These photographs were taken by Tom Abbott, studying in China this summer.
A group of Valpo students on one of the peaks of the Yellow Mountain.
A neighborhood street in the Yellow Mountain area with many small shops.
Drum tower in the ancient capital of Xian.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian.
The largest exhibit in the terra cotta warrior museum.
A view from atop the Yellow Mountain.
This post was written by Tom Abbot, studying in China this summer.
View from the outside of the Lingyin Temple
Being raised a Catholic, I knew little to nothing about Buddhism until I learned about the religion’s beginnings and basic principles in world history my sophomore year of high school. However, I knew from studying Chinese that Buddhism is a major religion in China, with many temples all across the country and millions of devote members. It was my hope when I decided to travel to China for the summer program that I would be able to experience Chinese Buddhism first hand, and that is exactly what our group did when we visited the Buddhist Academy of Hangzhou.
Inside a classroom at the Buddhist Academy
we stepped onto the grounds of the academy, and even before that, how different the lives of the monks that live there really are. Even before we arrived at the academy, we visited the Lingyin Temple and the surrounding area and it was interesting to see how different it was from anything I had ever seen. We observed carvings in the rock and ponds with fish and turtles that created a very peaceful environment, even with the temple being such a large tourist attraction nowadays. Once we had left the temple, we proceeded to have lunch at a local eatery that was on the way to the academy. Even at this restaurant, which I don’t believe was actually on the grounds of the temple, the food was vegetarian, which I was quite surprised by. This just goes to show how dedicated the people in this area are towards their religious beliefs.
View of one side of the campus
When we arrived at the Buddhist Academy, we were greeted by one of the head monks along with maybe 10 students of the academy. They were all extremely friendly and eager to practice their English language skills. I was really surprised at how young they were! Most of the girls seemed like they were 14 to 16 years old. We were given a very nice tour of the campus, which was absolutely beautiful, and then led to a room for meditation. The meditation was very relaxing. The monks helped us to properly position ourselves to partake in meditation and we sat in silence for about 15 minutes. The meditation was unlike anything I have ever done before! It was actually a lot harder than one would think. First, to be able to cross your legs and sit as they do can be quite uncomfortable even for a short time. Second, it is also difficult to keep your mind from wondering. Overall, the meditation was a great experience that really opened my eyes to the power that total relaxation can have on the body and mind.
Inside the Buddhist Academy
and done in a very specific manner. I was thoroughly impressed with the fashion the meal was carried out in and the overall taste of the food. For a vegetarian meal, the food was very good and diverse, as well as being filling. I only had one serving of everything and when I was finished I was actually pretty full. The monks make sure to give an amount of food that you can finish so nothing is wasted. It was also interesting how fast the monks eat their food and the servers came around to give seconds. I was not even half way done with my food by the time they came around again, so I could not get more even if I wanted to!
Valpo students with the monks of the academy
When the time had come for the two groups to part ways, many pictures were taken and Wechat IDs were exchanged so that we could keep in contact with the monks of the academy. It surprised me that most, or maybe even all of the monks had smartphones. I’m not sure why, but I have always been under the impression that monks do not possess such objects having to do with technology because it may become a distraction from their focus. The life of a monk is so different from that of a normal westerner’s that it is hard to comprehend. From their outfits, to the strict schedule of their daily life, and the constant focus that must be maintained, it is hard to imagine myself being able to take on the life of a monk. However, after visiting the academy in Hangzhou, I feel as though I have a much deeper understanding of the like of a monk and also a much higher level of respect for what they do. Getting to spend the afternoon with a group of Buddhist monks is definitely one of the most unforgettable things I will ever be able to do in my lifetime.
This blog post was written by Tom Abbott, studying abroad in China for the summer.
Shanghai buildings lit up at night
For our second weekend in China, we traveled to Shanghai as a group on Saturday, spent the night, and returned to Hangzhou on Sunday. We took a small bus that we booked through our travel agent. The driving in China is really quite hilarious. The drivers are all so impatient and taxi and bus drivers are always honking. This trip was no different, as our bus driver probably honked anywhere from 150 to 200 times throughout the 3 hour journey. Also, when on the road in the city anything goes. I have seen people drive on the wrong side of the road to make a turn and even drive right at oncoming traffic! It’s a lot different from driving in the states, even in big cities like Chicago.
Statue from the Shanghai Museum
largest jade Buddha in the world! My favorite part of the trip was seeing the skyline and especially the Pearl Tower. Shanghai is definitely a westernized city, with restaurants like McDonalds and Starbucks appearing on the street quite frequently. However, it is still a very Chinese city. It does not take much at all to find an authentic Chinese restaurant on the street to eat at. I would recommend having a plan of what to go and see and do when you arrive in Shanghai because it is easy to get lost and not know what to do in this massive city.
Inside of a temple in Shanghai
We stayed in the Swan Hotel, which was very nice and western. However, for being such a bustling city it was quite difficult to get wifi in the hotel and out on the street, which surprised me. I also noticed that the prices in Shanghai for food and souvenirs were much higher than in Hangzhou, which is similar to prices in the U.S. increasing in big cities. Shanghai was very fun and offered a different picture of China than seen in Hangzhou. I would most definitely want to go back and see more of the city!
This blog post was written by Tom Abbott, studying in China this summer.
Night Market
The night market was very interesting. There were dozens of booths selling various items from pearls to watches at very cheap prices. Some referred to the market as the “knock off” market because most items have a brand name on them but are actually fake. The night market was also where I experienced street barbecue for the first time. It was pretty cool and very efficient how they prepared the food that you wished to eat. You selected what you wanted them to cook, gave it to them, and they cooked it! All of the food was on a stick and was grilled on a small griddle off to the side. The food ranged from squid, to chicken, to beef, and some other interesting things that I did not know what they were. Overall, the night market was a very pleasant experience and I plan on going back to buy some gifts for people back home.
The group hiking near Zhejiang University
that are right next to the campus to hike. It is deceiving that these are called hills because we probably climbed some six to eight thousand stairs! It was very tiring but the views from the “hills” were very nice and it was a really enjoyable experience hiking it as a group. We hiked for around 4 or 5 hours as a group of about 10. Along the way many locals stopped and wished to take pictures with the group. We 
visited one of the temples in the mountain which was awesome! Inside the temple was a giant budda statue and they had dozens of candles burning outside the temple area.
Temple located in the hills near campus
So it’s officially been a week since we started our travels here! Still so beautiful, as you can see from the cover photo! Plus, this week has been super fun. And that’s not just because we only 3 classes instead of 5 or anything… wink wink. Surprisingly, I ENJOY class. I never thought I would say that. It’s all extremely discussion based where we talk about the different ethical decisions we will have to make and the different dilemmas we will be presented with as engineers.
Anyways, enough talk about class! We were very fortunate to go on two engineering tours this week. We rode the train from Reutlingen to Stuttgart, and got to see the Bahnprojekt. (On a side note, Professor H pointed out to us that the railroad ties were made out of concrete, not wood like in America! Check it out!)
To continue, the goal of the project is to create a sort of ‘round-a-bout’ to help the trains go in and out of the Stuttgart train station faster. Also, the whole rail system will be moved underground and additional high-speed trains will be added. In total, the project could cost up to 10 billion euros. Such a HUGE project, all to add additional space to the growing city of Stuttgart. There was a model of what the station would look like and it was really quite an amazing project. There was four main tracks within the station, all underground though. There were many entrances to the underground station from a park surrounding the main station building. They hope to have the project completed by December 2021.
Outside the station, the construction is already started. There was a path and park around the construction, so we walked along it and could see the site. Unfortunately, Monday was a holiday so there was no work being done. The project is quite a process, as they must have pipes and pumps for the ground water, they must put up steel walls while digging, and they must test the dirt. If the dirt is toxic, then they must add bacteria which will take a few years to cleanse the area, which sets the project back a couple of years. I never realized exactly how much work must go into such a project!
After we walked along the paths, we came to some old ruins of an old palace which had been moved to this location. Continuing a little further, we entered a beautiful park. There was a fountain, a pond, and so many flowers! There was a little garden and café. Such a lovely place. This part of the country is so beautiful, I keep going on walks because I can’t get enough of it!
Now onto Tuesday, we had class and then we had free time. Of course us girls went shopping (no dad, I didn’t buy anything! OK.. maybe one thing. I’m a girl. It’s what we do!) while the boys went to a knife shop. After, we all met up and ate dinner and then got one euro gelato! It was delicious!
On Mittwoch (Wednesday), our lives were changed forever.
Just kidding.
But our views on faucets certainly changed! We visited the small city of Schiltach, Germany, (about 3,000 inhabitants) for a tour of Hansgrohe. This green company produces beautiful, extremely high quality mixers and faucets for tubs, showers, sinks, and kitchen sinks. The company itself was very sharp; around every corner there was a little drink station so if you needed a coffee, water, or cola you could take a break and have one! We took so many coffee breaks during the tour, I definitely felt pampered.
The company is very family oriented, the chances that the current employees are following in their parents footsteps are very high! The pay here is even better in the cities because the town is so small, the company wants to keep their valuable employees there instead of losing them to the city. Everybody we met that was working was so friendly and happy, they really seemed to love their job.
You’re probably wondering what was so amazing. Well, the faucets were incredible! We went through the show room and we saw one of their new products in the making: a clear faucet which has air in it to create a visual vortex. Simply stunning. Also, they had waterfall faucets and rain shower shower heads. I really wanted to take a shower right then and there. Additionally, they have shower heads where you can click between the different shower head effects. My favorite was the one where the water spun as if to give a massage! How nice, I don’t think I would ever leave the shower. Once we had a presentation, we got to test the different shower heads. Hansgrohe has created a shower head with air to help preserve water. With the air effect, it feels as if you are using more water than you actually are. The cool part was when we turned the lights off and shined a light onto the shower heads. You could see the air in between the drops. It looked awesome!
After we spent awhile messing with the different designs of shower heads, we got a walking tour of the actual factory. There was a huge orange robot to help with different stages such as polishing. We have a similar orange robot in our engineering building! Only much smaller.
Overall, the tour was great. I not only loved seeing the company respect for its employees but I also loved seeing the employees and their families’ loyalty to the company. It’s not something you always see now-a-days. They even gave us a gift for visiting! A towel and flip-flops, so thoughtful.
Since yesterday, we have all been looking at the different types of faucets around the campus. Mostly all of them are Hansgrohe. It’s like a little game, who can find a faucet that is NOT Hansgrohe brand.
It has been a nice relaxing day, reading & writing our papers. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day! We are going to Munich!!!! I am so excited, but not so excited to wake up at 6 AM. Since high school, I think I forgot how to do that. Oh well, it will well be worth it!
Watch for my next post! Tschüss! (Bye!)
One the many areas for bikes and scooters on campus
This blog post was written by Tom Abbott, studying in China for the summer.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped off of the bus was how much commotion there was in the city! There were hundreds of people just on the campus alone that were riding bikes and mopeds. Mopeds are a huge thing here and they even have paths along the road for people to drive them! After we were taken to our rooms and we unpacked, we met up as a group with
Mao Statue on campus
Professor Jason Hu, who was in charge of setting up our internships, and we went over some logistical stuff with him. After the meeting, I stuck around and practiced some Chinese with him, which really boosted my confidence that I would actually be able to speak and be understood while in China! The first couple nights of sleep were definitely a struggle.
Main entrance to university
The first night we arrived, I went to bed around 10:30 pm and woke up at about 2am, thinking it was7am or 8am and was time to get up. I then woke up at about every hour until around 6am when I decided to just get up. The second night my roommate and I returned to our room around 6pm and were just lying around. Ben ended up falling asleep, as did I, for what we intended to be a half hour or hour nap. When we both woke up four hours later at 10pm we both knew that our idea for a short nap had not unfolded as planned… The funniest part about sleeping the first couple nights here was that when our group got together the next morning for breakfast everyone had the exact same thing happen to them as Ben and I did!
Our third day here the group travelled to West Lake and
The group at West Lake.
walked around the entire lake. It was absolutely beautiful, but we underestimated the time it would take to make our way around the lake! It is a big lake… We all agreed that we would pay many more visits to the lake before heading home. All the stories about the locals staring and wanting to take pictures are pretty accurate. One of the guys in the group, Matt Fitzpatrick, was pulled aside by a group of Chinese folks who claimed he looked like a movie star!
West Lake and pagoda.
As for the food, everything has been delicious, but it is quite different from the Chinese food in America. Coming from a guy who eats chicken, rice, and veggies for 75% of his meals, I can honestly say that food here is nothing like that in America. The cafeteria in the international dorm provides a wide variety of foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that make it easy to try numerous traditional Chinese dishes. So far my experiences in China have been very good! I have even found a gym where we and some of the other guys who are interested can go and workout for very cheap.
The thought of being able to travel to China, work in a Chinese company, and take a class at one of the top rated Chinese institutes for a month was more than enough of a reason for me to decide to take part in this awesome summer program through Valpo. Having studied Chinese for more than 7 years, I was overjoyed when I learned of this opportunity and immediately began planning to go on this trip. It did not hit me until the day before I was leaving that I was ACTUALLY going to China! I was very excited, but also a bit anxious because I had never left the country before.
before I left (she was obsessed with triple checking and making sure I had everything), so when the day came to head to the airport I was definitely not worried about forgetting anything. I met up with the group of Valpo students when I got to the airport and everything up until we boarded went smoothly. There was a mechanical issue when we boarded so our flight got delayed about an hour, which was no big deal. After this, it was time to sit back and relax for the next thirteen hours that we would all be on the plane (yes the plane ride was very long). I ended up sleeping and listening to music for the majority of the flight, which made the time go by somewhat fast.
After arriving at the Shanghai International
Airport, we proceeded through customs and met up with Megan, who had taken a separate flight. We then made our way to the bus that was there to transport us to Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. To be honest, I do not remember much of the bus ride, as we were all exhausted at this point in the day and slept for most of the ride. The bus ride turned out to be about another 4 hours and we finally arrived at the university around 8:30pm! Although traveling had completely wiped me and my fellow students out, I was ecstatic to finally be in China and to experience life here!WOW! Has it already been 5 days since we first started our departure from America?!
Even though we have been here in Reutlingen, Germany, for four days, our sleep schedules are still off. We are tired and then when it is bedtime.. wide awake! Of course we are not as tired as the first day.. staying up for 30+ hours is much trickier than it sounds. We were lucky enough to have Dean Johnson here the first day we arrived. He gave us a tour of campus and of the town. After, we went downtown for dinner. I do not think any of us expected what we saw. As Professor H and Josh (our “tour guide/translator”) were running ahead of us trying to make our dinner reservations, we were all in awe. Stopping, taking pictures, posing. Sometimes even in the middle of the road! The roads are so small here compared to USA that I didn’t even realize we were in the middle of them (oops!). However, we have been much better with being aware of our surroundings since that first day (don’t worry mom and dad!). The city, for lack of a better word, is so cute! There is a long road which no cars are allowed down. Located along this road are many shops and cafes. The buildings are all different colors, and all the roofs are very triangular and pointy. Such a fun town to walk around.
The following day we got a walking tour of the city and downtown. Southern Germany is absolutely beautiful. There are many parks to walk through and within the parks there are darling little cafes to eat at. There is even a golf course at one of the parks but you stand up and play so it’s similar to pool! One of the parks has a life size chess board with pieces; I promise I will play a game of chess on that before I leave. On the walk, we also saw a stunning view of the town. Every building has a red roof, and in the distance we could see Marienkurche (St. Mary’s Church downtown). 
The church’s oldest parts date back to the 12th century, but unfortunately the interior was destroyed in a fire and has since then been restored. While on our walk through downtown Reutlingen, we got to walk down the narrowest Straße (street) in the world! The street is in the Guiness book of world records, how neat for us to see!
While on our walk, we got our first “engineering” tour. We walked by an old mill, and an extremely friendly old man generously welcomed us into his shop and showed us around. It was an old water powered mill from the 1700s, still working today! I really love how the town supports local shops like this one. The man’s English was nearly perfect too, so we really got a good grasp on what was happening and how everything worked. Everybody really enjoyed the little detour.
On Sonntag (Sunday), nothing is open except some places to eat. All the grocery stores and clothing stores are closed. Quite different than America. The eight of us went to Penny Mart on Samstag (Saturday) to get food so we could cook dinner Sonntag. When Keith offered to cook us stir fry, we were all quite nervous. The dinner turned out DELICIOUS, much to our surprise. Ha ha, just kidding, we all knew you’d do a great job, Keith! Thank you! It was really a fun time for all of us to gather in the same dorm and eat together. It’s really been a fun few days of bonding and getting to know everyone. I can tell the next few weeks are going to be a blast!
On a side note, all the natives here have been extremely patient and friendly with us. Some speak English, some do not! It is always a fun interaction with everyone because they keep speaking German with us and we keep speaking English with them. Some ask where we are from, and when we say Chicago they get excited. They are all so patient with us too, especially since there are 9 of us who do not speak the language. We all travel in a heard. The ladies in the bakery are especially fun to speak with. We point to what we would like and they get it for us. They laugh, we laugh. We don’t know what we are saying to each other. One thing I’ve learned is that laughter is the same in all languages.
What a beautiful time we are having here.
We finally came home after an adventure of a lifetime. I have made such wonderful and lifelong friends. There are things about England that I miss, but at the same time there are other things that I appreciate even more about the states.
Land Ho!!! I’ve made it to America.
Double-Decker!
We close the front gate of our home in Windhoek and run downhill, our shirts already sticking to our sweating skin in the still-hot evening hours. The sound of barking dogs follows us, the dogs straining against gates and fences as we whiz by. When we make it to the top of the next hill, we see the golden halo of the sun illuminating the dusty purple mountains and a blanket of lights revealing the expanse of houses on the rolling landscape. This is one way Windhoek will be defined in our memories. It will also be walking to the Wernhil Mall to pick up floss, potato chips, or chocolate – past the Polytechnic of Namibia, down a set of metal stairs and through a maze of taxi drivers.
Louise: When I make a purchase, the cashier asks if I am Brazilian – a response that I have gotten from several people in Namibia because of my thick curly hair and skin that’s sometimes considered a shade too dark to only be a white person’s tan. I am used to people misreading my race both at home and abroad, never guessing correctly that I am a quarter Chinese and three-quarters Caucasian. However, I never thought about what it meant for people to misread my nationality.
Katie: People misread my nationality all the time. I am ethnically 100% Chinese and because of my physical appearance, am automatically assumed to be from China and Chinese speaking. In reality, the only part of me that identifies with China is my DNA. I see myself as an American and nothing else so it can be abrupt when I’m walking and someone greets me in Mandarin or asks me if I’d like a cab to China Town.
Louise: This week in my history class, “Racism and Resistance in Southern Africa and the United States,” I started thinking more about nationality and how it impacts identity when we watched a video titled The Color of Fear. The video documents a conversation about race relations in America amongst men of differing races. One man of color participant, who did not identify as an American even though he was born and raised in America noted that, “The word American really means white to us. It doesn’t incorporate all of us.” While the video focused on American perceptions, it was interesting to see from my own experience in Namibia and traveling elsewhere that the correlation of American being synonymous with white exists on a global scale. People who perceive me as white have no problem assuming that I am American, while people who perceive me as non-white jump to the conclusion that I am from Spain, Brazil or another Central or South American country.
Katie: I’ve often had the experience of having individuals that I meet argue with me about my nationality when I say I’m from America. There is no hesitation in assuming I am Chinese because I do not fit the Caucasian stigma and then it is hard to convince anyone else wise. My perceptions of myself are so very different than individuals I meet here. However I have a double-edged sword: I am identified as both American and Chinese and neither are received completely favorably. In our “Politics and Development in Southern Africa” class, we heard another unique Namibian perspective from Herbert who talked about the impacts of globalization in Namibia. He discussed how the influence of Chinese investment in Namibia affected the country on an economic, political, and social level. Using the textile industry he explained how exploitative China had become toward Namibian workers and how that created a lot of the xenophobic feelings in response. I thought that was fascinating since I have experienced firsthand Namibians both gratifying from Chinese investment and then discrediting it in the same sentence quite often.
Louise: In another video in History, another man of color noted that he strongly identified as American, not because he felt like the stereotypical view of an American fit him, but because he felt that identifying as an American would help broaden the definition of who can be American. Sometimes I want to run away from my American identity and leave it behind like the rows of barking dogs. Sometimes I am proud that I can be perceived as a non-American and lose the stereotypes of Eugene Burdick and William Lederer’s portrait of “the ugly American” intervening abroad – the arrogance, incompetence, and ignorance of Americans that breeds problems. Yet other times I find it important to identify myself as an American, not only to broaden the definition of American, but also to recognize that I come from a place of privilege, as well as a place built on violence. A place where my great great uncle had the power to authorize the poisoning of Patrice Lumumba’s toothpaste and his assassination.
Katie: The defining of nationality and ethic identification is a constant confrontation no matter what your story and genetic makeup are. Whether you are a visitor or a citizen you are a representation of something greater than yourself. Whether I identify with one race or am grouped with one by someone else, I am a representation of both things. I would like to imagine that I can represent both my nationality and ethnicity with justice, however it is important to remember it is not one individual’s job to educate 2 million people on cultural sensitivity.
Louise: In reflecting on defining my own identity, it has also been an exercise in remembering that all of us have complex identities. Just as there is no set portrait of an American, there is no set portrait of a Namibian. Coming back from out homestays from last week, it was exciting to hear stories from my classmates about their unique experiences with diverse people – everything from going to church on Sunday morning, trying on traditional Herero and Oshiwambo clothing, or having a braai.
Katie: Identity is a concept created by people to limit experiences of others. It establishes who someone is but in doing so trails multiple stigmas. It is essential to realize that identity components are made up for humans, by humans. In order to fully embrace an experience one should look past those limiting stigmas and meet the individual wherever she or he is at, without any predominating factors.
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