After spending the day in Kunming, the fifteen of us, Marketus and Lao Yang boarded the grandma bus for a six hour (I think?) ride to Dali. On the way to Dali we passed by some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my entire life: mountains, villages and terraced farms. I […]
Author Archives: Richelle
Adventures in Yunnan: The Beginning
A couple weeks ago my program and I went on a trip to Yunnan providence. Yunnan is a providence in southwestern China famous for it’s rice terraces, geological formations and ethnic minorities. Yunnan recognizes 28 different Chinese ethnic minorities- the most of any providence in China. The most notable ethnic minority groups in Yunnan are […]
Our Field Trip to Ikea
Before you start asking questions, yes, my sociology class had a field trip to Ikea. Why?! Well, because Ikea in China is very different of course. The whole point of our lecture was consumerism in China and how it differs from Western countries. Ikea in China has a problem: TONS of people come to Ikea […]
DORM LIFE: My 14 New Best Friends
Part of the study abroad aspect that you never hear about are all of the things that happen around campus, or even just in the dorm. I’ve been spending my entire blog talking about the places I’ve been, and the cultural interactions I’ve had (and my obsession with Chinese babies), but I think dorm life […]
My Obsession with Chinese Babies
So I’ve talked about it a few times, but I have a very creepy and unhealthy obsession with Chinese babies and small children. I’ve been trying to figure out why I love Chinese babies so much and I came up with a few reasons: #1: They have really big heads and fat cheeks #2: They’re […]
The Temple of Heaven
A couple weekends ago my classmates and I went to the Temple of Heaven, or Tian Tan. The Temple of Heaven is a beautiful temple complex where the emperor used to go to pray on special holidays. It was built to mark the meeting place between heaven and earth. When we first arrived to Tian […]
Exploring the Hutongs of Beijing
A couple of weeks ago my classmates and I spent a saturday exploring Beijing hutongs. Hutongs are the remnants of the traditional housing of China. They are alleyways with stone courtyard houses and communal bathrooms. The city of Beijing used to be a city made up of hutongs, but for the sake of urban planning, […]
My Chinese Language Boyfriend
In our second week we were all assigned language partners- graduate students that act as your tutors and guides to China. Yuan Yuan told us that there were only two male language partners so I basically assumed that mine would be a girl. false. My language partner’s name is Zhang De Biao and he is […]
Interning in China
Coming to China I knew I wanted an internship but I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted a real “internship”, not just a glorified volunteer position. I wanted to work in an office and learn valuable skills that I need for the “real world” all while learning about […]
Walmart in China
That next day after a long morning of orientation, we learned drumroll please who was in what Chinese class!!! The first class (100) contained the very beginners and those who had studied for a semester or two: Tiffany, Seijen, Katora, Will and Hannah. The next class contained people who had studied for roughly three semesters […]
