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(Badger fullback Chris Pressley continues his diary from China, where he is visiting with other students through an educational tour arranged by the UW School of Business).

We have reached the halfway point and I am glad to still be saying that I am doing quite well and still having an amazing time. I am learning a lot about China’s economy and I understand where they are headed in the future, especially in the specific areas of the country that we are visiting.

I definitely knew the learning experiences would be great, but I thought that by now some of the smaller intangible things would have gotten to me. These things include: 1) eating with chop sticks (which could be a plus because it forces me to take small bites and I don’t over eat as much); 2) all of the people staring at me everywhere I go and when I say hi to them in Chinese they get a confused/blank expression; 3) the hot, humid weather with cloudy skies and very little sunlight; 4) the busy days; 5) the rest of the students on the trip; 6) not being able to speak well to the hundreds of Chinese people that I encounter each day; 7) the funky smells that I get in the most random places while I walk down the streets; 8) the very aggressive bus, bike, and taxi drivers that pretend that they are the only ones on the road; 9) the hard beds that I am not used to that feel like you are sleeping on a door; 10) and last but definitely not least is that I thought I would be so tired of the fact that I am halfway around the world and away from everything that I am used to. But I am not tired of any of it. I am embracing each moment with excitement and curiosity. I am so glad that I am blessed with this opportunity and I know I need to make the most out of it. So what I am going to do is continue to have a great time enjoying my trip, and because time is running short I will have to make every day better than the last.

Today is Saturday, and I know that even though I am about to go to bed, people back at home are probably waking up and starting their day. That is so fun to think about! Basically, whatever I am doing here now, the total opposite is going on on the other side of the world. Anyhow, like I was saying today is Saturday and Wednesday was the last day I was here so I will just give the rundown from Thursday until now. On Thursday, we flew to our second-to-last destination of the tour where we will spend a week at each place.

Nanjing is where we are now and Shanghai is our last stop. We are staying on the campus of Nanjing’s Agricultural University (NAU), which is one of China’s oldest and most prestigious universities of agricultural sciences. When we arrived at the airport we met with our host students and were told that they would accompany us during our stay in Nanjing. They speak English very well and they are a fun group of students. The first day they just basically introduced themselves, and since the flight from the airport in Kunming was delayed, we just had dinner and went to our rooms for the night.

Nanjing is a nice city with a population of around four million. The campus was really nice to explore because it was fun to see how the students of this campus compare to UW’s campus. First of all, they were very excited that we were here and made a very big deal that we came to their campus. They had signs posted up around campus that said welcome to the University of Wisconsin students, and it made for a very welcoming experience. It was fun telling the students about American football and talking to them about how our campus compares to theirs.

Friday was a fun day. We started with a “Childrens Day” celebration at a local elementary school. The children performed for us and their parents, and they put on a fashion show for us. It was really cute and the celebration was a good start to the day. After that the university had a welcoming ceremony for us and gave us a talk about what we will be learning during the lectures, as well as a brief history of the university and the foreign exchange programs. After that we had a few lectures on Chinese language and a historic review of China’s Agricultural Development by one of the professors. The lectures had a lot of information and it was interesting to get a glimpse of the development and where they are headed in the future. In the evening we had a welcoming dinner, which was very tasty, and afterwards had time to go and explore a little bit of the downtown.

Today we started with a visit to a local township where we visited a nursing home. The elderly people were very excited to get foreign visitors and we learned a little about what happens to some of the other elderly people after retirement. It is somewhat different from the states. Afterward we went for a company visit to a local linen factory, and then to a local farmer’s house for yellow watermelon. We then ate at a Nanjing Vegetable Technology Farm that is a Joint Venture with Israel, and had a tour of the facility. The rest of the day consisted of more visits to Nanjing facilities and was concluded by a party with the Nanjing students. It was full of games and singing, and ultimately was a good time and a good way to get to know the students a little more. I participated in most of the games and I sang the song "Lean On Me" to the students. At the end everyone wanted to try to arm wrestle me because they said that I am very strong. It was a good time. Tomorrow we will visit a few touristy spots and Monday will begin with more lectures and continue to enjoy our tour through China..

Today is Monday and I have a few short minutes in the computer lab to write a quick blog. I’ll pick up from yesterday where we went and visited a few touristy spots. We went to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sun's Mausoleum and then to the Ming tomb. Both places were really crowded and located at the Zhongshan Mountain National Park. We did a lot of walking and learned a lot about Dr. Sun's life and all that he did to help the Chinese Democratic Revolution. The Ming tomb was interesting because it was the tomb of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The only thing was no one knows exactly where he was buried, so at the site we only knew that we were somewhere in the vicinity. We then went to another silk museum where we learned about more of the ancient silk heritage and got to see how imperial robes and cloths are created. Some were very expensive costing up to 100,000 RMB or yuan. The robes and the fabrics were very rich in color and design and only a few centimeters are made per day.

After the silk museum we went to the Confucius Temple Market. Here, there were a lot of people and there was supposed to be time for shopping, but I just ended up having a long chat with our tour guide about football and just growing up in the U.S. We shared what our motivations in life are and what we both planned on doing in the future. His name is Xai Lei and he is a very bright individual; it was very inspiring to talk with him. Afterward we had time to go back and do some Karaoke but I just stayed back at the hotel and worked out, then had some time just to relax and listen to some music.

Today started with two lectures. The first was a lecture about Developmental Programs of China. It was given by Dr. Xuan Yanan from the college of economics and management, and it helped us understand how the government is getting involved to help fund and initiate programs to ensure agricultural advancement. The next was a lecture on Agricultural and Rural Development in a specific province of China. Both lectures were very informative and helped open our eyes to some Chinese infrastructure that involves policies, investments, and future developments. I don’t know the itinerary for the rest of the day but I know that everyone is at lunch now and I am getting hungry so I think I should get going. Nanjing has a lot to offer and I am learning a lot about all of the potential that China has as it continues to grow. I will be back in a few days and I continue to miss the folks at home. Peace, Love, and God Bless!!!

Go Badgers!!
Wisconsin Athletic Communications
6/6/2007 3:03:52 PM