Nin hao (hello),
After a 24 hour flight, I finally made it to Hong Kong. I was greeted by Dr. Helena Pan, a professor at Shenzhen University. Shenzhen is located about 20 miles north of Hong Kong in south east China. Helena took me to my apartment located in the building for international visitors. By the time I got my bags unpacked and my room somewhat organized, I had been up for over 30 hours. To say my brain was fried was an understatement! On the following day, I was greeted by Martin, a post-grad student who would show me the university and important places to know, such as a three-floor Wal Mart or where my office was located. We spent the better part of a day getting items for my apartment that I would need during my five month visit.
The city of Shenzhen is one of the fastest growing economic areas in China. Modern buildings and high rise apartments dominate the landscape. High tech companies abound but a number of other businesses co-exist in a landscape dominated by modern architectural designs. The campus of Shenzhen University seems to reflect both the growth and the new types of architectural buildings in Shenzhen. Yet the campus contains beautiful landscapes of palm trees, bamboo woods, lush gardens, a student-made lake which is unbelievable to see, and what seems as thousands of bike riders on campus. I may end up getting a bike just to get around campus. I could also use the exercise!
Finally on my own, I ventured out for dinner (How hard could that be!). First, there is a process for paying and getting your food. Since I didn't speak Mandarin, I didn't know what the cost of the meal would be and I didn't know that you needed to go to a certain booth to pay and get a ticket to show the servers as you selected your food (I also didn't know most of the types of foods being served.). Approximately five students came to my rescue. Among the five of them, they were able to understand what I was asking and what I needed to do. I thanked them and then selected and ate Chinese-style chicken (which was quite good), several Chinese dishes, and had a drink--all for one dollar!
The next day, I went to my new office with plants and a balcony. A student worker helped to set up my office equipment and show me where the hot water was for tea and where the Asian-style bathroom (No toilet bowl exists.) was located. I met several of the profs who spoke a minimum of English and a secretary who spoke no English. Since I speak very little Chinese, we all got along great, using nonverbal communication primarily to communicate. Well, jet lag is kicking in so I will say zia jian (good-bye) for now.
Dr. Haskins
After a 24 hour flight, I finally made it to Hong Kong. I was greeted by Dr. Helena Pan, a professor at Shenzhen University. Shenzhen is located about 20 miles north of Hong Kong in south east China. Helena took me to my apartment located in the building for international visitors. By the time I got my bags unpacked and my room somewhat organized, I had been up for over 30 hours. To say my brain was fried was an understatement! On the following day, I was greeted by Martin, a post-grad student who would show me the university and important places to know, such as a three-floor Wal Mart or where my office was located. We spent the better part of a day getting items for my apartment that I would need during my five month visit.
The city of Shenzhen is one of the fastest growing economic areas in China. Modern buildings and high rise apartments dominate the landscape. High tech companies abound but a number of other businesses co-exist in a landscape dominated by modern architectural designs. The campus of Shenzhen University seems to reflect both the growth and the new types of architectural buildings in Shenzhen. Yet the campus contains beautiful landscapes of palm trees, bamboo woods, lush gardens, a student-made lake which is unbelievable to see, and what seems as thousands of bike riders on campus. I may end up getting a bike just to get around campus. I could also use the exercise!
Finally on my own, I ventured out for dinner (How hard could that be!). First, there is a process for paying and getting your food. Since I didn't speak Mandarin, I didn't know what the cost of the meal would be and I didn't know that you needed to go to a certain booth to pay and get a ticket to show the servers as you selected your food (I also didn't know most of the types of foods being served.). Approximately five students came to my rescue. Among the five of them, they were able to understand what I was asking and what I needed to do. I thanked them and then selected and ate Chinese-style chicken (which was quite good), several Chinese dishes, and had a drink--all for one dollar!
The next day, I went to my new office with plants and a balcony. A student worker helped to set up my office equipment and show me where the hot water was for tea and where the Asian-style bathroom (No toilet bowl exists.) was located. I met several of the profs who spoke a minimum of English and a secretary who spoke no English. Since I speak very little Chinese, we all got along great, using nonverbal communication primarily to communicate. Well, jet lag is kicking in so I will say zia jian (good-bye) for now.
Dr. Haskins
3 comments:
Non-verbals, oh, what would we do without them!
Your experience with the Chinese food sounds very interesting. I wasn't as lucky when I tried American food at Ames. For almost two months, I ate Chicken Fried Steak thinking it was chicken. Then, I found out it was beef and almost puked because I didn't eat beef back then.
Are you sure the chicken you ate was indeed chicken, and not... you know... a snake? :)
You're right--thank goodness for nonverbal, but my Chinese vocabulary is slowly increasing. I think it's chicken!
Take care,
Dr. Haskins
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