The following takes place between 8:34 AM and 1:22 P.M.

Well, I am writing a little bit earlier in the day because it looks like I might be busy at the end of it! Whoo! At the start of my final week here at NCR Michael Low, the general manager, called both me and Julie in to tell us that we would be moving to an engineering related project. The project, so far as I have been able to ascertain from the brief overview, is one of many that are aimed at improving efficiency on the factory floor. I am pretty excited about this for a number of reasons. First because I have always been interested in engineering and this seems like a good opportunity to see some of the practical applications of it. Second is because trolling Harry Potter internet forums is starting to get old.

That’s the only real thing to happen today, though I would like to add to Julie’s comments and just say that this weekend was great – I am really glad her host family invited me to go. We got to climb another mountain, which from my experience is apparently the thing to do in China. Oh and yes, it’s true; I did Karaoke. After a lot of peer pressure (apparently I’m not Above the Influence) I sang to the hit song What’s Love Got to Do With It, and I can honestly say I rocked the hotel patio. I have no idea why Karaoke is still so popular here – I had always assumed it was just a fad. Ha another thing is that after the 'hotel' this weekend, I must say I am jealous of Mark and John for staying in what was probably a hotel that does not require sarcastic air quotations. Seriously we squeezed six guys into a hotel room complete with six single beds packed so tightly together there was no room to move, and had a gym locker quality bathroom with no hot water/no towels/lots of bugs. To top it all off is that one or more of the persons in the room snored like a dying water buffalo. When I first heard it I thought to myself 'Oh my god I think a wild boar is in the room'. So yah, I was happy to get back to the host families Beijing loft, though I know I will be many times happier to return to my own American bed that does not have wood for a matress. lol.

Not much else to report on, though I will try to blog again after a 3:00 meeting if I get anymore details about the project I am assigned to.
-Ben G.

P.S. Mark's calculation of an 8-12 yuan wage were hilarious, though I have to note if we are going by lunches I am losing cash at about 30 yuan a day. Darn you Subway!