Half Way Done
So, remember how I said that I would be working with real life things? Well, I guess I spoke a little too soon. That large order the company received was completed by the paid workers before Eric and I could get our hands on them. While this is unfortunate for Eric and I, I totally understand utilizing your actual employees over two undergrads shipped here from The Bay. Fortunately, they do have some other things that keep us busy. For instance, Eric has been translating documents for their sales team. Not only is his Chinese vocabulary expanding, but his flexibility between Chinese and English is improving too. I have been tasked with reading through a document about industry standards in the US for office furniture and how to test your furniture. My physics background is coming in handy for this because most tests have to do with forces, pulleys, acceleration, load bearing, etc. The difficult part is trying to explain these tests to Eric in terms that he can translate to the head engineer, Alex.
On the other hand, exploring the area we are in has been a blast. Some of the employees here at Cubespace have studied English for a while. These two, Phoebus and Marty, have been kind enough to take Eric and I around the city of Yangzhou. We have done all of the tourist stuff: visited Slender West Lake, a few extremely old buildings and roads (we are talking over 1500 years old people), and even got a traditional Chinese foot massage. Marty and Phoebus have been patient enough to stick with us and show us the area, which has help us immensely! Furthermore, I am very lucky that Eric lives in Shanghai. For a few weekends we have been able to stay at his house and see some sights in Shanghai. Needless to say, this city is enormous! The closest city to us back at school is San Francisco, which is something like 7x7 miles total. I’m not sure the size of Shanghai, but I was on the subway for over an hour and a half and I was still in the same city. I was also blown away by the amount of cultural mixing. Parts of the city look like a traditional old Chinese city mushed together with a modern western city. Lastly, the wealth in this city is incredible. Maybe I am easily impressed because I grew up in a small town in Northern Idaho, but watching people drive around in sports cars and drop thousands on accessories like it was nothing never fails to impress me.
My yoga habits have declined, but I am still holding true to 1–2 times a week. Now that we are passed the halfway point, I am comfortable in this area and my imminent departure to Sweden to study abroad is making me a bit antsy. I am so excited to meet my extended family that I have been taking Swedish courses online. According to the website I use, I am now 25% fluent, which matches my genetics perfectly (I am a quarter Swedish), so I figure I’m ready to go. As always, I hope all my other Global Fellows are having the time of their lives in their respective locations. I’ve seen some pictures and heard some updates and y’all rock my world.
