A Blog on McConnell Center Life

Meagan Floyd University of Louisville In China, no price is really set in stone. It is up to you, the shopper, to earn a fair price for your purchases. Bartering applies to almost every purchase whether it's clothing, jewelry, or electronics. At first I was nervous to barter; I didn't want to fight with people that didn't speak my language over how much they were charging for their goods. In our first weeks in Shanghai, I brought Max into stores with me and whispered prices in his ear so he could barter for me. By the end of the trip I became more confident and ruthless in my bartering skills; by the time we reached Beijing, I could buy a Diet Coke for half the price (which came in handy if anyone knows the volume of Diet Coke I consume).  Nowhere were our newfound bartering skills put to the test as they were in Beijing's Pearl Market. The Pearl Market is four floors of booths filled with electronics, watches, silk, clothes, and, of course, pearls. During ou...

By Ben Weyman, Class of 2013 As we soon depart China, I decided to take a look at our trip through this country by examining the things that I really enjoyed, as well as some of the things that I was not as fond of here. The Good   The title of this post is a little misleading because I am going to devote much of this blog only to the things that I have truly enjoyed here in China. First and foremost are the many historic and cultural sites that we have visited in our time here. From the Pearl Tower and Cemetery of Martyrs in Shanghai to the Terra Cotta Soldiers and Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, and finally, to places like the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace in Beijing, China has supplied a great many places to visit, each of which was special for its own reasons. In Shanghai we were able to go to one of the tallest towers in the world (the Oriental Pearl Tower) and stare down to the ground from an observation deck with a glass floor. We were ab...

Jonathan Michael University of Louisville By Jonathan Michael, Class of 2013 Boy, does time fly when you are having fun! I have always heard that expression, yet I don’t think I have ever experienced it as much as I have during our trip here to China. It feels like we arrived in the country yesterday, but by this time tomorrow I’ll be heading to the airport for my return home to Louisville.  Beijing has lived up to its hype, yet it is uncannily different than the other cities we have visited. Unlike Shanghai or Xi’an, there is a peculiar feeling in the air that you cannot shake off – and I’m not talking about the terrible pollution. It is much more evident here in the capital than any other city that we are in a country that is controlled in every aspect... One thing that I would like to briefly address is the fast food industry here in China. Beijing, like several of the other cities we have visited, provides fast food services from all around the world, most n...

Guan Yu By Justin Brandt, Class of 2013 One of my favorite video games when I was younger was Dynasty Warriors. While the game is very hack-n-slash and action oriented, I remember really enjoying the plot and reading the stories of the famous characters and battles included in the game. This game was based on the famous Chinese 14th century-novel written by Luo Guanzhong called The Romance of the Three Kingdoms . This book is about the area of internal conflict in China after the fall of the Han Empire between 169 and 280 A.D. It is known for its heroic characters, political strategy and battlefield tactics. Many consider it to be a combination of both history and legend. When I arrived in China, I noticed that one of the main characters, Guan Yu, is actually worshiped by some sects of Chinese religions as the God of War. In a Taoist temple at the Yu Yuan Garden, I watched people kneel down in prayer in front of a statue of Guan Yu, who, for the last 10 years, was nothing bu...

Michael Zeller University of Louisville By Michael Zeller, Class of 2013 In my opinion, the image of the lone Beijing man (known as ‘the unknown rebel’ or ‘tank man’) blocking the advance of a procession of tanks is one of the greatest photographs of the 20th century and easily one of the most compelling symbols of liberty and desire for democratization. Ironically, it comes from one of the countries with almost no history of democratic behavior. The image of tank man continues to fascinate and enthrall so many around the world (the image made frequent appearances at protests in Moscow over the last six months) because it is largely an unsolved mystery. No credible information exists in the public sphere to give any hint as to who he was, what happened to him, and exactly why he stepped in front of that column. Nonetheless, mere speculation will never cease to intrigue (at least, unless some upheaval in China led to the release of records about tank man). Unfortunat...

Jonathan Michael University of Louisville By Jonathan Michael, Class of 2013 Greetings from Xi’an! It is hard to believe that three weeks of our trip to China have already flown by; we are discovering and learning new things about the country every day. The magnitude of this experience is becoming more visible as we continue on our journey, whether it is evidenced in the culture, language, or the traditions and viewpoints of the students with whom we interact. We have spent the majority of the last three weeks in Shanghai, which is generally referred to as the “New York of China.” I have not been to New York myself, but, with the amazing number of malls, skyscrapers, restaurants, vehicles and universities, I would assume that the two cities are very similar. One thing to note about the features mentioned above is that they are not concentrated in downtown but blend into almost every corner of the city. Even though Shanghai is a buzzing metropolis full of every modern aspe...

By Jessica A. Bagby, Class of 2013 The ten rising senior McConnell Scholars have been together in the McConnell Program for the past three years. I thought that I knew each of them, but our trip to China has changed our relationship in a way that I truly never expected. You would assume that traveling and studying abroad with nine other "Type A," high achieving, diverse, and ambitious young adults would be troublesome, but I have happily been proven incorrect.  Living, studying, eating, and exploring with the same group of people for five weeks gives you a great and rare opportunity to get to know someone on a personal level. I genuinely thought that I knew my fellow McConnell Scholars, but I unfortunately took our friendships for granted during the past couple of years. Before this trip, I did not know that I am in the same class with three students that speak more than one language, a Scholar who has seven brothers and sisters, future Teach for American Corps me...

By Max Morley, Class of 2013 Max Morley University of Louisville Switching location from Shanghai to Xi'an brought with it many interesting changes: the traffic here is, believe it or not, even crazier than it was in Shanghai; the street vendors seem to have nicer wares; the definition of "ancient" has shifted from 100 years old to 3000 years old, and we are actually seeing historical buildings. Whether it can be attributed to all these changes or to my own mistakes, one thing cannot be denied - I got lost. On our trip to Xi'an International Students University, we got to hear Dr. Hua lecture on the current and future state of US-China relations. Following the lecture was a short question-and-answer session. After it all ended, a Chinese student named Rain (yes, Rain) approached me about my question concerning environmental concerns in China. We spoke for about 10 minutes on the subject, when suddenly I realized that all my classmates, Dr. Hua, and the Associa...