THE JOURNEY ENDS

so, this is how it ends. not with a bang, or a whimper, but a podcast.

 
 

The journey ends 2

 

thank you for watching/reading/listening!

alex

AIDNI

that's right, it's INDIA...backwards.

reflecting on my stay, during my last hours in India, i realized that my experience in the country might best be understood and chronicled in reverse! it could be interesting, i thought, to begin with a more informed perspective and track backwards towards first impressions. i had to give it a shot.

so here it is:

IT'S INDIA!

well, we made it! two months later, we’re in india -- the final destination. 

in a little over 5 days, i trekked a couple thousand miles, through two major cities and two incredible programs in what is easily the most hectic/confusing/overwhelming yet beautiful place i’ve ever been. regrettably, none of the photos below are scratch-and-sniff so you wont get the whole experience, but here’s a little taste of the past week.

MUMBAI:

i arrived in Mumbai from Beijing in the wee hours of the morning and later that afternoon, hit the streets to explore with RD Smriti Chhrabra. we walked through crowded markets, cruised by the Arabian Sea, and saw this abandoned bicycle (which posed for this still life shot). later, while watching this man (below) roll custom tobacco pouches out of fresh leaves, i backed up into something pointed. it was a horn. it belonged to this cow (also below) who was just hanging out in the street by herself. i apologized and moved along.

THE WELINGKAR SCHOOL:

CIEE, Mumbai is in its first semester as a program. the three intrepid members of the inaugural class study, here, at the Welingkar School for Business in the heart of the city. they're directly enrolled in classes with MBA and PhD students and taught primarily by professionals working in the field. it's pretty unique.

while touring the campus, a number of Indian students, in their second year of the program, shared some of their experiences with us; we dropped in on this presentation by an ad/marketing agency which featured this guy dressed as a sassy remote control; took a peek at notes from a brainstorming session and stepped inside the boardroom.

HYDERABAD:

two days and 700 kilometers later, i was in Hyderabad. i had never heard of the place until this trip, though by area it's the second largest city in India and sixth in terms of population. i should probably read more.

the CIEE program is located on the campus of the University of Hyderabad, which is also pretty huge. at over 2,000 acres it looks a bit like a cross between a college and a nature preserve.

in addition to courses like eastern philosophy, yoga, computer sciences and conversational hindi, students are encouraged to take part in classes in Indian cultural performance. these include traditional  music, dance and henna. they look like this:

HOUSE of KALAMKARI and DURRIES:

after years of work for the government, Ms. Suraiya Hasan (now 85 years old!) founded this traditional weaving center just miles from the University of Hyderabad campus. in addition to training widowed women - who are cruelly ostracized by Indian society - to work on these handlooms, and earn a living, Hasan founded this school (above) where their children can study.

amazing place, amazing woman.

be sure to check out the rest of the photos, here!

TALENT SHOW

to wrap up and celebrate the conclusion of the Beijing summer program, CIEE students put on a talent show for their peers and the school's faculty. RD Tian Yuan discusses the of the importance of singing songs and writing skits (about 'Harry Potter') in Chinese while summer student, Matt, takes us through his stage turn as a Mandarin-speaking pirate ghost.

ROOMMATES

many CIEE students in Shanghai opt to live with Chinese roommates. they're paired up with local students from their host university who help with homework, speak Chinese with them and borrow the occasional fork or pair of socks. you know, roommate stuff.

here, Thomas and his Chinese roommate practice some calligraphy and discuss what it's like to share a room with someone who doesn't really speak your language.

NO ONE MAKES DUMPLINGS LIKE HOST MOM

as i mentioned earlier, my favorite meal in Shanghai was at the home of a host family who has taken in a number of ciee students over the past few years.

having been on the road for over 2 months, it's exciting and comforting to visit the home stay. it makes me feel - if only for the duration of dinner - like part of the family. no, i can't speak chinese, but good dumplings need no translator.

TEA & SYMPATHY (IN BEIJING)

this week found me west of Shanghai in the capital city of Beijing. while touring the awesome tiananmen square i was invited to what was described as a 'traditional chinese tea ceremony.' while excited, at first, i soon found myself in some pretty hot water. check out the podcast to hear the story!: 

Tea and sympathy 2

 

THE SOUNDS (AND SMELLS) OF SHANGHAI

welcome to part ii of the Shanghai posts. in this edition we'll cover home stays, factory tours, martial arts and more. let's get started! 

HOME COOKIN':

years ago, someone told me that they enjoyed the Chinese food in Maine more than the food they ate while on a trip to China. at the time i was skeptical, after two weeks and dozens of meals here i'm convinced they never actually went to China.

the food in this country is unbelievable and none has been better than the cuisine prepared by this woman (below) who was my home stay mother for one incredible meal.

my chinese mom (who has hosted numerous CIEE students) graciously welcomed me into her home, offered me juice boxes and let me put together a few sloppy dumplings. she later transformed the little pockets of dough into (honestly) the greatest dumplings i've ever had and encouraged/pressured me into eating about 25 of them. thanks, chinese mom!

 

CIEE/ECNU CAMPUS:

CIEE Shanghai holds classes on the beautiful campus of Eastern China Normal University. there are trees, canals, and more basketball courts than i've seen at any other university. here are some of the really nice parts: 

the staff, headed by RD Dr. Steve Chao (he's the guy in the picture), were incredible hosts during my stay and posed not just for one, but two photos. thank you, ladies! and Steve.

Steve's philosophy involves exposing students to as many facets of Chinese culture as possible during their time in Shanghai. activities offered outside the classroom include: martial arts, calligraphy and traditional music.

'ONE PIECE AT A TIME...':

factories and assembly lines have always fascinated me. my class visited a local bread factory in 2nd grade and i remember being astonished not only by the efficiency and coordination of the line, but the abundance it yielded. i had never seen so many donuts.

over a decade later, the Shanghai General Motors plant had a similar effect on me. it's amazing to watch this skeleton of sheet metal slowly morph, piece by piece, into a vehicle. while i couldn't take any photos inside the factory, the students and i made the most of our time in the showroom with the finished products.

                                                           

RIVER CRUISE:

as a way to close out the summer program with a little team spirit, we took some photos (both stately and sassy) in front of Chairman Mao then jumped on a boat to view the city's skyline by moonlight.

our vessel:

Shanghai at dusk:

 

 

THE SIGHTS OF SHANGHAI

homemade dumplings, towering sky scrapers, umbrellas without rain...20 MILLION PEOPLE -- it must be Shanghai!

before arriving in asia, i thought of New York as a pretty big city -- which, by most standards it is. at 8 million residents, it's by far the largest in the US. the population of all four boroughs combined, however, is less than half of that of sprawling, Shanghai. that’s kind of insane, right? it’s nearly impossible to grasp or quantify a number like that. 

they love scale, city models, here in Shanghai and they’re amazing at constructing them. the city is so massive, it’s like the only way to comprehend its size is to shrink it. and even then, it’s too large to fit in a picture. trust me, i tried.

so while i couldn’t get you aerial photo of the whole city (or even its entire skyline), or get every citizen to pose for a group shot, i have compiled a few photos to give you sense of what it felt like to be there. here they are:

WORLD FINANCIAL TOWER:

my first real impression of Shanghai was at 1,600 ft. The Shanghai World Financial Center is currently the 3rd tallest building on earth. at dusk the city glows, the huangpu river shimmers gold and it's kind of frightening to look down through the glass windows that line the observatory floor.

THE OLD CITY:

my next stop was Shanghai's 'old city' a labyrinth of crowded streets, merchants and ancient architecture. featured below are a lion sculpture; a sampling of wears; one of the many 'bottle men' walking the streets; and an impressive award featured outside the stall of one merchant. 

FRENCH CONCESSION:

the museum of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is located in the city's French Concession. there were no pictures allowed inside the museum, but this is what the lobby looked like: (note the number of potted plants)

REFLECTIONS ON THE SHANGHAI CONCERT HALL:

when i was about 9 my family moved from the city of Portland to a suburb about 15 minutes away. i was opposed to the move on a number of grounds, but chiefly because i loved that house. until that point, i had spent my entire life in it.

after hearing a rumor at school that it was possible to actually move an entire home to another location, i became not only convinced that this was the right decision for our family, but obsessed with the actual logistics of it. did they use a crane? a huge flatbed? multiple flatbeds? did they cut the house into pieces and put it back together on site? how did they get it down the road? it seemed impossible. ultimately, we just left our house and moved into another one.

you can imagine my delight, then when i discovered that almost ten years after my move, the people of Shanghai did the impossible. to avoid damage from a nearby highway they moved this concert hall (below), weighing some 5800 kilotons, to a new site over 60 meters away.

 

i still don't know how, but they did it. and, to be honest, part of me doesn't really want to know. 

MUST LOVE DOGS:

the highlight of my Shanghai site seeing, was undoubtedly this -- the section of this city park which acts as a huge, 3-D, interactive 'personals section.' the parents of still single 20 and 30-somethings place adds here for their children. then they spend the day perusing potential partners. the yentas were out in force when we arrived, chatting loudly and taking notes. 

 i couldn't fit a city of 20 million into just ONE post, so check out more photos here and the next entry for more about Shanghai!

THAT'S BANYA

maybe the most authentic russian experience i took part in this past week was the only one i couldn’t really document with the camera; chiefly because it involved extreme temperatures and multitudes of naked men.

so instead, i’m switching things up a bit and trying something new: a radio show. yes, this is a video blog, but sometimes, things are best left to the imagination. and sometimes -- given basic decency laws -- it’s really best that way.

 

Banya podcast