"Let's order Pizza!"

“Misunderstandings lead to more problems than shared interests,” Dean Gao so tactfully (and in Chinese, I might add) preached on our second day. Misunderstandings about culture, or desires perhaps? It’s almost as if we expect that by jumping continents we will some how emerge walking on the sky instead of the ground. As if flavoring various cultures may lead our insides to unfold in shock at the differences. With the exception of a 13-hour head start on the day from the U.S., China and its people seem to share twin ambitions with the U.S.

Our initial arrival into China was marked (thankfully) with nothing save a camera lens, and that seems to have continued as a theme for our trip. The eye of some man’s video camera and many interested Chinese have kept track of our group, scouting our moves and musing at complete misunderstanding of their language. However, in no disrespect to Professor Gao, I’m certain we haven’t stirred up any hard feelings.

It seems however, in our musings around the country, I have some catching up to do here.

Day 1

While I’m neither a prisoner keeping track of my incarceration, nor a stranded sailor, I’m organizing myself by labeling each day.

After a groggy night and several forced hours of consciousness, including a dinner menu with no traces of English and a meeting where nearly every attendee fell asleep with their eyes open, we awoke somewhat refreshed. My roommate and I started out with our tourist hats on and got lost on Renmin’s campus (we are staying at the hotel at the university). Clearly a quizzical look is the same in any language (chalk one up to similarities!) because a nice Chinese student approached us to ask if we were lost. I was both ecstatic to hear English and to know that I wouldn’t be late to our first meeting. Tom showed us to where we needed to be and we clamored up the stairs to meet our group.

Now, back home I know my place quite well, and have become accustomed to being knocked around. My anonymity at home is nothing to warrant the star treatment we have so far experienced. I’m just guessing but it may be the University I attend and (quite honestly) the power over the journalism community it holds, but that’s just a guess!

However, not all cultures can meet right in the middle and later that day it was like awakening on Christmas morning to socks. We were asked to try on our uniforms for the Olympics. Exciting, you say? Ah, but I beg to differ; the shirts and shoes pose no problem besides the obvious carnie feel of 59 matching college kids as we collectively march off to a "summer job". No, no, they say Beijing Olympics, and this opportunity is worlds away from a high schooler matching with his Six Flags co-workers, they get paid. It’s the pants. It’s their murky gray that matches the polluted smog, which on most days hides your head from your feet, it’s their spandex waist band, which could double as my bra, and its astonishing talent to make my butt look especially elongated several decades beyond its age.

By days end we were hungry and seeking a meal experience fat different from lunch, which ended with many of us questioning our decision to come to China; “I had a plate of tomatoes,” “A ball of rice was my lunch,” “Really, I had nothing.” Our chatter must have mustered its way to the top and that evening we were greeted with an assortment of fruits and a less intimidating introduction to Chinese cuisine. (By the way, American-Chinese food isn’t even close, and that’s probably a good thing). We were again greeted by Professor Gao, thanked for our interest in China and told that when we start to miss our home to please consider his campus home. He presented us with stamps with our Chinese names. Want to know mine? “Molly” I know, I was excited too! It means Jasmine Flower, and we were given stamps with our names in English and Chinese, I will be letter-heading my correspondence with those, so just wait.

While I can see each of you poised at the edge of your seat ready for more, I will have to leave you here as my chattering takes too long and I will be even farther backed up tomorrow.

Next time on “Beijing Bound”… Day two of my adventure starts with a tour of two media outlets and ends with Beijing pizza…stay tuned!