New Beginnings

After a week in Shanghai at JiaoTong University, it's time for my ballyhooed update and photos. Sadly, I have no juicy tales to tell yet, so my first post covers my objectives and first impressions.

Objectives:

1. Learn Mandarin
2. Make Chinese friends
3. Gain business experience
4. Explore Judaism, join a synagogue
5. Travel to rural China, Xi'an, and Southeast Asia
6. Become Tomáš Rosický, aka "The Little Mozart"

First Impressions:

I'm studying Mandarin at JiaoTong University, best known for producing Chinese President (1993-2003) Jiang Zemin and a worldwide ranking of Universities. So far, JiaoTong is a winner; I'm up at least 11 life points.

WARM Fuzzies:

• Socially Promiscuous Chinese (+4)
  
• I cannot sit down at the dining hall without being chatted up by a friendly Chinese. Yesterday, my red face--after having just played two hours of soccer--was of particular curiosity. Thus far, I've broken bread (or slurped noodles, rather) with a socioeconomically diverse (students, a professor, the dining hall manager), though all-male crowd. Almost all speak English that is eons better than my Chinese.

• The Penthouse (+4)
• A spacious, well-lit single. My digs are sweeter than the housing I had at Stanford. And tuition, room, board, and a small stipend are all paid for by my scholarship!

• Foreign Foreigners (+2)
  
• The JiaoTong international dormitories are dominated by Japanese and Koreans, though I've also cross-pollinated with Kazakhs, Mongolians, Saudis, Germans, Spaniards, and Brits. I have yet to meet another American!

• The Lunch/Dinner Chow (+2)
• A piping hot bowl of miàn (noodles made before my eyes) with a topping, such as egg-tomato, costs 4 Yuan (about 60 cents) in the dining hall.

• The Soccer Pitch (+2)
• A block from my dorm is the pitch where the magic happens. I may not be Tomáš Rosický yet, but I am one of the bigger and badder kids on block. Unfortunately for their bruised egos, many Chinese never saw this physical specimen coming.

• Studies (+2)
  
• I took a placement test and, like a good white boy, understood next to nothing. Classes begin on Monday, and I start out in Elementary Level IV, the highest level of elementary. I'm especially stoked about two of the elective options: Chinese Cooking and Business Chinese.

COLD Pricklies:

• Slow Internet (-2)
  
• Not glacial, just solidly sub-par. It's like a car that tops out at 35 MPH, often breaks down, and explodes if you take it down certain streets.
  

• The Kitchen (-1)
  
• It has fridges, microwaves, and boiling water, but NO burners?!? How now am I to cook my way into ladies' hearts, let alone satiate my own stomach?
  

• Chinese Breakfast (-1)
  
• Fried dough balls filled with bean paste don't do it for me. Fortunately, this resourceful, strapping young lad obtained some hearty oats, milk, and bananas to satisfy his voracious morning appetite.

• My Neighbor, "The Nuclear Power Technology and Equipment Engineering Research Center" (-1)
• This charming, dilapidated facility across the street--conveniently nonexistent on the campus map--could be the reason my children are born with thripples.