Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M IN CHINA!! by Julianna Gustis-Napoli

     Wow! I still can’t believe I am China! The past week has been amazing and a once in a life time experience. I went to Beijing, China and got to walk the Great Wall. I was able to visit the 2009 Olympic stadium. I was amazed, also, by the air quality in Beijing because I didn't expect that the smog would be as bad as it was.   My allergies were really acting up the whole time I was in Beijing. But other than the smog, I really enjoyed this city because it was very beautiful and tourist friendly with directions written in English making it very easy to get around.
     After spending three days in Beijing, we landed in Chongqing where the CTBU, the university we are visiting, is located. I was a little bit nervous about coming here because I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think I would be able to do anything.  I felt felt very  overwhelmed the first day because there was so much going on at once. Everyone at the CTBU School was so excited to see us and was very helpful.  My partner was really excited to meet me and so was I to meet her. It was so exciting to meet her and to start off a great friendship. I was really excited to meet up with my friend Fred who had visited Widener last fall semester and had been in some of my Widener classes. It was a great feeling to meet up with him in his country.
     The only thing that was shocking to me while in Chongqing was how little English I heard.  I felt it was going to  be a long two weeks of difficulty communication. I feared that I wasn’t going to be able to get around because I didn’t know much Mandarin and that worried me. After a few days and being able to relax, we met up with people from England and they showed us a lot. It was a great help because they have been here since February. It is so interesting to be around so many people from different countries and cultures at this school and I feel this experience will make me more knowledgeable about other cultures. I am really enjoying myself during this stay in China.
       After being at CTBU for almost a week, I now feel that most of us know our way around. Tyler and I took the train together this afternoon and we made it to the mall near school. It was a great accomplishment for us because we didn’t think that we would be able to get there by ourselves. It has been beautiful in Chongqing and I am enjoying myself and really learning how to use public transportation. This trip so far has been a great time and our group has never been so close. With all the classes we are taking and the exploring we are doing, it has built us together as a family.

My partner and me

The Group in the Bird's Next

Fred and me


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