Entries: Travel

The Trip to Zhujiajiao

Some of us ventured outside of Shanghai for the first time since our arrival in China last week.  Sunday, we took a 45 minute bus trip west of Shanghai to a small river village called Zhujiajiao.  Our tour guide said it was about 60 km from Shanghai.  For the first time, many of us saw what rural China was like.  Zhoujiajiao is definitely not a big city like Shanghai.  At the same time, it was quite touristy as hundreds of visitors wandered through the narrow streets, little shops and walked on the bridges over the river and canals.  We all rode in Chinese boats on the canals and a few of us even ate eel during our lunch there. 

Costing Out China

By American standards, China seems to be an inexpensive place to live.  The currency in China is called the yuan or RMB.  There are just under eight yuan to one U.S. dollar.  As the journalism group travels around Shanghai, we’ve noticed how inexpensive items appear to be based on what we see back home.  A breakfast value meal at McDonald’s in Shanghai runs about $1.50.  A taxi ride from central Shanghai to the downtown area, about 10-15 minutes, will cost 15-20 yuan, less than $2.00.  A bottle of Tsingtao beer in a bar or restaurant is about $3.00, but the same beer purchased at a small market is about 75-cents.  At the Nanjing Road pedestrian mall, Nike sports shoes were about $28 US.  At a mall, near our Shanghai restaurant, a polo or Izod golf shirt is more expensive at about $90.  Two nights ago, at a Chinese restaurant, our dinner featuring eight different dishes, cost $5.25 per person.  There’s no tipping anywhere in China—not at restaurants, at airports , taxis or other places.

Greetings from The Bund

Ten journalism students from the University of Illinois are visiting China as part of an international reporting class.  On May 18, in Shanghai, student reporter Lauren Thorbjornsen interviewed classmate Elizabeth Murray as they stood on The Bund.  The Bund is a pedestrian walkway along the Huangpu River, just across from the famous Pudong district of Shanghai.  Behind Lauren and Liz, you’ll see the famous Pudong skyline that features the 1,500 foot tall Oriental Pearl TV and radio tower, third tallest TV tower in the world.

The North Pole

Took this picture as we flew over the North Pole yesterday.  The flight attendant told me that there was a time in history when they were not authorized to enter Russian airspace, so they would fly over the Pacific.  We tracked North of Chicago through Canada and down the other side of the world.

new roommate

After nearly two days of traveling and only a couple of hours of sleep, we are finally here. Early today I got my new roommate. Her name is Zhu Chen. She is a graduate student from our department. She is also a Chinese native. She will be helping us translate for a week. She will return to her hometown, Wuhu, south of Shainghai.  She took time from her busy schedule to help us. She is a great person.

I met Zhu in two classes last semester. We were both taking Journalism 480 (intimate journalism) and graphics and Design. Our friendship became stronger this semester after we started sharing our experiences growing up.  Zhu and I are very similar. We have both struggled a lot in order to be where we are.  I am really proud of her for leaving her country and pursuing her dreams and her passion for journalism.

We are extremely lucky to have such talented journalist with us.