Alright yeah, I'm running behind

Sorry about the lack of updates. In all honesty there hasn't really been much to blog about. Still going to various restaraunts, still burden with a ton of work. Although yesterday I went with my Chinese class to a KTV bar or Karaoke bar. That was pretty fun. They rent out little suites that are about the size of a hotel room. It was pretty packed in there. I don't really understand the fixation Asians seem to have with Karaoke. Back in the states, a ton of my Asian buddies and their parents love Karaoke. Oh well ce la vie.

I've finished making the preparations for a little excursion up to Beijing during our study break. We'll be taking a night train and staying in a hostel. Most of the people in the program will be going so that will be fun. I'll get to see all of the ubiqittous Chinese tourist sites like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

Being on the ground here has proven to me that China has a long way to go before it overtakes the economy of the United States, if ever. 700 million people in this country only make a dollar a day. The majority of the populus is still tied to the land, making their living on rice paddies. Oh sure there is plenty of money to be made here. This will be the next great burgeoning market. But for all of China's talk about its long history and long term views, their development strategies are remarkably short sighted. The stock market here is still piss poor. The Shanghai Stock Exchange looks like a tomb. And a wanton disregard for social infrastructure does not breed financial success. Not to mention the remarkable cultural barriers that stand between China's rise to modernity and its current, essentially third world, state. I mean I've seen guys on bicycles delivering goods that no one would dream of transporting in any but a truck in the states. Obviously I'm no great scholar of economics but I certainely know the basic. This market is still in its infancy. There is money to be made here but that money goes to overseas coffers. Hell their GNP is a 1/10 of their GDP. So let the reactionaries spout all they want about how you have 7 years to learn mandarin. A country that can't keep the sewers from overflowing when it rains (yes it stinks and yes it is disgusting) has a few issues to solve before it can become a global hegemon.