of an animal. While we wandered around, I slowly got sweatier and sweatier. When we first arrived, Hong Kong felt somewhat cool, thanks to the rainy weather, but as the day went on, things just got warmer and more humid. I hadn’t planned on becoming the sweatiest man in Asia, but it happened nonetheless. At any rate, we then trudged on trying to find one of the quirkiest sites in Hong Kong. My guide book, and several people on the ship had talked about the World’s Longest Escalator which goes from the top of the city, and snakes all the way through downtown and ends almost near the Harbor. The thing is 800 meters long, and all under a nice dry canopy. 800m is like 24 football fields, more even. I thought it would be a great way to travel in style back down to the water. Since we were near the top when we got off the tram, I led Mindy on a wild goose chase to find the top of the escalator. (She made faces and complained the whole time, but I could tell she secretly loved every minute of it… or so I have convinced myself). After about 20 minutes of walking random sidestreets (all uphill) we finally found the top of the escalator. I was so proud of myself, and ready for a big apology from Mindy, who swore I wouldn’t find it. But, in true Drew-style, I hadn’t read the guidebook closely enough to realize that the escalator only moves in one direction at a time… and at that hour, it was up, and not down. We no longer had the energy to walk down the hill and across town, so I sprang for a cab back down to the water. Then Mindy and I took one of the ferries back across the water to this ship. The ferry boats are the most popular and easiest way to cross from Hong Kong to Kowloon. Every few minutes they depart on one of the many routes bringing commuters across. They are invariably packed at all hours of the day with locals, who all know not to stand near the rail or else you get splashed. I didn’t know that part, and took a couple waves to the face, but the incredible views made it too fun to move.Back on the ship, Mindy and I met up with about 15 other staff members for a gigantic NON-college student night on the town. Ben, one of the Global Nomads, has a cousin who lives in Hong Kong. We met up with the cousin and his Hong Kong native wife and took a ferry back across the harbor to Hong Kong Island. This was the ferry ride where we saw all the buildings on the waterfront lit up as colorfully as Las Vegas and doing a coordinated light show extravaganza. I don’t think the word “extravaganza” gets used enough, and this was really a good example of an extravaganza.
We made our way through the city on the big escalator ( HA! I knew I’d do it eventually!) until we got to an entertainment district full of little restaurants. We all wanted a genuine Hong Kong culinary experience, so we found a little outdoor restaurant in a big alleyway where the cook made only a couple dishes served by his wife. We all sat around under some umbrellas and ordered Asian beers (well everyone except me) when suddenly… the sky opened up and rain poured down on Hong Kong. You might think that this rain would have dampened our spirits (get it??? dampen, SO funny!) but on the contrary. It just made the whole experience seem more fun and authentic. We all got a little wet, and enjoyed Hong Kong in the rain, but eventually things got too wet, and we were just too large a group to go to a single restaurant so we split up. I ended up at an awesome Thai place with IT Matt, Nurse Emily, Field Program Kristen, and Global Nomad Joanna. Something about eating Thai food in Asia, after just having left Indochine… it was the best Thai food I’ve ever had. After dinner we all went bar hopping in different groupings. I had an early morning ahead, so I took the metro back and stopped off at the big Temple Street Night Market in the Tim Sha Tsui District of Kowloon (a bohemian social area of Hong Kong). This is a serious market, and nothing like the 4th Avenue Street Fair at home in Tucson. It is stall after stall of clothes, CDs, souvenirs, artwork, toys and games, and the most imaginative crap I’ve ever seen on sale. There are never prices listed, and everything is negotiable. I got to use one of the phrases a Hong Kong student on the ship taught me: “Lang loi, pang di la,” which translates to “Pretty lady, lower the price please.” It got me a few winks, but no one really lowered the prices for me. Geez! No worries though since I went with no intention of buying anything. However, I ended up taking home a beautiful painting of Hong Kong because the artist saw me appreciating it and decided I should have it for HK$70 (about US$9) which is all that was in my pocket. He insisted that the painting was of Causeway Bay, but it looked suspiciously similar to his painting of Lang Kwai Fong, and of Connaught Place. Even the buildings were the same. But you know what, I wasn’t going to argue b/c it was still pretty, and for a good price. I finally made my way back to the ship to pack and prepare for an early morning start on my trip to…
BEIJING! Yes, I traveled to the heart of Red China. Early that morning I met with my group of 57 students for our 4 day journey into China. Beth, the Director of Student Life, my boss, & co-trip leader for the Beijing trip, were sad to see that 8 of the people traveling with us to Beijing didn’t show for our departure time. Lynn, the Field Office Coordinator clued us in that she put all the “problem children” in our group because she knew “we could handle things.” (Boy aren’t WE lucky people! ***note sarcasm.) So we left the ship for the airport shy 8 people. When we boarded the busses to drive to the airport, we drove along the water for a bit and I was astounded. All the clouds had cleared away and the skyline was glittering and sparkling. Hong Kong looked like a whole different city, and it was breathtaking all over again. It made me sad that we were leaving such an incredible city, when I knew there was so much more of it to explore. We got to the airport and as we were checking in, 4 of the absent students ran up to the group from taxis they had taken from the ship. Another 2 of them joined us on the plane just as the door was being locked. The last ones had the audacity to demand no dock time since they met us before we left for Beijing. Let’s just say I declined to accept their demands. He he he. They don’t call me “Dock Time Nazi” for nothing. Did I mention that was one of the nicknames I’ve received on this voyage? Another one is Steamer since I sweat so much in the tropics. That one makes me feel a little weird, especially since the name comes from a story that RD Matt tells, and he’s an even sweatier guy than I am. Sheesh!
We made our way through the city on the big escalator ( HA! I knew I’d do it eventually!) until we got to an entertainment district full of little restaurants. We all wanted a genuine Hong Kong culinary experience, so we found a little outdoor restaurant in a big alleyway where the cook made only a couple dishes served by his wife. We all sat around under some umbrellas and ordered Asian beers (well everyone except me) when suddenly… the sky opened up and rain poured down on Hong Kong. You might think that this rain would have dampened our spirits (get it??? dampen, SO funny!) but on the contrary. It just made the whole experience seem more fun and authentic. We all got a little wet, and enjoyed Hong Kong in the rain, but eventually things got too wet, and we were just too large a group to go to a single restaurant so we split up. I ended up at an awesome Thai place with IT Matt, Nurse Emily, Field Program Kristen, and Global Nomad Joanna. Something about eating Thai food in Asia, after just having left Indochine… it was the best Thai food I’ve ever had. After dinner we all went bar hopping in different groupings. I had an early morning ahead, so I took the metro back and stopped off at the big Temple Street Night Market in the Tim Sha Tsui District of Kowloon (a bohemian social area of Hong Kong). This is a serious market, and nothing like the 4th Avenue Street Fair at home in Tucson. It is stall after stall of clothes, CDs, souvenirs, artwork, toys and games, and the most imaginative crap I’ve ever seen on sale. There are never prices listed, and everything is negotiable. I got to use one of the phrases a Hong Kong student on the ship taught me: “Lang loi, pang di la,” which translates to “Pretty lady, lower the price please.” It got me a few winks, but no one really lowered the prices for me. Geez! No worries though since I went with no intention of buying anything. However, I ended up taking home a beautiful painting of Hong Kong because the artist saw me appreciating it and decided I should have it for HK$70 (about US$9) which is all that was in my pocket. He insisted that the painting was of Causeway Bay, but it looked suspiciously similar to his painting of Lang Kwai Fong, and of Connaught Place. Even the buildings were the same. But you know what, I wasn’t going to argue b/c it was still pretty, and for a good price. I finally made my way back to the ship to pack and prepare for an early morning start on my trip to…BEIJING! Yes, I traveled to the heart of Red China. Early that morning I met with my group of 57 students for our 4 day journey into China. Beth, the Director of Student Life, my boss, & co-trip leader for the Beijing trip, were sad to see that 8 of the people traveling with us to Beijing didn’t show for our departure time. Lynn, the Field Office Coordinator clued us in that she put all the “problem children” in our group because she knew “we could handle things.” (Boy aren’t WE lucky people! ***note sarcasm.) So we left the ship for the airport shy 8 people. When we boarded the busses to drive to the airport, we drove along the water for a bit and I was astounded. All the clouds had cleared away and the skyline was glittering and sparkling. Hong Kong looked like a whole different city, and it was breathtaking all over again. It made me sad that we were leaving such an incredible city, when I knew there was so much more of it to explore. We got to the airport and as we were checking in, 4 of the absent students ran up to the group from taxis they had taken from the ship. Another 2 of them joined us on the plane just as the door was being locked. The last ones had the audacity to demand no dock time since they met us before we left for Beijing. Let’s just say I declined to accept their demands. He he he. They don’t call me “Dock Time Nazi” for nothing. Did I mention that was one of the nicknames I’ve received on this voyage? Another one is Steamer since I sweat so much in the tropics. That one makes me feel a little weird, especially since the name comes from a story that RD Matt tells, and he’s an even sweatier guy than I am. Sheesh!
Ok, so back from the random tangent. We arrived after our uneventful flight to Beijing, and made our way through immigration when one of my students, Craig, realizes he left his passport on the plane. A mad dash ensued in order to get him to the plane and then back through immigration and customs and to the bus without ruining our schedule. Eventually that was accomplished, and I popped my first of many Advils. Beth and I met our two guides, Sonya and Ivy for our time in Beijing. The two of them were so cute and so helpful and just the nicest ambassadors we could have hoped for. Ivy was with my bus and she told us all about Beijing as we drove to the Southern part of the city, a residential area south of the Forbidden City, where our hotel was located. We learned that the Forbidden City is in the heart of Beijing, because the Emperor always felt that he was the center of the universe, and therefore his palace should be in the middle of the city. In fact, the name of China in Mandarin translates to “Middle Country” because the Chinese used to believe that their homeland was the middle of the universe. Interesting huh? What’s even more interesting, is that the Mandarin translation for America is “Beautiful Country.” Isn’t that nice? So, the Forbidden City is in the center of Beijing, and there are five or six ring roads that emanate out from the center. The first ring is around the Forbidden City, the second encompasses Tiananmen Square, and so on. Residential areas are on the Southern side of the city, and the outskirts. The eastern side is more of an entertainment and shopping zone, the northern part is more industrial and has all the new Olympic sites, etc. We made our way to the hotel, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have come to expect that accommodations on S@S sponsored trips are usually pretty high-end, as I experienced in Cambodia. However, as we drove to the airport in Hong Kong, our tour operator told us that we had an incredible itinerary but a crappy hotel. So my expectations were set low. This was further strengthened when we heard our hotel was outside the tourism zone. But, when we arrived, it turned out to be pretty darn nice. Beth and I each had our own rooms on the 13th floor, and mine had an awesome view of Tiananmen Square in the distance. Once again, the mattress was as hard as a rock. I don’t know what it is about Asian hotels, but they always have concrete mattresses. I’m a little worried about returning home in Irvine where I have a pillow-top mattress that I love and have been missing for the last 3+ months. Will it suddenly be too soft? Will I find myself sleeping on the floor? Only time will tell. We had a nice relaxing agenda for our first Beijing day. We headed to a duck restaurant for our delux Peking Duck meal, and let me just say it was amazingly wonderful. I could have eaten Peking Duck for every meal in Beijing and been a happy man.
Later, a bunch of the students in my group joined me for a nighttime stroll to Tiananmen Square. It took us about 20 minutes to walk there, but was well worth it since the weather was so nice out. Beijing is the first place where I actually needed my jacket and sweater. The temperature got chilly in the evenings, and was nice and cool during the daytime. I can’t even remember when I last felt cold on this voyage, so it was surely a welcome relief. The square is huge and at night it was pretty empty which made the scale of the area even more impressive. Supposedly over ½ a million people can fit in the square at any time, and it is the largest urban square in the world. I certainly believe it. On one of the buildings off the square is a huge clock counting down the days until the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. Everyone in Beijing clearly had Olympic fever, and it was fun to get caught up in all of the festivities. There were a number of people milling about and taking pictures of Mao’s tomb, and the other sites in the square, but once 9 o’clock rolled around, a bunch of police cars with flashing lights entered the square and sirens were sounded. It seems that they clear the square in the evening, and it was obvious that they meant business. That was when I first truly felt the grip of Communism on the country. I could feel the history of Tiananmen Square as a real presence on that hallowed ground. In Global Studies, leading up to China, we learned about the struggle to gain civil rights, and the events leading up to the protests in Tiananmen Square. We learned about “tank man,” as he is universally known, the symbol of the protests. We learned that tank man has never made his identity known or tried to use his notoriety to his advantage. We learned that this is not unexpected in a collectivist culture like that in China. We learned about the recent changes in policy in China that has led to increased economic growth and freedom. All of this came flooding back, along with everything else I have come to “know” about China from news bulletins and political rhetoric back in the US. As we walked back to our hotel, the students started to talk about how little they really knew about the government in China, or what Communism really meant for the Chinese. Being the former Government major and employee that I am, I gave them a primer on comparative government and brought them up to date on Chinese history of the last 30 years. It was definitely weird to be describing things I distinctly remember from the news, that isn’t at all a part of their reality. We learned that in China, there is a whole generation of Chinese youth who are just as alienated from their own history. The government has worked to actively shield them from coverage of the events of the last 20 years that doesn’t portray the government in a positive light. Again, just such a different reality than what I know in the United States.
Later, a bunch of the students in my group joined me for a nighttime stroll to Tiananmen Square. It took us about 20 minutes to walk there, but was well worth it since the weather was so nice out. Beijing is the first place where I actually needed my jacket and sweater. The temperature got chilly in the evenings, and was nice and cool during the daytime. I can’t even remember when I last felt cold on this voyage, so it was surely a welcome relief. The square is huge and at night it was pretty empty which made the scale of the area even more impressive. Supposedly over ½ a million people can fit in the square at any time, and it is the largest urban square in the world. I certainly believe it. On one of the buildings off the square is a huge clock counting down the days until the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. Everyone in Beijing clearly had Olympic fever, and it was fun to get caught up in all of the festivities. There were a number of people milling about and taking pictures of Mao’s tomb, and the other sites in the square, but once 9 o’clock rolled around, a bunch of police cars with flashing lights entered the square and sirens were sounded. It seems that they clear the square in the evening, and it was obvious that they meant business. That was when I first truly felt the grip of Communism on the country. I could feel the history of Tiananmen Square as a real presence on that hallowed ground. In Global Studies, leading up to China, we learned about the struggle to gain civil rights, and the events leading up to the protests in Tiananmen Square. We learned about “tank man,” as he is universally known, the symbol of the protests. We learned that tank man has never made his identity known or tried to use his notoriety to his advantage. We learned that this is not unexpected in a collectivist culture like that in China. We learned about the recent changes in policy in China that has led to increased economic growth and freedom. All of this came flooding back, along with everything else I have come to “know” about China from news bulletins and political rhetoric back in the US. As we walked back to our hotel, the students started to talk about how little they really knew about the government in China, or what Communism really meant for the Chinese. Being the former Government major and employee that I am, I gave them a primer on comparative government and brought them up to date on Chinese history of the last 30 years. It was definitely weird to be describing things I distinctly remember from the news, that isn’t at all a part of their reality. We learned that in China, there is a whole generation of Chinese youth who are just as alienated from their own history. The government has worked to actively shield them from coverage of the events of the last 20 years that doesn’t portray the government in a positive light. Again, just such a different reality than what I know in the United States.Our second day in Beijing began by returning to Tiananmen Square in the daylight hours. It was a whole different world during the day. The square was packed full of people. There were tourists, like ourselves, snapping pictures. There were military units marching in formation back and forth across the square (which was pretty damn intimidating). There were tons of vendors trying to sell kites, and watches with Mao’s arms on the face, and big fur hats with a Communist star, to anyone who would pay attention. Intermingled with all of these people were some local Chinese families, oftentimes flying kites or enjoying the morning in the public square. As we entered the Tiananmen Square area Ivy cautioned us that we should not have any conversations about Mao, Communism, the current government, or compare China to the US. Basically she told us to avoid any political conversations at all, and went further to advise against making any criticisms of China while in the Square. She told us that there were always people in the crowd listening for subversive comments, and scanning the people present for those who might cause a negative influence. Her words were ominous, and though I never really felt like “big brother” was listening, the Communist presence was undeniable. 
Eventually, we moved on from Tiananmen Square and passed through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, and the huge painting of Mao, the “honorable leader.” It was fun taking pictures with Mao (the picture, not the corpse), but strange to see so many people, especially local Chinese people, revering the image of a man who represents so much that Americans fear.
We continued on to the Forbidden City, and walked through the courtyards and checked out all the temples. There is some amazing architecture in that place. I especially like how the Emperor created a man-made mountain behind the city, and a faux river in front in order to bring feng shui to the palace complex. Also the main buildings are set on raised diases that look like clouds to make them appear more heavenly. It looked like a great place to live as far as I was concerned, but I know that for the Emperor’s of China, it was a gilded cage from which they could rarely venture. Having now traveled the world, I cannot imagine being imprisoned that way, even in that beautiful city. Because of the upcoming Olympics, the government has put a lot of time and money into restoring all of their main Beijing sites. The Forbidden City is having all of its buildings restored to their original vibrant color. We saw many of the restored buildings, and it really is amazing how colorful they all are. After passing through the huge city complex, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant that served Western Chinese cuisine. It was like a cross between Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisine. It was an odd mixture of foods, but still pretty darn good. Following that, we were dropped off at the Sanlitun silk market for a couple hours of shopping. This market was huge! We’re talking 5 floors of shopping stalls selling every kind of knock-off item you can imagine. One thing I noticed was that the women selling items inside the market were ruthless. As you walked down the aisles, they grabbed, cajoled, shouted, and demanded your attention, and for you to make an offer on any and everything. It was sometimes even comical. One woman tried to sell me a brassier claiming that if I really loved my mother, I would buy it for her. I’m serious! I couldn’t help but laugh, even though it got to be a bit much. Beth and I tried to escape by going to the food court floor on the top level, but it was even worse up there. Have you seen the movie “Finding Nemo?” You know the scene with the seagulls who all yelp “mine, mine, mine, mine” endlessly? Well, that’s how it sounded as we stepped off the escalator. About ten women started shouting “hello, hello, hello, hello” and waving us to their counters. One women had a platter with tastes of her food, and she insisted I try them, and then followed me handing me toothpicks of food, even pushing one right up to my mouth. Again, you had to laugh, but it was sensory overload. I was able to make a number of nice purchases, including my own replica of the clay soldiers from Xian, and a Mah Jong set made from Ox bone and bamboo. Eventually we left the market, and boarded two different busses. One took folks back to the hotel before they went to experience the bar scene, and the rest of us went off to see an awesome Acrobatic show. We got to the Chaoyang Theater and Ivy got us seated. She was excited for us because she said that while there were other shows in town, that this one had the most exciting acts. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since the theater felt like a high school gymnasium, but once the lights dimmed I was in for a surprise.
The performance felt just like something out of a Cirque du Soleil show. The costumes were bright and colorful, the music was entrancing, and the performers did things with their bodies that I have never before seen in my life. They twisted themselves into pretzel shapes, and were thrown into the air, and did some truly death defying feats. There were many times where the audience audibly gasped, me right along with them. One of the finals acts is a Chinese acrobatics staple, putting 20 people on the same bicycle and then riding around the stage. It was an amazing way to end our first full day in Beijing, and well worth the 25 bucks we paid for the tickets, especially since the same performance in the US would have cost 3 times as much.
The next day we set out for the Great Wall of China. I had been waiting a long time for my time at the Great Wall, and eagerly anticipated my time to commune with the Wall. As we made the two-hour drive out of Beijing Ivy told us that there are a number of spots that tourists visit from Beijing. She shared that the Great Wall was actually a number of walls that feudal lords built which were later connected in one large network. The pieces around Beijing did not even really connect together, but were rather fragments of the original wall. She told us that most people go visit the Badaling section of the Wall, and we later spoke with S@S folks who went there and had to fight their way through crowds of people in order to walk on the Wall. Luckily, Sonya and Ivy brought us to the Mutianyu Section of the Wall instead. When we arrived, we walked past a few stalls selling souvenirs, and then had the option of climbing 1,000 steps from the valley up to the wall crawling along the hill crest, or taking a ski lift device to get to the top. I opted for the stairs, and huffed and puffed up to the wall, but the view at the top was well worth the effort.
The Great Wall did not let me down. It was as magnificent as I had imagined, especially when I looked into the distance and could see it stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. I always pictured the Great Wall to be flat segments connecting look-out towers, but in reality, the sections between towers were usually steep inclines with stairs to climb, with very few flat segments. Climbing on the Wall was a real work out. Since we were so far outside of Beijing, there was very little in the distance to see except the mountains and valleys of rural Hebei province. We climbed around on the wall for a couple of hours, and then it was time to get back down to the buses, and this was possibly the coolest part of the day. In order to get back down the hillside to our buses, we all took toboggans down a slippery metal track. Yep, that’s right we tobogganed down the Great Wall of China. Each individual toboggan had a seat and break so you could control your own speed, but you could get some real speed on that puppy. And the ride lasted a good long time too, since we had hiked so far up the mountain side to get to the Wall. I think that the Great Wall was such a highlight, that leaving it would have been a real downer if the toboggan ride hadn’t been such a fun way to say farewell. 
After our rollercoaster ride down the mountain, we reboarded the buses and headed back to Beijing where we were dropped off at the pearl market. As you can imagine, Beth and I were kind of done with the shopping thing. We were also not too excited when Ivy told us that this market was even larger than the Silk Market, and that the vendors at the Pearl Market were known for being even more aggressive than at the Silk Market. I expected the worse, and that’s what I got. At one point, one of the vendors grabbed my sunglasses right off my shirt, and refused to give them back to me until I made her an offer on a poster I had looked at. Beth was flabbergasted when she stole the sunglasses, but I found it to be funny. We had been told in advance that we should never pay more than about 10-15% of their original asking price but it was darn tough getting them down to those prices. I was pretty burned out on shopping by the time we left that market. Thankfully we only spent about an hour there before heading back to the hotel. Driving through the streets of Beijing felt very familiar to me. Beijing is a low city, but an impressive one. In that way it reminded me a lot of Washington, DC. There were many broad avenues, with huge impressive monumental buildings and other buildings on a low scale. I saw very few buildings that were over about 13 or 14 floors. The cars and subway system, and all the little neighborhoods really made the city feel like an American city, and oddly like home. I began to be able to see myself living in Beijing. Beijing used to be called Peking, but the name was changed many years ago because Peking was actually a name assigned by the British, and not the true name of the city. However, many of the monuments and sights still bear the name of Peking. I was glad to finally learn the distinction.
Beth and I made arrangements with Ivy to get tickets to an awesome Kung Fu martial arts show that final evening. Ivy said it was the best show in town, and 10 times better than the Acrobatics show we had seen the night previous. Sadly, none of the students wanted to go see it, as they all wanted to “get their drink on” in the Eastern part of the city. Beth and I went with Ivy to the theater and saw a mind-blowing show. This show was a huge spectacular with about a hundred performers telling a story with lavish costumes, and music, and acting, and of course… with impressive Kung Fu displays. Some of the actors were held up on the ends of swords, or lay down on beds of nails. Others broke through huge slabs of concrete, or metal bars with their hands and even foreheads. Every move the martial artists’ made was powerful and beautiful at the same time. The story they wove through the different feats made the whole thing come together in a really cool way. It really was an incredible evening, and again for only $25. Sheesh! After the show, Beth and I parted ways, and I met up with a friend-of-a-friend, Joe, who works for the State Dept. in Beijing and his partner, Rina, who goes to art school in Beijing. They were heading to an apartment party in the Eastern part of Beijing and had invited me along. I ended up spending the evening with the most interesting collection of Fins, Danes, Icelanders, Turks, Brits, and Chinese folks I’ve ever encountered. They were excited to hear all about Semester at Sea, and told me all sorts of stories about art school in Beijing, and traveling through Asia, and the strange customs they brought with them from Scandinavia. Being with Joe and Rina and their friends gave me entré into some of the strangest sites that tourists never see. We hopped around between a few of the more interesting bars in their part of town. One of the bars had a private party we were invited into. Inside, they were showing a kung fu movie on a large screen and had a painter creating a work of art on the movie screen as the movie projected, then in another corner they had hair stylists cutting hair in exchange for drinks. In another corner there were a few Xerox machines set up and patrons were invited to photocopy parts of their body and post them around the bar. In the back there was an art display of erotic fetish artwork on the walls while people played pool and threw darts at the pictures. All of this and strange Chinese acid rock playing in the background, I kid you not. It was the funkiest collection of random bohemian nonsense I have ever seen in one place. I absolutely loved it. We then moved on to a bar that was in the middle of a soccer pitch, and finally one that was in what appeared to be a half burned down tree house that was full of tragically hip young Chinese artists. My night out with Joe, Rina, and their arty crowd was unexpected, crazy, and absolutely brilliant.
Eventually, we moved on from Tiananmen Square and passed through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, and the huge painting of Mao, the “honorable leader.” It was fun taking pictures with Mao (the picture, not the corpse), but strange to see so many people, especially local Chinese people, revering the image of a man who represents so much that Americans fear.
We continued on to the Forbidden City, and walked through the courtyards and checked out all the temples. There is some amazing architecture in that place. I especially like how the Emperor created a man-made mountain behind the city, and a faux river in front in order to bring feng shui to the palace complex. Also the main buildings are set on raised diases that look like clouds to make them appear more heavenly. It looked like a great place to live as far as I was concerned, but I know that for the Emperor’s of China, it was a gilded cage from which they could rarely venture. Having now traveled the world, I cannot imagine being imprisoned that way, even in that beautiful city. Because of the upcoming Olympics, the government has put a lot of time and money into restoring all of their main Beijing sites. The Forbidden City is having all of its buildings restored to their original vibrant color. We saw many of the restored buildings, and it really is amazing how colorful they all are. After passing through the huge city complex, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant that served Western Chinese cuisine. It was like a cross between Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisine. It was an odd mixture of foods, but still pretty darn good. Following that, we were dropped off at the Sanlitun silk market for a couple hours of shopping. This market was huge! We’re talking 5 floors of shopping stalls selling every kind of knock-off item you can imagine. One thing I noticed was that the women selling items inside the market were ruthless. As you walked down the aisles, they grabbed, cajoled, shouted, and demanded your attention, and for you to make an offer on any and everything. It was sometimes even comical. One woman tried to sell me a brassier claiming that if I really loved my mother, I would buy it for her. I’m serious! I couldn’t help but laugh, even though it got to be a bit much. Beth and I tried to escape by going to the food court floor on the top level, but it was even worse up there. Have you seen the movie “Finding Nemo?” You know the scene with the seagulls who all yelp “mine, mine, mine, mine” endlessly? Well, that’s how it sounded as we stepped off the escalator. About ten women started shouting “hello, hello, hello, hello” and waving us to their counters. One women had a platter with tastes of her food, and she insisted I try them, and then followed me handing me toothpicks of food, even pushing one right up to my mouth. Again, you had to laugh, but it was sensory overload. I was able to make a number of nice purchases, including my own replica of the clay soldiers from Xian, and a Mah Jong set made from Ox bone and bamboo. Eventually we left the market, and boarded two different busses. One took folks back to the hotel before they went to experience the bar scene, and the rest of us went off to see an awesome Acrobatic show. We got to the Chaoyang Theater and Ivy got us seated. She was excited for us because she said that while there were other shows in town, that this one had the most exciting acts. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since the theater felt like a high school gymnasium, but once the lights dimmed I was in for a surprise.
The performance felt just like something out of a Cirque du Soleil show. The costumes were bright and colorful, the music was entrancing, and the performers did things with their bodies that I have never before seen in my life. They twisted themselves into pretzel shapes, and were thrown into the air, and did some truly death defying feats. There were many times where the audience audibly gasped, me right along with them. One of the finals acts is a Chinese acrobatics staple, putting 20 people on the same bicycle and then riding around the stage. It was an amazing way to end our first full day in Beijing, and well worth the 25 bucks we paid for the tickets, especially since the same performance in the US would have cost 3 times as much.The next day we set out for the Great Wall of China. I had been waiting a long time for my time at the Great Wall, and eagerly anticipated my time to commune with the Wall. As we made the two-hour drive out of Beijing Ivy told us that there are a number of spots that tourists visit from Beijing. She shared that the Great Wall was actually a number of walls that feudal lords built which were later connected in one large network. The pieces around Beijing did not even really connect together, but were rather fragments of the original wall. She told us that most people go visit the Badaling section of the Wall, and we later spoke with S@S folks who went there and had to fight their way through crowds of people in order to walk on the Wall. Luckily, Sonya and Ivy brought us to the Mutianyu Section of the Wall instead. When we arrived, we walked past a few stalls selling souvenirs, and then had the option of climbing 1,000 steps from the valley up to the wall crawling along the hill crest, or taking a ski lift device to get to the top. I opted for the stairs, and huffed and puffed up to the wall, but the view at the top was well worth the effort.
The Great Wall did not let me down. It was as magnificent as I had imagined, especially when I looked into the distance and could see it stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. I always pictured the Great Wall to be flat segments connecting look-out towers, but in reality, the sections between towers were usually steep inclines with stairs to climb, with very few flat segments. Climbing on the Wall was a real work out. Since we were so far outside of Beijing, there was very little in the distance to see except the mountains and valleys of rural Hebei province. We climbed around on the wall for a couple of hours, and then it was time to get back down to the buses, and this was possibly the coolest part of the day. In order to get back down the hillside to our buses, we all took toboggans down a slippery metal track. Yep, that’s right we tobogganed down the Great Wall of China. Each individual toboggan had a seat and break so you could control your own speed, but you could get some real speed on that puppy. And the ride lasted a good long time too, since we had hiked so far up the mountain side to get to the Wall. I think that the Great Wall was such a highlight, that leaving it would have been a real downer if the toboggan ride hadn’t been such a fun way to say farewell. 
After our rollercoaster ride down the mountain, we reboarded the buses and headed back to Beijing where we were dropped off at the pearl market. As you can imagine, Beth and I were kind of done with the shopping thing. We were also not too excited when Ivy told us that this market was even larger than the Silk Market, and that the vendors at the Pearl Market were known for being even more aggressive than at the Silk Market. I expected the worse, and that’s what I got. At one point, one of the vendors grabbed my sunglasses right off my shirt, and refused to give them back to me until I made her an offer on a poster I had looked at. Beth was flabbergasted when she stole the sunglasses, but I found it to be funny. We had been told in advance that we should never pay more than about 10-15% of their original asking price but it was darn tough getting them down to those prices. I was pretty burned out on shopping by the time we left that market. Thankfully we only spent about an hour there before heading back to the hotel. Driving through the streets of Beijing felt very familiar to me. Beijing is a low city, but an impressive one. In that way it reminded me a lot of Washington, DC. There were many broad avenues, with huge impressive monumental buildings and other buildings on a low scale. I saw very few buildings that were over about 13 or 14 floors. The cars and subway system, and all the little neighborhoods really made the city feel like an American city, and oddly like home. I began to be able to see myself living in Beijing. Beijing used to be called Peking, but the name was changed many years ago because Peking was actually a name assigned by the British, and not the true name of the city. However, many of the monuments and sights still bear the name of Peking. I was glad to finally learn the distinction.Beth and I made arrangements with Ivy to get tickets to an awesome Kung Fu martial arts show that final evening. Ivy said it was the best show in town, and 10 times better than the Acrobatics show we had seen the night previous. Sadly, none of the students wanted to go see it, as they all wanted to “get their drink on” in the Eastern part of the city. Beth and I went with Ivy to the theater and saw a mind-blowing show. This show was a huge spectacular with about a hundred performers telling a story with lavish costumes, and music, and acting, and of course… with impressive Kung Fu displays. Some of the actors were held up on the ends of swords, or lay down on beds of nails. Others broke through huge slabs of concrete, or metal bars with their hands and even foreheads. Every move the martial artists’ made was powerful and beautiful at the same time. The story they wove through the different feats made the whole thing come together in a really cool way. It really was an incredible evening, and again for only $25. Sheesh! After the show, Beth and I parted ways, and I met up with a friend-of-a-friend, Joe, who works for the State Dept. in Beijing and his partner, Rina, who goes to art school in Beijing. They were heading to an apartment party in the Eastern part of Beijing and had invited me along. I ended up spending the evening with the most interesting collection of Fins, Danes, Icelanders, Turks, Brits, and Chinese folks I’ve ever encountered. They were excited to hear all about Semester at Sea, and told me all sorts of stories about art school in Beijing, and traveling through Asia, and the strange customs they brought with them from Scandinavia. Being with Joe and Rina and their friends gave me entré into some of the strangest sites that tourists never see. We hopped around between a few of the more interesting bars in their part of town. One of the bars had a private party we were invited into. Inside, they were showing a kung fu movie on a large screen and had a painter creating a work of art on the movie screen as the movie projected, then in another corner they had hair stylists cutting hair in exchange for drinks. In another corner there were a few Xerox machines set up and patrons were invited to photocopy parts of their body and post them around the bar. In the back there was an art display of erotic fetish artwork on the walls while people played pool and threw darts at the pictures. All of this and strange Chinese acid rock playing in the background, I kid you not. It was the funkiest collection of random bohemian nonsense I have ever seen in one place. I absolutely loved it. We then moved on to a bar that was in the middle of a soccer pitch, and finally one that was in what appeared to be a half burned down tree house that was full of tragically hip young Chinese artists. My night out with Joe, Rina, and their arty crowd was unexpected, crazy, and absolutely brilliant.
Our last day in Beijing began with a trip to the Temple of Heaven. The temple is a main tourist stop and the park surrounding it has recently become one of the most popular for local Beijingers to use as a hang out on the weekends. When we arrived, we walked through the park full of blooming cherry trees and saw all sorts of cool community activities taking place in the park. We passed groups of people doing tai chi, older folks line dancing and swing dancing, groups playing music on local instruments, row after row of men playing a Chinese version of chess, and emphatically throwing down cards in a game I couldn’t quite discern. There were people writing poetry in Chinese characters with water on the ground, people slicing and selling fruit, people twirling ribbons and shiny balls like gymnasts in the Olympics, and people mingling with friends and reading aloud from large books. It was a feast for the eyes, and a lot of fun to see people living their everyday lives and enjoying themselves.
funky chess and ribbon twirlers
The temple itself was beautiful. It is a circular temple with a bright blue roof. It’s also one of the main buildings that is on postcards of Beijing, so I was exciting getting to see it in person. Again, I wasn’t let down. They had a small museum that showed photographs of all the dignitaries and heads-of-state that have visited the site. It was quite an impressive collection, including Nixon, Clinton, Churchill, Thatcher, and others. The temple used to be off limits to women. The circular shape made it one of the holiest of temples, and women were never allowed in them. The square temples we had visited represented the earthly realm, and were open to women, but not the Temple of Heaven, for the longest time. The colors of the building were incredibly bright, since it was one of the recently restored buildings, thanks to the Olympic facelift. 
We left the temple and after an interesting brunch with some foods we couldn’t identify (but that I ate nonetheless), we were off to the Summer Palace. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Summer Palace, not having seen pictures, or heard much about it. It turns out that we had to drive to the outskirts of the city to the place where past Emperor’s spent some time during the summer months. I expected to find a palace complex like the Forbidden City, but was mistaken. What I found was the biggest man made lake I’ve ever seen, complete with large islands and huge boats sailing around. In the distance was a large hill with a palace perched on the front of it, thus between water and mountain again… so very feng shui. The brightly colored boats, many shaped liked dragons, and the kites in the air, the cool breeze, clear sky, and blooming cherry blossoms made the whole scene appear magical. We walked around the lake and then boarded a dragon ship to sail across and got some great views from the water. I have to admit it was the nicest summer home I’ve ever seen. It must have been a huge feat of engineering just to build the lake, let alone the huge opulent palace high up on the hill. And all of that accomplished many hundred years ago. Sheesh! I wandered around and enjoyed the sights, ate some ice cream, and eventually we boarded the buses again. 
Ivy was nice enough to have the driver bring us past the new Olympic Stadium and Swimming Complex to get a peek at the venues. The new Olympic Stadium is going to be incredible. Native Beijingers refer to it as “the bird’s nest” and are not fans of the design, but I think it was stunning. There are bands of metal that wrap around the stadium in a seemingly random fashion, but in a way that still seems to make sense. It actually does somewhat resemble a bird’s nest… well, more like a futuristic interpretation of a bird’s nest. I know that the metal bands extend over the top of the stadium and that there is a hole in the center that is open to the air, which probably makes it appear even more like a bird’s nest from the air. I really liked it, and can only imagine that when it is finished and lit, the effect will be truly dramatic. The TV coverage is really going to be impressive. But, I’m already anticipating that the coverage of Beijing will be a feast for the eyes.
funky chess and ribbon twirlers
The temple itself was beautiful. It is a circular temple with a bright blue roof. It’s also one of the main buildings that is on postcards of Beijing, so I was exciting getting to see it in person. Again, I wasn’t let down. They had a small museum that showed photographs of all the dignitaries and heads-of-state that have visited the site. It was quite an impressive collection, including Nixon, Clinton, Churchill, Thatcher, and others. The temple used to be off limits to women. The circular shape made it one of the holiest of temples, and women were never allowed in them. The square temples we had visited represented the earthly realm, and were open to women, but not the Temple of Heaven, for the longest time. The colors of the building were incredibly bright, since it was one of the recently restored buildings, thanks to the Olympic facelift. 
We left the temple and after an interesting brunch with some foods we couldn’t identify (but that I ate nonetheless), we were off to the Summer Palace. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Summer Palace, not having seen pictures, or heard much about it. It turns out that we had to drive to the outskirts of the city to the place where past Emperor’s spent some time during the summer months. I expected to find a palace complex like the Forbidden City, but was mistaken. What I found was the biggest man made lake I’ve ever seen, complete with large islands and huge boats sailing around. In the distance was a large hill with a palace perched on the front of it, thus between water and mountain again… so very feng shui. The brightly colored boats, many shaped liked dragons, and the kites in the air, the cool breeze, clear sky, and blooming cherry blossoms made the whole scene appear magical. We walked around the lake and then boarded a dragon ship to sail across and got some great views from the water. I have to admit it was the nicest summer home I’ve ever seen. It must have been a huge feat of engineering just to build the lake, let alone the huge opulent palace high up on the hill. And all of that accomplished many hundred years ago. Sheesh! I wandered around and enjoyed the sights, ate some ice cream, and eventually we boarded the buses again. 
Ivy was nice enough to have the driver bring us past the new Olympic Stadium and Swimming Complex to get a peek at the venues. The new Olympic Stadium is going to be incredible. Native Beijingers refer to it as “the bird’s nest” and are not fans of the design, but I think it was stunning. There are bands of metal that wrap around the stadium in a seemingly random fashion, but in a way that still seems to make sense. It actually does somewhat resemble a bird’s nest… well, more like a futuristic interpretation of a bird’s nest. I know that the metal bands extend over the top of the stadium and that there is a hole in the center that is open to the air, which probably makes it appear even more like a bird’s nest from the air. I really liked it, and can only imagine that when it is finished and lit, the effect will be truly dramatic. The TV coverage is really going to be impressive. But, I’m already anticipating that the coverage of Beijing will be a feast for the eyes.Once we left the Olympic complex on the northern part of the city we had an awful dinner before heading to the airport. When I say it was awful, I mean that even I had a hard time finding things to eat. It was all weird takes on American foods. Not what I wanted when in China. Grrr… Eventually, we said our goodbyes to Sonya, Ivy, and Beijing and flew east to Qingdao. I was excited to get to Qingdao because one of my friends from home, Chris, did a study abroad there and told me how nice of a city it was. I was looking forward to seeing the beautiful city he had described to me. However, our drive in from the airport showed an industrial, desolate, and deserted city. Plus, our ship was docked at the most industrial port we’ve yet experienced. We were literally dodging freight trains and Semi trucks as we walked to and from the ship. Quite a few people described Qingdao as Chernoble after a glance. I didn’t explore the city that first night b/c I had my final on-call night on the ship. It seems that was the right move b/c most of the folks who did go out still had that nuclear fallout impression after being out and about in Qingdao. When I woke on that last day in China, I was determined to find the beauty in Qingdao. I set out for a post office to mail my postcards and then found a taxi driver to being me to the shoreline area in the middle of the city. This was not an easy process. All through my time in China I discovered that few people speak English, and in Qingdao, it was almost none. After more than a few games of pantomime I got to the water and was dropped off at a huge park that was teeming with local Qingdaons. Being a Sunday, the park was packed with people enjoying their weekend and the somewhat new sculpture of whirling rings. 
They were flying kites, and watching wind surfers, and eating street food. I quickly learned that Qingdao sport enthusiasts either wind surf, fly kites, sail competitively, or do competitive in-line skating. Qingdao will be hosting the sailing events for the Olympics, but what I found most interesting was the many little competitions where troupes of in-line skaters would compete with finesse moves down a line of traffic cones. The posses were decked on in full regalia. We’re talking matching Member’s Only jackets, and sweat bands, or embroidered t-shirts. They were quite the spectacle, but each little competition had a crowd around it, and the skaters did have some incredible moves. 
I spent a bunch of time watching them before moving on the browse the shopping stalls. I didn’t really see much that I wanted to purchase, but the walk along the shore was very picturesque. Somehow, Qingdao has developed a heavy German influence, and that was pretty apparent in the architecture, which was full of gabled houses, and European tiled roofs, etc. Much of the art work was German as well. I walked through a busy park that had busts and statues of famous German composers. Seeing all the German influence was actually pretty weird considering I never really saw anyone who looked German. Just Chinese. I wandered around the Aquarium, and the Naval Base, and some of the commercial and social promenades, and had little pantomime conversations with people who seemed pleased to see a westerner enjoying their city. At one point, I sat on a wall overlooking the water eating some ice cream (it was SO cheap in China… I ate a ton) when a little family came over. The father thrust his baby boy on my lap and sat their daughter down next to me to take some pictures. The funny thing about this, is that I’d been looking in a different direction and hadn’t seen them approach, so I almost dropped the boy on my lap b/c I didn’t see him coming. It was also pretty funny, b/c the kids wanted nothing to do with me, and were not pleased to be perched on my lap, or near me. The parents just kept smiling and snapping pictures, and asking me questions. I replied with my standard 3 phrases in Mandarin “Ni hao (hello) xie xie (thank you) zaijian (good bye) and numbered them so they knew I only knew these three phrases. They laughed and shared my ignorance with a few of the others nearby. They all laughed with me and smiled at how cute my language ineptitude was. I have to admit, I was amused as well. Later, a man approached me and asked me where I was from. When I told him I was from the United States, he looked pleased, and then asked me if I spoke Spanish. That seemed a bit strange to me, and I asked him if he spoke English. He told me that he only knew a few words, so I switched into Spanish and he and I had about a 20 minute conversation… in Spanish… in China. This was definitely one of the more surreal moments on the journey, but what I learned was that he was in University, and had elected to study Spanish in order to be able to translate with people from Latin America. He was fascinated to hear about my life in Southern California, and he shared with me about what college life was like in China. When I told him about the Semester at Sea program, and that I work with college students, he put his hand on my shoulder and tried to say “Virginia Tech.” He didn’t have adequate Spanish (or English) to say any other words of sympathy, but I got his point clearly. It was a really touching moment. In that one gesture, this man I never met, and with whom I had shared a brief conversation conveyed so much. I would be lying to say I wasn’t moved.While wandering around, I did what I consider a cardinal sin on a journey of this nature. I went into a McDonalds. Now before you berate me and curse me for being an ugly American, I have to say that I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t feel like exploring the chancy pay toilets in Qingdao. I purchased a Coke and used the facilities, but that was it. What I ate for lunch instead was octopus skewers, and pork buns from street vendors. They were pretty darn good. I was pretty happy with the sites I saw in Qingdao, but I headed back to the ship somewhat early b/c it got pretty cold, and I was tired of walking around. We had a somewhat uneventful on-ship time with almost everyone showing up, and our stragglers not far behind. It’s always nice to have everyone on board quickly. It means that the Student Life staff get to spend some quality time in Studio 7 (Faculty/Staff Lounge) playing Hearts of Trivial Pursuit and catch up on our travels. I’m really going to miss these folks when the voyage is over. Grrr.
Well, as I finish this entry, we are about to cross the International Date line, and repeat Wednesday, May 2 for the second time. How many people in the world can say that they lived the same exact day twice? Well, you’re reading the blog of one of them. How cool, huh? I’ve decided to treat it like Groundhog’s Day (the movie) and wear all the same clothes and do the same exact things. If I can help it, I’m even eat the same things and have the same conversations. HA! This is going to make up for all of the 23 hour days we’ve been having. We’re also going to go from being 19 hours ahead of everyone in AZ & CA, to being 5 hours behind you instead. Neat, huh? Anyways, I promise to work on getting my Japan blog done and up before we hit Hawaii. That way I can be more reflective about the voyage on our last leg towards home. I’m trying hard not to be that way yet, b/c I know it will just depress me. As it is, I’m in complete denial that we’ll be arriving in San Diego in 11 days. UGH!
I send my love to everyone back in the states.
XOXO
-Drew
They were flying kites, and watching wind surfers, and eating street food. I quickly learned that Qingdao sport enthusiasts either wind surf, fly kites, sail competitively, or do competitive in-line skating. Qingdao will be hosting the sailing events for the Olympics, but what I found most interesting was the many little competitions where troupes of in-line skaters would compete with finesse moves down a line of traffic cones. The posses were decked on in full regalia. We’re talking matching Member’s Only jackets, and sweat bands, or embroidered t-shirts. They were quite the spectacle, but each little competition had a crowd around it, and the skaters did have some incredible moves. 
I spent a bunch of time watching them before moving on the browse the shopping stalls. I didn’t really see much that I wanted to purchase, but the walk along the shore was very picturesque. Somehow, Qingdao has developed a heavy German influence, and that was pretty apparent in the architecture, which was full of gabled houses, and European tiled roofs, etc. Much of the art work was German as well. I walked through a busy park that had busts and statues of famous German composers. Seeing all the German influence was actually pretty weird considering I never really saw anyone who looked German. Just Chinese. I wandered around the Aquarium, and the Naval Base, and some of the commercial and social promenades, and had little pantomime conversations with people who seemed pleased to see a westerner enjoying their city. At one point, I sat on a wall overlooking the water eating some ice cream (it was SO cheap in China… I ate a ton) when a little family came over. The father thrust his baby boy on my lap and sat their daughter down next to me to take some pictures. The funny thing about this, is that I’d been looking in a different direction and hadn’t seen them approach, so I almost dropped the boy on my lap b/c I didn’t see him coming. It was also pretty funny, b/c the kids wanted nothing to do with me, and were not pleased to be perched on my lap, or near me. The parents just kept smiling and snapping pictures, and asking me questions. I replied with my standard 3 phrases in Mandarin “Ni hao (hello) xie xie (thank you) zaijian (good bye) and numbered them so they knew I only knew these three phrases. They laughed and shared my ignorance with a few of the others nearby. They all laughed with me and smiled at how cute my language ineptitude was. I have to admit, I was amused as well. Later, a man approached me and asked me where I was from. When I told him I was from the United States, he looked pleased, and then asked me if I spoke Spanish. That seemed a bit strange to me, and I asked him if he spoke English. He told me that he only knew a few words, so I switched into Spanish and he and I had about a 20 minute conversation… in Spanish… in China. This was definitely one of the more surreal moments on the journey, but what I learned was that he was in University, and had elected to study Spanish in order to be able to translate with people from Latin America. He was fascinated to hear about my life in Southern California, and he shared with me about what college life was like in China. When I told him about the Semester at Sea program, and that I work with college students, he put his hand on my shoulder and tried to say “Virginia Tech.” He didn’t have adequate Spanish (or English) to say any other words of sympathy, but I got his point clearly. It was a really touching moment. In that one gesture, this man I never met, and with whom I had shared a brief conversation conveyed so much. I would be lying to say I wasn’t moved.While wandering around, I did what I consider a cardinal sin on a journey of this nature. I went into a McDonalds. Now before you berate me and curse me for being an ugly American, I have to say that I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t feel like exploring the chancy pay toilets in Qingdao. I purchased a Coke and used the facilities, but that was it. What I ate for lunch instead was octopus skewers, and pork buns from street vendors. They were pretty darn good. I was pretty happy with the sites I saw in Qingdao, but I headed back to the ship somewhat early b/c it got pretty cold, and I was tired of walking around. We had a somewhat uneventful on-ship time with almost everyone showing up, and our stragglers not far behind. It’s always nice to have everyone on board quickly. It means that the Student Life staff get to spend some quality time in Studio 7 (Faculty/Staff Lounge) playing Hearts of Trivial Pursuit and catch up on our travels. I’m really going to miss these folks when the voyage is over. Grrr.Well, as I finish this entry, we are about to cross the International Date line, and repeat Wednesday, May 2 for the second time. How many people in the world can say that they lived the same exact day twice? Well, you’re reading the blog of one of them. How cool, huh? I’ve decided to treat it like Groundhog’s Day (the movie) and wear all the same clothes and do the same exact things. If I can help it, I’m even eat the same things and have the same conversations. HA! This is going to make up for all of the 23 hour days we’ve been having. We’re also going to go from being 19 hours ahead of everyone in AZ & CA, to being 5 hours behind you instead. Neat, huh? Anyways, I promise to work on getting my Japan blog done and up before we hit Hawaii. That way I can be more reflective about the voyage on our last leg towards home. I’m trying hard not to be that way yet, b/c I know it will just depress me. As it is, I’m in complete denial that we’ll be arriving in San Diego in 11 days. UGH!
I send my love to everyone back in the states.
XOXO
-Drew
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