Central College Abroad

Many Chinese students at Zhejiang University celebrated “Singles Day” this past Wednesday. Being the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the date was marked by four sets of the number one.

Before I came to China, the closest thing that I’ve seen to this was a movement to rename Valentine’s Day into Singles Awareness Day, because the romantic outings of couples would remind all singles of their dating status. Now, I was never a big proponent of Singles Awareness Day in America, but I think that the Chinese Singles’ Day is a much better idea. Instead of trying to steal the thunder of Valentine’s day, it works to build up a new day for those who can’t find a date, or choose not to date.

I didn’t celebrate Singles Day, but I did talk to a number of Chinese students who did. A student who lives on Zhejiang University’s Zijingang campus told me that someone yelled “Happy Singles Day!!” when the clock hit midnight. Another told me that many friends enjoy going out to dinner as a group, and splitting the bill evenly as a way to reinforce their single status.

The most interesting was in the clothes marketed for this day. I didn’t see any myself, but one student told me that special clothes are designed specifically for Singles Day. These clothes have the Chinese word for “single” across both the front and the back, as well as many other words relating to single life. The reason given for these clothes? Well, many people wear matching clothes specifically Valentine’s Day, so why shouldn’t Singles’ Day have its own wardrobe?

Much like America celebrates the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, China celebrates the CCP’s liberation in October. But unlike the USA, China is given a full eight days to celebrate. Wouldn’t that be nice to have every year? The first day of holiday is October 1, and it ends on October 8. (The universities hold classes on the Saturday-before and the Sunday-after the holiday to help make up for the lost class time, but the holiday is definitely worth it.)

In addition to the national holiday, Mid-Autumn Festival took place on October 3rd. Since it is based on the Lunar Calendar, the date shifts each year. Chinese people often return to their homes and exchange Yue Bing, or Moon-Cakes. The variety of flavors is amazing from red-bean paste to egg-yolk, but my favorite is coconut.

For my vacation, I rode an overnight train to Wuhan, and then a bus from Wuhan to Hanchuan and stayed with a family there. Don’t worry if you can’t find Hanchuan on a map: even many Chinese people don’t know where it is, because it is a tiny city of only 1 million.

I was welcomed very hospitably and had a great time. We walked by the river and watched a few lanterns float into the sky. We watched the Beijing parade on TV, followed by musical performances from around the country. After the main holiday events, we went to a KTV (Karaoke) and sang the rest of the night.

I have been unable to post every week as I am required since I lack internet and am unwilling to pay the money at the internet cafe.  However, I just recently discovered that a local Irish pub has free internet to all paying customers!  Rather than having to pay while staying there, they attract more people by offering the WiFi for free.  Seems like these Irish guys could teach the Spanish a little about good business tactics…

This week I returned from my trip to attend classes.  A bit of advice for any travelers…do not stay in Milan, Italy for more than a day.  You can see everything there is to see in that city in one day.  Just make sure that day is not a Monday because the entire city is closed down.  Also, I have a little against Milan because there is a lot of fine print that rips you off!  Who would have thought that just sitting down at a table in Milan costs 2 euros…even if you don’t eat anything.  Also, make sure you watch them cook the pasta.  In Milan, they tend to be a fan of serving microwaved pasta.  Personally, I had better pasta in Paris than I did Milan which completely confounds me…  However, if you do visit make sure to journey to Luini’s Bakery and sample the panzerotti!  This incredible sandwich made getting ripped off, insulted, and shoved by the greedy Italians totally worth it.

Back tracking a little bit let me talk about Paris.  Right next to our hotel was an open air market with fresh fruit that was really cheap.  It got even cheaper when a girl accompanied me, because in a manner of flirting the fruit vendors would greatly discount their wares for her .  Everyone speaks of the French being very rude to Americans, but I encountered almost the opposite.  All the French that I encountered were extremely friendly even after they uncovered that we were American.  If anything the stereotype should be that Italians are the rude ones.  Personally, I cannot say enough good things about the trip to Paris.

Well, I have completed my duty and now I shall return to talking to friends and drinking Guinness and watching an Irish Jig.

The weekend after visiting Liverpool, the Central College program set up an optional weekend field trip to Texel (pronounced Tesel), which is a large island (large for the Dutch) that located just north of North Holland. Since the field trip was optional, we had to pay a 50 euro base fee, plus the 20 euro train ticket. But in my opinion, 70 euros for an island weekend is a pretty good deal. Traveling to Texel was fairly easy, just a two hour train from Leiden to Den Helder (a northern town in Holland) and a 30 minute ferry from Den Helder to Texel.

After getting of the ferry, we all rented bikes for the weekend and took a 15 minute bike ride to our lodgings. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was that we literally biked everywhere. We stayed in a sort of large cabin that held around 30 bunks, 4 bathrooms, a kitchen, an indoor sitting area, and an outdoor sitting area. In short, I was pleased with our shelter. Almost directly after dropping off our things, we departed straight for the supermarket to get food for the weekend. That night we ate a Dutch favorite, Erwtensoep, or pea soup, which was surprisingly good. After dinner, we took a 30 minute night bike ride out to the beach and back.

For the next two days, we went biking around from museum to museum and beach to beach. For those who will enter the Leiden program in the future, I would highly recommend going on this field trip.

The following weekend I decided to stay put in Leiden, mostly for one particular reason: Ontzet! Or for those who don’t know Ontzet is the celebration of Leiden’s independence from Spain in 1574. It happens every year on the 3rd of October and Leiden is the only city in the Netherlands who celebrates this event. Needless to say it’s like a Dutch Mardi Gras. People, beer, music, and carnival gimmicks fill the streets of Leiden for the weekend. I must admit, Ontzet was a pretty good time. Although the one thing I didn’t like about Ontzet this year was that the big parade was titled “The American Dream,” which I found strange for a nationalist holiday.

Salut!

We finally made it to Paris! Everything here is always new and exciting. I am staying in a dorm called La Vigie. It is on the Isle St. Louis which is in the smack dab center of Paris. I was amazed on my first day, when wondering around I ran into Notre Dame!

I pass it everyday on my way to the metro, which is surreal after spending years passing corn fields to get to school. I am taking classes at the Insitute Catholique.  It is much harder than I thought it would be to take 15 hours of classes in French a week.  It is exhausting, but being in Paris makes up for it.  I have been doing a lot of exploring. There are so many things to see and do.

Last Friday, my friends and I went to the Eiffel tower at night.  On the train ride there, I was buzzing with excitement, and the tower at night did not disappoint.  It was magnificent all lit up. We bought a bottle of wine and cookies and sat on the lawn with the multitudes of other students and hung out all night.

On Saturday we went to Versailles. We lucked out and it was a beautiful day. There were hordes of tourists in the actual castle, so I enjoyed the grounds more. The building is so extravagant, it makes you understand why there was a revolution.

This week Shelley, our resident director, took us to a jazz concert on Thursday, and Chartres on Saturday. Chartres is a town outside Pairs that has one of the best preserved medieval cathedrals in Europe.

Last night was “Nuit Blanche”, which is an all night party thrown by the mayor of Paris. It was really awesome because the metro and some of the museums were open all night, and there were art installations through out the city. There was a giant disco ball in the middle of the Luxembourg Gardens! When I  finally called it a night around 5 am, and the streets were still packed with people.

Well, I am beat from my all-nighter,

Aurevoir!

This past weekend was the opening of Oktoberfest. I know you all wanted to be there, but I actually was there. Let me tell you, that it was something I have thought a lot about, but never thought it would be like it was.

Common misconception: Oktoberfest is one huge drunken party with only beer tents
Actuality: Oktoberfest has a lot of beer tents, but it’s also a huge fair with plenty of German fair food and rides. There are so many rides everywhere, including roller-coasters, Ferris wheels, and other awesome non-American rides

This was a huge Ferris wheel at the back corner of the part

It was honestly a blast.  There were people dancing on the tables, singing all the time, and just a merry environment all around.  Of course, there were a lot of police around, but not as many as one in America would expect.  That was the weird part for me, the whole ‘not seeing a million cops’ part.

Outside of Oktoberfest, I finally arrived in Vienna!    It is so exciting here.  We are currently living in temporary housing because our dorms won’t be open until October, but that’s ok with me.

We use the public transit for everything here.  I have to take the subway and street cars and buses around everywhere because the city is so big, and I get so tired from walking all the time.  The public transportation system is top notch though.  I honestly have no trouble using it most of the time.  The only thing that is difficult is trying to figure out the night lines.  I know they are easy once you get to know them, but for right now, I’m not familiar with them, so it’s a little challenging.

Classes start this Thursday, and I’m stoked.  Plus, where I’m taking some of my classes is with the second oldest university in Europe.  The main college building is like a museum.  It is beautiful.  I have only been in there once, but it made me so happy to walk through the halls and think about just studying in such a beautiful place.

The whole city life thing hasn’t hit me yet.  I’ve always wanted to live in a city and never have, so this is a new experience.  My permanent dorm I will be moving to is right in the city next to a huge flea market and a food market.  We’ve already visited it once, and it was quite spectacular.

So far, I’m having a great experience!  And now is time for my lesson of the blog:  When talking with someone you don’t know, use the formal ‘you’ (Sie) always.  It’s much better to refer to someone formally than informally, because that shows your respect.

Erik
donnere1@central.edu <== Feel free to email me!

Since my last entry, I have visited Amsterdam twice. The first time was with Steef and Dennis (the program directors) and they took us all on a nice trip throughout Amsterdam. What I enjoyed about it was that they showed us many places that were off the beaten path and avoided the mainstream tourist spots. First we went on a long canal tour of Amsterdam, which I enjoyed because it is always nice to be on the water. After that we did loads of walking through hidden churches, a Buddhist temple, a small museum that preserved a house from the 17^th century, the Amsterdam History Museum, and the notorious Red Light District (yes believe it or not, most of the old churches are found in the Red Light District).

The second time I traveled to Amsterdam, I took another day trip with three other friends. This time we hit up the more touristy spots on our own. First, we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which I would highly recommend with its hundreds of works by Van Gogh, but also with its collection of other impressionists like Cezanne and Pissarro. After that we went to the Rijk Museum, which is the Netherlands national museum. This too was interesting with many works from Dutch baroque artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer. After getting our fair share of museum time, we strolled around the city looking at various street performers. Central Amsterdam is filled with street performers who do everything from break dancing to polishing shoes in drag.

The weekend after visiting Amsterdam, a couple of friends and I decided to take a day trip to Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Although we didn’t do anything particularly interesting (like visiting the National Clock Museum or National Train Museum) Utrecht was still a good and cheap way to kill a day. I guess to put an image into your head; Utrecht was your typical Dutch city, many canals, old buildings, a long market, and many shopping streets. I would recommend it as a day trip.

The very next week, a couple of friends and I found a cheap flight to Liverpool. So we flew out of Amsterdam on Friday morning and arrived at the home of the Beatles a couple of hours later. After taking a bus into town and throwing our things into the hostel, we set out for a couple of museums. We first visited the Walker Art Gallery which was a good and diverse museum with works from Medieval and Renaissance times all the way to Modern Art. After that we checked out a couple of old buildings and then got some damn good fish and chips. After the fish and chips, we all went over to the Cavern Club (where the Beatles got their start). And as a big Beatles fan I must say that I was unimpressed with the Cavern Club, but still worth the visit if you’re in Liverpool. After the Cavern Club, we all went back to our hostel for a big nap. After our nap we decided to check out British night life, which disappointingly enough turned out to be a lot like American night life. I.E. lots of mainstream music pumping out of generic clubs. However we did stumble upon a coffee shop that was playing jazz.

The next day in Liverpool was a day on the bus, upon which we all agreed was the most interesting activity to do. And I’m not being sarcastic; getting a day-bus-pass a ride around the city was an interesting and relaxing way to ingest Liverpool. We did make it over to the Liverpool football stadium, which was really only a gift shop, and also to the famous Penny Lane. After that we got more fish and chips, and then rode on the bus for even longer.  In the end, I would say I enjoyed Liverpool.

Interweaving in all this travel,  the rest of the students in my group and I have been attending an intensive Dutch language class. The class is only two and a half weeks long, but it is 4 days a week for 4 hours a day. With the class I have already learned a decent amount of Dutch, even though I must say that I’m not completely confident on my pronunciation. After the class is over, we will all start our normal classes.

Eating out in the Netherlands is damn expensive, so just about everybody eats in everyday of the week. That is why I’m so excited to talk about my new discovery in Leiden. I present the Kapsalon. A kapsalon is a uniquely Dutch Turkish dish, if that makes any sense. In short the kapsalon is served only at the many Turkish restaurants that inhabit Holland. The kapsalon (which oddly enough means hair salon in Dutch) is comprised of French fries on the bottom, topped with doner meat and cheese, topped with garlic sauce and hot sauce, and topped with various veggies. And only for 5 Euros! And their open till 3 a.m.! God I love this place!

Salut!

So, it seems strange, but my 3 weeks in Tours is almost over! It has been flying by.  I am really excited to go to Paris. Tours has been fun, but I am ready for the big city. It will also be nice to be living in a dorm. Living with a family here in Tours has been a good experience, but I am ready to live on my own. I am also really looking forward to seeing my dorm, which is in the smack dab center of Paris! Anyway I’ll have more to write about that on  Thursday.

Here in Tours I have been going to class and hanging out with my friends.  It is amazing how much my French has  improved.  I can now carry on full conversions with my host mom. Although some times I still have to resort to pantomiming

Last weekend we went on an excursion to Poiters and Rochelle. Rochelle is a really beautiful coastal town. My friends and I took a boat ride, and saw this really old fort that was out in the middle of the ocean. We actually had more fun just being on the boat than seeing the fort. It was a beautiful day and, of course, many rounds of “I’m on a boat” were sung.

Last week I took a class on French wines, and got to taste 5 different french wines. The presenter was really cool and invited my friends and I to come to a wine tasting at his store on Friday. We went and rubbed shoulders with French people then went out to eat, then went out to the clubs. It was a really long, but awesome night. My favorite club in Tours is this outdoor place, that is right on the river. On Friday there was a band playing crazy hippy music. We hung out on the bank of the river and listened to the music. We have also been seeing movies in French for fun. I saw Inglorious Bastards and District 9 in French.  The dubbing is surprisingly good. It does suck though when you can’t understand parts.

Anyway- 4 days ’till Paris,

until then, Aurevoir!!

Hello again,

Classes started last week without too much of a hitch. I have “intensive reading” five days a week, speaking twice a week, listening twice a week,  and regular reading once a week. The difference between intensive and non-intensive reading seems to be that non-intensive focuses on the ability to glean the meaning of a passage of text, whereas intensive focuses on the grammar and usage of particular characters and phrases. Each class lasts an hour and a half.

Over the weekend, I took a train to Wuhan; about 8 hours each way. I went alone, while the rest of the group stayed in Hangzhou. I left on Friday night, with my train departing at 11:17pm, and arrived back on campus at about 7:10 this morning–just in time for class at 8am. Class was rough after sleeping on the train, but I’d easily say the trip was worth it. Since I promised pictures from Shanghai last week, I’ll leave you with some pictures.

Alex at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

Jacob and Alex at Yu Yuan Gardens in Shanghai

Looking toward the Yangtze River from Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan

Yours truly (Robert Grimm) by scenery near Yellow Crane Tower

An East Lake (Wuhan) promenade in the rain

I hope you enjoyed viewing the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. See you again soon!

Having been here a week, I can´t say I am overly shocked.  It is about what I expected.  The only thing that really takes some getting used to are the meals.  Not eating lunch until 3:00 and dinner until 9:00 takes some real getting used to since I am used to eating non stop all day when I am at home.  Note, I am not huge…I´m just a runner.  Meal portions here are massive, every meal my host mom heaps a ton of food onto my plate and I can barely finish.  I was warned that might happen because here in Spain, being too thin is taken as a sign that you are not healthy.  Perhaps, she thinks I am really sickly?

Also, not having immediate access to the internet is quite a pain in the…well, I suppose I am not allowed to curse on here, but you all know what goes there.  Luckily I am able to “borrow” internet from a neighbor, but it only works part of the time.  If you are looking to get internet you usually have to go to the internet cafe and spend a lot of money.  I am trying to avoid this, hence why my blog is updated so infrequently.

Most people think graffiti is destruction of property, but here in Granada it seems to be everywhere and some of it is truly beautiful.  Some of it is even funny.  On the street I take to classes every day there is a picture of police beating someone with text reading, “the police are here to help you.”  On the streets of Albycin there was a very artistic drawing of cats eating fish that spanned a whole wall.  Of course you will just have to imagine this until I manage to get the pictures up.

On to gypsies.  In some parts of the city they are everywhere.  They grab your hand and try to read it and then demand money.  On another occasion a girl came up and began telling a story using origami and then at the end folded her sheet of paper into a box and asked for money.  Sometimes, one person will perform while another person prowls the crowd.  When this occurs I clench my wallet a little tighter.  Maybe this is the suspicious American in me, but it seems a little sketchy.

Oh yeah, if looking to travel it can be surprisingly affordable.  Next, week I am taking a trip to both Paris, France and Milan, Italy for only 100 dollars in airfare.  Of course there are added expenses, but avoiding the high cost in flying sure helps to make the trip more affordable.  When looking to travel, book far in advance…we had some issues with staying together as a group of 5 when searching for living arrangements.  Speaking of that…if you think staying in hostels is dangerous, you’ve seen too many American horror movies.  If someone had been mugged or assaulted it would have definitely shown up in the review section for the booking site.  As I travel I am being forced to stay in hotels…you don’t EVER meet or even see anyone in a hotel.  In hostels you can at least meet other people your age that are traveling…but alas I don’t get to have that experience.  Oh well, I still get to go to France and Italy.