thoughts on life

(**Warning. I am about to bombard you with deep thought and insight. It's about as deep as the kiddie pool at Splashdown. Prepare yourselves.)


(a photo I took on the Great Wall, 3/8 or so, just outside Beijing)

NYU in Shanghai is a good time. I've met all sorts of crazy kids. We've done all sorts of crazy things. All around, a great introduction to China.

However, knowing what I know now, I may have done it differently. First, I would have spent a year in China. 1 semester may be enough to become fluent in a language I already know; for an Asian language, it's a whole other ballgame. I would still have stayed with NYU for a semester, as it's easied me into the idea of life in China. However, I would have studied with NYU in the fall and then followed it with a direct enrollment in East China Normal University's Center for Studying Chinese as a Foreign Language in the spring. Benefits: cheaper, easier to focus solely on studying Chinese.

Knowing next to nothing about international travel/living somewhere other than the US, I developed a list of questions to ask myself before future trips abroad.

Note to self:

1.)How will I get there?


(Trans-Siberian Railroad)

The fastest, most direct route is not necessarily the best. Some of the other kids in my groups stopped over in Europe on their way to China. They had a bomb time. Or maybe I could have gone though Russia. Trans-Siberian Railroad? Things to keep in mind: stopover, explore.


(a late-January stopover in Paris would have meant nationally-sanctioned sales season. If I had only known...)

2.)What will I need to get there?
Generally, you will need a visa. Apply for one, get necessary heath checks, etc. It's not that difficult. Remember: multiple entries.

3.)How will I get around (once I'm there)?
Subways? Buses? Get a map, get a transportation card (like Shanghai public transit card). Also, think about purchasing a bicycle or a mo-ped. Mo-peds are actually kind of awesome.



4.)How will I communicate?
A lot of countries outside the US use phones with seperate SIM cards. Don't listen to your parents when they insist you buy your phone before you leave the US. Buy one in the country. Find out how to call internationally (on your cellphone). Use skype. Not much else to say here.

5.)Where will I live?
Share an apartment with friends. It's generally cheap. Also, try looking for an apartment/living situation once you're in the country. Cheaper, and easier. I've heard that the residencias in Spain are decent pads. Unclear at this time.

6.)Appliances?
Buy in-country. Almost setting fire to your apartment trying to plug in American hot-rollers without a converter...poor life choices.

7.)How will I travel around?
Trains, buses, sleeper buses, and planes. If I had a an extra week, and the proper visa, I could travel from Beijing to Hanoi, Vietnam for $155 by train. Bummer.