Six hours after we arrived in South Korea we arrive in Shanghai, China. A long wait in line in the Shanghai Airport and a quick stamp in my passport marked my first entrance into a foreign country. The smells and scene were completely new to me. An overwhelming smell of tobacco smoke, carpet, and city air drifted through the airport front entrance. Mandy, our guide, introduced herself to everyone and then we went outside and got onto the Sanda University bus which made the Lander bus look like a mini cooper. Sanda University has around 8,000 students although the campus was a ghost town because of the Labor Day holiday here in Shanghai. Our guest house was positioned on the river running through campus.
On Tuesday our group attended classes at Sanda University on Chinese language, Chinese culture, and Consumer and cultural perspective differences between Chinese people and the west. Our instructor for our first two classes was named June. She referred to the language class she was teaching us as “survival Chinese”. This reference made much more sense to us as we travelled around the campus and surrounding area of Shanghai throughout the week. Our language class covered basic terms and phrases such a ni hao (hello), xie xie (thank you), and ce suo (bathroom). Next we covered the four different tones, the front and back nasal speech of the Chinese language, and ‘pinyin’ the type of initials and finals of the language which are similar to consonants and vowels. After we covered language we began learning about Chinese characters and how Chinese calligraphy comes from hieroglyphics which usually are written to mimic the actual objects, places, or people represented by the characters. Jane also taught us the first 10 numbers in Chinese.
After a wonderful lunch we returned to classes and learned about how to tie lucky knots as well how to make red paper cut outs by making a double happiness paper cut out. After our class on culture we were introduced to a professor of business who gave an interesting presentation of Chinese customs and viewpoints of American culture. The professor felt that Americans were very aggressive and more open in terms of promiscuity. He showed us a McDonald’s commercial that the government sees as inappropriate however Americans would see the commercial as nothing unordinary. I found the presentation interesting in terms of the misconceptions foreign countries have of Americans. Most of our negative stereotypes come from the Northern region of American whereas the South is much more in line with Chinese culture in terms of tradition.
On Wednesday we visited the Shanghai Maritime Museum which focused on the Chinese boating and marine life throughout history. The museum boasts of the new Chinese aircraft carrier with posters and flyers throughout the front entrance of the museum. The interesting design of the new aircraft carrier was of interest because of the aerodynamics of the ship to help it glide through the water with more speed than any other in the world. While this one aircraft carrier is the first for China this ship is of no significance to the United States because we have so many already. The only real notice that our country needs to take is that China is moving to become a larger military power and build a large scale navy similar to the United States. The great thing about having a strong navy is that a country can enforce its global markets by force if necessary. This is a strong indicator that China’s growth rate is more fact than fabrication. The museum was the first of two we saw on Wednesday. The second museum was the Shanghai Herb Medicine Museum which focused on the history of medicine in China. While most of China uses a mixture of Eastern and Western medicine the history of Chinese medicine focuses heavily on natural remedies from animals and plants as well as stretching routines, massages, and acupuncture. The museum’s content really reminded me of Native American style medical history. Many of the same themes seen in Native American cultures are in line with Chinese historical cultures including medicine, warfare style, and jewelry styles. At night after dinner at Xin Wang we went on a river cruise from the east side of the Shanghai River. We got to see the multiple state buildings as well as the Shanghai financial district. One of the most memorable sites was the sphere tower and the finance building with a large square hole in the top of the building. Our time at Sanda University was very interesting and I truly enjoyed my first glimpse at Shanghai.
On Tuesday our group attended classes at Sanda University on Chinese language, Chinese culture, and Consumer and cultural perspective differences between Chinese people and the west. Our instructor for our first two classes was named June. She referred to the language class she was teaching us as “survival Chinese”. This reference made much more sense to us as we travelled around the campus and surrounding area of Shanghai throughout the week. Our language class covered basic terms and phrases such a ni hao (hello), xie xie (thank you), and ce suo (bathroom). Next we covered the four different tones, the front and back nasal speech of the Chinese language, and ‘pinyin’ the type of initials and finals of the language which are similar to consonants and vowels. After we covered language we began learning about Chinese characters and how Chinese calligraphy comes from hieroglyphics which usually are written to mimic the actual objects, places, or people represented by the characters. Jane also taught us the first 10 numbers in Chinese.
After a wonderful lunch we returned to classes and learned about how to tie lucky knots as well how to make red paper cut outs by making a double happiness paper cut out. After our class on culture we were introduced to a professor of business who gave an interesting presentation of Chinese customs and viewpoints of American culture. The professor felt that Americans were very aggressive and more open in terms of promiscuity. He showed us a McDonald’s commercial that the government sees as inappropriate however Americans would see the commercial as nothing unordinary. I found the presentation interesting in terms of the misconceptions foreign countries have of Americans. Most of our negative stereotypes come from the Northern region of American whereas the South is much more in line with Chinese culture in terms of tradition.
On Wednesday we visited the Shanghai Maritime Museum which focused on the Chinese boating and marine life throughout history. The museum boasts of the new Chinese aircraft carrier with posters and flyers throughout the front entrance of the museum. The interesting design of the new aircraft carrier was of interest because of the aerodynamics of the ship to help it glide through the water with more speed than any other in the world. While this one aircraft carrier is the first for China this ship is of no significance to the United States because we have so many already. The only real notice that our country needs to take is that China is moving to become a larger military power and build a large scale navy similar to the United States. The great thing about having a strong navy is that a country can enforce its global markets by force if necessary. This is a strong indicator that China’s growth rate is more fact than fabrication. The museum was the first of two we saw on Wednesday. The second museum was the Shanghai Herb Medicine Museum which focused on the history of medicine in China. While most of China uses a mixture of Eastern and Western medicine the history of Chinese medicine focuses heavily on natural remedies from animals and plants as well as stretching routines, massages, and acupuncture. The museum’s content really reminded me of Native American style medical history. Many of the same themes seen in Native American cultures are in line with Chinese historical cultures including medicine, warfare style, and jewelry styles. At night after dinner at Xin Wang we went on a river cruise from the east side of the Shanghai River. We got to see the multiple state buildings as well as the Shanghai financial district. One of the most memorable sites was the sphere tower and the finance building with a large square hole in the top of the building. Our time at Sanda University was very interesting and I truly enjoyed my first glimpse at Shanghai.
