Post-Trip Reflections - Part 1

Oh...hello there! It's been a while hasn't it? It seems whenever I say I'll blog, I never do. But let me explain myself...

I've been holding off on this post for a while now. Even sitting here, I'm not exactly sure how to craft my thoughts into words (tbh, I dislike writing, haha). Let me begin, however, by saying that this summer has been incredible -- truly one of the best summers of my life. To be given the opportunity to live, work, and travel in China and Korea for 10 weeks -- wow, just wow. I couldn't be more blessed/thankful. Because of this, I felt that it was more important for me to "live in the moment" rather than documenting every single little thing that I did. And I'm glad that I chose to do this.

On my NSLI-Y trip, I had this mindset that if I didn't blog about my experiences, I would slowly forget them all; however, that's not true. Even though it's been two years, I still remember. I remember the bus rides, the people, the food, the KTV, the park dancing, the shave ice shop next to Zhejiang University. I remember it all. That's not to say that Hangzhou hasn't changed. In fact, it's changed a lot. During a weekend in July, I was able to revisit Hangzhou for a day, and boy, was it different. The sky was murkier due to the growing pollution problem in China; buildings that were still in construction two years ago are now complete; the subway has been extended from the eastern part of Hangzhou to the West Lake area (which I was able to ride for the first time!); many of the shops along University Avenue nearby Zhejiang University has been closed and abandoned (but much to our surprise, the shave ice place was still open! It is under new management, but it had the same blue interior, the same cute cafe layout, the same menu [faded, but still readable], and the same great tasting mango shave ice). Like Hangzhou, I'm a different person from the one I was two years ago. As a result, I decided to do things a bit differently this time around.

I've learned that living and interning in another country can be lonely -- really lonely. I've been to China two times beforehand. Once with NSLI-Y and another with my college. When I was with NSLI-Y, I was on a study abroad program. Things seemed so easy. I lived with a host family who fed me 2-3 meals a day and babied me. I was grouped with 18 other Americans, so it was easy to make friends and explore the city (putting yourself out there is always easier when you have people to support you). Because I adapted well, it honestly didn't feel real. Fast-forward to my trip with my college last spring break. It was only for a week, so I got to experience the touristy side of China :) What was that like, you ask? Tiring. The majority of the trip was spent touring companies like Walmart, Hyundai, and Volvo, while the other half was spent pigging out on 20-course meals and visiting sites like the Great Wall, the Bund, etc. Now...this summer. It was different. I'll explain in a different post because I think this is getting waaay too long, and I'm getting tired :) 

Regional Accents and Pronounciation

Something quick I wanted to discuss today -- regional accents. It's something I find really, really interesting. Throughout my first year at college, I've had a lot of people jokingly point out the way I speak. A small one would be the pronunciation of Hawai'i. Many mainlanders (contiguous US) would usually pronounce it as HAH-WHY-EE, but the way we pronounce it is HUH-VUH-EE (the Hawaiian language has no "w" sound), or more commonly, HUH-WUH-EE. The 'okina (a.k.a. single quotation mark) between the two i's dictates the additional ee sound, so it's not just HUH-WHY (like a lot of non-locals believe it to be). My friends, suitemates, and just about everyone I met would always question me about this and say that everyone they have met from Hawai'i pronounces it this way as well. They find it fascinating for some reason lol, and would ALWAYS mimick my pronunciation by over-exaggerating the WUH-EE part -- of course, it's all in good fun. Everyone in Hawai'i already knows that the way the rest of the world pronounces "Hawaii" is different from the way we pronounce it. I've actually had to say "huh-why-ee" on several occasions though, because the other person didn't know what I was talking about when I said I am from "huh-wuh-ee". 

The differentiating moment came not from the way I pronounce "Hawaii," however, but from the way I pronounce "room". Room is such a trivial word, but according to a lot of college friends, my pronunciation of the word is very strange. I mean, to me, it sounds very normal. Room -- how can you determine my accent just from that one word? Apparently a lot. Friends from Norcal, Mississippi, Chicago, etc. have made fun of me for it (jokingly, no harm done), saying that I elongate the vowels, so it sounds like rooooooooom (yeah, not helpful sorry). I can't even describe it because I can't differentiate it from the way they say it. It sounds alike to me! My first instinct was that it is just the quirky way I pronounce things, but then a fellow friend from Hawaii attending a different college on the mainland (we refer to the rest of the US as the mainland) also mentioned the same thing. Her tweet: something along the lines of "I'm not pronouncing room incorrectly, maybe you are!" So it wasn't just me, especially since I hadn't mentioned this little quirk to her. It was just pure coincidence that both of us were dealing with the same type of "dilemma" at the exact same time, haha. I found it funny, but it also reinforced the distinctions between the way Hawaii people talk and the way the rest of the US talks. I mean, you don't ever really think of this -- when you live in one place for such a long time, your accent and pronunciation seems normal. Am I right? You believe the way you speak is the same as everyone else's. (Btw, people from the Minnesota and Chicago really do pronounce "bag" as baeeeeeeg, hehe).

This is the same for Putonghua, or Mandarin. Because China is huge, there's going to obviously be variations between the way people speak (and I'm not talking about dialects -- such as Cantonese, Shanghainese, or Putonghua/Mandarin). Within the Mandarin dialect alone, there are many, many different regional accents. The biggest difference is between the Northern and Southern accents. In Beijing, many people tend to add the "er" sound at the end of various words (e.g. 一点儿 yidianr); however, in Shanghai and many southern cities, people do not use the "er" sound at all (e.g. 一点点 yidiandian -- you repeat the word twice instead of adding the "r" sound). When I first learned Chinese, I used the "er" sound immensely. I liked the way it sounded, haha. But since I'm in Shanghai for the summer, I've had to correct myself and say “一点点” instead of "一点儿“ ...or the other person will correct it for me if I don't catch myself fast enough. 

The reason I am writing this blog is because as I was eating lunch with my co-workers today, one of them asked me if my Chinese teacher (told them I studied it in high school) was Taiwanese. Interesting. I've had four Chinese teachers -- the first two were from Taiwan, the third one was from Shanghai, and the last one was from Beijing. I've spent the majority of my Chinese studies with the first two from Taiwan. My co-worker was able to pick-up on this and point out my accent. But wait, since when did I have an actual Chinese accent? I've always thought my Chinese sounded very American (whatever that means), but my co-worker told me that I sound like I'm from Taiwan or Hong Kong when I speak. I still can't exactly figure out how she came to that conclusion, but one main factor might have been the way I pronounce "但是" (danshi). Whenever I pronounce this word in a sentence, I accidentally drop the "h" sound and say dan-si instead. I read this up online and apparently it's very common for Taiwanese people to do this when pronouncing sh, ch, or zh sounds. But other than that, I can't put my finger on anything else...however, that's also because my ear is not trained enough to pick out the different regional variations.

If anyone can explain to me the variation between the Taiwanese vs. Mainland Chinese accent, I'd love to hear them! I'm interested in knowing :) 

Thanks guys,

Christine

Working Life in Shanghai

Before I begin, I'd like to apologize for not keeping up with my blog. I actually have a draft written on June 2nd, but I haven't finished it due to the amount of effort I need to put into it, lol. I'm lazy, very lazy. China has made me lazy. But I do intend to finish it, because it was an experience that I enjoyed A LOT. However, that's not what I came here to talk about. I'm here to talk about what I've been up to in the last two weeks.

Two weeks in China is like a week back home. Times flies by super fast when you're being kept busy -- busy with work, friends, sightseeing, eating, etc. There's so much to take in all at once. It's tiring, yet exciting. I can't really describe my feelings about this trip just yet, but don't worry, I'll write a reflection after everything is over ^____^

So what exactly have I done in Shanghai? First and foremost, work. Every Monday to Friday, I get up at 8 am and take the subway to my work place. It takes about 30 minutes and is only two stops away. Very convenient! I arrive to work promptly at 9 am and then work until 5 pm. You may be wondering what exactly do I do at work...well, I have my own cubicle, I revise English translations, I attend meetings, I create PowerPoints, etc. The most exciting thing that I do at work, however, doesn't happen on weekdays but on weekends -- typically Saturdays. Because I am interning with a company that focuses on concerts and events, I get to actually work at these concerts. My job is to help with the backstage area, but I also get to walk around and sometimes even watch the concert itself! It's interesting to see how everything comes together -- from paper and the meeting room to the venue and actual show. There's a big, big, BIG show happening this weekend, so I might or might not blog about it ;)

Also, one thing -- it's incredible to see the importance of developing 关系 (or relationships) in the workplace. Chinese business culture is all about building mutual trust and relationships, because honestly, who wants to do business with someone unlikable or untrustworthy. Makes sense right? My Chinese co-workers are always trying to find ways to exercise some "team bonding," and it's not the typical "team bonding" we're used to in America. Team bonding in China extends far beyond formal settings; it's personal and informal. We have lunch with each other every day on a round table (freee lunch, hahaha), we joke around and give each other little goodies, our supervisors insist we go out clubbing with them LOL, etc. It's hard to describe, but I see it in action everyday. In addition, my co-workers only speak Chinese to me. It's incredibly beneficial, as I feel my listening skills improving every single day.

Anyways, besides work, I have also done a lot of eating and exploring. I've been to the bund (will post a picture later on), fake markets, Tianzifang (adorable, but pricey area due to its touristy nature), 永康路, etc. I've had 2元 wings at The Shed (SO GOOOOD - it's every Wednesday), cheap kebabs on the street, Yang's Dumplings, 10元 = $1.50 bubble tea from CoCo, 6元 ice cream from Family Mart (omg, very very good. I always get the mango flavored, but they also have vanilla and strawberry), etc. I've also done A LOT of clubbing and dropped 400元 at S2 for a fruit platter (long story).

All in all, the past two weeks have been quite eventful. I haven't even gotten to the meat of my experiences here, but because that would take forever to write about, I'll hopefully just remember to blog about the next six weeks that I am here!

Until Next Time,
Christine

[5.27.15 - 5.29.15] Arrival in Korea and China

Hawaii to Korea [5.27.15]

On Wednesday morning, I arrived at the HNL airport and went straight to the self check-in kiosk. While checking in my luggage, a mob of Chinese people suddenly came and surrounded me. They were asking me something, but I couldn't really understand ;__; After ten minutes of being overwhelmed by all of these people, I finally figured out that they were asking me to help them weigh their luggage. I haven't even left Hawaii yet, and I'm already getting my first taste of China this summer.

After checking-in my bags and going through security, I made my way to the gate. At the gate, a local Korean lady sat down by me and we made small talk together. She was so nice! She gave me recommendations on where to go in Korea, and I found out that she has a daughter in California who is 26 years old. Too bad we weren't sitting next to each other on the plane, because she was incredibly friendly. She even told me that she wished we sat next to each other on the plane so we can talk, drink, and eat together LOL. 

The flight wasn't too bad. It was definitely long, but I passed the time by watching three movies (Oblivion, The Imitation Game, and a Chinese movie about plastic surgery), eating, and "sleeping"...well, trying to sleep. I tried multiple times to take a nap, but failed. The Korean girl next to me, on the other hand, slept throughout the entire flight -- impressive. She woke up at the last hour and guess what? She puked all over her seat. Yeah. 

Korea [5.28.15]

Arrived in Korea around 6:30 pm and made my way to Immigration. I got lucky with Immigration. Incheon Airport is known for notoriously long Immigration lines, but when my plane landed, they opened up three new booths, so I was only 4th in line! 

After Immigration, I got my luggage, exchanged my money, and then stored my two luggage at Hajin Express (besides luggage storage, I believe they also provide packing and postal services). Hajin is located behind counter A on the Departure floor, and it costed me about 18,000 Won to store two X-Large bags for 24 hours. 

As soon as I stored my luggage, I went back down to the Arrival section and met up with Arlyss. If you guys don't know Arlyss, she is also a NSLI-Y alumni, but for the 2012-2013 Korean season. Because my other friend couldn't pick me up, Arlyss came in her place! Both of us took the metro from ICN Airport to Hongdae (a district of Seoul with a lot of clubs and a great night life due to the existence of many colleges and universities in the area), where we walked around and got some street food. The ride from ICN to Hongdae took about 1.5 hours. 

Guess who we saw? 

Side street in Hongdae

Arlyss ordered Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), Sundae (blood sausage), and some fried things. We also got some soup from the Odeng (fish cake). The soup and the Sundae were so gooood! You dip the Sundae in this red chili powder, so there was a little bit of a kick to it. The tteokbokki, on the other hand, was a little bit too spicy for my liking. It's a lot spicier than the ones you would find in LA or Hawaii.

Street food stall

Left to right: Sundae, Tteokbokki, various fried snacks

After we finished eating, we met up with my other friend, Haneul, and walked over to the main street of Hongdae. We visited a circle lens store, ArtBox (a super cute Korean stationary store), GS25 (where we bought banana milk and T-money cards for the subway), and then to a jjimjilbang, where we showered and slept for only 9,000 won.

Look at how cute these ice pops are!

The famous banana milk

In the Ice Room

Let me tell you guys something, Korean people are VERY comfortable being naked. Once we got to the locker rooms, everyone instantly stripped and walked around in their birthday suit. Of course, I didn't feel comfortable doing that just yet, so we changed into the clothes they gave us and went straight to the sauna. Arlyss and I visited three room: Red Silt room (a bit hot), the Hot Room (VERY HOT), and the Ice Room. Haneul only stayed in the Ice Room because she just got her hair done, so she couldn't be near heat. 

The Ice Room was definitely our favorite. It wasn't too cold, so it felt nice just sitting in the there. We stayed in the Ice Room for a really long time actually...a bit too long. I felt bad that we were hogging it, but honestly, other people could have came in too... -__- They just chose not to, because they wanted the room to themselves. While in the room, we had a dance party and made those hats out of the towels! You know, the one you see in Korean dramas and on Korean variety shows LOL.

After a while, an ahjusshi came in and started talking to us! He only spoke Korean, so Arlyss translated for me while he was talking. Apparently, he was saying something about how he wished he knew more English because the world is such a global place nowadays. The current generation of Koreans are able to study abroad, but his generation is a lot more traditional and homogeneous. He mentioned that it was good of us to travel and study different languages! 

At around 1:30 am, the three of us got hungry so we bought two bowls of instant ramyun from the little store in the co-ed jjimjilbang area. One of the bowls that we bought is supposedly the spiciest instant ramyun in Korea. I forgot what it was called, but it comes in a round, black container. It's not that spicy at first, but if you keep eating it, the spiciness hits you in the face. 

Once we finished eating, we went back down to the locker room, and I finally got the courage to strip. Or maybe because I was just so desperate to shower that I just didn't care anymore. Being naked wasn't that bad honestly. Maybe it was because I'm Asian, so I don't attract a lot of attention anyways...or maybe it was because it was 2 am, so only three other people were trying to shower as well. Oh wells.

Shower area - I think this place is called UCity Spa?

Technically not supposed to wear clothes in here lol

After showering, Haneul and I went up to the women's lounge, grabbed some thin mats and pillows, and promptly went to bed. Arlyss stayed downstairs because she can't sleep in public places. At around 8 am, both of us woke up, met up with Arlyss, went back down to the locker room, and then changed into our normal clothes. 

At the Hongdae metro station, Arlyss parted ways with us while Haneul and I took the train all the way back to ICN Airport. There we got my luggage, checked in, and then went to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Ice cream in Korea is interesting -- they have some very....different flavors. The one that Haneul bought was popcorn flavored. She only wanted it because EXO had apparently promoted it LOL. Oh, life of a fan girl. But interestingly enough, the ice cream tasted really good! And it actually tasted like buttered popcorn, too. Yums. ^___^

Korea to China [5.29.15]
Incheon Internationl Airport is literally SO nice. First off, it's huge. Second, it's super clean. Third, there are so many amenities -- especially for transit passengers. Near the check-in counter, Haneul and I utilized the free charging station. You don't even need to bring your own chargers because they provide the chargers for you! And they have everything from chargers for androids, iPhones (both new and old), and many more!

Inside the secure area where the gates are located, passengers are able to take free transit tours of Incheon or Seoul with Hana Tours depending on how long your layover is. There is also a free cultural center, where you can watch performances and do arts-and-crafts -- like building your own Korean paper lantern. My favorite amenity provided by the airport, however, were the free showers. Yes, you heard me! FREE SHOWERS. And these showers are not just public shower rooms; they are individual showers complete with shampoo, body wash, a sink, a toilet, and a hair dryer!! This airport is. amazing. That is all.

As I was walking to my gate, there was also a parade of people dressed up in traditional Korean clothing. Korea really wants people to enjoy their stay here, lol. Much thanks to Korean taxpayers for providing us with these free amenities.

Something to note is that only Asiana and Korean Air are in the Main terminal where all of these amenities are located. All of the other airlines are located in the Concourse terminal. You have to use the airport shuttle to get to it, but it's really easy to spot. There are escalators leading down to the train shuttle nearby Gate 27 in the Main terminal.

Once I got to my gate, I waited there for an hour before I was able to board. We were supposed to board at 12:25 pm, but ended boarding at 12:55 pm -- even though the flight was supposed to DEPART at 12:55. Why was the flight delayed? Because so many people bought duty-free items and the plane was quite small, so the workers had to spend time taping each bag and checking it in.... -__-

On the bright side, the flight from Korea to Shanghai was only 2 hours, and they even served us food! You don't get this kind of service in the US. Heck, I took a direct flight with United from Hawaii to DC on the NSLI-Y trip and they didn't even serve us food even though the flight was 9 hours long... My flight from Hawaii to Korea was that long and I was served three meals... The only bad thing about the flight was that there was A LOT of turbulence, but I think it's because there is a lot of turbulence in this region in general.

China [5.29.15]

When I arrived at Pudong Airport, I went through immigration (very short lines, thank god!), got my luggage, and bought my ticket for metro line 2 and line 4. The trip took about 1 hour 45 minutes, and I had to transfer 2 times. An advantage of taking the metro to my apartment instead of a taxi was that it was super cheap -- only 7 元 = $1. The disadvantage of taking the metro is that with two large luggage and a heavy backpack, it was hard carrying them in-and-out of the train...as well going up and down the escalators to transfer lines. Everyone that I met on the subway, however, we all very nice and they even helped me carry my luggage :) This happened every time I transferred -- a different person would always help me pull my bag or carry it onto the train. Also, a guy helped me push my bag through the turnstile, in order to exit the station. Because the turnstile was not big enough for a bag, I had to push one luggage through and then the other one after. But because a ticket only gets you one turn on the turnstile, one luggage was on the outside of the turnstile, I was stuck between the turnstile, and then my other luggage was on the opposite side of me. Thank gosh for that man! Chinese people are so nice ;__;

Anyways, after I got out of the station, I walked over to my apartment. It only takes about a 5 minute walk, which is really nice! The apartment is soooooo pretty. I love it. It has 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room + dining room, laundry room, and a patio. Each room has an AC included in it, too! Also, because we got the apartment on Airbnb (highly recommend, but definitely be careful about which apartment you rent), there were already appliances and supplies available to use free-of-charge! We have cups, utensils, plates/bowls, pans/pots, water boiler, soap, detergent, drying rack, etc. We also recently got a full length mirror and a rice cooker courtesy of our landlord, Luke! Luke even came to check-up on us Friday night. Off to a great start already.

Dining table

Living room

View from outside apartment

Until next time,

Christine

Summer in China (2015)

Hey guys,

Sorry for not updating you all about my trip, especially since I returned to the US about three weeks ago. But I just wanted to pop on and say that I'll be traveling to Asia again this summer! I'll be in South Korea for about 15 days (leisurely travel), and then I'll be interning in either Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, or Hong Kong for two months after that. It's an unpaid internship, but my school is giving me a $4,000 stipend to cover the cost of airfare, housing, food, etc. I also have to look for my own housing accommodations; however, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I don't know if I'll have wifi during my stay, but if I do, I promise to post on this blog more often -- especially about my trip to Korea. It'll be my first ACTUAL trip to Korea (not just the airport), so I'm super excited ^____^ Will get loads of pictures of food, food, and more food!

Here's to the start of a great summer,
Christine N.

Heading Back to China!

Ah, it's that time of year again -- finalist notifications for NSLI-Y. It's crazy how fast these past two years have flown by. Since coming home, so many incredible things have happened -- graduation, college acceptances, moving out-of-state for college, etc. As such, no words can even begin to describe how unbelievably amazing my freshman year in college has been.

One thing I am looking forward to, in particular, is my spring break trip to Shanghai and Beijing! Yes, I am ACTUALLY going back to China :) And I leave in less than 24 hours! Although I am traveling with my business class, I feel so incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity to return to China. I didn't think I would return so soon.

Because my schedule is jam-packed with company visits and sight-seeing (A/N: I finally get to see Shanghai, and not just the Pudong airport), I will not have time to update while I am there; however, I will try my best to post some tidbits or pictures about my trip when I get back. That is...if midterms don't take over my life.

Good luck to all those awaiting their NSLI-Y decisions! I know how anxious and stressful this period can be (A/N: I was constantly checking Facebook and my email), but just try to hang in there. And to those who have already been notified of their acceptance, congratulations! Get ready for an amazing summer. Just remember that your experience is what you make of it. Be proactive. Go out and explore the city. Go park dancing. Just do something! Trust me, you'll be thankful you put yourself out there instead of locking yourself in your host family's house all day long.

Until next time (because it's 3:00 a.m. and I have a midterm in the afternoon),
Christine N.