For dinner today, we trekked to the mall with one goal in mind: pizza. We wanted to try China’s take on an American staple. Excluding the Chinese writing, the inside of Papa John’s looked very western. The menu had pizzas we were used, but it also had unique flavors too, like Thai Chicken. Actually ordering the food was a little difficult; it involved a lot of pointing and double checking, but the waitress was very nice. The food was very good and reminded us a bit of home. Afterwards we had a relaxing walk around the mall.

Instead of meeting this morning for breakfast, the electrical engineering team (Russell, Hakeem, and Jasmine) met in Russell’s room to finish some last minute preparations. The rest of the team went to breakfast and bought the other team some food. Once we arrived in the lab, we were brought to the presentation room. After a few technical difficulties, we gave our presentations. The professors asked some questions and requested some improvements, but the whole experience was pretty fast. When we got back to our desks, we all worked diligently with renewed energy.

Today, Han took us to the zoo! We started our journey taking the subway. We’ve only been on the subway a few times in China so I was refreshing to be in a cleaner and cooler area than our normal transportation. Once we got off, we took a bus to arrive at the zoo. The Wuhan Zoo is a bit older and it was a hot day so there weren’t a ton of people there. We saw a large variety of animals, including bears, monkeys, rhinoceros, tigers, a giraffe, peacocks, hippos, deer, and last but not least, China’s representative animal, a panda! It was nice seeing all the animals, but honestly, all the animals looked a little sad just laying around. I’m sure they didn’t appreciate the heat either. After the team got back to the university, we had an early dinner and relaxed. We also took a late night stroll around the campus. When we got back to our room, we discovered a WeChat message from Norman, our friend we met in the lab. He said to prepare a progress presentation for the professors and a few graduate students. We spent the rest of the night creating a PowerPoint presentation.

The weekend is always welcomed, even when we are in a foreign country. Today, Han invited us to his apartment for dinner. His friend is going to travel to San Francisco, California for school and he wanted us to meet her. Han came to our apartments at 2pm, but because of his smaller car, he had to make two trips. Christine and I (Jessica) went with Han first and picked up Han’s friend, Jill, on the way. Han dropped us off and went back to get the others. Jill made us feel comfortable and offered us things to occupy ourselves while she prepared dinner. Once everybody gathered in the apartment, we played a little Xbox, then dinner was served. Jill gave us a taste of Chinese home cooking. There were eggs, chicken, squash, edamame, and curry. It was very delicious. Afterwards, Jill had to say goodbye early. Then we had a nice time playing Just Dance on the Xbox Kinect. Playing video games was a nice change from being stuck in our apartments. After thanking Han for the invitation, we took the bus back to campus. It was our first time riding the bus by ourselves so we were pretty cautious, frequently watching for our stop.

Today, during our lunch break, the team had a meeting with Professor Xavier, other professors, Han, and Professor Farrell, the chair of the Electrical Engineering Department back home at UCR. Professor Farrell was in China for a meeting about future exchange students attending UCR so he decided to visit us as well. We talked about our progress and what we’ve been doing in our free time. Professor Xavier then took us all out to lunch to show Professor Farrell the various flavors of China. It was nice to travel in a comfortable car because we usually travel via bus, which can be a little hectic. The restaurant was also a welcomed change from the dining hall food, which we eat at least two times a day. The restaurant was beautiful. There were miniature ponds filled with fish in the entrance and lining the walk ways. The walls were also lavishly decorated; even the elevator had artwork. Once we reached the private dining rooms, there was a woman playing a guzheng, a Chinese plucked zither. The music was a lovely and peaceful addition to the atmosphere. The food itself was delicious and plentiful. There were fresh fruit, soup, spicy dishes, and an interesting dessert. It arrived at the table looking like a large, inflated egg of some sort. Then it was pressed down and deflated into a flat pancake. We all tasted a piece and it was deliciously crispy. Afterwards, we all gratefully thanked Professor Xavier for the meal and returned to the university.

As usual, the team met up and had breakfast at the dining hall. It was an extremely hot, nearly 100 degree Fahrenheit. We normally take a short cut to the lab by walking across the track field. Due to the lack of trees and shade, we were all sweaty and uncomfortable while lugging our backpacks in the blistering heat. Once we past the heated track field we climbed two flights of stairs and arrived at the lab on the third floor. The air conditioned room was like jumping into an ice bath; it was that refreshing. Since Christine and I finished our first project, we awaited the next project. The project will be using Verilog, a new language to both of us. Russell, Jasmine, and Hakeem’s project is about making a 3 output DC Power Supply. They have to learn how to use the program PI Expert to make a schematic and use it to design a PCB board using the program Altium Designer. It is pretty difficult and similar to the work graduate students have. After our day at the lab, we ran into a familiar face, Toby. We met Toby, a neighborhood cat that loves to follow and play with us, the first few days we moved in. We haven’t seen her in a bit because it rained a few days ago. She was super friendly as usual. We’ve each had our share of mishaps with our rooms whether it was bugs, problems with key cards, or no internet, but that night, it was Jasmine’s turn. Her electricity went out, but she thought it would come back after a few minutes because that happened with Russell’s room. It never came back. The room without air condition was terribly hot and uncomfortable so Jasmine could barely sleep. She had to wait for the front office open in the morning to get it fixed.

For this Sunday, Wen decided to bring us to the Botanical Gardens. The team ate breakfast then walked to the mall to meet Wen. We actually already went to the mall yesterday (by ourselves!) to do some shopping. The subway Wen took to the mall unfortunately broke down so she was a bit late. Once we all met up, we headed to the bus stop. I think we’re all use to the slightly hectic bus system and crazy driving. After another bus mishap, we finally arrived at the Botanical Gardens. It was hot. It was insanely hot. Despite the heat, we trekked on to see the different plants. We saw cactus, lotus, and a beautiful water lily garden. Because of the heat, we went to look for a restaurant in the garden, but found that it didn’t even exist. We eventually left the gardens and traveled back towards the campus. We had lunch at the KFC near the mall. Then Wen left for her home while we walked back to the university. We were happily greeted by air condition back in our dorms.

At lab today, the team continued to work on the two different projects. Christine and I used Microsoft Visual Studios to create a model of a microcontroller using C++. We were instructed to build a input model for each binary instruction code given. I thought we were pretty fortunate because I only really know how to use System C, considering I just finished my first year at UC Riverside. We went to the dining hall for lunch as usual, but today there were new visitors: high school students. They were touring the campus. I always see students touring the UCR campus, so it was interesting to see the same thing here at HUST. Midway during our meal, the students asked to take photos with Christine, Russell, and Hakeem. They were celebrities! It’s strange to think that Chinese people are not use to seeing diverse ethnicities; it’s different than the United States were we see different ethnicities and cultures every day.

This rainy morning, we got to sleep in! Okay, not really, only for maybe 20 minutes. Instead of going to the lab, today we went with Wen to turn in our resumes at the International Student Affairs office. Jerry actually was not even in his office so we left the wet papers on his desk (on the way there, we dropped the paperwork in a puddle…) Instead of spending a half day at the lab, we all went to Yujiashan hill. We explored the trail and found old houses and abandoned structures. Hakeem and Russell had fun exploring the dark, mysterious tunnels while Jasmine and I hesitantly joined. After the walk back down the hill, Wen left for work. The team then had a nice day relaxing day. For dinner, we walked to a different dining hall closer to the night market. After our meal we walked around the different shops. We saw different items such as, clothes, appliances, and even animals for sale. There a large area just for selling fruits and vegetables. In the center of the market, among the different eateries, we found a McDonalds! We wanted to compare it to the McDonalds back home. I think the McFlurry here is actually better than the ones at home. Outside in the square, there was music and many people dancing. Christine even had the guts to join them for a few songs! Afterwards, the dancing ladies took many photos with her. Once the photo session was complete, we walked back to our dorms to prepare to for work the next day.

Today is the day we started going to the computer lab. This is the main reason our team came to China, to do research with the students in the university. After breakfast we were guided to the lab and met a professor there. He introduced the electrical engineering project for Russell, Hakeem, and Jasmine and decided to assign a different project that was more computer science related to me and Christine. Unfortunately, the internet for our laptops would not be ready until the next day so we had lunch and gathered in Jasmine’s room (because she has Wi-Fi) to work.

This weekend was full of sightseeing in Wuhan! After breakfast, Han and Wen took us to the East Lake Resort. It had a beautiful lake with plenty of fish. The lake was covered with lotus plants, just like the lotus ponds at HUST. Christine, Wen, Jasmine, Russell and I even tried out the different paddle boats. Then we headed to lunch at a large street famous for its various selection of food. We ate xiaolongbao, black sesame paste noodles, and a type of sweet fried donut. Next we headed to the Yellow Crane Tower. There were different towers at the park, but all gave a lovely view of Wuhan. After climbing the tower, we were pretty tired and decided to hop on the bus back to the university. Once we had dinner, we parted ways back to your separate dorms to prepare for our first day at the lab.

For our first weekend in Wuhan, we decided to go to the local museum. After breakfast, Han took us on the bus and headed toward the Hubei Provincial Museum. It was also our first rainy day in China. Combined with the usual heat, the warm showers was a nice change from the hot and sticky weather. In the museum, we first saw many portraits and photos of Native Americans from different countries. Then we moved on the see the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. There were so many artifacts; the tomb itself was huge! The museum also covered exhibits which included Chinese porcelain, sculptures, and even skeletons. After the museum, we had lunch near the university and went back to our dormitories to relax a bit. Feeling adventurous, the team decided to explore the campus without our host students; we didn’t exactly get to our intended destination, but we had fun.

Today, the team woke up early to eat breakfast and to catch the train to Wuhan. Because we were traveling during rush hour, the subway was extremely hectic! People were pushing in and out of the subway. The subway itself was so crowded that only Russell and Jasmine managed to get on the first subway, while the rest of the team waited for the next one. Jasmine actually got lost; she got off on the wrong stop and Dr. Wang had to pick her up (luckily we all had cellphones). Afterwards, we took a four hour-long train ride to Wuhan. At our arrival, we were greeted by Professor Xavier and Professor Tony. They drove us to Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The campus is ginormous! It’s practically its own town. There are so many trees on campus, hardly any sunlight gets through. There’s also a large lotus garden; I would love to visit that more.They took us to our new apartments for the summer. Sadly, we were assigned in different buildings. The apartment itself was simple, but actually a little more comfortable than sharing the dorms at UCR. For dinner, the professors treated us to a grand meal in a humungous restaurant. The interior of the restaurant was amazing! It was abundant with trees and ponds. We even saw a macaw! The food was delicious, but very spicy, something we need to get use to. After dinner, we returned to our dorms and slept soundlessly. We were exhausted.

The day is here! All of us were excited to come to China. We had to get up extremely early (some of us as early as one in the morning). Jessica was fortunate enough to wake up at 6 am because she lives in the Bay Area. Those of us flying from LAX had a layover in San Francisco and met up with Jessica. As we arrived there, we realized our flight has been pushed back four hours. At 2:30pm, we started boarding the plane. The captain was preparing for takeoff when he found that one of the engines did not function properly. We had to get off the plane and board another one (this process took four more hours). After a 12 hour flight, we arrived in Beijing late Tuesday night and was greeted by Dr. Wang. The flight delay ruined Dr. Wang’s plan of exploring Beijing, but we walked to a nearby McDonalds for a late meal. We stayed at the Red Gate Hotel. Instead of a western-style hotel we were accustomed to, it had a traditional Chinese, but modern design. Once we returned to our separate rooms, we prepared for tomorrow’s journey to Wuhan.

The team is hard at work learning the basics of reaearch from two graduate students at the Laboratory for Integrated Circuits and Systems. They are learning about load line analysis, fourier transform and other electrical engineering topics.

The Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China has beeen chosen as the destination for the IRES 2014 team.

Five Students from the University of California Riverside are selected to take part in the IRES china Program