I thought tonight I would actually try to settle in and not keep being busy. So because of this, I have some time to write about how I have managed to survive the first two days in China.

Yesterday was filled with much settling in and just getting acclimated to the new campus. We went on a very brief tour and were showed where our classes were and where the dining court was. Our rooms are pretty cozy, being a pretty averaged sized hotel room (two beds, a nice bathroom, and a tv). The real fun though came when we went out for dinner for the first time.

A group of us went out to a small restaurant about 5 minutes from our campus to get our first meal. Luckily, there was a guy in our group who knew Chinese, so he pretty much ordered for us what 'looked' to be good. I think I ended up ordering a bowl of beef and rice which was pretty tasty. After dinner we toured around a little bit and found the mall which was absolutely ginormous! There was literally 6 floors of stores. (to compare, it was probably a few times the size of glenbrook mall in Fort Wayne).

After we got back, I laid down on my bed and fell asleep within seconds (no joke).

Today (Saturday), Elliot, Carlin, and I went out exploring to see what we could find for Lunch. This was a bit of a challenge because we don't know a lick of Chinese, and the people at the restaurants don't know a lick of English. After much finger pointing and awkward silences, our orders were placed. After ordering what I thought was onion soup and chicken, I ended up getting this black beans with purple liquid. I tasted it but was too scared to actually eat any of it haha.

After lunch, we met up with the rest of our groups to go out and get our chinese cell phones and other odds and ends needed for our rooms and the upcoming weeks. After blindly following the group, we stumbled upon this mecca of technology stores. The best way I can explain this is if you took one of those "Going Out of Business Stores" and multiplied that by 30 or so and put them all in one place, that is what was experienced. Interesting story while we were there: A Chinese lady who was clearly upset with a small vendor store, was yelling at the top of her lungs for a good 10 minutes. While this was happening, a crowd of about 50 people just sat and watched as she was jumping around, yelling, and embarrassing herself in front of everyone. I guess it doesn't sound that funny typing it, but it was pretty dang funny. She was later escorted away by the authorities adding to the humor =].

Below are some pictures on the way back to the hotel from the electronic stores. We got lost coming back because we took a different way. I have gotten lost twice now already, but both times it has been a blast figuring out how to get back.

 

This is just a picture looking back at the shopping center we were in to get supplies.

The GAP that is all decorated for the new year

 

The faculty club is actually the name of the hotel that we are staying it. It is pretty nice and a step up from the dorms.

The archway is one of the entrances to the downtown campus.

After we got back, we went out to dinner with the SJTU staff that made this trip possible which included our teachers for these first few weeks. The food was quite different then anything I have ever had. The picture below shows some of my fellow students and also the atmosphere of the meal.

At fancier meals, I guess its more of a custom to have spinning tables in the middle. You spin, grab food, spin, grab food, and keep repeating till you are full. The food was of great variety but the strangest of them all was definitely the main course. The word translated from Chinese is Goose Palm. Below, is said Goose Palm. It was very slimy and tasted very strange. I was not able to finish it.

The other thing on the right was a sea cucumber which also was not the best tasting. I did TRY everything that was put in front of me, but did not finish all of it.

After dinner, we went downstairs where they had fresh fish/crab/shrimp/turtle/frog and everything in between just sitting out to buy. It was pretty cool to see all of this in a restaurant.

We walked back, DIDN'T GET LOST =], and now I am writing this.

If there is anything you guy want me to go see and take pictures of, or want me to buy for you while I am here, please do not hesitate to ask! =]

Oh and Logan, here is the mountain dew here in China. It does not taste at all like it does in the United States and can't wait to drink the real stuff again haha.

Hope everyone's semester gets off to a good start =]

Corbin