Me and Ayi

The most rewarding aspect of my experience in China was my home stay with a Chinese family. For that, I must thank Ayi (literally “aunt,” but the respectful term used for older women in China), who helped make my trip special from the beginning. On my first full day in Beijing, she took [...]

Letter from Shanghai

From the moment our gang of four arrived in Shanghai on a rainy Thursday night, it was clear that we would find China’s financial hub immeasurably different from its administrative capital. In the new Pudong International Airport, the floors gleamed, the chrome shone, and savvy advertising on the walls beckoned investors with promises of green [...]

Arranging a Marriage Before Leaving China

On my final day in China, I took part in the preliminary proceedings of an arranged marriage. Ayi had tried for days to take me on this journey, but my visits to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City had interfered. On the morning of my departure, however, she woke me up and [...]

Third time’s the charm

When I learned that I would be going to China this winter, I was excited, but not as much as this past summer, when I returned for my second time. It unsettled me to feel somewhat blase about my upcoming third stay. Did it indicate that each successive trip would be increasingly mundane? Did it [...]

Me and Shushu, Part 2

Previously, I provided a glimpse into life with my Chinese family (Me and Shushu). The novelty of being treated by Shushu like a budding movie star quickly wore thin, however, when his penchant for excessive affection made me feel uncomfortable. Shushu’s affinity for me was apparent from the first time we met. [...]

The best 12.5 cents I’ve ever spent

While over the past several days I’ve become far more comfortable with the lifestyle here, and even consider myself a “Beijing-er” in my own way, for my first 24 hours in Beijing I definitely felt overwhelmed and lost. Without internet or a working cell phone, and equipped with only about 100 words of Chinese, my [...]

My first thoughts, my first blog, my first day…

When you find yourself anticipating any future endeavor, a myriad of thoughts cross your mind. Especially if traveling to China for the first time, you consider the “5,000 years of history” that our language professors have nonchalantly explained as reasoning for all the idiosyncratic grammar rules of the rich language of Mandarin. Even the “simplified” [...]

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 [...]