China Invasion of the Mind

In October I attended the Study Abroad Fair. I was set on studying abroad to Dublin, but I wanted to see what else might be there. Rob Williams was sitting at a table with a flier about China Mojo, a mobile journalism course and I wanted to go.

So three months later I found myself with a smaller checking account and half-way to China. I meet twice a week and learn about the Chinese culture, and over spring break I'll be spending my time in Beijing, Wuhan, and Xi'an, the culture with the oldest writing system in the world, which I feel makes sense for a writer to want to go to.

And as a writer, I have embarked on a china invasion of the mind. Starting February 3rd, I will be blogging every day about the country, from the perspective of a twenty-year old whose only learned about China through the twisted Americanized media. For the next month I'll be talking about what I'm learning in class, in the media, and just on my own accord.

Here's what I know about China:

-Americanized Chinese food is good, particularly sesame chicken, dumplings and tea.
- Authentic Chinese food is not the same, and when going over to China I must watch what I eat. No raw fruits or vegetables, and when it comes to water, only if it's in a bottle. Even when it comes to brushing my teeth, the water better have a label on it.
-Mulan is not an accurate portrayal of Chinese culture. Many women fought in wars; Mulan didn't need to disguise herself as a woman, and the whole movie has hints of American culture, like the typical white boxers with red hearts.

- China has an emphasis on familial piety, and respecting one's elders. Throughout Mulan she was thought of as a disgrace for not upholding the family honor and doing poorly with the matchmaker.
- the 2008 Olympics were hosted in Beijing and the opening ceremony had a Chinese girl lip-syncing because the owner of the voice was an unpretty girl, and China came in first place with medals.
-Yao Ming is from China.
- Almost everything is Made in China.
-I'm the year of the Horse. When I was little my grandparents gave me a stone with a horse on it and explained that the year changes symbols every year. My brother is the year of the dog.
-The Chinese invented paper, gunpowder, and the compass.
- I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan a few years ago that delved into arranged marriages, bound feet, family disappointments, geishas, and friendship.
- I can't get over how long Lotus Foot Binding was practiced!



- Travel shots are expensive; For China I had to get Hep. A and Typhoid which each cost a lot for a college student, and that's the least of my worries. I have to worry about Malaria and Traveler's Diarrhea- Immodium Tablets, Pepto Bismol will do wonders! It also doesn't help that I'm allergic to common antibiotics, leaving my options limited on what medication I can take.
- President Hu was talking with President Obama abou many issues at the latest summit, but I haven't been following it to intensely. I know that clean energy and infrastructure development, terrorism and nuclear proliferation, was supposed to be discussed, but I don't know if that actually happened.

As I've mentioned in my previous post I have a very long bucket list, China being on it. My Bucket List has 305 articles on it currently, and I've only completed 30. So where is China on this list?

Image courtesy of National Geographic

- Go to all 7 continents ( I will be completely happy if I never make it to Antarctica; I've gone all over North America and in Germany and Paris. China here I come!)

-See a Panda in the wild

- Walk the Great Wall of China
-Be in China for Chinese New Years
- See the Himalayas
- See the Terra-cotta warriors
- See the Forbidden City
-See the Big Goose Pagoda
- See the Temple of Heaven
- Go on the Silk Road
- Go to a Buddhist Temple
- Travel the Yangtze River
- Travel the Yellow River
- See the Gobi Desert
- Eat Real Chinese Food
-See Tiananmen Square
- The Three Gorges Dam

So what are my chances of knocking all these off my list? Well I'll be in China right after the New Years, so I'll have to go back at some point, but part of the trip is going to see the three gorges dam, and the great wall, and obviously food is a must!


So what will I learn in a month? Follow my journey.

Mojo a go go!

Me Before China

My name is Abbie Clark. I'm from Bangor, Maine. It's a small city with not a whole lot going on. I've never seen a moose in the wild. I keep a bucket list and one of my goals is to see a moose. I feel that growing up in Maine you should: a.) eat lobster, b.) pick blueberries, c.) hike Mt. Katahdin at least once and d.) see a moose. Hopefully that will happen. In the meantime, I'll just keep making moose antlers.
I go to school in Burlington, Vermont, at Champlain College for professional writing.

I have a tumblr, where I have some examples of my writing and photography. I also post things that are on my mind, or that I like. Eventually I'd like to be a published poet, but before that happens possibly a travel writer/photo journalist.I have a red beta fish named Rudy and I do photography.

Over the holidays I went home and saw the musical Plaid Tidings at the local theater.
It was a sequel to Forever Plaid, a play set in the 1950s about an acapella group.


I like that information is so accessible, but I don't like how we haven't found safe ways to dispose and recycle the technology. I also don't like how your personal information can be taken a lot easier. In high school I did a lot of giving back to the community, and recently donated money I saved through high school to melanoma research, and a family in need who has melanoma. In regards to the China trip, I really want to know if China has non-profits and if so, does the Chinese government enforce guidelines?

I love to travel and one of my goals on my bucket list is to go to all seven continents, but I'll be happy skipping Antarctica. I've been all over North America, and parts of Europe. Next step: Asia.
So I'm taking a class that is going to China in March. It's a social media Chinese culture class, and through the next two months I'll be having a crash course on Chinese history, and learning about China in the media. The class is called China Mojo, and students went to China in 2009, where they created a blog about their adventure. Now it's my turn!



I want to see a panda in the wild. I've seen them at the zoos, and I know they're wicked rare, I hope we'll see one in March. Will I be able to survive China? Can I adapt to using bottled water to brush my teeth, or eating authentic Chinese food? Follow this moose to China!