ASIA: The World is not Small, Flat, or Round. It’s BIG.

After spending almost two weeks in Beijing, I have realized that the world can feel like a small place when you can go halfway around it and find a 7-Eleven, eat at Subway, or have McDonald's delivered to your hotel room at midnight. I was somewhat prepared for the presence of American foods in China, but I was not prepared for the "time barrier" between China and the rest of the world. (photo: Katherine Knight, Lee Robertson, and Matt Moore)

As I type this, it is just after 1 p.m. here in Beijing. I just finished lunch and am on my way to the Beijing Capital Museum with the rest of the group. Quite the opposite, however, the M.S. in Commerce group in Copenhagen is still asleep (or maybe still partying), and it is just after 1 a.m. back home in Virginia.

All of this wouldn't have been such a big deal twenty or thirty years ago, but today it’s cheaper and easier than ever to connect with our friends in Europe or family back home. So far I’ve been using our hotel’s wireless connection to call friends in Copenhagen and my parents and friends back home for free using Skype, a free application I was even able to download to my wi-fi enabled phone. I’ve also been able to use Skype to call landlines in the States for about 2 cents per minute as I try to find an apartment for when I start work [with Robert W. Baird & Co. in Flordia] this July.

“What’s the problem,” you might ask? Now that the world is so connected, we can realize just how big it is. Because we are twelve hours ahead of the United States, I can only catch my parents on Skype when they are just finishing up dinner and I’m eating breakfast before class. When I’m eating dinner here, my parents and friends back home are rushing to get ready for work in the morning.

The “ease” with which we communicate globally is in contrast to Professor Maillet’s remarks about the difficulties he had communicating with his family back home when he worked in Asia [a few years ago]. During our residency, Professor Maillet said that he would rarely call home due to the cost and poor call quality. However, in 2009, I can call halfway around the world for free with a flawless connection. Of course, I have to make sure the people I’m calling aren’t still asleep while I’m wide awake.

Another troubling part of the time barrier has been the inconvenience of watching American and European sports while we are in China. Jeremy (photo left, background), my roommate and admitted basketball addict, is unable to watch the NBA Playoffs because they are shown live here while we are in class in the morning. Even worse, Wednesday’s European Champions League final featuring Manchester United and Barcelona began at 2:30 a.m., Beijing time.

With all of the talk about the world being flat, or round, or small, I couldn’t help but think that it truly is a big place as I was setting my alarm for 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning so I could get a few hours of sleep before watching the game.

--Matt Moore