Me and Shushu

As we stated in our grant proposal, our trip to China is “a great opportunity to explore a rising power not only through the lens of economics and politics, but also language and culture.” My cultural immersion is coming in the form of a homestay with a retired couple—”Shushu” (uncle) and “Ayi” (aunt)—who do [...]

Narrowing a Focus

As stated here on our blog, the main academic focus of our trip is to examine China’s role in international trade. But the nature of SAIS—offering a multifaceted approach to studying international relations—and China, forcing the rest of the world to adapt to its rapid evolution, compels us to explore an array of additional [...]

Metaposting

So I’m a pessimist. My first thought upon being invited to post here was: It’s pretty, but will we actually be able to access this blog from China? Though we’re not planning on raising the hackles of any government censors with this project, preliminary trials have been inconclusive. (That is, one friend of Joe’s in [...]

Visa

A day after receiving a new passport in the mail (to replace the one I mysteriously lost), I went to the China visa office to drop off my visa application. A surprisingly efficient operation allowed me to return home with just enough time to cram before my Political Risk Analysis final exam. If [...]