Location, location, location

I thought that I should post a map of China here so that when I talk about my travels, there will be a map for easy reference.
I'm going to spend most of my time in Beijing, which is in the Northeastern part of China, somewhat near to Mongolia and the Koreas. To answer another question, I will be very close to the Great Wall, which is just outside the city.
I will also be traveling as a part of the TBC curriculum. On the major trip, called the Minority Culture Trip, I will be visiting various places in the Yunnan province of China. Yunnan is located in southern central China, bordering Laos and Myanmar, for example. On this trip I will visit Kunming, which is on this map.

On the Spring Break trip, I will travel to the Sichuan province, which is north of the Yunnan province. On the map you'll see Chengdu and Chongqing, two of the cities that I will visit during Spring Break.

Hopefully that will help you visualize a bit when I talk about these places.

I am just about done shopping for travel stuff. The trickiest bit thus far has been tracking down short-sleeved shirts in December. I need some dark-colored clothes for China (the student manual said the closer to the color of dirt, the better because it is very dusty and dirty there) and I normally don’t wear dark colors, so I had to go buy some shirts. However, I am going to layer my clothing there, and I know that after March, it will get quite warm in China, and it will be even warmer still when I travel to southern China, so I wanted short-sleeved shirts. I am sure glad I started planning a long time ago and I have nearly everything I need for China. I think the most important thing to consider when planning ahead for a trip to China is vaccinations – some vaccinations recommended for China, like Hep A, require more than one injection, and in the case of Hep A, the shots need to be 6 months apart. I don’t know how I would have fit everything in and at the right times if I hadn’t started this process months ago. Plus getting a passport and then a visa can take some time, that’s why the sooner you start the better. And also, when ordering things like books and other supplies online, I ordered many of them in November or very early December to ensure that I would have everything I need before I have to pack.

I tracked down some of the recommended reading, such as Lonely Planet - China and I got some phrase books that I have been perusing as of late. I also went to the video rental place earlier this week and walked around looking for movies about China, so I could see some of the scenery and such. Who knows if any of these videos will prove factual or not, though. My aim is to prepare myself in any way possible, even though watching movies might be a stretch.

So far I’ve noticed at least one thing in common across all of the literature I’ve read about travel to China – all of them recommend bringing plenty of deodorant, as it is apparently exceeding difficult to find this in China. Who knew? I know what I’ll be packing now, though…

Gilman

Exciting news! I have been awarded a Gilman scholarship to help pay for my semester abroad. I must say that I was completely shocked because the Gilman is a very competitive national scholarship. I recognize that my success here is due in part to the help of the Office of International Student Programs, as well as the invaluable help from Dr. McCombs. The office has been more than helpful this semester and they have become a useful resource in the complicated process surrounding study abroad in China. Dr. McCombs must be the best essay editor I’ve ever encountered; she is able to take any piece of writing and make suggestions to improve the quality and complexity. I found myself writing better in my other papers after having met with her this semester for help with my application essays. With her help and that of Esther and Ann in particular, I am ending one part of the process and beginning another. After months of paperwork and preparation, I am nearly ready to leave!

In a few short weeks I will be on the plane to Chicago to meet everyone else for a pre-departure meeting. I am beginning to wonder what we will be doing at that meeting. I know that we have a few days of orientation upon arrival in Beijing, but I assume that the Chicago meeting is probably just a meet-and-greet type of gathering. Speaking of meetings, I have been in contact with both my new roommate and my Chinese host student, both of which are friendly and helpful. I was happy to see that they facilitated contact between roommates and host students before departure because my host student, Grace, has been very helpful in the late stages of preparation. She has answers for every question that I could have about weather, shopping, food, and school. I am really looking forward to meeting her.

Also, I got my visa back today (finally). I used VisaRite services in New Jersey, and I would recommend them to anyone who needs to submit their application through the Chinese consulate located in New York City. They were very easy to work with, they responded quickly, and the service was fast and at a reasonable price. I am relieved to have it back because that was the major thing that needed to be done. Now I just have to gather everything that I need to send to the Gilman scholarship people. I am excited to have been selected as a Gilman scholar!

I really stink at using chopsticks

I received my course schedule yesterday and my first thought was YIKES. I have Chinese class Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8 AM t0 9:40, and that's not bad. However, the rest of my classes are all on Thursday, and right in a row. I will be in class from 1:30 to 10:15 at night...since all of my courses besides Chinese are once a week, they are all very long, so I get about 15 minutes between each class. I only hope they're all in the same building so I have time to quickly eat something between classes, since I'm told it's considered rude to eat in class in China. That leaves the rest of the week for Chinese study, research, and fun stuff, but I don't know how I will survive those marathon Thursdays. I get shaky on Tues/Thurs here just from being in class from 8:30 to 12:45 and I always have to eat something between the 2nd and 3rd class because my blood sugar always plummets during class #2 for some reason. I will have to explore the wonders of Chinese grocery shopping.

Today Dr. Fisher took me out to lunch at a restaurant that serves authentic Chinese cuisine. I tried something amazing that everyone should sample: Ginger pork. It's like the best thing EVER. Anyways, I began my 'training' using chopsticks, and I must say, I'm completely awful at it right now. We went to a Chinese market after lunch and I got some reuseable ones to practice with before I leave.
Dr. Fisher's two daughters, who are both Chinese, are the cutest kids ever. Haha, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen when they would go up to Asian people and say "Ni Hao." Too cute. They shared their opinions regarding Chinese gum, which is pretty tasty actually. I got some Chinese candy that is also really good too. I'm just curious what types of stores and products I will encounter in Beijing. Hopefully I can take someone with me to read labels or something...lord knows what I would purchase left to myself.
I am getting excited to the point that it interferes with my sleep now. I think it's more anxiety though, knowing me. I just keep thinking about all the stuff I need to do before I go, and most of it I can't do yet.
And there's the sad realization that soon I will be seperated from my favorite people ever, my brother Jake, and my amazing boyfriend Kevin, who will be here right here waiting for my return. And then there's my BFF Christa, and I just can't imagine not being her roommate :( We are 'kindred spirits' and I'm sad that I won't see her for a long time... no one gets my humor like she does, we're two of a kind. And my mom... who will she call everyday? We call eachother many times each day, and that's going to be weird, not doing that anymore. I will miss my profs and my college too, even though that sounds weird. Sometimes I think I'm better friends with some professors than I am with students (Haha, especially considering I've been out to lunch with my 3 favorite professors, etc). AND I will really miss my memory foam mattress cover and pillow!!
Well, I still have finals that need to be studied for, and papers to finish. I will have to write more elaborately after I am done here with the semester.

one month to go

In one month, I will be on the plane to Beijing. That scares me a bit, considering I've never been on a plane. I'm really concerned about packing at the moment. I have no idea how to pack for nearly 5 months. And there's a lot of stuff I have to take because I can't get it in China - textbooks, face wash, tampons - random stuff like that will take up a lot of room, I imagine. I don't know what to bring for clothes either. They tell us to bring like 2 pairs of pants and a couple shirts... for 5 months? I don't want to do laundry everyday, especially considering the washing machines are really rough on clothes and there's no dryers. I am a compulsive overpacker and I don't know how I'm going to do this...

Visa confusion?

Well, it's approximately T-minus one month until I leave home for Beijing. Right now my main concern is my student visa, which as of late has caused me some confusion. Getting a visa is tricky because you have to go to the Chinese Consulate in NYC, and that's pretty far from here. You have to go in person or send someone in person for you for security reasons. Now hopefully I can send a certified Visa Agent in my stead, but I need to check with the consulate first since they have a notice saying something about not using messengers. I think by messengers they mean just that, and aren't talking about Visa Agents, whose job is to appear in person for the applicant. I should be getting all the necessary documentation from TBC this week, and I will immediately send for my visa, one way or another. I want to get everything essential done ASAP because you just never know at this time of year how long things are going to take. Plus, with the upcoming Olympics, I wonder if visas are in high demand yet, but it may still be too early. I hear a lot of kids going to other countries don't need visas, and that seems really odd, considering the security of the current day. I have to take all these little obstacles in stride though, because I'M GOING TO CHINA and that makes it all very much worth the effort and worry.
Meanwhile, I am clamoring to purchase everything I need for China that is from the Internet so that it will arrive in time. I still don't know the titles of a few of my textbooks, and that is making me nervous. In fact, I just found out a few titles only a day or two ago, but I ordered them right away. I hope all these books don't weigh too much, considering they are a part of my 100lbs or less of luggage that I will be taking. I never thought I'd see the day where I could fit a semester's worth of clothing into a suitcase...the thought is foreign and absurd to me. And normally I bring a ton of shoes with me to school, but I'm only bringing the ones on my feet and a pair of ballet flats for dressier occasions... Me with only two pairs of shoes? It sounds unreal for sure.
I have been talking to Dr. Jane Fisher a lot recently, and she has proved an invaluable source of information about China and Beijing because she has been there several times. She loves Chinese culture and knows a lot more about travelling to China than anyone else I've yet encountered. She always has the best advice for me, such as when she told me that I should bring all the bras that I will need while abroad because the ones available there will be very much too small for me. I love talking to her because she, like me, has a great sense of humor about these things. I can't wait to laugh off all of the cultural faux pas that I will undoubtedly commit. I'm excited because even the chance to make these faux pas in China is a big deal for me - this is my first anthropological endeavor, so to speak. I want to meet everybody and talk to them about their lives. I want to know China and its people. I want to spend time in places and with people who are very different than me, and who can teach me valuable cultural lessons through experience.
I can't wait to take pictures of everything I see! I want to know EVERYTHING, especially that which seems mundane. I want to go to the supermarket and the post office. I want to see what kinds of shampoo and toothpaste the Chinese use. I want to learn the language (desperately) even though I'm a bit intimidated at the moment...I have no idea how I will be able to learn to write in Chinese, it's so complex. I want to do as the Chinese do, even though it may at times be very different than what I am accustom to. The only way I will grow as a student of anthropology is if I am willing to learn as much as I can about the Chinese. I must resign myself to say goodbye to my beloved American fork...and embrace chopsticks. I must try to speak in Chinese as much as possible while I am there, under the guidance of native speakers. I must avoid spending all of my time with other American students - I am not there to make American friends, after all. I must not be afraid to ask for help, but I must not be afraid to try new things.

But most importantly at the moment, I must first finish this semester before I get too excited about the next. More to come about my pre-departure experiences after the madness of final papers and exams subsides.