Haggling for Something More

When it comes to shopping in China, outside of the chain stores, haggling is the norm. If you don't learn the skill of it you'll walk away paying too much. If you're a foreigner you'll walk away paying too too too much. In my pursuit of purchasing presents for my return trip to America, I decided to buy a few scarfs. Out the gate the lady wanted $35 for one "100% silk scarf." At this point I'd been in the country for several months and had grown accustomed to bargaining and so my reaction was to laugh at the exorbitant price, and countered with a more reasonable price of $5. Bargaining was attempted on my part but the shop owner was relentless about lowering the price, until I walked away. As soon as I turned my back the price dropped to $5. It's rather funny how that works.

The same applies in Cambodia and Vietnam and if you don't bargain hard you're going to walk away a sucker every time. One night in Hoi An, after a day of tours, my friend and I sat finishing dinner. He was still hungry for more meat and I wanted the dessert I saw a few streets back. We parted ways and soon I was munching on a delicious bread of some kind. As I wandered back, I happened upon a bookstore. Having just finished my previous book, I decided to take a look. I got carried away since book prices are so cheap and ended up with three I wanted.

The bookstore owner started the bargaining at $17. Not quite happy with that price since I'd seen cheaper prices earlier i the day, I began my typical routine. Before I continue I have to make a quick interjection that the day was spent sipping beers and playing chess so I was a little off my game. As I offered my first price, he countered with $17 and a beer to celebrate the Tet holiday. We countered a few more times unsucessfully to convince each other. Until, probably due to the beers in my system, I countered with $17, one more beer, and the chance to hang out with his family until my tour bus was scheduled to leave.

It was an interesting look into a typical Vietnamese family's home life. The first floor was split with half being a book store and the other half being a living room. One of my tour guides had previous informed me that land is very expensive in the ciyt so many familes will convert a part of their home into a shop. The living room portion of the first floor was very simple. There was no furniture, only a mat on the floor. I didn't get a tour so I didn't see the rest of the house. I also asked to take pictures but didn't want to be potentially disrespectful so I only took three.

As for the family, I was introduced to the store owner's wife, son, niece, and mother who you can see in the picture. He was the only one who could speak English. Sadly I didn't get to ask much more since I only had 30 minutes to begin with until I had to leave.

Hopefully I can bargain my way into similar encounters again in the future. The cost of the books was well worth the experience.

Finishing up Phnom Penh with Pictures

After finishing up our tour of the grave site, we took the mellower route with the rest of the day and checked out some of the great architecture of the city along with our tour guide.

The Royal Palace

No shoes allowed inside

Pattern on one of the gates inside the Royal Palace.

This painting extended the length of the entire wall of the Royal Palace.

Stopping for a drink, we were not used to such hot weather after leaving the Shanghai winter behind.

Building inside of the Royal Palace with Beautiful patterns. Definitely my favorite building from traveling.

Motorcycles are the number one mode of transportation in South  East Asia. You can fit your entire family  on one, attach your entire shop to the back, sit your dog between your legs, etc. 

Several years ago I wouldn't eat anything, if you don't know read this. Now I'm eating frog legs...

and ox tongue with a side of red ants!

Phnom Penh

We woke early in the morning and headed downstairs to schedule a Tuk Tuk driver for the day. Tuk Tuk's have many different names throughout the world but they all refer to the same thing, a motor taxi with three wheels. Since we would only be spending one day we decided to get ourselves a driver to show us around the city. 

Before heading out we stopped to get some breakfast. We found a nice little restaurant that opened up to the street. Two things that surprised us when we started looking around the restaurant was that the prices were all listed in American currency and the menu was heavily based around American and French cuisine. (I would later learn that the French and Americans have had a huge impact throughout South East Asia. Also American currency is more more stable than local currencies so it is more popular.)

Street where we had our breakfast

Change from breakfast

Our Tuk Tuk driver

After breakfast we returned back to the hotel to meet our Tuk Tuk driver and then headed off for our first day in Cambodia. 

When I first decided to travel I thought that it would be best to find a book based in each country I was visiting and this book started us off on the journey for the day. For Cambodia, it was recommended that I read First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (A great read, I recommend it) by Loung Ung which tells the real life story of Loung's childhood under the Khmer Rogue. By the time they were removed from power, they had managed to kill almost a quarter of the population. Mass graves are scattered all over the country and our first stop in Siem Reap was one of the larger sites right outside of the city.

Monument to those that died under Pol Pot's regime

Inside of the monument

During high school history, I read so much about different atrocities and I felt so desensitized after spending years learning about different atrocities committed throughout history. This was the first time I got a first hand look and it was incredibly moving. 

After taking a long break to digest what we had seen, we got back into our Tuk Tuk and headed off to our next stop.  

Oops

Our flight was set to arrive in Phnom Penh at 11pm. By the time we got our visa and passed through the various checkpoints it would be rather late. Quite possibly, too late to find a place to sleep. I sent two different guest houses reservation inquiries. I declared the matter settled and left it at that.

The next day, the day of departure, I checked my email and found no reply. At this point I became a little nervous. I had no idea what we'd be in for if we didn't have a hotel. With the use of Skype, I made a call to one of the hotels that I'd emailed the previous day. The connection was so bad but I managed to say I'd email him and he promised to reply. An hour later, I had no reply and in two more hours, I'd depart for the airport and have no hotel. I found a list of hotels and made inquiries to most of them. I finally got a response and confirmed the room.

I met my friend at the bus station and we headed off to the Airport. Along the way he asked me why I'd put down his number for the hotel. I did this because I wasn't bringing my own phone. This matter is insignificant but what is, is that he confirmed the room but the first hotel was the only one I put his number down for. Now we were confirmed for two hotels and two hotel pickups. I decided to remedy this situation by giving the second guy at the airport a few dollars for his troubles and apologize for the inconvenience.

After making our way through the checkpoints, we walked out to the waiting area. Three pieces of paper waited with my name on it. About this point my brain shut down. I got the guy of the hotel I confirmed myself and the three of us left the airport. I pretty much sprinted to the shuttle. As we sat in the van and my friend laughed at my failure I realized I didn't pay them any money. Sorry Cambodian people that your first impression of me was of an asshole.

The story of my Travels

As I sat trying to come up with new stuff to write about, I realized I never actually wrote about my travels through South East Asia. I touched on two stories and that was it. While I will continue to write about non-travel related things, I would like to recount stories of my travels when writer's block stops me from talking about other things. The first article has already been written and I'm going to pull that up from the past and then I'll begin to sequentially tell my stories starting in Cambodia, then passing through Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and China. 

Adventures in Portable Sleep

I've just finished up my first two weeks of travel through Vietnam and Cambodia. Don't have pictures yet since the internet is pretty slow here. Should have a few to upload by the end of the week.

If you're feeling in the mood to offer critiques or comments, please email at chickentochinablog@gmail.com.

 

After a plesent sleep in a guest house in Siem Reap, we checked out and left our bags behind the check-in counter for the day. Tonight would be the first encounter with an overnight bus. Until 11pm, when the shuttle would come to retreive us from the hotel, we were left for the day to explore the city. The sun was hot and ever present. The only way to escape it was in the shade of trees which were few and far between. After several hours of walking and dripping in sweat and covered in dirt, it was time for the shuttle. The downside of overnight travel is that generally you're looking at two to three days of dried sweat and caked on dirt before the next shower.

During our shuttle ride, my travel companion and I joked that the bumpy and uncomfortable ride was actually our overnight bus. Upon first laying eyes on our bus, I realized there was little, if any, difference between the quality of the two vehicles. Tonight would be a long night.

When it comes to overnight buses, instead of seats, there are beds. These beds are split into three rows with two aisles. The beds are also set up in the manner of bunks so if you're on the bottom space is rather limited. Space becomes even more limited in the last set of seats where instead of aisles there are five beds across. I wouldn't have mentioned this back section of seats if it wasn't for the fact that this is where we got put. Even worse is that of the two tickets we had, we randomly chose which seat we got and my friend lucked out with the window seat.

Before continuing I must make note of the peculiarities of me and sleep. Excluding typical things on this bus trip that would prevent most people from sleeping, there were a few more that prevented me from sleeping. Never in my life have I been able to fall asleep on my back, it's just not possible. Luckily for me, the beds were angled such that it would be impossible to sleep any other way besides on your back. Also, any sort of noise that isn't of the white variety tends to distract me from sleep. For this trip, such noises included crying babies and the squeaking of the bus.

Every journey I've ever taken starts out with a transition period in which people put away bags, munch on snacks, and settle down in their seats. For longer journeys, this period usually ends with the lights shutting off, people dozing off and silence and darkness taking over. Just because silence and darkness come to the bus doesn't mean it also comes to the rest of the world. In Vietnam, paved roads are uncommon which means that every space of every paved road is vital and lacking of periods fields or forest, in other words, periods of calm. This translates to a constant barrage of lights and sounds coming from all the different buildings lining the road.

Severely lacking within the bus was a constant barrage of cold. The air conditioning vents were designed with only the outer most people receiving direct air. Maintenance of the bus was kept to a bare minimum so even though air was coming out, it was sputtering and not a formidable opponent to the body heat of all the occupants. While I'm a seasoned pro, having survived many summer nights without AC, I did so with the use of two vital weapons, a fan and a bed big enough to spread out to the four corners. Windows without openings crushed any chance of a breeze. There would also be no spacing out since my fellow travelers and I laid shoulder to shoulder. Without a means by which to cool myself, sweat began to emit itself from every part of my body. A secondary attack, almost like a Trojan Horse, lay hidden within this. The sweat off all the other unwashed bodies began to mix and linger in the air, assaulting the nostrils.

The final battle against attempts at sleeping came without mercy. Back in elementary school, I strongly remember the daily rush for the back seat so that every bump of the road could be enjoyed. There were two spots along the route where the bump would send you several inches into the air. It was almost like a free amusement park ride. Multiply the bumps and divide the fun and thats what the bus felt like. There was also an added perk not found on the school bus. Since my bed transitioned straight into the aisle, every time the bus driver slammed on the breaks, which was often since scooters were weaving everywhere, I went sliding forward several inches. If it wasn't for the uncomfortable columns of bars keeping the second layer of beds up, that I used to brace myself, I probably would have slid fully into the aisle several times. 

The combined onslaught on the senses led me to to give up any hope of a peaceful sleep. Packets of resistance throughout the night tried to make a stand and allow me to sleep. Different positions were tried. Music, silence, and white noise were all attempted. A strong ressistance came late in the night when another bed opened up and the guy in the middle bed, the bed next to me, relocated. The metal divider between our two beds dictated that this situation was barely any more comfortable. In the end, all attempts to sleep failed.

In the process fo writing this, I'd been sitting on a train from Da Nong to Hanoi. When I bought the tickets I saw that the train would depart at 11:50am and arrive 7 hours later. This was long but doable. After about five hours on the train I pulled out the map and realized we'd traveled about one-fifth the distance. Looks like the 7 hours later was actually 7am. Oh well, everyone is still celebrating the holiday  and the train is empty so we can stretch out in our hard wooden chairs and sleep peacefully. Twenty minutes later we pulled up to a crowd of people waiting to get on the train. 

I was going to conclude with some joke about bringing enough sleeping pills next time to knock out even an elephant. Instead I'll end with some words of wisdom from a good friend which I'm taking to heart more and more each day.

Shit happens.

Content with the Contents

In the months leading up to my departure date, I spent much of my free time reading of potential destinations and things to do at each place. At some point in my research I realized that I had given no consideration to the logistics involved. One thing I had given no consideration to yet was my packing list. Your typical trip involves one city with suitcases left in the hotel for the length of the vacation. My trip however involves multiple cities and one backpack that would contain my life for the duration of my travels. One day while doing my exploring the Internet for travel information I stumbled upon a backpacking suggestions website decided this was a great place to start and my list was underway.

Since it is my first trip and I'm rather meticulous when it comes organization, I read every last bit about the website. I read of the great debates plaguing backpackers including things like what kind of socks to bring, malaria medicine, and jeans or no jeans. I ended up dismissing most of the information offered by the website. Who really wants to spend $10 on a pair of over the top socks when a simple pack brought from Kohls will do me just fine? Maybe I'll find out the answer is me after I've been traveling for a month.

While not using most of the website, I did manage I walk away with a suitable list. In my free time I stumbled upon a few more tips that helped improve my packing list. Firs tip I came across was if you don't use it at home, why would you use it abroad? Good point. So I crossed a few items off my list. Second tip is that you can buy anything abroad. When I first came to China, I brought a lot of excess toiletries which could be bought at any store. Except deodorant. I went to about eight stores and two online stores and nothing. Chinese people don't sweat, who knew? Third tip and I think is the most important which comes from me this time. (Woah) Don't get lost in the details. Get a rough list and go. You'll thank me later.

What is the Next One?

My time in China is quickly coming to an end. Friday I turn in my laptop and work ID, Sunday I hand over my room key, and Wednesday I am on a plane to Cambodia. Since I will no longer be living in Shanghai, my writing will begin to reflect that. I have however opened an exciting new page and will spend the next few months experiencing South East Asia. My hope is that these experiences will be just as rewarding as my time in Shanghai and I can share them with you.

Veering Away

One would think that upon satisfying a craving, the craving would cease to exist. In regards to travel, however, I think the opposite is happening. Instead of feeling content with China, I want more, lot more.

The first question that had to be answered was, when?

My plan was to travel with my one willing friend so as to avoid making my first international trip alone. His work schedule required that the trip occur during the one week of vacation for Chinese New Year. By adding an extra five days, this would constitute a sufficient amount of time for our journey. And so, the seed of the plant that would satisfy my travel craving was born.

The next question was where?

Originally, my mission was to plan a trip to Spain that would keep me occupied, sheltered, and fed. I started Spanish several years ago in high school and desired to keep learning. The best way, in my opinion, to make the transition from China to Spain would be across the Trans-Siberian Railway. The trip would start in Beijing and end in Moscow, stopping along the way at several cities in China, Mongolia, and Russia. From Russia, I would take more public transportation to get across Europe. It would be a two week journey along the railway and this suited the when part of the trip perfectly.

I utilized my connections in China to try and locate a position in Spain. In my pursuit, however, I stumbled upon news claiming that unemployment within Spain for people around my age was sitting at about 50%. Regrettably, such news led me to dismiss the idea of traveling to Spain in the near future.

The final killing blow for a Trans-Siberian trip came upon learning that winter temperatures in Russia reach a staggering -40 degrees Fahrenheit. The idea of spending two weeks wearing several layers and retreating inside as soon as the sun decides to hide for a brief moment did not sound appealing at all.

So it was back to square one. Some time was spent getting lost in the world map. I gave consideration to places like Australia, Japan, Tibet, and South East Asia. The final decision of South East Asia came down to unexciting things like costs and visas so I’ll spare you that process.

The problem with South East Asia is that it isn’t just one destination but a collection of many destinations. Southeast Asia is made up of countries including Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. To decide where to go, we did as engineers do, and approached the situation as a puzzle. Where should we start and end our journey so that our flight would not be missed? How would we spend the optimal amount of time seeing each new location? After contemplating this complicated puzzle, we managed a plan. Our trip would start in Phnom Penh with some travel within Cambodia and then east to Ho Chi Minh and north through Vietnam to Hanoi. We would cross the China border together and then we would part ways with him returning to work and me making my way through China back to Shanghai.

I took it upon myself to plan an itinerary. I visited Wikitravel and read every page they had to offer about Vietnam and Cambodia. From all the places we could visit, I narrowed the plan down to a simple route that could be finished in the time allotted. The only part missing was how to return to China. As I looked at the map I realized that if I turned west in Hanoi in the direction of Laos and Thailand, instead of returning to China, a whole new world of possibility opened up. And what did I do? I turned to the west.

Hangzhou Tour with Pictures

These are the pictures from my first trip outside of Shanghai. I visited the city of Hangzhou. The city is most famous for West Lake. My friends and I  arrived on Friday night. We went out for dinner and visited the night market. The next day it was raining but we visited the famous West Lake.  Eventually we wandered away from West Lake to explore the surrounding area. That night we returned home since the rain did not let up. Photos are out of order. Sorry about that.

Bird cage in the middle of the woods. 

There were many interesting paths that led off into the woods. 

Chinese people like to take pictures without asking for permission.

Perfect example of horrible driving. Guy tried to make a u-turn on a highway.

Woman washing clothes in the river.

Chickens in the backyard!

This was along one of the bridges that we crossed.

For some crazy price you could tour West Lake from this.

So much going on here.

First time leaving Shanghai!

Coasta Coffee right in the middle of nowhere.

West Lake

Pathway that runs through the middle of the lake.

Tea is found in most hotel rooms.

Walk along the night market.

English words on the menu! Except everything says "home style cooking." Oh well. 

Gas powered boats you could rent. Except they were closed.

Jet Lag and the Future of the Blog

Since it's currently on my mind as I'm taking the train home from work; jet lag sucks. It all started when I took the plane home a few weeks ago and completely reversed my sleep schedule. For the two weeks I was home I spent every waking moment fighting the desire to sleep and every sleeping moment fighting insomnia. I managed pretty well, only suffering the lovely side effect of almost no appetite for about four days. When I finally got over jet lag I got back on a plane and returned to china.

Apologies for being extremely lazy while vacationing. I'll try and have a few new posts soon. Below are some of the topics I'll be writing about soon depending on whether or not I've got enough content to actually make a full post. 

• Why China is Skinny
• Six Months Abroad and my Return to the United States
• My First Vacation Outside of Shanghai (With lots of pictures!)
• China Round 2

It's a Good Day for a Grab Bag

小中大下上人!!

It’s been almost four months since I began learning Chinese and I’ve finally started Chinese characters. My logic for not learning characters was that almost everything is written in English. The grand total of times that I’ve found Chinese characters useful is to order food. I was curious though and asked my teacher about characters. She first introduced me to several simple words this past Sunday. As I went through my daily routine in Shanghai, I noticed these characters everywhere. It would be like I am studying all the time. Since learning these first few characters came so easily, I’ve decided to continue on and try and learn all the characters for the Chinese words that I know. 

Also, incase you were wondering, the title is “small medium large below above.”

On the next train out of Shanghai

This is rather embarrassing to say but I’ve not left Shanghai except twice for work since I’ve come to China. I decided it was time to look at a map, pick a place, and go already. Within a short train ride there are several popular places around Shanghai. A friend suggested Hangzhou, so Hangzhou it is. I haven’t done much research yet but I will be leaving next weekend to explore one of the many wonderful places outside of the main cities. 

Cranes 

Last week, on my first day out of Shanghai to visit another factory in the city of Taicang I looked out the window, soaking up as much as I could see. One thing that stuck out was the amount of large construction cranes that filled the scenery. I decided that the next week I would count the number of cranes I saw. Today, within a span of 25 minutes, I observed 57 cranes. That means that 57 buildings with at least ten or so floors are being built. I could maybe comprehend this number if these cranes were in Shanghai but we were outside of Shanghai. There was no city apparent from the highway, just large buildings being built everywhere along the highway. It boggles my mind just how fast China is expanding. Here is a picture of the difference twenty years made in Shanghai. You have to wonder what will happen to the rest of China.　

To what lengths must we sacrifice?

A quick note about the prices, I converted them to USD so ignore the rather odd looking pricing.

Thanks to Rutgers' rather annoying engineering graduation requirements, an internship in Shanghai would require withdrawing from school for a year. The problem is, I've only planned about eight months of my time off for China and still have several months free time to fill. Since I'm already on the other side of the world and with no desire to return home just yet, I've began thinking of where to go. Before even arriving in China I dreamed of traveling across Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway, eventually ending up in Moscow and then on to Europe to try and work or volunteer in Spain. Such a trip would not work on my current budget so I began looking for a new place to live. 

My first stop in my apartment hunt began with browsing two housing websites geared for English speakers. After almost two weeks of looking, nothing turned up. Next, I turned to my coworkers for advice. (A quick note before I continue, the Chinese in general are very helpful people. I will deeply miss this when I return to the United States.) They said I could save a decent amount of what I'm spending now on housing by moving out of the city and closer to work. This idea was rather tempting and I decided to think it over. Upon arriving at work the following day, my coworkers notified me that they'd gone home and spent some time searching Chinese housing websites and found some nice cheap places for me. 

Around the same time, one of my roommates was in the process of moving out of a rather small and somewhat cheaper room. I was temped to make the move to a smaller room in the same apartment but I couldn't justify saving $46 a month for a room that is roughly ten feet by six feet with no window. Thankfully my roommate made a good suggestion that had previous been alien to me due to previous living in America, bargaining. Bargaining is everywhere in China, besides your chain stores, you can typically bargain everywhere. I am determined to get good at bargaining since the last time I bargained I got ripped off and overpaid about $46 on a $123 dress suit, I decided this was a perfect opportunity. With the assistance of my coworkers and some of my own good thoughts on bargaining, I set to work lowering the price on the smaller room. 

The original price of the small room paid for by the previous tenant was $384. Since apartments in the suburbs can run as low as $261 for a nice room, that became my goal. With several back and forth text messages (Can't start bargaining in person, you'll end up failing miserably!) with my landlord, the price slowly dropped. Sadly, I didn't make it to my goal of $261 but still managed $307 and somehow managed to get free Chinese lessons from my landlord's husband and free meals at his restaurant. 

With cost being a much smaller issue, it was time to decide if moving to the suburbs would be a better fit. To clear my thoughts I decided to utilize a pros and cons list to decide what would be the best move. As I began to write the list I quickly realized I could end up in a very bad situation which could potentially make the next six months of living absolutely horrible. I've managed to find probably one of the best landlords one could find in Shanghai. She has lived in the United States for four years, will come within the hour to fix any problem, and is a very friendly person. From here, a new landlord could only go downhill. I've had bad experiences with my two previous landlords and not too excited to end up with a landlord that never shows up to fix problems or doesn't speak any English. Next up was the roommate issue. The people I live with are all great people and don't have any notable problems with any of them. I continued to write out my list and the cons far out numbered the pros of moving out.

Thankfully the list wasn't too balanced and a clear choice was made to remain living at my current location. I could have saved another $46 a month if I moved out of the city but I could have found myself in a position making me miserable for the duration of my stay in China. 

Lesson Learned:  In the pursuit of a goal, sacrifices may be a necessity but don't make so many sacrifices that the journey is ruined.  Remember, the journey can be just as important as the destination.

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

The first night here was a relatively uneventful one as jet lag was demanding all of my attention. The only three things on the agenda for the night were shower, food, and sleep. I got an introduction to the subway as we headed off towards an appetizer of vendor food and then dinner at a restaurant my friend suggested. The vendor food was spicy pork which was absolutely amazing. For dinner I had set before me four different dishes of egg and rice, spicy fish, beef and onions, and some sort of sweet corn dish. For those that don't know for whatever reason, I cannot eat fish. I did however give it my best go and managed to try some fish and it was actually enjoyable. After dinner it was straight back home to sleep and hopefully get rid of jet lag as soon as possible.

Lesson Learned: Be weary of the pick pockets but bring your camera! I'm kicking myself for already missing several interesting pictures.

Thank you for flying, enjoy your stay.

Friday at 5am I headed out the door, not to return home for several months. Nervous thoughts filled my head during the car ride but quickly transitioned to excitement. Four years ago was the last time I stepped foot on a plane and I’d been waiting for this moment since then. I arrived to the airport, kissed my mother one last goodbye, and headed off to the departure area.

After a two and a half hour wait the plane was ready for boarding. As I walked down the rows toward my seat I was happy to know that I had a window seat, any other and I would not be getting any sleep, thanks to my very specific manner of sleeping. I got to my seat put my stuff in the overhead and then looked at which seat was mine and to my horror I realized for the next sixteen hours I would be sitting in the middle of three seats. Why the hell do planes not put their seats in alphabetical order? They decided to skip a letter and so instead of 59j being the window seat it was in the middle.

Your impression of what a 16 hour flight feels like is most likely spot on. If you’re still guessing at what it feels like, it sucks. They offer a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music, and video games to play as well as a power outlet for your own devices. I’m not sure what it is about an airplane but the wide selection meant nothing. I started about six movies and four different TV shows and only finished three of the movies and didn’t make it through a single TV show. Luckily I did manage to take several short naps which helped to pass the time. The food was decent enough and helped fill up some time.

Thankfully, before I knew it the plane was touching down in Hong Kong.  I was still four hours away from my destination but grateful to get an hour to not be sitting in the middle seat. The plane ride from Hong Kong to Shanghai was rather uneventful and I scored an aisle seat. Leaving the airport went smooth as well. Right outside my friend greeted me and we headed off to his apartment so I could drop off my stuff and get a quick shower before heading off for my first adventurous night in Shanghai.  

Welcome to the Real World

All in all these hurtles of preparing for the internship weren't so bad. Things could have gone a lot worse. Potentially I could have had my visa application rejected or had to stay overnight to get the visa instead of same day processing in which case I would have missed several classes. I'm thankful this is the worst that happened.

First step in preparing for the internship was obtaining a letter from my school explaining that I was a student and had passing grades. Simple enough, right? As the answer to that question always goes, it was in fact not so simple. It started off with an email to my career services which didn't get a response. I then called both career services offices and neither had a clue. My next best guess was the dean's office of engineering. Upon arrival the entire office happened to be out for lunch so I sat around for an hour and waited. Finally getting a chance to talk to the secretary, I was told they could do nothing and said the registrar would be able to assist me. Well they couldn't do it for me either so it was back to the dean's office. With one last desperate begging attempt I managed to get a secretary to write me a short letter. Who knew simple tasks could require so much?

Next up was the waiting game. Another great welcome to the real world is paperwork. I was told the internship was mine and it took another two and a half months to procure a piece of paper telling me so, during that time I got to watch ticket prices increase by almost $200. That piece of paper then spent the next week traveling in DHL's hands from Shanghai so that I could go to New York City to get my visa. All was fine with that until DHL attempted delivery. The first day around 10am I was not home and a delivery attempt was made. This is understandable and I thank them for not just leaving the letter there. The next day, I planned on waiting until the letter came, heading to New York to stay with my sister and then arriving to the visa office the next morning as early as possible. This almost went smoothly except for the delivery driver never showed. I checked the delivery status webpage and to my surprise the driver had attempted delivery. I checked outside however and there was notice of a delivery attempt. I called DHL and figured out that the guy had just decided to drive by and not actually deliver the letter. I then waited another forty minutes and finally around 7:30pm he shows up.