Today we went to the Central University of Finance and Economics. We started off our day with the nontraditional breakfast again and this time I tried the rice congee which confused me because it was basically just white rice in water. After breakfast we started our journey to the University. When we arrived, I was surprised that it looked very similar to the Universities in America complete with class buildings, green quads, sports fields, and students running to class.

While at the University we first attended a lecture by one of the local professors. As we are learning about the smart phone industry here, he talked to us about Big Data, the smartphone market in China, and gave us some background about the difference between the Chinese and US markets. I was surprised to learn how much more popular mobile payment and online buying is here in China than the US. He told us that the Chinese rely very heavily on online sites such as Alibaba, the Chinese equivalent of Amazon, for purchases. It was also surprising how widespread payment through WeChat is because he said most restaurants and even vendors from rural areas will often have QR codes so that you can use WeChat to pay. This shocked me because in America most restaurants and especially small vendors do not except mobile payment such as Venmo. After that, another professor, originally from the US, talked to us about how much things from Chinese history have impacted our modern society as he explained how things ranging from Kiwis to Popeye the Sailor are rooted in the Chinese culture.

After the lecture, we had lunch on campus. We got to try even more authentic Chinese dishes. Most of the time I didn’t know what I was trying which was probably a good thing because I later found out I tried everything from congealed pigs’ blood to 1000-year-old eggs. Even though some of the dishes were very foreign to me they were really good. My favorites from lunch were the deep fried pumpkin, a pork dish, and some pancake like bread thing that I don’t know the name of. Overall, it was really good, and I like being able to try so many new things.

When we finished lunch went to the University Library which is, I have to say, so much better than Hillman. Its super modern and high tech and even has a really cool art gallery in the basement, which is actually called level -1 here. Next, we went outside to play some games with the university students. First, we did jump rope and after that we got into three groups and stood in a circle holding hands to see which group could pass a hula hoop around the circle first. Unfortunately, my group lost which meant we had to do a little performance for the other groups, and they made us sing Old Town Road. Finally, we took a little tour around the University and then got on the bus back to the hotel.

For dinner me, some of the other girls, and one of our local program leaders, Jane went to a dumpling restaurant where we had some delicious pork and shrimp soup dumplings and noodles. On the way back to the hotel we got Starbucks, which is actually completely different in China and has all sorts of fruit drinks and even ice cream. So, we ended the day on pretty good note. The only thing I’m really missing from the US right now is the western style toilets because the public restrooms here are primarily “squat toilets” which are basically just a hole in the ground. Other than that, I’m having a great time and I love learning more about the Chinese culture!