Sunday, March 8, 2009

Article from The New York Times

Click the link:

Seeking Justice, Chinese Land in Secret Jails

Thought this article was interesting! Happy Monday!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Chinese New Year 2009: The Year of the Ox!


Sorry for the break between postings! The school semester ended and Chinese New Year began! I ended up spending the new year with one of my previous host families in Taiwan which was a lot of fun!

In Taiwan, the festivities are not as crazy as they are in the mainland but nevertheless, there is still a lot of food and firecrackers!
Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday celebrated in China and Taiwan. Many other countries, due to their proximity/history, also celebrate the holiday as well. The lunar Chinese calender versus the Gregorian calender determines when the holiday falls on.


Because Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese, many people who have migrated to the city for school or work return home to celebrate. However, buying tickets involves a lot of waiting and patience. In addition, there's been a rise in ticket scalpers making it even more difficult to acquire tickets. On the right, is a photo from an online article posted on The Boston Globe
, there are more pictures with additional commentary. This photo is an example of what a train ride home could be. It's not necessarily what all people returning home experience.

Chinese trains consist of three or four different classes depending on one's destination. There are hard seats usually without air conditioning (especially uncomfortable during warm weather), soft seats (not bad for short distances), hard sleepers (my favorite way to travel), and soft sleepers (more expensive but also nicer). On the train, especially as a foreigner, it is always interesting to travel by train because of all the people you come across. Some will want to practice English but most just want to talk.

If I am taking an overnight train, from Wuhan to Shanghai, then I make sure to bring some instant noodles, a train ride necessity. I try to drink as little as possible to avoid the train restroom. In a hard sleeper, there are little cubicles with beds. Each cubicle has six beds: three stacked on each side, like a triple bunk bed. The top bunk is the least expensive because it has the least room. I like this bunk the best because no one sits on it. The bottom bunk is everyone sits before lights out. So before the train starts it's always a good idea to make friends with the people on the bottom bunk or make a mad rush for the window table.
On a side note, my room decided to flood. It's been raining all week so at first I didn't think anything of the sound of water dripping until I realized it was happening in my room. I have no idea where the water came from. But on a positive note, I've had hot water for the past two days which is a major plus!