SBCC China-Vietnam Study Abroad 2008

End of the road, SBCC China-Vietnam 2008

2008-12-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Before I sign off on our 2008 SBCC China-Vietnam Study Abroad blog I’d like to express the co-Directors’ thanks to everyone who helped make this journey possible. First, thanks to Study Abroad Director Carola Smith and our dean, Marilynn Spaventa (for more info on SBCC Study Abroad please check out their website: http://www.sbcc.edu/studyabroad/website/). Thank you to the International Office at Shandong University for looking after us while we were in Jinan and a special thanks to Jiaqi who worked hard every day on our behalf. Likewise, a huge thank you to our friends Hanh and Phuong for going out of their way to ease our way through Vietnam. Respect to the Hanoi Luxury Hotel (www.hanoiluxuryhotel.com.vn) and owner Tony Hoang for our excellent accommodations in Hanoi. I highly recommend them!

Finally, thank you to everyone who helped with Pre-Departure back in SB: Michael Landers from Culture Crossing (www.culturecrossing.net), Dr. Yongjin Park for his Mandarin lessons, as well as Ingrid Bowman and Dr. Lou Spaventa for their efforts to prepare us for our English Internships in Jinan. Last but not least, a huge “Xie Xie” and “Cám on” to Professor Peter Haslund for founding this program nearly 25 years ago and providing invaluable advice to the co-Directors. We heard repeatedly from your friends here in Asia that they missed seeing you this trip and they hope that you will pay them a visit soon.

[Dr. Peter Haslund at Shandong University, 1985]

Adios amigos, I’ve got my heart set on Mexican food as soon as I touch down at LAX...

- Dr. Matthew Mooney, SBCC Professor of History

Hanoi-Saigon

2008-12-10T19:50:00.001-08:00

Well, time is wrapping up and it’s hard to believe it has been three months since we all hopped on a plane, most of us strangers, and didn’t have a clue what was going to happen but were filled with anticipation. It’s been a great trip, and this last week has been no exception.

Since we last blogged from Hanoi, we did a few things – a highlight among them was the long awaited lecture by Thao Griffiths of the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund. We watched a documentary about the war called “Hearts and Minds.” We had a wonderful time and Mrs. Griffiths was invaluable in her information on the negative effects of the Vietnam War on both American GIs and on the citizens of Vietnam. Thank you Mrs. Griffiths!

The Hanoi Luxury Hotel was so nice to us and we miss it! With it’s awesome manager Tony Huang, great staff and helpful service, we cannot help but hope to make it back soon! On our last day, they allowed several people to stay in their rooms, and provided space for those without rooms to wait in and to store luggage. They went above and beyond by providing a lunch on the last day. Sadly we had to leave after nearly five weeks, and at 11 PM on Monday we headed on a train to the first of many coastal stops: Hue.

Hue greeted us after a twelve hour train ride, most of it asleep, from Hanoi. With only a small time frame to see a town rich in history, we ate lunch (which was served in quite an artistic manner), then set out to see Hue. Led by our knowledgeable guide Ahn, we saw the essential Hue through the Imperial Palace and surrounding citadel, Thien Mu Pagoda and a concluding boat ride back to our hotel at the end of the day.

Touring Hue, we saw reminders that in the 1968 Tet Offensive the Battle of Hue became one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War; but at the same time, as we floated towards our hotel at day’s end, it was hard to imagine that such a serene city experienced such bloodshed.

Built in 1802 to protect the shaky claim of the Nguyen Emperors, the Imperial Palace of Hue is unassuming. Though historically significant today, the once vast Hue Cung Vua is now a fraction of what originally stood strong: a replica of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Having visited the Forbidden City while we toured Beijing over a month ago, it was hard to envision the Forbidden City standing where we stood. The historical value of the palace deepened when we were faced with perhaps the most striking relics of 1968 we saw in Hue: bullet holes, crumbled buildings, and the simple grave site along the road by the Hue Cung Vua gates. It was not difficult to see why UNESCO had seen its value in 1993 and granted the palace as a World Heritage Site.

Thien Mu Pagoda was across the city, and is so serene that it can be hard to believe that it is in the same vicinity as the Imperial Palace. The pagoda is home to a Buddhist monastery which is active to date. Some chose to glimpse into the Monastery in a rare opportunity, for many Westerners at least, to view the religious culture of Buddhism. Others walked around the Pagoda and absorbed the day’s gorgeous weather, which according to local legend, would be repeated the following day as indicated by the height at which the dragonflies flew before us. Gradually, everyone gathered together for a short time before embarking on to the waters of the Perfume River.

The Pagoda had been built several hundred years before the Cung Vua Imperial Palace, and though one of many Pagodas in town, it is by far the oldest and most famous. The opportunity to take pictures did not escape some people, who posed in front of the pagoda with their roommates, friends or by themselves.

By the time the boat trip arrived, we were all exhausted, but excited to see most of Hue. We had a nice driver who made the ride smooth and enjoyable to the best degree imaginable.

The boat ride was peaceful, and though tired, we were happy to take contemplative moments to internalize the day’s events, take photographs, and sit down after a long day.

We made our way from Hue to Hoi An by bus the following morning. We paused at a site with immense importance in the decades leading to America’s war with Vietnam: the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone or VDMZ. As Dr. Mooney had detailed in his first lecture in History 115 (Vietnam Wars), the VDMZ was a product of the First Indochina War fought in 1946 through the early 1950s by the French (supported heavily with American aid) in their effort to recolnize Vietnam after WWII. Per the Geneva Accords, the VDMZ was to temporarily partition Vietnam into the ‘Communist’ North and the ‘Free’ South, but ultimately it was far more than temporary. To say the least it was an important spot to visit after a course that without the VDMZ would be non-existent.

After we arrived, settled and ate lunch some went on a walking tour of the city with our guide Anh who had come with us to Hoi An. After the tour, many students decided to rent bicycles or walk to the beach. Seemingly appearing out of the mist, the beach was almost as if we were in Santa Barbara. Much of the group chose to watch the sun set at the beach, then headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then go to dinner.

After dinner, everyone chose to do something different, but everyone was in a group of two or more having fun. We went to bed in decent time in the hopes we would have enough energy to climb the “Marble Mountains” that are famous in Hoi An for their beautiful duotone.

The next morning, we awoke early and discovered that our day’s plans had changed because of various factors. Instead of walking through the “Marble Mountains” of Hoi An, we were being taken to the famed China Beach in nearby Da Nang. China Beach (besides being a 1980s TV hit!) was the choice Rest and Relaxation spot for American GIs during the Vietnam War.

Today, China Beach is a tourist hot spot, with resorts being built at rapid fire speed. Nonetheless, it was a great way to start off a day, especially with a sixteen hour train ride facing us all. China Beach was a hit with all of us and we spent nearly two hours relaxing and soaking up the sun. It was easy to see why American forces took their R&R time at China Beach! Of course, we did do some history sightseeing as we passed by the old American airbase at DaNang, still partially in tact, juxtaposed against the gorgeous sands of China Beach.

Our ride to Saigon/HCMC was on at rain that was small and rickety. No blog would be complete without the events of the train ride, which took a total of sixteen hours in all. One train car’s rooms had a plug for computers, cell phones etc. over one of the beds, but for those in the car without plugs, imagination was paramount, and after about hour six, groups had gathered in various rooms to pass time. (A game of Murder in the Dark ala elementary school broke out in one room; others predicted each person’s future through the omnipotent and fail-proof method of “MASH”, and still more played card games.) Sixteen hours on a train, though not recommended frequently, can be fun when you’re around good people, and good fun, and good laughs.

Our last stop was Ho Chi Minh City where this blog is being written from. After a chance to sleep for several hours and a nourishing and delicious lunch at a local restaurant our new guides Khe and “John” took us to the “Reunification Palace” of Saigon, best known to Americans as the location of famous events surrounding the end of the Vietnam War. As if suspended in time, the North Vietnamese have left the building near identical to what they encountered in 1975 when they broke through the gate of the grounds using tanks, which today sit proudly in front of the Palace. The victory of the Northern Communists at breaching the Presidential residence cemented one Vietnam under Communist rule, and thus is now touted as the “Reunification Palace”. The rest of the day was followed by a quick but informative visit to the military museum, and return briefly to our hotels, before a farewell dinner about 40 minutes away from the City center.

- Shannon P.

Goodbye Hanoi!

2008-11-30T02:58:00.000-08:00

We’ve really enjoyed our time here in Hanoi but its time to move along. We’re headed for the old imperial capitol of Hue. We’ll also visit Hoi An and Da Nang on our way to HCMC / Saigon and the end of the program!

[Below: our last lunch at the Hanoi Luxury Hotel!]

[Below: hotel owner Tony “No Problem!” Hoang and few of his new friends]

Thanksgiving in Hanoi

2008-11-27T06:14:00.000-08:00

Further reflections on Hanoi, excursion to Ha Long Bay

2008-11-25T17:14:00.001-08:00

This last week found many of the students gathered around their computers (old-fogy professors watched CNN) to follow the Tea Fire in Santa Barbara that burned 100+ homes and threatened the foothills behind the Rivera. Several students on the trip had family and friends living in the threatened area and we watched the news carefully online to allay our fears for our homes. Fortunately to our knowledge, none of our homes were burnt.
[Below: Tea Fire…damn. We’ve missed the financial meltdown and now the fire. We’ll be coming home to a different country. Weird.]

Meanwhile, here on the other side of the world…

It’s been an interesting time here in Hanoi. Following this last week, classes have reached their denouement, with finals lurking just around the proverbial corner. Amidst the frantic rush to finish all necessary studying, we’ve been enjoying individual exploratory adventures around the city.
[Below: Hanoi, a city of lakes…beautiful!]

In particular, the Old Quarter of Hanoi is most accommodating to foreigners, where tourists in sandals & socks can be found looking confused and wearing fanny packs. Even though most of us have a…difficult time speaking Vietnamese (at all), we’ve still grown adept at detecting tourist traps of all kinds. Everywhere there are shops and roadside vendors who sell a variety of wares, most of them targeted to the tourist: cultural souvenirs, statues, t-shirts (such as “Tin-Tin in Vietnam,” which I find at least mildly remarkable), art, old propaganda posters, etc.
[Below: Hanoi, Old Quarter]

If you have anything particular in mind to buy, then you should definitely shop around, as what shopkeepers have in their stock tends to be widely available. The shopkeepers seem much less willing to bargain here in Hanoi than in China, so one must be persistent when negotiating a price. That being said, if you are wise, you will still be able to get items for much cheaper than in the U.S.
[Below: Sage being measured for a custom-tailored suit]

To rest after being worn out from buying tourist goodies, there are tons of restaurants to choose from in the Old Quarter that are specifically geared towards Western tourists. Restaurants can offer anything from traditional Vietnamese food to hamburgers and pizza, and generally everything in between. The Irish pubs have provided a good bit of recreation as well. As an afterthought, or at times, a primary objective, we also visited bars/clubs in Hanoi, which tend to be equally as variable in theme and quality as the restaurants. These places are the best locations for communing with other travelers in the region, since they provide comfortable forums within which to initiate conversation. We definitely recommend Dragonfly, Finnegan’s, and Roots, all located in the Old Quarter. One should note that many restaurants, and all shops, will close down before eleven, so it is best to accommodate for these constraints when planning to go out.
[Below: View from our hotel]

The planned trip for this week was a visit to Hanoi University, where the staff and students facilitated a viewing of a Vietnamese movie about the aftermath of the Vietnam War (or, more appropriately, the American War in Vietnam).

The trip started in the afternoon with a bus ride to the campus of Hanoi University. Upon arrival, we were met by Professor Minh and his associates, who welcomed the group warmly. Shortly after arrival we were shuffled off to a conference room, where we were introduced formally to the Professor and to the Vietnamese students who had also come to the meeting.

The movie we were to watch was called “Living in Fear,” and after a few minor technical difficulties, we were able to view it. It was a fascinating, if slow-moving film, that depicted the life of one man after the war, and how he stumbled into the dangerous profession of mine sweeping. (The US dropped more tonnage of bombs on Vietnam during the war than all the allies dropped in WWII combined.) It was both fascinating and incredibly sad to watch: the business of war had become normalized after the country had been entrenched for so long. However, it was also a testament to the strength of the Vietnamese (and, on a wider scale, humans as a species), who persevered after they had lost everything by using anything and everything they had at their disposal to make a living.

[Below: Halong Bay]

On a lighter note, this weekend was our much looked-forward to trip to Ha Long Bay (East of Hanoi on the coast). At the harbor, we were shocked to see the plethora of rag-tag and aged boats with tourists coming and going everywhere. Despite their apparent lack of seaworthiness (don’t worry Mom, we were safe the whole time!) we left the dock and headed out into the bay for some lunch served on the boat.

The boat pushed across the bay and the islands came into sight through the haze, where we docked on an island where there is a UNESCO cave that was shockingly well maintained. And by well maintained, we mean it looked like a more colorful version of the Pirates of the Caribbean cave from Disneyland. The second cave further back was less psychedelically lit. After hopping back on the boat, we navigated a seemingly impossible maze of islands and inlets and rock formations jutting out of the water.
[Below: exiting Sung Sot cave]

We passed floating villages in-between the islands (yes entirely floating towns) and made it to Cat Ba Island where we were set upon by aggressive vendors trying to sell us beer and water and chips. These ladies were persistent and did not take no for an answer, remember, its best just to avoid eye contact because once you start talking to them, they persevere till you leave.

[Below: Cat Ba City]

We took a 30 min bus ride across the island to a sheltered little bay that was jammed with fishing boats and had a ring of high buildings bordering the shore. Our group was excited to go to a nearby beach, and our tour guide took us on a short walk to an even smaller “bay” with a pristine beach. Even though it wasn’t sunny and it was late in the day, we donned our bathing suits and ran into the surf like kids.

Most of us hadn’t seen the ocean since Weihai, in China and even then, the water had been cold. The water where we were was really nice and warm and almost the whole group went out into the water and hung out in the surf, trying to body surf, horseplaying and racing each other.

It was nice to unwind and have fun after all our studying and crowded life in the urban city. After heading back in the dark, we had dinner and headed out separate ways for the evening.

[Below: dusk in Cat Ba City]

Despite our being on what seemed like a relatively small, isolated, unpopulated island, our group found bars and clubs and the relaxation continued, often assisted by overpriced drinks.

The next morning, after an unnecessarily early wake up call, we had some breakfast then got on the bus to head back to the docks on the other side of the island.

We left our Jurassic Park-looking island on the way back to Ha Long, a lot of us lounged on the roof of the boat and took in what little sun there was to be had. The usual suspects could be found playing cards en masse and some of us just napped or caught up on studying.

It was nice to be able to relax outside with no obligations or duties and just to unwind in our own ways. A plot to jump over the side of the boat so we could have one last swim was thwarted. As we were docking at Ha Long harbor our boat was rear ended by another - hard enough to make people lose their balance, but it was just another typical day in paradise!

A tasty lunch brought us up to par and we headed out for the beach again. Some of us went swimming, but most of us just lay in the sun or played Frisbee.

We reluctantly got on the bus to head home to Hanoi. Funny how wherever you’re staying becomes home. With all the conveniences and friends we have together, whatever hotel we’re staying in feels like home.
[Below: back “home” to Hanoi]

Even though our little weekend excursion was far too short, most of us had fun and enjoyed our time. As with almost everything on this trip so far, we wished we could have done it for longer, but were grateful to have done it at all. As we get settled back here in Hanoi and prepare for our final exams, we were all sadly sneaking glances at our calendar as the end of the trip approaches. Many of us miss home, but everyone has had wonderful experiences full of new friends and new food and new sights and sounds. At the risk of sounding cliché, it seems like only yesterday we were in pre-departure wondering what Asia would be like – well, now that we know most of us want to stay here longer or come back…if you’re reading this and haven’t been here, we highly recommend it, it’s an experience not to be missed.

[Below: settling in for the final lecture of 2008 China-Vietnam Study Abroad]

Nam Dinh Province; a trip to the countryside

2008-11-20T17:17:00.000-08:00

This past weekend the SBCC Study Abroad China & Vietnam group experienced a wonderful and insightful trip to the coastal province of Nam Dihn where the beauty of rural Vietnam and its local people was made evident to us. We danced with local villagers on Saturday night in the community center and by Sunday morning we were on a cruise through Xuan Thuy National park. It’s a pity that the trip was so short, but we made every moment worthwhile.

[below: a few of the many children of Giao Xuan village]

The excursion started off early Saturday morning around the ungodly hour of 7 A.M. (little did we know what time we’d be waking up the next day) but the groggy eyes of fellow classmates at breakfast slowly turned into happy, chattering faces as the food hit the tables. As the clock struck 7:15 A.M., we grabbed our packs and waited out on the street for our bus to arrive. The warm air of another gorgeous day in Vietnam surrounded us with excitement. The bus finally arrived at 7:30 A.M. and everyone piled on, hoping to catch another couple hours of rest. The bus ride was a sleepy one and lasted about four and a half hours though the stormy weather made the ride a bit hectic at certain points. We eventually reached our first stop, a Bonsai tree farm just inside Nam Dihn province. The trees, which are the main export of the town, were everywhere. There were trees of every shape and size, each with its own unique charm. As we left the farm we passed an elementary school where we were greeted with curious looks from the mob of children who were heading home for their lunch break. Their inquiring stares made me wonder if they had ever seen Westerners before. The second Bonsai tree farm we visited had an array of elaborate trees - some spiky and others small - that were grown into designs that resembled miniature villages. Afterwards, we got back onto the bus and set out towards our final destination, the village of Giao Xuan near Xuan Thuy National park.

Upon arrival at Giao Xuan we assembled at the village community center to meet our host families, claim our bikes for the day, and get further instructions.
[below: Andrew S., Anthony, Kevin E. , and Russell – “Hells’ Angels”]

After lunch, which consisted of local seafood and plentiful greens, we took a bicycle ride over the dikes that surrounded the local aquaculture of the Red River Delta. We learned about the village economy and how the fruit of the sea was their main source of income.
[below: Sam and Sean C. at the sea wall overlooking Giao Xuan’s aquaculture mudflats]

Later, on our way to take a tour of the “alcohol house” (the house in which the villagers produced their rice wine), we were chased by children of the village who screamed excited “hellos” and we raced them to our destination.
[below: the infamous “Alcohol House.”]

After our tour of the village and the surrounding countryside we broke up into groups of three or four and spent the evening with our host families. Dinner that night consisted of cheers and celebration, as well as difficult but memorable communication between ourselves and our host families. We settled onto the floor of the village homes for meals of rice and fresh clams.

After dinner we reconvened at the community center where a festival of traditional Vietnamese dance and music was performed for us.
[below: villagers in traditional dress after their dance performance]

After a presentation in which boys and girls performed a classic dance, the SBCC students were invited onto the floor to participate. The villagers clapped large, painted rods in a rhythmic fashion on the floor so that the students and accompanying Vietnamese dancers had to leap across them as they danced. It was a great evening.
[below: the students wanted to post a photo of Dr. Mooney dancing at the Giao Xuan village traditional culture demonstration but he looked like a total idiot so the editor has wisely chosen to suppress said image.

-no image-

]

We woke around 5 A.M. (!) the following morning to tour the local aquaculture in and around the vast, half-submerged mangrove forest near the village. As we biked in the pitch-black darkness of the morning back towards the community center we noticed that the villagers were already waking to begin work. Women had begun to chop sugar cane and were arranging their tools for the rice paddies, where they would work all day. It was still dark when we boarded two fishing boats for a ride through the mangrove forest of Xuan Thuy National park, a habitat that supports thousands of migratory birds, among other mammals.
[below: on the Xuan Thuy National park delta]

Just before sunrise our boats slid further and further through the forest until, finally, we left the mangroves behind and drifted into the wide, open waters of the delta where slender bamboo pillars held up a multitude of small wooden structures spread across the delta. These were temporary houses that the clam farmers used while they harvested. The site was beautiful - if not perfect - in visual brilliance: the rising sun slowly painted the sky pink and orange while hundreds of these strange bamboo huts hovered above the calm morning water. There were twenty of us to a boat, two boats total, and hundreds of pictures.

After our boat tour of the national park and a breakfast of rice porridge and bananas, the group proceeded to lend a hand to the locals by helping to plant flowers along the road. We shoveled, hoed, raked and plotted while old local farmers and young boys stood around laughing at our efforts until they showed us how to do the planting correctly. When we left about one hundred feet of seeds rested in the soil, waiting to bloom.
[below: Sean C., Forrest, and Brianna planting on the delta-side of the sea wall outside Giao Xuan village]

On the whole, our weekend excursion was eye opening in more ways than one. We left with a new foundation - a novel understanding of a group of people with less money, less industry. It made us think twice about the possessions and customs that we value most at home. Seeing so many children running around the village playing in complete bliss despite their material poverty was really enlightening for us to witness since we are so dependent on our luxuries and entertainment. The rewarding breath of fresh air that many of us gained while spending the weekend in Nam Dihn was from respectful hospitality and camaraderie. It was a great thing to see a culture with fewer luxuries able to sustain a lifestyle while welcoming us with so much generosity.

[below: Mary, our extraordinarily helpful colleague Phuong, Risa, and Sean C. in Giao Xuan]

- Forrest J., Brek W., Sean C., Risa H., Sam L., Briana P., Kevin W.

Truc Bac Lake / John McCain

2008-11-17T00:21:00.000-08:00

[below] This memorial on Truc Bac Lake commemorates the spot where U.S. Naval aviator John McCain was captured after being shot down on a raid over Hanoi on 26 October 1967. Our hotel is in the background on the far side of the lake.

[below] McCain being pulled from Truc Bach Lake, 26 October 1967

Hanoi

2008-11-10T06:33:00.001-08:00

With the rains and floods in Hanoi finally subsiding, we are able to explore the city in more depth. The people are friendly as you walk by and the children laugh and point at the strange foreigners walking through their neighborhoods. The local street vendors hawk their wares, calling out to you from across the street “hello hello cheap food, good price!” Whether you’re looking for fresh fruit or a new cell phone, the Vietnamese are more than happy to accommodate you. Just walking up and down the street, the sounds and smells are enough to make you want to stay in this place forever. Dodging motorbikes, people trying to sell you hats or t-shirts, and children running past - laughing and playing soccer; this is the norm for Hanoi. You would never know that forty years ago this place was a war-torn country where Americans were feared and hated. Now all that remains are stories of mines occasionally being found and pictures of “Uncle Ho” smiling back at you.

As the sun sets, the lake near our hotel reflects the light with practiced bravado, head lights of passing cars shining off of it’s smooth surface while men sit on its edge casting their fishing lines into the water. The nights in Hanoi are even more of a spectacle as the locals come out and set up shop for the hungry passerby. With a culture this vibrant and alive it’s hard to imagine ever returning home to the good ole U.S. of A.

After a slight delay due to the excessive rain in Hanoi when we first arrived, we were taken on a tour of the major sites in the city. Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Unfortunately, it was under renovation and we were unable go inside to visit Uncle Ho as we had been able to see Chainman Mao in Beijing.

[Below: Hồ Chí Minh’s Mausoleum in Ba Ðình Square, the spot where Ho proclaimed the independence of Vietnam on 2 September 1945 in a speech that began with the words, “All men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”]

Nearby we saw the Presidential Palace as well Ho Chi Minh's home. The Palace is of old French architecture and was used from the time of the French colonial administration all the way through Ho Chi Minh's presidency.

[below: The Presidential Palace of Vietnam, built between 1900 and 1906 to house the French Governor-General of Indochina]

Ho's actual home was right next to the palace and is very humble. Our next stop was the Temple of Literature, a Confucian temple built about a thousand years ago. It was very reminiscent of China with its similar architecture and themes - not to mention that it is Confucian! It was later used as a university, and many students still visit to receive good luck before their exams.

Our next stop in Hanoi was the Vietnamese Army Museum, which had an abundance of wartime artifacts. The museum gave us first-hand knowledge of the war we are here to study. The museum was fully equipped with weapons, aircraft, ground vehicles, and other equipment that soldiers used during the last half century. Beginning with the 1st Indo-Chinese War (1946-1954) the museum had many artifacts and information about Vietnam’s victory over the French colonizers. There is a large scale model of the famous battle at Dien Bien Phu and there was a short movie clip that explained the historic Vietnamese victory in the region that finally broke the back of the French occupation. Outside the museum there were several aircraft that had been shot down during the “American War” (the Vietnamese term for what we call the “Vietnam War”). The museum had a bit of everything and shed light on the equipment and techniques that were used by the Vietnamese to counter American air attacks on North Vietnam.

[Below: American military equipment seized by the North Vietnamese in 1975 after the collapse of South Vietnam.]

A model of the elaborate tunnel systems used in the South showed how difficult it was for American troops, both in the air and on land, to find the enemy. The museum made what we are studying in class all the more interesting.

Although it rained throughout the day, the tour was a great experience and a nice introduction to Hanoi City.

We've all enjoyed getting to know Hanoi over the past week. The city has many districts to choose from so there is never a dull day. Many of the students have been wandering the streets and enjoying everything the city has to offer. The French colonial influence is still noticeable, from the sidewalk cafés to the bakeries full of fresh baguettes.

[Below: enjoying one of Hanoi’s innumerable sidewalk cafes.]

It is hard to believe there was a war here only a few decades ago because the people are so welcoming and warm. Often little kids will wave at us as we pass by and shout, “hello!” Many of the students have been enjoying the lake situated just a block behind our hotel. Truc Bach Lake is just a little northwest of downtown. Ironically, it also the lake that former presidential candidate John McCain was captured in after being shot down over Hanoi.

[below: the flight suit and parachute of U.S. Senator and Republican presidential nominee John McCain, preserved at the Hoa Lo Prison - better known to American prisoners of war, with more than a little irony, as the "Hanoi Hilton."]

The street bordering the lake has been really popular among the students because of its wide variety of places to drink and eat. From traditional “hot pot” Vietnamese restaurants to cafes serving up good coffee, butter, and cheese (largely unavailable to us back in Jinan…perhaps the Vietnamese have something to thank the French for, after all!). Our new favorite, however, is “Foodspot 45.” Its is a great place to enjoy some authentic Indian food at a very affordable price and you can either enjoy a meal watching the sunset over the lake or - if studying for one of our classes – you can also have their food delivered to the hotel. Although we have limited time here students are using it wisely: exploring the streets, enjoying the food, and soaking up the beauty of Hanoi.

A few of us how had the opportunity to travel about four or five kilometers from our hotel to the Old Quarter - an ideal section of town to observe architecture dating from the French colonial period. It's interesting that the Vietnamese people have decided to keep these buildings intact despite the fact that the French colonized their country for nearly a century. There are also a number of statues and monuments in and around the Old Quarter. Just a few blocks away from the Old Quarter is a lake called Hoan Kiem.

On the lake there is a Temple by the name of Ngoc Son and tourists can visit it for 10,000 (VND) Vietnamese Dong, which is equivalent to about 60 cents! It's a very nice place to sit down and relax for the day or just walk around and enjoy the day. If the sun goes down and it starts to get dark there are tons of night markets where you can find food or souvenirs. Usually they close down the street where the night market is located so that people can walk around freely without having to worry about all of the motor bikers!

- Dillon, Russell, Price, Andrew S., Nathan S., Elaine, Parkie

Beijing-Hanoi

2008-11-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that time could travel by this fast? It seems as though we only left LAX a few days ago, but we have had two months of extravagant adventures and made friends that we will never forget. As our group of thirty-six students said goodbye to Jinan and all of the good times and great friends we made there, we looked forward to an amazing week in Beijing, and then a month of in Vietnam. We knew there were many sights to see in Beijing such as the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square, only to name a few, we had to make as much of our time as possible. It seems as though Beijing is everyone’s favorite place on this trip so far, and who can blame them, a city with amazing people and so much history, it is hard not to fall in love with a place like this.

One of the most interesting elements of Beijing is its diversity. It contains so much interesting history, and yet the modern western influence is indefinitely extensive. During our seven weeks in Jinan we became more or less accustomed to primarily Chinese influences, so upon our arrival to Beijing we were pleasantly surprised. For example, “Bar Street” is one of these concentrated areas of Western influence which dot Beijing. It which included everything from wineries, underground graffiti garages, and an American Apparel outlet. However, the Western element appreciated most by the students was the food. Chinese cuisine is very interesting and, although we grew to appreciate the new flavors, it took a while for many of us to adjust to the intense change in our diets. In Jinan there weren't very many ethnic options when it came to eating so, accordingly, we ate Chinese food most of the time. Beijing was different. Beijing had Mexican food!

Since our Study Abroad group is mostly composed of native Californians we are accustomed to having authentic Mexican food available to us daily. This was something that we all missed since coming to China and when we found Luga's in Beijing, it instantly became our new favorite restaurant. Luga's was a small place located just off of Bar Street above a wine tasting gallery. They had nachos, taco salad, fajitas, and live music. What more could you want?

On one particularly memorable night (Sage and Mary's birthday) they had an open mike night and we got to listen not only to our resident musicians perform (Britton and Brek!) but also experienced some traditional Polish music and dancing provided by a group of performers who were traveling through the city. All in all Luga's was definitely a very memorable part of our Beijing experience.

Of course, there was more to Beijing than Mexican food! We spent the week seeing the sites. One of our first stops was Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen, literally translated, means the "gate way of heavenly peace." When the Tiananmen Gate was built in the 1420's during the Ming Dynasty it served multiple purposes - including protection for the Forbidden City as well as establishing status for the Emperor and astonishing the lower classes (serving to help keep them in line!). However, upon visiting even hundreds of years later, we were just as dazzled as a peasant in the 1400s might have been. Tiananmen Square as a whole has witnessed many historical events from the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in October of 1949, to the deadly Tiananmen Square Protests in 1989. To this day an enormous portrait of Mao is still placed above the dead center of the Gate.

One of the things that stunned us all was the amount of people in the square. Large enough to hold one million people, Tiananmen Square hosts literally ten of thousands of tourists a day through the Gates. One of the most anticipated sights in Beijing (smack in the middle of Tiananmen Square) was Mao Ze Dong's Mausoleum. In the months prior, both in and outside of class, we learned (some experienced) Mao's enormous power and influence. So, when we learned we would see his embalmed body in Beijing we were very excited. The line to see Mao ousted the worst line in Disney Land. Fortunately, because you were only allowed to glimpse Mao for about 30 seconds, the line only took about a half hour. There were no cameras or bags allowed inside, and for 3 kuai you could purchase a yellow flower to lie at the feet of an enormous marble Mao statue. Inside the mausoleum was very strange. Guard's stood at alert in every corner, two inside the glass room housing Mao's glass coffin. Mao, a very small man, looked more wax than human, but not so bad considering he’s been dead 33 years.

The Peking Opera (also known as Beijing Opera) may be regarded as one of the city's most prevalent art forms. This form of traditional Chinese theater was extremely popular during the Qing Dynasty, but it still pulls in crowds from all over the world today. Peking Opera is a combination of music, dance, mime, vocal performance, and acrobatics. The performers are the only focal points of the stage, with the minimal use of props and background. Every movement they make, whether it includes dance, combatics, song or speech must be expressed in unison with the music. During our time in Beijing, a few students along with one of the professors decided to get a little taste of the Chinese theater. The theater room was primarily filled with other foreigners, considering it was in a hotel, but the show seemed to be as authentic as any other. The form of Chinese used is so traditional and articulated in such a way that even native Chinese speakers may not understand the dialogue. To solve this problem, subtitles in both Chinese and English are available on either side of the stage. Peking opera varies on length depending on the story and number of scenes, but the one we attended ran up to about an hour, consisting of two parts. The first was a story about a King and his Queen dealing with the nearing siege of his Kingdom. This required only two performers whom conducted a variety of song, dance, and vocal performances. The other scene was a story about a band of thieves stealing silver from the imperial bank, along with their battle against the imperial guards. This part blended both acrobatics and martial arts together in unison to music. Peking Opera was unlike any other theater production I've seen before, so if you're tired of Hollywood and looking to experience a little Asian culture, it may just be the thing for you.

Two other highlights of our time in Beijing were the Forbidden City, and the Ming tombs. The Forbidden City could only be described as the embodiment of the pinnacle of ancient Chinese power. The Palace of the Emperor was an amazing sight for us to see. We saw exquisite Rooms with shrines, and thrones, and huge courtyards where you could see the entire city of Beijing because the Forbidden City was on the highest piece of land. The architecture was also breathtaking. There were huge decorated ceilings, with all kinds of colored decorations, as well as huge pillars carved from stone. There was a beautiful garden with lush plants and trees, and a huge rock statue with a stairway built in that lead up to a small hill that was said the Emperor walked up once a year to pay respect or worship. The rock statute had two dragons on either side perched on a turtles back. When the Emperor would climb up, he would pour water down a certain spot at the top, and water would flow through the statute and shoot out of the dragons mouths like a fountain. After the Forbidden City, we went to the Ming Tombs. This was a huge sight with I believe twelve or thirteen tombs for different emperors of ancient China. We went into the Tomb of the Ming Emperor who had the place built in the first place. His mausoleum was deep in the hills, and as we walked in I expected to see all sorts of treasures, and things that the Emperor had been buried with, but I was surprised to find some boxes that they were supposedly buried in, and his throne. As we walked through we saw enormous stone doors and several anti-chambers connected to his tomb. When we left, I found that there was a small museum exhibit outside and I found inside, all of the spectacular treasures I was expecting inside his tomb. There was gold, and ornaments, and weapons, and jewelry as well as his impressive crown and the empresses’ silk robes. Everything you would expect an Emperor to be buried with. These two sights were definitely high lights to be remembered of our stay in Beijing.

Our studies in Asia would not have been complete without visiting the most notable landmark in all of China: The Great Wall. The Great Wall, which spans over an enormous 4,000 miles across northern China, was used as a barrier to protect against foreign invasion. This was our first excursion when we arrived in Beijing. One week before our visit to the Great Wall we finished our classes on the History of Modern China. This class was a helpful precursor in visiting the Great Wall.

Knowing the history behind the extreme struggles the Chinese have had against foreign invaders made the trip to the Wall that much more fascinating for our entire group. Because the Great Wall can be very crowded in sections close to the city of Beijing, we were lucky enough to visit a section that was further from the city with fewer tourists. The section we were able to visit is named Matianyu and was primarily used to defend the capital and the imperial tombs. We walked around the wall for an hour and a half viewing the picturesque scenery that surrounded us. After walking around the Great Wall, we were able to slide down the mountains near the Great Wall instead of walking. For a mere 40-Yuan, we hopped on metal toboggans and speedily slid down a metal slide that lasted a solid two minutes. How many people can say they slid down the mountains of the Great Wall of China in their lifetime?

Aside from our day trip to the Great Wall, a few students and our guide from Shandong University, Jiaqui, climbed the Great Wall to watch the sunrise. The mountains were close to freezing at five o'clock in the morning, but the trip was well worth it. They went to the Badaling section and managed to be the only people on the wall to watch the sunrise. At times, it seemed almost surreal being on the Great Wall and knowing that our trip to China was coming to a close. The Great Wall was the beginning of the end to our amazing experience in China.

The words “Still the rain kept pouring, falling in my ears, and I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain?” sang by Creedence Clearwater Revival years before many of us were even born couldn’t have been a better theme song for our entrance to Vietnam. As we landed Friday night on a soaking wet runway in Vietnam’s Hanoi airport, we were greeted by our guide, stuffed in a bus, and brought to our “luxurious” hotel.

[below] View from the front of our hotel; Chau Long Street, Hanoi (sans precipitation)

Although it had been a long day of travel some students couldn’t resist the spring rolls and rice served for a late night (1:30 AM) snack for a mere three USD. Rising early (8 AM) for breakfast the following morning we were saddened to hear that our scheduled city tour had been postponed a day due to rain. However, after devouring numerous omelets and spring rolls, students hit the flooded streets in sandals, ponchos, and whatever other rain gear they could find in order to explore the lifestyle surrounding our new home.

We then got a chance to share these stories as we gathered that night for our welcoming ceremony dinner, a wonderful candlelight (due to the rain causing power outages) meal with all new dishes from those that we had become accustomed to in China. As full as can be we returned to the hotel where some would hit the sheets for some much needed rest, while the others hit the streets again to check out Hanoi’s rainy Saturday nightlife scene, one which we will not have long to experience.

On the whole, China was good to the 2008 SBCC study abroad program. Sure a couple kids got food sickness, ripped off in markets, or suffered twisted ankles in dimly lit areas, but as we begin our stay in Vietnam and bid our farewells to China, it is safe to say we all value the experience and impact that the country has made on our lives.

- Shane B., Cody Z., Tarah B., Marina N., Kyra D., Kevin E.

Good Bye, Jinan! We are off to Beijing...

2008-10-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

[below: at the South Gate on our last full day at Shandong University]

We tried to make the most for our final days in Jinan by saying our goodbyes to all of the friends we have made on the campus. Many people from the group went on short day excursions to some of the sights that were around Jinan. Popular places we visited included Red Leaves Valley and Thousand Buddha Mountain. Red Leaves Valley was to the south of Jinan and had several activities; trails through the mountains so people could enjoy the scenery, a lake where people could rent boats, a bird zoo, and some Buddhist shrines.

Thousand Buddha Mountain had many beautiful and massive statues. From the top of the mountain was a view of the whole city of Jinan, and then rather than walking down to the bottom of the mountain we were able to take a very fast wheeled sled down a slide.

We all spent as much time as possible with our students - we will surely miss them a lot. For our closing ceremony we were able to invite all of our students so they could take part in our farewell. On the last day most of the people went out to dinner with them to exchange presents and get some pictures to remember each other by. Once dinner was finished some of the students shed some tears and expressed their gratitude and thanks for the whole experience. They opened their homes to us if we ever return to China and are excited to see us again. Some also plan on coming to America for school and are already planning on meeting up with us so we can show them our home. All of the activities and things that needed to be done in the city were finished so it was time to pack our bags and clean out our dorms. It was sad to clean up our dorms since we have been there for so long they have become like a second home but it is exciting to think of what future adventures are ahead of us and we are only slightly over half way done with our journey.

[below: Closing Ceremony for SBCC students and their Chinese English Internship volunteers]

[below: Closing Ceremony; enjoying a slideshow of our time at SDU put together by our friends in the International Office]

[below: Closing Ceremony: Professor Tong Guangwu, Director of Shandong University’s International Office, distributes certificates]

[below: Closing Ceremony; SBCC students and their internship volunteers]

By the way…contrary to what you may have heard, in and amongst all the fun our students had here in Jinan they also took classes!
[Below: the proof…]

Hangzhou

With only a few remaining weekends in Jinan, some students decided to take a trip to Thousand Island Lake in Hangzhou. After a twelve-hour over night train ride south of Jinan, south east of Shanghai, they found themselves in a “small” town surrounding the West Lake. What was funny was that our students told us that it was a small city, so when we arrived we didn’t expect to see a city of about six million people.

The hostel where we stayed, snuggled against the bottom of a green mountain, was a five-minute walk to the lake. One word to describe the hostel would be tranquil, from the staff being extremely helpful to birds chirping around us. Looking up from our room windows we could see a temple perched on top a mountain. Within hours of arriving in Hangzhou and checking into our hostel we climbed the nearby mountain and visited the City God Temple. From the top floor of the temple we could take in the sites of the beautiful West Lake, the forested area around it, and the sprawl of the city.

On Saturday some of the group went to Thousand Island Lake, about 100 miles from Hangzhou. It is a huge lake formed after the completion of the Xinanjiang Dam in 1959, with 1,078 islands. The language barrier caused us a little confusion getting on the bus to the lake. We got on the bus thinking we would go to the main part of the lake but instead ended up in the city next to the lake and with only 3 hours until the last bus could take us back to Hangzhou. We made the best of our time though and walked around some of the lake near the city and checking out the town. After exploring the town and the lakeside we all decided to take a dip and cool off. We were hesitant at first to jump in until we saw a local swimming across the lake and the best thing to do when you aren’t sure what’s going on is to follow the locals. The water was surprisingly refreshing and it was well worth the 2 hours bus ride.

Once we got back to our hostel we all went out to dinner at an Indian restaurant on the West Lake. For most of the group that was our last night in the city. Our train was leaving the next day in the late afternoon so we still had some time in the beginning part of the day to finish up exploring the hills around the hostel and the lake before we had to catch our train. Unfortunately for us though they were sold out of the "sleepers" so we had to deal with the 12 hours overnight on the benches packed in the train to make it back in time just 2 hours before class on Monday. For those of us who stayed, we became the BIKE CREW, we rented bikes from our hostel and were able to ride our bikes all over the city and around West Lake.

It was a beautiful sunny day and during the bike ride we also got the chance to take a break and went on a boat ride around the islands in West Lake. On our bikes we were weaving between the cars in the middle of China’s crazy traffic as the wind was blowing in our hair. Such an experience, we had the best day ever - it was amazing! Also during our excursion we passed by a few luxury car dealerships, visiting the Ferrarri and Aston Martin showrooms. Although that’s nothing too surprising back in the United States, it struck us as an odd sight in a country that still considers itself communist. It’s strange that when everyone is supposed to be economically equal that some people can afford to spend half a million dollars on a car.

- Britton W., Andrew K., Jordan P., Karlyn, Larissa, Jenna W., Jeff A., Stephanie

We made the front pages(s)!

2008-10-21T19:38:00.000-07:00

The newpaper stories below come from the Jinan Times and Jinan City Lady [!]. They describe our group’s visit to a local orphanage last weekend…

[below: Larrisa on the cover of the Jinan Times]

[below: Elaine, Parkie, and Tarah in the Jinan Times story]

[below: Kyra on the cover of the Jinan City Lady]

Jinan wrap-up

2008-10-21T05:14:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end…

With the China portion of our trip coming to a close, we are starting to look ahead to what we have in store but at the same time, we all look back on our China adventures with the fondest of memories. China is a nation rich with ancient culture, a communist yet capitalist nation that is moving impressively forward in almost every category. Construction is everywhere, the smell and sounds of progress and development are never far away. We’ve all been fortunate enough to come here to live, to meet people, to party, to travel and most importantly: to learn. The experiences we’ve had, the insight into our own lives and western culture has been priceless. It’s hard to see the forest for the trees, and taking ourselves out of our country, even out of our hemisphere helps to gain some perspective. I think everyone here has been surprised and impressed with respect for this nation of 1.4 Billion people that boasts over 5000 years of written history. I don’t think anyone will be quite the same when we get back.

We were told in our predeparture classes to look around, that many of the people sitting there with us would become lifelong friends. Some people have confessed to looking around and being doubtful, but now, I don’t think there is anyone on the trip who hasn’t made great friends. Some of us brought people we already knew on the trip, and some of us didn’t know anyone else in the group when we first started, but we all call each other friends now. And even more significantly, we all call this place home (at least for another week!)

How long does it take living somewhere new before you call it home?

Our group has been in country for less than 2 months, and I think we speak for almost everyone when we say that it seems like at least three times that. It’s not surprising to hear how many people now refer to Shandong University as ‘our home’. Whenever we leave Jinan for a weekend excursion, whether to go to the beach in Weihai, drink Chinese beer at the Qingdao festival or even just adventuring around town, it’s always comforting to come back to the University campus. The streets are busy with pedestrians and bicycles everywhere, the trains are crowded, traffic is on the verge of insanity (yet I think we have yet to see a car accident…shocking, considering how bad everyone seems to drive!). When out in this hustle and bustle, we forget how different it is from our own life and experiences back home. Personal space is much different, as is the concept of waiting in line. I don’t think there IS a Chinese word for ‘line’, and we mean this from the bottom of our heart, but WOW, the proverbial New Yorkers have nothing on the locals here. In any sort of public place, if you snooze, you lose, and if you don’t assert yourself, you’ll lose your spot and before you know it, 20 more people will be pushing past in front of you. I guess with 1.4 Billion people, it’s rather hard to keep traffic and queues neat and orderly. But even despite our initial surprise at what appears like chaos, the Chinese people are phenomenally welcoming and polite. After talking to most of the people here on the trip, we can’t think of many negative things that have happened. In fact, most of us feel safer walking around town here after midnight than we would in Santa Barbara!

Socialism with "Chinese Charactistics?"
In our adventures, we’ve seen just about everything for sale. Everything from goldfish you can feed from a baby’s bottle, to street vendors selling rabbits, kittens, hamsters and turtles, to “Niki shoes”, designer Italian handbags that were “Made Initialy” or anything else you can possibly imagine. Some of the things people on this trip picked up are razor-sharp swords, powerful green lasers, a blow up doll, pirated dvd’s, foot massages, pets, ipods, snake blood, etc. It’s not a joke when you hear how most things are “Made In China.” If you can’t find it here, you either aren’t looking hard enough, don’t know the right person, or it just simply doesn’t exist. Whether you’re shopping or just going out around town, it all becomes an adventure, near-death experiences in traffic (just kidding mom!) getting food, going to a restaurant, looking for entertainment or just seeing the sights can be a wearying experience and its always calming and refreshing to come back on campus, through the large gates, past the security guards, where the traffic is lighter, everyone else is our age, and no one is trying to sell you anything! This campus is a welcome and wonderful refuge from the occasionally maddening chaos of the streets of Jinan, and we are eternally grateful to our hosts and friends we’ve met here,

About Shandong University in Jinan:
Jinan, “the city of the springs” is a large sprawling industrial metropolis, but is also the Province Capital and is a hodgepodge mix of old and new. Shandong University, where we are living and studying is a 107 year old foundation of higher learning. There are 6 (LARGE) campuses in Jinan alone, and satellite campuses in other cities like Weihai. With a total land area of 157,000 sq. Km., Shandong province makes up only 1.6% of the territory of China yet has 93+ Million people, making it the second largest populated province in the Country. The province has a warm temperate monsoon climate with most of the rainfall concentrated in the hot summer. It has a short spring and autumn, but long winter and summer. The mean temperatures in a year are 11-14 C°. The annual average rainfall is between 550-990mm. Jinan neighbors Mount Tai to the south and the Yellow River to the North (Hint: Google Earth is a great way to see these sights and get some aerial perspective! Just go to http://maps.google.com ) Jinan is known as the City of Springs because it boasts over 700 natural springs throughout the city. The water from all of these springs gathers in the Daming Lake in the city center. The city center has a large and beautiful square with pavilions and fountains that light up at night. We’ve visited many of the other Shandong Campuses in town and we even saw a 100 year old Catholic Church that has been restored and is still in use. Trust us, its weird to see gleaming European Judeo-Christian spires in the middle of China.

Food:
Many of us have sampled various street foods that would make our parents faint. (Some people even got sick, but that’s what they get for eating river frogs, scorpion, penguin, liger and even dog! Ok, that’s a bit of a fabrication. I’m not sure WHAT they ate, but it apparently tasted like chicken.) There are also several vegetarians on the trip, (including 2 people who wrote this blog entry) and even they have had a fairly easy time finding food. To people reading this that haven’t had the pleasure of visiting the “Middle Kingdom”, trust us when we tell you that ‘Chinese food’ that you may have had back in the states bears little resemblance to the delicious and varied cuisine we’ve had here. In fact, people who don’t even like “Chinese food” back home have had a wonderful time here exploring the food. I think we speak for most students when we say we’ve all found some favorite eateries around campus. Hot Pot places are popular, as is the Little Bamboo House out of the South Gate. We even found a 24 hour western style restaurant and an “Italian” Restaurant that serves a decent impersonation of Italian food. The cafeteria on campus is fun and lively but usually leaves something to be desired.

Tutoring Internship:
The Internship has been both stressful and a blast. Everyone on the trip (who chose to take part) was assigned 3-6 Chinese students who we meet with regularly, for a couple hours, to help them with their English, which is on the whole, incredible. Most of our students have been learning English for 10 years or more, however, most of that is writing, grammar and book learning. Some of us have students with vocabulary comparable to ours, but with a basic to mid-level speaking ability. “Th” sounds (like in three or those) are often hard for some of our students, as is the “v” in vegetable or the “ths” in months. But to appreciate how advanced their knowledge is, and how different Chinese is from English, we only have to ask them how to say something in Chinese and then watch the riotous laughter that ensues as we attempt to repeat what they said. Chinese is no easy language to learn, especially for westerners. Tones have been the hard part for us in trying to speak Chinese. It’s rather difficult when you can repeat the word “ma” 4 times with slightly varying inflections and say “mother”, “horse”, or “hemp”.
But where we might be lacking at communication, our students have more than made up for our lack of Chinese. Almost all of us have been out to eat with our Chinese students, and not only are they fun to be around, they’re polite, friendly and in many cases, have paid for the bill (and then refused to take money!) In fact, even local students who weren’t in our language internships have taken us out to eat and paid for everyone, and enjoy playing video games with us, taking us around town or just hanging out in the dorm.

This is our final week in Jinan, Shandong, and we have one more week left in China in Beijing, but after that, we will be heading south to Vietnam and we will have a whole new collection of stories and pictures to share. We also speak for most people on the trip when we say we wish we spoke more Chinese. Tian Mi Mi is a lovely song, but we can’t sing it to the train conductor when we want to know what time the train comes, nor can we sing to a waiter to tell him we want our check. We are all grateful to our friends and schoolmates here in Jinan who have helped us get train tickets, order food, find directions, and have just been great friends.

We invite anyone reading this to take a look at our picture site on photobucket. Just go to:

http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo183/SBCC-Asia-2008/

There, you can click on any of the favorites on the left to view our photos of Mt. Tai, Jinan, the Zoo, the Aquarium, Predeparture, Qingdao, Qufu, Shanghai and Weihai, and to any students reading this, feel free to submit your own pictures of the trip so far. All of the albums there are group albums and anyone can upload photos, you just have to have a photobucket account (don’t worry, they’re free!) Thanks for reading and zai-jian!

- Sage, Mary, Andrew, Matt N., Brian, Shannon

Weihai

2008-10-14T04:02:00.000-07:00

Journey to Weihai

The time goes by so quickly that it’s really hard to believe final exams for our first set of classes are just around the corner. This campus of around 60 thousand people is the quietest place in all of Jinan. After the trips we have taken and the classes we’ve attended for weeks now, SDU has become like a second home. The food (the lack of Mexican food is the only down side), the sounds of the city, and the nature of the people is truly a unique experience. Traveling away to Weihai this past weekend felt a bit like going to LA from Santa Barbara; “leaving home again” were the words that came to mind.
[below: Jinan train station]

The overnight train ride to Weihai on October 9 was a piece of cake - even in the “hard sleeper” compartments. Which, I must say, are quite comfortable despite the name. At least, “hard sleeper” cars are comfortable compared to the ride we had coming back from Weihai at the end of the weekend. All I could think about then was how much I wanted to lay down during the 8-hour, all-day ride.
[below: settling for an overnight in a “hard sleeper” ]

Weihai was immediately exciting when we arrived early on the morning of October 10th. Groups of 3-4 of us grabbed cabs and rode - or perhaps a better word is “raced” - through the city. The cab drivers are crazy! When we arrived at Weihai’s Shandong University hotel (located directly on the beach!) we knew that the weekend was going to be amazing. We got a room on the fourth floor and it had an incredible view of the oceanfront.

The first afternoon was a lot of fun. We took a brief swim in the cold sea and had dinner at a local restaurant where we picked things off the menu at random. In many ways, this is the best part about traveling to a new place.

Walking around the city is an adventure in itself. A few of us were able to explore some of spots that are overlooked by many tourists, such as a boat graveyard where some of the locals actually docked themselves on the boats. That’s where they live!

After a few confusing cab rides we ended up at a building called the Happiness Arch.

There was a restaurant on the top floor of the Arch where we had lunch. It had an amazing 360 degree view of the city.
[below: Risa enjoying the view from the top of the “Happiness Arch”]

[below: Weihai Bay from the top of the “Happiness Arch," Liugong Island in the background]

In the evening we all made our way to Club Seven, where we were able to “get our groove on” with some of the locals and tourists.
[below: escaping, lives intact, from yet another insane taxi ride]

The next morning, we set out on an adventure to Liugong Island, the birthplace of the first modern naval force in China and site of The Battle of Weihaiwei, where the Empire of Japan inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Chinese in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
[below: Japanese print from 1895, “After the Battle of Weihaiwei, the Commander of the Chinese Beiyang Fleet, Admiral Ding Juchang, Surrenders to the Japanese commander’ by Mizuno Toshikata”]

After breakfast, we grabbed a taxi out in front of the hotel. We showed the driver our horrible effort at Chinese writing (we’d copied down the characters for “Liugong Island”) and he seemed to get the drift, so off we went. This cab ride was even more insane than the one we’d experienced day before. We wove in and out of traffic, drifted around corners, dodged pedestrians on sidewalks, barreled into oncoming traffic, ran red lights. Somehow, we arrived in one piece down at the docks. We were surprised to discover that getting the tickets for the ferry that would take us to Liugong Island was much easier than we thought - basic caveman grunts and hand signals did the trick.
[below: ferry ride to Liugong Island; Weihai city in the background]

We got to the island after about 15 minutes on the ferry and quickly set out to see the Sino-Japanese War Museum, which was great. It covered the material that we discussed in Dr. Mooney’s class on Modern China. After the museum we went and wandered around an abandoned part of the island. There was no one around but we did see big artillery pieces, a beached submarine, old jet aircraft, and a tank.

We also discovered a bunch of underground bunkers. We probably shouldn’t have explored them – they looked kind of dark and creepy - but, of course, we did anyway. After that we wandered down to the beach and then remembered that the ferries back to Weihai stop running at 5:00 pm so we had to head back. All in all, it was a great experience and we hope to do more adventuring soon.
[below: return to Weihai from Liugong Island; dusk]

[below: end of a rough weekend; 8-hour train ride home from Weihai to Jinan]

[below: if Weihai tired the students out, imagine what it did to their professor!]

-Shaun, Sam, Cyle

Jinan-Qindao [Tsingtao]-Shidao

2008-10-07T23:35:00.001-07:00

Midterms are finished and we are half way through with the epic adventure that is our time in the Celestial Empire. With no group activities scheduled over the weekend we had the opportunity to venture deep into the great unknown. Some students chose to go to Tsingtao and sample the local brew while others stayed in Jinan to experience what the city had to offer. Whether it was checking out the nightlife and sampling the local street food, or venturing outside the city, both were great experiences. To top off the week most of us visited with local families home to see how Chinese live a quiet evening at home.

Lang Kwai Fan is a local nightclub/bar where many of the international students gather to party. The club is a great place to meet interesting people from all over the globe and unwind after a hard week of rockin.' It's fully equipped with a DJ, dance floor, foosball table and incredible scenery.

Outside of Shandong's North Gate students can experience great local street food after 9pm. One can sample egg bread, deep fried chicken, local fruits, and wash it all down with an apple joint (apple soda). The best part of the outside street food is the price and all the local people walking by going about their business. Where else can a Foreign Devil stand on a corner enjoying every luxury he or she desires for under 2 bucks?

With the chance to go exploring the city on our own Jeff and I (Russell) went with several of my students to the Yellow River. We took the local bus to get there and it took roughly an hour. The air quality this past week has been extremely poor - making the visibility hazy with a grayish tint to the horizon. Once we arrived at the Yellow River we found that it was a favorite spot for both locals and foreigners. There are many booths and games set up for people’s enjoyment. There is entertainment ranging from shooting a gun, bow and arrow, table tennis, pottery, mechanical bull and even riding horses. After experiencing the carnival-like entertainment we turned our attention to the physical beauty the river had to offer. Nicknamed the Mother River, there is a giant clay female figure constructed on the bank of the river. My students, Jeff and myself spent all day at the river enjoying all that it had to offer and to end the wonderful day we went on a long walk on the riverbank.

This past week we visited Baotu Springs, accompanied by several of our students. We started the day off by going to the main strip on the city and walking down the sidewalk to check out the local sights and shops. We did a bit of shopping and then made our way over to the Spring Square to see the giant blue monument and then see the springs. As we walked across the bridge and down the stairs to the side of the canal, the sounds of the busy street drifted away and were replaced by the sounds of raindrops on the water. Local men cast their lines into the canal’s waters in hopes of reeling in a fish. Other’s enjoyed a game of Chinese Chess, knelt down next to palm readers or just enjoyed the tranquility of the moment. We came upon the first spring without even realizing it. When we had heard of the springs we assumed they would be a large oasis overflowing with fresh water. While some of them are quite large, most of them were small ponds with fresh water bubbling up to the surface from an underground cache. Some of the local people washed their clothes, gathered the fresh spring water into plastic containers or simply knelt down to take a sip and replenish their spirits. We at last made it to the Black Tiger Spring, called this because of the two gigantic stone tiger statues standing over the spring itself. Three tiger heads come out of the wall around the spring, gushing with fresh water. The number of people collecting water to bring back to their homes increased. People of all ages threw tea pots with ropes attached, or large plastic water jugs into the clear waters. The scene was like that out of a movie, the quiet waters of the canal with rain drops dotting its surface, people selling their trinkets and taking photographs. One cannot come to Jinan and not see the springs, which are a glorious display of the city’s heritage.

This past weekend a group of 25 of us traveled to Qingdao, a coastal city located on the southern tip of the Shandong peninsula. It was a special weekend to be in Qingdao because the city was celebrating their 18th annual International Beer Festival. The city has a heavy European influence due to the German colonization in the late 1800s. This influence is prominent in the Victorian style architecture throughout the city. The clean ocean air made some of us a bit homesick, but after putting our feet in the soft sand and warm water, feelings of peace and serenity surrounded us. Sleeping arrangements were hectic at first since this is the most popular International Festival in Eastern China; but after the first night (in which we made a few friends at the festival) we were put up in the most amazing youth hostel where we enjoyed cheap drinks and Western style food. Down the road from the hostel was a 4 foot tall woman who had to be at least 70 years old. She was very generous with her beer and we ended up giving her the name "beer fairy." Overall the weekend was a success and a memorable experience.

Perhaps the most enlightening experience of the past week was the home-stay visit. Most of the group, aside from those still in Tsingtao, had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with a local Chinese family. We were split into small groups, though some members of the group went solo, and were assigned randomly to a family. We had no idea what to expect, and that only made the visit all the more amazing. We were taught intricate details of Chinese culture within a family setting and were finally able to see how locals live their lives in the confines of their home. Almost every family served dumplings as they are the traditional food to serve when an honored guest is present. Not only did we fill up on dumplings, but we took part in the fine craft that is dumpling rolling. Actually making some of the food that we ended up eating made them all the tastier. The graciousness of each family was astounding and we all finished the night with a new sense of what it means to be Chinese as well as the values that they hold dear.

- Russell, Price, Steph, Briana, Dillon, Parkie, Elaine

Our New Family in Shidao

On one free weekend while the bulk of the class made their way to Qingdao for its wonderful historical significance, (and perhaps the beer-drinking festivities that took place in respect of the Chinese National Holiday Week) a smaller excursion, being we (Forrest and Brek), Brian, and our new and close friend, Leo, took off to the countryside, namely Shidao, a village within the area of Weihai. Our friend Leo is a senior at Shandong Univeristy; his family resides in Shidao.

We left late Thursday Night: The sleep cars had sold out the previous week so we had tickets for four seats. We boarded and the four of us claimed a section consisting of two school bus-fashioned booth seats facing eachother with a small table between us the size of a nightstand. For the next eight hours, we clutched our belongings and exchanged card games (the little differences were funny: the Chinese begin their games by individually selecting cards from the stacked deck, taking turns counter-clockwise). Soon enough, deep into the night and straining to remain seated we nodded off and lay across the table and over one another in deep slumbers.

We arrived in Weihai in the early morning and spent the following day sleep-deprived on the beach, followed by a bus to Shidao. As night fell, we caught a taxi and sent him and ourselves out into the country to the village and home of Leo’s family. We took a long dirt road full of deep potholes in the pitch-black night and the cab driver bottomed out several times, and understandably swearing in Chinese. When we arrived, he requested additional money for the damage and we agreed to pay him.

We stumbled over the unlit village road, surrounded by livestock and sea grass-roofed rural homes. Believing ourselves to be moments away from a long nap, we were greeted by Leo’s little cousin, who was very shy and intrigued by us. We entered a lighted opening on the roadside and came into a homely warmness: Leo’s Aunts, his uncle, his father, his little cousins and younger brother. Brian was overwhelmed, and so were we. And then Leo’s Grandfather, a man of great genuineness and accomplishment, with a smile that may have welcomed any foreigner, appeared and gathered stools and clasped our hands, issuing warm welcoming phrases, which were translated by Leo. We took photos, spoke graciously to the family and eventually sat down to a table that was put up in the entryway (the home was very small).

There was a feast prepared hours before and it came out in large plates: rice noodles, bean and celery dishes, stinky tofu (not as in “bad odor,” it is really called that), a chicken dish (Brek struggled with the head), octopus and mushrooms, or as the Chinese call it, ‘edible fungus.’ We immediately were served bijou (a strong liquor) and given a welcoming and seemingly “confucianesque” toast, followed by a ganbei (or “‘downing’ of the hatch”)of the bijou. A few more “ganbei”s required the substitution of Tsingtao, for every toast required a sip at least and a ‘ganbei’ means all.

Leo translated our toasts of gratefulness and warmth, and served to connect the two parties: the village family and the distant foreigners, a position that provided us with insight and understanding of his valuable family. After hours of conversation we exchanged fairwells and staggered to Leo’s Aunt’s home, a beautifully decorated and homey abode. We threw on a James Bond flick and were aslumber before the credits could begin.

Two mornings later, after a day of walking, talking, eating, and sight-seeing, and a second family meal at Leo’s Uncle’s seafood restaurant, we arose at 5:00 am. Leo’s Uncle came and loaded five of us into his truck bed. He drove us to the farthest eastern shore in the province. We “viddied” the sunrise over the ocean, an occasion you cannot witness in California. We cruised in the bed of the truck, awestruck and tired as we bumped through fields, along the shores, and amongst more seaweed-roofed structures. Actually, Brek was not tired. He romped around the truck bed, occasionally finding his balance enough to hold the surfer position. There aren’t many things worth waking up for at the un-godly hour of sunrise, but it was mutually felt by us four that our experience was more than worth it.

-Forrest and Brek

Qufu - Mt. Tai - Chinese Cuisine

2008-09-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we visited the city of Qufu, located in the Southwest of Shandong Province. Qufu has a population of about 640,000 people, many of whom are descendents of the world-renowned teacher and philosopher Confucius. This is because Qufu is actually his hometown. Confucius was born in Qufu over 3,500 years ago, but his influence on Chinese society and culture can be seen to this very day. During our time there, we were able to visit the Confucius Temple, the Confucius Mansion, and the Confucius Cemetery. Construction of the Temple first started around 478 B.C. (the year after Confucius’s death) and the Mansion was home to his first grandson [below: Confucius Temple].

[below: Marina, Britton, and Brek experience the preferred method of punishment for recalcitrant servants at the Confucius Mansion. Imagine kneeling here for a day or two]

Walking around both sites, we admired the beautiful courtyards and intricate stone engravings. The Confucius Cemetery was breathtaking to say the least and was certainly like no cemetery I had visited before. Located on the bank of a river and nestled within endless trees and layers of green, one can’t help to feel as though they’re in another world [below: Confucius gravesite]

The next day, we woke up early to attempt the ascent of Mount Tai - 1,425 meters above sea level. This turned into a much more grueling expedition than many of us had expected. Everyone traveled at their own pace with finishing times ranging from two and a half to four and a half hours [below: climbing Mt. Tai].

Thankfully, there was a trolley and bus option for those who couldn’t make the entire climb by foot. Even though it wasn’t particularly sunny, everyone who made the whole climb by foot was pouring sweat by the time they reached the top of the 8,000 plus stairs. However, the view on the way up was spectacular with lush greenery surrounding us on all sides and ancient Chinese script carved artfully into slabs of stones we passed along the way, which more than made up for the physical exhaustion.

While enthusiastic venders hawked their goods, we hiked alongside many ethnic Chinese of all ages as they made the pilgrimage to the top of this famous stairway. All in all it was quite an experience. Finally reaching the end of the stairs and realizing the sheer beauty of both the view and the architecture that surrounded us was breathtaking. And even though many of us suffered sore legs the day after the climb, everyone who made the trek by foot was glad they had. It added a strong sense of self-accomplishment to the already amazing experience. [below: the end of a rough trip to Qufu / Mt. Tai]

Our encounter with exotic Chinese food did not end in Shanghai. Whether you're in a supermarket, restaurant or walking along the city streets, you are bound to find something new and unique. While visiting Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, a group of our students had the opportunity to eat scorpions. Even Shane Butler, a vegetarian, was willing to partake in this experience. When the waitress brought out the tower of scorpions, the facial expressions of the students said it all. Most were hesitant to bite into the scorpions, which still had the stinger intact. Amazingly, all of the students were up for the challenge. And aside from the large and juicy scorpions, most of the students would say this delicacy wasn't so bad after all. Along with scorpions, students have encountered other dishes such as cow stomach, snake and donkey sandwiches. [below: scorpions…eat them up, yum]

[below: Cody goes for it]

As time has progressed, one of the more difficult aspects of living in China is adjusting to the food. One thing that we found common from continent to continent, is that no matter where you travel, cafeteria food is cafeteria food and next to never appetite appeasing. Mysterious dishes were charming at first, but after weeks of wary sampling and playing Russian Roulette with our stomachs, many students have found themselves with intense cravings for food from home. Many students have begun venturing out to markets as far as 20 minutes away to purchase wheat bread, cheese, steak without bones, and the ever-desirable avocado. However, students have found a particularly delicious restaurant a mere five-minute walk away. Commonly referred to as “The Spot” or “The Chinese Place,” students eat at least one meal a day there. Because our Chinese skills are coming along slowly (although surely) we have communal menus that students pass from group to group in order to place our orders. A meal to stuff 9 people includes, but is not limited to, two plates of fried rice, sweet and sour soup, 2 eggplant dishes, salt marinated bok choy and mushrooms, kung pow chicken, orange pork, and bottled water, all for the price of about 125 RMB, or roughly $17 US dollars. Needless to say, SBCC has become this restaurant’s new biggest supporter.

Classes began for Dr. Yonemura and Dr. Mooney's courses a few weeks ago. Everyone is adjusting to these fast-paced classes as they are only six-week courses. Midterms have already arrived and finals are just a few weeks away. Living in China has made both courses (Asian American Studies and History of China & Japan in the Modern World) all the more interesting. Being able to experience first hand what we have learned about, rather than only hearing it in the classroom, has been quite rewarding.

The internship that we have been participating in with the Chinese students has been very exciting. Not only have we been able to help them with improving their conversational English, but we are able to exchange cultural lessons with each other with great results. We have taught them about American culture, American TV and movies, leisurely activities, and other points of interest to them. Our students have helped us with improving what little Chinese most of us speak so that we can get around easier and order better food. They have also taken us to good restaurants around town so they can show us what is good to eat, and what they like to eat. This week is a national holiday for them, so most of the students have gone home to visit family, so this week we don't meet with them. We cannot wait until next week when they return and we are able to continue our mutual cultural/linguistic learning exchange.

- Tarah, Kyra, Marina, Cody, Rich, Shane, Kevin E.

Experience in China

Looking like one of them, I’ve been treated more like a local than a foreigner. For instance, on the group train ride to Jinan from Shanghai, a police officer or some official pulled me off to the side to speak or go with him because he thought I was Chinese. I told him (in Chinese) that I was an American and he didn’t believe it so he was about to take me away only to be intercepted by Doctor Yonemura with her saying that she was my laoshe. I had another incident where some official pulled me off stage at a club forcefully because, just like before, of my … apparently very Chinese appearance. On the brighter side, I don’t get called over, hassled and bothered by the Chinese to buy their merchandise.

I found out that my understanding of Mandarin Chinese was more limited than I thought. I also found out that I speak in a different dialect of mandarin than any of the Chinese I’ve met or heard so far here. I speak more like the way Taiwanese speak mandarin in their “Yang Mandarin dialect.” A Singaporean businessman in Qingdao told me that one night when I met him at a street vendor. He said his parents were also from Taiwan and they spoke mandarin the same way I do.
One of the most glorious moments this far has to be my experience on Mount Tai, where a small group of us rebelled and went by ourselves into the night so that we may witness the majestic sunrise. Mere words and photos cannot describe the epic-ness of that experience. All I can say is that it was way worth it.

- Kevin W.

LAX-Shanghai-Jinan

2008-09-22T00:49:00.000-07:00

At 1230 am Sunday September 7, 36 students from Santa Barbara City College boarded a jet in Los Angeles en route to Shanghai, China. We came to China with varied expectations and for a multitude of reasons. Some of us friends, some still almost strangers. We had plenty of time to bond though during nearly 20 hours of travel. When we arrived in Shanghai, no matter how tired we were, everyone went to explore the city. Some went shopping on Nanjing Road while others just walked along the Huangpu River. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling that you get while walking down the street through the city and being the center of attention where ever you go. While exploring the city there were lots of friendly locals who would come and say hello and either they wanted to practice their English with you or maybe they just wanted to get their picture taken with you and welcome you to China. We had our first experience with some of the exotic Chinese food while in Shanghai. Dog meat, whole baby chickens [below], and chicken feet were consumed. Things have been a bit difficult for the vegetarians in the class, but they haven’t starved yet. Many ended their first night in China early due to complete exhaustion.

The class embarked together the next morning to visit some historical sites in Shanghai. We learned of the traffic problem in the city as we were told our bus ride would take either 10 minutes or 1 hour. The morning consisted of trips to the home of Soong Ching Ling (Sun Yat Sen’s wife) and the location of the first Chinese Communist Party Congress in 1921. Soong Ching Ling remained important to the Chinese government even after her death in 1981. She was a proponent of peace and entertained many foreign dignitaries. The Chinese Communist Party Congress of 1921 had representatives from all over the country, including a then minor political player named Mao Zedong. After our interesting morning we took an awesome boat tour of downtown Shanghai on the Huangpu river. We perched ourselves on the top deck of our boat to catch a few sun rays and get front row seats. [below: the Yuan Gardens in Shanghai]

You really can not tell how enormous the city is until you take a step out from the heart of the city and look at the skyline from the river away from all the chaos of the streets. From the river you can see all the amazing architecture and the artistic touch that has been put into every building that is touching the sky. It was relaxing though after all the hectic things that come along with traveling and dealing with airports, luggage and hotels to be able to sit on the boat and just enjoy the view of beautiful Shanghai.

The next day was given to us as a free day. Some people went to a jade Buddha temple while others just walked around the city looking for something new. That night we assembled in our hotel lobby to set off for the train station to Jinan. Some people were scrambling to get back because they found it hard to find cabs from across town. We were told to stay together once at the train station because it was going to be madness. Madness is just one word that could describe the scene at the station, people everywhere were standing around and waiting in line. Our whole group was herded from the street through hundreds of people to a security check inside. We then proceeded to go up escalators to an upper level where we waited in this excessively overcrowded terminal. Once the train came, our tour guides had us go first through the gate so we could stay together. Though we couldn’t understand what the people around us were saying, we could feel that the crowd was irritated because they had been waiting much longer. One student (Kevin Wu) who looks possibly Chinese and speaks a little as well was stopped at the gate by the guards and was told to wait. Speaking to them in Chinese, he was trying to tell them that he was a part of the American crowd. They didn’t believe him and told him to stand back. Finally one of our tour guides had to come back and convince the guards that he was with us.

The overnight train ride was about 10 hours. The sleeping arrangements were similar to what one might see on an aircraft carrier with three beds stacks on one side and then another three beds stacked on the other side [below]. The train ride offered limited space. I think we all got to know each other pretty well after that experience. Some of us didn’t get very much sleep, but we managed.

Once we got off the train it was time to get on a bus that was headed for Shandong University. Dong in the Chinese language means East so naturally Shandong province is located in East China. Shandong University is a fairly modernized University that has pretty much everything that a University in California would have to offer.

As part of our course work in China, we the students are experiencing a role reversal and are becoming teachers. English language teachers, specializing in conversation to be exact. Now this may seem a bit intense but its really more enjoyable than it sounds. We, the teachers, are assigned small groups of eager Chinese university students and must "teach" them for two hours a day.[below: Jaiqi and Mrs. Song introduce us to our internship partners for the first time]

The word "teach", in quotations, is subjective to the teacher, but basically entails stimulating conversation in English amongst our students. The students learn from hearing our native tongue and self correcting when they hear errors in their speech.

[Experience from one of the SBCC student teachers]:
“When I speak to my students, I make sure to speak clearly and emphasize areas of difficulty in mastering the language: the different verb tenses and the use of pronouns. My students are very adept at picking up these aspects of speech, which makes my job as the teacher much easier. So far in my class of 5 girls we have covered topics of American culture, the differences in university life in America and in China, as well my students’ aspirations in life. My students have good command over the English language and the direction of my course has been engaging them in conversations of their interest. Many of my students are eager to learn how to get a job in the United States, and insist there is a “magic trick” involved in landing such a prized position. But from what I can detect, this early in the class, is the fact that I might learn just as much if not more from my students as they learn from me. I hope it to be a wonderful exchange of culture, language, life stories, and hopefully bond friendships that will endure our country's differences. Plus now I have 5 eager tour guides who want to show me around Jinan for the next two months and help me sample all that is Chinese.

- Karlyn, Jeff, Jenna, Jordan, Andrew K., Britton, Nate

First post from China

2008-09-15T04:47:00.000-07:00

Amazing to think we have already been here for over a week! Our flight to Shanghai (through Seoul) went surprisingly smoothly. By the way – the level of global connectedness is now amazing. As soon as we got to our transfer gate in Seoul a number of students were breaking out their laptops and wirelessly connecting with home via Skype. Incredible! I’m old enough to remember scratchy, rotary dialed telephone phone calls home from Europe filled with echo and delay. This is definitely a new era.

The students had a good amount of free time to adjust to Shanghai but we did manage to see Madame Soong Ch'ing-ling's House (wife of Sun Yat-sen and, later, Co-Chairman of the PRC), visit the site of the first National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (which occurred in 1921), take a boat tour on Huanpo River boat ride [below], and tour the Yuan Gardens.

Our train ride from Shanghai to Jinan was an adventure. The Shanghai station was massive, thousands of Chinese travelers rushing around and waiting about. We had to go up and down escalators, stairs, through crowds of unruly people, down long passageways, along the platform, and finally into the train carriage itself – in which there was barely enough room for all of our American baggage. The ride itself was rather enjoyable. We were packed into the carriage like sardines but I think (most of) the students enjoyed the novelty of it [Russell expressing his approval below]. I hope so…as we’ve got at least three more of these journeys by train coming up on the itinerary.

We had a very pleasant welcome banquet the night of our arrival in Jinan attended by members of the International Students’ staff, including Director Tong [below]. We spent the weekend getting adjusted to the campus and beginning to do some tentative exploring around Jinan. Classes began today and the students will be moving into their permanent dorm rooms tomorrow (we had to wait a few days for a massive group of Brits to exit the scene).

Pre-Departure (Week 2)

2008-08-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

SBCC Study Abroad 2008 China-Vietnam

- almost everyone

Pre-Departure Orientation is finished…the next time everyone will see each other is in Shanghai! We had another good week filled with outside experts. Dr. Yongjin Park (above) continued teaching us some basic Mandarin.
Dr. Lou Spaventa picked up where Ingrid Bowman left off with our TEFL training. Our cross-cultural expert Michael Landers (above) was also with us one last time on Monday (remember to check out his website for guides to culture, customs, social, business, & study abroad etiquette: http://www.culturecrossing.net/).

We had a special guest on Tuesday afternoon, our Vietnam coordinator Le Hong Hanh. She gave us an excellent overview of what to expect when we arrive in Hanoi. We had equally enlightening guests on Friday, as three SBCC International Students spent an hour with us answering questions and calming our anxieties about China.

Those of you who couldn’t be with us for the banquet at Saigon In and Out Thursday night missed a great preview of what we’ll be enjoying in Vietnam.

Map of Shandong U. East (New) Campus

2008-08-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Pre-Departure (Week 1)

2008-08-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

We have just finished our first week of China-Vietnam Pre-Departure orientation at the SBCC Wake Center Campus. The week went very well and I think we’re off to a solid start. On Monday Study Abroad Director Carola Smith introduced the program and answered logistical questions, Ingrid Bowman (above) began her TEFL training workshop for those students taking the conversational English internship scheduled for Shandong University (as of Wednesday almost every student had decided to sign up for the internship), and SBCC Professor Peter Haslund – founder of the China-Vietnam Study Abroad program (back in 1984!) – shared some of his experiences in Asia with us. We finished with a brief presentation from Monica Jones of the international peace and travel organization Servas (http://www.servas.org/). On Tuesday and Wednesday Ingrid Bowman returned (she was with us through Thursday), cross-cultural trainer Michael Landers (http://www.culturecrossing.net/) arrived to help prepare us for China, and Dr. Mooney and Dr. Yonemura began to introduce their classes. Finally, on Thursday we began working with Dr. Yongjin Park of UCSB on the basics of Mandarin Chinese. We’ve got one more week of Pre-Departure and then a week off before we all meet up at LAX on the 6th of September for an early morning departure on the 7th for Shanghai via Seoul.

Website for our cross-cultural trainer, Michael Landers:

2008-08-19T16:49:00.001-07:00

Guide to culture, customs, social, business, & study abroad etiquette for every country in the world.

www.culturecrossing.net

Options for getting from SB to LAX

2008-08-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Airbus:
http://www.santabarbaraairbus.com/lax/index.php

Road Runner:
http://www.rrshuttle.com/Home/default.aspx

From the Amtrak station in downtown LA:
http://www.lawa.org/flyaway/

Eating in China

2008-08-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Basic dishes in survival-level Mandarin (Pinyin pronunciation);
Provided by Dr. Peter Haslund

Some things you should know before going to Vietnam

2008-08-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Short message from a former student of mine regarding “Some things you should know before going to Vietnam.” She immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam about three years ago:

“Dear Dr. Mooney!

How are you? How is your summer going? Are you looking forward the trip to China and Vietnam? I would like to tell you a little about Vietnamese’s culture to help you avoid surprising when you have similar situations.

Do you know how to use chop sticks? Vietnamese use chop sticks to eat all foods.

Before entering a house, you should take off your shoes.

In the past Vietnamese sleep and eat on the floor. Now, we eat on the table and sleep on the bed, but that became our culture.

Vietnamese are very close when we are talking and they touch sometimes. Don’t feel uncomfortable if somebody touches you when he or she is talking to you. That’s just the way showing friendliness.

If you invite someone hang out to eat or drink, you should pay the check. Don’t buy the food that is sold on the street because that is dirty and you might get into trouble when you eat it. Vietnamese food is very diversity and delicious. You should try it, but ask somebody for clean and good places to go.

The things that you should bring to Vietnam include medicines like allergy, Tylenol, Advil, stomach ache [medicine], sunscreen, cap, and sunglasses.

The weather in Vietnam is hot and humid, so you should have summer clothes. It is cool down in fall and winter, but it is still hotter than California.

There is smoke and pollution in the city, especially, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh; however it is very nice in the country side. All the places that you mentioned when we were talking last time are very beautiful. I want to add 2 more places that you should visit: Nha Trang, which is the most beautiful beach in Vietnam, and Dalat, where there are many waterfalls and the weather is very cool. If you want to see Ho Chi Minh’s mummy, you can go to Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi.

I hope these things above can be helpful when you are in Vietnam. Don’t work too hard. Take your time to enjoy the trip.”

Pre-Departure Orientation

2008-08-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

SBCC‎ Wake Center Campus
Room # T-26
300 N Turnpike Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 964-6853

August 18-21 (Monday through Thursday)
and
August 25-28 (Monday through Thursday)

Each day will run from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM with a one hour break for lunch between Noon and 1 PM.

Link to Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=300+N+Turnpike+Rd,+Santa+Barbara&sll=47.15984,-95.625&sspn=63.011893,157.5&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=34.445813,-119.789193&spn=0.009343,0.019226&z=16&iwloc=addr&cbll=34.444674,-119.78921&panoid=H-8GOvWISh9uI32uUKF8Hw