大家好！
I arrived in Chengdu on Friday, January 13 after spending three
days in Hong Kong and Macau. On the trip, we were mostly sightseeing and being
typical tourists, which was pretty easy since everything in Hong Kong is
labeled in both English and Cantonese. I met some of the other students in the
program in the LA airport and we were on the same flight to Hong Kong. It was
nice getting to know them during our trip. Hong Kong was nice to visit, but it
was very fast paced. They say “a New York minute is a Hong Kong second” which
is truer than you will ever know. Hong Kong and Macau are islands, so
everything is very close together and is built up. The streets are narrow and
loads of people are out on them, all the time. Hong Kong is a city that really never sleeps.
We spent the first day in Hong Kong going around the city
and seeing notable sights. We even had dimsum at “Jumbo Floating Restauruant”
for lunch, which is exactly what it sounds like. My favorite part of our day in Hong Kong was
going to the Peak. It is the highest point in Hong Kong and you can see in all
directions. It’s a popular area for tourists, so there are loads of shops and restaurants
with amazing views. Here is one of my pictures of the skyline from a viewing
terrace:
The next morning, we took a ferry (not really a ferry, more
of a water jet) to Macau. Macau was wonderful. The Portugese influence is clear
in not only the signage, but also the architecture. Macau is small, so small
our tour guide told us that you can walk across the island from end to end in
an hour. It was much more laid back, compared to Hong Kong, even though it is
very crowded for its size. We ate a Portuguese lunch, which was delicious, and
had some time to explore the area. We witnessed a car accident, and the police
were at the scene almost immediately. Luckily no one was hurt, and we went to
see the casinos. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, but since USAC is located there,
many of the other students are Vegas natives. According to them, Macau blows
Las Vegas away when it comes to the casinos. We went into the Venetian,
specifically, since there is a lot to do if you are under 21 and can’t gamble.
It was like a city inside. Everything was gilded and it felt very euphoric. We
saw both canals and lots of shops (though most of them were luxury brands so I
didn’t buy anything). I did indulge in a beverage from Starbucks, but I got a
local favorite, Hibiscus tea. Our tour guide took us to major historical places
in Macau, including the old fort used by the Portuguese governor, complete with
360-views of the island, and the first church, which burnt down three times. ‘
Our third day in Hong Kong was a free day, so I spent it exploring
the city by myself and with some of my new friends. The next morning, we were
on a plane to Chengdu. The flight was short, but it got delayed so we made it in
around 3pm. We took a bus to our campus and dropped our bags in our rooms, then
went to Carrefour (supermarket). The whole experience was very overwhelming.
Not only were we all tired from travelling, but there are sales people in every
department, pushing certain products on you in Chinese. I was just doing my
best to remember what I needed to buy to live (ie sheets, blanket, towels,
soap). I ended up spending more money than I was carrying in cash, and had to
pay with my American credit card. I have a Discover card though, which is
really great because they have an agreement with a Chinese card company,
UnionPay, so the card can be accepted here. The most stressful part of the
whole interaction was convincing the clerk to use my card. After about fifteen minutes of me explaining in
Mandarin that my card was a domestic card, she finally used it and it worked. Phew.
Since then, life in Chengdu has been smooth sailing. Chengdu
is very laid back. The streets are significantly less crowded than Hong Kong,
and the locals are very patient and welcoming. The owner of a jiaozi (dumpling) restaurant even taught
one of my friends how to use chopsticks and practiced her English with us. This
post is quite long because I’ve had a very busy week, but I do have some
initial takeaways from my texperience so far:
·
Chinese people have been very generous. I’ve
only paid for my own food a few times after eating every meal out. The price
tag is either so cheap that someone just picks up the bill for everyone, or we
are being treated by someone older. On Monday, a publication called GoChengdu
took us to the Giant Panda Research Base, located here in Chengdu, and actually
had a whole panda-themed day planned for us. After seeing the real-life pandas
in the morning, we went to a panda-themed KFC restaurant (the only one in the
world) and they taught us how to make panda-shaped rice balls. They were so
cute, I didn’t want to eat mine. They treated us to lunch and then we went to
see the IFS panda sculpture, which is just a massive panda hanging off the side of a large shopping center. On
the roof, you can take pictures with it (don’t worry, I’ll put copious panda
photos below). They then took us to Panda Post, a local business selling
creative, hand drawn postcards, stamps, and other panda-themed goodies. They
let us send post cards back home for free, and then GoChengdu have us panda
gift bags with a stuffed panda, a wooden postcard from Panda Post, and an
English guide to living in Chengdu. Their generosity was amazing, despite
having to have many, many photos taken throughout the day.
·
My idea of what is cheap and what is expensive
has changed a ton already. Earlier today, we were in a convenience store
looking for mugs to use to take our tea or hot water to class (in China hot
water > cold water, especially since the walls are concrete and it’s always
freezing). We saw some nice ones that were around 50 kuai, and we all were shook. The thing is, though… 50 kuai is
less than $10USD. In the US that would be a bargain, but alas, we decided we
could get a better price at Walmart later. And I do mean actual Walmart, not
just a Chinese equivalent. Like, real Walmart in China, y’all. Wild.
·
Time is flexible. Everything has started late so
far on this trip. My class started late today, whenever we meet for something
people are late, etc. When we went with GoChengdu, we were supposed to leave at
7:20, and we didn’t leave until 7:50. No one was mad, really, it’s just the way
time works.
I hope you enjoy this post! If you have any questions, feel
free to comment and I’ll do what I can to answer. In the coming days, I’ll be
settling into the routine of classes so my life might be boring for a while.
Now, for the promised panda photos:
