Chongqing

I'm here in Chongqing, China. This is the largest city you've never heard of. It has a population of over 30 million people. That is not a typo. It's the fastest growing city in China and the world's awareness of the city has not kept pace with its growth. By many counts it is already the largest city in the world and is continuing to grow at breakneck speed. I can't say that I really like it here but it's difficult to experience it all in only four days during a conference. I have done some non-conference things that I think give me some picture of the city.

First of all, I will say that our hotel, although it is a very nice, is not in the "nice" downtown area (with the Marriott and Intercontinental). We are at the Golden Resources Hotel and the service is fine but the staff has quite limited English. The are surrounding the hotel has some moderate shopping and a nice but tiny park but otherwise it is not the best part of town. It's dirty and smelly and the air quality is atrocious. There is construction everywhere. But not neat and tidy construction like in Tokyo. The traffic is crazy and taxi rides are an adventure. They have these three wheeled little vehicles zipping everywhere and ignoring all traffic rules. I tried to go running the first few days but it was next to impossible. First the air quality and the smell make it difficult to breath (essential to running) and the sidewalks are grimy and dusty and they are not contiguous - they just end and then you're stuck in the road (not a safe place to be).

The first day we were here (three students from home are also here for the conference as well as Tomo and another guy I know) we walked around the area of the hotel. The heat and humidity was so stifling and the shopping was pretty bad. We only lasted about 30 minutes and then retreated to the hotel. On another night the conference organizers planned for the attendees to go on a night tour. It was nice but I kept thinking of the saying "it's like putting a bowtie on a cowpie" because the flashy and colorful lights are pretty and night but during the day it's just crowded and dingy. I took some pictures of the skyline. It's difficult to get good shots at night but here are a few:

Last night we had the banquet for this portion of the conference (on Friday we head to Nanjing for the second portion). The food was supposed to be "real Chinese food, not that American stuff" but it was kind of the same to me. It was okay but not great. The entertainment was cool. We had a dancer and some traditional Chinese music.

After the banquet, Ryan (fellow student who I also travelled with in Japan on my first visit in December) and I ventured to the "real" downtown in search of an Irish pub that his guidebook said existed. From what I had seen of Chongqing to that point, I was in disbelief that such a pub could be found. Communication with the Taxi driver was a fiasco. The drive was scary but I kept reminding myself that the taxi driver wouldn't want to die himself so we must be somewhat safe. He never really knew where we wanted to go but he got us to the general area and dropped us off at a hotel. From there we followed the map in the guidebook. I should mention that it was pouring rain and we didn't have umbrellas. Once we got out of the taxi we were bombarded with people wanting to remedy our umbrella situation. We could never figure out how much they wanted for it so we just decided to get wet. We first came upon a clock tower which is supposed to mark the center of the city. This is it here:

After getting completely soaked looking for the bar, we finally found it amongst a lot of bars and clubs. The place we went didn't have many people but of the 15 or so people in there, 6 (including the two of us) were foreign (non-Asian). After our stay there we decided to explore the area some more since by then the rain had stopped. We walked around forever looking for a temple that was also in the guide book. We found it (sorry I don't know the names of the things I'm referring to) but of course at midnight it was closed and really dark. I took pictures anyway.

Before the final conference sessions this afternoon, we were taken on a tour to the Three Gorges Museum. It was okay - I'm not a museum person and I wasn't feeling great. We took some great pictures in front of the Peoples Hall (not sure if that's what it's called).

KFCs are everywhere

I'm getting tired of writing right now. I had so many observations that I was going to mention but that will have to wait until next time. I'll just finish with some pictures from dinner tonight. I'll describe in more detail later. Traditional hotpot meal - originated in Chongqing.

It's been a while....

I know I haven't posted in a long time. I've been busy, ill, and lacking in good/exciting news. I arrived in China last night. I will post more about that another time. For now I want to recap the last week. I had an amazing opportunity to attend some meetings on behalf of my advisor. The meetings were part of a joint US-Japan panel on seismic and wind effects. The participants from both sides were primarily professors and government agency representatives. In terms of age, title, and experience I was way out of my league. But, I was made to feel so welcomed and made some amazing contacts. Many of them kept telling me how lucky I was to be attending the meetings as a graduate student. It was really eye-opening to see how these types of things work. There was a lot of pomp and circumstance and "Mr. Chairman" this and that. It was all very official. I feel like I effectively contributed to the discussions. My presentation went well and was well received. Many people are interested in wireless smart sensors for structural monitoring. It's not a topic that takes a lot to convince people of its merits.



There were three days of meetings and then three days of technical site tours. The site visits included a seismically retrofitted earth-filled dam, the largest arch bridge in Japan, a tsunami breakwater (the deepest underwater construction in the world), fatigue retrofit of steel bridges, a hybrid mass damper on a high rise building. We got amazing access to everything because it was all arranged by the Japanese ministry people. I really enjoyed it. I ate entirely too much. Every night is an excuse to eat and eat with food that just keeps coming and coming. And sake! Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some from the past week....

Prof. Foutch (my former advisor) serenading us at a dinner.

Another dinner

The group in front of the arch bridge.

Feeling Better!

I have a temporary resolution to my research dilemma. Actually it’s not a solution at all to the research itself, but rather what I am going to do about the whole China thing. I talked to my advisor today and he said not to worry at all about presenting a paper. I can easily and discreetly be removed from the program since he is a co-chair of the conference and one of my labmates from home is the secretary who will do it. Of course, I can still attend and participate in the student program. He will also give me some other organizational and administrative tasks to do while I’m there in order to justify my funding. He didn’t seem disappointed at all – or at least not disappointed in my effort. That’s really how I feel as well. I’ve worked so hard that I can’t fault myself for not having done everything I could. I’m just sad it didn’t work in time for the conference. I’ll pick up that part of my research when I return to Illinois. In the mean time, I can work on other things that will make the most of my time here in this laboratory. Also, now my trip to China is really just a nice vacation. Not having to worry about a presentation is a great feeling.

I’m getting prepared for my week of meetings next week. Three days of meetings will be held in Tsukuba (http://www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/hp/e_hp/) which is also known as the “Science City.” I decided, at Dr. Spencer’s suggestion to stay at the hotel there with the other US participants. It will save and hour and a half commute each day and will be a nice change of scenery. I’m really excited to see my old advisor, Dr. Foutch, who will also be attending the meetings. The three days after the meetings we have technical cite visits. Two are in Tokyo but on Thursday we will be going to Kamaishi City (http://www.city.kamaishi.iwate.jp/english/welcome.htm) on the coast to see a Tsunami breakwater. We will get there via the bullet train and stay one night. I think it will be really pretty and also a nice side trip. I have been instructed to bring gifts for the Japanese delegation members. It’s supposed to be something that is from your home or your university but I didn’t know about this meeting before I left Illinois. I did bring a mug and a set of playing cards from the U of I as backup gifts but I’m definitely going to have to go buy some more respectable gifts, even if they are from Japan.

I have started to plan Nathan’s visit for real. I have the beginnings of an itinerary typed up and I’ve added up the expenses. It’s going to be great. I’m trying not to get bogged down with the idea that we have to experience “everything.” We will see enough and have a good time with each other while doing so. I hope it doesn’t rain while he’s here because the best way to experience everything is just to walk around.

I’m feeling a lot better – like I have a huge weight lifted off! Now I can enjoy the rest of my trip.

Board destruction...

I think my heart might thump right out of my chest. Today we decided that we had come to the end of our efforts to fix the software for my sensor board. I decided to give the schematics one last look to see if there was anything wrong. The first thing I noticed was an error. It makes me crazy. So I tried to come up with a fix. Meaning cutting my board and soldering on jumper wires. It's tiny - and my hands shake, and wires touch eachother that shouldn't and pins start bending and then it's all wrong and weird voltages appear and i don't know how to fix it and this could be the end of the board all together because I have probably ruined it beyond repair. This makes me crazy. And it makes my back hurt. And I want to eat everything.

To my parents

I will preface this by saying that this post has nothing to do with being in Japan.

My parents are amazing people. They are courageous and adventurous. They were and are great parents. They have made their daughters' happiness a priority and it is so selfless. They are a never ending source of encouragement. It's nice to know you have two cheerleaders on your team at all times, just a phone call away.

My mother is funny and full of joy and always the life of the party. These traits used to embarrass me but now I am so proud to be around her and call her my mother. I hope that I keep my youthfulness the way she has - I never want to become stuffy. She is stylish and creative and very intelligent. She believes that I can do anything and tells me so often. I couldn't ask for a better mother and friend.

My dad is the wisest person I know. But it is never intimidating wisdom - he knows just what to tell you and how to tell it to you so that everything makes sense. He is one of two people I know that hasn't met a person that doesn't like him. He has a way with people that is amazing to watch. He is so careful with people's emotions. Some of my best memories involve having coffee with my dad and simply talking about "stuff."

I love my mom and dad and I am thankful for the life they have given me. I have had so many amazing experiences that have shaped who I am. They have given me every opportunity to not only succeed in life but to be a good person. I owe them everything!