3,000 Miles to Go

Today things were back to normal on the ship.  Classes resumed and Hawaii already seems like a distant memory.  Even one day in, I’m ready to get to Japan.  My friends and I are sitting down tomorrow night and planning on what we’re doing in Japan.  We’re trying to be as frugal as possible, as we’ve heard Japan can be very expensive. 

I forgot to mention one other thing in my Honolulu post, which I think is interesting.  When I was at Red Lobster, one of the Chinese exchange students on board Semester at Sea came with us.  She had some very interesting things to say about life in China, and her impression of the United States. 

Her comments regarding American students were pretty depressing.  She said, “[Most American college students] seem to be preoccupied with drinking and could care less about their studies.”  From what she was telling me, the Chinese education standards are a lot more strict then those in the United States.  (No wonder we have a whole day on board the ship dedicated to China, focusing on the question: does this century belong to China?) Learning English in China is a very important part of the primary and secondary curriculum.  The language classes there seem much harder then those in the U.S.   She said, “[English classes] were the hardest ones I’ve ever had.”  I should mention that she's mathematics/science major.  Her English is very good and the only thing she seems to have trouble with is the slang. 

I also was surprised to learn a few things about China.  She stressed that in China, it’s okay to criticize the government.  Newspapers, television programs, and radio stations all do it.  I think the perception we have about China’s government in the United States may be a little off base.  The Chinese government does not, however, allow citizens to access sites like Facebook or Twitter.  How do they live?  Haha just kidding. I’m surviving with out Facebook (some people on board are having difficulty). 

So we’ve got over 3000 miles to go until we get to Asia- can’t wait!  Also, if you tried to e-mail me anytime on Friday, there’s a good chance I didn’t receive it.  The ship’s e-mail system was having some problems.