May 2nd

Wow, what a day

After our tour with our Chinese student tour guides, we were pretty worn out so we (Shawn and I) went to bed at around 630, woke up when our classmates got back from their visits, then went to bed for good at around 830.

Prof Ewest was talking about doing Tai Chi every morning at 6, and I just figured I'd never be awake for it, but after 9 hours of sleep, Tim and I went down to the college (about a 2 minute jog) and tried to follow along. A student named Wade (English Name) came up and spoke to us about joining them every day. Tai Chi is very slow deliberate movements, and I stretched muscles I didn't know existed. After about 20 minutes of Tai Chi, Tim and I ran 2 miles around an adjacent track. As we were running I got to looking at the soccer field, I ran on it and got to looking, it was field turf, the same that is on our football field at Wartburg.

After the run, I did laundry for the first time. Tim gave me a little pointer. You just go into the shower with all your clothes on, soap em up, rinse them off, then ring them out and hang them in your window to dry. That was an experience. After breakfast we met up with Anthony who took us to our Chinese Language class. Chinese is very dificult to understand, and now I understand why. There are so many consonant and vowel sounds and then each vowel sound has 4 variations depending on the tone mark ˆ´ etc. We ate lunch and listened to some Chinese music we had 2 hours of free time.

ShingShing, Angie, Jarrett, Shawn, and I decided to go back to the college and play basketball. When we got there the gate was locked, so we climbed the 12 foot high fence because we saw other Chinese students doing it. We played amongst ourselves and then decided we wanted to play a game of 5 on 5. We communicated, kindof, with some students and played a game to 11. They were very quick with the ball and had quick hands, but couldnt shoot very well. Jarrett amazed them with some of his skills and we won by 3 or so. We rushed back to the hotel so we could make it to our 130 massage appointment. The massage lasted for about an hour and it felt amazing. We then went to the largest bookstore in Hangzhou, which was ok, but I couldnt read any of the books, so I didnt buy anything. It was the first day it has been anything but 80 and sunny here, it cooled down and started raining. We then went to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant which was amazing. We returned to the hotel about 6 and prepared to go check out the Hangzhou nightlife. We took 2 taxis down to West Lake and went to a bar that was similar to the Fainting Goat and then we went next door to a dance club, where no one was dancing. We went to the DJ and asked for American music. He played Ms. New Booty and we started dancing and then about 30 more people got up and started dancing. We then were invited to the VIP which was really cool. Overall, it was a very busy and fun day, it is now 640 am on Sunday, I'm sure we have another busy day planned for today

Ciao

Erik

April 30, May 1

Ni how!

Yesterday we left our hotel at 830am to head to the North Campus of the Hangzhou International School of Technology. We met with the Dean of the College Mr. Yao. He prepared a speech to welcome us to the school. We then met with students from the school who were interested in talking to us about school in America. We then ate lunch with Mr. Yao and our guide Anthony. We then met the students who would be our home stay students for today. Shawn and I were paired up with Kelly, Siny, and Jenny. Siny is from Hangzhou and Kelly and Jenny are from a town near Hangzhou. After Lunch we went to a wetland area where we went on a walking tour of the wetlands (similar to the Everglades, with less Alligators). Angie, Jarrett, and I walked up a very tall tower (six stories or so) that overlooked the whole city. There were many stores and trinkets shops where some of us bought silk ties and other silk products.

We then returned to the hotel for supper, when I started to not feel well. I got sick for about 3 hours, and went to bed not feeling well.

Prof Ewest came and checked on me this morning at around 8 am. I was feeling much better, and we decided it might have been due to dehydration. Shawn, Mike and I walked into the campus's version of The Den at Wartburg (except no made to order food), to buy some water and other supplies. We ran into Jenny and Kelly who were on their way to meet us at the Hotel. After Siny met us here, we went to a Dumpling Restaurant that has been open since 1890. For the first time since we have been here, I ate food that I had seen before. The previous days we had good food, but it was so obscure I never felt confident in what I was eating. Today we had Dumplings, which were amazing, and something that was very similar to an egg roll, except shaped like a hashbrown. One thing I have noticed, is that in China, for the most part, beverages are served warm-to-hot. At breakfast Milk is served very hot, soda is served warm, and coffee is served cold. At the restaurant today, we ordered water, which was served at near boiling temperature. Siny then ordered us bottled water. After the dumpling restaurant, we went to the former residence of Hu Xue Yan. Hu Xue Yan was a Banker, Businessman, and Hospital builder. He became so wealthy, he became a celebrity. His house was 62,592 square feet. It boasts the first telephone in China, which was like an intercom system so he could communicate with his mistresses who lived at his house so his wife couldn't find out. After our tour of the home, we went to McDonalds. We had heard rumors of how different their McDonalds are then ours, so we decided to check it out. Shawn and I ordered the #1, a Big Mac. The fries were less salted, and the patties were smaller, but other than that, you couldn't tell the difference between an american Big Mac and a Chinese Big Mac. The environment was very different though. The McDonalds was 3 stories tall with seating on every level. The place was so crowded that it took us 15 minutes to find a seat. After McDonalds, we went shopping. We went to a 7 story mall, where we found many stores had American products, but were priced higher than in America. Also, I found a pair of fake Nike Air Force ones for 650 RNB ($95).

After the Mall, we left via taxi to come back to our hotel. We thanked our new Chinese friends and went our separate ways. After we arrived back here, Shawn and I went on a walk around our hotel. We then ran into Prof Ewest and walked down an alley where they were serving food. I ordered some noodles (lo mein) and paid 2RNB ($0.28) for a sizable portion. Shawn ordered some Chicken (similar to rotisery chicken) and I also bough some pineapple on a stick. Ewest got some candy. Tonight we might go to a night club, or I might just go to bed. I have been very tired today after being up sick last night. I am going to put up pictures onto Facebook soon.

Cheers

Erik

Travel day, first night in China

Date and Time

3:30 pm Wednesday April 29^th in Shanghai (2:30 AM Central Time)

Wow, what a day.

Last Night (Monday night) Shawn and I stayed with my Aunt in Cedar Rapids. We decided to stay awake all night with the goal of sleeping as much as possible on the airplane. We played Wii for 8 hours, and finally, at 3 am, we fell asleep for an hour. We met the rest of the group at the Eastern Iowa Airport at 5am on Tuesday morning to depart for our 630 flight. Everything went smoothly out of Cedar Rapids and we were in Chicago 45 minutes later. O’Hare is always an adventure, and with over two hours to kill, we had plenty of time do explore.

At our gate, we ran into a very friendly man from Los Angeles California named Harry Reninger who works for a company called EFX Performance. He demonstrated his product that increases Balance Strength and Flexibility. He was heading to Shanghai fo the Asian X-Games to promote the brand and try to get some professional athletes to endorse their product.

At around 10 AM Central Time, we boarded the plane bound for Shanghai. Despite my best effort, and with the aid of a double dose of Tylenol PM, I could not fall asleep. I slept for a total of 45 minutes on the whole flight. Jarrett, on the other hand, slept for almost 9 hours of our 13.5 hour flight. The list of movies that were available was pretty impressive, and helped pass the time. I watched Pual Blart Mall Cop, He’s Just not That Into You, Bolt, The episode of the Office when Michael, Jim, and Karen interview for Jan’s job, and the episode where they record a commercial for Dunder Mifflin (twice each), and an episode of the Big Bang Theory. Our plane was a Boeing 777 and was relatively full, in Chicago, the American Airlines supervisor said there would be 42 open seats in coach, but the back section, where we sat, was full.

The last two hours were especially tough because all of the movies had been watched, and you can only sit on a plane for so long. We arrived in Shanghai at around 1:45. Overall, we had a very smooth day of travel. We were met at the Airport by Anthony (our guide) and ShingShing, who came to China early to visit family. Currently we are all on the bus to Hangzhou, approximately 3 hours from Shanghai. I think I am the only one other than Prof. Ewest and Anthony awake. The weather here was beautiful when we landed 72, sunny, and not humid. As we left the airport I am very much reminded of Miami. Leaving the airport there is a lot of water from the ocean and mall streams that flow to the river, there are treees on the side of the road that remind me of mMiami also. Tonight we are going to eat supper and then get a tour of the campus. I am very anxious to get to the hotel. It has been a long day and I am in dire need of a shower.

Tonight we are eating as a group and then a tour of the campus

Erik

Preparing to leave

Hi!

My name is Erik Lutz, I am a third-year business major at Wartburg College and I am preparing to leave for China for our May-Term class. I will be updating all of you with what we are doing in China for Interdisciplinary 304: China In Transition.

So, I am sitting on the computer watching baseball instead of packing. My suitcase lies on the floor virtually empty. I have packed a pair of dress shoes, dress pants, dress shirt, and 3 pairs of shorts. I don't even know where to start. I misplaced my sheet that had a recommended packing guide. I found one on the internet, but I typically pack very heavy.

I am doing research in China about the rise in popularity of basketball in China. I thought with the Olympics and Yao Ming, this would be a a very successful topic. I plan on interviewing students about sports they enjoy and hopefully Shawn (Lee) and Jarrett (Williams) and I can get some pick up basketball games going.

Tomorrow night, Shawn, Jarrett, and I are heading to my Aunts house in Cedar Rapids to break up our traveling on Tuesday. We fly from Cedar Rapids to O'hare Airport in Chicago to Shanghai (fifteen hours!!!).

For now, I am going to attempt to pack.

China Bound,

Erik