Coming Home

Well I've been home for over a month now, and I decided it was time to follow up with my final blog post.  The trip back to the U.S. was relatively painless.  There were no flight issues this time around, and I had no trouble making my connection in Chicago.  I remember getting on the airplane leaving Beijing and seeing chopsticks next to the plastic fork and knife.  I really had to think for a minute about which ones I would use.  I ended up opting for my American utensils based on the food served.  I wondered how long it would take me to get used to the dramatic cultural change of being back.  Little things like driving a car versus taking the subway daily did feel strange at first, but it didn't take long for me to get back into my normal routine.  After getting back to Fayetteville and locating a new apartment, I was finally able to settle in and get the semester started.  It was really a chaotic time with so much going on.  I would love to say things are peaceful now, but the life of an MBA candidate is never stress free.  It feels great to be see my friends and family again though.  Classes are going great as well.  I am eternally grateful to the University of Arkansas for having such a wonderful program in place which enabled me to intern in China this summer.  Without their generous assistance with travel and living expenses, my experience may not have been possible.  I feel that my time in Beijing has fundamentally changed me for the better.  I have a new perspective on many things, and I will carry that with me forever.  I also wanted to thank everyone who has followed my blog over the summer.  Blogger provides me some interesting data such as the number of site visits from people in various countries.  I was surprised and happy to see just how many people have viewed my blog from all over the world.  Thanks for reading!  I hope some of what I have written has been insightful and you will consider visiting China in the future.  I highly recommend it.  Also, for anyone looking at schools for an MBA or undergraduate degree, I hope my experience has given you a peak at some of the unique programs the University of Arkansas has in place.

Trip to Xi'an

As I mentioned in my last post I went to Xi’an this weekend to see the Terracotta Army.  After an 11 hour train ride to Xi’an we hopped a bus for the hour long trip to the excavation site of the warriors.  Finding the right bus was not the easiest task, we were warned ahead of time that there are actually fake buses with the same number on them which will take you to a million other sites you don’t want to visit.  Luckily, we did find the right one.  When we arrived at the site we realized that the ticket office is actually nowhere near the main building.  This meant we had a nice long walk in the rain.  Despite the setbacks though, seeing the warriors was truly amazing.  We visited the adjacent museum and three of the excavation sites.  All of the sites are now enclosed in buildings, and the main bit is over 250 yards long and 68 yards across.  I took as many photos as possible, but unfortunately it is quite difficult to get good shots due to the crowds and the lighting inside the buildings.

  I picked the perfect time to leave Beijing in some ways and the worst in others.  While I was away, Beijing had extremely heavy rainfall and the worst floods in six decades.  I avoided most of this by being out of town, but our train back into the city was supposed to arrive on Sunday morning and instead arrived around 6pm.  At a random point along the way, the train pulled over and came to a stop for four to five hours.  It was already going to be an eleven to twelve hour train ride so it was not a lot of fun waiting an extra five hours.  We were told the reason for the delays was the flooding in Beijing.  With this in mind, we thought the city would be a mess when we arrived, but everything looked more or less as we had left it.  I have read reports of collapsed bridges and roofs related to the flood though so I was just glad to hear everyone I knew was ok.

This week I’m finishing up the last of my assignments at the office and preparing for my departure next week.  It’s been an amazing summer.  In some ways the time has flown by, but at the same time I’m eager to get back and start preparing for the upcoming semester.  I’m starting to have to take into consideration all the little things like how much Chinese currency I need in order to make it through the next week without having too much leftover.  I’m also starting to wonder things like how weird it will be to eat with a fork and knife again.  There are a lot of things I will miss about the Chinese culture including the food, but there are also many things I can’t wait to enjoy back home.  I’m starting to plan a float trip in August with some of my fellow MBA classmates so I can soak in the beautiful scenery that Arkansas has to offer.  While I definitely have not run out of things to do in Beijing, I have no big plans for this weekend.  I will mostly be starting to get my things together and doing a little souvenir shopping.  If the weather is nice I will also be taking a lot of pictures around town.  According to my computer, I have taken just under 800 photos so far, but I’m fairly sure there are more on my camera which I haven’t uploaded.  You can never have enough pictures.

Challenge me to charades! I dare you!

What a crazy last couple of weeks it’s been. Working through the language barrier can be difficult at times, but we've done quite well.  I was just thinking recently about how little Chinese I've learned versus what I expected to learn.  Not being able to read the written language like I would be able to anywhere in Europe or South America, definitely makes it more challenging to pick things up.  On the other hand we have gotten great at charades.  We frequently have to use hand motions to describe what we're looking for or want.  Despite the language barrier, it actually is fairly easy to get by day to day without knowing very much Chinese.  

As I mentioned work has been very busy.  Last week I continued research and preparation for another presentation which I just gave a few days ago.  Last Friday we also had a major event in Beijing sponsored by ACCA.  The event brings together representatives from major international employers to discuss hot issues in the world of accountancy and finance.  It was a great event and I was able to take away a lot of useful information on some global changes as well as more regional issues.  Since the event included both Chinese as well as English speakers, there was a shortwave radio system setup and translators in a booth in the corner of the room.  By listening in on a headset, the native English speakers could hear a translation and someone also translated the English to Mandarin on a different radio frequency.  This is the first time I’ve attended a major professional event that was bilingual so it was a unique new experience for me.   After giving my presentation a few days ago, things have calmed down a bit.  I have a few other projects I’m continuing to work on, but next week will be my last full week of work.

I also spent 3 or 4 days last week working on arrangements for a trip I’ve wanted to make ever since I came here.  It took a lot of leg work and several trips to different ticket locations, but I was able to secure seats on a train to Xi’an this coming weekend! I’m extremely excited to be going.  I’m sure 99% of you have no clue where Xi’an, China is or why I want to go there so I’ll explain further.  Xi’an was the capital of China for many dynasties.  It has a history of over 3,000 years, and there are many different cultural sites to visit there.  There’s really only one reason I am so determined to get there though and that is to see the Terracotta Army. 

We started trying to get tickets last week the day they became available, but were unsuccessful for multiple reasons.  After several days of working on it, we were able to get round trip tickets booked.  Just to give you an idea of my resolve to see this cultural site, I will tell you that the train ride is about 11 to 12 hours each way and we will only be in Xi’an for approximately 10 hours.  We tried to make it a longer trip, but unfortunately the length of the ride and the schedules of the trains do not make it feasible to stay overnight.  This wouldn’t have been too bad had we been able to secure sleeper cabins as we had planned.  However, the trains book extremely fast here and by the time we got our tickets (a few days after they were available) we were only able to get regular seats.  It’s sure to be an interesting train ride.  Additionally we tried to get seats on the modern Z class trains but they were entirely sold out so we will be riding on an older train which I’m told may or may not even have modern air conditioning.  I’ll be sure to fill you all in on how the trip goes when I get back.

This past weekend was also a blast.  It seems you can never run out of things to do in Beijing.  After spending half my Saturday working on getting tickets booked, I decided to take a relaxing stroll through the Old Summer Palace.  This is not to be confused with the Summer Palace which is actually a different palace.  I personally preferred the Old Summer Palace.  The lakes casually weave in and out in many directions so you’re able to stroll aimlessly.  The Summer Palace by contrast has just one huge open lake.  There actually is no palace at the Old Summer Palace though.  The place was destroyed in 1860 by French and British troops during the Second Opium War and all that remains is ruins.  It still is a beautiful area though, and on the day we visited there were at least 100 photographers taking pictures of various models spread throughout the palace area.  This isn’t including all the other photographers we saw just taking general pictures of the lakes.

On Sunday, we went back to the Great Wall.  We actually went to the exact same spot we went last time because that’s where all the new people wanted to go.  I guess I have no real justification for going twice other than the experience is just amazing.  It was also a much clearer day than last time so I was able to get better photos.  I’ll try to get pictures up soon, and check back early next week for pictures of my trip to Xi’an.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do

It occurred to me recently how many changes I’ve had to get used to in China since I’ve first arrived.  I would say the first big one was something that hit me immediately upon arrival.  When riding in a cab around Beijing, you cannot expect them to drive like one would in the U.S.  The rules of the rode are a little different around here.  Regardless of what the laws may be (I’m really not sure) the drivers will more or less force their car into any gap they can.  It was hard to get used to at first, but it amazes me now how I no longer even flinch at some of the maneuvers you will see them pull.  Another big change struck me the other day as I was walking home from work.  I was just strolling along my way back to my apartment when I start weaving my way through a crowded intersection of moving vehicles.  It occurred to me that this would not be normal behavior in the U.S. and even some of the locals were not attempting to cross the intersection yet.  You must be really careful of course, but after being here long enough you just get used to crossing these busy roads.  Another change I’ve had to get used to is that there is no tipping in China.  I’m sure there is some kind of service charge built into the prices of the food, but there’s no tax or additional fee presented to you on your bill.  Everything costs exactly what the signs say it costs.  We tried to tip one of our cab drivers and he simply looked confused and tried returning the money.  These are just a few of many small changes I've had to learn to adapt to during my time here. 

Early in the week I was able to snap a few great photos from my office window on a clear day.

As I mentioned before I had a busy week last week.  I attended a conference Friday morning as a company representative and then I had to jet back to the office to give a presentation to our student ambassadors.  It was really great getting to meet all of them and talk about the ambassador program.  I was able to come up with a lot of good ideas for improvements and they were also very interested in learning more about my views on the MBA program in which I'm currently enrolled as well as America in general.

 The weekend was also fun filled.  We have a new roommate from Australia so we took him to a couple of the markets on Saturday and I finally started buying a few souvenirs.  I had not previously had a chance to haggle, but it’s really a lot of fun.  Since 99% of what you will find at any stall is mass produced and readily available at other stalls, you have a lot of bargaining power.  Saturday night we went to the Sanlitun district which is a local night life spot frequented by westerners.  It’s only a few subway stops north of our apartment but unfortunately Beijing’s subways close around 11pm and the one by us has been closing as early as 9, most likely because of construction (they’re adding new stops directly south of us).  In Sanlitun we tried some food from one of the street vendors.  It was pretty good, they had a few items on the menu which you would not find frequently in the States, including beetles.  We had to try some of course..they were surprisingly not bad although the outer shell was quite difficult to chew.

On Sunday we woke up and decided it was time to go to Tiananmen Square.  Believe it or not after being here a month, I actually had not been physically in the square, just looked at it from across the street at the Forbidden City.  It’s free to visit, but that’s mostly because there isn’t much to do in the square besides take photos.  We weren’t able to get great photos though because the smog was quite heavy that day.  I did manage to snap this shot of some local police marching by the front of one of the museums.

We were also approached by a family that wanted to take some photos with us though so that was entertaining.  I was able to get a copy with my camera this time.  

After Tiananmen we explored the hutong area just south of the square.  It was quite lively, and crowded but not my favorite hutong so far.  It was a little to modernized for my liking.  There was even a Rolex store. 

  

We also went to Wangfujing Snack Street which is a street known for it’s oddities.  Included on the menu were scorpion, starfish, and seahorse among other things.  I wasn't able to identify everything, but what really blew me away were the prices! You would think these unappetizing foods would be inexpensive, but each one cost about as much as a full meal would cost in a restaurant here.  Despite this I decided I had to try something so I went with the starfish.  I wouldn't call it a delicacy, but it wasn't as unappealing as it may look.

 

It's already Saturday afternoon again and this post has taken me much longer to get up than I anticipated since I've had a busy past few weeks.  I'd go into further detail, but it's time for me to take off and do some more exploring.  Check back in a few days to hear about my most recent week in China.

Week Four: Social Media Presentation

 I apologize for the delay getting this update posted.  I've had some internet problems lately, but everything seems to be working fine now.  I got a lot done last week.   On Thursday I gave what was supposed to be a 30 minute presentation to the entire office on the topic of online promotion and how the company can better use social media to reach its target audience.  However by the time the Q&A session was over, I believe it went over an hour.  I was really pleased to see how excited the company was about many of my ideas and the information I covered.  Since Facebook and Twitter are not available in China, it creates some interesting challenges and opportunities for Chinese companies.  I can’t get into details of course, but I would say that it was definitely the most rewarding day of work…ever.  I will actually be giving the presentation again this coming Friday to a group of local college students who serve as ambassadors to ACCA on their respective campuses. 

On Friday, I walked to the subway in the rain…again.  I’m used to spending my summer’s working in Texas where drought has been a serious problem for at least several years.  With this mindset, I did not pack an umbrella and when we had a few showers here I still decided it was not likely to persist and I did not buy one.  After getting wet several days walking to the subway, I’ll be buying the next one I find for sale.  Oddly enough, I couldn’t find anywhere selling one in the mall under the building.

Saturday was an extremely long day of walking, but incredibly fun.  I visited two more cultural sites in Beijing, the Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple.  The Temple of Heaven is very beautiful.  I've posted some pictures below.  The emperors would visit this site annually in ancient times to say prayers for a good harvest.  One thing that blew me away was when I read that the huge pillars inside were actually imported from Oregon!  Apparently the original temple was struck by lightning in 1889 and there were no trees left in China which were sufficiently large enough for the task so they imported them.  I really never expected to see an ancient temple in China built with lumber from Oregon.

On the way to the Lama Temple we stopped at a famous Chinese restaurant known as KFC. 

In all honesty, I have heard from some of the international students in my MBA class that KFC if very popular in both India and China.  After visiting one I can see why.  They do a great of localizing the menu, but more importantly the restaurants tend to be very nice inside.  I've heard the Pizza Hut is incredible here, but I haven't given it a try yet.

After our break for lunch, we went to the Lama Temple.  The area the temple is contained within is much smaller than the Temple of Heaven but I found it to be even more intriguing.  There is an admission fee to enter the temple (just like the other sites we have visited) except that the temple also appears to still be used today for worship.  Upon entering the temple area, we could smell the incredibly rich and pleasant smell of incense.  There were small fires lit in front of all the larger temple buildings and the people would light their incense, pray while holding it, and then toss it into the fire.

The end of the temple held a great surprise though.  As we entered the very last building, which was the tallest and most spectacular of all, we came face to face with a 60 foot tall statue of the Maitreya Buddha.  The building was three stories tall and the statue stretched from ground level all the way to the ceiling.  That would be impressive enough for me considering its beauty and the level of craftsmanship in its construction, but a sign on the front door states that it was sculpted from a single block of sandalwood.  It was truly incredible.  I was dying to snap a photo, but there are signs inside the buildings which ask that you not to take photographs.  Most of the tourists were doing so anyway, but given that the temples are still used for worship and the majority of the people present were praying, I chose to respect their request.

You may notice that the sign actually says 26 meters (roughly 85 feet), but apparently a good portion of that is actually underground so 60 feet is roughly what you actually see inside.  Below is a picture of the temple the statue is housed in.  The buildings in the complex are so close together that this is about the best photo I could take.

After leaving the temples we jumped the subway a few more stops west and got out to explore some hutongs.  Hutongs are probably one of the areas you think of when you think of China.  They are long, narrow streets lined with small shops, cafes, etc.  Unfortunately they’re disappearing very quickly in the Beijing area as the land is leveled to make way for high rise buildings.  It’s a shame too because the ones we visited were quite charming and a great change of pace from the downtown in which we live and work.  I was very upset to pull out my camera and realize that I had drained the battery during the 4 or 5 hours we had already spent at the temples so unfortunately I have no photos.  I hope to return to the hutongs though before leaving and I will definitely take photos if I do.

Sunday was a day of rest after spending 11 hours on my feet Saturday.  I’m right at the halfway point in my internship, and there is still a lot to get done at the office as well as a lot of places I want to explore on the weekends.  There are a few important events at work this week.  I have a two day conference to attend on Friday and Saturday.  To make things a little more hectic though, I will be leaving the conference early on Friday to give my presentation to ACCA’s student ambassadors at a separate conference on the same day.  The student ambassadors program is another area I’m working on with the company.  If you haven’t heard of a student ambassador before it’s exactly what the name implies.  The students act as representatives of the ACCA on their respective campuses and work to promote the company.  The students are able to gain valuable resume experience and the company is able to connect with local campuses.  It’s a great program.  As part of my internship, I’m coming up with new ways the company can improve on this program.  I’m excited to get to meet all the ambassadors as I feel their input will be extremely valuable.

Week Three: Dragon Boat Festival

Where is the time going?  It feels like I stepped off the plane yesterday and yet my trip is nearly halfway over.  This week I continued work on a few projects at the office and assisted with an ACCA recruiting event on Wednesday evening.  However, it was an abbreviated work week due to the Dragon Boat Festival.  This is a national holiday in China and is also celebrated in other countries around the region.  In some areas there are boat races held and people throughout China will eat a food called “Zongzi” which is mainly rice stuffed with other fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves.  The origins of the holiday seem to be debated, but everyone enjoys the extra day off.

After having visited most of the major tourist attractions in my first few weeks here, I wanted to spend this weekend getting to know some of the less touristy spots.  On Friday, we visited Panjiayuan Antique Market.  While this is a market that is well known, it is far less westernized than the others we have visited.  I neglected to take my camera, but may visit again and will try to get some photos.  The other markets we have visited (the two most popular ones for westerners) are both indoors with nearly every vendor speaking some level of English.  Another major difference is the items carried.  Many of the markets carry items similar to what you would find in any mall in America, but this one carried mostly locally made jewelry, art work, and antique reproductions.  It was the type of market I’ve wanted to visit ever since arriving.  The crowd was almost exclusively locals so it was a completely different experience and very enjoyable.  However, I do not want everyone reading my blog to think that all the shopping in Beijing is done in small markets where locals haggle over prices.  Really I’ve been trying to get in touch with the traditional side of the country, but it is very westernized.  Malls are everywhere.  In fact there is an entire mall underneath the world trade center complex where I work, and I have to walk through it daily to get to the elevators for the office.  There is another mall directly next to the subway I take daily.  They also have every western restaurant imaginable: McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc. right next to the Subway entrance.  While I love all the amazing food I’ve had since I’ve been here, it’s sometimes nice to get some western food.  I haven’t taken advantage of it yet, but McDonalds actually delivers food 24 hours in Beijing so that’s one thing I may have to try while I’m here.

Yesterday, we visited the 798 Art Zone.  It is basically a huge compound of buildings and small tree lined roads with a mixture of indoor and outdoor art.  We saw some really interesting pieces.  There were also some small galleries mixed in where you could purchase art and some small shops and restaurants.  It seemed to be exclusively modern art and like virtually everywhere I’ve seen in Beijing so far, I would love to go back again before I leave the country. You never really knew what you would see as you came around a corner.  Below are some pictures of a few of the more interesting pieces of art.

At times I found myself wondering whether some of the art was actually commissioned or if street artists are more or less welcome to come here and create.  We saw this painting on a wall almost immediately upon entering.  The face was so lifelike that my camera actually recognized it as a face with it's facial recognition system and auto-focused the shot.

Continuing the movie trend, we saw this Transformers inspired piece a little further down the road 

and this one a little later on.

Here's a group photo of me and a few of my new friends.

I really liked this piece.  From a distance it looked like it was painted on a wall or perhaps just a flat cutout.  However, as we got closer we realized that it was actually three dimensional.

This may have been my favorite one because it was a little interactive.  We saw a few locals climb inside to take pictures so we weren't going to miss out on the fun.

As soon as we got in, the locals went crazy with smiles and photo taking.  We are completely used to this by now though.  We draw a fair share of curious glances even in the areas frequented by foreigners such as the Forbidden City.  Many locals have asked us to be in a picture with them as well.  I haven't quite figured out why they love taking photos with us, but we never turn down anyone who asks.  Some don't even care to be in the picture, but will simply snap a photo of our group.  In fact when we asked someone to take our group photo above, several other locals turned around and started taking pictures with their cameras as well.  It was kind of funny really.  It always makes me smile.

Week Two: Lost in Translation

I can’t believe it’s already been another week.  This is an amazing country and time really does fly.  I must admit I suffered from some culture shock for the first 24 hours or so after I arrived.  While Beijing is a fairly westernized city, it still takes a little time to get used to everyone around you speaking a language you don’t understand.  However after getting settled in and meeting my roommates, it didn’t take long to get comfortable with the city and be perfectly at ease.  Ordering a meal is one of the few complicated parts of a day, but to my surprise a vast majority of the restaurants we have visited have English on the menu right next to the Chinese words so pointing is frequently used to help with ordering.  One of the things that surprised me early on was the amount of English we have encountered: the subway broadcasts messages in both Chinese and English, signs on stores all over town have names in both languages, and the ATM’s I have used have English as an option.  However, despite the prominent display of the language across the city, it is still rare to find anyone who is able to speak more than a few words.  I am continuing to work on my Chinese, and have another lesson this coming Tuesday evening.  The nice thing about being in a foreign country is every new word you learn can be practiced almost instantly.

This week was actually fairly eventful.  On Wednesday night, I went to a karaoke night with about 70 other interns who are working with different companies across Beijing.  I’m not normally one to get into karaoke, but the Chinese experience is extremely different from American karaoke.  Instead of one person singing to a whole bar, you actually rent out private rooms so it is just you and the people you’ve come with.  I forgot to take my camera to this event, but if I can find a photo I will definitely post one.  It was a lot of fun and I got to know a lot of people better.  I’ve already become friends with a number of people from all over the world.

On Thursday night my manager took me and a few co-workers out to dinner at an authentic Mongolian restaurant.  This was not a typical restaurant though.  Instead of a building, you entered a small hut barely larger than the table you sit at.  There were dozens of these huts spread across a large open area.  Just like with Chinese food, the dishes were brought in one by one and placed in the middle of the table for everyone to share.  The food was quite good especially the lamb.  During our meal, a few performers came in wearing historic Mongolian clothing and played some amazing music for us.  During one of the songs, I was presented with a blue silk scarf which was placed around my neck and given a small cup of wine.  I was then shown to dip my finger in the wine and touch it to my forehead.  Next I was shown to dip my finger again and flick a few drops both high and low in the air before finally consuming the rest of the bowl.  While I did not understand the meaning behind the ritual they were re-enacting, I was amazing to feel as though I was transported to another time and place.  After the performers left, our group talked for hours.  I remember feeling that this was in many ways the most rewarding night since I had arrived.

The weekend was filled with more exploration of the city.  On Saturday I woke up early to travel to the Summer Palace.  It was about a 45 minute subway ride from where I live, but it was definitely worth the trip.  For those of you not familiar with the Summer Palace, it was essentially just what it sounds like, a summer retreat for the emperor.  Unlike the Forbidden City which is one massive enclosed area of buildings, the Summer Palace blends in with the landscape around it.  Most of the buildings are on Longevity Hill and overlook Kunming Lake.  We spent about 4 hours at the palace and probably could have stayed longer if we had more energy.  It frankly is impossible to explore the entire area in one day, but what we saw was very impressive.  

On our way back from the Summer Palace, we swung by the Olympic park area, and took a few photos of the buildings which were also impressive, but could hardly compare to what we had just seen all day.  One thing that did impress me though was the number of visitors to the Olympic park area.  Admission is free unless you want to tour inside one of the buildings so many locals come just to stroll around.  There was also a large number of vendors selling food and souvenirs.

It seemed like nothing could top the Summer Palace, but early Sunday morning we woke up and boarded a bus which we had rented out for the day.  We drove about 50 miles outside the city to a section of the Great Wall of China.  While this was definitely near the top of my list of places to visit, I must admit that I thought the claims may be exaggerated or that having seen so many pictures and video of it would in some way ruin or lessen the experience.  I could not have been more wrong!  I hope everyone reading this blog will one day have a chance to visit it.  It was such an amazing experience that I think it is worth visiting China even if the wall is all you see.  No amount of pictures or video will prepare you for the sheer size of the wall.  I was speechless sitting there wondering how anyone could have built this wall or how much something similar would cost to build today.  You really get an idea of the wall’s size though when you start trying to walk it.  The wall more or less follows the very peaks of the mountains.  At some points you are almost climbing vertically rather than walking and the steps can get quite narrow.  

I was glad that I went with such a large group (about 25 people) because what ends up happening is many people wear out and decide to not go any further.  I was determined to get to the end of the “mint condition” area though.  You see, the tourist areas typically have been heavily repaired over the years for obvious reasons, but I wanted to see areas of the wall which have not been touched.  It took nearly two hours to cover what looked like less than a mile visually.  When we finally got to the deteriorated areas it was really cool to see what the vast majority of the wall probably looks like.  One moment everything is nearly perfect with barely a stone missing, and the next moment you’re wondering where the wall went.  You’re walking through small bushes and even trees which are growing right inside the wall!

Instead of walking back down the wall when we were ready to leave, we paid a little bit extra to take advantage of an alternate route.  We took a toboggan slide down! For those of you not familiar with toboggans, we essentially took a giant slide which flies you down the mountain on a small kart.  It was amazing!  It took nearly 3 minutes to get all the way down and is something I will never forget.