Q & A Part 1

Hey! And were back!! I wanted to answer some questions that are likely on your mind (or maybe not..). Welcome to ISU Q & A Part 1.

Have you gone shopping yet? What is it like?
Well, of course I have! And I am totally in my element in bartering.We got familiarized with the silk market - which isnt really a silk market, the street just sounds like the word silk in Chinese. It has 5 levels of mini-stores, one after the other, full of clothes, shoes, and jewelry, and you can really get some bargains. Rule is to start out really low and set a max price for yourself. For instance, I bought a leather (yes, real) "Dolge & Gabbana" purse (note the spelling error, its not me :). I started at 80 RMB (about $10), she wanted 350 RMB. I said that she could definitely give me a deal, why barter with my price, etc etc and eventually I said that the lowest I'll go and that I will walk away at 100 RMB ($12). Sold. Voila.




















What's the food lke?
We all eat in a cafeteria-type setting where chinese and "American" dishes are served. Its okay but Im starting to get daring and just grabbing a small egg sandwich for breakfast at this small shack-like place on the way to class. Must be good if there are half-a-dozen students lined up for the same. We did have Peking Duck the other night, it was fantastic and weve dined at a Japanese place (for $3 or $4, its impossible to spend more than $20 on a meal here). We'll be venturing out a lot more in the coming weeks.






















Have you met any astronauts?
Two. Dr Jeff Hoffman is one of our lecturers here (he was on the mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope and now teaches at MIT) and Leroy Chiao who was on the industry panel last week and owns a space tourism company. Next week is the astronaut panel so there will be several astronauts including the first Chinese Taikonaut available to meet and ask questions. The Canadian astronaut corps will be represented by Dr Bob Thirsk.
















What do you miss the most right now?
Cheese. An herbed goat cheese with a crisp Sauv Blanc. Or an Aged Gouda, or a creamy Blue. Yes, cheese. And a good internet connection.

If you have a question, send us a comment below!!

Opening Ceremony

We have some tough decisions ahead of us; we have to choose a team project. There are four offered and the goal is to choose something we dont know too much about: Space Traffic Management, On-orbit servicing, Lunar Archive, and Earthquake prediction and response using space. Take a guess as to what I'll pick, all of them are in the forefront of the space community and the reports will likely be used internationally in the future. Will let you know later :)

Ok, the afternoon and evening was the most incredible thing I've ever experienced (I have a feeling I am going to say that a lot). It started with the founder of ISU, Dr Richards, welcoming us into the ISU family. Then, in front of what seemed 20 photographers and videocameras, we were led into the hall where 4 rows of Chinese dignataries from Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and Beihang University, the ISU president and directors, embassy representatives, and others were present for the opening ceremony. We had a private viewing of the Beijing Opera and traditional singing and dancing routines performed for us. Ohh, but that was just the start! We were hosted at the nearby Plaza Hotel for a reception full of food from around the world, ladies in traditional costume, live traditional music, and a giant ice sculpture of the Chinese Long March rocket.





Four weeks of lectures start today, but we have the afternoon off to explore. Brian wants to get fitted for some suits and I'd like to check out the silk :)

Charity AR

We're here in Vancouver

Here we are on our 2nd day in Vancouver - where the Canadian ISU students and some alumni are gathered to meet and get ready for the summer in Beijing. Yesterday though, we checked out the local great food and found the only Canadian sake makers - excellent stuff! For dinner, we chose the Banana Leaf - Malaysian cuisine, where we had the tasting for two. It had everything: seafood, beef, pineapple, mango, chili, and deep fried bananas. Yum!

Day two - We explore Vancouver's Stanley Park - and the aquarium. The sea otters were adorable and reminded me of South Park for some reason :) New on our list of things to get is a butterfly sanctuary!

After the aquarium, we had lunch at the Savoury Coast, a trendy Mediterranean restaurant on Robson Street. Awesome food on the terrance. Im beginning to think we should do a regular column or podcast on places to eat!