Conclusion

Well, as is obvious from the date of this post compared to the date of the one before it, I finished with the program and came home a good bit ago, but I wanted to type up some concluding thoughts and also upload some of the pictures I had so much trouble uploading while in China.
I'm very satisfied with the way I spent my summer. I honestly wouldn't say it was the most relaxing summer I've ever had, between hours of class starting at 8am every weekday and pages and pages of vocab, characters, and grammar, but even so, it was time well-spent, and I was extremely fortunate to be given the opportunity to do this at essentially no cost to myself.
Studying in China has really made me want to understand the underlying history and culture of the place more than ever, and I'm really hoping to take some classes along those lines back at Yale. China is just so vastly complicated and so very relevant to the current world stage that I practically feel obligated to try to get a better sense of the bigger picture underlying the sampling I got while on the program.
I can't say I was always wonderfully happy with the program (even putting aside the roommate and incessantly leaky bathroom ceiling), but I really don't have major complaints. It was very difficult for me, but the fact is that I made it through, and I have a lot to show for that difficulty. No matter how far my formal study of Manadrin continues, I feel that I have a basic knowledge of the vocabulary, characters, and grammar and (more importantly) a basic overall sense of the language and speaking confidence that will allow me to pursue the language efficiently and effectively if Mandarin ever becomes directly pertinent to my future life/career. I don't think there's any way I could have acquired all that anywhere but within China itself, especially in such a short time.

So, here are some pictures from along the way:

This is from when we had an assignment to go haggling at one of the nearby markets. That's a fellow Yalie, Luci. Remember, if a Chinese person gives you a price, cut it down to a fifth or so.

This was really neat: When my dad showed me pictures from the trip to China he and my mom went on back in the 70's, I remembered seeing this exact building (built to look like a steamboat) in his slides, at the Summer Palace.

Terra cotta warriors in Xi'an!

Pondering later that day...


This is a clip from one of the acts at the show we saw in Xi'an on my birthday (when I got that surprise song and cake I mentioned earlier in the blog).

Chinglish: One of the simple joys of life in China. If you can read the quote at the bottom of this copy of "Shrek", you might get the sense that the translator either didn't quite say what he meant to or didn't quite get what the author of the quote was saying.

Pizza Hut is really classy dining in China, and it serves desserts like this one and even escargot.

This was at the nearby Gorge we visited one Saturday. It was gorgeous (we toured it by boat), and we went up to it from where we parked using the reportedly longest series of escalators in the world inside this absurd but photoworthy dragon:


This is how we came back down from where the escalators took us.

This is from my visit to my language partner's home. I really enjoyed my visit there, not least of all because of their dog and her mother's wonderful fried chicken.

From left: me, my language partner (Wu Xiao Ying), her mom, and her dad.

The Temple of Heaven!

The Olympics are coming to Beijing!

The sendoff dinner after classes ended featured a variety of talent displays. This was one of the less talented but most entertaining ones.

I finally got home August 13th after there was one last travel frustration that delayed me for exactly 24 hours: It turned out that my ticket for the Beijing-Shanghai leg of my return trip got ripped out of my ticket book somewhere (probably during my Manila-Beijing checkin two months earlier), and the airline wouldn't give me a replacement ticket despite the fact that they said my name was indeed on the passenger list. Anyway, I eventually made it on to a flight that might have put me in to Shanghai in time to transfer to the Shanghai-Chicago flight, but then that flight from Beijing was delayed two hours, obliterating any chance of making that flight out of Shanghai. After I finally landed in Shanghai, I found out that absolutely no other flights would be leaving Shanghai for anywhere in America the rest of the day, so I found a hotel for the night and killed time until I got on the identical flight the next day. My larger bag didn't make it on to the Chicago-Dallas flight with me, but by then, at least I was home!

So yes, a summer well-spent. Peace!

Less than 2 weeks?!

It is pretty shocking that this whole adventure is so close to concluding. On top of that, this week has been going by pretty quickly itself! I'll be home (probably eating a burrito) in 2 weeks...

But until then, my days continue to be very full! Classes are still pretty demanding but are as a whole getting easier and easier as I'm more and more accustomed to the idea of learning 30+ words with 40+ characters in one night. In other news, although the program is drawing to a close, I finally have a new roommate. I haven't said anything about that whole issue on this blog before, but I've had major trouble with my roommate this entire trip--actually my only complaint this whole time. He was inconsiderate, arrogant, and severely passive aggressive in everything. Almost every time anyone found out who my roommate was, they would literally say "Oh... I'm sorry". Anyway, I've been trying to roll with it for the past six weeks, but we finally had a major direct confrontation Sunday night, and after that there was no question what needed to be done, so I have a new roommate who's so far been totally great and I think will make these last few days all the more pleasant!

Today I had a fantastic talk with my language partner: Today's lesson discussed lingual differences between China and Taiwan, so we started off talking about that and eventually went on to the much juicier topic of China-Taiwan politics. It was really a thrill how much we were able to discuss with very few English words thrown in there! She talked about differing opinions in Taiwan between old and young people, and I was able to point out that whether China recognizes Taiwan as independent, it's independent de facto. I was able to express why I thought a one-party unelected government was bad and I was able to understand the advantages she pointed out in reply. The conversation went on for about an hour beyond the official meeting time, and it was genuinely intellectually stimulating as if I'd had the conversation in English! It was fascinating to hear her take on everything, and I've got to say she defended the communist party pretty well, which is precisely why I need to keep improving my Chinese :-D

Otherwise, life continues pretty normally (aside from some pretty intense lightning storms we've had the last couple of nights), and it's starting to hit me that though this program's almost over, I'll be back at Yale starting the new year in less than a month! Life is crazy.

努力学习，
Jon (高俊!)

Media!

So, by some unexpected miracle, I was able to upload a few video clips from when we scaled the Great Wall several weeks ago!

I filmed this first clip at the highest point we got to on the wall (which unconfirmed reports say might be the highest point the wall ever reaches). The wall was just as high up as it looks, snaking along a huge narrow ridge.



I took this video on the descent. The climb is just as steep as it looks. It was incredible, and by then it was probably only 7am or so. (Pardon my tongxuemen (classmates)--I think some language is audible.)



In other news, this week's not going too shabbily! Last night I and the other DSIC Yalies ate at a great duck restaurant with JE's Dean Kyle Farley and two instructors I hadn't met before, Peisong Xu and Paize Keulemans. We were at two tables and each had a whole duck! (Apologies to any vegetarians who might be reading this blog.) I really like the way we eat duck, wrapped up in a tortilla-type thing with a dark sauce and cucumbers--simple, dependable, and delicious! The meal lasted about 3 hours, but fortunately the night's lesson was quite short and today's classes went well.

Well, I mainly was just really excited that I was finally able to upload some video, so I'm going to go do my homework and post again sometime soon!

Peace,
Jon

Revised

Alright, so photos still won't be happening during this post, but there is good news! I spent this week sort of working out new study habits and the way I approach the material, and this week, the first week of the second "semester", was by-the-numbers my best week of the program so far! So, I'm happy about that and hope it continues. Studying has been a somewhat tricky balance between characters and actual words. Chinese is kind of weird compared to languages which have phonetic alphabets (like Latin) in that I sometimes find that when I'm translating on a test, I can write the correct answer even though I don't know how to say the Chinese word at all because I still remember the character associated with the English word. But... that's obviously not ideal, so I'm trying to rework my study habits to prevent that as well.
Last week was also my best week thus far in terms of actually getting sleep, which should in theory only feed positively back into everything else, and hopefully that trend will continue. It's a little strange though, because from time to time spoken Chinese will be crystal clear when I'm exhausted... maybe it's because I don't have the energy to overthink it? Anyone have a theory on this? Of course, exhaustion generally works the other way...
We've been doing weekend trips to various nearby landmarks like the Great Wall and the summer palace, but I want to be sure I do some more exploration of Beijing itself. I think it might be cool to buy a bike (which can be done pretty cheaply) and take a day to go around the city with a couple people and just see what we find, so we'll see, and if it happens, hopefully I'll someday post some pictures from it on here!
I miss Mexican food like it's a member of my family. I don't understand why there's no Mexican food ANYWHERE. Actually, I've heard there is in fact some around here but that it's not much to speak of in terms of quality. If I could import the burrito cart at Yale or one Chipotle, my life would be perfect.
I'll be here almost exactly three more weeks. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that... I'm having a great time here and am thrilled to know I'm making real progress in this language (which I didn't know one word of less than a year ago!), but it'll be good to spend a week or two back home with my family before getting back to the gleeful madness of life at Yale.
I'll keep trying to get chances to upload photos/video, but at very least I'll upload lots of relevant photos and videos after the fact. And believe me, I have a lot to choose from!
I'll be posting again very soon,
Jon

Text Only

So... I have spent the last number of weeks intending to finally make a fantastic post with great photos, video, etc., when I finally got decent internet. Well, that didn't happen so much... every time the internet briefly improved on campus it quickly resumed a snail's pace, and the Starbucks that my friend claimed had a glorious internet connection failed me as well. Thus, instead of waiting to make a post with both pictures and text as officially required, I will start just trying to post text frequently and do pictures when I can. Of course, by now I've kind of not posted weekly, so I'm not sure if this blog can even count for the requirement anymore... let me know, please, Kelly!

Anyway, so so much has happened since my last post. We've visited the Great Wall, palaces, Xi'an (terra cotta soldiers!) and more... but those are the things I wanted to post photos and video of. The Great Wall was just amazing: one afternoon we drove out to a hotel within sight of where the wall goes along a very steep mountain ridge, and then we rose from sleep at 2am to start climbing. It took us maybe 20 minutes to get to the wall, and then we just climbed and climbed for a couple of hours while the sky slowly lit up. It was really an amazing experience I can't do justice and was hoping to do slightly more justice than I currently am by uploading some of the video I took, so hopefully I'll get a chance at some point. In fact, everything else we've seen, while interesting and impressive, just doesn't quite compare to that particular experience. Before I left, however, my dad showed me a number of photos from my parents' trip to China in the late 70's just when it started opening up to tourism, and it has been cool to recognize some of the landmarks they photographed 30 years ago.

As for academics, Chinese still isn't really my gift... I've been struggling from day to day with varied results. I must say though, at the very least, my Chinese is seriously taking visible strides: it's really thrilling to be able to hold up even a brief uninteresting conversation with one of the students or teachers. I wish I could pinpoint why I'm having such a tough time... and I'm wishing I'd taken a spoken language in high school (Latin was interesting but...). It's almost like my mind just doesn't have a place designated for learning new language and I'm having to forcibly chisel out mental space for all this new material. Of course, it was a similar experience studying at Yale, but I just devoted way more time to Chinese than to any other of my four classes. But here, I have Chinese all the time, but four times as much of it. So it's taking a toll. The good news is that I think it's getting easier as I go along.

So the last couple of weeks varied... the second week was still somewhat overwhelming... the third week ran pretty smoothly with work getting done early, sleep being had, etc., but then the fourth week had some pretty long lessons so it wasn't so smooth. And that concludes the first "semester" of this "year" of Chinese study! :-) I haven't actually seen my grade... I'm guessing not the greatest but not abysmal. I just hope it doesn't come off as if I'm no incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to be here...

On one more quick note before I call it a night, while we were in Xi'an over the "midyear break" this last weekend, the entire group went to a Chinese music/dance show with dinner provided Saturday night. Before the show started, near the end of the meal, the band started playing what I finally realized was the "Happy Birthday" song, and the servers brought out two cakes for me and a girl whose birthday was the next day (mine was Saturday). What a great surprise!! (and the cake wasn't half-bad either)

So, onward to the second month! (with many more posts and--hopefully--more photos and other media!)

Really hoping this post actually makes it through...,
Jon

One week in

So I'm finally making my first post from actually inside China. A number of barriers have stood in the way of this post, including the overwhelming first week of classes, an inability to directly access blogger.com, and a slow on-campus internet connection. Fortunately, I made it through the first week without dying, am currently using the Yale proxy server, and am now in an internet cafe/restaurant where I and a few other DSIC students have been camping for quite a few hours doing things that benefit from a far superior internet connection, including transferring actual photos:


So the first week was crazy, sometimes very unpleasantly so, but I think now that I sort of know what's going on and how much time the academics are going to take, this next week will be much easier to manage. I never claimed to be the greatest Mandarin student around, but I'm definitely going to be a dramatically better one by the time I leave mid-August. I just need to stop thinking about each word individually as I hear it and start hearing the language. The oral component just isn't an area of giftedness for me, but what better place to force myself to get better at it than right here in Beijing?

It's hard to summarize the past week in the limited time I have right here... Beijing is a fascinating city... It's both stunning and repulsive at the same time. Parts look like Times Square, and it's not uncommon to have literally 10 or more full-size construction cranes in sight at once. But you only have to look at something about 10 meters away to realize you're walking in an endless cloud of smog, and sometimes at night the skyline fades out behind the smog long before it can disappear below the horizon.


It's very nice to have air conditioning (a luxury not enjoyed by the local students at the university), but the plumbing has been somewhat undependable and the internet connection is a major blow to someone like me who needs to be well-wired for a number of reasons this summer. DSIC is obviously by far my major time commitment for the summer, but I also need the web for some other Yale-related obligations this summer. I think we'll be visiting this newfound wireless restaurant on a weekly basis.

In other news, I and a few other Yalies went and saw the Whiffenpoofs perform at a very nice hotel last night. It was a fantastic way to spend the evening, topped off by an invitation to join the group as they performed at a private party for some number of ambassadors to China from various countries. It's amazing to see how many Yalies are in Beijing for one reason or another, for study, work, play, whatever.

That only reinforces the sense I sometimes have that I'm not even out of the states. All I have to do is look for billboards in characters to confirm I'm still across the Pacific, but many parts of the scenery are right out of my neighborhood in Dallas. I even shop at Wumart, which is a great convenience with it's every day low prices:


Speaking of prices, I don't mind getting a full meal for about $1 USD.


The food hasn't caused me trouble yet, and I'm hoping to keep it that way, fingers crossed.

I was going to post some video on youtube and link it to the blog, but I guess that will have to wait for a later post. We may yet find a way to improve the internet situation on campus, but until then video and photo transfers are pretty impractical.

Juggling,
jon

Leaving Manila Behind...

Well, tomorrow it begins! Duke Study in China, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China!
But for me the adventure had kind of already begun. On June 7 I left for Tokyo then took a connecting flight to Manila, where I arrived late June 8. Since then I have been seeing the city and parts of the country and just generally having a really relaxing time. My friend Joker (also BK '10) has been hosting me, and she and her family are just absurdly kind and generous.

A couple days ago we drove out to a see a volcano and, after crossing the water out to the mountain in a bangka (traditional Filipino outrigger canoe) rode little ponies up to the crater lake. It was genuinely gorgeous (if smelling strongly of sulfur):

I hiked along a path extension to get a look at other parts of the crater and some of the spots where smoke was rising from the earth:
And if you look very closely at this picture, you might be able to see the main lookout near the top left:

I took this photo from atop my trusty steed Patricia on the descent. If you can make out any white specks along the path, those are other riders. (Sorry about that fuzzy black circle near the upper left corner... I think there is a speck of dust under my lens and I expect this to be a recurring nuisance throughout this blog.)

Finally the ponies got some rest (the dude on the right in the red shorts with the blue stripe was my guide, James. He's next to Patricia):

Later in the day, I went to the barn and rode around the arena Joker trains/teaches at (she's an internationally competitive rider, which I am not):
and then briefly chilled with this guy:
His name is Mozzie, Joker's spoiled horsey. He gets his joints hand-stretched, his nostrils cleaned, and his hooves moisturized. But hey, he's talented.

Next day I visited some of the landmarks in Old Manila while Joker was at the barn. The first stop was Rizal Park.
As I was wandering around, a few smiling Filipinos waved to me and and asked me where I was from. I suppose I stand out as the foreigner from 5 miles away. I wonder what China will be like in that aspect.

After the park, I took a little buggy around another part of the city surrounding Fort Santiago.


The lovely Manila Cathedral, the sixth version to rise on the site:
The memorial to the victims of the liberation of Manila, February 3-March 3, 1945:
One of a number of sites the Japanese used as prison cells during the occupation:

And inside the fort grounds:

Today, my last day here, we rode canoes up a river a few hours away.

The way our guides took us up was seriously hardcore. When we got to the bottom of a rapid, they would push off the surrounding rocks and often actually get out of the canoe and run alongside it on the rocks, barefoot. Metal pipes had been placed across the rapids at a number of points, where the guides would pull the canoes completely out of the water over the pipes.

Our final stop before heading back downriver was a big waterfall. We went out to it on those platforms you can see behind me. I thought we would go into the cave behind the waterfall through the opening to the right there. Instead we went directly underneath :-)

My only regret is that we didn't get a picture of the monkey we saw.

So that's the last few days in brief using just a few of the pictures I have. This week has been amazingly relaxing. Tonight the week was topped off by a full body massage when Joker's family's masseuses visited the house. Not bad! I wouldn't mind sticking around and am not sure I'm quite ready to cram a year of study into two months, but I'm excited nonetheless. My first week ever in Asia hasn't been too shabby and I have high hopes for the next eight weeks. I'll keep posting here with hopefully a little more text to accompany the pictures.

Oh, and the reason my profile is what it is is that I also contribute to a blog for my a cappella group...

~jon