Greetings,
Sorry that this and the previous posts are
going out at the same time.
There has been so much going on
lately and it is just been hard to keep
up with! To start off the reason that
I haven’t posted or used FB is
because I just got internet access. The
hotels wireless router system
hated our computers. We actually had to
have the engineering department
come and program our computers to work with
their wifi. It was a mess to
say the least. But enough about that what
else has happened:
Nanjing is a huge city. It has 6.5 million
residents in the metro area,
and a couple more in their
version of the
“suburbs”. However their
suburbs are completely different
than ours. Almost
everyone here lives in high
rise apartments. And I mean high,
usually10-20 stories!
The look is so much like
New York. The only difference
is the signs in Chinese and a total of 50
Caucasians. There are extremely few
races here other than
Chinese. This can be kind
of unfamiliar sometimes. The
city itself is dirtier than new work but not
as much as I expected.
We have been taking
small walking trips to the local
area. We have already visited
a bargaining shopping center. We bought
supplies at the Wal-Mart here. And
we have been to 4 different malls. Our last
adventure was to a massage parlor for
an hour long
full body massage for 70 RMB
(10 dollars).Now to what the people are
like. The Chinese people are very
friendly and inquisitive. I do feel that
there is still the race misconception when it
comes to blacks here. They
either still have the old mentality that dark
skin means you are not smart
or of a good class. Or the new generation
is only familiar with us thru
rap videos and stereotypical TV
and movie roles. But they don’t
overtly say things
to us it is just kind of an uneasy
feelings, awkwardness. The hotel staff
on the other hand is so nice to us.
They just want to be friends it seems.
However the department I will be
working in the food and
beverage department
seems to be more business
minded. But I think when I rotate
thru the other departments it will be fine.
Our hotel room is nice.
Somewhat small but
has everything that we could
want. Jinling is definitely a 5
star hotel. Very comfortable
beds, cotton embossed towels, high
quality toiletries,
and a 40 inch LCD TV. The hotel
common areas and restaurants
are extremely nice! I will post pictures as
soon as I can. The only
complaint I have
about the hotel is the staff
eating area. We affectionately
refer to it as the dungeon. It is on
the first floor of the
hotel behind
several doors and a long
hallway. When you go in it is dark.
They don’t have
lights in there; the only
light comes from a few
windows on the
outside walls. The tables
are basically park benches,
the ones have the seat and
table connected.
The food is traditional
Chinese, village
style. It is going to take
a while to get use to it.
Most of the
other interns are going
to probably
going to skip lunch and just
eat breakfast
and dinner in Jin’s café.
Ohhhh, Jin’s café is excellent! The
food is great
and the atmosphere is perfect.

Ok well that is all I have
time for now. But
I will give you some more advice
for your trip to China.

1. If you are male and have
a shoe size
bigger than 44 (8 in American)
you will not find socks or
shoes. Females
40( size 7 I think?)

2. You cant always tell what
kind of meat
is in your meal so be prepared
to eat almost anything. IE
bullfrog, snake,
chicken and beef that does not
taste like it.

3. If your bigger than the
large size in
America in you may not have an
easy time finding close. I am
medium in America. In China I
am XL :(

4. Nobody in the stores speaks
English but
they are the best I have ever
seen at playing charades. You
can get
everything you want without
saying a word.

Hope you are all well and I will
post to you later.
Kyle

First post

NI Hao everyone!
Wow, who could ever believe that there would
be so much of an adventure
just getting to China? I am now finally
riding to the hotel in a van
after a 16 hour flight. To make things more
interesting, I have been
up for 30 hours so far. Don’t get me wrong
the plane ride was not as
horrible as I thought it was going to be.
Despite what a 2 million mile
traveler told me Delta actually did a very
good job. Flying the new 777
is the only way to travel internationally
I think. On the plane I had my
own personal TV with access to 10 movies,
numerous shows and a plethora
of music. While the leg room was small, I
luckily had a very short person
sitting next to me so I could take up some
of her leg room. Now to food….
There were 2 meals and one snack served to
us. The first meal was actually
ok. They didn’t have the entrée I wanted
but the back-up was acceptable. The
snack consisted of a portable ramen noodle
bowl. And it wasn’t even
really given to us! We had to go to the
galley and get the cup o noodle
and add the water ourselves. Finally we were
served a “light” meal. I
have to honestly say it was the worst
thing I have had in a long time.
Orange chicken and rice is not supposed
to be kept hot for that many
hours. And you would think that with a
plane full of native Chinese
that the meal would be authentic, but no.
However I think if that is
the biggest complaint I have about the flight
then it went very well.
Shanghai airport is nice I have to say though.
And I was truly surprised
at customs. Chinese customs consisted
of a huge barricade wall and signs
that look intimidating. Once you pass by
the blockade you are in the lobby.
That’s right no inspections, questions,
anything. Ha-ha, love it!
I have learned a few things already on
this trip. First of all, make sure
you weight your bags before you go so
that at the airport you aren’t shifting
stuff from one suitcase to another. For
some strange reason people seem to like
to stare awkwardly at you when you have
your stuff all over the airport floor.
Second, if you don’t have to be at the
airport extremely early, don’t. I spent
4 hours in the terminal trying to fill
the time with FB and window shopping in
the stores. Three, bring a big carryon
because of having extra stuff but be
prepared to have to store your bag 10
aisles back or try and shove it under
the seat in front of you robbing you
of precious legroom. Finally for those
going to China, try and adjust your
sleeping cycle before the flight to
sleep
during the day. It will help so much
with ad
justing. And most importantly don’t
forget to bring your earplugs and
eye patch like I did!

From a highway in China,
Kyle

From the Beginning

Welcome everyone to the fantastical, stupendous
adventures of Kyle! I have started this blog to keep
my friends and family up to date with my adventures
during my internship at the Jinling Hotel. I would also
hope that this blog could be a time capsule for future interns
to reference so that they can feel well informed before they
leave for China. So this being my first post, thank
you for reading my blog. And I hope you enjoy my future posts,
filled with stories and experiences.


Kyle