Preparation

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Preparation for Beijing!!

Now that you’ve learned you will be spending your summer in China, your mind is probably racing with all the exciting things you will be doing, along with everything you need to bring with you. We’re here to help ease your mind and hopefully make your packing experience a little less stressful. Below is a list of things to bring with you on your journey, along with some helpful hints based on our experiences.

· Clothes: Obvious, yet essential. However, don’t go overboard and bring your whole wardrobe. A week’s worth of clothes is plenty. You may be sick of those clothes by the end of the summer, but you’ll be glad to have less when you’re trying to pack your suitcase to go home.

o One pair of pants: Personally, the only time I ever wore pants was on the plane rides. You’ll find the temperature in Beijing to be quite hot, and probably won’t find pants all that necessary.

o Dress clothes: A nice pair of pants and shirt should be fine for you final presentation. The presentations in China are relatively casual; however you may want the nicer clothes for your presentation in the US.

o Jacket: Just one in fine. Similar to the pants, it’s not used very often, but is helpful on the plane.

· Sneakers: You’ll do a lot of walking while you’re here, and you’ll be happy you have them.

· Sandals: I wore sandals to work every day and around town. They were also useful at the beach, but most hotels have sandals in the rooms if you want to use those.

· Deodorant: Chinese people don’t really use deodorant, so it’s hard to find here. Especially men’s deodorant; we were able to find a few versions of female deodorant. So I suggest you bring enough for the entire summer.

· Shampoo/Conditioner: If you’re picky about a certain type of hair product I suggest you bring it with you. Either they won’t have it here or it will be more expensive.

· Tampons: Girls, they don’t use tampons here so if you use them, you need to bring enough for the entire summer.

· First-aid supplies: Band-aids, antibiotic cream.

· Medicine: Cold medicine, Pepto-Bismol, Tylenol, vitamins (if you use them). Two of us caught a cold while we were there, so we were happy to have the medicine. The Pepto-Bismol also came in handy, as adjusting to the different food caused some stomach problems.

· Hand sanitizer: Many of the bathrooms don’t have soap to wash your hands, so I always carried hand sanitizer in my bag for those cases.

· Tissue Packs: Many bathrooms also don’t have toilet paper, so I carried tissues in my bag at all times.

· Sunscreen: Even though Beijing is constantly covered by a layer of smog and you can’t always see the sun, you can still feel its wrath. Sunscreen is a good idea for long days outside. I don’t think I saw any Chinese people use it (nor Caleb use it), nor did I see any in stores, so I suggest you bring some with you.

· Rain jacket/Umbrella: On the days that it rains a rain jacket or umbrella is quite handy, since we had to walk to work. We got stranded at work a few times without any protection.

· Jump drive: I used mine every day at work to transfer data between computers.

· Backpack: For your weekend excursions to all the tourist destinations, a backpack is useful to carry water, camera, tissues, and anything else you might bring. We always brought lunch with us so a bag was necessary to carry the food around.

· Journal: You’re going to want something to write down all your thoughts and crazy adventures in.

· Outlet converter: As I’m sure you’re aware, the outlets in China are different than in the US so you’ll want a converter for your room.

· Phrase book: If you’re like us and don’t speak a word of Chinese, a phrase book comes in handy for the little phrases you need to say to get what you need. You’ll pick up simple phrases as you go, and hand-waving can get you a long way, but sometimes it’s just nice to have a book so you can show someone what you’re trying to say.

· Gift: After a long summer of research, there’s a good chance there will be someone you want to give a “thank you” gift to; such as your grad student or mentor. Something from your university makes a good gift to remind them of you.

And finally, one last word of wisdom: PACK LIGHTLY!! You’ll be hauling lots of goodies back with you that you didn’t have on the journey over. After a few trips through the markets, you’ll have lots of items stockpiled and you’ll need somewhere to put them. You can also find many personal items you may want in the stores in Beijing. So trust us when we say, don’t bring more than you need.