In the entire two weeks of the trip, there was only one class we had to attend, and it was today. One hour of beginner Mandarin, plus one hour about Chinese business agriculture and why Nebraska cares, equals two hours of one classroom full of bored business and journalism students. The room itself was decorated in hammer and sickle communist propaganda, so at least that was cool.
Afterwards, we were released for a couple hours because it’s a Chinese custom to have 12 PM to 3 PM off for lunch and nap time. We walked to a nearby street market that greeted us to with a fresh fruit stand and small noodle place. There were a lot of locals and places to eat, but I was more interested in trying more food at the university’s cafeteria. Don’t remember what I had for lunch but I know it included some bubble tea, which I am a big fan of.
Everyone met at the dorm for our departure to the farm. In a surprising turn of events that our faculty weren’t expecting at all is the forty-five minute presentation at a Chinese government facility. We learned about the glory, innovation, and generosity of China and its agricultural industry. Once finally arriving at the research farm UNL sponsored, they told us more about the pivot irrigation Nebraska brought and how much impact it’s had.
Even better than the farm, we were then taken to a group of museums: entomology, agriculture, and taxidermy. Honestly, the grounds and buildings were really cool, but the content was just a bit lackluster. At the end, the faculty told us we can either walk a mile back to campus or take the bus. As a combined agreement we took the bus back to campus and then walked down into town to hang out. Other people went to watch intramural street basketball.
Last thing we did that day was an all-expense paid night of KTV. I’d always wanted to enjoy Asian karaoke culture, but putting twenty-something college students in a room that blasts music and is full of alcohol, not my kind of party. Of course hardly anyone sang and the playlist consisted of 2000’s rap/hip-hop classics like Pitbull and Eminem. So most of the J squad left early and explored Yangling at night, and I was crazy hungry. Apparently, Yangling is exactly like Lincoln: everything is closed by 9 PM. In my desperate search for food, I did end up finding some of the best I ever had the entire trip. Some literal hole-in-the-wall, I had a Chinese hamburger and some cold noodle dish with cucumbers; all I did was point at something on the menu that was 7 yuan and the chef smiled and started at it.
This was my last day in Yangling and I was glad to leave. Reminded me too much of Lincoln and not enough China.
Study Abroad in China 