China Life

It’s been a different experience. I hope that in these next few weeks I can give you a glimpse of the life I’m living here in the east. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. With that said, I’m still working on a balance between schoolwork, exploring Xiamen, chatting and adventuring with new friends and following routines.

Here's an aspect of my life in China that I’ve appreciated recently.

Chinese New Year was on January 23, and with it came incredible excitement throughout Xiamen and the rest of China. EVERYONE is on vacation, so it’s crazy. I watched the New Year’s gala, a 4 or 5 hour TV special that nearly a billion people tune in to with the coming of the Year of the Dragon. There were musical performances and dance routines, but I especially appreciated the comic stand-up that apparently was really funny. We went and saw the fireworks, and let me just say, China’s fireworks displays surpass America’s. Here’s a little shot of the 45-minute fireworks show. We got dangerously close but it was WORTH IT.

Now, I’m going to steal an idea from my friend Adrienne (SHOUT OUT) who’s living in Ireland for two years. Instead of “You know you’re in Ireland when…” I bring you…

You know you’re in China when…
- any building, elevator or restaurant usually has someone smoking in it
- people belch to show that the meal was satisfactory
- anyone on a bus will instantly give up a seat for a child or elderly person

- Kev

Blocked in China!

It looks like blogspot has been blocked in China, similar to Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. I'll have something figured out by next week in order to keep updating. I'm using my friend's computer in order to update... he has a special way of accessing these websites. As a quick update, I'm settled into Xiamen University and will have plenty of pictures to show once I get the blogspot ordeal figured out.

In the meantime, I give you this:




When visiting Walmart in downtown Xiamen, we stumbled upon this gem. In case you didn't know, "squatty's", as we've endeared them, are the norm here in China.

Updates coming soon!

Kev

Hong Kong is wet.

It’s not been sunny since we got here. The city doesn’t slow down though, AND NEITHER DO I. Here’s a picture of Hong Kong Island from this afternoon. 6:00 PM in China (it’s all one time zone… why don’t we do that!) is 4:00 AM in St. Louis, by the way. And I’m living in the future.

On Saturday, we spent all day in Macau. If you look at my first post with the map of China, it’s a very small country southwest of Hong Kong. It was owned by the Portuguese until 1999, where it transferred ownership to the People’s Republic of China’s hands. Hong Kong and Macau have an interesting recent history, especially in a time where countries don’t suddenly change ownership.

So as you can imagine, Portuguese-Chinese food is incredibly tasty. We ate at Fernando’s, which is apparently world famous for it’s cuisine. The serving sizes are large per plate in China because it’s usually shared amongst everyone at the table in most restaurants. For this reason, a friend and I shared a beefsteak with fried egg and fries. Olive oil (Portuguese influence?) was readily available so I used that to add some flavor. Fresh bread was also set on the table.

The food isn’t the only thing Macau is known for. It surpassed Las Vegas in casino revenues in 2007. We had the chance to see the intense gambling industry of this country, which is 50% of its economy. Macau was amazing at night! Here’s a video of the Lisboa, a popular casino in Macau.

This morning, we went to church at Evangelical Community Church, which was surprisingly similar to worship in America. It was a lot more diverse than Exit59, my church in Upland, which is mostly college students, or the Journey, my church in STL. Not only are there many Chinese, but many ex-pats who work and live in Hong Kong.

I went to the Art Museum of Hong Kong, then a coffee shop. In case you were wondering, caramel lattes taste the same as in the US.

I’m exhausted, but looking forward to leaving for Xiamen on Wednesday. Goodnight!

- Kev

STL to LA to HK.

I’ve successfully made it to Hong Kong after a long and strenuous couple of flights that totaled 18 hours, not including waiting time. But, it still amazes me that I can be on the other side of the world in less than 24 hours. The world certainly is getting smaller.

This is a picture of my group at the southern tip of Kowloon in Hong Kong. I’m getting to know a lot of them and I know this trip will end with some strong friendships. (Remember you can click the images for a larger picture)

In honor of all things asian culture, I took a picture of this advertisement in the MTR, the metro system of Hong Kong. I’m hoping to post pictures of such things like this that one would only find in Asia throughout my travels! While riding into Kowloon from the northeast side of Hong Kong, seeing this ad really reiterated the fact that I was really in Hong Kong once again.

(I still don't know what this is advertising.)

Memories of getting a little tacky Kirby keychain from a room full of over-the-top dispensers came to me. And yes, I’d say half of these dispensers were cat-related.

(This picture is from last year; I will run into some later I’m sure)

It’s funny to me how asian pop culture is kind of tacky from the American view, but I really find the over-the-top style and creativity hilarious.

We’re staying in Hong Kong for a week at a YMCA camp in northeast Hong Kong. Surprisingly, YMCAs in China are almost always overtly Christian based and supported. It’s very evident here where a chapel is in the middle of the camp and most of the kids staying here are from private elementary and middle schools.

It’s about a 40-minute subway ride to Kowloon, or the real downtown of Hong Kong, and here’s a small example of what the city looks like.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any awesome shops or supermarkets right across the street.

We've been taking classes from our program leader twice a day, with free time afterward. We have Saturday and Sunday to do whatever we'd like, so I'll be posting again this weekend!

- Kev

Xiamen, eh?

Now even though I’ll be studying in Xiamen (pronounced “Shah! Men?” apparently) for 3 months, I actually don’t know very much about it at all. What I DO know I’d love to share with you, because Xiamen is supposedly quite unique.

I had the opportunity to go to China for the month of January last year, and while there, I got to speak to some of Chinese people and ask them about Xiamen because I knew about the program that Taylor offered. I was told four things.

1. The women in Xiamen are gorgeous.

2. Xiamen is one of the most beautiful cities in China, actually making it one of the top honeymoon locations in China.

3. An island in Xiamen is actually car-free… bikes only.

4. It’s known for its coffee and tea shops.

So you may be thinking that this sounds more like a vacation. I’m hoping it has some of those aspects! I’m looking forward to the possibility of studying in a tea shop by the coast in sub-tropical weather on a beautiful campus. In fact, the university almost looks like a resort! (Click the image for a larger picture!)

The university itself was founded in 1921 and has around 20,000 undergraduates. This is a bit different than Taylor, with roots back in the 1840s and around 2,000 students. Taylor isn’t quite coastal or full of city-life either. This is another aspect of this study abroad that will be challenging – a complete shift in the environment in which I’m going to school.

I’m curious to see what expectations come true and what ends up completely unexpected. Either way, I’m going into this trip with an open mind and trust I’ll have a very memorable experience.

- Kev

City-grown cornfield-student.

It looks like you’ve stumbled across my blog! This is either because you’re a good friend of mine or family, in which case, I hope that what is written here fills you in on my eastern experiences. Otherwise, you’re interested in China, in which case I hope to tell you my story and experiences in China as a 21-yr-old guy from St. Louis and a student at Taylor University in Indiana.

My name’s Kevin Baker, and I’ve been given the incredible opportunity to go learn in a foreign environment. I'll be traveling to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, but I'll mostly be in Xiamen in the Fujian province.

Specifically, I’ll be studying from January 9 to April 20 in Xiamen, China at Xiamen University. I study media production and international business, but the classes I take at the university will be on the business-side of things. What better place to learn about international business than at the country that’s been getting such extraordinary economic attention in recent years? To say the least, I’m excited about this experience, but not only because it’ll be great for my education.

Things I love about China:

Culture, Food, People, Language, City-life, Beautiful scenery, Adventure, Cheap Clothes, Mystery, Temperature, Challenge and Faith-Testing.

Besides these things, China is simply interesting to me. It’s just about the polar opposite when it comes to freedoms and lifestyles. I can’t wait to learn and be immersed through getting to know the Chinese people and live there.

Anyway, if you haven't found out, I love people. I hope to write about the people I meet, the travels I have, the observations I make, the events that occur and what I'm learning as my worldview becomes challenged. Please comment as much as you'd like!

- Kev