I'm going to China!!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Not right now.

This May, from the 15th to the 25th I’ll be touring the People’s Republic of China with my introductory Chinese class.

I’ve been planning to go for a while, but today I handed over the last $490 and my passport to Zhang Laoshi (my teacher). She’s going to apply for the visas, but this kind of thing is routine and there shouldn’t be any problems.

This is so freaking cool!

I can’t find my intenirary (sp?) for the trip right now, but when I do I’ll post it.

I’ll miss the Dope for those 2 weeks, but I can’t wait to go! This is the first time I’ve been out of the country; the farthest I’ve ever been from Indiana is Oklahoma.

–John

'Twis brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gymble in the wabe.
Mimsy were the borogroves,
And the momeraths outgrabe.

2

Hey Yue! That’s great! It’s such a different culture that I’m sure you’ll be all agog and amazed every day. And you’ll get to wrap your tongue truly around all those Chinese sounds you’ve been learning. One tip: find out what items you can take that might be needed over there, and take as much as you can to give out. The things we take for granted here are much appreciated in other countries.

3

Dude, that rocks big time.

Enjoy, man.

Eschew Obfuscation

4

Don’t take your bicycle though; they’ve got plenty of those. Sounds like fun; I’m jealous.

5

THATS GREAT!!!
Fantastic John! You must be thrilled! Your parents must be so proud.

This is a great oportunity for you…most of us never get off the continent.

kisses,
Kelli

Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth

6

Finally got a lot of the info.

I’ve got my visa now. We’re leaving 5/14 from Indianapolis, to Detroit, to Beijing, by which time it will be Monday night. (14 hour flight+13 time difference.)

5/16 Great Wall; Cloisonne Factory; Ming Tombs; Duck Dinner; Beijing Opera<—Really, really, cool.

5/17 Temple of Heaven, Beijing Hutongs (this were regular people live in the city), then in the afternoon, visiting a Beijing High School. Dinner with Students.

5/18 Beijing-Xi’an:

Tour Tiananmen Square & climb Tiananmen Gate, visit Forbidden City, lunch at famous(?) Yushan resteraunt. Beijing Zoo for Pandas, then the Summer Palace; Train to Xi’an.

After sleeping on the train…

5/19 Xi’an

Terra-Cotta Warriors, Banpo Village, Huaqing Hot Spring. “Tang Dynasty Dance Show” (I don’t know what that is.)

5/20 Xi’an-Shanghai

Big Wild Goose Pagoda, city wall. Fly to Shanghai. Shanghai Acrobatics Show.

In China, “acrobatics show” is a code word for the coolest thing you’ve ever seen. Oh, there’s acrobats. There’s also magicians, singers, people doing bizarre balance tricks. It’s like a circus, only not scary.

5/21 Shanghai-Guilin

Children’s Palace, Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple. Tour of Nanjing Road (busiest shopping street in China) Fly to Guilin.

5/22 Guilin

Full day of cruising the Li River, to Yangshuo. Have dinner and see a minority dance show there.

5/23

Tour Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill. Fly top Shenzhen.

5/24 Shenzhen

Tour the well known “Window on the World.” The travel agent apparently assumes that I am familiar with this. And it didn’t occur to my teacher (native Chinese) that anyone wouldn’t know what the hell “Window on the World” is. Fly to Hong Kong. Half-day tour of Peak Aberdeen(?!) Repulse Bay and Stanley. Clearly, 100 years of British occupation didn’t affect Hong Kong. :rolleyes:

5/25 Fly from Hong Kong to Indianapolis.

This is going to be great.

Blah, this is very long and I have too much work to do to be sitting here.

–John

7

>> clearly 100 years of British occupation didn’t affect Hong Kong

John,
I do not know what you mean by that but HK did not exist before the brits, it was a barren island. The Brits made it what it is today and, in spite of having returned to Chinese sovereignty, it retains all the legal system etc. (the Chinese are not stupid and know if they impose their rule, HK as we know it disappears).

I have been to China several times. get ready for the dirtiest, filthiest, country you can imagine. I do not need to tell you the good things as you will see them all but brace yourself for the filth. It is overwhelming.

regarding Shenzhen and that area (HK, GuangZhou), there was a very good article in national Geographic about a year ago (I think) I recommend you read it.

Enjoy yourself, I was recently there. :slight_smile:

8

I think John was kidding about 100 years of British occupation, as evidenced by the fact that names such as Aberdeen are unmistakably British, and the rolleyes smiley.

9

Thanks waterj2.

10

I visited Hong Kong a long time ago (1995). I’m really curious to find out how it’s changed since the PRC took over. Anyone been there recently and want to share their impressions? Or maybe after you visit, Yue Han, you could share your impression?
Thanks!

11

>> Yeah, it was sarcasm.

OOPS! Obviously! What was I thinking?! No wonder I didn’t get it… sorry about that

12

I was in Beijing, HK, and assorted other Asian destinations last summer.

Yue Han - try and convince the powers that be to go to the section of the Great Wall where you get to the top on a tram, a la ski resorts, and get down on an Alpine slide. Truly, there is no better way to appreciate the majesty of the Wall than by contrasting it with Chinese commercialism, which is still a new concept over there. Oh, yeah. Once you get to the top and get past the Mongol warrior offering to pose for a small fee, you will find yourself with your very own postcard vendor. They will follow you anywhere.

wevets - Last year being my first trip to HK, I can’t really speak for changes. It was very different from China, though. I never would have known from observation. Free enterprise is seemingly alive and well. And Jumbo’s is still the world’s largest floating restaraunt.

13

Wei nan in Fall

14

and welcome to the board, chiung tung.

Are you a student or are you ethnically Chinese? Or maybe both?

–John

15

And I’m killing time here to stay awake. My bastard friends who said they’d stay up with me are asleep. But I must stay awake. I have to be at the front desk at 7:30. All the last minute shit is done.

I’m trying to be the jet lag. China is 13 hours ahead(as far as you get from Indiana before you start coming back :slight_smile: ) so the lag’ll be a bitch unless I can sleep on the 14 hour flight.

I’ve changed my sig so people know what’s up. I’ve got a picture of Chels to leave somewhere in Zhongguo. Everything is packed. (I think there’s one thing I want to change, though.) Must… stay… awake.

–John

16

Well, that was damn fun.

–John

17

tell us all about it.

did you take part in the ladybar experience?

18

A while back, I had a thread about words for “cancer” in other languages, and someone responded that in Chinese (which was relevant to the OP) that cancer is “ai zheng,” I believe.

You know what that literally means. Sorry, there weren’t any tone designations.

19

Yuey (Lewis)! And the news…

is what from China?

Dish! What’d the “Tang Dynasty Dance Show” turn out to be? Were Yeti involved?
How long did you sleep upon your return?