Introduction to this Website

24 10 06 - 08:57. Category: default

This website was designed to convey my wild and unusual experiences during an 11-week summer internship in China.

I’ve formatted this site loosely as a journal and archived by month (links to previous months’ entries are found lower down on the menu).

I also have several hundred photos from my trip, which are available on my photo page and which have been sorted by city and event.

Also as part of my trip, God allowed me to participate in outreach and witnessing. I have archived my weekly updates for that work, but am unable to publicly publish them. If you are interested in these updates, please send an e-mail to me at: lendl@lendlmeyer.com, and I will gladly send them to you.

Thank you for your interest in my life, and in the opportunities God has blessed me with.

~ Lendl Meyer
lendl@lendlmeyer.com
Moscow, Idaho

Official Trip Website

24 10 06 - 08:37. Category: default

One of our responsibilities during the China trip was to put together a website about our trip as a bit of an advertisement to attract future prospective participants.

The website was recently released, and can be accessed directly by clicking here, or from the navigation pane of the China REU Program website.

My contributions include the English Corner page (under “Life in Dalian”), and my Bio.

Final Group Photo

02 08 06 - 12:27. Category: default

The following photo was taken after our final presentations in Dalian. (Click the photo for full-size version)

L to R: Lendl, Alex, Lee, Franny, Mark, Ashley, Roy, Santiago, Bing, Bridge, Justin, Nolan, Hung Tao, Jason, Josh, Stan

I'm hoping to get more photos online soon. Right now, we're doing a large photo-swap (8 GB worth), and I'm trying to sort through and find the best photos while deleting the rest.

Safe but Long Trip

01 08 06 - 12:41. Category: default

Door to door, it took over 28 hours of travelling time to get from Beijing to Potsdam, NY. Various factors, including a huge traffic jam in Beijing and two majorly delayed airplane connections contributed. We were only in the air for about 13 of those 28 hours.

Sleep pattern changes were interesting. To pre-battle jetlag, I slept 14 hours the night before we left, and then stayed awake for most of the 28 hour trip to Potsdam (minus 2 hours on the 12-hour flight, and most of our bus drive). The latter was not purposefull. I then slept four hours last night: waking up with the light at 8:00 AM.

I'm happy to be back in America. It's surprisingly hot and humid here, paticularly in comparison with where we were in China. I'm looking forward to finishing the final legs of my trip to Seattle (on Thursday) and Moscow (on Sunday or Monday).

We're blazing through paperwork here, so further posts must wait. Thanks for all the welcome home e-mails and comments!

In Beijing, Again!

29 07 06 - 06:31. Category: default

We left Dalian early this morning and are back in Beijing for a couple days before we return to America.

This time, we’re in a different part of town, more frequented by foreigners. I’ve seen all types, from Brazil, Holland, India, Scotland, and tons of other European countries. However, there are not as many Russians here as in Dalian.

It’s weird being back around ‘foreigners’. I’m so used to being in a city where you only see a foreigner about once or twice a week (and most of those were Russians). It was practically complete immersion. Obviously, that’s excluding the 15 students in the program who I lived with.

However, as I roam the streets of Beijing now, I see groups of foreigners frequently. Honestly, it’s creeping me out. Yes, it sounds weird, but it’s true.

What’s more creepy is that most of the speak English almost perfectly, not like the thick-accented broken Chinese of most of my Dalian colleagues. It’s shocking to hear my own language in background chit-chat (as opposed to focused conversations, like English Corner) again! Every time, I mentally go: “Oh my goodness! Another foreigner with perfect English! No WAY!”

As an aside, it gives me an idea for how the Acts II ‘foreigners’ felt.

Many of the other REU students agree that it’s pretty weird. Some even confess that they’re not sure they like it. Returning to the Canada and the US will be wild. I think the language differences and the prices/wealth will be the biggest shocks.

Speaking of, we return on Monday (Aug. 1st). We leave at 1:20 PM Beijing time and, after a 12 hour flight over the North Pole, we arrive around 3:00 PM EST (on the same day) in Toronto, Canada. We then fly to Montreal, and get in around 5:00 PM EST. We then take a two hour bus back to Potsdam, NY.

Your pryrs for safe travel are appreciated!

I’m hoping to post a few more entries when I return to Potsdam, so don’t give up on the blog yet!

Pickpocket

25 07 06 - 19:31. Category: default

There have been three times this summer where I've been on a crowded bus where there was a pickpocket. You can tell, because instantly there is a loud commotion, as people try to alert others to 'watch their bags'.

Usually, I am very careful with my belongings. As always, my most important possessions (passport / c-card / money) are in a waist/belt bag my grandmother gave me. However, I also usually carry a backpack with a lot of literature, and occasionally my digital camera. Even though most of the items aren't that valuable, I still usually am pretty careful with it.

A couple weeks ago, I was careless on a crowded bus. Sure enough, that was the time a pickpocket decided to strike. All was fine, until I felt a tug on my backpack. Immediately, I whipped it around in front of me to get it away from picking hands. The zipper was already open, and the pickpocket had melted away into the crowd.

I checked, and to my great relief, the most valuable possession I was carrying in the bag, a digital camera, was still there. I didn't notice anything else missing at the time.

The next day, I looked around for my glasses. They weren't anywhere at my office or home, nor were they in my backpack (in a hard case) where I usually keep them. Then, of course, I remembered I’d had them with me that day on the bus.

So a pickpocket stole my glasses. I don't think either of us was too impressed. I'm just thankful it wasn't something else. Thankfully, I’m not exactly blind as a bat, and have been able to get by during these last two weeks by squinting like the Chinese around me. I will need to replace my glasses before fall classes though!

Unusual Sights / Items

16 07 06 - 19:34. Category: default

Anyone up for original beans, or Lmported Western Beefsteak?

And you thought this only happened in movies…

Fashion and culinary arts do mix – how is an entirely different question.


Other unusual things I have seen recently include:
--> A Chinese Karaoke shop open “25 hours a day…”
--> A virtual reality amusement park ride that boasts “4D” graphics

Take a Break!

11 07 06 - 18:42. Category: default

As the last three weeks of my time in China slowly wrap up, a lot of things are coming due. I’m presently working on a final report summarizing my research, preparing for a ‘cultural presentation’ I’ve been asked to give on homeschooling, and preparing some documents for the China REU Program’s website.

I’m simultaneously trying to spend my snippets of free time continuing to interact with the Chinese people, and cement the friendships I’ve begun to develop.

As such, I find myself with little time to write blog entries. I still hope to post several stories before my return to the US in August (particularly as there are still many interesting things happening, from pickpockets to beach-trips); however I apologize in advance if these are few and far between.

Thanks for following my blog! I’m delighted at the interest so many of my friends and family members have taken in the events daily rocking my world.

Xian Photos Online

08 07 06 - 19:35. Category: default

I finally had a chance to get to an Internet Cafe and post the best of my Xian photos. Click Here to visit the Xian photo page (or use the photo link in the left menu).

Most of the sites pictured were described in the previous post, so I won't comment on them at this point. I may post a more detailed entry later.

Happy Birthday Jocelyn!

07 07 06 - 02:34. Category: default

A big happy birthday wish to Jocelyn (in red, in front of the cake), the second oldest of my four sisters, and fifth of the eight meyer children! She turns seven today, the seventh day of the seventh month! (too bad it's not 2007!)

( p.s. the photo above was taken on Dad's Birthday in March. Hence the "Dad" instead of "Jocelyn" written on the cake. I'm not autorized to tell how old dad turned. )