May 30th: Last full Day in Dalian!

Waking up today came with a lot of mixed feelings. While I was happy to go back to American, I knew I would miss all the friends I had made in China.

The morning started off with a bank run as I repaid the debts I had made during dinner and karaoke. With some extra money now, I went to the convenience store and bought all the cute pens and pencils I had wanted to get earlier on the trip. While we didn't have class today, we did have some group activities. The first was dumpling making, which sounded like fun until we realized dumpling making is hard. XD We made a ton too! We didn't stop until we had no more filling to put inside of them. People started getting creative too, making them into tortellinis and other funny shapes.

After dumpling making, we went back to the hotel to finish packing until it was time for the big group picture! We all met on the steps of the library, and, for the first time, I realized that this study abroad actually had a lot of people involved! The students, teachers, and Chinese partners actually took up several rows of steps. I was so thankful to all these people for making this experience possible. It was also very emotional too as Lee gave me her present and I received the journal they made for me. They are both so artsy! I could tell they put a lot of thought and time into making it. <3 I will definitely treasure it forever.

Once the picture was taken, we all walked back to the hotel where our reception would be held. Speeches were made and those who had participated in sports day got certificates and presents for taking part. We then dug in on all the great food! Even the dumplings we had made earlier were set out there for us to eat. Lee took one of the funny shaped ones thinking it looked cool. After we ate our fill, the formal setting turned into a school cafeteria after yearbooks were handed out at the end of the year. People ran around taking pictures, getting people to sign our memory journals. I have gotten to know so many people, it was hard getting them all to sign.

After lunch, we had a free day ahead of us. While we had plans to see my buddies again for dinner, we still had a while of nothing to do. Thus, we set out on a quest to find Kelsie's panda at the store we had visited the other day! With no buddies in tow, our small group (following me which is always a bad idea) walked back to the store. We may have gotten a little lost, but luckily the store is located in Dalian's foreign language campus and we found someone who spoke English. ^^ When we got to the store, the pandas were still there! Kelsie ended up buying the big one, then we just walked around the other stores until we got bored.

Once back at the hotel, Ash came and joined us. We ended up teaching her how to play ERS (a card game that includes slapping) and she was actually really good! When Lee joined us, we taught her too. Then we ended up going to Kelsie's room which had somehow collected a ton of people. This huge group hung out for a little while before we all went to go get some dinner. For our last meal, we ended up staying on campus. I got the delicious fried rice for the last time, this time in a bag! Can't say I went to China without eating something straight out of a plastic bag. We ate and talked until it got dark, the headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, it was apparently game night. We went to a room that was full of people, and I was somehow roped into a mahjong game. Let me just say: the real deal is NOTHING like the computer game. Without fully understanding the rules, even with the help of a buddy, I somehow won. .-. After another round, I left that game to start a game of Mafia. This was a ton of fun, but we only got through one round before the buddies had to leave for the night. After everyone was gone, I ended up helping one of the other students pack all his stuff with Kelsie. Apparently we are the queens of packing because we somehow got a bed full of items to fit in a duffle bag, backpack, and laptop bag. Exhausted, I went back to my room.

This was going to be the last time I slept in Dalian. :(

May 29th: bring on the meat!

The end of the trip is surely in sight! Today was our last class which was about illness and how we view what is disease. It was very interesting, and actually took more of a philosophical view of healthcare.

For our last lunch in the cafeteria (since there's a reception tomorrow), we headed over to the best on campus eats. I ordered my favorite duck and rice dish for the last time and had no problem eating it all!

The afternoon class consisted of the last presentations. These included presentations on HIV, HPV, rules of the road in China, and energy consumption.

After presentations, we went back to the room to wait for my buddies to go out to dinner. When Ash arrived, me and Faria gave her our gift. We then grabbed Kelsie to embark on our next adventure, and gave Lee her gift when we saw her. This included fighting five people in a cab that normally only fits four. We got pretty close though and made it to the restaurant in town (although our cab actually overshot it and we had to walk back). As soon as I saw the restaurant, I lit up. MEAT! All the meat! On skewers that we cook ourselves! We ended up getting a ton of food, as always, but somehow we ate it all. Definitely the most delicious meal of the whole trip. Sadly this wonderful meal came at a cost, debt. Guess I will have to take out money. Definitely worth breaking the budget though!

After dinner we ended up going to the mall by Walmart and walking around, talking. Apparently this past time is the same no matter what country you are in. We stayed until they kicked us out. The mall was preparing for a celebration the next day, so it was closing early. Thus we headed back to the campus, fighting five people into a taxi once more.

This would usually be the end of our night, but tonight the group was feeling karaoke! We went to meet the others on seafood street, but ended up milling around while the finished eating. When they told us they were done, we were a much smaller group than expected. Still we were able to get a room for the six of us plus buddies and ended up getting two full hours at only 10 yuan each. Talk about a deal! The fun started off slow as we were a little embarrassed to sing, but as we found better and better songs, we were all singing! More people came later, but hey got their own big room downstairs. We joined them after we used up our two hours and sang a couple songs with them. However, our party was cut short as we realized it was almost 11. Apparently they close the outer gates of the school at 11, and, leaving when we did, we JUST made it before they did.

We then headed back to the hotel and got ready for bed. However, I didn't go to sleep quite yet. Wanting to make sure my buddies's journals were awesome, I stayed up doing all the arts and crafts until Ash's was finished and Lee's was ready to be done quickly when I received it the next day.

I can't believe tomorrow is our last day!

May 28th: More Presentations, More Friends, and WAY MORE food!

As the trip is nearing its end, I have fallen into a pattern. Wake up, get ready, then off for some kind of breakfast. Today we were meeting my roommate's buddy so she could get a lab coat for the lab experiments we would be doing later today. When we got there at the agreed meeting time at 8, however, we learned from other OSU students that she had been looking for us since 7:45!  YIKES! Luckily her buddy was still around and we got Faria her lab coat. Sadly I still didn't have one ^^' but I figured I would get one later.

Morning class was FULL of presentations! About 13 people had to present, so, not surprisingly, class ran long. AGAIN X). The topics today ranged from gender, to suicide, to HIV, and to more sanitation. Everyone did great though!

Before lunch, me and Faria finished making the lantern/balloon presents for my buddies. They ended up looking great despite the little amount of materials we had! Then we joined a big group for lunch and I had some more yummy duck with rice <3 SO GOOD. I was even able to eat the whole thing! After lunch we made it back to the hotel to wait in the lobby to go to the lab.

Apparently, our habit of arriving on time was far gone this late in the trip because there was only about half the group there and we were already late! Dr. Sun wasn't too happy, so he decided we would leave anyway! Too bad for the rest of the group D: (We had to tell them where to go once Dr. Sun led us there.) We had two choices of experiments, and (who knows why) I ended up picking testing mercury levels in urine. Kelsie ended up joining me though, so in our group it was us two and about 7 Chinese students. They were great though! They even let us put the urine in the test tubes ><'''. The lab ended up consisting of a lot more talking and laughing then learning about the mercury levels (at least for us Americans) and we left with two more friends! I can't believe how nice people have been in China. I hope these relationships continue when I am in the US again!

After lab, we hung out in the room until it was time for dinner. What was supposed to be me and Faria and her buddies ended up becoming a big group that included Kelsie and her buddies too. That seems to happen a lot in China, but the more the merrier!!! We ended up back on seafood street, but ate at a new restaurant with DELICIOUS food! The plates included mushrooms, green beans and potatoes, tomato soup with beef, spicy chicken and potato, eggplant, and salad. 7 dishes for 7 people is a LOT of food. After stuffing ourselves full, we made a pit stop at the cute store again. Money sure is in short supply! But it is always worth the fun <3.

We were all exhausted by the time we got home, but packing had to be done! How I will get everything to fit, I have NO IDEA. So far things have fit fairly well, but whether I'm over-weight I don't know. :(

May 27th: Field Trip Number 3 and the Hot Pot Merry Go-Round

Today was the field trip I was most looking forward to, the trip to a Chinese hospital! After getting breakfast, we got on the bus and took a nice long trip to the second campus of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University. The whole hospital is devoted to heart related treatments, which is amazing because the place is so big! Dr. Lui gave us an introduction then led my group around the hospital to see. While some things were different, I was surprised by how similar the hospital was to those in the US. Nonetheless, there were some big differences. Most rooms had 3-4 patients in them, with little to no privacy. The ICU was way different from the one I worked in, in terms of both privacy and staff (they weren't even separated inside the unit!). Overall, the hospital wasn't as well lit. However, I felt like there were more nurses or doctors around. The system overall is different in China, in that you don't need to make an appointment. If you want to see the best doctor, you can go there early and stand in line for a few hours and see the best doctor. To be able to this, however, the doctors end up seeing up to 90 patients a day! This is good because more people are seen, but bad because that's less time per patient. Lastly, the hospital was HOT. This could be bad because more bacteria grow in warmer climates... also we were all sweating.

After the hospital, we walked in the blistering heat over to a mall area. I ate my home packed peanut butter sandwich while everyone else munched on subway. My attempts to stay on budget were going well until I saw an arcade. The money was well worth it, however, as I got to play this drum game that is only in Asia that I LOVE. Super fun! We then also explored the area and had a weird run in with a guy trying to sell his magic tricks. .-. Because it was so hot, the bus met us there and we only saw a nearby park by the bus before heading back to DMU.

When we arrived back at DMU, however, we weren't done for the day! Next we learned about the guide dog (for the blind) training program at DMU. It was so cool because it's the only program in China. I also got to pretend I was blind and the dog led me through a little maze and up the stairs to a chair. The dogs were super cute, which I needed because I miss my pup back home. <3 After working with the dogs, we headed back home.

Later that night, we ended up joining some friends and their buddies for dinner. We ended up walking to another campus to a mall like place to have hot pot. Only, this time it was a conveyor belt style hot pot place! We had our own little pot and stove top, and every stick you grabbed for the conveyor belt was 1 yuan. I don't eat a ton, so I just tried some other people's (whatever they said was good) but one of the girls ate 25 sticks! Wish I had her stomach X). After a super cool dinner, we went to a couple of stores and I was some how able to restrain myself from buying more cute things. ^^ Maybe this budget thing will succeed after all!

After shopping, we were in such good spirits that we sang all the way home! Back at the hotel, me and Faria had arts and crafts time as we began making a present for my buddies of origami balloons/lantern looking things that say thank you in all different languages that we plan to hang on a string. We hope it ends up looking cute. :D

May 26th: Class, My Presentation, and the REAL Seafood street!

After a fun day at the zoo, it was time to get back to some work! The day began with getting beautiful (since I had a presentation to give today), breakfast, and a lecture about the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable health. Although this has been my first public health class, I have certainly come to learn that noncommunicable diseases will be the future target for the health care industry as they have replaced infectious diseases as the leading killers all across the world. This is especially important to me, a (hopefully) future doctor.

When class was over, I was hankering for some fried rice! So while everyone else got soup, I wandered over to the fried rice place and somehow communicated that I wanted no spicy! (Which was great because last time I was killing my mouth.) Literally the best fried rice ever! After finishing ALL of it (for the first time), I headed back to everyone else and then we went off to our next class.

Surprisingly, we had another (shorter) lecture, this time on tobacco before it was time to give presentations. While interesting, I was a little too nervous about presenting myself to concentrate (especially since this surprise lecture really cut into our presentations times). The other presentations included quite a few on air pollution, road safety, defecating in public, and dental health. When it came time for my presentation on Alzheimer's disease, I spoke a little too quickly as class was technically supposed to be over already, but apparently did well! Sadly not everyone who was supposed to present had a chance, but I'm glad I got to get it over with!

After the presentations, me and Faria met up with Lee and Ash to go to seafood street- for real! By that I mean, we went over to the fresh fish market to pick out our food that we would then take to a restaurant to eat. So when I say fresh, I mean the animals were still swimming! Crazy right! I don't like seafood very much, but I helped Faria pick out some cool stuff and took pictures of the crazy fish we saw. (Did you know sea cucumbers have little spiky things on them?!) I got some shrimp for myself, but they were expensive T-T (remember the budget I set for myself after the panda shopping spree?) Ash and Lee were great at helping us pick out the food, then they took us to a restaurant which was actually IN someone's HOME. The people there prepared it for us, and my buddies ordered three more dishes (Spoiler: TOO MUCH FOOD!) We chowed, and I even tried a scallop (I hated it XD). At the end of the delicious meal, Lee and Ash were super sweet and paid despite our saying not to. I really do have the BEST buddies. <3

Afterwards, we walked back home. When we were back in the hotel me and Faria hatched a plan to make something as a thank you for Ash and Lee that involved little origami balloon/lantern looking things that said thank you on different languages. Hopefully there's colored paper at the convenience store!

May 25th- Monkeys and Elephants and Lemurs, OH MY!

So in America, going to the zoo is for like very small kids. Which, I can kind of understand: once you have a longer attention span, looking at animals through a pane of glass over and over again can get boring. In China, however, you don't just LOOK at the animals through a pane of glass: YOU INTERACT WITH THEM!

Unlike in American zoos, they encourage you to feed the animals in China. In fact, there are small stands all around the exhibits that you can buy the animal's favorite foods from. As a result, I had the opportunity to feed carrots to zebras, branches to giraffes, bananas and other fruits to the monkeys, and some more carrots to elephants! Some students even feed chickens to wolves/tigers, but that was a little too gruesome for my test.

Besides just feeding the animals, they are also available for petting too! I never thought I would be able to pet a giraffe before, but I sure did. Also, some animals just wandered around freely. For example: the alpacas and goats. Totally just walking around. Same with the lemurs! It had started to rain, and they all just hid in this little alcove so I got to sit about 6 inches away from a pile of lemurs. Super cute! The elephant exhibit was at the top of this huge climb up the side of a mountain, but it was totally worth it because you could literally get PICKED UP BY AN ELEPHANT! I was the first one to do it before everyone else arrived, so I had no idea it was going to do that! Needless to say, I freaked out at first, ESPECIALLY when it went back on it's two hind legs! All I could hope was that it wasn't going to drop me. The other really huge highlight was when I got to hold this super cute baby monkey! I love monkeys, but I wish I could have cradled it like a baby (probably not the best idea, but it would have been fun).

Of course the biggest attraction was the pandas! Now, I'm not a huge panda person, BUT there were a TON of super cute red pandas which I LOVE. At the end of the day we went on a panda spending spree, buying up all the cool items in the panda gift shop.

As cool as the zoo in Dalian might have been, however, I prefer the United States one. As one could tell by their attractions, the guidelines for animal care aren't as strict. We saw a lot of animals in poor shape or even bleeding! I care too much for the animals to approve of their care standards. Honestly, it was practically animal abuse. After seeing how they take care of them, I wouldn't go back and contribute to the zoo with any more money. They really need to start putting the animals first.

 I guess there's some things I don't like about China. :/

May 24th- I LOVE SPORTS!

Now I might have been keeping a secret from everyone. OSU will be taking part in the Dalian Sports Festival Today! That's right, we're ACTUALLY WALKING in the OPENING PARADE! After some pretty make-shift, half-hazard practicing, we were stunned when we appeared at the stadium on Saturday and saw all the stands filled! Apparently, all the different schools had been preparing for this much longer than we have, to the point where everyone was wearing specific colors so that the stands would make images! Crazy right? The other walkers in front of us were also all matching and ready to go, while we felt kind of dumb with just our white t-shirts and American flags. Still, when it was our turn to march, it was the most amazing feeling! We cheered and the crowd cheered back.

After our marching was over, we took the stands ourselves to support the OSU student who would ACTUALLY be participating in the REAL events! Our girls were all great! One of the girls even got 2nd place overall in her event! We really showed that OSU can compete!!! It was awesome being able to see the sports, especially the untraditional games like crazy caterpillar. (If you're wondering what that is, it's literally a giant stuffed caterpillar that you straddle with a team of four and you have to waddle your way to the finish line as fast as possible!)

The longer I'm here in Dalian, the luckier I feel. As the days pass, I'm getting sadder and sadder about having to leave all these awesome friends. :(

May 23rd- Exploring Dalian!

As if the buddies weren't awesome enough, today was pretty much all planned by them! And boy was it great!

So our visit stop on today's trip was to a Russian-Japanese prison (in Dalian, weird right?). I must say, the place was extremely creepy! The conditions these people stayed in were dreadful, and any place with a torture room is not somewhere you want to be. Even the infirmary had plaques that told visitors about how the doctors would purposefully let these prisoners of war suffer instead of doing anything to ease their pain. The now museum even had an actual skeleton kept in the barrel it was originally stuffed into and eventually buried in! Everyone felt kind of weird on this stop of the visit, but the history was just too cool to pass up.

The next stop was also full of history. We stopped at a battlefield, full of caves soldiers used to hide in and replicas of the weapons they used to use. Okay, so I might have been having a little too much fun posing with the cannons, but can you blame me?? I can't believe a little town like Dalian can have so much history so close to home!

Being on the battle-field made us soldiers pretty hungry. So next we went ahead and ate at a place fit for warriors: McDonalds. XD Well, I guess we are keeping to the whole balance between American and Chinese cuisine so we don't get sick.

Our last stop for our trip today was at another museum. The building was absolutely beautiful and full of Chinese history and culture. There was one whole room just FULL of chopsticks from all different time periods, but my favorite room spoke about the religions in China. Throughout this trip, I have come to learn that there's a lot more to China than the things that come to mind. Past the communism, chop sticks, and the knick-knacks you might find in any Chinatown in a big city in the US, there are a lot of little subtleties to Chinese culture that I have really come to appreciate since I have come here.


The evening built on this love of Chinese culture. The buddies threw us a big party that was meant to celebrate both Chinese and United States culture. One second they were teaching us how to tie Chinese fortune knots, the next we were playing musical chairs! There was a ton of food ranging from fruits to more cake for David (late birthday cake!) to traditional Chinese deserts (one of which was wrapped in a banana leaf!). Sadly, a lot of OSU students ducked out early during the intense games of hot potato and musical chairs, but I stayed for the best part! Once the room was cleaned up, we went out to the beach to light floating lanterns! It was kind of hard to light them at first, but after we wrote our wishes on the paper lanterns and played with fire for a while, they were floating far off into the distance! It was an amazing bonding opportunity, and I was so glad I got to share it with my buddy, Lee.

The day has been amazing! I am so glad I am here in China and that I have met so many amazing people! Do I have to go home?

May 22nd- Still in school

Today DEFINITELY reminds me of being back at OSU! Lots of lectures, and some homework too ><.

Our first lecture this morning was given to us by DMU's Professor Guirong Song on the Burden of Disease. Having never had these kinds of Public health lectures, I definitely learning a lot about how health fits in the larger view of the world.

However, we did have a little bit of a surprise.....BIRTHDAY CAKE FOR DAVID! We had been planning it as a surprise, and somehow we pulled it off! The cake wasn't huge, but it seemed like everyone (and most importantly: David) enjoyed it!

Then it was back to work. Our next lecturer was an actual Dr.! Dr. Li Ma came to talk to us about Cervical Cancer.

May 21st- More Field Trips? YAY

I love that we are never in one place very long! Today we got to go hear about Dalian's environment from China's equivalent of the local EPA. Now, I won't try to lie: everyone was pretty much asleep for this visit. ><''' It was a lot less interesting compared to our other visits, so while we all tried our best to pay attention, there was a lot of zoning out involved.

The afternoon got a lot cooler though! Our Chinese buddies are awesome in that they all got us kites!!! So, like the young adults we are, we went kite flying in our business professional clothing and all. :) Let me just say: I'm a boss when it comes to kite flying. XD It was a ton of fun; we even tied three or four spools of string to one kite so it could fly extra high!

 After all the fun, however, it was time for work! Final presentations are coming up, so I began working on my project. I decided on doing my presentation on Alzheimer's Disease in the United States and China, but boy is it hard to find information! Not on China, BUT ON THE US. Now it's not that there AREN'T sites with information, but it's been BLOCKED. *sigh* The Firewall of China is certainly a hard wall to overcome. I hope I can find more information than I found tonight. D:

May 20th- Back to School for You

Today everyone walked into lectures VERY exhausted! It didn't help that our first lecture was all about the best thing ever- FOOD. Chinese food specifically, taught to us by Guang Yang from DMU. I didn't know there were so many different kinds of Chinese food in China. For example, Szechuan food is EXTREMELY spicy. So now I know to never try some of that. ><' We also saw how tofu is made .-. (who thought to add this powder stuff to make soy into a gelatin like thing O.o).

Our afternoon lecture was also given by Claire again on Food Trade and Wealth, with the help of one of the students in our class. You could tell we were still tired from our trip, but we still somehow learned a lot today!

Our evening was kind of fun though. We we to Seafood street to visit what we call the "Cute Store". I swear I just wanted to buy EVERYTHING! They had the absolute coolest stuff. ^^ I made myself settle for just buying souvenirs but boy did I want more. Afterwards we went to a little cafe and got some dinner and tea. It was cool hanging out with the crew and just talking. Weird. Today was kinda like an actual school day. Guess I have adjusted to life in China!

May 19th- Last Day in Beijing

Today was an another busy and exhausting day! Without much more time in Beijing, we had a lot more tourism to pack into our morning before out afternoon bullet train back home.

The day began by visiting a Buddhist temple. The temple, unlike many I have seen, is still in use which is really really cool! I got to see people praying and monks, and it is really cool to learn about another religion. The most amazing part of the temple, however, was the statue of the Dalai Lama. It was huge, I think maybe 40 feet tall, and it was all made from ONE single tree. As beautiful as the statue was, the longer I stared at it the sadder I became. I could only imagine how magnificent the original tree must have been. I still wish I could have taken a picture of the statue, but sadly no photos allowed.

After the temple, we went on a rickshaw tour. This was probably the most disappointing part of the trip. We began the tour thinking we would learn more about one of the minority people in China, but instead it was a huge tourist trap. No one was very happy with our tour guide for forcing us on this little tour that ended up being a huge waste of time and money. Too bad we couldn't have done something more cool.

Lunch too wasn't anything big. We ate at the same restaurant as the day of the silk factory, basically the same exact dishes. We then moved on to a pearl factory. It was kinda cool opening up an oyster to see all the pearls inside! I had no idea they made so many! All the girls loved the place, of course, as we all tried not to buy a ton of jewelry.

Finally, it was time to go home. The Beijing train station was a LOT crazier than the one in Dalian, but the security system them was hilarious. You could basically walk in with whatever, but if you brought a drink they made you take a drink of it! They don't care about the weapons, but nothing you can make a bomb out of I guess. The train ride home was long and boring. It was funny that when we walked up the cars to find food, people would stop to look/ take a picture of us. Honestly though, everyone was so happy to get back to Dalian! Guess I better get ready for class tomorrow. ><'

May 18th- Bustling Beijing

The next busy day in Beijing started at the Forbidden City and Tiananmen square! While the buildings are certainly beautiful, I can't get passed the giant picture of Mao's face on the entrance, nor the horror of thinking of the massacre that happened here. To think that many people don't believe it even happened is especially disturbing. Instead of memorials for all those who died here, children march with flags to show their pride in the government. While I think every government has it's strong points and faults, the censorship in China has truly begun to disturb me.

After learning about Chinese history, we went to the silk factory to learn about a Chinese craft. We got to see how silk maggots went from creepy little bugs to beautiful thread. We learned that there are single cocoons that are used for threads, and double cocoons used for mattresses/bedding. The material felt amazing and it's unbelievable that such beauty can come from an insect! After shopping around the factory, we went to get lunch at a nearby restaurant. I actually really enjoy eating family style, but it's VERY easy to overeat when plate after plate of food is brought out to you!

Fully filled with delicious food, we made our way to the Temple of Heaven! This building is completely round, symbolizing it being closer/connected to heaven, and it is painted so amazingly. Besides the Great Wall, I think this is my favorite piece of history we have seen. Just to stare up at the ceiling made me feel like I was up in the clouds in an ethereal place.

Next was another little nugget of culture: the tea ceremony. Now I'm not one for tea, but it was really cool learning about the different teas and how they are used. Some are good for diabetes or relaxation, whereas some are full of caffeine and can make you sick if you drink it on an empty stomach!

Once we had something to drink, it was time for MORE FOOD! This time we were off to try a Chinese delicacy, peking duck! I've never had duck before now, so I was super excited for this dinner. When the main course finally came out, I rushed over to see how they cut the whole duck into small chunk (it still had it's head when they wheeled it out!). I wasn't sure if I would like duck or not, but I ended up loving it. ^^

After dinner, I opted to go see a Kung-fu play. It was at a theater and was all about a grandmaster telling a young boy about his journey to becoming a Kung-fu master. Seeing how athletic all the actors were, including kids!, really impressed me. I could tell it took a lot of dedication and hardwork to put on a show like this.

The Kung-fu show ended when it was dark, so I obviously I'm super tired after such a long day. I still have to pack though because tomorrow we head straight to the train after our sight-seeing! Our weekend in Beijing is coming to an end.

May 17th- So much Beijing Sight Seeing!

I don't think I've ever had such an event-packed day as today, but I guess they should call it Busy Beijing!

So we arrived in the city ridiculously early (around 6am) and right away we met our tour guide: Herbie! He's a really nice guy and he calls us his little Herbies. Walking out of the station, I'm hit with pollution! Sometimes it's hard to breathe in Dalian, but it's no where NEAR as bad as Beijing! I'm kind of regretting NOT buying those little masks, but I hadn't seen any in Dalian. After a slight change in plans, we decide our first stop will be the one we are most looking forward to: the Great Wall!

I don't really remember the bus ride (which I take to mean I was asleep the entire trip) but I couldn't sit still when we arrived! It was still very early, so early that we got there right as Subway opened. As everyone grabbed breakfast (I had already eaten a muffin I had bought the night before), I was flitting about in excitement. I was among the group who decided we wanted to take the ski-lift up instead of hike, so I was among the first to get to the top! The ride was AWESOME--scary, but the view was unbeatable.

The Great Wall is better than I could ever imagine. It's amazing that people were able to make such an enormous landmark that has withstood the test of time. Of course, we took a ton of pictures on it as we walked (including some O-H-I-O's). At one point on the wall, there's this little enclave with white canvas on the walls for people to write on. I definitely signed my name! We met up with the rest of the group on another part of the wall and took some pictures, but sadly our time came to an end.

The way down though was just as adventurous! What better way is it to go down than to TOBOGGAN down! Now, honestly, I was really scared! For one you handle your own speed with a handle and for two I wasn't supposed to wear my glasses (so I'd be blind, EEK!). So at the beginning, I went REALLY slow. Too slow! I almost got hit by the person behind me ><. But once I figured out that my purse was blocking the handle, I was speeding down! The thrill was awesome!

At the bottom, we were able to do a little bit of shopping. Usually I'm pretty good at bartering, but apparently I'm not good at it here in China! :/ I'll definitely need to practice some more.

Our next stop was a jade factory. It was really cool seeing how they make such beautiful works of art out of stone. I wish I had the money to buy a ton of it because it was honestly so remarkable. Instead, I stuck to eating the lunch they served us. In China, as opposed to America, our meals are served Family Style. As in, large plates of different dishes are put on a turntable, and you just grab what you want as it passes by! At first, everyone was kind of worried about using serving spoons, but I guess we kind of adapted quickly! (Especially when we realized some plates that tasted delicious didn't last long.)





The day didn't stop at the Jade factory. Our next stop was the Summer Palace. We learned all about it's history and how the "Dragon Lady" used to love to live there. She was a cruel queen who managed to rule the country as shadow emperoress, and let me just say: she sounds awesome! Maybe it's just the girl power speaking, but to go from mistress to secret ruler is pretty cool. The lake at the Summer Palace was absolutely breath-taking as well. It looks almost like a sea and it's unbelievable that it's man-made! Literally paradise still within the city lines. On the water was even a Marble boat. (In case you're wondering, it's much more of a statue than an actual boat as it can't travel due to it's heaviness.)

Although we were all tired, there was still one more stop for the day. The Bird's Nest/Water Cube: i.e. the site of the last olympic games! Now, Beijing is mighty polluted, but I think this area is the worst! The place smelled horrible because of all the people, exhaust, garbage, and some food they were cooking. Vendors were all over the place, but the actual Bird's Nest was pretty cool. I wish we had come to the Water Cube at night though, so we could have seen it lit up.

I was definitely so tired when we came home, I opted for no Hot Pot tonight. Instead, I just ate the hotel buffet and I'm all ready for another busy day tomorrow!

May 16th- Who Can Sleep When You're Off to Beijing?!

Today has gone by so fast! It began with a lecture by Dr. Xiance Sun on Environment and Health. After lunch, we had a special lecture about applying to DMU (in case we wanted to come back for masters/graduate degrees). But the crazy thing was the surprise!

Now when they said there was going to be a surprised at our second lecture, I have no idea what I was expecting. But when the guest lecturer walked in and it was a white guy from OHIO STATE, our mouths dropped. After all, we have been in China for nearly a week and the diversity at DMU is nothing like the diversity back home. So seeing someone we could intimately relate too was nice. We asked him a lot of questions about living in China, communicating, and even the politics. It was a really nice change of pace.

After our lectures, we went back to the hotel and grabbed all our stuff for Beijing! I definitely tried to pack light, since it was only a weekend. We then all got on a bus that drove us and some other students to the train station. The station was PACKED, and considering we had ordered our tickets online, we were kind of worried. It ended up not being an issue and the long lines went by quickly. We grabbed some KFC and starbucks then played heads up before it was time to board the trains.

Sleeper cars are definitely NOT the best way to travel. No one really felt comfortable sleeping, so instead we packed into one cart and played games. Eventually though, we were exhausted and slowly made our way back to the cart. I definitely slept with one eye open. (Once the conductor lady came to my room and I literally bolted straight up! I think I scared her as much as she scared me.)

But really, there was no need to fear. There was no problems and now: We're in Beijing!!!

May 15th- First Field Trips!!!

One of the best parts of this program at OSU is that our learning isn't confined to the classroom. By that, of course, I mean FIELD TRIP TIME! I was completely excited to go this morning, which was actually kind of helpful because we left REALLY early to leave. We all got packed on the bus and headed off to our first site: the community clinic.

After visiting the community clinic, I would describe it almost like your primary care facility. Instead of a doctor, however, you might find other trained professionals who focus on preventative health. The US might really want to consider adding such a system to help provide health care for those currently falling through the cracks because they can't afford primary care. Because there are no doctors, it may be more affordable and serious cases could be referred to more specialized care if needed. These facilities would be equipped to test blood pressure, height/weight, just as they are in China, and thus catch some of the most common illnesses the US faces today. 

Following the clinic, we went to lunch at a mall. While everyone else went to get Japanese noodles, me a few girls went to this other place that served a world-wide menu. I ended up getting Australian stew and it was so good! Then we kind of explored the mall. Strange fact: food in China is super affordable ($7 for a large meal would be considered EXPENSIVE), but other stuff...not so much. All the prices for clothes and other objects are the same in the US, if not more expensive! Guess I'll get a new wardrobe back home. When we left the mall, we made a stop by the beach for some much needed O-H-I-O pictures and to enjoy the view of the ocean. ^^

Once back on the bus, our field trip continued. Next stop: the Center for Disease Control! Now everyone was really excited for this stop, but it was kind of a let down. Unlike the big state of the art facility one might imagine, it was a normal building and we weren't allowed to see anything they were working on. Still, the lecture was informative, but overall I wish we could have seen more!

When we arrived back home, we didn't rest for long! A big group of us, OSU students and buddies, went to have "hot pot"! In case you aren't familiar with hot pot (as I certainly wasn't), the restaurant has a boiling pot of broth on a stovetop AT YOUR TABLE, and they bring you all types of vegetables and meat (whatever you order) for YOU to cook! The whole concept was so much fun, and everyone ate a TON. The atmosphere was great, and we even go to write little wishes on papers and hang them on the wall. The night was so much fun, but my adventure only continues because tomorrow it's...BEIJING TIME!!!

May 14th- A Normal School Day in Dalian

Whether you're taking a college class at OSU or at DMU, you still have to go to class! After a quick breakfast of yummy Chinese bread (called a stump bread!), I was off to Dr. Sun's second class. This time we talked about a paper from a journal that I learned is very important for Public Health people (the Lancet). Afterwards, it was a normal sandwich for lunch followed by another class taught by Claire, our graduate assistant.

But like any college course, college isn't all work and no play! My buddies came over to pick me up, so while we waited to go to dinner, I taught them how to play UNO. One thing led to another and next thing I know, my room is PACKED with people! Soon some of my new OSU friends and buddies were in on the fun, and we played a couple of games before we decided to all grab dinner together. I still don't have this "ordering food in China when you don't speak Chinese" down yet, so my buddies (Lee and Ash) helped me order some fried rice! Once dinner was done, however, we didn't go home! Instead we went to the beach and had fun taking pictures and throwing stones. I really love all the Chinese buddies! Having them around makes things so much more fun. :)

May 13th: Second Day in China-> First day of class!

After such a long day yesterday I was NOT going to wake up for breakfast today. X) Still, Ash was super nice and stopped by to ask if I wanted to go <3. When I did finally get up, it was already time for our welcome meeting! I was super lucky in that I got to sit at the table with all the important people from DMU. I really look forward to studying here! After the meeting, we got to explore the school's museum. OSU really needs to get it's own museum. X)

Next was the reception, which was just a smorgasbord of food. While I am not an adventurous person when it come to food, I did indadvertedly try some gelatin stuff that was somehow made of pork. .-. I think I might have to be extra cautious here in China. ><' When the reception was over, Lee was waiting for me. We were planning to just walk around when we accidentally walked on a tug-of-war competition! It was so cool to see so many people participating in a sport that's rarely seen in the states. Everyone was screaming and cheering, so we just joined in!

After an amazing lunch, we actually had to go to class. Today Dr. Sun taught us, and it was a really intense introduction to Public Health (at least for me since I had never taken an public health course before!).

Once class was over, it was time for a new adventure! Now imagine the most American thing you could do on a Tuesday evening? If you answered go to Walmart and McDonald's, you are correct! I certainly didn't think either of these things existed in China, but boy was I proved wrong. It was kind of nice having a familiar experience after being overwhelmed by all the new sites, sounds, and food. Still, I look forward to even more new experience

s tomorrow!

May 12th- I'm Coming China!

So this morning started out HORRIBLY early, but full of excitement! We said goodbye to the amazing hostel we had been calling home for the last few days and we were making our way to the airport! Before we knew it, we were posting our last posts to facebook (since we knew it would be blocked, people were freaking out) and boarding the plane.

Let me just say: Japan Airlines is super snazy. At least when it comes to food. SO GOOD (and no, I wasn't just hungry). The ride to Dalian was nothing like the ride to Tokyo. I guess any flight after the gazillion hours of our first flight pales in comparison. When we finally land in China, we have no idea what is waiting for us.

Turns out--not much. Dalian airport is SUPER tiny. By the time we get our luggage and money exchanged, the customs officers barely bat an eye in our direction. We scream foreign in every sense of the word. Outside of customs, students from Dalian Medical University (DMU for short) waiting for us. While some people brave the toilets, I learn that I am in for much of a culture shock. Most toilets in China are what they call "squatter" toilets, where you do just that to do your business. I may have seen these all over Tokyo, but they always had western style toilets as well. Not so in China. Plus: bring your own tissue paper and soap. Yikes, better get used to that!

After an early morning, everyone was dead on the bus. Somehow I managed a couple of pictures, but I was mostly gone. Gone, that is, until we arrived at DMU. Everyone was excited to see we were put up in a fancy hotel and that we had internet! (A major plus, even if only in the rooms.) I even got to meet my buddies already!

My first buddy I met was Ash. She is super sweet! She gave me a present right away so I went ahead and gave her one of the bears in OSU garb that I had got my buddies. ^^ Then we went to go get food at one of the cafeterias. She was super helpful and got me some pork and celery dumplings. They were delicious, but apparently the portion sizes here in China are even BIGGER than the US! (No, I too did not think that was possible.) After dinner, I went back and played cards with another girl from OSU until it was time to meet my second buddy.

My second buddy's name is Lee. I talked with her the most prior to coming here, but it was still totally different meeting her in person. We ended up walking around the campus, a mini-tour if you will, and we had a great time! She is so cool.

So today in all ended up being a long day! I can only imagine what's in store for this trip!!!

May 7th-8th The Travel Begins!

Despite the excitement bubbling within me, I was exhausted waking up early for the flight to Japan. Half-awake, I stumbled from podium to podium, not even sure which company my flight was through. After going to the wrong one, I was able to check myself in and get rid of my (probably too heavy) suitcase. In a state of denial, I hung out in the airport unable to understand that in a few hours I would be departing on an exciting trip with a group of strangers to Japan then China!

If I've learned anything about traveling its this: airports are horrible. The flight wasn't too bad, but after grabbing some fast food for lunch and settling in at the DC airport, we realized some of us had made a terrible mistake. There were two flights to Japan, and we were at the wrong one! While some people could chill, the rest of us had to grab our stuff and LITERALLY RUN to the right terminal. After crossing half the airport, we made it on time. THANK GOODNESS. Luckily we had a long 19 hour plane ride to relax during because we were out of breath. Basically the plane consisted of 3 movies, 3 tv shows, podcast marathon, and sad attempts at taking naps.

When we got to Japan, all the excitement that was overcome by sleep earlier was shining through! Though this was my second trip to Japan, I think this only made me more excited. I had loved Japan the first time, and so I didn't have the same anxiety that accompanies being in a different country for the first time.

After grabbing all our bags, we excited customs, exchanged cash, and bought our very first train ticket! The train took nearly an hour and half to get to our stop, but we enjoyed the time relaxing. When we reached our final stop, one of the girls in the group led the way to the hostel using instructions from the website.

"Blue Bridge, Mercedes Benz, Yellow Sign!" We chanted as if we were on Dora the Explorer. Believe it or not, the instructions were great! We found the hostel in no time on a quiet side street. The girl at the front desk was extremely helpful in getting us all checked in and we decided among ourselves who was going to be roommates. I roomed with the only person I knew before the trip, but it seemed like we were going to get along great!

Still exhausted from the trip, I took a quick shower then joined the group to find dinner. We crossed the bridge back to the livelier part of Asukasa (the area we were staying in) and found all these restaurants. It was hard to pick one, but eventually we settled on a place. My first meal in Japan was fried shrimp, that is more like shrimp tempura in the states, with Japanese bbq sauce and rice. It was absolutely delicious! After the food, we went exploring, hoping to find a place to Karaoke, but we ended up being too tired and returned home.

Tomorrow the real adventures would begin!