New Foods!

National Holiday

Well, it seems as though it's been almost a month since the last post, although it doesn't feel like that much time has passed. The weather is getting a bit colder here, but still very comfortable. The air conditioning has been turned off in the Center so the classrooms are no longer overly cooled. Perhaps it's temporary or perhaps coming with the changing season, but the past few days have had fairly bad air pollution, comparable to hazy, smoggy days in Beijing. I'm not sure whether the the haze is all pollution and particulate matter or some part of it is also water vapor, because the climate here is more humid than that of Beijing. However, I do still prefer Nanjing to Beijing due to the abundant greenery. Speaking of which... for the past week or so, every time I go outside there is a certain scent in the air that I think smells almost like baby shampoo, but a bit more flowery. Yesterday I discovered it comes from a small yellow flower (osmanthus or 桂花）that grows everywhere around the city. It's wonderful.
None of the leaves here are turning and I'm wondering if they ever will. I think many of the trees will not lose their leaves, but there are definitely deciduous varieties around the city.
Recently, we were given some time off for the National Day Holiday (国庆节）which commemorates the founding of the PRC on October 1, 1949 and is one of the "golden weeks" along with the Spring Festival (春节）. We had seven days off starting on Friday, October 1. Students here went all over China as well as other countries in Southeast Asia for the holiday, some not returning until yesterday.
I went to Shanghai with two friends, mainly to see the Shanghai world Expo (世博会）。Before going most people I talked to, especially Chinese students only had one comment- that there would be so many people (人山人海！）. One student said that people who don't go to the Expo regret it, but those that do regret it even more.
Well, contrary to popular opinion, I thought the Expo was great. We decided to go at nighttime (post-4PM) because the tickets are cheaper and all of the pavilions are lit up. Walking into the expo was like walking into an amusement park. It occupies a huge area on both sides of the river, but most of the country pavilions are on one side. There is a central axis that's raised above the ground and cuts the area in half. The pavilions are set up roughly geographically, corresponding to their placement on the globe. The Americas and Europe are on the western end and Africa and Asia are on the other side. The Pacific islands have one large pavilion together and Iran and North Korea are off in the corner by themselves. Although there weren't so many people by Chinese standards, by absolute standards, there were still many, many people there. To enter a pavilion, one must wait in line in front of it, sometimes for up to seven or eight hours for the more popular pavilions (China, US, England, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan), but some lesser known countries have no lines at all- an correspondingly less impressive pavilions on the inside. We visited Slovakia, Venezuela, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, perhaps some others I forgot and of course the US. Just after leaving, the rules were changed so nationals of a country need only show their passport to gain admittance into their country's pavilion. Luckily, some students at the Center had worked at the American pavilion, so we only needed to mention their names and we were let in. The inside was mostly a series of three videos about America- how the country's diversity is one of its biggest assets, how we should look to children for inspiration, and how we should focus on building a sustainable future... one of the expo's main ideas is "better city, better life" including building a more sustainable way of life. I then learned that after the expo closes on October 31, all of the pavilions will be destroyed. Yes... I think this is right. Someone has purchased the Taiwanese pavilion, but aside from that, they will be taken apart and something new will be constructed in the area where the Expo one was.
After visiting Shanghai for the first time, my impression is quite positive. There certainly were many people there (people coming to see the expo rather than returning home for the holiday), but the city is very nice. We visited the French Concession, which, for a moment, almost feels like Europe, and the Bund and spent a good deal of time just walking around. It certainly is more expensive than Beijing, but I think it has a more welcoming feeling to it- at least in my opinion. Beijingers seem to always be in a hurry, rushing between things and I didn't really get that sense in Shanghai- maybe it was the holiday or the good weather...
We took the fast train (高铁）back from Shanghai, which takes one hour and fifteen minutes and goes something like 280 km/hr. Nanjing was fairly empty when we returned and it was a welcome change to walk down the sidewalks without dodging motor bikes and trees.
Classes started up again on Friday and Saturday, then we had Sunday off and more classes Monday and now it is Tuesday and we are finally back on a normal schedule of five days on, two days off. Things are picking up in terms of work and it's a bit overwhelming. I have my first paper due for a class next Tuesday and a presentation for one class tomorrow and for another class next Tuesday. Finishing the assigned readings for class is getting a bit easier, but is still difficult. The Chinese professors are also fond of calling students out for answers instead of letting people raise their hands, which makes some classes rather nerve-wracking. My English classes are a nice break from that. More on classes later...