Blogs from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China, Asia

The day has arrived. After traveling by two planes, one shuttle bus, one train, and one taxi (a total 22-hour journey); after wandering around the Jiangsu University campus (area of 2,030,000 square meters) aimlessly with my luggage in tow; after being denied living accommodations and then being deposited into a room with a roommate who didn't know she was about to have to endure a messy, inexperienced, immature Canadian; after attempting (but failing) to communicate with the locals who strictly speak solely Chinese, with my limited knowledge of how to say hello, goodbye, thank you, and count to 10; after struggling to pass my days without Google, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube...(the list goes on and on), using Baidu (the Chinese version of Google which lacks English translations), and eventually realizing that Yahoo works just fine; after comprehending ... read more

17November 2009 I landed in Shanghai Pudong International airport, my Indian friends studying in Jiangsu received me and gave me two choices, go to the city either by Maglev or airport bus. I chose Maglev as I have never travelled in anything that’s faster than 140km/hour. Maglev station was in the airport complex with a sign board showing “33km in 8mins”, we bought the tickets 80RMB per person for single journey( airport bus was just 22RMB) and entered the train which was guarded by two tall Chinese officers. It was not quite a journey as the train reached the destination in just 8mins with a top speed of 484km/hr passing through the suburbs of shanghai filled with flyovers and broad roads. Longyang station was the final point for the maglev from where we had to take ... read more

Our second week with our families in Zhenjiang seems to have flown past! Naturally, I am quite behind on posting this (again!), but for a very good reason, I think: We’ve been incredibly busy!!! Just as during our first week here, each of the parents took a day to share their city and those nearby with us while our sisters attended their school. On Monday morning Stephanie’s father picked the four of us up around 8:00, announcing that today we would explore Nanjing! We were very excited! It was just less than an hour-long drive to the city and many people from Zhenjiang (including Stephanie and Megan’s dads) work there, living in small Nanjing apartments during the week and returning to their homes in Zhenjiang on weekends. Yet although our first stop was within the boundaries ... read more

All of the Chinese delegates and our parents met at the Lao Ching Hing Restaurant in Phoenix (which has a chef from Zhenjiang!) to discuss our travel plans and try authentic Chinese food the Saturday before we left. It was nice to hear what others were packing and to share ideas on how we could communicate with our parents while we were away! We all shared tea and food on a lazy susan, and it was so nice to see that there were lots of vegetarian options!!! Stephanie's mother also made each of us a pillowcase with beautiful Chineses patterns so we could dream of Chinese adventures before we left!... read more

This was our first meeting at the Showers' home to prepare for our journey!... read more