Sunday, February 26, 2006

God Bless the Aggie Network!

As an Aggie, we always here a strong emphasis on the Aggie Network! Well I have found out that it is extended and very strong here in Beijing. I came across a contact for a Class o '89 grad who is the CEO of a company called I.T. United, a company who specializes in data processing outsourcing. I contacted Cyrill who invited me to the Swiss Chamber of Commerce Annual Raccllete Evening. I said I would love to come, not really knowing what to expect, so I made my way down to the China World Hotel that is in the central business district of Beijing. It was a beautiful hotel.

Well to come to find out Cyrill was the main person leading the event because of his dedication to Switzer. I was seated at the head table of the event with the Ambassador of Jordan, CEO's of many other countries, the Swiss Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and many more amazing people. We had an amazing time eating the Raccllete Cheese that is served melted with many other spices. It was great. Included in the buffet where great bratwurst, veal, and many other Swiss dishes. It was a great evening with high class wine, Cuban cigars, and good laughs.

At the event the Swiss long horn, I think called the alpon was played and they even had a contest to see who could play I the best! Cyrill visited with me and got to know me and introduced me to several amazing people and said that he would invited me out to several other places so that I could meet even more important people.

Following the festivities Cyrill said the night was not over as he invited me to go to The pavilion Bar. This was a high upscale place where many expats visited and watched the rugby game between France and Italy. The small group attending the bar where from China, Singapore, Vietnam, USA, Swizterland, and France. It was such an amazing time that I am not doing justice in the words I write.

At the bar I felt at home as Cyrill and I sung the war hymn, spun our rings in the classic impressive way we Aggies know how to do, and did Texas Yee Haws! Cyrill was class of 1989 and part of B-2 Company! It was great getting to know him and meeting so many new people. I truly felt like I was living in the lap of luxury.

I also purchased a bike the other day. Its just a one gear silver bike with even a basket to carry things. I bought it for 85 Yuan or about 10 US dollars. I bought it used because bike theft is quite common here in Beijing. I also bought a few locks to lock it up at night so that it wont be stolen. The bike will be quiet useful to shorten my trips to and from the house to school.

Today we met our Language Exchange Partners that we will work on our Chinese with and get to spend time exploring the city. We all went to KTV near my home and enjoyed 2 hours of Karokee. It was quiet entertaining signing both Chinese and American Songs!

Things are going quiet well here in Beijing! The world link students are quiet a good group and we all get along really well! We start classes on Tuesday so it will be good to start to increase my vocabulary each day!

Take care and hope to hear from ya'll soon! God Bless!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Worldlink Education and first week in town!

Howdy friends and family! Sorry its been so long since I have posted updates, but the website has not been easily accessed from the sensored internet here in China. I finally got it to come up just today!

My host family has been amazing! They have been teaching me phrases around the house, thus increasing my Mandarin skills! They are friendly and have been able to let me do things on my own and explore the neighborhood. They cook delicious meals for dinner which feature a large amount of vegetables with a few morsels of meat. I find myself craving meat because I have had only a few ounces of it so far. I know when I get back Ill be ready for a big Texas Sized Steak! My bed is a little tough and hurts my back a little, but I am getting use to it. I did manage to buy a pillow to help out though. I posted some pictures of my homestay and a the view from my window! The area I live is a 10 minute walk from the Olympic Park Area. WHere I work out I can view the major construction of the mains sites where the events will be held! THis willb e something to see when they occur in 2008!

I found a Catholic Church that I can attend on Sundays. I went down to a very modern part of the city where a very old catholic church stood. It was good to receive communion, even though I couldn't understand the mass, however it is in the same lay out that is found in America.

I found the key to survival, well in America atleast! WAL-MART! There is a super center about a 10 minue ride away from my house. It was interesting exploring walmart and finding all the different things they sold. I never would have thought that I would have found Turtles in the meat department sold alive to eat. The set up is a little different due to land space available in the city. The store is made up of 4 floors in a really nice building. It was quite the experience.

I have also found a Bally's Fitness center where I do my best to work out each day at. With all the walking plus the fitness center I am sure I will be in good shape by the end of my six months here! If you think you do a lot of walking at Texas A&M, move to Beijing and you'll see things differently. I walk a minimum of 45 minutes up to 2 hours per day. The university I attend is about a 30 minute walk away from my host family, the world link headquarters-- the company who assists students--is about 45 minutes away, and my work out facility about 20 minutes away. I do quite a bit of walking each day, but it is fun and you never know what you will see each day.

We had our orientation for the worldlink students yesterday! The students are wonderful and are from all over the world including Germany, Sweden, France, Hong Kong, Ecuador, Australia, Japan, and Korea. We met the entire staff at the worldlink and they took us to a wonderful lunch. We then toured the campus to find our classroom to take our assesment tests the next morning. We then went to the International Health Clinic where you can access Westernized Medicine of all sorts! Its good to know where it is at incase something happens. After our tours I took the students in my program down to where I found my cell phone and helped them to purchase theirs. There are four students staying in different homestays in my same area, so we will get to hang out and do different things around the town. The students are amazing and its good to have a group to hang out with and see the city with!

I think I've done a good at adjusting so far to the big city life! It hasnt been too difficult and I am enjoying each days experiences. Now I am waiting for classes to start next Tuesday so I can formally start to learn Chinese! I am looking forward to it! I hope t hings

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Arrival in Beijing China

I arrived in Beijing on February 14th Valentines Day! Worldlink greeted me at the airport and took me to my host family Mr. and Mrs. Zhiang. I have my own room but share a bathroom with the household. It will be a bit challenging at first because the family speaks hardly any English. This will push me to learn the language even more. This is a challenge I look forward to!

I also found the Beijing Language and Cultural University and World Link Lounge area. The facilities seem to be very nice and I will be able to use the internet when possible! More to come later!

Monday, February 13, 2006

Mount Fuji Road Trip

I woke up early today and caught up with a group going out to see Mount Fuji, the large dormant volcano outside of Tokyo. It was an amazing site! We got to go up to 4800 feet, and couldn't go any further due to road closures from the large snow storms that have occurred in the past few days. I cant explain the beauty of Mount Fuji so I will let the pictures speak for themselves. In the group I met some more Texans and also a family from China. It was an amazing experience!

Mount Fuji (Fujisan) is with 3776 meters Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshipped as a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people.

Mount Fuji is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days.


Following Mount Fuji we went to the Hakone Sky Gondolas to view the volcano Hakone Mountain range. From the top we could see sulfur minds with steam escaping from the vents on the snowcapped mountains. It was extremely cold for this Texan! This range was formed 200,000 years ago when an enormous volcano erupted and left the rim intact as a mountain range. In the Owakudani Valley Lake Ashi can be found. This is a large carter lake high in the mountains that is totally spring fed. We took a pirate ship cruise on Lake Ashi to take in the scenery around the lake.

Following our tours we took the high speed BULLET train from the mountains to Tokyo. This train traveled at speeds over 245 KM Per Hour or about 140 MPH! IT was crazy to see a train going so fast and I have some awesome videos that I will try to put up somehow soon! The trip from Tokyo nearly took 2 hours on the way back it took 40 minutes! Talk about a fast train!
These are the only type of trains in the world currently!

I then returned to the hotel and watched a movie in the lobby with others hanging out at the hotel!

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Upcoming Valentine`s Day in Japan

Throughout Japan tons of chocolate stands can be found selling Chocolate. Tons of women where buying Chocolates so I thought I would research this topic a little and found the following article!

Valentine's Day in Japan and Japanese Chocolates From Setsuko Yoshizuka,
On Valentine's Day, Japanese women give chocolate to men. (Men give gifts to women on March 14th called White Day.) This tradition started as a marketing tool for chocolate companies in Japan. Japanese women are encouraged to express love to men by giving chocolate and other gifts on February 14th.

Grocery stores, department stores, and convenience stores sell many different kinds of domestic and imported chocolate. More than half of the chocolate sold in a year is sold around Valentine's Day in Japan. Women buy chocolate for their co-workers, bosses, male friends, brothers, father, husband, boyfriends, and so on.

Chocolate given to men whom women don't feel special love are called "giri (obligation)-choco (chocolate)." Chocolate given to co-workers and bosses are usually considered as giri-choco. Many men feel embarrassed if they don't receive any chocolate on Valentine's Day. Women usually make sure to give giri-choco to men around them so that they don't feel left out. The average price range for giri-choco is from 100 yen to 300 yen each.

Women tend to give special gifts, such as neckties and clothes with chocolate to those men whom they love. Chocolate given to a special man from a woman is called "honmei (prospective winner)-choco." Honmei-choco is more expensive than giri-choco and is sometimes homemade. It's lucky if a man could receive a honmei-choco.

The most popular Japanese chocolate brands are glico, Meiji, and Lotte. They make many delicious chocolates and sell them in attractive packages.

You can buy some kinds of Japanese chocolate on line. Visit Japanese Food Online Links.

Happy Valentine's Day!

National Foundation Day

Today is National Foundation Day in Japan. This is the day that the first Emperor was enthroned back in 656 BC. The holiday fell on a Saturday so the pace of business wasn't affected to much. However Right Wing activist where demonstrating and showing there compassion for the emperor, while Japanese Nazi parties where also demonstrating it was quiet an experience to take in.

I took the Gray Line Grand Full Day Tour throughout Tokyo to see the following sites.

1. TOKYO TOWER With 333 meters, Tokyo Tower is 13 meters taller than its model, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, and the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. It was completed in the year 1958 as a symbol for Japan's rebirth as a major economic power, and serves as a television and radio broadcast antenna and tourist attraction.

Visitors can ascend to the main observatory at 150 meters and the special observatory at 250 meters to get a bird's eye view of Tokyo. Under good weather conditions,Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance. A ride to the top floor, the special observatory, costs roughly 1500 Yen per adult.

(683 x 1024 - 83K)
The Tokyo Tower, a clone of La Tour Eiffel built in the 60s to show how modern Japan was



2. MEIJI SHRINE Featured a wedding ceremony. We got to see the wedding parade come through featuring the wife dressed in a white kimono and Groom dressed in traditional dress. The bride will change atleast three times during the day. The first is a White Japanese Traditional Dress. The reception has about 80 invited guests who bring monetary gifts to the new family. Monetary gifts should only be given in odd numbers so that it can not be evenly split. At the reception a more colorful traditional dress is worn and before the bride and groom leave a traditional western wedding dress will be worn. Divorce is low in Japan but is on the rising number as 1 in 5 marriages end in divorce.

    Meiji Shrine
    Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) is a shrine dedicated to the defied spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. In Shinto, it is not uncommon to enshrine the defied spirits of important personalities.

    Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He was born in 1852 and ascended to the throne in 1868 at the peak of the Meiji restoration when the power was switched from the feudal Tokugawa government to the emperor. During the Meiji Period, Japan modernized and westernized herself to join the world's major powers by the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912.



    Torii (entrance gate)

    Public phone booth

    The Meiji Shrine was completed in 1920, and rebuilt after being destroyed in World War Two. It is located in a wooded park area next to Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. Various events and festivals are celebrated at the shrine throughout the year.


    3.AKASAKA GUEST HOUSE The State Guest-House (Geihinkan; 迎賓館) is a facility in State Guest-House Akasaka Palace which the government of Japan accommodates visiting state dignitaries. Located in the Moto Akasaka area of Tokyo, the guest house took on its present function in 1974, having previously been a detached palace. The architect Katayama TokumaBaroque structure as a residence for the Crown Prince. The building has 15,000 m² of floor space, and together with a smaller structure in the Japanese style, occupies a 117,000 m² site. designed the neo-

    State Guest-House Akasaka Palace
    4.NATIONAL DIET BUILDING is the place in which both the houses of the Diet of Japan are held. It is located in 1-chome, Nagatacho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Sessions of the House of Representatives take place in the left side and sessions of the House ocouncilorsrs in the right side. The Diet Building was completed in 1936 and is constructed entirely out of Japanese building materials. We only got to drive by this area so didn'tnt have angoodoo pictures of it.

From the front

History The construction of the building began in 1920; however, plans for the building date back to the late 1880s. The Diet met in temporary structures for the first fifty years of its existence because there was no agreement over what form its building should take.

5.IMPERIAL PALACE EAST GARDENThe Imperial Palace East Gardens (Kokyo Higashi Gyoen) are a part of the inner palace area and are open to the public, except on Mondays, Fridays and some special occasions (see links below). Admissions is free of charge.

The East Gardens are the former site of Edo Castle's innermost circles of defense, the honmaru ("main circle") and ninomaru ("secondary circle"). None of the main buildings remain today, but the moats, walls, entrance gates and several guardhouses still exist.

Edo Castle was the residence of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. Emperor Meiji also resided there from 1868 to 1888 before moving to the newly constructed Imperial Palace.

    The remains of the castle tower
    A wide lawn and the remaining foundation of the former castle tower can be found on top of the hill, where the castle's innermost buildings once stood. The castle tower was completed in 1638 as the tallest castle tower in Japan's history. But only a few years later in 1657, it was destroyed by citywide fires and has not been rebuilt ever since.

    In place of the former buildings in the secondary circle of defense (ninomaru) at the foot of the hill, a nice Japanese style garden has been created.



    6. GINZA SHOPPING DISTRICT One of the most expensive in the city. This area is very expensive due to the high land values of the area. The rent can bnearlyly 30000 US per month if not more. This area had Japan`s first Starbucks and McDonalds. I looked for a camera here butdidn'tnt find anything I liked.

The Ginza is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes.

One square meter of land in the district's center is worth more than ten million yen (more than 100,000 US dollars), making it one of the most expensive real estate in Japan. It is where you can find the infamous $10 cups of coffee and where virtually every leading brand name in fashion and cosmetics has a presence.

From 1612 to 1800, today's Ginza district was the site of a silver coin mint (Japanese: ginza), after which the district was eventually named. The Ginza evolved as an upmarket shopping district following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

A visit to the Ginza is most pleasant on a weekend afternoon, when the central Chuo Dori gets closed to traffic and become a large pedestrian zone. The closure takes place from 14:00 to 17:00 on Saturdays and from 12:00 to 17:00 on Sundays (until 18:00 from April through September).

    8. TASAKI PEARL GALLERY
    It was interesting to learn exactly how cultured pearls where made by manipulating the actual clams. It was a long 2 to 3 years process.
    Sumida River Cruise

    9. SUMIDA RIVER CRUISE
    Got to take th boat and see many unique buildings along the Sumida River. The most important river in Tokyo. Many homeless people can be seen along the shore in blue tents There are only about 4000 homeless people in Tokyo.

    10. ASAKUSA KANNON TEMPLE and NAKAMISE SHOPPING STREET This area was very unique and I got to see lots of people shopping for unique items here. It was extremely jammed packed. My camera died here and so don'tnt have many pictures but these came from the internet. Japan is a volcanic island so they have many earthquakes each year. These temples remain through these because they are builcompletelyly on jointery. These are very beautiful hand crafted temples.

    Sensoji (also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple) is a temple located in Asakusa, a central part of the Shitamachi. Shitamachi ("downtown") is the old town of Tokyo.

    The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida river, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them. Consequently, Sensoji was built there for the goddess of Kannon. The temple was completed in 645, making it Tokyo's oldest temple.
Kaminarimon, the outer gate
Hozomon, the main gate

When approaching the temple, visitors first enter through the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate), the outer gate of the Sensoji and one of the most popular sights of traditional Tokyo. A shopping street of over 200 meters, called Nakamise, leads from the outer gate to the temple's main gate, the Hozomon. Besides typical Japanese souvenirs such as yukata and folding fans, various traditional local snacks from the Asakusa area are sold along the Nakamise. The shopping street has a history of several centuries.

Osenbei (rice crackers)
Folding Fans
Yukata and T-shirts
from left to right: Kibidango - Skewered kibi-balls covered with soybean powder; top: Agemanju - deep fried manju (soft cake with red bean paste filling); bottom: Ningyoyaki - small cake with red bean paste filling; Kibidango Shop

Beyond the Hozomon main gate stands the temple's main building and a five storied pagoda. The Asakusa shrine, built in the year 1649 by Tokugawa Iemitsu can be found close by the temple's main building.

Five storied pagoda
Sensoji maibuilddi
    12.KAPPA BASHI we drove through this area and saw many places that supply restaurants with wax food samples. It is common to have wax food samples displaying the types of food and drinks served at the restaurant.

    Most Japanese restaurants show what they serve by displaying plastic food. The plastic food is quite expensive and very realistic as seen in the pictures below.


    13. UENO AND AKIHABARA
    Akihabara

    UENO is a popular amusement and shopping district with all kinds of goods sold at reasonable prices. While AKIHABARA is a world famous district with hundreds of shops for electric appliances. I went to the largest Electronics store in Asia it was 8 floors high with tons of unusual items thaaren'tnt found in the US. Like heated Toilet seats with buttons to activate other features on the toilet.




After my shopping excursion I went down to Roppongi Hills area. This area is commonly known to housforeignersrs. This area is also known for the night life. When I got off the subway I randomly ran into my room mates and we decided to have a drink. We found this one bar called Propaganda. We where a little early for the bar scene because it starts at 11. This is a problem when you rely on the subway system that shuts down at 12. After a few beers we decided to get some dinner. We had, what Americans call Sushi but here in Japan it is referred to as,
Sashimi- Sliced raw fish eaten after being dipped in soy sauce mixed with wasabi. Among the most popular fish are tuna, yellowtail and cuttlefish. The service at the restaurant waunusuallyly bad! We all felt discriminated against which was more than likely happening. We where the only white people in the restaurant and where served way after people who came in after us. This was the first time any of the group felt that way. We staid out till 11 and made our way back home. We where all exhausted but made our way home!

Tokyo Day 1

It took me about 2 hours to navigate from Narita Airport to my hotel in Tokyo. I took a train from Narita to Ueno Station which was just one short stop from my Hotel at Mashimusha Hostel. Upon arriving I met my roommates who where from the Czech Republic they had just arrived that same day and all but one was asleep. They where extremely friendly and we agreed to go out sometime. The first day I slept in to make up for the 15 hour time difference! It hasn't been too hard adjusting thus far. The fourth day is usually when it hits me the most! I ventured out of the room around 10 AM and made my way to the Imperial Palace. This is a castle area with a moat and everything! Its not as large as what it use to because of air raids during War World II. It currently only houses only the emperor and emperoress whose last child just moved out a year ago due to marriage. The Palace is half the size of Central Park.

he current Imperial Palace (Kokyo) is located on the former site of Edo Castle, a large park area surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the center of Tokyo, a short walk from Tokyo station. It is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family.
Moats and walls surround the imperial palace

Edo Castle used to be the seat of the Tokugawa shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 until 1867. In 1868, the shogunate was overthrown, and the country's capital and Imperial Residence were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. In 1888 construction of a new Imperial Palace was completed. The palace was once destroyed during World War Two, and rebuilt in the same style, afterwards.

From Koyo Gaien, the large plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, visitors can view the Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner palace grounds. The stone bridge in front is called Meganebashi (Eyeglass Bridge) for its looks. The bridge in the back was formerly a wooden bridge with two levels, from which the name Nijubashi (Double Bridge) is derived.

Meganebashi Bridge

The palace buildings and inner gardens are not open to the public. Only on January 2 (New Year's Greeting) and December 23 (Emperor's Birthday), visitors are able to enter the inner palace grounds and see the members of the Imperial Family, who make several public appearances on a balcony.

During the rest of the year, guided tours of the palace are offered in Japanese, with an English pamphlet and audio guide provided. Tours must be reserved in advance at the Imperial Household Agency. Reservations over the internet are possible (see links below).

The Imperial Palace East Gardens are open to the public throughout the year except on Mondays, Fridays and special occasions. Please visit the East Gardens information page for more information.



Following the palace I went to a nearby visitors center to get information on tours and other activities in the area. I booked a seat on the Grey Line Tour for the next day.

I then made my way to the Yasukuni Shrine. The Shrine houses the cremated ashes of all those who have died in war. This shrine is a controversial topic to China due to the housing of War Criminals from the Sino(China)-Japanese War. This topic has been in the news quiet often in the past year. There is also a war museum at the same location that displays many cannons, Ship Replicas, War Planes, and tells the history of many wars, including Pearl Harbor. It was interesting to see Pearl Harbor Celebrated? What was strange was the actual differences in the history as portrayed by each country. The Atomic Bombs that where dropped on Japan where only mentioned in one short sentence. It also failed to mention that there where actual War Criminals involved on behalf of Japan, but that is just Country biases. I was quite perplexed by this!

I then went to the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. This area was the most bustling area of the city that i had been to so afar. This area houses the Metropolitan Government Center, a beautiful twin tower building.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (Tocho)
The 243 meter tall twin towers and surrounding buildings contain the offices and the assembly hall of the metropolitan government of Tokyo, as well as observatories on the 45th floor of each tower.

Kabukicho
Named after a kabuki theater, whose construction plans have never been realized, Japan's largest red light district features countless restaurants, bars, pachinko parlors, love hotels and a wide variety of red light establishments for both sexes and sexual orientations. I so didn't realize that this area was the red light district until I was propositioned several times! LOL. I went on my way and got back into the mainstream area.

Takashimaya Tokyo Times Square
Opened in 1996, the Shinjuku branch of Takashimaya consists of 15 floors, including a food department in the basement and three restaurant floors. A Tokyo Hands branch and Kinokuniya book store with a large foreign language section are located in the same building complex, also known as "Times Square". This area had many neon lights and large TV Scrense on the sides of the building. It was really amazing to see how the city glowed at night.

Some Unusual Things about Tokyo

1) How quiet it is around the city? You would think with a city of 12 Million people that it would feel like the hussle and bussle of the big city. It is quiet eerie!

2) pacing a form of gambling throughout the city. It is similar to a slot machines but involves maneuvering balls in a machine.

3) Organization of the city. Land restrictions have made the city seem a little organized

4) I have only seen about 2 pieces of trash on the streets!

5) The Japanese seem toned into there own business and rarely make eye contact.


It was an extremely long day of Walking throughout the the city. I climbed numerous stairs throughout the metro stations and other areas. My cavs where killing me since I haven't been doing much walking since Graduation. I went back to the hotel and quickly crashed because i had to get up early to catch the next days tour!

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Tokyo

I arrived in Tokyo and managed to find my Hotel without any problems. The plane ride rocked because it was quiet empty and I had two whole seats to myself by the window! I was quiet excited about that! Well I am quiet exhausted so i am going to grab something to eat and turn in soon! I hope things are going great for everyone! I will have internet access throughout the stay in Tokyo so I will keep the updates coming!