Beijing

Last week I went to Beijing for the weekend - my first time in Beijing. Since I'll be back to Beijing multiple times, like when my parents come in January (woohoo!) and when other friends come later, I decided to spread out the sightseeing a little. This trip included trips to Tsinghua University, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace.

Tsinghua University, considered the top science and engineering university in China, was established in 1911, funded by U.S. money (the "Boxer Indemnity," their website says) to make up for damage done during the Boxer Rebellion. Many of the country's leaders, like Hu Jintao, the current president, attended Tsinghua. The architect was a University of Illinois graduate, so he modeled part of the design of the campus after U of I campus.

Friday at Tsinghua

After Tsinghua, we headed downtown to Hong Qiao, "Red Bridge," which was a huge pearl market. There were literally piles of pearls all over the place. Vending booths lined the indoor walkways, the owners stringing jewelry if they didn't have customers. They yelled out in English as I walked by, the same words echoing all over as the vendors called to other westerners. I didn't spend too much time there, because I wanted to go to Temple of Heaven right across the street.

Temple of Heaven was constructed from 1406 - 1420. The emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty visited the Temple every year to pray to heaven for a good harvest.

People playing cards with the main building , the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvests in the backgroundThe Temple of Prayer for Good Harvests
The sunset from one of the platformsThe Temple of Heaven includes several temples and park off to the sides

One of my favorite parts of the Temple of Heaven was Echo Wall. The large round area is enclosed by a stone wall, except for the open entryway. I stood on one side of the door, facing around the wall, and my friend stood on the other side of the door, also facing around the wall. Because of the structure and how sound waves work, our voices traveled along the outside of the wall to the other person!

Saturday I went to Summer Palace, built in 1750. It was the summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), who used the Navy's funds to build a marble boat in 1888 (shown below). Apparently she allocated funds to help build up a modern navy, but then decided to use the funds to build a 36 meter -long boat, where she could eat dinner and admire her garden! The message she was trying to send was that the Qing Dynasty was solid and would not be overturned, like her boat. Unfortunately (and ironically), the Qing Dynasty downfall is often blamed on this woman. A good reminder that our actions are more important than our words.

Foxiangge Pagoda, the Tower of Buddhist Incense (where Cixi had her birthday parties!) This is the main building of the Summer PalaceKunming Lake Beijing from the Foxiangge PagodaThis picture is taken through a painted window of Kunming Lake and the marble boat off to the leftand...the Marble Boat!

Success!

The pictures tell the story...

Before After Reflection off my coffee table Dough Ornaments I painted at a friend's Christmas party!

Clean Cars

Here's a picture of a man mopping his car. People seem to usually take excellent care of their vehicles. Often I see someone dry washing a car, carefully wiping the dust off it. Washing cars thoroughly - including opening up the car doors and removing any trace of dirt and getting the rag in every corner of the vehicle - is not uncommon, and often I see a quite a few people working on the same car. The result? Lots of shiny vehicles, and the ones that aren't really stand out.

You've Got Mail!

I hurried home after class on Thursday, after receiving a text message saying that my apartment management office had a package for me. Lugging the box around the corner to my apartment, I ripped it open, eager to see what my friends had sent me! Inside the USPS box were some cards, granola bars, chai tea... and 20 individually wrapped Christmas presents! Aah, the suspense of Christmas! I still have to wait 2 weeks! I did, however, open the cards, which were super encouraging and fun to read, and then put the gifts under a little tiny tree that one of my teachers gave me, since she didn't want it anymore. Thank you Melissa, Sara, Megan, Beth, Liz, Lucy, Cathi, and the rest of you who contributed! I'm excited to see what's in there, and by the way, Christmas comes sooner for me than it does for you :)
Something just didn't seem right, though. Growing up, we always had a real tree. The scent of the greenery, the look of the needles, and having to move furniture to put a tree in its place remind me of Christmas, so having a 1 foot fake tree didn't quite seem real enough to me. Besides, the gifts seemed out of proportion compared to the tree. So yesterday, I set off on my bike, determined to at least find a bigger tree (knowing that a real one was out of the question). Here's what I ended up with!It's definitely larger than I was picturing, but when I chose my tree, the bar code on the box didn't work, so she sold me the larger one instead!

The next dilemma was how to get the large box home. I had ridden to the store, but this box was rather heavy and very large. After contemplating taking a taxi home and then coming back later to get my bike, I decided I wanted adventure, and loaded the box on the back of my bike! I set it behind me and held on to the tree with one hand and the handlebars with the other. It was definitely my largest bike load, and (I know this is shocking) I did receive quite a few strange looks, comments, and nudging friends to look at my wide load. As I rode, I pictured myself taking out innocent bystanders, forgetting that my bike was now 4 feet wide. However, my venture was successful, and I arrived safely at home to set up the tree!

Today's task: finding lights and ornaments to decorate the tree!

Petty Theft

When I came to China, I was told that this city was known for its petty theft. I'm thankful that I've only seen this a few times, and experienced it even less than that. One of the first few weeks, someone tried to take my purse, which scared me into being more careful with my belongings. During my trip to Tianjin during October 1st holiday, a woman ahead of me was the victim of an unsuccessful pickpocketing attempt.

This week, though, petty theft took on a whole new definition. Or maybe this just falls in its own category. You'll have to decide for yourselves!

One day this week, I returned to my apartment to see three holes in my cement wall and an out-of-place emptiness. Back in September I wrote about my milk and yogurt mailbox, how every morning was like Christmas morning, going out and finding milk and yogurt in my little box mounted just outside my door. But now, alas, it's gone!I told my friend Sean, and he did his best to console me by telling me that maybe the delivery people came to get next month's orders, and since I wasn't there, took the mailbox, too. I thought that sounded a little farfetched, but did my best to believe the possibility, until the milkwoman came to my door a few days later and asked what happened to my box! I told her I didn't know, and she seemed as surprised as I was when I first discovered its disappearance! Until I get a new milk mailbox, I am receiving the milk and yogurt just outside my doorstep - hopefully nobody wants that!

Unfortunately for the new owner of the box, the contents had already been removed, so all he got was a locked metal box. I hope he or she realizes that just because one has a box doesn't mean that milk and/or yogurt are delivered daily.

The other thing I had stolen? My cell phone, which was answered by the proud new owner, who wouldn't return it.

Faces of Character

Last week I went with some friends back to the nong jia le. I love the scenery, and this time, I paid particular attention to the people in the villages that we walked through to get there. One of my favorite things to observe here is the character on people's faces. Faces of elderly people show years of history, while children's faces prove their, well, their cuteness, I guess. It's fascinating to me to study the faces of people (please note there is a difference between study and stare!). Here's a small glimpse of what I saw:

Smoking a Pipe (Sorry Facebook Friends, this one's a repeat)It was a really foggy day, but I still like this picture of these two guys walking down the road.

Mixing Cement

Cleaning wheatBecause of cool air and no heat, we resorted to any method to stay warm, including lying under blankets, going on hikes, drinking tea, and keeping our coats on.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

You know the old story of the Little Engine Who Could? When another train full of toys and dolls for the little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain broke down, nobody else would help the train accomplish it's goal. Finally a little train offered to help, even though it had never been over the mountain before. It pulled and strained, working hard to get the train up the mountain. As it heaved and lugged the heavy train, it told itself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." Eventually, after much hard work, the little train made it to the top, and coasted down the mountain with the other train in tow. The train was heard during the ride down the mountain: "I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could." And all the little boys and girls were so happy that the Little Engine Could.

I feel like language-wise the last couple weeks, I'm facing the uphill battle. I keep saying to myself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can," working hard to study, to attempt to hold Chinese conversations, to try and catch bits and pieces of what I hear. And yet, it's slow, hard work. It takes so much time. I'm just a little engine with a big (overwhelming, at times) task. And instead of just one mountain, I'm sure there are quite a few. But they are farther away, and I have to get over this this mountain first. I love when I get over a little hill, seeing the faces of the little boys and little girls, who understand me and can make themselves understood. And so I keep striving, straining, studying, waiting for the moment when I can say, "I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could."

This Little Engine

Heat!

This week the skies became visibly much more polluted, but the result of the pollution was heat in my apartment! November 15th is the official date for the heat to be turned on, but my apartment's heat began the 14th, which I certainly will not complain about. On Tuesday, I noticed that I could see my breath in my apartment, and this week the weather became much cooler, so Wednesday's heat was great timing. It's been nice not feeling like a marshmallow with tons of layers on, too. I think I wore up to 4 long sleeve shirts one day. I'm sure I'll get tired of the pollution that it causes and eventually prefer the cold weather to heat, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my heat!

Grocery Stores

I think grocery shopping is one of those skills at which I'm becoming more and more proficient each time I go, but every time is still a cultural experience. Yesterday, after another grocery shopping outing, I had to laugh about some of the things that happened. I've realized that some things I originally thought were so strange I have now gotten used to, while other things, well, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to.

It took me three different grocery stores to get everything I needed, and because I had limited room based on the size of my bike basket, I had to stop back by my apartment after each store. I found almost everything I needed at the first place, RenRenLe, which is my current favorite. It's quieter, people are very helpful, and it has a large selection of foods (including some western food). However, I forgot to keep in mind that I had ridden my bike, so I bought too many things. The solution? Hanging bags over the handlebars, hoping the bags don't break and my knees don't knock against the bags too many times.

After dropping my things off at my apartment, I biked over to the next grocery store. Vangaard is not my favorite place to go because it's constantly busy and extremely loud. I knew that there were mugs there that I wanted, though, so I braced myself and went in! In the midst of the craziness - the hoards of people, the people using microphones to recruit shoppers to try their samples - there, crouched in the Chinese squatting position (both feet flat on the ground and sitting on one's heels), was a man reading the newspaper. Other people walked right around him, completely ignoring the man. I have no idea if he was waiting for somebody or what he was doing, but I thought it was pretty funny!

This store's shoppers are especially good at The Look. It's inevitable. Waiting in line to check out is the ideal time for the people before and after me in line to perfect this art. First comes the glance - they casually look over at me. The Glance is never satisfying enough, though. I wait for the next step, the slow curious downward movement of the eyes, first inspecting the laowai's (foreigner's) clothes, then the food I plan on buying. After investigating the food, the eyes usually travel all the way down the jeans to the shoes, then back up, slightly faster, stopping briefly at the basket of food again, and finally ending with my face. Sometimes I ignore The Look, sometimes I look back, sometimes I try and strike up a conversation.

After buying fruit and some mugs for anticipated company that evening, I left the store and went to unlock my bike. As I was unlocking it, I heard a strange noise next to the tree a couple feet away. I turned to see this boy, about 10 years old, relieving himself, looking at me like I was the strangest sight he had ever seen. I thought it was rather strange that a boy of his age would have no problem peeing near a main street and a grocery store and right next to me, so I'm sure I gave him a look of surprise and shock as well!

Stopping in the little market near my house was the last stop. I needed to get some vegetables for a salad, but was having a hard time finding lettuce. I found it in this little market, and I also saw little cherry tomatoes. That would be good for the salad, I thought to myself. Nearing the tomatoes, I saw that there were two different kinds. Now it wouldn't have been too bad to just choose one, but there was another woman who was looking at these same tomatoes. I looked up at the sign, where the prices were listed. Illiteracy still pays it's toll in situations like these, because I could read which vegetable was which price. Luckily for me, though, the woman next to me either couldn't read or preferred asking the employee the prices of all the vegetables (the latter probably more likely), so this guy came over and told her the difference prices. I just stood there and listened, and then was able to ask which tomatoes were better tasting.

Finally, after an afternoon of grocery shopping, I arrived back at my apartment (for the third time), having successfully purchased all that I needed!

Why don't Chinese people speak Spanish?

It happens all the time. When I try to think of Spanish words, just to make sure I haven't forgotten all that I have studied, I struggle to come up with coherent sentences. I just can't think of the right words. Chinese comes to my mind.

But when I can't think of how to say something in Chinese, what comes to my mind? Yup, that's right. Spanish. Those six years of studying in school, plus the summer in Argentina, pull through for me (unfortunately!). So this morning when I couldn't understand the other person's Chinese, I began to get flustered. I couldn't figure out how to convey my meaning, either, so I tried to think of a different way to say the same thing. Eventually, I found a way: Spanish. It didn't work too well, though, because she certainly didn't understand Spanish, and the mixture of Chinese and Spanish doesn't go together too well anyway! I realized after I said the combination sentence what I had done, with the help of her look of extreme confusion. So I laughed and tried again, this time using Chinese and nonverbal communication. I've found that combination works a little better than the Chinese/Spanish combination. Maybe if I keep trying, though... :)

Homemade Jiaozi

A couple weekends ago, about 45 minutes after my exciting wedding adventure (which I was told would end 3 or 4 hours sooner!), some friends came over to my apartment to make jiaozi, or Chinese dumplings. First we went to RenRenLe, the supermarket near my house, and bought the necessary ingredients: beef, green vegetables, flour, and lots of sauces. When we got back to my house, several of us cut the greens into tiny pieces, added them to the meat, and mixed them together with the different sauces, while the others made the dough of flour and water for the outside.

The dough was really dense, so it took a lot of hand strength to knead it.

After rolling the dough into a long tube, we used a huge knife to cut 1/2 inch wide hunks of dough (on the cutting board above). Then, using the rolling pin, each little cylinder was rolled into a thin circle, in which we put the meat and vegetable filling. Finally, we folded the dough around the meat, sealing it all together, and boiled it. After a long process and lots of work, we were able to enjoy the final product dipped in some yummy sauces!

taste-testing partway through! And finally, dinner time! Well worth the wait.

coffee shop adventures

Yesterday I had quite a bit of studying to do, and also wanted to just be in a different environment than my desk, so I hopped on my bike and headed to a nice coffee shop. I ordered my coffee, then settled into a comfortable chair for the morning. After a couple hours of studying, and drinking coffee, I got up to take a break and use the restroom. I walked into the little one-room bathroom, but there was no light on. I looked around for a light switch, but didn't see any. Thinking that maybe it was on the outside, I stepped out and looked on both sides of the door, still failing to see the light switch. There's gotta be a light switch somewhere, I thought to myself, stepping back in the bathroom, beginning to wonder what other costumers were thinking about this foreigner who kept walking in and out of the restroom. Finally, I decided that I would ask somebody to help me (because obviously the light was not activated by motion!), and walked up to the employee. I asked him, with my limited knowledge of these Chinese vocabulary terms, where the light was. Just then the coffee shop received a call, and he hurriedly said something to a bystander, handed her his cell phone, and rushed off to answer his call. Now I was really confused, and looked to the girl holding the cell phone, hoping to be able to understand her explanation. There wasn't too much to understand, though, because she said two words, in English: No power.

Alright, I thought to myself. I have a few options. I can go home, but I was planning on staying for a while longer, so I don't really want to do that. I could maybe go somewhere else, but the chances of finding another restroom are slim to none, not counting the fact that it probably would not be too clean, and I would have to pack up all my stuff. The last option, which I chose, was to use that restroom...light or no light. I stepped (again!) into the dark room. There was an outer door for the sink area, and another door separating the squatty potty and the sink. Maybe I can close one door and leave the other one open to get a little light. I closed the outer door. Pitch black. Nope, not going to work. Let's try the other way around. I opened the outer door and closed the stall door. Pitch black.

I don't know if you have ever used one of these...

...but I wasn't too excited to use a squatty potty in the dark. (Those of you who haven't used a squatty potty or don't know how to use them :), you put your feet on the sides, and I think it's fairly self explanatory from there!) A little too scary for me. As I opened the restroom door for about the 37th time to leave, I saw the girl who had spoken the two predicament-causing words standing just outside, waiting for me to arrive at this conclusion, and holding the cell phone the employee had handed her. I looked at her, then at the cell phone, and then, only then, did I realize that the cell phone had a tiny little flashlight on the end of it. I smiled, probably turned red in the face as I realized she had been waiting for me that whole time (which actually only last about 15 seconds or so), and took the cell phone/flashlight from her. The squatty was much more bearable with even the tiniest light, and I had to laugh at the solution for no electricity. Now I can say that I have used a squatty potty... in the dark...with a cell phone as the light!

My First Chinese Wedding!

Among other things this weekend, I had the privilege to attend my first Chinese wedding! It was fascinating to observe and be a part of the celebration, and a great time to spend with my friend who invited me.

My friend and her father picked me up at 8:00 a.m., and we drove over to the bride's parents' home. The bride was sitting on her bed in the closed room in an off-white wedding dress and no shoes, with lots of close friends and family surrounding her. A few minutes later, the groom came up; he waited while his friends pounded on her door, shouting for his bride to open the door.

They made him slip a hong bao (a red envelope filled with some money) under the door before he could enter, following tradition. When he entered the room, he found her shoes and put them on her feet. The groom officially asked the parents for their daughter's hand in marriage, and they consented and made some vows to their almost-son-in-law. After taking family pictures, we caravaned over to the couple's new home and spent a few minutes there, taking more pictures. At each stage of the trip, whether we were leaving or entering a new place, a whole string of firecrackers were lit, apparently to get others' attention, but mostly because of Chinese tradition.

(The groom putting the bride's shoes on her feet)

the firecracker remnants

the couple's new home...picture taking time in the master bedroom! I thought that was different, but apparently nobody else did!

the wedding procession - notice the camera man in the left lane

After this, the 300 or so of us went to a fancy hotel restaurant for the reception, where the gifts were exchanged (the bride received a ring, and gave a watch to her new husband), the vows made, and the kiss allowed while the onlookers counted down from 10 seconds. A meal was served with around 20 different dishes, including a black chicken, fish scales, and boiled pumpkin. Apparently weddings are a time for lots of alcohol consumption, so people were drinking and toasting quite a bit with their friends, which may explain some of the next part... :)

The emcee took quite a liking to me as the token foreigner, and really wanted me to dance on the stage while people were eating their dinner. The meal's entertainment turned out to be a sort of talent show, so people sang or danced on stage throughout the meal. I informed my extremely persistent new friend that I couldn't dance to Chinese music (or at all, for that matter!), and he assured me that it was okay. A few minutes later, however, he told me and my friend to go back to the DJ and see if there was any American music. I could see that I would at least have to go look, knowing that most likely they wouldn't have any, and hoping with all my heart that they didn't. I was relieved to find that they didn't, and informed him of my findings the next time he approached me. He again told me that it was okay, no problem. Later, in the middle of his own performance, he approached me again and asked if I would dance on stage to his singing. No, I'm sorry, I told him, for about the 47th time, I can't and won't dance today. He left and I thought to myself, he finally understands that I don't want to dance to Chinese music in front of an audience of 300 people. I continued eating my meal, listening to the afternoon's entertainment, each person announced by this relentless man.

I listened as much as I could to his speaking, trying to understand and expand my language. I couldn't understand everything, but I picked up enough to get the gist of what he was saying. As I listening at one point, he said something to the effect of, "Our next performance is going to be a dance from our guest from AMEERRICAA!" Everybody turned towards me, the only blond haired girl in the audience, and cheered; there was now no escape. They kept applauding, and I was dragged up to the stage. I reluctantly took the microphone because I preferred singing over dancing (along with most of the other performers). I sang a verse to the first song that came to my mind, a Switchfoot song, which, by the way, was completely different than anything they sang. My Chinese friend that brought me came up close to the stage to watch. Afterwards, the MC clapped along with the rest of the audience, and proceeded to tell them I was now going to dance!

MC and me before the reception began...little did I know what he was planning!

I looked at him, shocked that he was still trying to get me to dance! I knew my friend didn't want to dance either, so I told her English that I would dance if she did, thinking that she would be able to convince this man that neither of us wished to dance. Instead, she told me she would perform after me. That wasn't enough for me, though. The MC stood between us, trying to understand, asking her what I was saying. The audience stood watching us, silent, waiting for a decision. Back and forth we went for a minute or two, the MC asking my friend what I was saying. Finally, I realized, again, that there was no escape, so I turned to him and told him in Chinese that we were going to dance together! A huge grin broke out on his face, and thrilled, turned to the wedding participants, announced the plan. They cheered loudly as I dragged my friend up on stage, and we danced together to his beat in the background. Afterwards, we quickly returned to our seats to cheering in the background and enjoyed the rest of our meal.

When I was growing up, my mom always told us, "If you're going to laugh later, you might as well laugh now." There was a lot of laughing going on last Saturday!

The Top Five

Instead of writing about something completely different that happened to me this week, this post has my Top Five's. These choices are current, not overall, choices. So for example, the things that are my favorite things this week might be replaced by new favorite things next week. (They aren't in any particular order, either.)

China Favorites
-adventure
-hanging out with Chinese friends
-riding my bike around the city

-local food

- still being a student

(Here's my Panda! Fully equipped: the basket, the bell, the blue)

Language Favorites
- no verb tenses
-no difference between singular and plural nouns
-pronouns are the same whether before or after the verb (there’s no difference between the word for “I” and the word for “me”)
-sometimes you don’t need the verb “to be”…you can just say the sentence without it, and it’s perfect grammar
-feeling successful in speaking Mandarin

Things I miss most
-Family and friends
-The smell of the fall season
-CoffeeHouse in Lincoln
-Barbecue and Mexican food
-Warm feet

Things I’m thankful for
-Good friends here
-Skype
-Books
-Adventure
-Patient people in communication

Least Favorites
-honking
-very sensitive car/motorcycle alarms
-riding the bus when it's packed
-being illiterate
-trying to find ingredients for western food

Thinking about literacy motivated me to learn more about it here in China. According to good old wikipedia, literacy is defined as recognizing 2,000 characters for workers (1,500 for farmers), but an educated person can read, on average, 6-7,000 characters. Chinese speakers use the left and right side of the brain, according to some U.K. research by Wellcome Trust, while English speakers only use the left side of their brain. The World Factbook states that in 2000, the literacy rate was 90.9% overall, which I think is fairly impressive, after my limited experience studying them! While I'm definitely still illiterate here, it is exciting when I recognize a couple characters here and there when I'm out and about.

some characters etched in stone

brr

When the bell rang at the end of the school day yesterday, I walked out of the classroom and down the hall to the lobby area, where I park my bike with the others. After putting on my bike poncho (it covers not only my body, but the handle bars of my bike as well, so that my arms don’t even get wet in the chilly rain on the way home), I wheeled my bike out of the building and headed home. In my mind, I was picturing a snug, warm afternoon while listening to the cool rain outside. Oh, that sounded so good, to just curl up with a book and read and take a nice long afternoon nap in the cozy warmth of my little apartment. Arriving at home shattered that mental image, though, as I walked into my home and could see my breath! Two days before, when the same thing happened, I quickly discovered that my air conditioning unit has a heat button, and took advantage of that luxury. I’m not really sure how Chinese people can handle this chill until November 15th, when the heat apparently is turned on all over the country (except below this invisible line, where the heat is never turned on), or if they handle the chill, but I am thankful that I have access to heat!
When I don't have my heat on, I often sit at the end of my bed and fold my comforter over me, just to add another layer to the many I have on already! Although I stay warmer to study, this also happens to be a great napping place, and often the latter option happens as much as the former!

Tianjin

Last week, China celebrated October 1st holiday, which means that we didn't have classes all week. A friend and I took the overnight train to visit some friends in Tianjin for a few days. The train left here on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m, and arrived at 9:00 Sunday morning - 19 hours! I didn't sleep much during the night because it was rather uncomfortable and loud, but during the day, my friend and I started playing UNO. Soon curiosity overcame several people, who asked how to play, and pretty soon half the train car was playing UNO, it seemed, with the other half watching!While there, we had the chance to see the Ancient Culture Street, the Tianhou Palace, Eric Liddel's home, and spend time with friends, which was great! It was fun to see another city, but it made me appreciate this city more. Tianjin had more of a big city feel...bigger streets, more crowds, louder. It was a fun trip, though, and a good break from the routine! I didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple: