Sister's Shopping List

So my 8 year old sister was telling me today all the stuff that she wanted me to bring back from China. I told her that I couldn't remember everything she had said, and that she was better off making a list for me:

This is what she wrote (this is word for word, by the way, and she used this computer to type it)

• 3 Chinese paintbrushes
• Chinese paint (all 7 colors of the rainbow)
• Chinese book on how to paint
• Chinese painting paper
• Chinese watch
• 2 Chinese stamps
• A ring (a flower on it)
• A shirt with a mouse on it
• 1 elephant (pink) (stuff animal)
• 1 panda (stuff animal)

A shirt with a mouse on it? And I love how she clarifies that she wants the stuffed animal version of the elephant and panda, and not the real living creature. Oh, how I am going to miss home...

Shopping for Gifts

Whenever our family has someone returning to visit China, we usually get many requests for gifts. This year was no different. Our uncles usually ask for name-brand shirts. Aunts usually ask for sweets or cosmetics. Grandparents ask for vitamins, ginseng, or fish oil (? apparently it's really popular in China). Cousins usually ask for toys and such (one wanted the entire Lego Mindstorm collection).

This year, I'm packing light (translation: only one luggage and one carry-on). This is mainly due to the weight restriction for air travel within Asia (the Shenzhen to Nanjing flight only allows 25 KG). Nevertheless, I am bringing home these as gifts:

1 Dell Inspiron 1501 Laptop (for my uncle & grandparents)
3 Polo Shirts (for uncles)
1 Large Picture Book on Tuscany (for my host in Hong Kong, who happens to be in love with Italy)
1 Book on Drinks & Cocktails (for a friend who is celebrating his birthday in Hong Kong)
1 Pink Yale T-Shirt (for Duke Language Partner.. I'm banking on the fact that she will be a girl)
1 Plush Bulldog (for teachers at Duke/miscellaneous gift)

And I am still missing gifts for some other people in Hong Kong. Looks like I'll have to go shopping again soon.

Visa

Because Duke (or rather Capital Normal University) has been rather slow with getting our materials to us, I still have not yet applied for my Chinese student visa. Instead of waiting for the materials, I have decided to take the train down to Chicago tomorrow to visit the consulate and apply for a 'travel visa' instead. The lady over at Duke has reassured that this should be OK, and that they'll switch it over to a 'student visa' when I get to Beijing.

Exactly 2 more weeks till I leave for Hong Kong!

Welcome!

大家好！Hello everyone,

Welcome to my summer blog. Here I will be posting stories and pictures from my summer in China. Thanks to the wonderful generosity of the Richard U. Light Fellowship, I will be able to spend the bulk of my summer studying Chinese through the Duke Study in China program (which will be hosted by the Capital Normal University in Beijing)!

The URL for my blog is http://zaibj.blogspot.com (zai is the pinyin for the chinese word 在, referring to where someone or something is located, bj is short for beijing, therefore this summer, I will be zaibj - a perfect blend of chinglish to start off this blog)

-----
Here's a look at my itinerary:

6/6 - fly from Chicago O'Hare to Tokyo Narita, transfer planes on route to Hong Kong International Airport

6/7 - 6/10 - Hong Kong: staying with bulldogs & traveling Hong Kong & Macao

6/10 - 6/14 - take bus/ferry to Shenzhen, fly to Nanjing, visit family in Changzhou and Yalies in Shanghai

6/14 - take the overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing (anybody want to ride w/ me?)

6/15 - 8/12 - studying Chinese in Beijing! i'll be staying at Capital Normal University (北京首都师范大学） (please do visit!)

8/12 - 8/18 - traveling China (anybody wanna come with?)!

8/18 - fly from Shanghai Pudong back to Chicago O'Hare