From January 28-March 9, I spent my entire 14 days of out-of-country leave time as determined by Fulbright in the good ole USA. I spent my first week in New York city, the greatest city in the whole wide world. After Beijing though, New York seemed like the countryside to me. Seriously, where are all the people? Why can I easily get on the subway during rush hour? Why aren't there people stopping in the middle of the sidewalks and milling about everywhere creating pedestrian traffic jams? It was very strange. But I still love New York and am totally planning to move there when I return to the US, unless I get some kick-ass job offer/grad school acceptance in DC (Other US cities, sorry you're basically out of the running).
During my New York week, I visited with several of my best Vassar friends, my best friend from high school who came all the way from Boston to see me, and even a few friends from a summer program I did in high school called Governor's Honors Program (GHP). (It's basically nerd camp) I enjoyed the culinary delights of restaurant week, including brunch at Norma's (a gourmet brunch place, try the pancakes) and dinner at Hospoda (beware, the beer is mostly foam. and they intentionally pour it that way, weird...). I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) with my family to see The Scream by Edvard Munch. Turns out, if you buy a student membership for like $50USD, you get tons of deals and you can bring in guests for only $5! Love the MoMa. Another highlight of the week was visiting The Mount Vernon Inn & Hotel, a historic preserved hotel from the 1830s. It's run by the Colonial Dames of America, which means the tour was lead by a sweet old lady who clearly thought the origins of every brick in the entire building was of interest to us. My mom and I loved it, but everyone else was pretty bored about half way through. If you're into history though, this is a MUST SEE site! The tour is about an hour, and it's cheap (less than $10 I think). To appease my dad, we walked many miles all over Manhattan, despite the cold temperatures (although it seemed practically tropical compared to Beijing!). I of course also did some great shopping with my mom, and bought lots of spring clothes that I can't wear for months. Typical. Lastly, we hosted a superbowl party at my parent's apartment with SO MUCH FOOD. My mom and I have a problem of seriously over-ordering and over-cooking because we have a huge fear of not having enough food. And I think this party was the worst we've ever done. It was actually embarrassing how much food we had. Luckily my friends took home most of the food so there wasn't any waste! Given that almost every single guest had almost no interest in football, it was pretty strange that we had a superbowl party, but I guess that just goes to show the importance of football in American culture. Beyonce's halftime show was amazing. Good commercials too.
Then I spent my second week in Atlanta, my hometown. I got to spend lots of good quality time with my sister, her husband, and a few of my high school friends that were in town. Most of the week though was unfortunately spent going to doctors appointments. Overall it was a wonderful two weeks at home! Almost too good- re-adjusting to China has been difficult unfortunately. Not that I don't love China, because I do. But now that I officially know I CANNOT go back home until early November (although I'll probably stay and travel...I know, poor me) and I have 8.5 more months here, it was a bit overwhelming. Living overseas, despite my best efforts to keep in touch with everyone at home and follow the news & pop culture, I definitely feel disconnected from my home. I didn't even know about the Beyonce lip-singing scandal from the inauguration! But seriously, it can be hard. Luckily I have great friends here in China too that help make up for everything I'm missing!
America, I miss you already! But I know you'll be there when I get back. :) Thanks everyone for a wonderful two weeks at home!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Smells, Sights, Tastes, Feel, and Sounds of a Sleeper Train in China
To and from Beijing, in order to catch a plane back to the US, I took an overnight "sleeper" train from Xi'an. Because America has the worst trains in the world (probably not actually, but in comparison to Europe and Asia...), most Americans don't get the chance to take an overnight train unless they're overseas. This recent trip was actually my first time taking a sleeper train in China, and it was...an experience. My trip there was perfect- so easy, so simple, very comfortable, and I made a friend! My trip home was not as great due to a loud snoring Chinese man next to me, and my continuing jet lag from my recent return flight to China. From Xi'an to Beijing (620 miles), you can either plane or train. The plane is "expensive" (as in, my one-way ticket to Xi'an from Beijing in January was $120USD), although there are some bargain deals out there if you look hard enough (my friend Thomas got a plane ticket for 120RMB, about $30USD). If you chose to train, you have 2 choices: 高铁 (high speed train) or the regular train. The high speed train takes about 5 hrs, and costs almost as much as a plane ticket (usually over 900rmb). To save money (and for the adventure), I chose the overnight train, which took about 14 hrs and cost 270rmb (about $40USD). I've decided to give you a 5-senses tour of my train ride. But first, let me set the scene:
When you first arrive at the train station, you are greeted by a grandiose building with european-style architecture (at first glance, you might think it was a palace or at least a government building). After presenting you ticket and ID are several security checkpoints, you go through the baggage scanner, which is maybe one of the most stressful parts of the whole experience. First, you disentangle all your bags off your body and put them on a large scanner (like what you see at a customs check at the airport). Then you and several vicious grandmas all push and scramble through the human scanner in order to grab your bags before someone steals them. (Note: I've never actually seen or heard of someone's bags being stolen right in front of them, but hey, it could happen) And of course people are milling about by the baggage scanner so the situation is further complicated by masses of people blocking your way. Then you make your way to the waiting room for your train, which never has enough seats so it's filled with people sitting on their luggage all over the room. When it's time for your train to board, everyone crowds around the boarding door and pushes (again, beware of the vicious grandmas), even though most people have assigned seats. (Note: Yes, there are some very unfortunate patrons who buy "Standing Room Only" tickets. For these people, I actually see the point of pushing to get on because they want to the best spots to stand in). Now the train ride begins...
When you first get on the train, you walk down a long hallway to find your compartment:
When you first arrive at the train station, you are greeted by a grandiose building with european-style architecture (at first glance, you might think it was a palace or at least a government building). After presenting you ticket and ID are several security checkpoints, you go through the baggage scanner, which is maybe one of the most stressful parts of the whole experience. First, you disentangle all your bags off your body and put them on a large scanner (like what you see at a customs check at the airport). Then you and several vicious grandmas all push and scramble through the human scanner in order to grab your bags before someone steals them. (Note: I've never actually seen or heard of someone's bags being stolen right in front of them, but hey, it could happen) And of course people are milling about by the baggage scanner so the situation is further complicated by masses of people blocking your way. Then you make your way to the waiting room for your train, which never has enough seats so it's filled with people sitting on their luggage all over the room. When it's time for your train to board, everyone crowds around the boarding door and pushes (again, beware of the vicious grandmas), even though most people have assigned seats. (Note: Yes, there are some very unfortunate patrons who buy "Standing Room Only" tickets. For these people, I actually see the point of pushing to get on because they want to the best spots to stand in). Now the train ride begins...
Sights:
When you first get on the train, you walk down a long hallway to find your compartment:
I was in a "hard sleeper" compartment, which meant there were 3 beds on each side of the compartment. The 2nd and 3rd bunks don't have enough room to sit up so those 4 people end up either sitting on the poor bottom bunk person's bed, or- if they're lucky- they sit on the two small fold-down chairs in the hallway area (see above). Clearly the bottom bunk is the best place to be in this scenario (I know, I know, contrary to years of fighting for the "cool" top bunk as a kid). In between the two sets of bunks, there is about 2 feet of space where someone can shove a suitcase. Here's Allie and I on her bottom bunk:
Notice the sad amount of space between the bunks, and the terrifying height of the top bunk:
To get up to the high bunks, there is a small ladder (or on my 2nd train, just 1 fold-down stair) to help you boost yourself up there. Needless to say, it can be treacherous with the lurching of the train and passersby in the hallway area.
Another "sight" worth mentioning: the bathroom. Bathrooms on trains and planes are never pleasant, but these are some of the worst I've ever seen. Many people chose to enjoy instant noodles on their train rides (Note: ALWAYS bring your own food on the train. Even if there is a snack car, don't do it.), and when they are done with them, they usually dump the leftovers down the sink or the toilet. (The trash is usually full within 5 minutes of the 14 hr ride). The bathroom is a squat toilet, of course. So image trying to aim down that squat toilet, especially if you're like most foreigners who can't do the asian squat, amidst the back-and-forth jerking of the train. Ya, you get the picture. It's not pretty.
Sounds:
-snoring: As mentioned earlier, my return train trip was haunted by the sounds of an old Chinese man sleeping in the bunk next to me. There was no escape.
-the shouts of the cart ladies: More prevalent on my first train ride, the evening is full of ladies pushing carts of magazines, alcohol, toiletries, food, cigarettes, and more through the hallway, yelling to advertise their wears all the while. Most of the time, I don't even know what they're saying, but one thing is always certain- there voices are high and shrill. The carts themselves are also a bit rickety so you can hear them coming even before the saleswomen start their shouting. And every once in awhile, you hear the Chinese equivalent of an "ow!" or "hey!" when they cart hits an elbow or a knee.
-the train itself: Because this is not one of the newer fancy trains, you can hear the constant sound of the train running on the rails. I actually kind of like the rhythmic humming, but it can get irritating for some people.
-people's entertainment devices: Many Chinese people are so generous on the train that they don't bother with headphones while watching a movie or tv show, or playing a game because they want to share the lovely melodic songs of guns, dying people, annoying cartoon characters, exploding balloons, etc. with the whole train. Most of these sounds come from iPad's so they're not that loud, but still pretty irritating.
-hacking: Yes, hacking up of flem in your throat...And you thought the sound was bad? Just wait until your bunk mate on the 3rd bunk spits their flem down onto the floor on your compartment...SPLAT! And there it stays until morning...
Smells:
-cigarette smoke: Like in most public places in China, cigarette smoking is allowed on Chinese trains. I think technically it's only in the bathroom/sink area, but the scent travels. I never truly appreciated the US's no-smoking laws until coming to China.
-Chinese BO: Through my world travels, I have noticed that every culture, based on what they eat, produces a different body odor. In China, they smell contains hints of garlic, ginger, cigarettes, and onions. Very pleasant.
-Instant Noodles: As mentioned earlier, Instant Noodles are a popular choice of train food. To me, it seems rather dangerous because you have to fill the plastic bowl/cup with boiling water and then precariously carry it back to your bed without scorching yourself. I prefer a simple PB&J or Subway sandwich when available.
Tastes:
-sunflower seeds: Another popular past-time in Chinese culture is eating sunflower seeds. They take awhile to eat because you first have to crack them in your teeth, then pry out the tiny seed before eating. I generally don't enjoy working too much for my food (I don't particularly enjoy crab or lobster for this reason) so I tend to pass on the sunflower seeds. But when salted and covered in chocolate, I'm a big fan. On the train though, many people simply throw their seeds directly onto the floor. Charming.
Hmmm, ya that's about it for tastes. Luckily, the train ride does not require a lot of tasting.
Feel:
-your bed & blankets: The only major difference between the hard sleeper and the soft sleeper is the comfort of the bed, and the number of bunks per compartment (soft sleeper's only have 4 bunks). The hard sleeper is pretty hard, but as far as Chinese beds go, rather typical. The thin "mattress" is covered by a single sheet, then topped with a dense blanket and a pillow. All of these items are probably not washed consistently, but that's just a guess...In general, the bedding is a bit scratchy so I prefer to use my coat to cover my upper body. I also found my pillow to be rather uncomfortable because I slept on my purse, backpack, and extra carry-on for security purposes. I'm sure the pillow itself isn't that bad.
-cold: Most people chose to position their heads by the window/outside wall, which is rather cold. So get ready for a long chilly night.
Despite all of the seemingly awful aspects of the train ride, I really enjoyed my first trip. I slept great and was only awoken at 8am because the train conductor assistant lady came and physically shook me awake to take my ticket. RUDE awakening to say the least. On both my train rides, the lights went out at 10pm and came back on at 7am to ensure a nice, peaceful 9 hours of sleep for everyone on board.
And there's one gem that I most point out about my first trip down- I made a lovely friend! Allie (a fellow Xi'an-based Fulbrighter coming to enjoy a Beijing weekend) and I sat down on Allie's bunk, and began chatting as the train left. After several hours of sleep, Allie dosed off and the older (mid-50s) Chinese man sitting at the table in the hallway (so like 2 ft away from the bed) starting asking me questions about my research on women's issues. A father of a young 20-something year old daughter, he loved the work I was doing. He was very disappointed in the status of Chinese women today, and felt that Chinese women's position in society should have increased dramatically along with the country's economic growth. He of course wanted to know how women's rights in the US and "the west" compared to Chinese women's rights as well. This discussion then led into US politics. I told him my opposition to the Iraq War (Note: Many Chinese people opposed, and even protested, against the US invasion of Iraq in 2002 because they saw it as an infringement of Iraqi National Sovereignty- a big concept in Chinese political culture) to which he surprisingly disagreed. Instead, he thought the US has a duty to "liberate", "free", and "rescue" all people suffering under an unjust government worldwide. He said, "The US is the only country powerful enough to undertake this mission. They have a duty, as the world hegemon, to be the world's policeman too." He made a very interesting, although I think too overly simple, analogy- "Imagine a few men with knives," (because guns are banned in China so that's not even a possibility) "come into the this train car and start threatening all the women and children. As a moderately strong man, I have a duty to defend these women, don't I? I could pretend to be asleep or simply turn my head and say it's not my responsibility but that would be wrong, wouldn't it?" (Of course this was all in Chinese). And then we discussed other humanitarian interventions- Syria, Libya, Darfur...He totally respected and understood my perspective as well, but we had a vibrant debate over the US role in International Conflict. I also expressed to him that, of course, this was just my personal opinion, not that of the US government or even the majority of the US people. After almost 2 hours of talking, the lights suddenly went out. He gave me his card, and said he would love to continue our discussions back in Xi'an. As I was getting up, he also said "Thank you so much for talking with me. This is the first time I've ever truly interacted with an American, and it has really been eye-opening and fascinating for me to hear about your culture and your thoughts. It has made my day." AHHHH THIS IS TOTALLY WHAT FULBRIGHT IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!!!!! TOTAL NERD FREAK OUT!!!!!!!
So in conclusion, the train ride has many inconveniences, but also many hidden gems. It is what you make it, but it'll certainly be an adventure!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
My New Crib
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| Here's the street my apartment is on. |
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| your typical trash collector |
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| The courtyard surrounded by my building. The signs says "Welcome Home!" everywhere! :) |
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| My door, decorated with Chinese New Year signs! |
On the left is a small bookshelf. Above it is a map of the Summer Palace in Beijing. It's pretty and artsy so I put it up. Next to it is my armoire/closet. I don't think I've ever seen a walk-in closet in China. Mostly they have things like this, or wooden portable cabinets that they use. This one is made of a canvas-like fabric help together by wooden poles. I actually think it's going to be quite strong, and so far has been very useful. And what do you do if you're having company over and don't want them to see your clothes, just roll down the canvas flaps and voila, a subtle, understated blue, purple, yellow, pink, and green striped box in your living room!
Why is my closet in my living room? My bedroom isn't big enough so when I get dressed I wonder all over the apartment because all my stuff is spread out. It's not that big, and I live by myself so it's not too much of a hassle so far. Then there's my desk where I do my makeup and store my jewelery. And do work I guess (haven't done much of that yet). My desk window looks directly into the neighboring Hilton Hotel (so when you all come visit me you have a nearby 5 star hotel to stay at!), which is maybe 100 feet across from my window. And now one of my prized treasures, my jewelery organizers, which I bought at Muji, and they cost half the price of my furniture itself. Check out how beautiful this drawer is:
And now on to the other half of the living room. Another lovely feature of my apartment is the pink velour floral couch (you can't really see the pattern in the picture). Above that are some postcards I bought in Beijing that are artsy looking. To the right is my new coat rack and shoe rack (again, more beautiful organization).
From the living room, the bathroom is a 3 foot walk on your left. Here you can see the nice sink and mirror (the mirror is big enough that if you stand back a bit, it's full-length! YES!). And of course, a western toilet, duh. And I can flush the toilet paper! :) I even got a nice towel rack above the toilet.
And now for one of my favorite features, THE SHOWER! Most showers in China are not mounted on the wall, and definitely NOT enclosed by a curtain or anything else. But check this out:
Yes, that's right- a mounted shower head enclosed by glass walls!!! The shower is hot, and there's great pressure, AND you don't flood the bathroom everytime you shower (even the THs at Vassar can't boast that!). It's beautiful. Also we have washing machine (that's the big white thing) which spins so intensely that all my clothes come out much longer that they started, but also means they're almost dry, which is nice since I don't have a dryer (no one does in China). Get ready to be jealous, AGAIN: My washing machine drains into a specific pipe and doesn't flood the floor!!! Isn't that amazing?! Normally in China, the washing machine is in the bathroom because it drains all the water straight onto the floor so you need to have a drain to collect it all. But at my new swanky place, the water drains into a pipe just like in America! :) #smallvictories
And here's the kitchen. I have a nice window that looks onto the courtyard (see first pics). You can't see it, but in the far right corner of the kitchen, I have a TOASTER OVEN! Yes, that's right, a toaster oven in CHINA! Ovens here are not common because everything is usually stir-fried, steamed, or boiled, not baked. So the toaster oven is really exciting because it means I can bake! Of course it's tiny so it means I would be baking like 6 cookies at a time, but that's ok. I'm very excited.
And finally, my bedroom, which is literally JUST my bed. The bed is kinda crazy- the entire thing lifts up to reveal an enormous storage space under the bed that is currently housing my 2 giant suitcases. Very useful. Because the bottom is storage, the mattress stands up really tall onto of the bed. Then on the right is a small bedside table. On the left is a little nook (like what my desk is in in the living room) where I can hang laundry to dry on that sketchy, thin, little pink string. My bedroom window looks onto the courtyard.
And here is just a funny photo of what my 4 giant suitcases that I shipped from Beijing look like. They put all the suitcases in individual bamboo woven bags, and then taped them into weird handles and stuff. And all of this (probably over 100KG) only cost me 430rmb (about 60USD)!! And came in 3 days! So amazing.
Well, I guess that's it. Isn't it great?! Seriously a huge step up from my apartment in Beijing (minus the fact that I lived with my lovely bestie Zan in Beijing). So far that landlord has been amazing. Yesterday she heard me coughing on the phone so she brought me a homemade dinner! So sweet! And then we discussed Chinese TV shows that I should watch for awhile. The landlord is actually the niece of the woman who actually owns the apartment, and the niece just manages it for her since the aunt doesn't live in Xi'an.The niece is 24 so we're basically the same age. Oh ya, and the rent is only 1750rmb/month (278USD)!!!! Cheaper than Blue House in Poughkeepsie! And so much nicer! So far I'm very happy with new place. It's a good size, very functional, and surrounded by cute/hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants (always the best), and shops, etc. Come visit me!!! :)
And now I have to rant for a minute, sorry- So as part of moving into my new place, I had to go to the local police station to do the temporary residence foreigner registration, even though I already did an official residence permit. This one is supposed to be at the specific police station that oversees the district you live in or something. So I head over this morning at 11:30am, and they tell me they're closing at 12 for lunch so I have to come back later...because a half hour isn't enough? They basically only work like 5 hours a day- open at 9, then close for lunch at noon, then reopen at 2:30 (after a 2.5 hr lunch break!) and close at 4pm. Ridiculous. So I come back at 2:30pm and only 1 guy has returned from lunch. Like a good foreigner, I wait behind the person he's currently helping until I am rudely reminded that waiting in line will get you no where as 2 parties of Chinese people come in, push past me, and nudge the woman being helped at the desk out of way. So after that (I'd already been waiting about 15 minutes), I push my way to the desk and throw my paperwork in the face of the one police officer. (It kinda feels like when you're trying to get a drink at a crowded bar, expect that being a foreign woman here has no advantage) Finally the guy talks to me and then meanders leisurely over to give me a form to fill out. After I'm done with that, he says, "Where's your photo?" So then I have to go next door to take passport photos, which takes another 10 minutes. I come back and he tells me to wait for the girl that does foreigner registration to come back. So I wait another 10 minutes until she arrives, but before she can help me, she has to brush her hair, wash her hands, put on lotion, and make fresh tea. Then she taked my paperwork and says, "Where are your passport and visa copies?" So then I go next door again to make more copies. I come back and she says she has to enter my info on the computer but it's being used so more waiting. Then as we're doing the registration, she tells me that I don't know how to write numbers and can't read anything I wrote so I have to read her all the numbers on my form. She also keeps confusing my visa and my residence permit, and finally asks why I have both and what the difference is...HELLO?! YOU'RE THE POLICE, AND YOU'RE THE ONES FORCING ME TO DO THIS STUPID PAPERWORK. HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE?! So once we establish that no one understands why I have to do this paperwork, she then questions me on every single thing I wrote on the form, even though it's written there, in my passport, and on my passport copies. SUCH AN IDIOT. Seriously, this is the most inefficient system imaginable. The poor lady next to me had to put her form in this binder that was held together with string and it took her 20 minutes to re-string all the pages into the binder. GET A MODERN BINDER WITH RINGS. IT'S NOT THAT HARD. I don't get it. So after 1.5 hrs of hanging and waiting, I finally left the police office with registration in hand. Just a wonderful example of the efficiency of Chinese bureaucracy!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Getting Settled In...
This last week has been exhausting, but still great! Highlights:
-On Tuesday afternoon, I met up with a Tibetan guy from couchsurfing, who took me to the Wild Goose Pagoda, a landmark in Xi'an, and dinner. It was nice to get to practice my chinese with him, although kinda hard because his first language is Tibetan, not Chinese, so his Chinese was actually not very good. He doesn't really use tones, for example. Also I think he thought it was a date because he called me today just "to chat". Yikes, haha. He said there are lots of cool Tibetan cultural events that he's going to this spring so I think that will be interesting. Most of the time we were together, he talked about his home town in Qinghai (a really poor province on the Tibetan Plateau mostly inhabited by Tibetans and other minorities) and Tibetan Culture, and how the Chinese government/Chinese people "other" him and his people. VERY interesting...
-Had the extremely unpleasant experience of having my bank card number stolen somehow so I had to deal with that and cancel my card. SO annoying when you live in CHINA! And my Gmail got hacked and a bunch of my messages got deleted, but fortunately Google retrieved them. All my labels are gone though so my years of organization are gone! :(
-I got my official residence permit! yay! So now I have my passport back, and am free to travel to Beijing next weekend, and then on to the USA for 2 weeks!! :)
-On Thursday night, I went out with my professor, her husband, and her grad students. It was a very casual dinner, which was nice and delicious. Normally at these kinds of dinners, I can't understand what people are saying because they're talking so fast and I can't jump into the conversation because it takes me like 2 minutes to formulate a sentence in my head first and then it's too late, haha. But at this dinner, they all made an effort to speak a bit slower for me and not use really big words. Plus they actually just wanted to get to know me more so the whole night they were asking me questions and talking with me. It was great, but also really exhausting because Chinese is taxing on the brain. Also somehow got into a discussion about whether democracy is good for China/is it going to happen w/ my professor's husband who works for the government. That was awesome. Overall they're so nice and friendly and really want to help me with my research so I'm really excited about that! :)
-Saturday I moved into my apt! I spent the first few hours cleaning and throwing out stuff from the last tenant (a fellow Fulbrighter from last year!). Then today I went furniture shopping, and ended up getting a shoe rack, a coat rack, a closet, AND a mattress for less than 1000rmb (about 150USD)!!! China is so cheap!!! I got all the stuff on this street with a bunch of hole-in-the-wall cheap furniture stores. They assembled everything and delivered via a guy with a bike who tied my stuff to the back, very funny. Now I'm almost totally set up! :) I'll do a special post on my apt once I do all the final touches. But so far I love it! They're so much organization space too, which obviously I LOVE. And today I received my 4 GIANT bags that I had left with Wayne in Beijing, and it only cost 430rmb (about 70USD)!!!! AMAZING! I highly recommend sf express to anyone out there who needs to ship domestically in China. They were super fast too- only 3 days from Beijing to Xi'an!
Oh, and I know you're all dying to write me letters and send me packages full of delicious America-ness so here's my new address:
西安市新城区民乐园万达广场（解放路110号）二号公寓9单元504室
Also discovered a great new IKEA-like store that has awesome organizational things AND there's one in Xi'an! It's called MUJI- organization freaks, feast your eyes on this website.
That's it! Have a good week everyone!
-On Tuesday afternoon, I met up with a Tibetan guy from couchsurfing, who took me to the Wild Goose Pagoda, a landmark in Xi'an, and dinner. It was nice to get to practice my chinese with him, although kinda hard because his first language is Tibetan, not Chinese, so his Chinese was actually not very good. He doesn't really use tones, for example. Also I think he thought it was a date because he called me today just "to chat". Yikes, haha. He said there are lots of cool Tibetan cultural events that he's going to this spring so I think that will be interesting. Most of the time we were together, he talked about his home town in Qinghai (a really poor province on the Tibetan Plateau mostly inhabited by Tibetans and other minorities) and Tibetan Culture, and how the Chinese government/Chinese people "other" him and his people. VERY interesting...
-Had the extremely unpleasant experience of having my bank card number stolen somehow so I had to deal with that and cancel my card. SO annoying when you live in CHINA! And my Gmail got hacked and a bunch of my messages got deleted, but fortunately Google retrieved them. All my labels are gone though so my years of organization are gone! :(
-I got my official residence permit! yay! So now I have my passport back, and am free to travel to Beijing next weekend, and then on to the USA for 2 weeks!! :)
-On Thursday night, I went out with my professor, her husband, and her grad students. It was a very casual dinner, which was nice and delicious. Normally at these kinds of dinners, I can't understand what people are saying because they're talking so fast and I can't jump into the conversation because it takes me like 2 minutes to formulate a sentence in my head first and then it's too late, haha. But at this dinner, they all made an effort to speak a bit slower for me and not use really big words. Plus they actually just wanted to get to know me more so the whole night they were asking me questions and talking with me. It was great, but also really exhausting because Chinese is taxing on the brain. Also somehow got into a discussion about whether democracy is good for China/is it going to happen w/ my professor's husband who works for the government. That was awesome. Overall they're so nice and friendly and really want to help me with my research so I'm really excited about that! :)
-Saturday I moved into my apt! I spent the first few hours cleaning and throwing out stuff from the last tenant (a fellow Fulbrighter from last year!). Then today I went furniture shopping, and ended up getting a shoe rack, a coat rack, a closet, AND a mattress for less than 1000rmb (about 150USD)!!! China is so cheap!!! I got all the stuff on this street with a bunch of hole-in-the-wall cheap furniture stores. They assembled everything and delivered via a guy with a bike who tied my stuff to the back, very funny. Now I'm almost totally set up! :) I'll do a special post on my apt once I do all the final touches. But so far I love it! They're so much organization space too, which obviously I LOVE. And today I received my 4 GIANT bags that I had left with Wayne in Beijing, and it only cost 430rmb (about 70USD)!!!! AMAZING! I highly recommend sf express to anyone out there who needs to ship domestically in China. They were super fast too- only 3 days from Beijing to Xi'an!
Oh, and I know you're all dying to write me letters and send me packages full of delicious America-ness so here's my new address:
西安市新城区民乐园万达广场（解放路110号）二号公寓9单元504室
Also discovered a great new IKEA-like store that has awesome organizational things AND there's one in Xi'an! It's called MUJI- organization freaks, feast your eyes on this website.
That's it! Have a good week everyone!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
先入为主(First Impressions are the Strongest)
Well if the title of the post is true (check that out IUP! vocab word, yaaa), Xi'an and I are going to get along just fine. Despite a disasterous weekend of losing my iPhone (for the 2nd time this month- China is seriously out to get me) and being locked out of my couch surfer's apartment for 2 nights, I am writing today to reflect on the otherwise GREAT first week I've had in Xi'an!
I arrived one week ago yesterday in this smoggy city (I've yet to see blue skies) and lugged my 2 enormous suitcases to my 1st couch surfers apartment near the Bell Tower in the center of Xi'an. Joan and Giulia kindly hosted me for the first 4 days here in Xi'an, and have been great friends already! My first night, I went out to dinner with Emily, Allie, and Mei- 3 Fulbrighters who have been in Xi'an for a few weeks already after doing CLEA (the language portion of Fulbright) in Harbin.
Monday morning, I went bright and early to the local health examination office in Xi'an. In China, all foreigners wishing to apply for the residence permit or other long-term stay visas have to go through a health exam "to ensure visitors are not bringing in infectious diseases"- so that's why I have to have an EKG? to make sure I don't have a heart attack in China? Obviously the real reason is it's a money maker for government offices. Another reason my friend who teaches economics through out here (which is probably true, but simply terrifying) is that the government tries to set up as much useless bureaucracy as possible to employ people, because inefficient systems employ more people. Great. So I walk into the health exam, look around bewildered and confused and then walk up to a random desk where a nice older man gave me some forms to fill out. Another thing about Chinese bureaucracy- they're obsessed with "chomps" (fancy stamps that usually indent your paper/form) and passport size photos. So after I used a glue stick (haven't seen one of those since the 2nd grade) to attach my passport photo onto a flimsy Chinese form, I moved down the line to the next station where I paid 400rmb for the exam (that's about $64USD), and then onto the blood test. I was pleased to see them open a fresh, clean needle to take my blood and they quickly found my vein so I didn't end up with a huge bruise like my poor classmates did who did their exams in Beijing. Then I went upstairs where I was shuffled between rooms for an EKG, an X-ray, a hearing and eye test (the ladies in this room loved me and fawned over my pale skin and big eyes until the next patient came in), an "internal organ" exam, a sonogram, and more. So strange.
After the surreal health exam, I headed to my school's foreign student office, where I filled out more forms and pasted my passport photos onto at least 5 different forms. Overall, the foreign students office has been pretty nice and helpful. That afternoon I went and looked at an apartment currently inhabited by a Fulbrighter from last year who had a late start, and is just finishing up now. Due to several days last week of calling agents and repeatedly being told there's nothing that will fit my standards, within my price range, in the location I want, and refusing to even show me places, I have given up and decided to take this first apartment. And don't get me wrong, it's not a sacrifice in anyway, I just felt silly taking the very first place I saw. So here are the details on my new place! It's located on the East side of Xi'an within the city walls, about a 20 min bus ride from my University (Xi'an Jiaotong University), and a 10 min or less bus ride from the Bell Tower, which marks the center of Xi'an. Compared to Beijing where everything takes an hr, Xi'an has been a dream. At most, I've travelled 30 minutes to get somewhere, so 30 minutes="far" in Xi'an speak. The apartment is about 1 yr old and was built in conjunction with a new development that has a movie theater, tons of restaurants and shops, a large supermarket, and a Hilton Hotel- perfect for when mommy and daddy come! :) The architecture of this whole complex is designed to look like old Xi'an or old China (think winged roofs and courtyards), but is new so you get the old world charm w/ new amenities. The apartment itself is on the 5th floor, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, a kitchen, and a living room. Highlights: the shower (the showerhead is mounted on the wall!!! and is enclosed by a glass walls so the bathroom doesn't flood everytime you shower) and a toaster oven (this means I can heat up food, and bake like 6 cookies at a time)!!!!!!! The fact that these 2 features are as exciting as they are clearly shows I've been in China too long, but regardless I'm psyched. Another thing that I think most people would hate, but...the couch is pink velvet floral. I love it. I know it's tacky, but "When in Rome..." The only problem? I can't move in until Jan 20/22 because the current Fulbrighter is still there for another week. So in the meantime I stayed with another couch surfer and tomorrow am either moving to another friend's place or moving to a hostel/hotel.
The other highlight of last week= I met my professor! Her name is Professor Yang, and she's all that I hoped for and more! I met this woman through a mutual friend of hers and one of my Vassar mentors, Fubing Su. Prof Yang helped me gain my affiliation at the university to complete my Fulbright application, and we've been emailing for over a year without ever meeting (all in Chinese!). The 2 problems most Fulbrighters have with their professors are 1) the professor is totally unresponsive/unhelpful and/or focuses on a different area of expertise and knows nothing about their project; 2) is totally overbearing and tries to direct the Fulbrighter's project themselves. So far, Prof Yang is totally interested in my work, but also seems to understand this is my own project. And she's really responsive. I emailed her on Monday morning saying I'd arrived, and by 11am she called and invited me to her office that afternoon. So I went back to school Monday afternoon and met her. She immediately greeted me with a hug- NOT your typical Chinese greeting (they're not that into touching like us Americans). Then she asked me about my research interests and told me about her work. She's currently working on studying the affects of the gender ratio imbalance in China (118:100 men:women)- so cool! I told her right now I just want to read up on my topic because it's relatively new to me, and she didn't seem troubled by the fact that I have NO IDEA what I'm talking about/how to DO "research" (jk Fulbright, I totally know what I'm doing...) so she gave me 3 awesome books that have super relevant articles about women and politics and said I could have the books! And of course they're in Chinese, oye. IUP reading skills- GO! Then she called up one of her 2 grad students, Yang Ting, who came and walked me around campus. She's super sweet and said she would help me read the articles if I had questions. Love her already.
My good friend Jake who studied at IUP with me and is also a Fulbright passed through Xi'an last week with a friend so that was fun too. We explored the muslim quarter and had delicious street food. We also stumbled upon the coolest old Chinese mansion called the Gao Mansion. I think you normally have to pay, but the gate was open so we just wandered in. They had the most beautiful furniture and art, all laid out like a traditional Chinese home. It was amazing. And such a hidden gem! Xi'an seems to be full of these amazing little gems all over the city- I can't wait to explore more! I've now walked around most of southern inner Xi'an (inside the city walls), and parts of Gaoxin, the new industrial district. And so far I love it!
I arrived one week ago yesterday in this smoggy city (I've yet to see blue skies) and lugged my 2 enormous suitcases to my 1st couch surfers apartment near the Bell Tower in the center of Xi'an. Joan and Giulia kindly hosted me for the first 4 days here in Xi'an, and have been great friends already! My first night, I went out to dinner with Emily, Allie, and Mei- 3 Fulbrighters who have been in Xi'an for a few weeks already after doing CLEA (the language portion of Fulbright) in Harbin.
Monday morning, I went bright and early to the local health examination office in Xi'an. In China, all foreigners wishing to apply for the residence permit or other long-term stay visas have to go through a health exam "to ensure visitors are not bringing in infectious diseases"- so that's why I have to have an EKG? to make sure I don't have a heart attack in China? Obviously the real reason is it's a money maker for government offices. Another reason my friend who teaches economics through out here (which is probably true, but simply terrifying) is that the government tries to set up as much useless bureaucracy as possible to employ people, because inefficient systems employ more people. Great. So I walk into the health exam, look around bewildered and confused and then walk up to a random desk where a nice older man gave me some forms to fill out. Another thing about Chinese bureaucracy- they're obsessed with "chomps" (fancy stamps that usually indent your paper/form) and passport size photos. So after I used a glue stick (haven't seen one of those since the 2nd grade) to attach my passport photo onto a flimsy Chinese form, I moved down the line to the next station where I paid 400rmb for the exam (that's about $64USD), and then onto the blood test. I was pleased to see them open a fresh, clean needle to take my blood and they quickly found my vein so I didn't end up with a huge bruise like my poor classmates did who did their exams in Beijing. Then I went upstairs where I was shuffled between rooms for an EKG, an X-ray, a hearing and eye test (the ladies in this room loved me and fawned over my pale skin and big eyes until the next patient came in), an "internal organ" exam, a sonogram, and more. So strange.
After the surreal health exam, I headed to my school's foreign student office, where I filled out more forms and pasted my passport photos onto at least 5 different forms. Overall, the foreign students office has been pretty nice and helpful. That afternoon I went and looked at an apartment currently inhabited by a Fulbrighter from last year who had a late start, and is just finishing up now. Due to several days last week of calling agents and repeatedly being told there's nothing that will fit my standards, within my price range, in the location I want, and refusing to even show me places, I have given up and decided to take this first apartment. And don't get me wrong, it's not a sacrifice in anyway, I just felt silly taking the very first place I saw. So here are the details on my new place! It's located on the East side of Xi'an within the city walls, about a 20 min bus ride from my University (Xi'an Jiaotong University), and a 10 min or less bus ride from the Bell Tower, which marks the center of Xi'an. Compared to Beijing where everything takes an hr, Xi'an has been a dream. At most, I've travelled 30 minutes to get somewhere, so 30 minutes="far" in Xi'an speak. The apartment is about 1 yr old and was built in conjunction with a new development that has a movie theater, tons of restaurants and shops, a large supermarket, and a Hilton Hotel- perfect for when mommy and daddy come! :) The architecture of this whole complex is designed to look like old Xi'an or old China (think winged roofs and courtyards), but is new so you get the old world charm w/ new amenities. The apartment itself is on the 5th floor, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, a kitchen, and a living room. Highlights: the shower (the showerhead is mounted on the wall!!! and is enclosed by a glass walls so the bathroom doesn't flood everytime you shower) and a toaster oven (this means I can heat up food, and bake like 6 cookies at a time)!!!!!!! The fact that these 2 features are as exciting as they are clearly shows I've been in China too long, but regardless I'm psyched. Another thing that I think most people would hate, but...the couch is pink velvet floral. I love it. I know it's tacky, but "When in Rome..." The only problem? I can't move in until Jan 20/22 because the current Fulbrighter is still there for another week. So in the meantime I stayed with another couch surfer and tomorrow am either moving to another friend's place or moving to a hostel/hotel.
The other highlight of last week= I met my professor! Her name is Professor Yang, and she's all that I hoped for and more! I met this woman through a mutual friend of hers and one of my Vassar mentors, Fubing Su. Prof Yang helped me gain my affiliation at the university to complete my Fulbright application, and we've been emailing for over a year without ever meeting (all in Chinese!). The 2 problems most Fulbrighters have with their professors are 1) the professor is totally unresponsive/unhelpful and/or focuses on a different area of expertise and knows nothing about their project; 2) is totally overbearing and tries to direct the Fulbrighter's project themselves. So far, Prof Yang is totally interested in my work, but also seems to understand this is my own project. And she's really responsive. I emailed her on Monday morning saying I'd arrived, and by 11am she called and invited me to her office that afternoon. So I went back to school Monday afternoon and met her. She immediately greeted me with a hug- NOT your typical Chinese greeting (they're not that into touching like us Americans). Then she asked me about my research interests and told me about her work. She's currently working on studying the affects of the gender ratio imbalance in China (118:100 men:women)- so cool! I told her right now I just want to read up on my topic because it's relatively new to me, and she didn't seem troubled by the fact that I have NO IDEA what I'm talking about/how to DO "research" (jk Fulbright, I totally know what I'm doing...) so she gave me 3 awesome books that have super relevant articles about women and politics and said I could have the books! And of course they're in Chinese, oye. IUP reading skills- GO! Then she called up one of her 2 grad students, Yang Ting, who came and walked me around campus. She's super sweet and said she would help me read the articles if I had questions. Love her already.
My good friend Jake who studied at IUP with me and is also a Fulbright passed through Xi'an last week with a friend so that was fun too. We explored the muslim quarter and had delicious street food. We also stumbled upon the coolest old Chinese mansion called the Gao Mansion. I think you normally have to pay, but the gate was open so we just wandered in. They had the most beautiful furniture and art, all laid out like a traditional Chinese home. It was amazing. And such a hidden gem! Xi'an seems to be full of these amazing little gems all over the city- I can't wait to explore more! I've now walked around most of southern inner Xi'an (inside the city walls), and parts of Gaoxin, the new industrial district. And so far I love it!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Goodbye 2012, Goodbye Beijing
Ok, so I tried to update sooner, but my VPN wasn't working so unfortunately you're in for another epic post...
-Went to all you can eat & drink Teppanyaki a few Fridays ago with over 20 friends at Tairyo, and had a great time! Then after getting in a fight with my cab driver because he tried to double our pre-negotiated fare, I left my small going-out purse in his car, which resulted in the loss of an iPhone, my house keys, new Laura Mercier lipstick, and most tragically the purse itself (jk, obviously the iPhone was a devastating loss)-however last night I just got my new iPhone (actually my sister's old phone) so YAY! Old phone number back and running too! :)
-Wayne and I went to a cooking class at Black Sesame Kitchen, and learned to cook Kungpao Chicken, Mapo Dofu, and Wok-friend String Beans, delicious! The best part of the class was learning the basics about cooking with Chinese ingredients. Also we got to meet cool people!
-I went to a hot flow yoga class at Fine Yoga in Chaoyang, which was a bit expensive but lovely to be in a hot room (the highs have been below 32F most days, REALLY cold. I now wear long underwear on a daily basis). Then I checked out a place in WuDaoKou (where I live(d) in Beijing), which was actually the best class I've been to, but still not great. Towards the end of the class, the teacher said, "ok we're going to do the hardest pose ever now, but just give it a try- the headstand". I've been doing yoga for about 4 years now so I can do a headstand- so I went right into it and they all freaked out and then thought I was really good at yoga. It was very strange... Overall though, most Chinese yoga classes are just too slow for me. They prefer to just do a few poses and hold them a long time or repeat them so you never get to the fun poses that I really enjoy. Still fun to check out new places though.
-I went to a great restaurant specializing in Beijing Imperial Cuisine called 那家小官, which was delicious! I highly recommend it to Beijing visitors.
Christmas Eve:
After class that day, I went to the gym and ran a 5K, which is totally unheard of for me! But it was awesome. I think it was because I was also watching a great soccer game on the treadmill TV so I felt like I was in the game (and I was entertained by all the hot soccer players who kept taking off their shirts in fits of victory/defeat). Then a bunch of us went to Bridge Cafe for a special pre-set Christmas Eve dinner, which consisted of: wine; walnut & goat cheese salad; pumpkin soup; an entree of turkey, ham, mash potato cube (it was weird), and green beans with bacon; apple pie; coffee; and mulled wine. Overall pretty good for China standards, but obviously not great compared to my usual homecooked meal that my family does. After dinner, we went to my friend Katie's Christmas Eve party where we had more mulled wine and lots of delicious baked goods! To end the night, I had a wonderful skype session with my family, who had made up tons of Christmas games to play with me over Skype! And they gave me various "monetary" gifts, including an offer to cover extra costs of a nice apartment in Xi'an, yoga classes, and a trip with my friends to anywhere in China! BEST GIFTS EVER! After the skype call, my friends and I had a slumber party at Wayne's house (I know, we're like 13 year old girls, but who wants to wake up alone at their Beijing apartment on Christmas?!). We watched Elf, and made it through the first part of White Christmas before we all fell asleep in a pile of blankets in Wayne's living room.
Christmas morning, we woke up with coffee, egg nog, opium dumplings, and delicious banana muffins baked by Rachel. Then we watched Love Actually, another great Christmas movie, which made us all cry (but in a good way). For the afternoon, I headed to my friend Mitch's amazing apartment in Andingmen for a Christmas potluck/hangout. I made Kraft Mac & Cheese, which was of course a HUGE hit. Haters gunna hate, but Kraft makes some good stuff, particularly MAC. I loved it, even though it wasn't quite as good as my mommy's homemade mac & cheese. After many hours of shmoozing, Sophie, Rebecca, and I left for some more substantial dumplings. And then I returned home and went to bed!
Overall I felt pretty detached from the holiday season this year, which sounds sad, but actually prevented me from being really sad about missing home. I really do feel like I live here in Beijing and that I really belong here, as much as mean cabi drivers try to remind me that I'm a foreigner. Most of all, I am soooo grateful to have such amazing and loving friends who made my Beijing Christmas just as special, of course in a very different way, as my US Christmas. Merry Christmas USA!
For New Years, we first went out to dinner at a great Yunnan restaurant, then headed to our friend Connie's birthday party at a bar she rented out in SanLiTun. After doing a countdown on someone's iPhone that was projected on a screen, we headed to Punk, a bar/club open for 1 night only! Very fun night overall. But something crazy that happened on the way to Connies- we were walking along the street in a pretty well populated area, and suddenly this Chinese girl in front of us just collapses. We didn't actually see her fall, but when we walked up she was having a seizure! None of us are doctors so we didn't really know what to do, but Adam and Jake put their gloves under her head so she wouldn't hit her head (even more than she probably already had) on the cement. After she stopped seizing, we finally found a doctor to help out. Passersby kept coming up and asking what was happening, and people in the crowd who didn't really know what was going on replied "Oh, just some drunk foreigner" because there was our whole crowd of foreigners there trying to help out. Meanwhile, most of the Chinese people in the crowd were staring and taking photos/video of the poor girl on the street! Apparently a few years ago, a young man stopped to help an old woman who had fallen on the street. When the woman recovered, she blamed the young man for pushing her over, and made him pay the medical bills. When they went to court, the judge deemed the young man had no reason to help the old woman other than his guilt for pushing her over (supposedly). This has come to be none as the Nanjing Precedent (check here for more detail). Back to our story- After about 15 minutes, an ambulance finally showed up and took the girl to the hospital. We got a call later saying she was going to be ok. Our New Years Eve experience demonstrates just how terrible this situation has become in China. Truly sad...
On Friday, I finished IUP (my language program) and am now DONE with classes (expect for 1 I have to audit in Xi'an) forever!!!! (or until I got to grad school...) Friday night we had a Fulbright dinner out to celebrate, hosted by the Embassy (thank you US tax payers). Yesterday I packed up my whole apartment, which was awful. Then today I flew out to Xi'an! I am here now staying at my lovely couch-surfing hosts' apartment. Turns out my hosts even know two of the Fulbrighters who have been here for awhile already! And they've got great connections for apartment hunting! And I met up with Allie, Emily, and Mei (3 Fulbrighters from this year) who are here too, which was really nice. So far, life in Xi'an is pretty great!
So goodbye IUP, goodbye 2012, and goodbye Beijing! Hello 2013 and Xi'an!
Merry Christmas/Happy New Year from China!!! Highlights from the last few weeks:
Christmas morning, we woke up with coffee, egg nog, opium dumplings, and delicious banana muffins baked by Rachel. Then we watched Love Actually, another great Christmas movie, which made us all cry (but in a good way). For the afternoon, I headed to my friend Mitch's amazing apartment in Andingmen for a Christmas potluck/hangout. I made Kraft Mac & Cheese, which was of course a HUGE hit. Haters gunna hate, but Kraft makes some good stuff, particularly MAC. I loved it, even though it wasn't quite as good as my mommy's homemade mac & cheese. After many hours of shmoozing, Sophie, Rebecca, and I left for some more substantial dumplings. And then I returned home and went to bed!
Overall I felt pretty detached from the holiday season this year, which sounds sad, but actually prevented me from being really sad about missing home. I really do feel like I live here in Beijing and that I really belong here, as much as mean cabi drivers try to remind me that I'm a foreigner. Most of all, I am soooo grateful to have such amazing and loving friends who made my Beijing Christmas just as special, of course in a very different way, as my US Christmas. Merry Christmas USA!
For New Years, we first went out to dinner at a great Yunnan restaurant, then headed to our friend Connie's birthday party at a bar she rented out in SanLiTun. After doing a countdown on someone's iPhone that was projected on a screen, we headed to Punk, a bar/club open for 1 night only! Very fun night overall. But something crazy that happened on the way to Connies- we were walking along the street in a pretty well populated area, and suddenly this Chinese girl in front of us just collapses. We didn't actually see her fall, but when we walked up she was having a seizure! None of us are doctors so we didn't really know what to do, but Adam and Jake put their gloves under her head so she wouldn't hit her head (even more than she probably already had) on the cement. After she stopped seizing, we finally found a doctor to help out. Passersby kept coming up and asking what was happening, and people in the crowd who didn't really know what was going on replied "Oh, just some drunk foreigner" because there was our whole crowd of foreigners there trying to help out. Meanwhile, most of the Chinese people in the crowd were staring and taking photos/video of the poor girl on the street! Apparently a few years ago, a young man stopped to help an old woman who had fallen on the street. When the woman recovered, she blamed the young man for pushing her over, and made him pay the medical bills. When they went to court, the judge deemed the young man had no reason to help the old woman other than his guilt for pushing her over (supposedly). This has come to be none as the Nanjing Precedent (check here for more detail). Back to our story- After about 15 minutes, an ambulance finally showed up and took the girl to the hospital. We got a call later saying she was going to be ok. Our New Years Eve experience demonstrates just how terrible this situation has become in China. Truly sad...
On Friday, I finished IUP (my language program) and am now DONE with classes (expect for 1 I have to audit in Xi'an) forever!!!! (or until I got to grad school...) Friday night we had a Fulbright dinner out to celebrate, hosted by the Embassy (thank you US tax payers). Yesterday I packed up my whole apartment, which was awful. Then today I flew out to Xi'an! I am here now staying at my lovely couch-surfing hosts' apartment. Turns out my hosts even know two of the Fulbrighters who have been here for awhile already! And they've got great connections for apartment hunting! And I met up with Allie, Emily, and Mei (3 Fulbrighters from this year) who are here too, which was really nice. So far, life in Xi'an is pretty great!
So goodbye IUP, goodbye 2012, and goodbye Beijing! Hello 2013 and Xi'an!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Life of Luxury in Beijing with Mom & Dad!
Wow, so sorry it's been almost a month since I last posted! Ahhh I'm awful! Here it goes...
So my parents arrived around Thanksgiving in Beijing. After my parents late night arrival on Friday, I sped out to their hotel (the Aman, it's fabulous, if a bit quiet and far removed from Beijing) on Saturday morning, where we had a lovely breakfast of pancakes (MY FAV!). Then we relaxed for a big and planned out our 2.5 weeks together! In the afternoon, we did a freezing cold tour of the Summer Palace, which was beautiful. My parents enjoyed their first trip outside their hotel and were of course, immediately stared at by all the Chinese tourists at the Summer Palace.
Afterwards, I worked out at the
amazingly nice gym there and soaked in the sauna w/ my momma. For dinner
we had hot pot at the hotel. Obviously it did not compare with
Haidilao, my fav, but my parents enjoyed it.
Sunday we took a tour of a rural village about 2 hours outside of Beijing. It was really amazing to see this "preserved tourist" village, and see people who were still living in it. We had lunch at the village leader's house, who spoke to us about his family's history in the village and their experiences living there. They seemed grateful to have us, as I think tourism is their main income now since all the farmland has been destroyed by over-farming. The village still has lots of communist slogans on the walls from the Cultural Revolution so I of course loved that.
That afternoon, Zan came out to the Aman
resort and participated in a brief dumpling making class. I now finally
have a recipe for dumplings!
That night
we had a yummy French-Japanese fusion dinner, and then watched Miracle
on 34th Street in the Aman movie theater, complete with popcorn! It was
very cute. AND the popcorn wasn't that stupid kettle corn you get most
places in China so I was very content.
Monday morning my parents and I hiked part of the Great Wall. I had only done this once, on my very first trip to China so I enjoyed doing this again. Plus we went to a different part of the wall so the scenery was different. And at the end, you get to slide down this huge slide to the bottom- so fun! My mom was terrified though...
Then I unfortunately had to return to school. My parents moved hotels on Tuesday to the Raffles at WangFuJing so they'd be more central to the heart of Beijing. That night we went to DinTaiFeng, the best dumplings in China (in my opinion), and my parents got to meet a bunch of my friends!
Wednesday, my parents went to 798 and I did work.
Thursday afternoon my parents came to WuDaoKou and saw my horrendous apartment. They even said, "This is worse we thought!". Great. After as brief a visit at the apt as they could bear, we walked over to Tsinghua to so they could see the campus. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to explore because we were going to a lecture at the Brookings Institute at Tsinghua on US-Sino relations under Obama-Xi. It was a great lecture with two speakers, an American and a Chinese, who presented very different opinions. Afterwards, we went to dinner with some of my friends at 麻辣诱惑, a delicious Sichuan style restaurant in the neighborhood. That night I went to see Nova Heart, a great Chinese electro pop group (I think I've written about them before)- similar to Class Actress if anybody knows her. Very fun.
Friday afternoon I caught up on some work while my parents toured Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with Zan and a tour guide. That evening, I met up with my parents for drinks with a business friend and dinner, or so I thought! Actually, they led me to a surprise party Zan and my amazing Beijing friends had organized! They rented out an adorable venue from Hias Gourmet (a great group, totally recommend them!) complete with a huge table, and a well-stocked kitchen with ovens! woah! They made fried chicken, mac & cheese (another Julia favorite), pizza, carrot cake, cookies w/ hershey kisses in the middle, cole slaw, tomato & mozzarella salad, pumpkin bread, and more! It was soooo delicious! And Jake made his special Ginger Whiskey cocktails, which were great. In keeping with my birthday traditions, the party was Christmas themed, complete with a Santa (Wayne, I love you) and a tree! And best of all, all my new amazing friends I've made this fall were there to celebrate with me. It all astonishes me how many amazing new friends I meet all over the world on my adventures- love you guys!
Saturday, I went shopping at the Silk Market with my parents, and got a business suit custom made. What a disaster. You really have to bring in a style that you want. DO NOT let them propose or "design" things for you. It shouldn't be that hard, but I've been to the place 4 times now trying to get them to tailor it right, because they just ignored my warnings to them about different issues I have with buying suits. I JUST 20 minutes ago received a final delivery of the last two items that hopefully fit. I don't have a full length mirror so I have to wait until my roommate or someone comes home to take a pic of me in my clothes to see what they look like. (I know, ghetto). Anyways, we also that day saw Life of Pi. AMAZING!!!!! OMG the cinematopgraphy was soooo good. I read the book, which I enjoyed a moderate amount, but did not expect much from the movie. I was so suprised and wowed. a MUST SEE of the year for sure. That night we went to "Made In China" for Beijing Duck, which my parents loved! It was the best duck I've had in Beijing yet. Afterwards, I met up with some friends for a Paul Van Dyk concert at Tango. It was AMAZING!
Sunday, I headed back to the Silk Market with my parents and Zan to get my suit fitted (the 1st time), buy prescription glasses (my dad got some awesome ones as always!), fake handbags, etc. Very fun. Then we all went to Lost Heaven, one of my favorite restaurants in Beijing.
Monday, I caught up on HW while my parents went out with a business friend, Vivien.
Tuesday (the 4th= MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!), I met up with my parents in the afternoon for some shopping in Nanluoguxiang, a great (and most touristy) Hutong. I bought a new puffy coat to deal with this crazy freezing Beijing winter! (Seriously, my teachers even said this is uncharacteristically cold. They're wearing their "Chinese New Year" time-of-the-year clothes right now! It's often less than 20F when I bike to school, crazy!) I also got an awesome modern Chinese paper cutting landscape piece, and some great postcards. That evening we went to Haidilao for dinner with some friends. It was delicious as always. For my birthday, they carved little animals into a fruit plate and put a candle in it. They also gave me one of those scented sachés that you put into your lingerie or sock drawer to make it smell nice. Random, but I'll take it! Then Kate, Zan, and I watched the first part of Holiday Inn, and it was great.
Wednesday, my parents went out to a Cosmetic Brush Factory that
their friend in Atlanta owns, and I caught up on hw. Thursday afternoon I
took my midterm early while my parents were at day 1 of the Chinese Association of Women Entrepenuers (CAWE)
Conference on Innovation and Corporate Culture. That evening I relaxed
at home with Zanipoo and planned out our weekend with friends as it was
Zan's last weekend! :(
Friday, I went to the CAWE Conference too, and met a lot of awesome people. And most importantly, my mommy spoke too! Her speech was really awesome and interesting, AND stayed on topic & w/n the time limits! A first at a Chinese conference! Everyone wanted to meet her afterwards and she was a total celebrity and it was great.
Then we left in the afternoon when the conference ended, and relaxed a bit at their hotel. For dinner, we went to another Beijing Duck restaurant, Duck de Chine, because my parents loved Made in China so much. However Duck de Chine was a total disappoint to me. It was a beautiful restaurant that I'm sure is lovely in the summer. It's an old-style courtyard house that's big and drafty so it was freezing when we were there. Plus the duck just wasn't as good! Afterwards I met up with some friends for Zan's last KTV of the year (she's actually coming back to Beijing next January so it's not here last time EVER in Beijing, just for now).
Saturday, My parents and I went back to the Silk Market AGAIN because my clothes weren't right. I picked up a few more things I needed there, and then we just chilled. In the evening, we went to another of my favorite restaurants in Beijing, called DaGui. It's Guizhou style food, which means they have this awesome rub/topping they put on everything that's simply delicious! My parents at first were like, "Why are we at this tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant? Is this really that special?" And of course it was and they loved it. After dinner, I met up with Zan, Annie, and Zan's friend, Chantal, for massages and a classy night out. The massages were so nice, and not even that expensive (238rmb for 60 min at a really nice place). It's called Oriental Taipan. I'd highly recommend it. After that, we went to Apothecary, some of the best (and maybe most expensive) cocktails in all of Beijing! They even had winter/Christmas drink specials that were delicious.
Sunday, Zan left to go back to the US. :(((( so sad! But I got a new roomie named John, a friend of Jon Kaiman's (a vassar friend who lives in Beijing). John is a reported for the LA Times. This was also my parents last day in Beijing, and of course we AGAIN had to go to the Silk Market to get my suit fixed. Then we got massages at the Park Hyatt Spa (Tian Spa). After that, we had a truly AMAZING dinner at The China Grill, on the 68th floor of the Park Hyatt building. We started with a fresh mozzarella & tomato salad, which was to die for. The mozzarella was sooo fresh. Then I had a steak for my entree and it was maybe the best steak I've had in a whole yr (of course, it was like 300rmb, but still...I'd pay that in the US too actually for this quality). And then we had a delicious chocolate fondant for dessert, yum!!! And to top it all, the views at this restaurant were great. And mean, Beijing doesn't have a skyline like Shanghai, but it was pretty to see the whole city at night with all the light up traffic-filled avenues, etc. Then I went back to my parents hotel and gathered up all my stuff and said goodbye. My poor mom was sad because we haven't figured out exactly when I'll see them again (could be as soon as February or as late as July). I was of course sad to see them go as well. They left Monday (the 10th).
Last week I spent basically every day working out, sleeping, and catching up on hw. I tried to go to a lecture on Women's leadership held by the Tsinghua Women's Empowerment club, but when I arrived there was barely even standing room! It also snowed last week like 3 times! It brought a nice hush over Beijing, ya know, like snow does. It was really pretty while it was snowing too.
Of course afterwards it got kinda gross. Friday I got a massage at a local place (I know, I'm really into massages right now), which was awful, not relaxing, and they talked about us the whole time! Awkward! Afterwards, I got a great manicure in the WuDaoKou basement (the fancy one with glass windows), they even did gel, all for 120rmb! I'm def going back there. That night, we went to Cafe de la Poste for dinner, and had a great time! I would not recommend the steak, however my steak tartare was delicious, as were all the drinks, and the chocolate fondant (I know, I'm really into Chocolate Fondant these days). And they gifted us a bunch of drinks so that's always fun too!
Saturday, we went to The Hutong Christmas Fayre, which was so cute! I guess this is a thing in Europe. In December, they have tons of Christmas Fayres (yes, it's really spelled like that, I'm not that dumb) where people come and drink mulled wine, and hot toddies, and hot chocolate. Lots of vendors come and sell arts and crafts, handmade items, and lots of the proceeds go to charity! so nice! I bought a tshirt from my fav beer brewery called Great Leap, and they were selling growlers of one of their seasonal beers (they constantly have new beers coming out for limited time only, it's so fun!) called Hava Nagila. Naturally I had to buy some. I also got a lotion bar, some vinegar & soy sauce, and a cupcake! That afternoon I did some yoga at home, and it was really nice. I shut all the doors in my front entry way (this is the only place big enough in my apt for mat, so sad) and turned off the lights and lit candles and it was sooo nice. Then that night, my friends had a chanukah party! They made a menorah themselves out of beer bottles and candles, very creative.
Well, that's all I got for now! Moving to Xi'an in 17 days! Crazy!!!!
So my parents arrived around Thanksgiving in Beijing. After my parents late night arrival on Friday, I sped out to their hotel (the Aman, it's fabulous, if a bit quiet and far removed from Beijing) on Saturday morning, where we had a lovely breakfast of pancakes (MY FAV!). Then we relaxed for a big and planned out our 2.5 weeks together! In the afternoon, we did a freezing cold tour of the Summer Palace, which was beautiful. My parents enjoyed their first trip outside their hotel and were of course, immediately stared at by all the Chinese tourists at the Summer Palace.
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| The Marble Boat |
Sunday we took a tour of a rural village about 2 hours outside of Beijing. It was really amazing to see this "preserved tourist" village, and see people who were still living in it. We had lunch at the village leader's house, who spoke to us about his family's history in the village and their experiences living there. They seemed grateful to have us, as I think tourism is their main income now since all the farmland has been destroyed by over-farming. The village still has lots of communist slogans on the walls from the Cultural Revolution so I of course loved that.
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| Mom and I eating lunch at the Village Elder's home |
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| Village Elder's Home |
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| The Village, nestled in the valley of the mountains! |
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| I know, cool hats. |
Monday morning my parents and I hiked part of the Great Wall. I had only done this once, on my very first trip to China so I enjoyed doing this again. Plus we went to a different part of the wall so the scenery was different. And at the end, you get to slide down this huge slide to the bottom- so fun! My mom was terrified though...
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| the slide! |
Then I unfortunately had to return to school. My parents moved hotels on Tuesday to the Raffles at WangFuJing so they'd be more central to the heart of Beijing. That night we went to DinTaiFeng, the best dumplings in China (in my opinion), and my parents got to meet a bunch of my friends!
Wednesday, my parents went to 798 and I did work.
Thursday afternoon my parents came to WuDaoKou and saw my horrendous apartment. They even said, "This is worse we thought!". Great. After as brief a visit at the apt as they could bear, we walked over to Tsinghua to so they could see the campus. Unfortunately we didn't have much time to explore because we were going to a lecture at the Brookings Institute at Tsinghua on US-Sino relations under Obama-Xi. It was a great lecture with two speakers, an American and a Chinese, who presented very different opinions. Afterwards, we went to dinner with some of my friends at 麻辣诱惑, a delicious Sichuan style restaurant in the neighborhood. That night I went to see Nova Heart, a great Chinese electro pop group (I think I've written about them before)- similar to Class Actress if anybody knows her. Very fun.
Friday afternoon I caught up on some work while my parents toured Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with Zan and a tour guide. That evening, I met up with my parents for drinks with a business friend and dinner, or so I thought! Actually, they led me to a surprise party Zan and my amazing Beijing friends had organized! They rented out an adorable venue from Hias Gourmet (a great group, totally recommend them!) complete with a huge table, and a well-stocked kitchen with ovens! woah! They made fried chicken, mac & cheese (another Julia favorite), pizza, carrot cake, cookies w/ hershey kisses in the middle, cole slaw, tomato & mozzarella salad, pumpkin bread, and more! It was soooo delicious! And Jake made his special Ginger Whiskey cocktails, which were great. In keeping with my birthday traditions, the party was Christmas themed, complete with a Santa (Wayne, I love you) and a tree! And best of all, all my new amazing friends I've made this fall were there to celebrate with me. It all astonishes me how many amazing new friends I meet all over the world on my adventures- love you guys!
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| Besties!!! |
Saturday, I went shopping at the Silk Market with my parents, and got a business suit custom made. What a disaster. You really have to bring in a style that you want. DO NOT let them propose or "design" things for you. It shouldn't be that hard, but I've been to the place 4 times now trying to get them to tailor it right, because they just ignored my warnings to them about different issues I have with buying suits. I JUST 20 minutes ago received a final delivery of the last two items that hopefully fit. I don't have a full length mirror so I have to wait until my roommate or someone comes home to take a pic of me in my clothes to see what they look like. (I know, ghetto). Anyways, we also that day saw Life of Pi. AMAZING!!!!! OMG the cinematopgraphy was soooo good. I read the book, which I enjoyed a moderate amount, but did not expect much from the movie. I was so suprised and wowed. a MUST SEE of the year for sure. That night we went to "Made In China" for Beijing Duck, which my parents loved! It was the best duck I've had in Beijing yet. Afterwards, I met up with some friends for a Paul Van Dyk concert at Tango. It was AMAZING!
Sunday, I headed back to the Silk Market with my parents and Zan to get my suit fitted (the 1st time), buy prescription glasses (my dad got some awesome ones as always!), fake handbags, etc. Very fun. Then we all went to Lost Heaven, one of my favorite restaurants in Beijing.
Monday, I caught up on HW while my parents went out with a business friend, Vivien.
Tuesday (the 4th= MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!), I met up with my parents in the afternoon for some shopping in Nanluoguxiang, a great (and most touristy) Hutong. I bought a new puffy coat to deal with this crazy freezing Beijing winter! (Seriously, my teachers even said this is uncharacteristically cold. They're wearing their "Chinese New Year" time-of-the-year clothes right now! It's often less than 20F when I bike to school, crazy!) I also got an awesome modern Chinese paper cutting landscape piece, and some great postcards. That evening we went to Haidilao for dinner with some friends. It was delicious as always. For my birthday, they carved little animals into a fruit plate and put a candle in it. They also gave me one of those scented sachés that you put into your lingerie or sock drawer to make it smell nice. Random, but I'll take it! Then Kate, Zan, and I watched the first part of Holiday Inn, and it was great.
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| Dinner at HaiDiLao! |
Friday, I went to the CAWE Conference too, and met a lot of awesome people. And most importantly, my mommy spoke too! Her speech was really awesome and interesting, AND stayed on topic & w/n the time limits! A first at a Chinese conference! Everyone wanted to meet her afterwards and she was a total celebrity and it was great.
Then we left in the afternoon when the conference ended, and relaxed a bit at their hotel. For dinner, we went to another Beijing Duck restaurant, Duck de Chine, because my parents loved Made in China so much. However Duck de Chine was a total disappoint to me. It was a beautiful restaurant that I'm sure is lovely in the summer. It's an old-style courtyard house that's big and drafty so it was freezing when we were there. Plus the duck just wasn't as good! Afterwards I met up with some friends for Zan's last KTV of the year (she's actually coming back to Beijing next January so it's not here last time EVER in Beijing, just for now).
Saturday, My parents and I went back to the Silk Market AGAIN because my clothes weren't right. I picked up a few more things I needed there, and then we just chilled. In the evening, we went to another of my favorite restaurants in Beijing, called DaGui. It's Guizhou style food, which means they have this awesome rub/topping they put on everything that's simply delicious! My parents at first were like, "Why are we at this tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant? Is this really that special?" And of course it was and they loved it. After dinner, I met up with Zan, Annie, and Zan's friend, Chantal, for massages and a classy night out. The massages were so nice, and not even that expensive (238rmb for 60 min at a really nice place). It's called Oriental Taipan. I'd highly recommend it. After that, we went to Apothecary, some of the best (and maybe most expensive) cocktails in all of Beijing! They even had winter/Christmas drink specials that were delicious.
Sunday, Zan left to go back to the US. :(((( so sad! But I got a new roomie named John, a friend of Jon Kaiman's (a vassar friend who lives in Beijing). John is a reported for the LA Times. This was also my parents last day in Beijing, and of course we AGAIN had to go to the Silk Market to get my suit fixed. Then we got massages at the Park Hyatt Spa (Tian Spa). After that, we had a truly AMAZING dinner at The China Grill, on the 68th floor of the Park Hyatt building. We started with a fresh mozzarella & tomato salad, which was to die for. The mozzarella was sooo fresh. Then I had a steak for my entree and it was maybe the best steak I've had in a whole yr (of course, it was like 300rmb, but still...I'd pay that in the US too actually for this quality). And then we had a delicious chocolate fondant for dessert, yum!!! And to top it all, the views at this restaurant were great. And mean, Beijing doesn't have a skyline like Shanghai, but it was pretty to see the whole city at night with all the light up traffic-filled avenues, etc. Then I went back to my parents hotel and gathered up all my stuff and said goodbye. My poor mom was sad because we haven't figured out exactly when I'll see them again (could be as soon as February or as late as July). I was of course sad to see them go as well. They left Monday (the 10th).
Last week I spent basically every day working out, sleeping, and catching up on hw. I tried to go to a lecture on Women's leadership held by the Tsinghua Women's Empowerment club, but when I arrived there was barely even standing room! It also snowed last week like 3 times! It brought a nice hush over Beijing, ya know, like snow does. It was really pretty while it was snowing too.
Of course afterwards it got kinda gross. Friday I got a massage at a local place (I know, I'm really into massages right now), which was awful, not relaxing, and they talked about us the whole time! Awkward! Afterwards, I got a great manicure in the WuDaoKou basement (the fancy one with glass windows), they even did gel, all for 120rmb! I'm def going back there. That night, we went to Cafe de la Poste for dinner, and had a great time! I would not recommend the steak, however my steak tartare was delicious, as were all the drinks, and the chocolate fondant (I know, I'm really into Chocolate Fondant these days). And they gifted us a bunch of drinks so that's always fun too!
Saturday, we went to The Hutong Christmas Fayre, which was so cute! I guess this is a thing in Europe. In December, they have tons of Christmas Fayres (yes, it's really spelled like that, I'm not that dumb) where people come and drink mulled wine, and hot toddies, and hot chocolate. Lots of vendors come and sell arts and crafts, handmade items, and lots of the proceeds go to charity! so nice! I bought a tshirt from my fav beer brewery called Great Leap, and they were selling growlers of one of their seasonal beers (they constantly have new beers coming out for limited time only, it's so fun!) called Hava Nagila. Naturally I had to buy some. I also got a lotion bar, some vinegar & soy sauce, and a cupcake! That afternoon I did some yoga at home, and it was really nice. I shut all the doors in my front entry way (this is the only place big enough in my apt for mat, so sad) and turned off the lights and lit candles and it was sooo nice. Then that night, my friends had a chanukah party! They made a menorah themselves out of beer bottles and candles, very creative.
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| Making Latkas! |
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| We even sang songs! |
Well, that's all I got for now! Moving to Xi'an in 17 days! Crazy!!!!
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