A week after returning to Hangzhou from Beijing, I've had time to reflect upon my time in China's capital and figured it was about time to post something. I am also off to another city which (in the "olden" days) used to be another capital of China -Nanjing - tomorrow, so need to make sure to not mix the two cities together. I had an absolute BLAST in Beijing. I think it was a mix of the company, sights, and lack of electric bikes that really made the trip enjoyable. I also had the eye-opening and quite incredible experience of going to China's first autism center. I'm going to save that for another blog - as it will be long and I really think it deserves its own blog.
I'll just go through some of the highlights, even though I'm sure I'll miss a bunch.
-Wide open spaces! I was VERY surprised, upon my arrival, that despite the massive amount of people in Beijing, I didn't feel so claustrophobic or confined in Beijing as I do in Hangzhou. About the last few days I realized that this was because I COULD WALK ON THE STREETS WITHOUT FEAR OF DEATH. I never knew not having so many electric bikes could make such a difference. It also changed the way in which I dealt with taxi rides. Without so many electric bikes to try and go around, I felt safe(-ish) in the cabs, and this made for a much more calming experience. The streets are also a lot wider, unlike Hangzhou's which are narrower streets and with somewhat low overpasses. Needless to say, I felt like a pretty big fish in a pretty big pond.
-Our hostel was absolutely fabulous. It got pretty good reviews online - but we really lucked out in terms of location, rooms, and staff. I would recommend Qian Men Hostel & Cafe for anyone. Just a five minute walking distance from Tianemen Square and the nearest subway station - we were within easy access to all of Beijing by subway (even if it DOES close around 11). The staff liked us a lot - although that might have been because we spoke Chinese - they didn't seem to be AS friendly to everyone else. AND the best part was they had "American breakfast" for cheap - which included bacon (I MISSED YOU!), toast with jelly, and hash browns. It was a beautiful sight to see. We also got an entire group of rooms together (before half of us stayed in Beijing and the other half went to Inner Mongolia) which made for a really fun time, including late night chats through walls, etc. It felt like a fun summer camp.
-Biggest food adventure (although there weren't many) was eating donkey! Except it was very anti-climactic. We ordered it and kept waiting for it to come. It turns out it was the first dish ordered, which really tasted and looked exactly like beef. Not exactly anything to write home about. But apparently enough to write on my blog about.
-We did the sightseeing goodies too, although I and another friend from the program went off for two days to the autism clinic. I didn't go with the group to the Great Wall because I wanted to share it with Mom and Cathy, and didn't make it to Forbidden City (but that'll be done upon our return in December). What we did make it to: Tianamen Square (where we were FAMOUS and I got a bunch of pictures with our new Chinese friends), Olympic Green (very beautiful in person -- there was the opportunity to enter into the Bird's Nest but we decided it wasn't worth it. I really wanted to go into either the swimming pool or the stadium where they had gymnastics - but the pool was closed to visitors and the stadium was holding a car show, which I almost (key word almost!) bought tickets to. That would've been a colossal waste of time.) Another friend from Midd and I hit up Summer Palace on our second to last day. Summer Palace is a beautiful old, well, palace, with a beautiful lake behind it and a nice park surrounding the lake. This place was FULL of tourists. Interestingly, though, there were WAY more Chinese tourists than there were foreign tourists. All the Chinese tourists were from different tour groups and they all had different colored hats. My favorite was the tour group with the red hats that appeared to be sponsored by Nike. There was a little too much congestion around some parts - but once we got out behind the lake and took the hour walk it reallly quieted down and we were able to just enjoy the surroundings and the beauty. We paid a full price ticket - assuming we'd get to everything but that was not so. We couldn't find the "Garden of Virtue" and after about 45 minutes we finally found it. But of course, it was neither a garden or interesting. What a waste of time. Still beautiful to see. Mom, and anyone else with any interest in Buddhas, would really enjoy much of the Summer Palace.
-The other "highlight" (that's up for debate) was our trip to the Cultural Revolution themed restaurant, the only real goal I'd had on entering Beijing. Manned with directions and warnings from our hostel owner that it was really far, we trudged through the subway and once closer began trying to find a cab. Six cab drivers later, all of whom claimed to not know where this restaurant was, we walked 30 minutes, took a bus, and walked another 15 minutes. We got there too late for the show, ate some bad food, promised to come back to actually see the show (basically sing and dance about the "good times?" of the Revolution - I don't really know how to word it), and headed back. We did go back the next day, in daylight, to see the show. It is really a magnificent restaurant, in terms of overkill and Mao love. It is almost like a two story warehouse, with a stage with a Mao backdrop, Long Live Mao writing on the side, and lots of other Mao paraphernalia. It really was a sight to see. We also decided we might be the only foreigners to ever have gone there - because of how we were treated and due to how far away it is from everything. Don't quote me on that though, I'm just a study abroad student. OH! and that was where the magical quote that is this blog's subject line appeared. As we were reserving a table for the following day's lunch (very unnecessary as we were practically the only ones there) the waitress asked me, (due to my STELLAR chinese abilities) if there was someone Chinese in my family? While the answer is no it was still EXCITING! I'M A REAL CHINESE! Or at least, one person thought I looked like one. OR not even looked like one. Just spoke like one.
-Speaking of foreigners - I got a slightly different response in Beijing than I do in Hangzhou. Most importantly, cab drivers DO NOT like foreigners. At all. I was the only non-Asian in the group after half the group went to Inner Mongolia - and I could NEVER find a cab. Three cabs would pass me, but the first one would stop for my Chinese looking friends. I suppose it makes sense seeing as it's probably annoying when the drivers can't communicate with the passengers - but in Hangzhou it seems that they just want to work and don't care who you are. I don't know. Also in Beijing we got a few more "honest" people - who told us that our Chinese actually sucked, to put it in blunt terms. Once again, it's definitely true, but it's weird once you get used to being praised all the time. About time I got brought back down to reality, I guess. Still not literate. But I'm getting there. And that's what should count.
I'm sure there are more highlights - but I can't seem to think of any of them right now. I will just add some lovely Chinese culture gems that I picked up these past few weeks.
1) We were watching Mulan on TV the other day and at the end when the dad and the daughter hug, my Chinese friend said "So American." I love when our roommates say things like that - it just makes the attempt at understanding the two cultures so much more interesting.
2) When birthdays roll along, it is usually the birthday child who qing's ke (pays for the meal) and invites out friends to eat.
So that is all for now. Phew, hope you enjoyed THAT blog. Please skype/e-mail. Love you and miss you all, as always.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Subject: Beijing Huanying Ni...
So I'm heading off to Beijing in about 9 hours - we're heading out on an overnight train (which should be an adventure in itself) and then spending the week seeing and enjoying what the city has to offer. We're also going to make the most of traditional Chinese "things," including already-ordered tickets to the Beijing Opera and a Chinese acrobatic troupe performance. My goal is also to go to a Cultural Revolutionary themed restaurant for dinner one night - everyone dresses in Mao garb so it is Mao central. One of my Chinese professors at Midd said how interesting that was - so I can't wait to go. I am also, along with another psych buff from Smith!, going to visit a recently- graduated Middlebury student's volunteer job. She works for an "autism company" at its teenage group home. The program also sponsors a kindergarten - so we're going to try and see what that is like too.
I'm actually really excited to see what this is all about - because I really think China is on its way to a greater understanding of what autism is, although it still has a long way to go. Last week we were at lunch talking about what our plans were for fall break and I mentioned that I was going to an autism "clinic" (as you can see, I'm not really sure how to describe what the place is). This was at what we call Chinese Table, so my newspaper teacher, as well as the academic director, were eating with us. My newspaper teacher started explaining characteristics of the autistic child of a friend of his. As he explained all the symptoms, the academic director started laughing. It at first made me frustrated, because these children have no control over what their lives are like, but then I realized the reaction is mostly just a problem of consciousness. I would assume that the US 10ish or more years ago was also more or less ignorant about autism, and I think China is slowly making inroads. I also wonder if this is my "calling" - to spread autism awareness to China. While I'm not so sure about that yet, I am excited to start the potential process by going to this school on Monday.
Other than that things are pretty good. I find myself getting a little burnt out with all the Chinese - but I'm working on just pushing past it and keeping it going. We talk a lot about it here and I also realize that sometimes I feel like there's the "English Elise" and the "Chinese Elise," because it's hard to put all of your personality (esp. my dry sarcasm) into a language that doesn't understand the concept of sarcasm. So this week, due to the added stress of midterms, it was especially hard to just keep the language going. But I figured I'd have some weeks like that.
Oh and also, as usual, still no facebook or blog so send me an e-mail! I should be checking e-mail a few times (our hostel has an internet cafe) during the week. As always, love and miss you all!
So I'm heading off to Beijing in about 9 hours - we're heading out on an overnight train (which should be an adventure in itself) and then spending the week seeing and enjoying what the city has to offer. We're also going to make the most of traditional Chinese "things," including already-ordered tickets to the Beijing Opera and a Chinese acrobatic troupe performance. My goal is also to go to a Cultural Revolutionary themed restaurant for dinner one night - everyone dresses in Mao garb so it is Mao central. One of my Chinese professors at Midd said how interesting that was - so I can't wait to go. I am also, along with another psych buff from Smith!, going to visit a recently- graduated Middlebury student's volunteer job. She works for an "autism company" at its teenage group home. The program also sponsors a kindergarten - so we're going to try and see what that is like too.
I'm actually really excited to see what this is all about - because I really think China is on its way to a greater understanding of what autism is, although it still has a long way to go. Last week we were at lunch talking about what our plans were for fall break and I mentioned that I was going to an autism "clinic" (as you can see, I'm not really sure how to describe what the place is). This was at what we call Chinese Table, so my newspaper teacher, as well as the academic director, were eating with us. My newspaper teacher started explaining characteristics of the autistic child of a friend of his. As he explained all the symptoms, the academic director started laughing. It at first made me frustrated, because these children have no control over what their lives are like, but then I realized the reaction is mostly just a problem of consciousness. I would assume that the US 10ish or more years ago was also more or less ignorant about autism, and I think China is slowly making inroads. I also wonder if this is my "calling" - to spread autism awareness to China. While I'm not so sure about that yet, I am excited to start the potential process by going to this school on Monday.
Other than that things are pretty good. I find myself getting a little burnt out with all the Chinese - but I'm working on just pushing past it and keeping it going. We talk a lot about it here and I also realize that sometimes I feel like there's the "English Elise" and the "Chinese Elise," because it's hard to put all of your personality (esp. my dry sarcasm) into a language that doesn't understand the concept of sarcasm. So this week, due to the added stress of midterms, it was especially hard to just keep the language going. But I figured I'd have some weeks like that.
Oh and also, as usual, still no facebook or blog so send me an e-mail! I should be checking e-mail a few times (our hostel has an internet cafe) during the week. As always, love and miss you all!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
60th Anniversary/Midd-Autumn Festival!
Hello, hello. Just another quick reminder that we still don't have any access to facebook or my blog - so you can keep in touch with me either through skype or e-mail (see addresses below in previous posts). And to those of you who I have yet to properly answer or send an e-mail to letting you know how I"m doing - it's coming. And I think about you all all the time - even if I haven't gotten around to sitting down and writing you an e-mail. Please know that! Oh and if you also want to read my "overseas briefing" on my time in Hangzhou so far that I wrote for the school newspaper you can check it out at: http://www.middleburycampus.com/story/oct-1-2009-%E2%80%94-overseas-briefing.
All right - so back to the actual blogging! We are right now in the middle of China's version of fall break. We Americans even got Thursday and Friday off -- which was great. My roommate left last Wednesday and won't be back until next Wednesday - so it's an actual break. Thursday the 1st was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and today is the actual Midd-Autumn Festival.
Thursday's 60th anniversary was actually really exciting - there were some college students passing out flags and stickers of the Chinese flags - so we now have two Chinese flags on the outside of our door. All down the streets are flag upon flag - it's a very fun atmosphere. Thursday morning around 10am the television festivities started and lasted until late into the night. You all saw the opening ceremonies for the Olympics last summer - this Thursday parade was very, very similar in terms of grandeur and amazingly choreographed movements of more than 100 people at a time. We had some interesting discussions between us Americans about the Washington Post article that was claiming the "showing of military strength" was a "threat"-like move from the Chinese government. Maybe I've just been in China for a while - but to me it really didn't seem that way. The first hour and a half or so was a procession of military tanks and military jets - I swear they never ended. To me, the parade was more about showing respect for the 60 years of PRC history. It seems like participating in the parade was truly an honor - it just seemed more about respect than about sending a message to the rest of the world. But I'm not sure. It's been interesting to hear people's thoughts.
Midd-Autumn Festival has been a little less exciting than I had hoped it might be - probably because we aren't able to go home and celebrate with our families. :( Midd-Autumn festival is all about eating moon cakes and watching the moon -- which I actually do plan to do tonight. Some stores are closed - which makes it feel a little more like an actual holiday. And it's true - every big super market has box upon box of mooncakes ready to sell. My secret plan (well maybe it's not so secret... or original...) is go to to the supermarkets - maybe tomorrow - and buy cheap mooncakes. I've found about 5 flavors I like - so if they're all ridiculously cheap I can just buy a lot and try them out. We'll see though.
I guess the other way to really know that this is a holiday (aka most people are completely off work for the week) is the massive crowds at West Lake (although the area around campus is pretty calm). Some just graduated Midd seniors who are working in all parts of China all came to Hangzhou to visit for the weekend (including a girl who is volunteering at an autistic group home outside of Beijing!!!! Connections are amazing!!!!) and they wanted to go to West Lake, so we trudged over. There were people EVERYWHERE. I also came across some people who were VERY interested in my white skin. I was walking along with three or four other people - and these two girls were kind of following behind. After a few minutes she ran in front of us and started taking cell phone pictures of me. Than the other girl put up her Asian peace sign right next to me and her friend took the picture - WHILE I WAS WALKING NOT LOOKING. I eventually just decided to give in and take the picture with her. But it was just surprising that they didn't ask - they just assumed that they could take sketchy pictures while I was looking the completely other way. Again maybe it was the overcrowded West Lake and the heat of the day that made it so frustrating - but I just wish people would ask. I'd be more than willing to appease whatever they wanted - just as long as it's not behind my back.
Other than that this weekend's been pretty great. I and some others organized an "American BBQ" which was interesting. We wound up making a kick ass fruit salad, spaghetti, and beef and pork burgers with cheese. It took a while to find all the different types of food - but it was well worth it. It's also pretty fun to just hang out together and introduce some of the roommates to the more "American" way of doing barbecues. They were shocked, for example, that we didn't fill the patties with all sorts of spices and stuff. It was great fun though - even though it was raining throughout the day as we walked to all kinds of supermarkets due to the lack of available cabs. (another result of the holiday).
And now for some musing and "thinking-out-loud" on some parts of Chinese culture. One of the just graduated Midd seniors is teaching English in a far away village - and she was telling us about the amount of school they have to go to (luckily not the amount of school they have to teach). The kids in this village go to school every day (including all of Saturday and half of Sunday) from 7am - 9pm. Fourteen hours - EVERY DAY! They get a two hour break every day - which Mairead said is when they just completely crash. Sunday afternoon is the only time they don't have class - which also doubles as their only weekend. It's ridiculous! And this is all to prepare for their college entrance test - which basically decides their whole lives. It not only decides what college they're allowed to get into, but also what they can study. Most of our roommates don't enjoy their majors - but they have no choice. For example, at Zhejiang Univ. of Tech., only students with absolute top marks can even consider taking economics. It's a very different system.
What's even more different - however - is what happens after they get into college. College, at least compared to an American college, is largely a joke. Joke might be a bit harsh and not correct - but it's no where NEAR what they go through during high school. Mairead and others say it's because they're too conked out to be able to keep studying at the same time. The roommates largely never have homework and they also regularly skip classes. When we pass by classrooms during our breaks, you can see lots and lots of kids sleeping in the middle of class. At times we all complain about how little they work, but at the same time, what we had to go through was nowhere NEAR what they did in terms of high school or in terms of what majors we choose and where our lives take us. Which is worse? Is that even a question? Don't quite know yet.
Nothing else much going on today - probably just hanging out and watching the moon tonight. We're heading into the home stretch before midterms then it looks like I might be heading to Beijing for the break - although I'm not sure yet. So much to figure out!
Love and miss you all, so much!
All right - so back to the actual blogging! We are right now in the middle of China's version of fall break. We Americans even got Thursday and Friday off -- which was great. My roommate left last Wednesday and won't be back until next Wednesday - so it's an actual break. Thursday the 1st was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and today is the actual Midd-Autumn Festival.
Thursday's 60th anniversary was actually really exciting - there were some college students passing out flags and stickers of the Chinese flags - so we now have two Chinese flags on the outside of our door. All down the streets are flag upon flag - it's a very fun atmosphere. Thursday morning around 10am the television festivities started and lasted until late into the night. You all saw the opening ceremonies for the Olympics last summer - this Thursday parade was very, very similar in terms of grandeur and amazingly choreographed movements of more than 100 people at a time. We had some interesting discussions between us Americans about the Washington Post article that was claiming the "showing of military strength" was a "threat"-like move from the Chinese government. Maybe I've just been in China for a while - but to me it really didn't seem that way. The first hour and a half or so was a procession of military tanks and military jets - I swear they never ended. To me, the parade was more about showing respect for the 60 years of PRC history. It seems like participating in the parade was truly an honor - it just seemed more about respect than about sending a message to the rest of the world. But I'm not sure. It's been interesting to hear people's thoughts.
Midd-Autumn Festival has been a little less exciting than I had hoped it might be - probably because we aren't able to go home and celebrate with our families. :( Midd-Autumn festival is all about eating moon cakes and watching the moon -- which I actually do plan to do tonight. Some stores are closed - which makes it feel a little more like an actual holiday. And it's true - every big super market has box upon box of mooncakes ready to sell. My secret plan (well maybe it's not so secret... or original...) is go to to the supermarkets - maybe tomorrow - and buy cheap mooncakes. I've found about 5 flavors I like - so if they're all ridiculously cheap I can just buy a lot and try them out. We'll see though.
I guess the other way to really know that this is a holiday (aka most people are completely off work for the week) is the massive crowds at West Lake (although the area around campus is pretty calm). Some just graduated Midd seniors who are working in all parts of China all came to Hangzhou to visit for the weekend (including a girl who is volunteering at an autistic group home outside of Beijing!!!! Connections are amazing!!!!) and they wanted to go to West Lake, so we trudged over. There were people EVERYWHERE. I also came across some people who were VERY interested in my white skin. I was walking along with three or four other people - and these two girls were kind of following behind. After a few minutes she ran in front of us and started taking cell phone pictures of me. Than the other girl put up her Asian peace sign right next to me and her friend took the picture - WHILE I WAS WALKING NOT LOOKING. I eventually just decided to give in and take the picture with her. But it was just surprising that they didn't ask - they just assumed that they could take sketchy pictures while I was looking the completely other way. Again maybe it was the overcrowded West Lake and the heat of the day that made it so frustrating - but I just wish people would ask. I'd be more than willing to appease whatever they wanted - just as long as it's not behind my back.
Other than that this weekend's been pretty great. I and some others organized an "American BBQ" which was interesting. We wound up making a kick ass fruit salad, spaghetti, and beef and pork burgers with cheese. It took a while to find all the different types of food - but it was well worth it. It's also pretty fun to just hang out together and introduce some of the roommates to the more "American" way of doing barbecues. They were shocked, for example, that we didn't fill the patties with all sorts of spices and stuff. It was great fun though - even though it was raining throughout the day as we walked to all kinds of supermarkets due to the lack of available cabs. (another result of the holiday).
And now for some musing and "thinking-out-loud" on some parts of Chinese culture. One of the just graduated Midd seniors is teaching English in a far away village - and she was telling us about the amount of school they have to go to (luckily not the amount of school they have to teach). The kids in this village go to school every day (including all of Saturday and half of Sunday) from 7am - 9pm. Fourteen hours - EVERY DAY! They get a two hour break every day - which Mairead said is when they just completely crash. Sunday afternoon is the only time they don't have class - which also doubles as their only weekend. It's ridiculous! And this is all to prepare for their college entrance test - which basically decides their whole lives. It not only decides what college they're allowed to get into, but also what they can study. Most of our roommates don't enjoy their majors - but they have no choice. For example, at Zhejiang Univ. of Tech., only students with absolute top marks can even consider taking economics. It's a very different system.
What's even more different - however - is what happens after they get into college. College, at least compared to an American college, is largely a joke. Joke might be a bit harsh and not correct - but it's no where NEAR what they go through during high school. Mairead and others say it's because they're too conked out to be able to keep studying at the same time. The roommates largely never have homework and they also regularly skip classes. When we pass by classrooms during our breaks, you can see lots and lots of kids sleeping in the middle of class. At times we all complain about how little they work, but at the same time, what we had to go through was nowhere NEAR what they did in terms of high school or in terms of what majors we choose and where our lives take us. Which is worse? Is that even a question? Don't quite know yet.
Nothing else much going on today - probably just hanging out and watching the moon tonight. We're heading into the home stretch before midterms then it looks like I might be heading to Beijing for the break - although I'm not sure yet. So much to figure out!
Love and miss you all, so much!
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