Dalton State College



	Name: Jan Gonzales

	Major: Business Administration

	Email: jgonzal1@daltonstate.edu



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October 21, 2008

Midterm grades are here. We usually receive our midterm grades after the fall break. But it doesn't feel like I've had a mid-term break this semester. One day just wasn't enough for me. We all need a break from the day to day to stay alert and focused. I just feel tired, and look forward to semester's end.

October 14, 2008

The economic crisis the country is experiencing has me concerned. It affected me directly - along with many other students - at the beginning of the semester, when the funding for my student loan was delayed. At first I thought that it would pass rather quickly, but now I don't think so. So the presidential election that is coming in a few weeks is even more important.

I have never voted Republican in my entire life. And I believe that Bush has been a disastrous president, perhaps the worst in history. But I don't believe that Obama is the messiah that many people think he is. In fact, I think he may do further harm to our country. Obama is a skilled orator, and he has throngs of young people passionately supporting him. But I have serious doubts about his ability to lead us during this time of crisis. I don't see any substance to go along with the rhetoric. The problem is that I don't like McCain either. But I think that McCain is best choice that we have.

On a local level, if you live in Whitfield County, be sure and cast your ballot for Claude Nix for sheriff. :-)

No matter if you agree or disagree with me, remember to cast your vote on November 4th. It is one of the most important things we, as Americans, can do.

Jan

Signs

Throughout China, we came upon signs whose English translations left a lot to be desired.

I want to go into this "Explanation Service Center" and ask them to explain the meaning of life!

This one is pretty self explanatory.

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Shanghai

As we were leaving Shanghai for the airport home, we took the Maglev train. It is the world's fastest train.

The sign shows our speed as 431 km per hour. It got us to the airport very quickly!

Shanghai!

China Summer Study Abroad Program 2008

Longmen Grotto

China Summer Study Abroad Program 2008

Shaolin Temple and Pagoda Forest

The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Kung Fu. When we visited there, we saw a performance by some of the monks there. I bought a couple of short swords there, along with some paintings.

China Summer Study Abroad Program 2008

These are signs for the ladies and men's restrooms.

Even though I had experienced the Asian style toilets years ago when I lived in Thailand, it was still a culture shock for me to live with them for a month. I was grateful that the university dorm rooms had western style facilities.

Many westerners are appalled at the Asian style toilets. But one should remember that some Asians are appalled at western style toilets. From their perspective, they don't like sitting down on a seat that countless others have. They don't think ours are very sanitary.

Terra Cotta Warriors Museum

China Summer Study Abroad Program 2008

Xi'an, China is a great city and it was even more fascinating for me because of the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum. I love history, and the Terra Cotta Soldiers were everything I had hoped they would be.

Briefly, these ancient Chinese relics were discovered about 25 years ago by a farmer digging a well. That farmer's job now is to sign autographs in the books they sell on site about the treasure.

About 2200 years ago, the first emperor of all of China had these replicas made of his entire army and their horses. There are about 8,000 soldiers. These are individual likenesses of each of his soldiers and are amazing to see.

But I learned something quite unexpected the day we visited the Terra Cotta Soldiers. And it's something that will stick with me. We had been warned not to buy things from the vendors that hang around outside these official sites because they have counterfeit money and goods. But as I was walking into the first building to see these warriors, I saw two foreign tourists exchanging money with a vendor. Then two police officers walked up, took the money from the vendor and handed it back to the tourists and took the bag from the tourists and handed it back to the vendor. The tourists walked away, but the vendor decided to start shouting at the police, challenging them to fight, and he threw his bag down, shattering its contents. I was sure that I was going to see this man die. After all, I have heard all about how brutal the Chinese police are. The vendor was aggressive towards the police officers and one of them put the vendor in a headlock. But then let him go. After a few minutes, the police officers just walked away. The vendor left as well. I really think that if the same incident would have happened here, the police here would have - at the very least - escorted the vendor from the grounds, but more likely, the vendor would have been arrested. When I asked why they took no action, I was told that they didn't have time for insignificant incidents.

Zhengzhou Wedding

China Summer Study Abroad 2008

On May 18th, I was honored to be invited to attend the wedding of Dr. Guo's nephew. Charlotte, another of the students in our group, was also invited. The wedding had elements of both the western culture and the Chinese culture. First, we went to the grooms home, where we met the groom and his family. Dr. Guo's brother and his wife were most welcoming and even though neither of them spoke English, it was very clear that they were as happy to have us as guests as we were to be there. We sat and visited with the family for a little while. Then, according to Chinese custom, the groom's family went together to the bride's home to pick up the bride for the wedding.
When we arrived at the bride's house, the door was locked. The groom and his family knock at the door, but - at first - the bride's family doesn't open it. After a few minutes, the groom's family slips a special envelope with money in it for the bride's family, and the door opens - only to be greeted by another locked door.

This happened twice more before we actually entered the bride's house.

We sat and chatted with the bride's family for a little while. The bride's grandfather, who was 95 years old, was introduced to me and seated next to me. I was quite surprised when he began speaking English. He told me that he was formerly a professor of English at Zhengzhou University. He said that his English skills were rusted because he had not used them since he had retired many years ago. I think he was being much too modest because I understood him clearly. He was quite proud of his granddaughter and her choice for a husband.
Then it was time to leave for the wedding ceremony. On the way to their wedding ceremony, in their wedding attire, the bride and groom had their car stop at a public park where there was a benefit being held for the earthquake victims. The bride and groom got out and walked to the ceremony to show their respect. I was really struck by how thoughtful and compassionate they both were.

We then headed for the ceremony. The bride wore white, as is traditional in western weddings, but changed into a red dress after the ceremony. Red is traditional for Chinese weddings. During the wedding ceremony, they paid tribute to their parents and grandparents.

After the wedding, we had a wonderful lunch but then headed back to the university.
This was one of the most wonderful surprises of the trip. It is not something most tourists would be able to see, and I am deeply grateful to Dr. Guo's family for inviting us. Dr. Guo's brother and sister-in-law are really amazing people!