The Transition

Our university's main campus

Ni Hao [hello]! We've made it to China!

People have already started asking for pictures
(Interesting Beijing fashion huh?)

It was odd going from our smaller city in India to one of the largest cities in the world. Beijing is bustling with people, cars, stores, and restaurants everywhere. I’ve settled into my dorm room (although I still need to finish unpacking). We all live in an international student dorm at Peking University on the health sciences campus (apparently it’s the “Harvard of China”). It’s nice for all 19 of us to live together now. All I have to do is yell from my room and I can immediately find out who wants to go eat or go shopping. It’s also really nice to be able to eat what I want, when I want. However, I gave up meat for lent and China seems to have a strange obsession with meat. Literally EVERYTHING seems to have meat in it. Even the Lays chips are all meat flavored except plain! But I’m not complaining, it just means I’m tempted more and have to be strong. That being said, the food is pretty good, but I can now realize just how “Americanized” our Chinese food is back home. I have yet to see orange chicken or general tso on any menu. Sorry to disappoint all you Panda Express or P.F. Changs fans. In addition, I have never seen so many KFCs in my life. They are literally every, sometimes 2 at opposite side of the same street it’s crazy.

Eating some street food

Parts of the city make you forget you’re even away from home. There are many parts that look exactly like New York City. The places were ex-pats (foreigners who temporarily or permanently live here) live are usually the nicest and full of nightlife. Beijing is home to the largest Adidas store in the world! They have streets lined with Christmas lights and sidewalks filled with people speaking languages from all over the world. Our university is in a less busy part of the city away from downtown, but we’re only a couple subway stops away. Speaking of the subway, I feel so accomplished to have mastered the public transportation. I even helped a couple from Israel figure out how to buy their tickets to their destination the other day.

One of the mall areas at night

Seahorses and Starfish on a stick anyone?

Classes are going well, even though we have much more work than we initially thought we would. We have class Monday-Thursday and on the weekends we have to complete explorations within the city. On Wednesdays we have a 2 hour basic Chinese class. Let’s just say, it’s going kind of rough. The sounds are so different from anything we’re used to hearing. On top of that, each word has a certain intonation associated with the meaning and if you say it in the wrong tone it could be another word or nonsense. I definitely don’t see myself mastering the language by the time I leave; which is unfortunate because I feel like you need to know the language here more than I did in India. Many more people in India knew basic English than here. That really surprised me because Beijing is such a global city.

Last weekend we planned a trip independent of our program to Shanghai and it was amazing! We took a 5 hour high speed train and spent 3 days 2 nights there, but it didn’t nearly seem like enough time. Shanghai is even bigger than Beijing and there is also so much cool stuff in the city. I went to a Jewish holocaust survivor’s museum and learned new facts. I didn’t know that over 25,000 Jewish immigrants came to Shanghai as refugees during the Holocaust. I also went to a famous tea restaurant and had a traditional tea ceremony where you get to try various Chinese teas. We went to the top of one of the largest towers in the city and of course shopped a little.

Overlooking Shanghai

Shanghai at night

The tea flower blooms
then you drink it!

The trip so far has been exciting. We've been trying to explore new places to eat and hang out and occasionally say some Chinese words. (A lady in Shanghai understood me when I asked where the subway was and it was the highlight of my day!) A couple days ago I went to Tiananmen Square for one of my explorations and it was really interesting to see where so much history has happened. This is the spot where Mao Zedong (first leader of the communist party of China) declared China to be liberated from the Nationalist and China a new communist nation.

Kirsten and I at a Hot Pot restaurant 

Watching the 2nd Duke vs. Unc game and
final game of the regular season

I called my Indian host family the other day and instantly missed them. I really miss all the friends we made in India and I especially miss the food. I can see myself eating Indian food frequently when I get back home, it’s like my body craves it now. The new experiences are incredible and I still can’t believe I’m here, but I had such a personal connection to India and that’s something I never want to lose.

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. Our brackets are created and I’m set for March Madness to begin! I bet you can guess who I have as my national champion huh J

It snowed last night!

Farewell India: weeks in review

Conducting interviews

Fun with family

This is exactly what I said I wasn’t going to do. I wasn’t going to let numerous great experiences go by and not blog about them, and that’s just what I’ve done. It would be impossible to talk about everything, so I’ll just touch on some highlights.

Siblings

I finished up my research in the village and completed my presentation and research paper. My research was on “Female Autonomy within the Household in Rural India”. I wanted to see if women’s decision making power within the home varied according to age at marriage, class, caste, education, and profession. To sum up my results, I found out that in-laws play a much bigger role than I could have ever imagined. When in-laws were present in the home, women generally tended to have less decision-making power. In addition, all of the women that experienced domestic abuse either lived with their in-laws or the abuse stopped when the in-laws moved/passed away. I’m willing to share my paper with anyone who would like to read it.

M village fieldworker

I didn’t realize how sad I would be to leave the village. I wasn’t that close with my village host family because it was hard to make a real connection with them due to the language barrier. However, I did get close to people who worked with my NGO, Jatan. While they also didn’t speak English, they came with me on some of my interviews and really helped me find women to talk with. Most of them don’t have Facebook or even email addresses so I had to cope with the fact that I probably will never see them again.

Farewell Dinner

Unlike my village family, I was able to get very very close with my host family in Udaipur. They showed me incredible hospitality and I was so comfortable in their home. It was so nice to come home every night to the same family and a room that truly felt like my own. They are the reason I didn’t feel like a tourist once in Udaipur. I have a second family that really loves me. They dropped me off at the train station Thursday night. It was filled with high emotions, long hugs, and goodbyes. I watched through the window as Mommyji ran alongside the train as it began to move. I’ll never forget that woman.

Prior to leaving we had a farewell event on Wednesday night. The event included our host families, professors, and co-researchers. Everyone got all dressed up, it was a blast. Girls showed off their sarees and the boys all wore kurtas. I love getting dressed up, I can’t wait to wear my saree back at home. Ajay and I spoke on behalf of all the Duke students and thanked everyone for making this an incredible 2 months.

Elephant ride

Taj Mahal

We are now back in New Delhi, site seeing for the last time in India. Before coming here we went to the city of Jaipur and got to ride ELEPHANTS!! It was like a life dream come true, so much fun. Then we went to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal, another dream! This trip has afforded us the opportunity to see so many great wonders of the world.

My beautiful Indian family

As I’m writing this we are on our way to our last market in India and our flight leaves at 3:20am Wednesday (tomorrow). I’m just not ready to leave. The time has flown bye and I’ve loved every minute of it (well, maybe not this recent heat). India has been so good to me and all of us in the group. I can definitely see myself returning here one day.

Dear India, I love you J

Until Next Time,
*Nicole

P.S. Dear China, hello. I’ve been awaiting your excitement and all that you have to offer.