Illness What is Montezuma’s revenge called in China? I got it! It’s terrible. Cramps began at 7 PM Wednesday then I woke from a sound sleep and ran to the bathroom, over and over. At noon I woke with a fever so I took the antibiotics the travel nurse gave me. Shortly after that I finally got some relief. I was afraid of dehydration, so I’ve been drinking a lot of water. Several hours later I ate a small bowl of rice. The irony is that on Friday morning I was scheduled for a sonogram of my gall bladder and I was to fast before hand. Wednesday I ate lunch and I think the bad food was the watermelon I had for dessert. That’s the first, uncooked fruit that I didn’t bring home and wash. I ... read more

I’m illiterate and can’t talk to anyone! When I look out the window, or walk across campus to get the bus for the suburban campus where my classes are held, I’m amazed at how different this life is. I was very tired the last few days; I think I’m crashing from having to be “on” all the time. I’m totally illiterate; I can’t talk to most people. I can’t even count to 10! There are some big drawbacks to not speaking the language. I’m supposed to start lessons soon. Since it’s a 40 minute bus ride, today I decided to at least learn the numbers, then some other phrases on my own. I must sound funny to the Chinese. “1,2,3,4,5,6,6,6,7,8,8,8,9,9,9,10,10,10” and then repeat! It sounds like “eee, er, san, sir, woo, liu,liu,liu, etc.” I have a ... read more

August 29, 2006, Nanjing, Nan Shan Hotel First Impressions This is a long entry. I want to record all these first impressions. It’s time to catch up the blog. I flew with my good friend, Linell, from Chicago to Shanghai (Pudong airport), spent the night in a hotel there, caught the bus to Nanjing, and negotiated a car to get to the campus of Nanjing Normal University. We were met by Wu Yidong from the foreign affairs office, who took me to my apartment. But the apartment’s not ready yet—broken plumbing—so I’m staying in the Nan Shan Hotel on the campus. The flight was amazing. Huge jet, as expected; mainly Chinese passengers. The movie screens were on the back of the chairs in front of us and we had a lot of choices. I watched “RV”, ... read more

Tomorrow, August 25, I get on the plane to Pudong. This flight is exciting. We leave Chicago, fly over the north pole and land in Pudong, the new city outside of Shanghai. I'll meet my friend, Linell, at check-in and we'll fly together. Getting ready has been a long series of decisions. Because I'm leaving my house for two, 21-year olds, I had a lot of sentimental stuff to remove. The big question became, "How would I feel if this got broken?" So, I boxed up a lot of breakables and put them in the storage room at the back of the house. In the meantime I was packing my suitcases. I ended up putting way too much stuff in the suitcases and then I had to pay extra at the airport to come to Chicago. ... read more

Well, today is my birthday and I'm shifting gears from Guatemala to China. I have 3 weeks until I leave. Willy Yang on Travelblog’s Asia Forum, enters great information from a guidebook about China. He has an entry about the Chinese horoscope. I was born in the year of the horse. “Horse People born in the Year of the Horse are popular. They are cheerful, skillful with money, and perceptive, although they sometimes talk too much. They are wise, talented, good with their hands, and sometimes have a weakness for members of the opposite sex. They are impatient and hot-blooded about everything except their daily work. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are very independent and rarely listen to advice. They are most compatible with Tigers, Dogs, and Sheep.” For those of you who know ... read more