SMU Update 3/17/11

The group has been here in Shanghai for almost a week now. So far it has been a great experience. We arrived last Saturday after a fourteen hour flight. The plane ride wasn’t very fun, but we were immediately welcomed with open arms from the Chinese students that were at MMA last spring. From there we took an hour bus ride to the new campus. The structure of the highways and its surrounding buildings are very unique. When we arrived to the campus hotel where we were greeted by our new roommates, and placed into our rooms. The Chinese students were so anxious to greet us and even more excited to practice their English. For a majority of them it is their first time ever seeing Americans in their life. They already have decided on their own American names, most of them being very basic. For example Bob, and Jack. It was around 7 pm at this time, and we decided to go to a Chinese restaurant located on campus. It’s a good thing our roommates spoke English because it was total chaos in the restaurant. Waiters and Waitresses were speaking to us, and we had no idea what they were talking about. All the menus have pictures of the plates so we just pointed to them. The food was definitely not what we are used to, but it was a good time. Immediately after that everyone went back to the rooms to catch up on some much needed rest.

The next morning we were allowed to sleep in. We woke up to pouring rain, but at least it was not too cold. The weather at this time of year here in Shanghai is usually around the mid 40’s. We all then gathered in the hotel lobby, and then onto a bus to the ------- Museum. The museum was the biggest I have ever been in. Right in the center of the museum was an authentic sailing vessel, built hundreds of years ago. The tour consisted of ancient Chinese maritime history, all the way to current day. It was very interesting, and the best part was at the end. They took us into a bridge simulator. The bridge simulator was in 3d, and fully functional. The best part was that the floor moved with the waves. Lastly we were brought to a knot tying station where just about all of us forget every single knot. Good thing we are business students. When we got back to campus everyone put on their salt and peppers, and we went off to the Exchange Program Welcoming Dinner.

The dinner was great. We were all sat at large tables where we met students from five other countries. There were students from Canada, Poland, Russia, Germany, and South Korea. Then the President of SMU gave a welcoming speech, and told us to begin to eat. We were served all different types of food with beer and soda. It was the first time we were able to eat our food with forks, rather than chopsticks so that was good. After we ate, there were a few demonstrations given on stage by students at SMU. Some of the performances included Kung Fu, and Tai Qi. After that some cadets were called on stage to perform as well and none of us could move like them. So the crowd was very entertained. At the conclusion of the dinner, we all went back to our rooms to get ready for our first morning formation, and our first day of classes.