I really don't want to do college essays. I'm used to 200-300pages, not 250words. Goodness.
So while I'm procrastinating, I'll finally decide to post about my internship ("traineeship" as my fellow Belgians call it) as a translator in China... through photos because I am awfully sick of writing.
06.17.2010: I wake up at 7am to go to JFK, the most confusing airport in the world. And wait for 3 hours because my flight was at noon. -.-"
21 hours later (14hrs to Tokyo, 3hr layover, 4hrs to Beijing): a family friend picks me up to spend the night at their house before I fly to Wuhan. China is in World Cup Craze. I slept so much that my body has no sense of time whatsoever -- no jetlag :)
06.18: Beijing airport, where I first met the delegates I'd be translating for (I was with a Belgian trade delegation).
Followed by a 1hr flight from Beijing to Wuhan, then we immediately went to 3 different factories.
Dinnertime with family & my little 6 year old cousin! (last time I saw him, he didn't know how to walk).
06.19: this is after the first company meeting.
06.20: second & third company meetings. business the chinese way. such good food.
06.22: another company meeting (sorry no pics this time)
afterwards... adventures along the yangtze river!
lol
06.23: arrival of another delegate + family. his daughter spoke no english, only french, dutch, & some german. i spoke chinese, english, & spanish. --> hand motions for the next 2 weeks! <3
Wuhan Historical Museum. then lunch & sightseeing.
06.24 - 06.30: and then we traveled around for a week.
Wuhan >> Shanghai. took the maglev train = [!!]. my nonenglishspeaking friend & i managed to converse for the entire 6hrs without asking any of the delegates for translation. we are that awesome. she spoke french, i alternated spanish & english, we scribbled on a notepad. :D
Shanghai >> Changzhou. went to a huge company + its factory. epic dinner at a restaurant that looked like an ecological exhibit (see picture below). almost got a cold -- it was actually kind of chilly there while Wuhan was at 40Celsius.
Beijing. Forbidden city pictures are on my uncle's camera D:
Then the delegation went back to Belgium. I hung around China for another week and then flew back to find myself in the middle of a heatwave. Reaction? It was around 110 in Wuhan everyday. heat wave? I think not.
Overall? An amazing trip and something that I definitely want to do again. It combined everything that I love in life: travel, good food, talking, international affairs, meeting people...
Hoping for more traineeships in the future.
And now in need of sleep.
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