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May 12, 2008
Tsinghua University
This morning we had our introduction to the program and a tour of the University. We're "next" to the university, but it is still a 15-20 minute walk to where our class is. It is an enclosed/private University, very unlike UM, so there is a lot of grass areas and such. The buildings are huge and very modern looking.
Our "guide", Steven, who will be an exchange student at UM next fall, was really great. He broke us off from the other groups and took us to his dorm. I was shocked by how small it is - four people live in one room, all lofts with metal frames and 1" thick mattresses, a desk, and a small closet. Crazy. Also, they only pay 7000RMB (1000US) for tuition and dorm each year. That is also considered relatively expensive for China!
The highlight of this part of the day was our group photo. The photographer was this short little Chinese man who was a complete perfectionist. He was ordering us all around in Mandarin for about 15 minutes before he took the picture. It was funny.
Posted by brianhe at May 12, 2008 05:16 PM