Wild Week

Well this week was insanely hectic. We had our first Thermo test on Thursday (after only 5 lectures) so basically all free time I had this week was put towards studying. However, we did do a few really cool things this week. On Tuesday afternoon our group was invited to go to Shanghai for a reception of a new UW opening in Shanghai. A bunch of us thought it sounded like a cool idea, so we all packed up after class, took the high-speed train to Shanghai, navigated the subway and made it to the event. Not really knowing what to expect, I dressed in a shirt and tie. Good thing I did, because the reception turned out to be on the 64^th floor of a skyscraper in downtown, with two entire floors rented out just for the UW event. We were also warned to pack snacks because food might not be provided, but I ended up getting thirds on the buffet line that included some of the most delicious food I’ve had in China. I also heard something from a friend that I never expected I’d hear on my trip, “Awww man, they just ran out of crème brulee”.  Mingling with business owners, deans of UW colleges, the chancellor David Ward, and other important people at UW for the night was an incredible experience. It was especially cool, because it was one that I never would have expected to have on this trip, being 7000 some miles from home.

 The view from the UW event. 

 The group of us that rode to Shanghai for the day, along with Professor Pfotenhauer and Chancellor David Ward.

Kings of Chinese public transit. Dramatically got separated from the rest of the group when the automated doors shut in the middle of our group while boarding. 

As a part of this study abroad program we have partnerships with various companies in Hangzhou, so our group can take industry visits and check out what it would be like to be an engineer in China.  Yesterday we visited Runpaq, a heating & cooling company that serves about 50% of the market in China. We toured the facility, saw some of their devices, and were given a presentation about their work. It was pretty interesting, but the real fun came after the visit. Earlier this week our professor told us that they had challenged us to a basketball game at the local Zhejiang campus. Not thinking much of it, 6 of us brought some athletic shorts and sneakers to the visit. We eventually made it to the courts thinking it would be a friendly pick up game, but what we saw was a little bit different. They had a team of about 15 guys, all wearing custom made jerseys, with about another 20 spectators to watch the matchup. The team we assembled included a guy who had never played basketball in his life, and another guy wearing cargo shorts. We were definitely less prepared for what came next, a legitimate basketball game, including 2 refs (one was a recently injured friend, Mike) and 4-twelve minute quarters. Once the game started, it was tons of fun. They were far more skilled than any other Chinese players we had faced before. They were quick, scrappy and surprisingly physical, but we had one big advantage: size. I was our point guard for most of the game, and I would have been the tallest player on their team. In the end, we outmuscled the Runpaq team 39-26, but it was a really cool experience. They were all really nice guys, and we could tell they loved having the chance to play against Americans. While I was off the court for a few minutes I was able to snap some pictures of the game.

 Fernando shooting a free throw.

 You can see the size advantage we had pretty well here. Jamen (shooting) is a good 5 inches above everyone else. 

Postgame picture with the Runpaq team and the ref's. Team America came out victorious. 

The group of people in China with me is really awesome. Basically everyone gets along, and everybody really likes to explore and have a good time.  There’s 21 of us taking Thermo and EPD, with another 3 ChemE students doing research, and everyone is really cool. We're starting to get past the "freshman pack" stage, where everyone hangs out with everyone all the time, and beginning to break into smaller groups. Even though cliques are forming, I still love hanging out with everyone here. It's a very diverse and interesting group of people, and I'm finding more and more about everyone with each passing day. Here's a full group photo (minus Jack):

 Well, that's enough writing for this morning, thanks for reading! Keep stopping by for more updates!