The first week in a new place is always exciting, hectic, and even a little scary. I have been in China for 10 days now, and it's been a complete whirlwind. Because classes for my program have yet to start, me and some other study abroad mates have spent countless tireless but amazing days checking out this new place.
So far, we have spent time in two cities, Nanjing and Shanghai. Both of these cities are located midway down China's east coast and therefore have their own unique food, culture, history, and people. Nanjing has two very unique historical elements to it. First, the city has a lot of beautiful Ming dynasty architecture, palaces, tombs, and gardens. There are many of these sites scattered around the city, including a large city wall, Gu Lou temple, an old palace, and most famously, the Ming Tombs. The Ming Tombs are located on this mountain in the middle of Nanjing, and it is said an old Ming emperor and his wife are buried underneath the tombs with hoards of treasure, although no one has ever found them.
Second, because Nanjing was an important Kuomintang stronghold in the Chinese Civil War, there are multiple memorials dedicated to Sun Yet-sen and the Kuomintang, which is interesting for a country with a complex relationship with Kuomintang controlled Taiwan. As a international affairs major, I was fascinated by the old Presidential Palace in Nanjing, which had housed the Kuomintang government. Walking through the palace, you can see old desks, meeting rooms, dining halls, lounges, and other administrative details of the short-lived government.
Both Shanghai and Nanjing have food called xiao chi (小吃), which is basically the equivalent of appetizer dishes that you order many of and share amongst those you are eating with. These xiaochi tend to be sweet, meaty, and extremely delicious. There are many different types of xiao chi, from steamed buns with a host of different fillings (meat, vegetables, shrimp, red bean paste, etc) to pig guts and roasted squid on a stick laced with cumin. One really weird dish that I ate was snails. To enjoy this delicacy one must use a toothpick to get the snail meet out of its shell. Although the cooked snails were not my most favorite food, there are many other weird things I have tried this week that were surprisingly good. I ate duck tongue (delicious), a warm milk-like gelatin substance in a papaya (not so delicious), jellyfish (delicious), stuffed duck (delicious), and frog (not so delicious). I love to try new foods, and I have yet to find a food that I am unwilling to try!
I still have another week till classes start, so the adventure continues. Till next time!