I have been trying to read Psalms each morning for encouragement. This morning, these verses jumped out at me from Psalm 103:
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us Being in China, I feel so far away from my family and friends. I am in the Far East and they are in the West. Scripture says that this is how far our sins have been separated for us because of His grace. That's amazing. Truly amazing.
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WATER: They typically serve room temperature water here. It's rare to get iced water. Also, sometimes restaurants don't serve you water unless you ask. I HIGHLY recommend taking a water bottle whenever leaving the Jia. CHOPSTICKS: I have been impressed with how all of our students can use chopsticks! We use chopsticks at practically every meal, so if you are thinking of coming to Shanghai, I strongly recommend practicing using chopsticks -- and not just the wooden ones, but the long, waxy ones! Those are more challenging! NAPKINS: I have found that most restaurants do not give you napkins. It's really odd! Usually we have to ask for them. Many restaurants have given us a wet wipe to clean our hands before the meal, but no napkins! SQUATTY: I have encountered two squatty potties now at nice restaurants! These are toilets that don't have a seat! There is basically a hole in the ground and you have to squat and pee. I was surprised to find them at some of the more elegant restaurants. This is definitely something different! :) In Shanghai, they also ask that you put the toilet paper in the trash and not in the toilet so it doesn't clog up the pipes - also something new! Our program director has encouraged the students to EMBRACE DISCOMFORT this year! I guess this is one way to do it! Ha! After being in China for a week now, I have reflected upon what I was glad I brought and what would be helpful for future participants of this program to know while packing and preparing before coming to Shanghai. I formulated the following lists of ideas that will hopefully be helpful to others. Charlie, the Program Director, also sends out an important document outlining 7 things you MUST DO before coming to China and a list of FAQ's. This is the document he shared with us; future ones may be updated. Luggage:
Things that I am glad that I brought:
ELECTRONICS/TECHNOLOGY:
BANKING:
BEDDING/TOWELS:
BIKES:
APPS: These are the apps that I recommend downloading before or during the program:
IDEAS FOR FACULTY:
THE CITY: To me, Shanghai seems like a combination of New York + Vegas + a densely populated area of Asian people. The city is filled with iconic towers, skyscrapers, and endless malls, shops, and restaurants just like New York & Las Vegas. It has also been extremely hot and humid, reminding me of the high temperatures in Vegas, but when we are inside, there always seems to be air conditioning, which makes me think of my experiences in Vegas when navigating between the extremes of the heat outside and the cool air conditioned temperatures inside. The streets are filled with people at all hours of the night and day. The number of bikes, scooters, cars, and taxis have been striking, and even more impressive is watching how they share the streets here. THE FOOD: There is a wide variety of food, and what has really amazed us all is how cheap it is! Several times we have eaten at nice restaurants where we have been served large portions of food and the bill ends up being only $5-$10 per person. GETTING AROUND: I am really glad that I brought some good walking shoes. We walk everywhere. I can easily reach 25,000 steps in a day here. This will be very helpful so that I can burn off all the calories I have consumed eating all of the amazing food! I have a feeling that I will forego fashion and style for comfort here, so my normal choice of heels will be pushed aside for my walking shoes. In the first week, Richard and I have walked, taken the metro, and rode our first Didi (which is the Chinese version of Uber). Our next adventure will involve renting a bike using the Ofo or MoBike apps. There are bikes all over the city that you scan when you want to rent them and pay for them using these apps. BASIC NEEDS: The staff has done a wonderful job introducing our whole group to Shanghai. In psychology, Maslow’s hierarchy proposes that humans must have our basic needs met before we can be motivated further for development. In the first week, the staff has done an outstanding job making sure that we have our basic needs met, and this has helped us all feel welcome, comfortable and safe as we begin our stay in Shanghai. In one week, we have: 1) immediately hooked on to the wifi system and gotten SIM cards for our phones, 2) been introduced to local eateries, 3) been shown where the local banks and ATMs are to access money, 4) taken the metro and been introduced to bike apps and the Didi app, 5) gone to the local “Walmart” which is called “Carrefour” to purchase toiletries and groceries 6) visited some local iconic attractions, like the Bund and the Yu Garden, 7) learned about local and international travel, 8) and attended international church (optional). STAFF: I can’t say enough about the incredible staff. They are warm, kind, friendly, and so helpful. They have set the optimal tone for the beginning of our journey. They have shown us and taught us just enough, and then given us the opportunity and the tools to explore on our own. Each is uniquely gifted with talents – travel, language, classes, networking with locals for us, leadership. Pepperdine is so blessed to have the Shanghai staff! STUDENTS: The students are amazing. I find that the Shanghai students are unique in that they have intentionally selected an international experience that is different than the “mainstream.” They have chosen to live in an Asian country where the language is particularly challenging, where they will eat with chopsticks the majority of the time, and where various aspects of the culture and travel are extremely foreign to them. The students have already impressed me with their kindness and thoughtfulness—just yesterday one of our students had a birthday and several students worked together to surprise him with two birthday cakes and a celebration in the Sunshine Room. The students are open to learn, which is key when participating in an international program. They are also personal and easy to talk to – several have approached me to talk about their classes, their faith, and their interests in serving in leadership roles in the program. I have prayed for each of them as we prepared for the trip, and it has been exciting to meet them and begin developing our relationships. The Pepperdine Jia is much larger than I had anticipated. There are 3 buildings: Building 1: 3 floors. First floor: Lobby, Offices, Small Classroom; Second Floor: Girls' Dorms; Third Floor: Faculty Apartment Building 2: Community Kitchen, "Sunshine" Room; Laundry Room; Extra Girls' Dorm, Convocation (Assembly) Room Building 3: Boys' Dorms, Larger Classroom, Adjunct Faculty Office The location of the Jia is prime as it is close to the city center. There are lots of eateries, banks, and shops within walking distance. There is a guarded gate at the entrance, and we feel very safe. There are 44 steps that I must take to get to the top floor where our faculty apartment is located. It wouldn't be Pepperdine without steps! The students' rooms have bunk beds; some have 4 to a room and others have 6 to a room. For more pictures, check out the gallery. FACULTY MEETING: This morning started off with my first faculty meeting. Pepperdine hires local professors to teach some of our classes, like Chinese, Finance, and Art History. They are highly regarded instructors in this area. I enjoyed meeting them all and appreciated the orientation that Charlie and William prepared for us. Afterwards, we all enjoyed a delicious Chinese meal at a beautiful restaurant.
AMAZING STAFF: I am so impressed by the staff here. Everyone is so hospitable, helpful, and friendly. Today I met Mona and Gigi who also work for Pepperdine. They wear many hats, including teaching Chinese, preparing all of our cultural trips, and our academic needs. SIM CARD: Mona walked us to get SIM cards for our phones today. The program has been really good about getting us connected right away on Wifi and with hooking up our phones. OUR ‘HOOD: Richard and I walked around our neighborhood today. We are about 5 minutes from the Jing’an Temple and many restaurants. Next to the temple is a 9-story shopping mall! The juxtaposition of the modern and ancient is astounding! I have been amazed by all the Western chains here – Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc. TERMINAL 2, NOT TOM BRADLEY INTERNATIONAL: Our plane ticket stated that our flight departed out of Tom Bradley International, but after arriving at that terminal, we were redirected to Terminal 2. Thank goodness that some brilliant person invented luggage with wheels or that would have been very frustrating! So if you are headed to Shanghai in the future, you might want to check to be certain which terminal is the correct one.
TSA PRE-CHECK: This is the first time that Richard and I have enjoyed TSA pre-check, and WOW! This is the way to go. We didn’t have to take our shoes off, or take our laptops out, or stand in a long line. I highly recommend this, especially if traveling a lot. CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE – AIRPORT LOUNGE ACCESS: One of the benefits of being a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card holder is complimentary access to airport lounges. You can check their website or app to see which lounges are available in your respective terminal. At Terminal 2, we were given $28 credit PER PERSON to enjoy food at Barney’s Beanery. We invited the two student Resident Assistants to join us, and we were all able to enjoy a delicious meal together before boarding our 13+ hour non-stop flight to Shanghai! We only had to pay tax on our food (about $7). What a deal! AMENITIES ON FLIGHT: Delta provided lunch, dinner, and a snack on the flight. The meals offered vegetarian, chicken, and beef options. The snack was pizza and a Haagen Dazs ice cream bar. The beverage cart came around frequently. We were well taken care of on the flight! A wide range of movies and TV shows were also available for our entertainment. Well done, Delta! WELCOME TO PEPPERDINE: William Wu, the Assistant Director of the Program, met us at the airport upon our arrival. It was very comforting to see a friendly face after landing and not having to worry about how to get to the Jia on our own. Once we arrived at the Jia, Charlie Engelmann, the Director of the Program, met us with our first Chinese dinner and showed us around the impressive facility. OVERALL THOUGHTS: I am so grateful for many blessings on our first day: A safe flight that took off and landed on time. A free meal for our group because of our new credit card benefits. A pleasant flight full of many comforts, like food and entertainment. Friendly faces to greet us after we landed. Charlie’s thoughtfulness in providing dinner upon our arrival. A loving husband by my side to share in this adventure. My cup is already overflowing! The air quality index (AQI) in China is known to be generally poor. Our friend suggested purchasing masks to help protect us from the pollution. Richard did some research and found that this mask from Amazon works well. We will also download some apps to update us on the daily air quality, and I'll report back on which apps are most helpful. Richard and I met with a friend of ours who has been living abroad for many years, and one of her suggestions was to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card. We looked into it and found that there are many travel benefits! Some of the highlights include: 1) it covers up to $100 of Global Entry or TSA Pre-check every 4 years, 2) you can receive $300 travel credit reimbursements, 3) you can access airport lounges worldwide, and 4) there are no foreign transaction fees! *Side note: The application fee is $450 but you will get most of that reimbursed from all of the benefits. The Fluenz Mandarin Language Program has served as an excellent tool to learn Chinese! The program has outstanding lessons with clear instruction that explain the complexities of the language well. There are short videos I can listen to in the car using the app or on my computer that help me practice the pronunciation daily and allow me to learn new vocabulary easily. The IP Office will purchase the program for the Faculty in Residence. They used to buy Rosetta Stone, but after using both, I STRONGLY recommend selecting the Fluenz program. Below is a demonstration of one lesson in its curriculum. You will be able to see quickly how easy it will be to learn Mandarin! |
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