Nee hao ma? (Hello, How are you?)
I am leaving for China January 18th, 9 days from now. Technically we will be going into Hong Kong for the first 2 weeks, then heading to Xiamen, pronounced "Shah? Men!" where we will be staying in the dorms for most of the semester. We will be studying the culture, the language, the history, the business and economics of China. We also will be taking an internship for a business in China, as well as learning Tai Chi. My goal is to come back in 4 months speaking Mandarin and knowing some form of marital arts. :)
I hope to post updates here at least a couple times a week, hopefully with words as well as pictures. I will be taking along the D200 to try to capture all of China within a still image.
I am really looking forward to this trip, and learning about my "heritage", though also a bit nervous to be going to a foreign country with people I don't know for 4 months. I just finished getting everything I need to do before China done, except for my flu shots and Hep A shots.....and anything else I've forgotten.
I hope you enjoy reading and will follow me in my travels. Feel free to comment, complain, laugh, etc, at anytime. I figure I will be back here in about 9-10 days.
so be it,
Sam Mahtani
Sunday, January 9
Tuesday, January 12
What I'm Doing In China
Nee Hao,
Of course once everyone finds out I'm going to China there's this list of questions of what I will be doing there. Basically it's studying abroad for a semester..... I will be taking classes, and will also get a Business Internship while there. Additionally, I'll be spending 1 week in a rural part of China teaching English to kids, and will also be taking a couple tours throughout the country to see famous places like the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Terra Cotta Soldiers.
The classes I'll be taking are as follows:
Chinese (Mandarin)
This course in introductory Chinese focuses on acquiring survival fluency in spoken and written Chinese. The emphasis is on the spoken form of Mandarin Chinese, the national language of China.
Chinese History
One-third of this seminar course consists of lectures, one-third consists of presentations by the students about one significant event or person in Chinese history, and one-third consists of field trips to historical sites. The course covers the history of China from its earliest beginnings to the present. Students become familiar with the major dynasties of China, their character, contributions and their major figures.
Intercultural Communication
This course covers issues intended to help students understand and adjust to Chinese culture. Focus is given to how our students demonstrate their beliefs in their daily lives within the context of China. Topics include culture and basic values, culture shock, introductory linguistics, contextualization and factors involved in successful cross-cultural interaction.
Contemporary Society & Public Policy
This course examines two key and inter-related aspects of modern China: government policy and economic reforms. Public Policy covers the structure of the Chinese government, social rights and the legal system, and issues such as ethnic minorities, family planning and education. Economic Development focuses on the government policies from 1949 to the present, from the commune system to the current market-oriented reforms.
International Business in China
In this course, students hear talks covering issues such as fair and ethical business practices and the factors involved in out-sourcing jobs to China. Students will also prepare a paper in which they describe and analyze the differences in the way that an American or international company markets its products or its franchise in China.
Business Internship
The Internship will place students in job placements that will provide meaningful work experience for the three-week internships, working full-time (40+hrs/week) for either Western or Chinese companies in the city of Xiamen
Tai Chi
This physical education course emphasizes traditional Chinese forms of stylized self-defense, which tones the body and concentrates the mind. Exercises may focus on either the gentler form of tai chi, or on the more vigorous wu shu.
Basically, that will be 17-18 credits. so I'll actually have to do homework this semester. Hope that tells you a bit about what I'll be doing in China, aside from the obvious reason of going to
take picturesand buy every black market electronic item I see.
so be it,
Sam Mahtani
Of course once everyone finds out I'm going to China there's this list of questions of what I will be doing there. Basically it's studying abroad for a semester..... I will be taking classes, and will also get a Business Internship while there. Additionally, I'll be spending 1 week in a rural part of China teaching English to kids, and will also be taking a couple tours throughout the country to see famous places like the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Tian’anmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Terra Cotta Soldiers.
The classes I'll be taking are as follows:
Chinese (Mandarin)
This course in introductory Chinese focuses on acquiring survival fluency in spoken and written Chinese. The emphasis is on the spoken form of Mandarin Chinese, the national language of China.
Chinese History
One-third of this seminar course consists of lectures, one-third consists of presentations by the students about one significant event or person in Chinese history, and one-third consists of field trips to historical sites. The course covers the history of China from its earliest beginnings to the present. Students become familiar with the major dynasties of China, their character, contributions and their major figures.
Intercultural Communication
This course covers issues intended to help students understand and adjust to Chinese culture. Focus is given to how our students demonstrate their beliefs in their daily lives within the context of China. Topics include culture and basic values, culture shock, introductory linguistics, contextualization and factors involved in successful cross-cultural interaction.
Contemporary Society & Public Policy
This course examines two key and inter-related aspects of modern China: government policy and economic reforms. Public Policy covers the structure of the Chinese government, social rights and the legal system, and issues such as ethnic minorities, family planning and education. Economic Development focuses on the government policies from 1949 to the present, from the commune system to the current market-oriented reforms.
International Business in China
In this course, students hear talks covering issues such as fair and ethical business practices and the factors involved in out-sourcing jobs to China. Students will also prepare a paper in which they describe and analyze the differences in the way that an American or international company markets its products or its franchise in China.
Business Internship
The Internship will place students in job placements that will provide meaningful work experience for the three-week internships, working full-time (40+hrs/week) for either Western or Chinese companies in the city of Xiamen
Tai Chi
This physical education course emphasizes traditional Chinese forms of stylized self-defense, which tones the body and concentrates the mind. Exercises may focus on either the gentler form of tai chi, or on the more vigorous wu shu.
Basically, that will be 17-18 credits. so I'll actually have to do homework this semester. Hope that tells you a bit about what I'll be doing in China, aside from the obvious reason of going to
take pictures
so be it,
Sam Mahtani
Tuesday, January 20
Flight of the Chindian
Nihao,
I Left O’Hare at 1:00pm today, and landed in LA around 4:00 LA time, which is like 6:00 Chicago time, with a perfect landing by the pilot I must say. Then I ate a ton of McDonalds while there, that being my first meal since I totally forgot to eat in Chicago. Then after waiting around and meeting some of the people that were going along for the trip, we met at the International terminal to fly Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, on a 15 and ½ hour flight.
The long trip was fun, where we had dinner, breakfast and snacks throughout the flight. Everyone also had their own 8in LCD display with lots of music, movies, games, TV shows, etc to watch throughout the flight. I tried to get some sleep, but I probably only got about 3-4 hours on the entire flight.
We arrived at 7:30am on Wednesday morning in Hong Kong airport, around 14 hours ahead of Chicago. First thing we did was we were introduced to the program director and we were also given our food allowance for the week, and we stayed in the airport for about an hour, where we also had internet. Then we took a bus to the YMCA camp, where we will be staying for the next 7-8 days. As we entered the YMCA, a large soccer field was my first sight……I’m gonna enjoy this camp. After a Hong Kong style lunch in the YMCA cafeteria, we took the train to down town Hong Kong, and checked out the big city you see in pictures, and also the sweet tower that batman jumps off in the movie “Batman Begins”.
After downtown, we came back to the area where we were staying and were showed the market, where the local Hong Kong people shop, and eat. This is where we ate dinner, and bought whatever we needed for the next week. My meal cost my 20 HKD, and the exchange rate is about 7.5HKD to 1 US dollar, meaning I ate dinner for around $2.00. Crazy! Anyways, after not sleeping the last couple days and eating a great meal last night……By 8:00 HK style, I was out.
I must say I really have enjoyed it so far, and the people I have met and will be hanging out with are pretty awesome, and I’m excited to get to know them all. The language scares me a bit, but right now in Hong Kong everyone speaks Cantonese, and I’ll be learning Mandarin, so I can’t even start yet. Also, I’m missing Taco Bell a little. I'll add pictures to this post later.
so be it,
Monday, January 21
Night on the Town
Today we started classes, and I learned about the language Chinese mandarin, which was an awesome and interesting part of my day.
After lunch in the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) where we are staying, we had a brief afternoon class, then played soccer in an outdoor enclosed indoor soccer area…hope you followed that. Then we went downtown for a light show and dinner, which turned out to be a crazy event:
Basically, five of us walked around Hong Kong and ended up at a tiny little hole in the wall noodle shop in a building, and ate there.
While there, everyone but me ordered something extremely spicy….and I saw grown men cry. After that, we realized we would be late for the light show, so we ran, trying to find the harbor to see the light show that is on Hong Kong Island…we were at the time on the mainland. We ended up trying to go through a very expensive hotel…..the kind with Lamborghini’s sitting outside in the lot. We could not make it through, so we ended up getting out and catching the last 10 minutes of the light show.
After the light show, and taking many pictures, we boarded the ferry to go to Hong Kong Island, on which the huge tower that is in the movie the dark night is in. We walked around a while and decided to try to get in the building….but to no avail because of the guard. We ended up in a strip mall adjacent to the building, and then we found ourselves at a high end club/bar/restaurant outside 10 stories up, which had access to the batman building. So, naturally, we went inside, and ended up eating a very pricey desert there….around 5 US dollars…..In the end, we ran through a fancy hotel, got into the batman building, and had awesome deserts….day well spent
Tomorrow classes start at 9:30 again, learning more Mandarin….I’m excited…..Pictures still to come.
So be it,
-Sam Mahtani
After lunch in the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) where we are staying, we had a brief afternoon class, then played soccer in an outdoor enclosed indoor soccer area…hope you followed that. Then we went downtown for a light show and dinner, which turned out to be a crazy event:
Basically, five of us walked around Hong Kong and ended up at a tiny little hole in the wall noodle shop in a building, and ate there.
While there, everyone but me ordered something extremely spicy….and I saw grown men cry. After that, we realized we would be late for the light show, so we ran, trying to find the harbor to see the light show that is on Hong Kong Island…we were at the time on the mainland. We ended up trying to go through a very expensive hotel…..the kind with Lamborghini’s sitting outside in the lot. We could not make it through, so we ended up getting out and catching the last 10 minutes of the light show.
After the light show, and taking many pictures, we boarded the ferry to go to Hong Kong Island, on which the huge tower that is in the movie the dark night is in. We walked around a while and decided to try to get in the building….but to no avail because of the guard. We ended up in a strip mall adjacent to the building, and then we found ourselves at a high end club/bar/restaurant outside 10 stories up, which had access to the batman building. So, naturally, we went inside, and ended up eating a very pricey desert there….around 5 US dollars…..In the end, we ran through a fancy hotel, got into the batman building, and had awesome deserts….day well spent
Tomorrow classes start at 9:30 again, learning more Mandarin….I’m excited…..Pictures still to come.
So be it,
-Sam Mahtani
Tuesday, January 23
Cable Car
Today we had the day off, so we were able to relax or go and do whatever we wanted, which was exciting. Some of the group went to Macau, an island similar to Las Vegas, others went to Disneyland in Hong Kong, and me and some others went to a different island, where the largest Buddha is located, on top of a mountain. We got to take a cable car then went really high up in the hair to the top of the mountain.
So we took the train down to the edge of the mainland, and then hopped onto the cable car/gondola, took the cable car to the island. It was a 10-20 minute ride going up.....very high up. The visibility was also very low, and once we got up into the clouds, we could see about 5 feet around us, then just white. It was both crazy cool and somewhat scary. :) At the top, we walked around and saw the temple there and also checked out the Buddha, which was huge.
However, we couldn't see much more than the outline of it cause of the fog. After walking around for a long time, shopping, checking out the sights....drinking a cup of starbucks, and visiting about 6 bakeries with Dave (a cool guy from Brazil who I'll be rooming with in Xiamen), we then headed back to (Shah on Mun) to the wet market for dinner. At night we played some basketball, which was a lot of fun under the lights at the YMCA. By 10pm, we were ready for bed. Tomorrow we get to check out a Church in HK. Uploaded pictures to older posts as well as this one....enjoy!
so be it,
Samuel Mahtani
So we took the train down to the edge of the mainland, and then hopped onto the cable car/gondola, took the cable car to the island. It was a 10-20 minute ride going up.....very high up. The visibility was also very low, and once we got up into the clouds, we could see about 5 feet around us, then just white. It was both crazy cool and somewhat scary. :) At the top, we walked around and saw the temple there and also checked out the Buddha, which was huge.
However, we couldn't see much more than the outline of it cause of the fog. After walking around for a long time, shopping, checking out the sights....drinking a cup of starbucks, and visiting about 6 bakeries with Dave (a cool guy from Brazil who I'll be rooming with in Xiamen), we then headed back to (Shah on Mun) to the wet market for dinner. At night we played some basketball, which was a lot of fun under the lights at the YMCA. By 10pm, we were ready for bed. Tomorrow we get to check out a Church in HK. Uploaded pictures to older posts as well as this one....enjoy!
so be it,
Samuel Mahtani
Wednesday, January 25
A Day of Rest
Today was Sunday, and the group of us went to church in the city of Hong Kong, at another YMCA which hold’s services there. The service was in English and for those who spoke English, so there were a lot of “foreigner’s” there, including us. Basically the service was identical to a CRC service, or at least very similar to the Orland CRC church I’ve been to, which I found ironic. Sure there was on Greg Hartnett or Brian Bouchek, but I mean, very similar. After the service and a quick lunch, we headed back to the YMCA and relaxed for the day, spent some time at the library, and that’s about it. Overall it was a very nice relaxing day…..minus my nap. Monday meant classes, so we all went to bed early.
The sunrise brought classes from 8am to noon, which was very exciting to learn a lot about Chinese language, and start learning even more about it. By noon however, I was ready to be done for the day, and study hard for my quiz the next day. However, Aaron Stuvland and Deb Kim, two of the directors of the program had flown in for the next week, so we went out with them. We went to “The Peak”, where you are basically at the highest point on Hong Kong Island, even higher than the batman building I believe, and you basically can look down on all the buildings….makes for an awesome night shot, as you can see in the pictures. Then we had Burger King for dinner, showed the directors a bit more of Hong Kong, and headed back. Got back at midnight, and memorized 1-10 in Mandarin. Yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba, jiu shi. Don’t bother trying to pronounce it, because I guarantee you will pronounce it wrong.
We leave for Xiamen Wednesday, so basically tomorrow we will be relaxing and relaxing. I’ll update from Xiamen. This blog may be blocked in China, as well as Facebook and what not, so I may be changing to another blog, which I will try to send out somehow. If it looks like I just stopped updating, email me at Samuel.mahtani@trnty.edu and I’ll let you know the new blog site if I have to switch.
so be it,
Samuel Mahtani
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