A Blog on McConnell Center Life

After asking several Chinese students to describe Shanghai, they replied by calling the city "international." Spending a week in Shanghai revealed the accuracy of this description. Shanghai's acceptance of Western culture differentiated it from the other cities visited by the McConnell Scholars. Xi'an's ancient heritage and Beijing's nationalism reminded me that I was a visitor in a land far different from my own. However, Shanghai provided a familiar environment for Westerners. The influence of over 100,000 foreign residents has transformed Shanghai into a diverse, commercial metropolis. As I walked around the city, Chinese youths bombarded me with greetings, asking to practice their English. The signage of international corporations lights the evening streets, and sleek skyscrapers define the city's skyline. The sight of parents pleading with their screaming children in shopping centers and seeing a Starbucks Coffee located across the street from...

As I am writing this blog, we are all working to get our bags packed BACK up for our return to the United States of America. Tomorrow, we'll depart Shanghai and travel to Chicago and then back to Louisville. Collectively, I think it is safe to say that while we have all really enjoyed the great opportunities we've had to visit and study in China, we're ready to return to the comforts of our own great country. We all have different plans for the remainder of the summer ranging from other international trips to just relaxing at home. As for me, I'll spend about 3 days in Kentucky before heading to Washington, DC to intern in the office of Senator McConnell. I hope you've enjoyed our blog posts throughout our trip. If you see any of us in the near future, ask us about our trip and I'm sure we'll tell you all about it! My best, one last time from China-- -Trey

I can not believe that I will be back in the states tomorrow, it is somewhat unreal. These past five weeks have seemed to have flown by. I can't even begin to try and put this trip into words. I can only really say that I don't think the entire experience has sunk in yet, and won't for a while. I think it will be a few days or so before I can take a step back and truly reflect on this great opportunity I've had to travel to another country and be submerged in it's culture for five weeks. However, I will soon have to get used to being back in the states and starting/finishing my summer. In Beijing I turned 21 on May 29th. My first order of business will be to have my American birthday celebration with family and friends. Then the following Monday after we get back I will start my internship with the Department of Juvenile Justice. I'm really hopeful that this internship will help aide me in my future career choices. Aside from my internship my other summer job...

I am writing this blog in Shanghai, after nearly a week in Xian. It was the first time that the McConnell Scholars have traveled to Xi'an, but I hope that it is not the last. We were able to see how China’s “Little City” differed from both Beijing and now Shanghai culturally, economically, etc. The nickname "Little City" is probably not the most accurate, considering that the size of Xi'an is comparable to that of New York City. However, compared to Beijing and Shanghai, it is significantly smaller. They are currently constructing a subway and don’t have nearly as much smog and pollution. There were certainly similarities, but we appreciated the aspects of being in a smaller town than we had visited over the previous three weeks. Of course, the Terra Cotta warriors were the highlight of this leg of the trip. It is hard to imagine that they were created before Jesus was born. I also appreciated that we could see history being uncovered as we watched archaeologists work...

With a population of nearly 20 million, Beijing awed our group with its population. Viewing such a sprawling metropolis instilled in us the truth of Chinese growth and modernization. After all, Beijing included all the hallmark traits of development—large scale public transportation, infrastructure, and investment—many of which surpassed even American equivalents. However, industrialization often created indistinguishable areas void of uniqueness. Chinese styles crept into architecture, fashion, etc., but their roles were subservient to the traits of modernization. In Beijing, nowhere could we find a location wholly Chinese. This failure resulted, in part, thanks to our inability to observe the countryside. Xi'an provided us with the closest glimpse of a homey, unique China. Its extensive museums, collection of gardens, and aura of an ancient capital, made it distinctively Chinese. Among the world of goods and services that China fakes, Xi'an's originality p...

A couple of days ago, I bought a dog. We were headed to the Beijing Zoo when we went under a tunnel. A peasant was selling puppies. One of the puppies looked identical to a tiger. The fur and face were striped black and orange in perfect unison. I have always had a love for tigers because, to me, they are symbolic for knowledge, power, and beauty. After the puppy caught my attention, I had to stop and play with it. I examined it thoroughly and it did not appear to be dyed. The fur coat felt smooth and other than being dehydrated, the dog appeared healthy. I wondered if the owner had done something painful to the dog to make it that color. She wanted 80 yuan for the dog. I tried bargaining to 40 since I knew it would be a lot of money to send the dog back to the U.S. I walked away and she ran up to me for 60 yuan, 10 dollars. I agreed and, all of a sudden, I had a tiger-striped dog. She gave me a little pouch to put the dog in. It was the ugliest/cutest puppy I’d ever seen and I hadn...

I am now writing from Xian, the ancient capital of the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties of China! It looks like every other big city I've seen, but the weather is nice and my hotel is extraordinary. We arrived about an hour and a half ago from Beijing by sleeper train. The experience on the train was phenomenal (our four person cabin watched the Godfather part II for the first leg of the journey), although we were slightly disappointed by the absence of the promised "dinner car". Water, a canister of Chinese pringles, and chocolate was the entree a la carte for the evening. Hope the morning finds you all doing well. Zach June 8, 2011, from the PRC

We have been in China for about 3 weeks now, and it has already been quite an experience. I feel like we have seen so much of Beijing, but there is still so much of the city that we have not had time to see. One of the best things about this trip has been the opportunity to interact with students not only from China but from all parts of the world. There were students in our class from Brazil, France, Germany, China, Thailand, Lesotho, among others. A couple of other scholars and I went to church with a student from Germany and met and talked with people from Korea, the U.K., and others from the United States that had been in China for over a year. If there is only one overarching aspect of this trip that makes the whole experience worthwhile it would be the opportunity to sit down and get to know these students from around the globe. We have talked about everything from American foreign policy and politics to movies, books, and pop culture. In a way I have come to see that people our ...

For this blog I am going to give you a few tastes of what the group has been doing daily. … There are three apparent challenges China must face: A reform of its industrial structure both in terms of labor and economy, the social tension that will arise from the world’s greatest income gap must be addressed, and the foreign policy issues that are present with its current position in the world. … We went to the Great Wall today and Ming tombs; unbelievable. John, Blake, Ben, and I walked the entire renovated portion of the wall. It was glorious. After a week stuck in the city it was freeing to finally be able to get out and stretch my legs. Rural/Countryside China has a majestic landscape. The small taste of it today gave me an appreciation for historical China. Capitalistic tendencies are prevalent and emerging in the countryside, as exemplified by the slide cars and cable cars built at the Great Wall. It will not be surprising to see China submerged even more completely in capita...