More Pics from Shanghai Today

Shanghai Today

Today we enjoyed a western style breakfast at the hotel complete with bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. It was a good start to a long day. We headed off to the Shanghai Museum and spent a couple hours there looking at amazing exhibits of calligraphy, painting and sculpture. The artifacts were really incredible but only some of the descriptions were in english. Ariel and Ryan helped me figure out the aperture and shutter speed on my camera finally with only 4 days left of the trip but I put it to good use in the Shanghai Beinali, a contemporary art gallery. Later I split off with Brooke and Sylvan to visit an art district. We walked for a bit and found some little shops that were fun including a bakery where we picked up some pastries. We took a cab back and I met up with Ariel and Ryan again to grab some dinner. We found a guy cooking with a wok out on the street. We took a gamble but it was a good one. The food was great and only 5 yuan which is less than a dollar. Right now I'm watching an Adam Sandler movie on HBO because it's in english and not news.

One Night in Shanghai

Yesterday was our first day in Shanghai but we didn't have anything scheduled until 2pm. It was really nice to have a little R&R time before heading out into Shanghai for the night. It is a beautiful city but it is more humid than I expected. Our group headed out to a shopping center not far from our hotel where we saw lots of counterfeit stuff. Rolex anyone? It was actually pretty neat because it looked like a little village with water features and coy. We had some free time to wander around so Ariel, Ryan and I walked for a bit until we ran into Braeden and Madelyn and convinced them to follow us which they probably regretted. We set out to find the Bund but thought it would be much easier to get to then we later discovered. After a little trial and tribulation we made it to our destination. The architecture on the water is incredible and it was well worth the walk. We ended up there again later that night but it looks a lot different all lit up at night. Before that though we got a chance to visit the Jin Mao Tower and travel to the observation deck. Shanghai is amazing at night and there couldn't be a better place to view it from. It's 88 stories tall and there's a super fast elevator that shoots you to the top in seconds. We travelled back across the river in a ferry and walked back to the hotel from the Bund. Our hotel is really first class and the manager has gone out of his way for us a lot including giving us free internet (normally 20RMB per hour per room). We also have a great view of the city from our room on the 10th floor and a western toilet and plenty of hot water; now that's living!

Cultural Collaboration

Okay so maybe this isn't what I thought it would be but you have to admit it's entertaining. Making a movie in a foreign country on non-english software and with a non-english speaking student (for the most part) is a mental and emotional challenge. I chose the name Foreign Communication because I think it appropriately describes the theme of the trip and the process of creating our project. When I put the word "foreign" into a translator to see if Guang (my Chinese partner) understood the title he said "but foreign means not Chinese." Perfect! To Guang it meant not Chinese but to me it means non-American. I can't think of a better example of the cultural and language gap between us. I decided the title stayed. The out-takes are fun but they also serve the purpose of showing the interaction between our cultures. There were many times that I gave up trying to explain something relatively simple due to the tight schedule and limited patience. I think we both learned a lot from this incredible experience.

Exhibition Day

Yesterday was our last day in Jinan and it was a whirlwind. I spent most of the morning trying to configure several of our movies onto one projector but I finally had to ask Ying for help because I was at a loss. We still had a little trouble but she figured it out on FCP and it turned out well. We got the projector going just in time to meet the school president who is a very traditional looking chinese man. He gave us a couple gifts and then we headed to the exhibition with our partners. My movie drew a good crowd although I'm not sure if everyone knew what it was really about. Many people said it was really funny which is good I think. We had a little ceremony where the school gave us certificates for our participation in the program and everything was very nice but we left all too soon. I found it surreal to know that we might never see any of these new friends ever again but in only a few minutes we had to say goodbye. We had an amazing dinner with a few of the faculty and headed off to the night train at 9pm. We arrived in Shanghai at 6 this morning and settled into the hotel. It's really nice here and I can't wait to use the pool. I didn't have my camera with me for the exhibition so I'll have to find some pictures from other people. Goodbye Jinan. Goodbye Mansion.

Celebrating Good Times

Today we went to a famous Chinese city that was known for its success in the time of the silk road trade. We saw a celebration concert with many Chinese performers and interesting acts. There were a couple little kids that were hilarious because the boy was like a Chinese version of a young Michael Jackson. I'm pretty sure most of the acts were lip synched but they were fun and it was entertaining. I especially enjoyed the Spicy Girls. We spent a few hours on the new campus today and I think our project is just wrapping up. Guang has done an excellent job editing and I'm really impressed with his skills on Premier. It should be a fun exhibition tomorrow.

Mid-Autumn Festival, Ancient Springs, a Golden Buddha and Karaoke

Today was a much needed break from the group projects. We finally got the opportunity to have a little time with our Chinese partners outside of the classroom. It is also Mid-Autumn Festival today so it was a great time to experience more of Jinan. This morning we visited the Baotu Spring which is supposed to be one of the largest tourist attractions in Jinan. It was really busy and there was a lot to see but the springs and ponds were really nice and filled with coy. We then met up with the Chinese students at the 1000 Buddha Mountain (Qianfo shan) where we saw an awesome giant gold Buddha. We all went to KTV, a karaoke place where you rent a room that looks like a tiny theater to sing karaoke with your friends. I really think these could be a hit in the states. I decided to go back to the old campus and my partner went back to the new campus. I took a stroll around Jinan and probably walked for over an hour. It's just really neat to walk around such an extremely foreign environment and see people's reactions, most of which are smiles.