Monday, November 10 ("Uncomfortably Different"/ Beijing, China): It's probably poor etiquette to admit that I disliked an entire country. I had a disturbing experience in China, and at this moment in time, I can confidently say it's not a place I plan to return any time soon. Gosh, I am absolutely disappointed by my experience!! The Olympic Games were just there, so I expected people would have been more welcoming and multiculturally aware. Okay, scratch multiculturally aware and emphasis welcoming…

Unfortunately, I felt uncomfortably different during my entire visit. People were pointing, laughing, recording, and taking pictures of me (and Kedren and Curtis, who they thought was recording artist, Uncle Cracker). When we went out to dinner, a man was video taping us from across the counter. If Kedren and I walked past people, they would stop whatever they were doing to stare at us, or simply laugh and point. Oh, and the best happened to be when I was in the Beijing airport, sitting on the floor reorganizing my bag to fit in a few more things. A group of women literally stared at us, then one broke away from the group and hovered above me watching me specifically. We used our broken Chinese words to get her to go away and leave us—okay me—alone. Ugh.When we were walking through the market, people started grabbing my hair (NO EXAGERATION). As we were climbing down The Great Wall, a man pointed his camera in my face and started taking pictures of me. Honestly, I completely lost it. HOW RUDE! What a #$@!&*I mean it's one thing for someone to ask if you would pose for a picture, or ask you to take a picture with them, but to come in my face and take pictures like I'm an animal (?). I didn't appreciate it one bit. The man invaded my space in such a way that made me understand why celebrities go berserk. No, I'm not a celebrity, yet people continually encroached on my space in a way that made me feel violated. In fact, I felt like a freakazoid. I think there's a fine line between being different and being freakish. You know in school there's the cool kid who is a little off the beaten path, but he's cool. Then there's the kid who takes it too far and they're weird. Well, in the context of a black woman in China, I was weird. But how could this be when the Olympic Games just left the country?

But, there were some highlights...I stood on the Emperor's Temple, walked through Summer Palace, and the explored Forbidden City on the first day with our tour guide. On Monday we visited Ming Tombs and The Great Wall. Also, I used squatting toilets for the first time ever. Essentially, the toilet was in the ground without a Western style seat…one has to squat over the toilet. So in many establishments one has to manage squatting toilets.

I wish I could be more upbeat about my experience. Overall, I left Beijing feeling beat down. We traveled from Beijing to Shanghai to meet the ship. Honestly, when we arrived in Shanghai, I stayed on the ship the last day because I was too tired to deal with the BS.

Tuesday, November 11 ("What Happened?"/ Shanghai, China): Earlier today counselors sent out a message saying, "the experience of the death of someone we care about is one of the hardest demands of life. We add our sympathies to those of all the others on the shipboard community for the family and friends of Kurt Leswing. We have found the following thoughts to be of some help for those in mourning and we want to offer them here at this sad and difficult time. If we can be of any support, please feel free to contact us or anyone else on the faculty and staff to help ease the pain at this sudden sorrow." We have not dismissed anyone from this voyage, but we have dealt with some heavy hitting student issues; it's been one thing after another.

Tonight we had a shipboard community gathering to share news with everyone & the senior admin team answered questions/shared sequence of events so all have correct information. There seems to be a somber mood on the ship, especially for those who were touched by Kurt. I don't know how this unfortunate event will impact my workload, etc. We have a team meeting at to discuss our roles and schedules for the upcoming days.

We sail tonight and will be at sea for the next two days to Japan.