Entry #8: This Week's Mission

I really need to hunt down the PLU Chinese professor so he can sign off on all of my classes. . . I wonder how hard it is to hunt down a Chinese Language professor whom I've never met. Would I need a trap? Bait, perhaps? We shall see.

There are still a few documents left to be filled out; but I procrastinate (close your eyes, Wang Center. Don't read the last part!) I still have time, I still have time. . .

Entry #7: A Schedule for Fall (Which Includes not a Molecule of Chemistry, Hallelujah!))

It is registration time here at PLU and while I won't be registering for a Fall term here on campus, I'm experiencing the excitement of feverishly trying to develop a preliminary set of courses for my time abroad. . .

Like always, there are so many classes I'd like to take -- if only I had enough time to major in everything (everything except Chemistry -- a ridiculously hard science that should be locked up tight in a pirate's chest and sunk to swim with the fishes for all eternity)! But I definitely don't have enough time to major in everything so, as of now, this is what my future consists of:

Chinese Language
Taiji / Tai chi (Ya I am! That's right. Speed it up a bit and I'll practically be the next Bruce Lee. All I can say is. . . watch out evil-doers.)
Chinese Calligraphy (I have to get back to my artistic self while abroad. God knows, science consumes enough of my life in Tacoma, WA)
Contemporary Chinese Culture and Society
Western China: The Rural and Minority Experience


Sound fun? I think so! [SMILES]

Entry #6: Would Rather. . . (not study Biology)

While I'd much rather be researching the places I will be staying in a few months -- or brushing up on my Chinese -- the studying of Biology beckons.

O, Exam, be good to me! You don't realize how much I fear you. . .

Entry #5: There's Chinese Food in China!

It's a good thing I enjoy Chinese food, because where i'll be going there'll be (however this is mere speculation) quite a bit of it. The Sichuan region is considered the most "spicy" -- and by spicy I of course mean oh-my-holy-lord-my-mouth-is-on-freakin'-fire-GIVE-ME-H2O kind of spicy.

So we'll see how my tongue handles all those hot oils and chili peppers. I may return with a desiccated and completely shriveled tongue. But hey, if they can handle it, I can too. . . Right? [trembling + jittering + nervous sweating]

China has a vast assortment of culinary delicacies, including birds nest soup (the regurgitated salival nest of a sparrow served in a bowl of savory chicken broth), marinated goat heads, "stinky tofu," one thousand year old eggs, as well as. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes. These are scorpion skewers. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Makes your mouth water.

How much will you give me if I eat one?

Or better yet,

Would you believe me If I ate one?

Entry #4: Uncountable Pieces

Nothing new. There is still some more paperwork but, ehh. . . it's not due for a while. I gots me somes time.


Did you know that the Wan Li Chang Cheng (The Great Wall of 10,000 Li -- or more commonly known simply as the Great Wall) is approximately 5,500 miles in length! The winding, curving, massive wall is often time compared to a grand dragon as it drifts and rolls across the country side.


Many myths and legends surround this mesmerizing structure. One such story tells of a young girl, Ming Jiangnu, who journeyed to the wall so she could mourn the loss of her dead husband -- who was said to have been buried beneath the wall after his tired body could no longer compete with the rapid rising of the grand structure. Poor Ming Jiangnu wept with great sorrow, until one evening a piece of the wall grew soft from her river of tears and eventually crumbled into millions of uncountable pieces.

Entry #3: The Mission Accomplished (and The Beta Fish that Attacked me Thereafter)

I am proud to say that Phase 1 of all required documents have successfully been turned into the Wang center. Yep, that's right! Boo ya! On my way to receiving a student visa and a letter of invitation from Sichuan University -- oh I hope they want me.

Now, until I actually find myself in China -- walking their roads, eating their baozi, attempting to speak their language -- I am going to allow for a minimal amount of digression away from the "study abroad" topic -- not much , just a little. . . I swear I will strive to find some relation.

So, today, my finger found itself wandering over a beta fish's bowl. Now, for those of you who are not aware, these vibrantly colored fish go by another name: siamese fghting fish, native to Cambodia, Thailand, and certain waters in and around China.

This fish attacked me today. Literally, it jumped out of the water and "bit" my harmless little finger. I can't say it hurt, but I can say it damaged me emotionally.

What have I taken away from this experience? If for some reason my travels lead me astray and into the heart of a pool of seething beta fish, I have no shame in saying that my life will be feared for. Appearances can be deceiving -- dangerous. Never fall prey to a display of showy colors.

Why you gotta' be so mean, fishy? [a teary eye] Why?

Entry #2: A Borderline Exciting Walgreens Run (and The Uber Awesome Blue-Haired Author Afterward)

"Hello," says a young woman in probably one of the most unenthusiastic voices I've ever heard in my life. She had definitely left her bag o' happiness at home. Where did all your rainbows and sunshine go?


"Hello," I replied, "I'd like two passport size photos, please." 


I proceeded to stand in front of a white screen. Smiled "beautifully." And received my mugshots.


I really don't possess the skills to make my Walgreens trip sound any more exciting than it actually was. . . but at least now I will be able to get my Chinese visa and have a place to stay once I arrive there at the university. Now that I'm on my way to acquiring appropriate documentation, maybe China will let me be their international-student-homie for a few months.


After my super exciting adventure I had the privilege of listening to Cherie Priest (pictured), a super cool blue haired steampunk author, now best known for her work Boneshaker.


"Apparently the critics are saying I'm an overnight success," she said sardonically. "Interesting. . . this is my seventh novel."


[laughter erupts in the crowd]

Entry #1: A Little Place Called the Wang Center

So on the outskirts of Pacific Lutheran University sits a tiny blue house -- a tiny blue house with a ginormous goal. Every year the Wang Center helps coordinate hundreds of study away plans for students looking to broaden their horizons and fill their blood with international experience, both academic and personal in nature.

Tonight was our first China meeting. Paper work, that's all I can say. Lots and lots of paper work. By the end of this whole process I think I will truly be able to say that I can officially spell -- without any hesitation whatsoever -- my full name, which is (irk, ugh) 'Nicholas' by the way. I tend to forget that there is an 'h' involved.

Needless to say, after an hour and a half meeting, my little pee-chee folder filled with papers had grown significantly. But I'm not complaining, because each stack of papers gets us that much closer to China, and none of it would be possible without the help from PLU's little blue house and the people who work there, whose arms touch a different country each day: Kristen Labs and Megan Grover, and all the other advisors I've yet to meet; The Sojourner Advocates, who've traveled everywhere but the Moon (that's there J-term 2011 trip); the admin assistants who graciously collect my slew of forms; and Dr. Youtz and Dr. Cathcart who will be leading us through China.

Thank You Wang Center. [I promise I will meet all your deadlines]. . . Tomorrow, I venture into Walgreens to get a teeny-weeny passport size photograph for you.

Entry # -- The Very Beginning of it All

With these first typed words my journey to Chengdu, China -- a study abroad experience -- begins. Sichuan University seems like galaxies away, existing on a planet light years beyond our safe community here at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, USA.

But, it turns out, the world is only so big, and with a few words punched into the realms of cyberspace, our blue planet seems to shrink a little. So I invite you -- whoever's out there -- to walk alongside me as I document my study abroad experience from start to finish, beginning to end.

The paper work. The excitement. The unsettling fears of leaving my culture. The awkward passport photo-taking sessions at Walgreens. The packing (oh gosh, my chopstick skills are horrendous, should I pack a fork? goldfish crackers? underwear, how many pairs?). The flights. The sad goodbyes. The joyous hellos. The mispronunciation of Chinese words. And of course the unforgettable bike-peddling journeys through busy cities, quaint side-streets, and breath-taking sceneries.

All will be written. So pack your bags and brush up on that Mandarin. . .

Zaijian, we're off to China!