photo-finish?

so i'm not sure which photo is best for my page's title area--the english?  or the chinese??

weekend.

hey there

  well we jst got in from the day of seeing a few more factories and such...it was long, not very exciting at any particular point, but it was good nonetheless.  [and] now i 'm just digressing and chilling out for a bit.  no plans from now until we leave tomorrow at 12 to get back...not as a whole anyways, so i'm sure we'll just get dinner in another hour or so, maybe come back, and inevitably they'll wanna go out again tonight [these guys are consistent!]--and so we'll see how i feel about that later on...also, it's already sat. evening, and i've yet to get to work on my schoolwork that's due when we get back [test and essay] and then i have like this really intense preparation routine i do these days for the next week...nothing really serious except get all of my words and word lists and study sheets written and in order...just kinda saves me time throughout the day-to-day!  

as for recently, these past few days have just been on the road with the group touring rando-yet-successful businesses throughout a region south of ours.  some have been semi-interesting, some notsomuch.  all in all, they were eye-opening, as one company's sole purpose is to make the plastic displays that are seen in convenient stores for like nestle products, and also they make all of those display units of knobs/light switches/hooks/etc. that you see at home depot [silly me, i never thought about that having to be madE!?]  another company was the world's largest spinner of linen in the world i think.  i think he said they have 25% of the market globally, which is huge.  they source and process flax grown in europe near normandy, france, and redistribute the finished string/material to companies like armani, gucci, etc.  the head of sales, mr. son i think, let me and jordan ride around in his bmw while we were transferring from one location to the next...it was freakishly nice--not sure of the model--although i know i sat in the back on the right side and watched a little of kungfu panda on the right monitor...while jordan watched something else from the 6-dvd changer in the back console.  it was a great 6-7 min.  ha.  today we wrapped up with a lenses company called sunny optical...and they're the like largest optical lens company in china, and among the top 5 in the world...making all kinds of lenses from those in cameras to telescopes to cell phones to high-end machinery...it was pretty neat to hear about.  but again, all of the sights weren't exceptionally exciting to walk around in or anything...after all, we were just watching people work...which, reminds me...i think i've decided i just never wanna work!?  ha...it doesn't seem to be terribly fun the more i see it going on [and as i work at my internship as well!]

it's been a fun trip overall i guess though...i've just not gotten a real chance to catch up on my rest in awhile...and so most days i drain pretty easily...which doesn't help when all you're going to be doing is walking around a lot and be spoken to in chinese a lot...not ideal.  however, we've all had a good time, as we've seen some pretty cool cities.  i'm pretty sure i didn't take many pics, as i was always just tired and not in the mood [or when it's been raining...not ideal], but i think there'll be some good and funny ones of the group up soon.  ningbo [the city we're in now] is a really neat place.  it was once the most 'international' city, ahead of shanghai.  it's since been surpasses, but still remains to be a great place to visit [especially for me, since it's still pretty international is far as finding familiar food joints! :p].  maybe tonight i'll take my camera with me and take some more revealing shots...or in the morning if tonight's not too late...

speaking of food:  i've tried quite a few more things since i last mentioned it...just this trip, i've tried [some more than others]: octopus and rabbit [okay, so rabbit's nothing too crazy...but hey, it's me]  also, last night we went to a brazilian bbq restaurant--and it was phenomenal!  while i, of course, didn't take full advantage of all of the wonderful meats, i was pleasantly filled with the different chicken options, and some beef ones as well...it was a legit brazilian establishment, workers and all, and they even had a little filipino cover band that sang some great songs.  i had had a particularly bad day leading up to the meal, and so i wasn't really sure if i wanted to go or not...but i'm soooo glad i did!  being around other people and being forced to interact [along with a lot of great food] can really help lift your morale.  it was also jeremy's birthday, and so we all sang to him, and today we had his cake on the bus.  i sure wish we could eat that kinda food more often...as i told some of the others, it was definitely the best 'chinese food' i'd had since i'd arrived...ha!  it was a little expensive in chinese terms, but certainly not in american dollars.  i think it would have ended up being about...120RMB/person with a drink...so like...$18!  beat that texas de brazil!  :)

oh, and i gotta say, the other night while bubba was still here, we stayed up until at least 1am just refreshing the box score for the basketball game in murfreesboro.  i was sooo excited about the game, and was crushed when within like 2 seconds the game seemed back in our possession to being over, done, they win.  aghhh, i was soo sorry to see that happen, as i know they were truly worthy of the first championship in a long, long time.  so sorry, vikings.  i was really rooting for you...even from 7,000 miles away!

okay, well, i think i'm going to try and get some work done.  so i'm off for now...but i hope everyone's doing well, and that i'll get some more info on here asap.  the only other big news i know of is that sis is coming over in...about a week  from today!  so that's exciting...i'm looking very much forward to it!  except...i know that after she leaves, it'll be down to the last, long stretch, and i'll be by myself once again for a long time ... :( ... 

...再见 for now...

w/p

08:04pm.  03/21/09.  [ningbo].  

quick check-in.

more info on the pics later...

so…long time no write again!  where to start i simply do not have a cLue.  today i’m in jianxing, a town south of shanghai, and it’s the first night of our 4-day Yangtze river delta tour/trip with the group [us, roommates, and teachers]…and will be spending most of our time in and around Ningbo—which, from what i hear, is a pretty significant city as far as business is concerned.  the trip is essentially designed to 1.) get us all out of shanghai, 2.) let us see parts of the country that we’d most certainly not see on our own, and most importantly, 3.) for us to see 6 of the ‘fortune 100’ companies in china [i believe this is the right label]…anyways, these are mid-size companies who may not control the market just yet, but are certainly expected to continue their ascents.  some of them are simply in a league of their own as they are  doing something completely new, and others are simply seeking to put their dent into the pre-existing markets.  our first stop was on the way here, and it was the shanghai vw [volkswagen] plant/headquarters.  it was a so-so tour, as i feel like there’s just not much to actually see, but for the most part, it was semi-interesting.  let’s just say i hope that the others are much cooler.  one that sounds particularly neat is this coal processing company [which…apparently 2 things: 1.] coal is inexplicably abundant here and 2.] china has recently discovered immeasurable amounts of uranium somewhere, so their energy possibilities seem to be expanding and self-sustaining to the nth degree!]…anyways, this plant does something that is apparently picking up steam around the country.  the company harnesses all of the steam produced from converting the coal into energy…and it’s this energy that is then sent out to provide electricity for the greater area.  in fact, i think j. told us that it’s some sort of law that if you live within 10km of the plants, you must use their steam for electricity/cooking/etc.  so it’s good and it’s bad.  they’re significantly increasing their efficiency, but also creating some sort of monopoly in the surrounding areas.  oh well…more on that later [after we actually go!] 

                okay, so this trip could be good…we shall see.  however, this past week [and nearly a month it seems] also deserves some attention…so we’ll see what i can remember about things here since my last significant post.  we’ll get into the random bullets now…:

• ·         the first thing i remember i’ve been wanting to put at some point, was that probably like…3 weeks ago now [wow]…i finished my 1^st audiobook [angels & demons].  it was wonderful…and i absolutely hated finishing it.  i’m really glad i finished it since i know i’ll wanna see the movie when it comes out this summer.  it was something i always looked forward to when thinking about any long travels i may have [even in the u.s. when i could just drive and listen through the car stereo…]  it was great!  i’ll be looking for a new one soon.  i think this is def. my fav. way to explore more literature.  [although this wasn’t anything really ‘literary-esque’…and other books’ readers may not be as welcoming…but we’ll see…i loved it.  [because] the thing is, for many people, i’m sure audiobooks aren’t quite so convenient since they read at a slower pace.  however, for me, it’s just about right.  i read embarrassingly slow…and so having someone else do it for me is awesome.  there’s nothing left out [in unabridged versions obvi.] so for me, it was just like watching a movie [the best], but yet i still got the full effect of the text.  i would def. recommend audiobooks in general—and a&d, especially.  a little pricey, but for me, def. worth it in most cases!
  
• ·         most recently, [yesterday] i received word that the huge dilemma that was housing back at school worked out as planned.  so that was awesome—i semi-know most of the guys i’ll be living with [5 others total], and they’re all great guys from what i can tell.  so that’s going to be great getting to know them better, and also to just be in a nice living situation that’s near many of my other friends i’d imagine. 
  
• ·         random #1:  i reeeeeeeeeeeeeaLLy wanna play golf and tennis soo much and soo badly right now.  both of the sports seem magical when you’re stuck without them.  i remember even telling bubba this past week that all i wanted to do for the rest of my life was just play golf, then play tennis, then play more golf, and…well you get it! ha…it just seems like the perfect getaway right now from all of the stresses of school and from the lethargy i’ve gotten caught up in here…so, when i get back to the states…i’m game for whoever wants to play…anywhere! ha
  
• ·         random #2:  i really enjoy playing Frisbee i decided…i’m not very good, and would likely be terrible at ultimate, but i simply enjoy just ‘tossing the bee’ around a lot—again, a good stress-reliever.  bubba actually brought me a good one from the u.s. so that we didn’t have to play with our like $.50 one we bought here in china…which was sooo crappy and even cut my hand, and also the area above my lip below my nose! ouch.
  
• ·         so this past week [well, like 9 days actually] a friend from home, bubba, came over during his spring break to just see the sights and enjoy the time off.  i think/hope he had a good time..although i know a lot of the time i was completely too busy for his liking.  it’s just soo hard to stay on top of things when you also wanna be a good guide/host…and so the academics struggled a little bit this week, but i think we ended up making a good time of his stay.  last weekend we went with my roommate to Nanjing…a little north of shanghai.  a little more traditional, Nanjing was a first for me as well.  it was definitely good for bubba to see a little more chinese-y type place…and me, too. 
  
• ·         we spent the weekend being shown around by lu chao’s ex-ex-girlfriend, who goes to college there—she studies architecture like jon corey. ha.  anyways, it was a lot of fun, and i really don’t remember exactly what we did except by looking at all of my pictures that i put on picasa! ha…it just went by really quickly, and i do remember the zoo…because we saw pandas…and pandas are my favorite! :)…haha [and] another thing i remember was our late-night mcdonald’s experience.  it was an encounter that almost thwarted my never-ending love for the double-cheeseburger, fries, and fanta establishment.  however, i’m not sure this could ever happen.  the experience has even been enhanced recently since my American friend brought a nice big bag of good ole’ mcd’s bbq sauce…the perfect addition to an order of nuggets or fries! :P
  

 

ahhh, anyways, i think that’s enough for tonight…not really…but at least i’ve put something down again.  surely more will come soon; and also pictures from the trip this weekend, too. 

 

so this was a pretty abrupt wrap-up…ha, sorry, it’s just getting late and we need to be up early in the morning!  until next time…

 

再见,

QOTD: 

Joey: "So here's what you do...you'll go to China, and you'll eat some Chinese food!"

Chandler: "Yeah, you know...there they just tend to call it 'food'."

--Friends

12:03am.  03/19/09.  [jiaxing]

 w/p

dst

Ohhhhhhhhhhh yeah...and apparently china's one of the only countries that doesn't utilize daylight savings time, sooo...for those of you back in the states...i'm now only 13 hrs. ahead...not 14...just fyi.

去做礼拜。。。

okayyyyy so i should definitely be getting to sleep...it's 1:30am here...and i just finished my work for the night [well, sorta...ha!]  anyways, i just felt that i needed to write something really quickly and short about something today [and hopefully later catch up on the past oh...2-3 weeks!? aghhh] anyways, i just wanted to put something down about my experience today when i went to church...so that i hopefully won't forget!

so...

i finally found out where the shanghai community fellowship church was located, and how to get there, and what time the english service started...and so today at about 3:15 i left my room, and narrowly made it in time for the 4pm start time [gotta leave a little earlier next time].  of course, it didn't help save time when i forgot my subway card in the room and had to spend more time buying individual tickets at the kiosks...ughh.  [sidenote:  the subway today--line 1 anyway--was by far the most crowded i'd experienced...it was amazing to see/feel how many people could be squeezed into the metro...

okay okay, anyways, back to church.  the church was perfectly fitting for china--dilapidated look, yet suitable enough.  [also, it was very compact/space-saving inside! ha]  however, besides simply seeing how many believers were present [and those locals who were leaving from the afternoon chinese service], the first moment when i was just like "wow..." was when i found a seat and had just removed my coat only to then hear a somewhat familiar tune playing overhead.  coming from the loudspeakers was most definitely the tune to "my redeemer lives"--a song that i've heard and loved hearing for years now...except i noticed that i couldn't quite hear the words i was accustomed to hearing...then i noticed it--the song playing over the crummy loudspeakers was the chinese version of the song "my redeemer lives"...it was a moment that i will hopefully never forget, as at that moment, i really still don't even know what thoughts i was having or emotions i was feeling...i just know that something inside me jumped with like "giddiness" or like that feeling you get when you see justice served or indignations overcome in movies...it was surreal.

then the song seemingly finished, and then started again, in the original, english version.  [actually kind of a let-down at the moment! ha..]

the church is certainly different than what i am used to--not much going for it as far as decor, technology, or grandeur; however, once inside and worshipping with probably nearly 2000 tightly quartered internationals in this awesomely-ridiculous city...it was soothing.  the music was by most accounts terrible--as far as organization, precision, and sound...but then again, it didn't matter.  we sang and we sang and we sang for what felt like nearly an hour.  it was wonderful.  the lead vocalist/guitarist was pretty much...flat-out...tone-deaf/terrible by most musical standards.  but he simply didn't seem to notice or care...he just played sometimes and sang as best he could...and it was just surreal to see so many different types of people gathered in one place...all with the same passion and desire.  i also saw a deaf man near me earnestly signing away to each song as the rest of us sang aloud...there were people clapping, some swaying, some with arms lifted high!  during that time, and during the Lord's supper, and throughout the message--it seemed that no one had any inhibitions...no one had any worries or fears...they just were simply and passionately praising Him.

the experience today was awesome...and just what i think i needed.  the sermon [whose subject was marriage and the roles of both husbands and wives] was one i'd definitely heard before, yet some new points were made, and i took some significant notes.  it kinda made me feel especially lonely for awhile though...anyways, he did mention a book throughout, called his needs : her needs, and it seemed to be very useful/on-point...so maybe later i will be able to pick up a copy, read a little more, and report back...however, the energy i felt when i first started this thing a few minutes ago is quickly disappearing...so i must call it a night.  anyways, i hope all is well with everyone...and i hope to write more often like i proclaimed i would at the beginning...maybe just some more snippets like this would at least be doable?...

and so for now...再见从上海

this entry, i'll leave with a few of the "Christian one-liners" someone sent me recently...[they're pretty good/clever]:

• "Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous."
  

• "Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors."

• "People are funny; they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church."

s.o.t.d. [fitting i thought...and also a recent hit on my iPod...]:

"when a man loves a woman" -- Percy Sledge

and a quote as well:

      "Fear stands for:

• False
• Evidence
• Appearing
• Real               "

            -- Zig Ziggler

2:08am.  03/09/09. [shanghai].

w/p