http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Peanut-goes-to-China/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Peanut goes to China en-us Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:04:33 +0000 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:04:33 +0000 This past weekend was Duan Wu Dragon Boat Festival in China. As a national holiday we got a four day weekend off from school. For this holiday I went to Inner Mongolia as part of a CPITS China Palance International Travel Service tour. I am usually not a fan of tours but this I had a really good time over the weekend. I decided to be adventurous and join a tour to meet some new people. A ne http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Inner-Mongolia/blog-404178.html The Syracuse University Abroad program went on our last group trip together to Chengde. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hebei/Chengde/blog-404458.html What do you do when you are itching to get out of the dorm rooms Explore Beijing of courseBesides the travel seminar and some trips here and there I have not really taken the time to explore Beijing. So these past few days I went to those places where I always said someday I'll go there.... On Friday I went to Xidan and Wangfujing with my Thai friend Ake. We know each other through Chinese http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-399560.html My trip to Chengdu this long weekend was absolutely amazing. I had the opportunity to explore in the city and meet lots of new people. This trip was particularly special because I was able to meet my friend Feifei's parents in Chengdu. Feifei and I both go to Macalester College and we became good friends through being coworkers at the International Student Program office at Mac. With this specia http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Chengdu/blog-387622.html Today I got the opportunity to participate in a Vietnamese student sport competition in Beijing. It was unbelievable I definitely did not know what to expect when the day started but it was more than I ever imagined. The competition was held at the Beijing Language and Culture University BLCU. At the event there were so many Vietnamese students from all sorts of schools in Beijing. I could n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Haidian-district/blog-388892.html On this particular Sunday Suzie and I set out bright and early to Tian'nanmen Square in search of tea and cookies. We had one destination in mind and a subway card and map to help us navigate the transportation system. During the travel seminar we had visited Tian'anmen Square but my memories of the first trip was all cloudy skies and rain rain rain. From what I heard the Chinese government http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Tian-anmen/blog-385270.html On this Saturday the environmental studies class and the Chinese culture and society took a field trip to multiple places around Beijing. Though I am not taking either of these classes I decided the trip was a good opportunity to get off campus and further explore the city. We visited three locations in particular and stopped at a very nice restaurant for lunch. The first location was Lao She's http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Chaoyang-district/blog-386139.html After a long week of classes my friends and I on the Syracuse program organized a KTV outing with our fellow Chinese classmates and friends. To say that ithat t was fun is an understatment. We sang our hearts out in Chinese English and even in Japanese and Korean It was a great time to bond with our Chinese friends and make efforts to bridge the connection between American students and Chinese http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Chaoyang-district/blog-386126.html After Chinese class my friends and I decided to go on an adventure to the Summer Palace. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with very sunny and blue skies. The trip was quite a learning experience as we all had to communicate in so many different languages. It was very international group as there were people who spoke Korean Thai Filipino Tagalog English Japanese and course our common la http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Haidian-district/blog-381645.html Today was the official day of International Women's Day and I had a Chinese friend Guo Dong invite me out to dinner in the area around our university. I also asked a friend Derek from the Syracuse program to join us for dinner and it turned out to be a really fun evening We went out to eat at Korean Restaurant. The area by my school is called Wudaokou 2011636947 and is generally kno http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-381019.html Tonight I had one of the most spectacular nights in China. Life is full of surprises and today was definitely one of the most fun nights I have had in China. After class the other day I heard some guys speaking a language that was strangely familiar. The more I listened the more I was certain that it was spoken Vietnamese. Since they were both northern Vietnamese speakers I was a bit hesitant t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-379651.html So far during my time at Tsinghua University and China I have learned to celebrate the small victories that come with adapting to a new environment and culture. Before I left the States I made a personal goal to keep an open mind about anything that may come my way. While in China I keep hearing people describe those who come to the country as having an adventuous spiritthat it takes a unique http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Haidian-district/blog-377016.html Today I was determined to get everything together before the start of school on Tuesday. It has been a packed day full of chance happenings One of my friends on the program Carolyn has family in Beijing so she invited me and another friend to hang out with her uncle for the day. By far it was one of the best learning experiences I have had so far. Instead of being rushed around by tour guides http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Haidian-district/blog-375885.html The complexity in Chinese society and culture was presented through my travels to Xi'an Beijing and Shanghai. As I begin to form a better understanding of China and shed common misconceptions of its people and politics I have learned to appreciate the diverse opinions that are present. Throughout the travel seminar I have found that the greatest learning experiences are ones in which I directly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-376099.html The travel seminar ended a few days ago and now I want to share a little of what I have seen and experienced in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai.Beijing is considered the political center of China yet I believe I believe is clouted with confusion. Perhaps among the cities we visited Beijing left me confused about China's role in the world as well as Chinese culture and its people. Within Beij http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-375804.html 203202290965281I am currently on a twoweek traveling seminar which takes me from the ancient central city of Xi'an to the present day Beijing and the futuristic Shanghai. I have not had much of a chance to get on the internet since the seminar has started but will try and recap a bit of what has happened in the last six days. On Sunday February 9th we flew from Beijing to Xi'an. The pl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-373259.html Greetings65281After almost 25 hours of traveling because of a fivehour delay in the Chicaog O'hare airport I arrived safely in Beijing. The airplane ride from Chicago to Beijing was interesting as I got sit next to this very sweet Chinese woman from Beijing. Between her limited English and my three semesters worth of Chinese we managed to have a really great time talking. She was visiting he http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-370983.html 3.Feb.20092603224180245552004865281Happy New Year65281In a matter of hours I will embark on an adventure that is sure to be filled with stories upon stories. I will spend the next five months and twenty days studying abroad in Beijing China. Since Macalesterrsquos winter break was extremely long this year I have been on break for nearly 55 days but not too many complaints http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Minnesota/blog-368188.html