Today we woke up at 7. I came down to breakfast and had the same as I did the day before: potatoes and bread. We had our University visit at CUFE. The bus ride was about 1.5 hours so I was able to nap a bit. When we finally arrived I didn’t expect to interact with the students too much. We first entered a typical classroom and we got a lecture about China’s smartphone industry. I learned a lot about how cookies are the technology used to track the searches and interests of users on the internet and they can use that information to program what ad you may be interested in. We learned how the Samsung fire issue became an international issue worth billions of dollars. The second lecturer introduced some main differences between USA and China. For example, he explained gyms in China do not have air conditioning as opposed to the AC in USA gyms, so he recommended not going to these gyms. Also, he said the population is much denser than in America and when he wants a quiet corner he cannot find one. He also spoke of the differences between the food in China and USA. He said how in Chinese-American food, like McDonalds, they made foods like popcorn ice cream or hamburgers with cuts of hotdog on it which he said may not be the best. He did however recommend the noodles in Beijing. After lecture finished, it was time for lunch. The lunch room was impressive compared to Market at out school. We have one floor on the basement with the same food everyday whereas the food here had 3 floors of different options and they provided a typical Chinese meal with many options. I really enjoyed the broccoli and “pancakes.” It was interesting to learn the differences between their college experience and ours. They spend most of their time studying whereas Americans make sure there is time for leisure. The students also talked about the differences between North and South China and the different accents etc. After lunch was finished, we took a tour of the school. Their library makes Hillman Library look ancient. It was very updated as it was only a year old. When touring the library one of the students complemented my hair color which doesn’t happen too much. On the tour, we learned the students have to take a Physical Education class for 3 years. We went outside and saw many of the students on the tracks and fields playing many different sports like soccer, basketball, and tennis. We preceded to play on the equipment which we soon learned out was used by the elderly. I have to say they have some fun equipment. The students led us to a section of the property where we would jump rope with them which was our main activity with them. The students were way better than us but it was still fun to do. They would make the figure 8 while jump roping together and also go 3 in at time. We all tried and some were successful but the other students were better. Then it was time to go back to the hotel. It was another 1.5 hour bus ride so I got another nap which was amazing. When I woke up, I came back to my room to lay down until dinner. When it was time for dinner we went downstairs and met up with the group. I wasn’t too hungry so I picked at the food. I decided to try something new and had duck. I have to say it is definitely not my favorite and its a food I would only have once.
