May 11, 2009
Monday
Monday morning we woke up around 8 and just went to breakfast. Today was a day full of classes about the financial industry and economy in China. The lecturer was very knowledgeable about the issue because he actually writes for the Economist magazine sometimes. He knew the subject matter very well and was able to field questions about a diverse set of issues.
One thing that was very interesting was that at hospitals you are expected to tip the nurse and doctor for performing the service. As the professor explained, the doctors and nurses receive a certain amount of money and in order to get better service it is necessary to bribe the people. Also, he really went into detail about the financial sector of the economy and how it is very difficult for companies and people to take out a loan or raise money. The example he used for this was the fact that when people buy cars, they actually buy them with straight cash. There are no loans or car leasing programs because the financial structure is not in place.
We broke up the talk by going to lunch at the close Chinese restaurant and were finished with the class around 3. During our lunch break, we had time to put our gym clothes on and after class was over, about 12 of us ended up going over to the courts to play basketball. We ended up playing basketball for over 3 hours before the pollution/exhaustion overtook us.
We ended up showering quickly and heading out to one of the local bars to celebrate Adam's (a guy on our trips) birthday. The entire group was there and all had a very good time. John and I were able to cross another thing off our list, which was a little karaoke action. Adam had an especially good time and ended up drinking a little bit past his limit. While he was in the bathroom, the owner of the Bridge Cafe (which is a local western style restaurant located in the hotel) actually came into the bathroom and met all of us. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but he was actually our guest lecturer for the next day. The night ended on this high note and set the stage for tomorrow.
Posted by jfavorit at May 11, 2009 02:34 AM