SMU Update 3/8/11

Greetings, from Shanghai!! My computer says 6:48 am, and I think my body agrees, although it's only 6:48 pm on Sunday evening. We arrived safely in Shanghai yesterday afternoon around 4:30 pm and were excited to see many of our old roommates from last spring at MMA there to greet us with our new roommates! The flight was long but smooth, although I don't recommend it when you have dry socket from a last minute wisdom tooth removal. We met our head teachers and took a bus to the campus, which was a quick 40 minute drive. By the time we arrived in our dorm, we had been traveling for 25 hours! We all went out for dinner in the square on campus, which was one of the more overwhelming experiences of my life. We took over two long tables and I think most of us ordered the first thing on the menu (which, luckily was all pictures), although I opted out of the ketchup on my noodles once a few people got meals and realized what it was, so I may have enjoyed my meal slightly more than others.

We unpacked and went to bed shortly after that to be ready for a 9 am “orientation.”
It was raining again this morning when I woke up to the chorus of American accents in the hallway around 7. A few of us got up early, surprising our roommates I think! I was jealous to Skype with my family who was enjoying a lovely American meal at my aunt's house, but pleasantly surprised at how clear the picture was for both of us and how great the connection is! Most of us ate in one of the canteens nearby before our meeting, which was another interesting meal. Vanessa and I went with noodles and meat because it was the most recognizable and we thought we'd start slow. Unfortunately, Vanessa's meat choice turned out to be spicy, which isn't really our gig first thing in the morning. I was enjoying mine greatly, until my roommate Iris casually mentioned that it's usually something you get for lunch. Oops, oh well.

Our orientation was in the same room that all of the business classes will be held in and was about a 10 minute or so walk from the dorm. There was a presentation from the head teachers from deck and business each, as well as a representative of Foreign Affairs. We were given a brief overview of our schedule, and we all turned to smile at our classmate Young Ryou when we saw that the deck students have a morning jog at 6:40 and attend the flag raising ceremony every morning, while the rest of us only attend on Mondays. He seemed enthused about morning PT and mofo, so I'm sure that will also be a wonderful surprise for Kyle Scannell and Peter Menard when they arrive on the 14th!

We were excited to meet the other international students: one from Canada, two each from South Korea, Russia and Germany and three from Poland. We were given a couple of free hours until we met to go to the China Maritime Museum with the other exchange students. We took a tour of the museums six halls: the hall of Chinese Navigation History, the Hall of Ships, the Hall of Navigation and Ports, the Hall of Maritime Affairs and Sea Safety, the Hall of Seafarers and the Hall of Navy. The museum was beautiful with its modern architecture, and a lot of fun with the many models, ancient artifacts and interactive simulators, so while we were all exhausted again, I'd say we had a good time overall.

We had a welcome dinner with the Vice President of SMU and some of the faculty, where we enjoyed a delicious buffet and saw performances of traditional dance, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and song. A few of us were invited to learn some moves on stage, which was certainly interesting to watch. We walked back, sharing umbrellas with our roommates as it is still raining and is going to all week, and are resting up for our first day of classes tomorrow. Yikes!