CULTURE SHOCK!!! by Carly Wray

Culture shock! That is what I experienced first hand when I arrived in China.  Everything is very different than in America.  However, Beijing  was an experience like no other.  While we were there, we climbed the Great Wall. We took a ski lift up to the Great Wall which gave us an incredibly beautiful view.  After walking along the Wall for several miles, we took a tobaggan down the mountain and I watched a bunch of Europeans crash into each other. We also visited the Forbidden City, which was outrageously beautiful.  I have seen it in a few movies and never even thought about the possibility of my being there.  

     Olympic stadium was something I had really wanted to see, but I unfortunately I missed it due to having to pay a visit to a local hospital. I also never thought I would go to a Chinese hospital, but I had a panic attack at the restaurant we were at because I felt as though I were having trouble breathing. That is most expected in China, given the general poor air quality.  I wanted to join the rest of the group so badly for dinner, but I was not feeling up to it.  Nevertheless, I loved Beijing!!!!

      On Sunday morning, I was feeling much better and we left Beijing for Chongqing.  The flight was nice and arriving in the airport was so welcoming.  Everyone from the CTBU exchange program was waiting for us to escort us to the university. The campus is beautiful and I noticed many differences between Beijing and Chongqing right away.  Beijing is very westernized, much more so than Chongqing. 

    We have met our partners and Chinese friends who have been more than accommodating. At this point in the trip, I feel that I have become much closer to the members of our exchange group I had been during our class. There are other sides of people you don't learn about until you go across the world with them. So far, each morning, we have been eating at the cafe for breakfast and finding lunch and dinner in Nanping, which is a beautiful local shopping area. We ate sushi, which was amazing and found a nice place that serves local Chongqing cuisine . I think duck is my new favorite food. They served duck at the opening ceremony dinner, which was also really good.  Last night and today were really fun with many activities organized by the CTBU students.  They are the nicest people I have ever met and I would love to call them my friends.  My team won the indoor games.  The event was a good opportunity to bond with the students from CTBU.