Diagnosis: Thermo

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Time Flies When You're Sneezing

I spent the entire week of June 2 with a bad case of the sniffles that started around the time I was in Suzhou. I noticed some stuffiness before the trip, but that's when it got really bad. I assumed it was just an allergic reaction, so I went to the drug store and bought some generic Chinese version of Claritin. It wasn't until Friday that I finally realized I was sick, but that's a story I'll leave for another blog entry.

Alumni in Shanghai

This week seemed to go by even faster than the one before. Sunday was taken up by working out, thermodynamics homework, and a gathering with some Georgia Tech alumni who happened to be in Shanghai. The alumni gathering sounded interesting, until we met the alumni and found that most of them are no longer working as engineers in industry. Instead, the guys I talked to were practically retired living off of money they invested in the stock market. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to meet people who are "living the dream," but I was hoping to make some connections with folks that can help me in my career.

Monday consisted of class and a presentation by Ryan Sweeney, one of the alumni from Sunday night's gathering. Mr. Sweeney graduated with a management degree from Tech in 1995 and now he's running a successful business in Chengdu, a city located in the Sichuan province of China. His company helps foreigners establish businesses in China. He talked to us about adjusting to life in China, running a business here, and about the earthquake that recently hit Sichuan province. Mr. Sweeney seemed like a really cool guy, and everyone loved his presentation.

No Dog, Though

Dinner on Monday was interesting as well. I went with Nikhail and some other students to a Korean barbecue, where you order raw meat and cook it yourself. Here are some pictures:



The image on the left is a close up of the raw meat we ordered. On the right you can see some tiny slices of beef tongue cooking. Yum!

Wikipedia, What Did I Make On Tuesday?

Tuesday I attended another exciting cooking class. This time we learned how to make zongzi, a traditional Chinese food made of rice stuffed with different kinds of filling, wrapped in bamboo leaves, then boiled. I believe I mentioned eating this dish at a restaurant for breakfast a couple of weeks ago. The stuffing technique was much harder to master than it seemed, as most of us were unable to get the right shape. Our cooking teacher laughed and told us that when she boiled ours they would probably explode in the pot. Since the cooking process was going to take awhile we left early and spent the rest of the night on thermodynamics homework. Fun!

Cliffhanger (Pun Intended)

Wednesday was spent mostly on class and planning for the weekend trip. Nikhail and I were going to try to see the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges Dam, but unfortunately the logistics just didn't work out. Flights to and from the cities of Chongqing and Yichan were not available at the right times, so we would have missed all of our classes on Monday to make it work. Instead of dealing with that hassle, we agreed to join a group that was planning a trip to the Yellow Mountains. That trip, and the crazy night leading up to it, will be detailed in my next entry.

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