Is there someone Chinese in your family?

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.