Where do I begin…(again)? I apologize for the delay; I have been quite busy with schoolwork as we just finished most of our midterms. However, the biggest reason for the delay is, no matter what I do, on my phone or laptop, I cannot access the Rollins website. As a result, I’ve sent this to someone else in Thailand to upload for me and will probably continue to do so the remainder of the semester. During the national holiday which started October 1st, I hopped on a short flight to Zhangjiajie. Although the place was beautiful, it was unfathomably crowded! I met some friendly people from several countries while there and we went as a group to the glass bridge. To get there first, we had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning, leave our hotel at 3, and arrive at 5. We were the second group there one and a half hours before opening and by sunrise a large crowd had amassed waiting on the doors to open. Once they did, it was a free-for-all sprint to the ticket counter. However, much to our dismay, they refused to sell us the student tickets since we were all 24 and older. Next time I hope to actually walk on the glass bridge and by then they might have already added bungee jumping from it!
I have been acing my Chinese exams thankfully (or perhaps miraculously). I am still nervous for the speech contest on November 1st though. I honestly didn’t know what to expect before coming to China other than air pollution and large crowds. What shocked me is that for a city that has roughly 150% of the population of the entire state of Florida, it really doesn’t seem that crowded. Everything is extremely convenient here as well from the infrastructure (in terms of transportation) to the methods of payment at most places (WePay, AliPay, etc). Okay, maybe squatty potties aren’t all the convenient for me but many places in Shanghai have western style toilets also. China is an incredibly large and diverse country that is rich in culture, history, scenic areas to visit, and more. What I love most about China so far though are the people. The people here are some of the friendliest I have met in the world and are—almost—always willing to help. I have been invited to be a guest speaker for a club, host a Halloween party on campus, attend a barbecue, and to many events that the Chinese students seem ecstatic to invite me to; it is truly lovely! The only two complaints I have currently are the fact that in the Alliance program we are quite segregated from the rest of the students. We only take classes with other Alliance students so it feels less immersive as opposed to other foreigners that are studying in classes with local Chinese students (some classes are available in English) and my other complaint is that I’m not staying here longer! Surely I will miss it when I must return.