Blog #9: The Equestrian Club Makes Me Want to be Rich

Wednesday, May 20th 

Michelle, our Beijing tour guide, explained a little bit about living in Beijing. Apparently, most average apartments are $7000/sq meter...This sounds unbelievably high to me, but China overall sounds expensive to live, especially in Hong Kong in Beijing...

Everyone also carries multiple cards of identification. They have their ID card and family card, which shows where you and your family are from(i.e. if you're a native Beijinger). Plus, their driver's licences. I can't understand why anyone would want to drive a personal car in China.

We had one our best lunches today! Everyone seemed very happy with it. 
Toffee apples were perfection; this was definitely my favorite Chinese food. Cooked pork fat, which no one else seemed to like, but myself. The sweet and sour pork was one of the best we had our trip(plus, no bones) and peppered beef was to die for! 

The Equestrian Club--the moment that Jordan and I had been waiting for. What lay in store for us had my jaw dropping. Here were some of the stats for being a member of the Equestrian Club we toured: 
-$15,000 initiation fee
-$500 every year for continued membership
-$20,000 to board a horse. I'm hoping this was for a year and not a month. 
-There were 500 members, but only 60 of them owned horses. 

-139 horses resides on the premises 
-The Club transports all its hay from Northern China. Nothing is internationally imported. 

To make the point clear, this was top-notch, high level, and for China's elite. People who had money to burn. Horses aren't just hay burners, you know. They burn your wallet pretty fast too--especially in China. 

The breeds that resided in the barns were American quarter horse, warm bloods, and we spotted an Andalusian. 
There are shows and competitions that many of the boarders and members partake in. Its  called the China Equestrian Tour. They compete from April to November. 

European and American trainers are invited to train and teach. 

The club we visited was famous mostly because actors/celebrities came there. Overall, it was a beautiful facility with three indoor arenas, an outdoor arena, two-story lounge, a wine and cigar cellar(what the heck is that anyway?), professional buildings and lawn work(presentation matters), and best of all--beautiful horses. 

We attended a meeting with DuPont/Pioneer, where the speaker happened to have lived in Nebraska for a short time and made a joke about Nebraska roads that I openly laughed along with. I get you, man. 

One of the things he said was that the government likes to keep the farmers happy. The reason? Because most of the revolutions that overthrew Chinese governments were started by farmers. 

The tea house was very educational and entertaining. We sampled a wide variety of teas from a basic black tea to a fruit tea that was made with dried fruit. They all were delicious and had their own distinct flavor and use for something in the human body. 

Our group was welcomed to MAFIC(Ministry of Agriculture Feed Industry Center) in the warmest ways possible. We each were paired with one of the students; my partner's name was Emily. She was almost 30 years old and working on her PHD in swine nutrition. 

I learned about Chinese modern culture, what they thought of us and our culture, and it was all very eye-opening. My entire trip I had been looking for the actor/singer Han Geng(because he is life) and I found out the reason he was no where to be found was because he wasn't the most popular. And the reason for him not being the most popular was because he "wasn't that handsome", according to Emily. 

I beg to differ...

I just loved the experience at MAFIC. It was great to get to know the students and bond in only a few short hours. Katrina(a former SDSU student) is currently teaching English there and we discussed that as a career choice for myself. Its a possibility...She was just starting there and didn't have a whole lot to share with me yet. I might have to find a way to contact her in the future. 

Blog #8: Train to Beijing

Tuesday, May 19th 

(This is being posted almost a month later because I got busy and now am posting these myself. Sorry about the long wait.)

Xi'an's meat market was the place I drew the line.

I had been open to China and its culture and enjoyed it all. I had come to understand their lesser sanitation than us. I could not look at the meat market in a positive light. There was trash everywhere on the ground, piled high in some spots. Meat lay out in the open air, carcasses hung from hooks. Scales, meat cleavers, cutting boards--they all were caked with drying blood from the previous uses. However much meat you wanted was hacked off from an uncleaned cleaver on an uncleaned cutting board, slapped onto an uncleaned scale and then you take it home and cook it. And cook it good. 

Most of it was open-air, meat being sold by the street. However, there was a building. A building that displayed the internal organs and things I would choose to never eat: tongues, stomachs, hearts, heads, other things I wished to not identify. We also found a Styrofoam container of skinned rabbits.

A lot of people in the group complained about it and seemed shocked. I wasn't, in most ways. We had been prepared for this. No, I didn't like it, but I still handled it with an outlook of learning something and trying to see it from the Chinese's eyes. 

The train we take to Beijing is a mass of chaos in the beginning because we have to pack our luggage on the car with us and other people are trying to get seated and telling us we're in wrong seats. 

Some people in our group were eager to take the "sit where you want" advice from faculty when someone not in our group had the seat they took. Huh. 

However, finally we get going. The train was supposed to reach a max speed of 325 kph(201 mph) though I don't know if we ever got to that point. The ride was smooth; I didn't get motion sickness thanks to the patches. The scenery--beautiful. I did not know China had so much mountainous terrain and greenery. Some parts looked like the Midwest to me, a little piece of home. 

We entertained ourselves with Uno and eventually crossed over a riveting game of Hangman. That was one of the moments I actually interacted with members of the group and hung out. It was actually quite enjoyable and we got laughs out of it. 

--What you are about read is a segment from my handwritten journal shortly after I had a mental breakdown. What had been a decent day turned for the worst when I attempted to be social. This is something that has never worked for me; forgive the major pity-party I throw here.--

Today, I hit the travelers low. I should be used to not fitting in, but when you're promised you're going to become like a family and you witness that from the outside...it can kinda hurt. Bawled my eyes out for about half an hour, threw a pity party and wondered why I'm so different. Finally assured myself that in the end, I needed to achieve my goal of being successful, not popular. You can't wish for something that's not meant to be--fitting in. Decided to quit openly interacting with others; it gets me no where and they all find me annoying and strange. It's better to just stay to myself the rest of the trip. 

--I did take this advice for the most part. Still didn't feel like "a family" to me, but I did make some--what I hope I can say--"friends". 

Blog #7: The Local Farmer & the Ancient History‏

Monday, May 18th

A local farmer was kind enough to show us her home and small acreage. Most farms are less than an acre.
The farmer pretty much runs the entire farm on her own, living off what she sells from produce and homemade art.
She does most herself, but will ask neighbors for help if she can't. She pays $10/day. 

Land is owned by the government. It's a 70 year lease from government for farm land, 50 years for a housr.
After lease is up the government does what it wants with the land.

Today, my eyes were laid on the wonder known as the Terra Cotta warriors.
Two thousand soldiers were on the surface for the public, 6,000 underneath.
The soldiers used to be completely painted, but sunlight and air destroyed the color over a short time. All the warriors exposed are barren of paint.

My first Chinese massage was great! Best foot massage with a decent fix for my back muscles and shoulders. Trying to translate ended up being a fun experience rather than a stressful one. 

People left me at the massage parlor. I walked a couple blocks hoping to find someone, but no success. It was pure luck that I glanced down a side street and found the bus. Confirmed it was our bus driver sitting there, said a "ni hao" and walked on up. I chilled in the bud for about twenty minutes. China Momma Janet felt bad (all the faculty did) and offered to get me delivery from KFC since I missed grabbing dinner. It was 10:30 at night so Janet settled with walking with me across the street to the convenience store. The only thing they had that looked appetizing was vanilla ice cream - flavored oreos, in which Janet demanded she paid for. You do not fight with an independent Chinese woman.

I attempted to pay for it with my card, but Janet insisted they did not take American credit cards. She still refused to take my cash. I'm pretty sure she lied. The cashiere smiled at me after her and Janet shared some words in Chinese. 

I'll miss China Momma dearly...

Blog #6: Seeing Xi'an‏

Sunday, May 17th 

One of the first attractions we saw in Xi'an was a feed mill, only for pigs.

For ya'll who want to compare US with China:

-$11 a bushel for corn
-10,000 tons of feed a month produced
-The biggest pig farm they supply is 1,000 slaughter pigs.
- The farthest farm they deliver is 1,200 miles away. 

Next, we got more into my area: beef cattle.
The first place we visited was a cattle farm under the company King Bull.
-10,000 head resided on the facility.
- The company had been around since 2004, but the farm we visited had been around since 2014.

There breeding technique was three breed rotation. 

Bull--Angus cross with Waigu (Japanese breed)
Cow--local breed

-The cattle are 1,760 lbs at 27 months.
-They are fed wheat straw and recycle manure for hay.
-50,000 tons of fertilizer per year. 
-Their breeding used to involve shipped semen, but now they have their own bull.

-Cattle are exercised with a hot walker because it's supposed to make them stronger and the meat better.
-King Bull introduced more than 2,000 black Angus from Australia in 2 years.
-They have their own slaughter facility.
-The beef crosses through 21 different quality checks. 

After visiting King Bull, we traveled to a feedlot with a different breed of cattle. 

-They wean their calves at 4-6 months.
- They produce 700 tons of silage per year to feed the herd. 

The facility itself was very different from USA's own feedlot. They had the cattle and calves on cement rather dirt. It's easier to gather manure, but harder on the animals. The calves are not separated so there is no calving pens. If a calf gets scoures, every calf is probably going to get it. There are no chutes, only head gates. The cattle are bred in the pen where they usually are, only locked in the head chute while try eat. The silage has nothing added to it to protect it against bacteria. 

As someone raised on pasture cattle, it was very interesting. There could definitely be improvements made, but China is still building and rapidly increasing in their knowledge of agriculture. We'll see where China is in only a couple years. 

My only wish is they would slow on their improvement of beef and realize they need beef imports from US. Selfish, I know, but as a consumer it's a serious wish. 

Blog #5: Goodbye, Guangzhou‏

Saturday, May 16th 

Our last day in good ol' hot and humid Guangzhou. It poured all day. I'm going to miss Jocelyn(our tour guide)'s random moments of Chinese sass. 

I had looked in the elevator's reflective wall and saw how much of a frizzy disaster my hair was. "My hair looks awful," I groaned.

Noah responded with "my hair always looks fabulous " and did a dramatic hair flip with his short cut. 

Ignoring him, I noticed how Jocelyn 's hair was just fine and asked, "Jocelyn, how do you keep your hair looking so nice?"

Noah(again) put in, "she's used to it."

And Jocelyn, usually quiet and reserved said, "yes, I'm used to always being fabulous" to the wall of the elevator. 

The fish market was not as bad as we thought it would be. The fish were fresh,  still alive 99% of the time. People were throwing alligators into crates. People either stared, smiled, or scowled. Everyone was either resting and either om their phones or smoking. Lots of smokers here. 

Erin and I wandered for quite a while on our own. We ran into one of the security guards with a megaphone. He decided it necessary to make conversation with us through the megaphone. 

Guard: Hello, hello! How are you?

Erin and me: Hello! Good!

Guard: Where are you from?

Me: United States 

Guard: Ah, beautiful country! Bye-bye!

Later, he told us we could walk around, but no photos. Obviously, we didn't really listen...

The vegetable/fruit market was very long--or should I say giant. I hardly registered anything other than fruit and vegetables were sold there, sometimes by bulk, sometimes piece by piece. Trucks were everywhere! It was dark in some of the buildings; the ground was dirty. But the fruit looked delish. I threw away the socks I had wore. 

The plane ride from Guangzhou to Xi'an was rough, but I didn't throw up. A bonus. The male flight attendant wasn't bad looking either. That helped. 

We didn't get to the hotel until midnight. I was exhausted. When I went down to the front desk (from the 25th floor) to ask for an extra Adaptor, I quickly discovered they hardly knew English. That was interesting. I had to spell it out on paper and they put it in a translator. Thankfully, we managed to get it figured out. We were both patient and understanding and they were trying hard to understand and be helpful. 

The hotel room was great and finding a Jet Li movie made it all well.

Later! 

Blog #4: What Lies in Guangzhou‏

Friday, May 15th

The students of SDSU returned to U.S. territory for almost an hour when we crossed the threshold into the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou. Everyone was very welcoming as we were led into the secured building to have a briefing with the Agriculture Trade Office. 

The ATO we visited covered 5 provinces of southern China with only 9 people employed in the office. Their goal is to promote US agriculture in China. Established in 1985, Guangzhou's ATO was the first in China. 

Top 8 US Imports to China(because I missed the last two) 

1. Soybeans 

2. Sorghun 

3. Wheat and Meslib 

4. Hydes and Skins 

5. Nuts 

6. Corn DOGS 

7. Wood

8. Corn 

Also:

- Guangzhou is China's largest feed producer 

-Guangzhou receives $4.78 billion worth of US Ag products. Around 16% of total US Ag exports go to China. 

-USDA certified organic meat is not legitimate in China. 

I asked the gentleman in charge how long he thought it would be before China opened its boarders to US beef again. He said that was the million dollar question. It would be a long complicated process and really--he had no answer to my question. Sorry, cattle producers.

Guangzhou continues to have the craziest traffic. Chinese a) have to go to have a pair to drive in their cities b) are suicidal because they walk out into these strenuous streets. 

Guangzhou also has one of the most beautiful attractions in the world: the Pearl River cruise. The bridges we sailed underneath were alight with different colors: rainbow, purple, blue, green. The Canton Tower had a light show of its own across the surface. Many of the the buildings were lit up and had light displays as well. It was a relaxing experience that I can't explain with words. 

After the cruise, everyone but the faculty, another student, and myself went out to the bars. Or at least I thought everyone was just going to the bars, but apparently some hardcore bartering(Renae) hapoened. I can guess Renae would be at feisty barterer. 

While I waited up for my bartering roommate to return, I kept nodding off writing my vlog--something I never do. Which meant I was Hella tired. Kinda like how I feel very night I walk into a hotel room on this trip.

Later! 

Blog #3: To Guangzhou

Thursday, May 14

Renae and I went to bed at midnight on Wednesay. I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Gotta love getting the body used to 13 hour time differences.

 I had what could be considered big Texas toast with crunchy peanut butter and more of that delicious espresso/cream/sugar for breakfast.

 Things got real as soon as we were through border customs and in Shenzen, mainland China. There were several armed policemen in camouflage and what looked like hardcore guns. Their uniforms looked somewhat like those from Mao's Red Army days. Whether that's intended, I didn't stop to ask.

We also were introduced to squatter toilets. That's all that needs to be said.

On the way to Guangzhou, we received a history lesson from our tour guide, Jocelyn, who grew up there.

Shenzen, the border city into mainland China went from 30,000 to 15 million in 40 years due to an experiment set up by the prime minister involving free trade. The prime minister, Ping, helped to get Hong Kong from the bridge and opened up free market trade. Thanks to only Shenzen having free trade, it flourished. However, it's hard to find local people there.

Hong Kong and southern China speak Cantonese, but Mandarin is prominent in Shenzen because of imported people. Local people are very well off because the government pays them compensation for their land.

The Chinese use the phrase "Shenzen speed" when someone is doing something quickly, referring to the quickness of Shenzen's expansion.

We traveled through Donguan, which is a manufacturing city with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and western investments.

Ninety percent of the world's jeans are made there.

As Janet, a member of the travel agency who is traveling with us, put it: you get Wranglers, Levis, and prostitution. They're cracking down on the latter.

We passed over the Hunan Bridge, which is named after the island where the Chinese burned all the British opium, which set off the Opium War. Which is how China lost Hong Kong for 153 years.

There is so much history here and so little to go over it. You think D.C. is rich with history? Nothing compared to a civilization  that's been around for thousands of years.
Enough of a history lesson, Guangzhou can get up to two harvests a year because it's so hot and humid.

When Guangzhou began to show itself, it was a vast difference from Hong Kong. Fields of rice and sugarcane and trees of bananas and dragon fruit sat in every possible space--under overpasses, taking the place of medians, and consuming the landscape in emerald green like only a place so humid could thrive.

Twenty-five years ago there were no sky scrapers in Guangzhou. Again, another city that has flourished.

I like the tour bus because it's a perfect vantage point during a traffic jam. You get a glimpse of their lives--and sometimes awkward eye contact.

Guangzhou has a great port that makes trading with countries that much easier and accessible for China. Other cities along the shore were closed to free trade, except Guangzhou, making it so successful.

For supper, we had Dimsum, which is a lighter meal that is served and only a piece of each dish is distributed about the table. Most were familiar to our American pallet: egg rolls, pot stickers, fried rice. My favorite was the steamed roll, an airy roll drizzled with honey and filled with pork.

What I've learned so far from these huge cities is that small town folk are spoiled. Everything is easy - access. Not here. Though everything is so crammed together, it's huge distances to get from one place to another. 

Blog #2: Hong Kong Heaven

May 12th-13th, Hong Kong 

The bigger you are on the street, the more right of way you have. The crosswalk light ticks like a bomb and if you're new to this and as nervous as I am, you run those 10 feet. Our bus driver stops on a dime and maneuvers the bus around the tight streets and other vehicles like a pro. The cars are nice; they're newer. Hong Kong is very wealthy; it's also crazy and fast-paced. Our hotel room is small with low beds and electricity the only turns on but you put your room key in a special slot. Its surprisingly cozy. Renae(my roommate) and I thought the A/C only had 2 levels: ice box or off. So the first night we sweated through.

On the southern side of the country, it is mostly seafood. You eat the food, ask later--if you really wanna know. I declined pigs feet, peeled a shrimp's head off, and tried squid. The first breakfast of Hong Kong was ramen, bacon, and spam in some sort of broth. The coffee was espresso with some sugar and cream. The place where we ate breakfast was open to the street. Much of our food came late. 

We travel to St John's building for a briefing with Melinda Meador on the US Meat Export Federation and USDA Ag Trade. Some of the stats included were where the US stood with trading with China. The United States sits third in Hong Kong import of pork in the world.

The group also traveled to the Happy Trails Race Track and Ocean Park. Ocean Park was an amusement psrk park that I participated little in. The only ride I found safe enough to clamber on was The Rapid. It was a flotation tire that seated 9 and took you a long twists and turns and sprayed you with water--perfect for as hot a day as it was. And people taking pictures of us as we float by, screaming. People took pictures of us everywhere. It's like we were the exhibits rather than the seals, walruses,  arctic fox, and penguins. We also got to look at a giant panda who was so effing adorable, I wanted you to take him home and count that as my check luggage. 

Renae and I were asked to be in a picture with some random Asian dude. We also were purpose backgrounds of many other tourists photos. They  just like people to know Americans do exist, I guess. 

Renee and I went back to Happy Trails later that night to watch the actual races. Thousands of people cheering on 12 horses will give you a rush while you eat unsalted McDonald's french fries. There were so many ethnicities; we asked a nice British lady how to get into the general admission entrancd. She responded, "Go clear to the end if the stands and you shoildhristy and is of the stands and you should get right in. Have any problems just come back and I'll walk you in." Everyone was either  dresses in ties and suits or shorts/jeans/tshirts.  I love to know how much money goes through there in 1 night. 

Continuing from that nigh,t Renae, Erin, and I managed to get lost in Hong Kong we want for close to 20 minutes for stopped at another hoyel. They lent us a map, pointed us in the right direction. We also kept our eyes on the golden dragon; he means to bring luck so I  named him "Lucky". Go visit lucky in ever in hokage. 

Blog #1: Flights

I feel like a ghost in the Henderson house. Only running on two hours of sleep, I creep upstairs, playing musical light switches and trying to guess which switch leads to which ceiling fixture. I flinch at the scraping of a dining room chair as I try to take a seat to eat my banana. It's 3am...Devil's hour. Thankfully, I hear Kim's alarm go off faintly down the hall. I quietly munch on my banana and listen to the wind howl and the house creak from time to time.

I am nervous beyond words. What is to come in the next--I try to calculate hours in my head. Four hours and I'll be in Chicago. Six hours to kill during a layover. Sixteen hours of airplane glory until Hong Kong(that's when I plan to sleep; we'll see if I last that long.) Then, a couple more hours and I get to crash in a hotel room in Hong Kong. It's a crazy thought for this small town girl, where the farthest west she'd been was Washington and the farthest east was Washington DC.

But to calculate the hours, that's twenty-six plus between me and a good (questionable) solid bed. My body's never functioned well on little sleep; I've pulled a one-nighter once. We'll see how I come terms with exhaustion, time change, meclizine....

The flight from Sioux Falls to Chicago was bad. I was fine, until turbulence hit; then, I broke out in a cold sweat, shakes, and eventually threw up.

Six hour layovers go longer when you're recovering from motion sickness. I didn't get my appetite back until about two hours before the flight left. I put on a scopolamine patch, took half a meclizine and ended up just fine.

The plane ride from Chicago to Hong Kong was sixteen hours and I either zoned out, slept, or talked to the Vietnamese lady beside me. After only four hours on the plane, I was done. The cool thing about the flight is they serve cranberry juice and the flight instructions are trilingual one person speaks in English, another in Cantonese, and another in Mandarin. I find it fascinating for some reason.

The two Vietnamese who sat in my row talked mostly among themselves. One was the middle-aged lady who had a mix-up with her flight to Vietnam. She was constantly worried about her adult son and constantly looked over at him, two aisles over. The other Vietnamese is a young man who offered me these cookie/pastry/sweet things. I feel like I shouldn't have declined, but at that moment I didn't know where my stomach would be at. But my stomach was fine as I scarfed down all the airplane food and continued in and out of consciousness.

--Kylee  

T-Minus One Week

Hey, ya'll!

While watching Jet Li's The Defender on Netflix, I realized that only one week stands between me and my flight to Hong Kong! Crazy, right? I keep going over the lists in my head and on paper, yet I continue to procrastinate packing. I've started about twice now and I always have something come up and I decide to start all over again. My room is currently a disaster zone with suitcases of different sizes(trying to figure out which one to take) and a bunch of toiletries(trying to decide what needs to go on my carry-on/can all fit in a quart bag).

Mom is still asking if I'm having second thoughts or if I'm nervous. I tell her "no" on both, but its a definite "yes" on that latter. As the day continues to draw closer, I continue to run every scenario through my head. What if the plane crashes? What if I get kidnapped by human traffickers? Liam Neeson's gonna have to come find me--better yet, just call Jet. That should be the number one rule if I ever I get kidnapped. Repeat.

Better yet, just call Jet.

Despite all my pessimistic thoughts, I know I'm in good hands with the faculty. Dr. Thaler has been to China many, many times and knows his way around. Its believed I can entrust the rest of the students with my safety as well. I hardly know any of them, which makes the whole trip slightly daunting, but no one seems to be out for my blood--yet.

We received the itinerary last week so my roommates for Hong Kong/Guangzhou and Xi'an/Beijing have been revealed. I'll need to inform them that I am not a pleasant being in the morning...

After I finish The Defender I think I'll go pack for my own trip to Hong Kong...or just watch another Jet Li movie since Netflix truly insists.

Later!

T-Minus Four Weeks

Hey, ya'll!

On a sudden whim, I decided to post my first blog post under the influence of a cold and limited time before 5 o'clock roles around and I have to go to "China Prep" class!

I'll start off by explaining why I am going to China. The college that I attend has a large Agriculture program and, for the last four years, has offered a trip to China. Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam/Cambodia, and Argentina are other options, but for years I've always wanted to go to China due to my love and interest in Asian culture.

During this trip, the class will learn about China's agriculture standpoint in their own country and the world. China is the number one importer of U.S. pork and possibly also in soy beans. The government is trying to improve their agriculture program due to the large population that China has. The country cannot feed itself where it is right now with its agriculture setup.

Most farms are maybe two acres and run by families where the children often go to the city and leave aging parents to continue to farm. Much of the equipment is still 1930s-1940s. They have less restrictions for health and sanitation than what our own USDA offers. Diseases among swine herds(China's favorite meat source) continues to rage. For as many mouths as there are to feed in the country, they are in desperate need of growth and improvement.

Its our job as students of South Dakota State University to go to China and learn, to appreciate, and to better understand why our country has the restrictions that it does. However, not only will we be studying the agriculture there, we will be exploring the culture itself. The Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, and the Forbidden City are just a couple of China's Wonders that we will be visiting. We will get to try their dishes and take a tour of the "non-evasive" Femur Head Hospital where one of SDSU's own graduates was treated for Avascular Necrosis.

All and all, I am so excited to see what I learn and take from this two-week long trip to a foreign land and different culture. My thirst for knowledge and passion for Asian culture will certainly help in taking away a good portion of experience. Let's just hope my talent for easily getting motion sickness doesn't stand in the way of this adventure!

Later loves,
Kylee