Finally it’s the weekend again and a much anticipated weekend at that!
Friday was Sports Day for the Chinese students at Beida, so none of them had class. While we were in Chinese, we could hear the students cheering at different events. When I got out of class, I went down to the track to watch Olivia run in the 1,500 meter race that she has been training for.
When I arrived at the track, I should have known to expect something crazy. The men’s races were still underway. It’s a good thing I was sitting in the bleachers alone, because I had to try to keep my giggles to myself. There were some competitors in the races wearing appropriate gym attire, but most were bizarrely dressed. Some competitors were decked in all out matching sweat suits and sweatbands, while others wore jeans and dress shoes, and some were even wearing full suits with their racing numbers pinned on. What was funny was that in most of the races, the runners in suits and dress shoes did not only win, but lapped the last place runner by the end of each race. Also, each runner seemed to have a cheerleading team following them on the turf, cheering and motivating them, of course to the sounds of cheesy music crackling over the PA system.
Olivia did really well in her race, although she was very nervous! She sent me a text message the day before the race, expressing her worry that if she did not do well in the race, that she would “lose face.” This is a common expression and a common concern in China, as many Chinese people worry about their reputations and their family honor. Olivia, however, has nothing to worry about, as she finished fifth out of about 20 other girls in her race.
Later in the afternoon, Olivia came over to Shaoyuan to hang out and watch the Princess Diaries. Last week, Olivia watched The Devil Wears Prada and loved it, so I decided to show her another great Anne Hathaway movie! I was also able to share some of my dwindling supply of American snacks with her. Olivia tried a Rice Krispies treat and absolutely loved it!
Later Friday night, Richie invited a few of us to go out for Sichuan food with his tutor, Hua Si, whose English name is Grace. I had met Grace once before at Propaganda. She is really outgoing and fun to be around. She works for a company right now, but wants to travel and teach Chinese to foreigners.
The Sichuan restaurant we went to was really nice. Sichuan food is typically known as being incredibly spicy and exotic. At this restaurant, the food certainly lived up to its expectations. I also tried new things to eat, including frog and blood. Although spicy is not generally my preference, I have certainly built up a high tolerance to spice since living in China. Dad, you must try Sichuan food, you would love it!
After dinner, we went to Pyro’s for happy hour and then Richie, Cara, Grace, and I ended the classic Wudaokou night at Propaganda.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early to work on final papers. After a delicious lunch at West Gate, we left around 2PM for the Huanghuacheng Great wall. After about two hours on the bus, we arrived at a local farmer’s house. We still had some time before the farmer served dinner, so we decided to go for a walk and do a bit of hiking.
The area was beautiful. This part of the Great Wall is known for the beautiful yellow flowers on the mountainsides. The wall in this area is also divided across a river, with a beautiful waterfall. We were able to walk across the waterfall to the other side of the mountain and hike a bit more near some ruins of the wall.
After walking around for a bit, we went back to the farmer’s house for dinner. The food was actually really good. It was really nice too because we were all able to eat together, including everyone in the program who made the trip, our Chinese friends from Beida, and Dr. Sun, Hong Li, and Joyce Li.
After dinner, we built a campfire in the farmer’s yard and played some games. Joyce Li asked me to host the games with Ben, which was a lot of fun. The games included Chinese telephone, a song and lyrics game with both Chinese and American songs, a Chinese trivia game, a balloon popping game, and best of all, a game called “who’s the drunk,” which involved drinking baijiu, Chinese rice alcohol that tastes like fire water.
After the campfire, the farmer led those of us wanting to camp up the side of the mountain to the Great Wall. Some members of our group chose to stay at the farmer’s house, where they would be warmer and much more comfortable.
The hike was much harder than I thought it would be. When I saw the trail the next morning, I had no idea how we made it up the mountain at night. First of all, it was so dark. The only light we had was the stars, of which I have never seen so many, and maybe five or six flashlights divided between about thirty of us. After hiking up a steep trail in complete darkness for about an hour, we could finally see the Great Wall in front of us.
When we climbed up the wall, we were so hot from the hike and from carrying our backpacks and sleeping bags. Most of us stripped down to just tank tops, which in retrospect seems crazy because it was so cold. We used the flashlights on the wall to scope out the area and find the best place to camp out.
Jay, Gill, Nick, Wang Qian (my Chinese teacher who now refuses to let me call her Wang Laoshi because we are such good friends) and I chose to sleep in the highest tower on our section of the wall. The top of the tower was completely open, so we were able to set up our sleeping bags so we could literally sleep under the stars.
We were able to build a campfire in our tower on the Great Wall, which definitely helped with the cold. Some of our friends who slept in lower towers told us they could see the glow and smoke from our tower on lower parts of the wall and were jealous. Wang Qian also brought a ton of snacks and we were actually able to heat some sushi over the campfire. I don’t usually like sushi, but this kind was delicious!
I had brought my Ipod and my speaker and Jay had brought a deck of cards, so we were able to hang out in the tower, listen to music, and play cards. At one point, fireworks were set off from the farming town below the Great wall. It was amazing standing in the pitch black, open air, on the Great Wall and watching these huge fireworks explode below us.
Our fire went out around 1AM and we decided to try to go to sleep. The embers from the fire kept us warm for about an hour and I think we all slept just a bit. However, about an hour later, we were all freezing! I was wearing three pairs of socks, three pairs of pants, four shirts, and was snuggled in a thermal sleeping bag and I was still freezing. I had my hat on, but it was so cold that I had to pull my sleeping bag completely over my head. It was so cold that I don’t think any of us slept!
Around 4:30AM, we decided to stop trying to sleep. It was so cold that we couldn’t get out of our sleeping bags, so we literally potato sack hopped outside of our tower in our sleeping bags to watch the sunrise. It was impressive that we were able to hop over the ghost doors of the tower, which have an extra step because Chinese legends claim that ghosts cannot bend their knees. Because we had the highest tower on the wall, we had the best spot to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely amazing. I honestly don’t know how many people can say that they have see a 4:30AM sunrise from the Great Wall of China.
Shortly after the sunrise, we packed up to hike back down the wall and back down the mountain to the farmer’s house. I have no idea how we made the climb in the darkness. The side of the mountain near the wall was so steep. I actually fell several times and ended up sliding down the mountain on my butt in the firt for most of the steep parts. I was so dirty by the time I reached the bottom of the mountain. However, the hike down was pretty cool, since we couldn’t see anything the night before. We were actually walking through a farming village. The houses were scattered and we walked by farmer’s houses and farmers in the fields wearing pointed hats and tending to their crops.
When we got back to the farmer’s house, we were all still pretty tired and pretty cold. Once we got back on the bus to head back to Beida, I think everyone fell asleep right away because I don’t think anyone was able to sleep on the wall. However, it was totally worth it and something I will remember for the rest of my life!
I Climbed The Great Wall!
You are not physically fit until you can climb the Great Wall!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Mao’s Mausoleum, Temple of Heaven, the Beijing Acrobats, and the Silk Market: A Jammed Packed Weekend!
Since we only have about a week and a half left in Beijing, we are certainly taking advantage of every spare moment we have, starting this weekend!
This weekend was my good friend, Cara’s, 21st birthday. On Friday night, we went out to one of our favorite bars/dance clubs in Sanlitun called Tun. Tun is really cool because it is actually a really old firehouse converted into a bar, dance club, and lounge. They also play really fun music and a lot of our “China Jams,” our inside joke songs that we have made into a playlist.
When we got back from Tun on Friday night, Molly and I made a collage of pictures from this semester on Cara’s door and hung up balloons. Looking at the collage when it was finished, we noticed how young everyone looked at the beginning of the semester. The even better realization though, was how close we have all become and how many unforgettable memories we have from just three short months in China so far!
We got up really early on Satuday morning, and Jay, Aaron, Jon, Molly, and I left Shaoyuan for Tiananmen Square around 9:30 AM headed for Mao’s Mausoleum. We made remarkable time on the subway, especially since it was early in the morning on a weekend. Usually, commuting anywhere in Beijing on the subway will take at least an hour, but often longer.
When we arrived at Mao’s Mausoleum, we checked our bags and got on line. The line was incredibly long and wrapped all around the Mausoleum and through Tiananmen Square. We were some of the only foreigners on line.
We waited on line for about an hour before we made it to the front steps of the mausoleum. Just being on line was an experience. The strangest thing to me was how when you speak to most people in China individually, they have come to understand that Mao and his policies were essentially evil and not the best choices for China. However, all of the people on the line to see Chairman Mao seemed incredibly reverent, excited, and respectful. At every checkpoint on the line, all of the Chinese people would run to the next checkpoint, which was just funny and bizarre to me. I am wondering if seeing Chairman Mao now is more of a spectacle than a humbling experience for Chinese people.
When we entered the mausoleum, we went through a giant memorial hall, with fresh flowers and a giant statue of Mao. It was so quiet inside the memorial hall. Once we made it through the entrance hall, we were directed into a much smaller, glass room, where Chairman Mao was at rest. The room was very strange. It was dimly lit and there were armed guards everywhere. Chairman Mao laid in the center of the room in an elevated bed covered by a Chinese flag. The strangest thing was that the armed guards basically rushed you through the room, so you didn’t really get a good look at Chairman Mao.
I think the Chairman looked pretty good for a man who has been dead for about thirty years, especially since he was not a very healthy man in life and there were a lot of complications with his preservation. When Mao was first preserved, his body was infused with the wrong chemicals, causing his body to blow up. A Vietnamese doctor was then summoned to fix the body. I think Mao still looked a little bloated, but overall pretty good. However, rumor has it that about 70% of the time the mausoleum is open, that there is actually a wax dummy in Mao’s place, but you would never know it. Also, the mausoleum is open at random times and often Mao is not there. I am really glad I got to see him.
After seeing Mao, Molly, Jay, and I jumped on the subway and went to the Temple of Heaven to meet up with Gill and Sarah. When we arrived, we had a picnic lunch and watched all of the Chinese people who were dancing, listening to music, and playing jianzi, or Chinese hacky sack in the park.
We then walked to the Temple of Heaven. This temple, and the other sites within the Temple of Heaven complex, was often visited by the Ming and Qing emperors for annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for good harvests.
After climbing the Temple of Heaven we went and visited another smaller temple called the Temple of Heavenly Fault. The coolest thing about the Temple of Heavenly Fault was the echo wall surrounding it. The echo wall worked exactly like the whisper in statuary hall on Capital Hill, where you can whisper and someone else standing in front of the wall can hear you loudly and clearly. We tried it and it worked. The last thing we saw on the grounds of the Temple of Heaven was called the mound and, a prayer platform also used by the emperors as early as the 1400’s.
After seeing everything at the Temple of Heaven, we took a cab back to Beida to get ready for the evening. For Cara’s birthday, we all had tickets to see the Beijing acrobats and we all got dressed up in suits and dresses for the performance and nicknamed the evening China Prom! Of course the four of us from Spring Break insisted that we were “dates!” Molly and I were actually able to buy cheese at a store called Carrefour (which is literally hell because it’s so crowded) and hosted a cocktail hour with cheese and crackers before leaving Beida for the performance.
The Beijing acrobats were amazing. I could not believe my eyes and was on the edge of my seat for most of the performance. The funniest thing about the show was that it was all about birds, which is ironic because it was Cara’s birthday and Cara is petrified of birds. Overall, I’m really glad we got to see the show!
After the show, we went out to a really fancy restaurant, all dressed up for dinner. By fancy, I mean dinner cost $8 or $9 as opposed to the usual $2 or $3 that I spend on dinner. We ate traditional Shanghainese style food, including noodles. According to Chinese legend, everyone should eat noodles on their birthday to guarantee their lives longevity.
After dinner, we took the subway back to Wudaokou and went to Pyro’s, one of our favorite western-style Wudaokou hangouts. We were able to dance and the owner bought us all a round of drinks for Cara’s birthday. After a long day, it was time to go home, sleep, and rest up for Sunday’s Silk Market adventure.
On Sunday, we made our final trip of the semester to the Silk Market. I was on a mission to buy all of the gifts for my friends and family at home, which I did successfully, but a new set of pearls did happen to fall into the bag for me. Our pearl ladies, who Molly and I bought pearls from all semester, were so sad that we were going back to the United States that they gave both Molly and I pearls for free! I am definitely going to miss the haggling and bargaining that the Silk Market offers!
Now, we are in the final stretch leading to the last week of class, which will be next week. My Chinese final is also next week and I have three major papers due. I have already finished a 50-page paper for my communications independent study and the other two are started and a work in progress. The goal is to get all of my work done by the end of the weekend, so I can truly enjoy my last full week in Beijing!
This weekend was my good friend, Cara’s, 21st birthday. On Friday night, we went out to one of our favorite bars/dance clubs in Sanlitun called Tun. Tun is really cool because it is actually a really old firehouse converted into a bar, dance club, and lounge. They also play really fun music and a lot of our “China Jams,” our inside joke songs that we have made into a playlist.
When we got back from Tun on Friday night, Molly and I made a collage of pictures from this semester on Cara’s door and hung up balloons. Looking at the collage when it was finished, we noticed how young everyone looked at the beginning of the semester. The even better realization though, was how close we have all become and how many unforgettable memories we have from just three short months in China so far!
We got up really early on Satuday morning, and Jay, Aaron, Jon, Molly, and I left Shaoyuan for Tiananmen Square around 9:30 AM headed for Mao’s Mausoleum. We made remarkable time on the subway, especially since it was early in the morning on a weekend. Usually, commuting anywhere in Beijing on the subway will take at least an hour, but often longer.
When we arrived at Mao’s Mausoleum, we checked our bags and got on line. The line was incredibly long and wrapped all around the Mausoleum and through Tiananmen Square. We were some of the only foreigners on line.
We waited on line for about an hour before we made it to the front steps of the mausoleum. Just being on line was an experience. The strangest thing to me was how when you speak to most people in China individually, they have come to understand that Mao and his policies were essentially evil and not the best choices for China. However, all of the people on the line to see Chairman Mao seemed incredibly reverent, excited, and respectful. At every checkpoint on the line, all of the Chinese people would run to the next checkpoint, which was just funny and bizarre to me. I am wondering if seeing Chairman Mao now is more of a spectacle than a humbling experience for Chinese people.
When we entered the mausoleum, we went through a giant memorial hall, with fresh flowers and a giant statue of Mao. It was so quiet inside the memorial hall. Once we made it through the entrance hall, we were directed into a much smaller, glass room, where Chairman Mao was at rest. The room was very strange. It was dimly lit and there were armed guards everywhere. Chairman Mao laid in the center of the room in an elevated bed covered by a Chinese flag. The strangest thing was that the armed guards basically rushed you through the room, so you didn’t really get a good look at Chairman Mao.
I think the Chairman looked pretty good for a man who has been dead for about thirty years, especially since he was not a very healthy man in life and there were a lot of complications with his preservation. When Mao was first preserved, his body was infused with the wrong chemicals, causing his body to blow up. A Vietnamese doctor was then summoned to fix the body. I think Mao still looked a little bloated, but overall pretty good. However, rumor has it that about 70% of the time the mausoleum is open, that there is actually a wax dummy in Mao’s place, but you would never know it. Also, the mausoleum is open at random times and often Mao is not there. I am really glad I got to see him.
After seeing Mao, Molly, Jay, and I jumped on the subway and went to the Temple of Heaven to meet up with Gill and Sarah. When we arrived, we had a picnic lunch and watched all of the Chinese people who were dancing, listening to music, and playing jianzi, or Chinese hacky sack in the park.
We then walked to the Temple of Heaven. This temple, and the other sites within the Temple of Heaven complex, was often visited by the Ming and Qing emperors for annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for good harvests.
After climbing the Temple of Heaven we went and visited another smaller temple called the Temple of Heavenly Fault. The coolest thing about the Temple of Heavenly Fault was the echo wall surrounding it. The echo wall worked exactly like the whisper in statuary hall on Capital Hill, where you can whisper and someone else standing in front of the wall can hear you loudly and clearly. We tried it and it worked. The last thing we saw on the grounds of the Temple of Heaven was called the mound and, a prayer platform also used by the emperors as early as the 1400’s.
After seeing everything at the Temple of Heaven, we took a cab back to Beida to get ready for the evening. For Cara’s birthday, we all had tickets to see the Beijing acrobats and we all got dressed up in suits and dresses for the performance and nicknamed the evening China Prom! Of course the four of us from Spring Break insisted that we were “dates!” Molly and I were actually able to buy cheese at a store called Carrefour (which is literally hell because it’s so crowded) and hosted a cocktail hour with cheese and crackers before leaving Beida for the performance.
The Beijing acrobats were amazing. I could not believe my eyes and was on the edge of my seat for most of the performance. The funniest thing about the show was that it was all about birds, which is ironic because it was Cara’s birthday and Cara is petrified of birds. Overall, I’m really glad we got to see the show!
After the show, we went out to a really fancy restaurant, all dressed up for dinner. By fancy, I mean dinner cost $8 or $9 as opposed to the usual $2 or $3 that I spend on dinner. We ate traditional Shanghainese style food, including noodles. According to Chinese legend, everyone should eat noodles on their birthday to guarantee their lives longevity.
After dinner, we took the subway back to Wudaokou and went to Pyro’s, one of our favorite western-style Wudaokou hangouts. We were able to dance and the owner bought us all a round of drinks for Cara’s birthday. After a long day, it was time to go home, sleep, and rest up for Sunday’s Silk Market adventure.
On Sunday, we made our final trip of the semester to the Silk Market. I was on a mission to buy all of the gifts for my friends and family at home, which I did successfully, but a new set of pearls did happen to fall into the bag for me. Our pearl ladies, who Molly and I bought pearls from all semester, were so sad that we were going back to the United States that they gave both Molly and I pearls for free! I am definitely going to miss the haggling and bargaining that the Silk Market offers!
Now, we are in the final stretch leading to the last week of class, which will be next week. My Chinese final is also next week and I have three major papers due. I have already finished a 50-page paper for my communications independent study and the other two are started and a work in progress. The goal is to get all of my work done by the end of the weekend, so I can truly enjoy my last full week in Beijing!
The Laoshe Teahouse
Since we are running out of time in Beijing, we took advantage of a Monday night to visit one of the most famous teahouses in Beijing, the Laoshe Teahouse. There are teahouses all over Beijing and China, as drinking tea, tea tasting, and tea ceremonies are extremely popular and common cultural experiences in China.
What makes the Laoshe Teahouse so famous is that it is located right across from the Old City Gate of Tiananmen Square. Also, several famous people, including several famous Americans, such as Henry Kissinger and Ronald Reagan, have attended performances at the Laoshe Teahouse. The Laoshe Teahouse also has the reputation as putting on the best performance to get a real taste of Beijing culture.
We had two tables at the teahouse. Of course, Team Spring Break could not be separated, so Molly, Jon, Aaron and I all sat together. We were served bottomless green tea and traditional Beijing tea snacks consisting of seeds, egg rolls, and some relatively bland teacakes. As we learned during the performance, there are different teas and tea ceremonies performed for each season. Luckily, the springtime tea is green tea, or in Chinese, lü cha. Green tea is one of my favorites, although all of the tea I have tasted in China has been great! At Laoshe, the tealeaves were put into special teacups with a lid that filtered the tea and kept the water hot. I drank so much tea during the performance, which is probably a good thing because Chinese people believe that tea is great for you help and can prevent and cure all kinds of illnesses.
The show put on was very interesting and included several different kinds of traditional Chinese performances, including singing, traditional instruments, kung fu, Beijing opera, the color-changing mask performance, tea ceremonies, acrobatics, magicians, and Chinese fast talk. It’s honestly hard to say which part of the performance was my favorite because they were all so interesting in unique. Some of the acts even called for audience participation, which was a lot of fun. I’m really glad that we got to go to the teahouse! Now, I will not feel bad if I don’t make it to the Beijing Opera.
What makes the Laoshe Teahouse so famous is that it is located right across from the Old City Gate of Tiananmen Square. Also, several famous people, including several famous Americans, such as Henry Kissinger and Ronald Reagan, have attended performances at the Laoshe Teahouse. The Laoshe Teahouse also has the reputation as putting on the best performance to get a real taste of Beijing culture.
We had two tables at the teahouse. Of course, Team Spring Break could not be separated, so Molly, Jon, Aaron and I all sat together. We were served bottomless green tea and traditional Beijing tea snacks consisting of seeds, egg rolls, and some relatively bland teacakes. As we learned during the performance, there are different teas and tea ceremonies performed for each season. Luckily, the springtime tea is green tea, or in Chinese, lü cha. Green tea is one of my favorites, although all of the tea I have tasted in China has been great! At Laoshe, the tealeaves were put into special teacups with a lid that filtered the tea and kept the water hot. I drank so much tea during the performance, which is probably a good thing because Chinese people believe that tea is great for you help and can prevent and cure all kinds of illnesses.
The show put on was very interesting and included several different kinds of traditional Chinese performances, including singing, traditional instruments, kung fu, Beijing opera, the color-changing mask performance, tea ceremonies, acrobatics, magicians, and Chinese fast talk. It’s honestly hard to say which part of the performance was my favorite because they were all so interesting in unique. Some of the acts even called for audience participation, which was a lot of fun. I’m really glad that we got to go to the teahouse! Now, I will not feel bad if I don’t make it to the Beijing Opera.
John McCain At Beida
This incident actually occurred about two weeks ago, but I completely forgot to mention it in my blog!
So, on Thursdays, I don’t have class all day and I usually take advantage of the day by sleeping in for a bit in the morning before skyping with Mommy, Daddy, and Lauren. However, on this particular Thursday, I woke up early to the sound of my cell phone going off.
Molly was on the other end telling me to hurry up and come outside because John McCain was outside the doors of Shaoyuan. I really thought she was joking, but decided to throw pants on and go outside to see my friends since they were on break from Chinese class.
When I went outside, there was a huge banner hanging from the School of International Studies, located right across the street from my dorm that said, “Peking University Welcomes Senator John McCain.”
When we rounded the corner of Shaoyuan, we saw John McCain getting off of a typical, rickety, Chinese bus, with surprisingly no security. There actually were very few people around, so we actually had a pretty good view. Plus, it was basically John McCain’s white hair sticking out of a sea of black, Asian heads. He actually looks a lot older in person than on television. Apparently he was in Beijing to host a round table discussion with some of the professors in Beida’s School of International Studies.
The funny thing about this whole incident is that I live in Washington, DC and this doesn’t happen. Only in China will you wake up to John McCain outside your door!
So, on Thursdays, I don’t have class all day and I usually take advantage of the day by sleeping in for a bit in the morning before skyping with Mommy, Daddy, and Lauren. However, on this particular Thursday, I woke up early to the sound of my cell phone going off.
Molly was on the other end telling me to hurry up and come outside because John McCain was outside the doors of Shaoyuan. I really thought she was joking, but decided to throw pants on and go outside to see my friends since they were on break from Chinese class.
When I went outside, there was a huge banner hanging from the School of International Studies, located right across the street from my dorm that said, “Peking University Welcomes Senator John McCain.”
When we rounded the corner of Shaoyuan, we saw John McCain getting off of a typical, rickety, Chinese bus, with surprisingly no security. There actually were very few people around, so we actually had a pretty good view. Plus, it was basically John McCain’s white hair sticking out of a sea of black, Asian heads. He actually looks a lot older in person than on television. Apparently he was in Beijing to host a round table discussion with some of the professors in Beida’s School of International Studies.
The funny thing about this whole incident is that I live in Washington, DC and this doesn’t happen. Only in China will you wake up to John McCain outside your door!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Wanfujing and the Summer Palace
So the weather has stayed just as warm and just as humid, but unfortunately this weekend has gotten kinda cloudy.
Because we all planned on waking up early on Saturday morning to visit the summer palace, we decided to plan a relaxing Friday night walking around Wanfujing. Wanfujing is a pretty popular tourist site in downtown Beijing. The highlights of course are the Wanfujing snack street and the Wanfujing night market.
We left campus hungry and made the Wanfujing Snack Street our first stop. All along the sidewalk were small stands serving up all different kinds of exotic foods. It was so overwhelming at first that we decided to walk up and down the street to check out our options and watch other people’s reactions as they ate. We saw some normal foods such as fruit, meat twar, and friend dumplings, but we also saw some strange choices such as silk worms, cricket, and starfish.
As a group, I have to say that we were pretty daring when it came to trying foods and we all shared to we all got to taste a little bit of everything. Aaron bought two huge squid twars and Nick bought a baby shark. Both were actually delicious! Jay brought a dog meat twar, which of course I love my dog too much to try!
Most importantly however, almost all of us chowed down on scorpion! When we picked out our scorpions, they were all already skewered, but still alive in moving. Once we picked out our twar, the whole skewer was dunked in the deep fryer and seasoned. I have to say, the scorpions were not bad at all. They just tasted really greasy and crunchy. The strangest thing was the shape of the scorpion in your mouth, but once you got past that, it tasted just fine!
After satisfying our cravings for the weird foods that you can only eat in China, we moved on to some of the Wanfujing shops. We found this really cool bookstore that actually had a lot of material in English. I found a really funny picture book called Chinglish, that had a bunch of pictures of poorly translated sign in China, a few of which I have actually already seen! I am so glad that my friends here are the kind of people that can spend ages in a bookstore, just like me!
After haging out on the bookstore for a bit, we moved on to the Wanfujing night market, which has more of the crazy food that we found on the snack streeet, as well as some other really cool booths and shops selling all sorts of things. It was really fun to walk around and try to haggle. A bunch of us bought panda hats, simply because you cannot leave China without one. We also found some Chinese toys to play with and had a lot of fun playing and talking with some of the shop workers.
The night market began to close around ten thirty. Believe it or not, most things in China are already closed by this time. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that everything shits down so early. Anyways, by then we were all so tired that we jumped on the subway and went back to Beida and turned in for the night.
I woke up early on Saturday morning so that Molly, Brittany, and I could run to Paradiso, the coffee shop on campus, for coffee and to pick up sandwiches and snacks for a picnic lunch at the Summer Palace. I was disappointed that the weather was overcast because I was hoping for a clear day to enjoy the beauty of the Summer Palace.
Fortunately, the Summer Palace is very close to campus. When we arrived we split up into smaller groups because there was an overwhelming amount of tourists. We got to see the longest corridor in the world, according to the Book of World Records. We also decided to climb the Buddhist Incense Temple Mountain, which granted us a beautiful view of the entire summer palace. We also got to see the residence of the Dragon Lady and the stone boat that she used military funding to build.
One of the coolest moments of the day was when Brittany and I decided to do taiqi on the top of the mountain. We must have been doing a pretty good job because all of the Chinese tourists recognized exactly what we were doing, watched us, and some of them even joined in!
Later in the day, we all bought really funny Chinese hats. Brittany, Molly, and I bought concubine crowns and Jon and Aaron bought queue hats, which I think made all of us even more of an attraction for all of the Chinese tourists. So many people wanted to take pictures of and with us!
Around lunchtime, we decided to take a dragon boat to the other side of the big lake in the Summer Palace. We were able to sit in the back of the boat and enjoy our lunches while enjoying all of the scenery around us. By this point in the day, the weather had cleared up some, which made for a really enjoyable afternoon!
Once crossing the lake, we were able to cross the seventeen hole bridge to another island in the Summer Place. We were able to climb some rocks and listen to music and hang out for a bit, which was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we got to walk around the rest of the Summer Palace. We wanted to take a boat from the Summer Palace to Beihai Park, but by then it was already almost four in the afternoon. This is definitely something we will do another day!
On Saturday night, I was able to spend the night with just a few of my closest friends in Beijing. Me, Molly, Jon, and Aaron went to Sanlitun for an evening of fun where we had a rooftop dinner, played pool, and went dancing! It was a very fun night!
I am just beginning to realize how limited my time in Beijing is. I have only about two and half weeks left in Beijing before I leave for my two-week study trip. Just five weeks from this very moment, I will be on a plane en route to the US! It really is amazing how quickly time flies when you are having fun!
Because we all planned on waking up early on Saturday morning to visit the summer palace, we decided to plan a relaxing Friday night walking around Wanfujing. Wanfujing is a pretty popular tourist site in downtown Beijing. The highlights of course are the Wanfujing snack street and the Wanfujing night market.
We left campus hungry and made the Wanfujing Snack Street our first stop. All along the sidewalk were small stands serving up all different kinds of exotic foods. It was so overwhelming at first that we decided to walk up and down the street to check out our options and watch other people’s reactions as they ate. We saw some normal foods such as fruit, meat twar, and friend dumplings, but we also saw some strange choices such as silk worms, cricket, and starfish.
As a group, I have to say that we were pretty daring when it came to trying foods and we all shared to we all got to taste a little bit of everything. Aaron bought two huge squid twars and Nick bought a baby shark. Both were actually delicious! Jay brought a dog meat twar, which of course I love my dog too much to try!
Most importantly however, almost all of us chowed down on scorpion! When we picked out our scorpions, they were all already skewered, but still alive in moving. Once we picked out our twar, the whole skewer was dunked in the deep fryer and seasoned. I have to say, the scorpions were not bad at all. They just tasted really greasy and crunchy. The strangest thing was the shape of the scorpion in your mouth, but once you got past that, it tasted just fine!
After satisfying our cravings for the weird foods that you can only eat in China, we moved on to some of the Wanfujing shops. We found this really cool bookstore that actually had a lot of material in English. I found a really funny picture book called Chinglish, that had a bunch of pictures of poorly translated sign in China, a few of which I have actually already seen! I am so glad that my friends here are the kind of people that can spend ages in a bookstore, just like me!
After haging out on the bookstore for a bit, we moved on to the Wanfujing night market, which has more of the crazy food that we found on the snack streeet, as well as some other really cool booths and shops selling all sorts of things. It was really fun to walk around and try to haggle. A bunch of us bought panda hats, simply because you cannot leave China without one. We also found some Chinese toys to play with and had a lot of fun playing and talking with some of the shop workers.
The night market began to close around ten thirty. Believe it or not, most things in China are already closed by this time. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that everything shits down so early. Anyways, by then we were all so tired that we jumped on the subway and went back to Beida and turned in for the night.
I woke up early on Saturday morning so that Molly, Brittany, and I could run to Paradiso, the coffee shop on campus, for coffee and to pick up sandwiches and snacks for a picnic lunch at the Summer Palace. I was disappointed that the weather was overcast because I was hoping for a clear day to enjoy the beauty of the Summer Palace.
Fortunately, the Summer Palace is very close to campus. When we arrived we split up into smaller groups because there was an overwhelming amount of tourists. We got to see the longest corridor in the world, according to the Book of World Records. We also decided to climb the Buddhist Incense Temple Mountain, which granted us a beautiful view of the entire summer palace. We also got to see the residence of the Dragon Lady and the stone boat that she used military funding to build.
One of the coolest moments of the day was when Brittany and I decided to do taiqi on the top of the mountain. We must have been doing a pretty good job because all of the Chinese tourists recognized exactly what we were doing, watched us, and some of them even joined in!
Later in the day, we all bought really funny Chinese hats. Brittany, Molly, and I bought concubine crowns and Jon and Aaron bought queue hats, which I think made all of us even more of an attraction for all of the Chinese tourists. So many people wanted to take pictures of and with us!
Around lunchtime, we decided to take a dragon boat to the other side of the big lake in the Summer Palace. We were able to sit in the back of the boat and enjoy our lunches while enjoying all of the scenery around us. By this point in the day, the weather had cleared up some, which made for a really enjoyable afternoon!
Once crossing the lake, we were able to cross the seventeen hole bridge to another island in the Summer Place. We were able to climb some rocks and listen to music and hang out for a bit, which was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we got to walk around the rest of the Summer Palace. We wanted to take a boat from the Summer Palace to Beihai Park, but by then it was already almost four in the afternoon. This is definitely something we will do another day!
On Saturday night, I was able to spend the night with just a few of my closest friends in Beijing. Me, Molly, Jon, and Aaron went to Sanlitun for an evening of fun where we had a rooftop dinner, played pool, and went dancing! It was a very fun night!
I am just beginning to realize how limited my time in Beijing is. I have only about two and half weeks left in Beijing before I leave for my two-week study trip. Just five weeks from this very moment, I will be on a plane en route to the US! It really is amazing how quickly time flies when you are having fun!
The Olympic Stadium
We are so lucky that the weather has been absolutely gorgeous in Beijing for the past week. It’s been about 80 degrees and sunny just about everyday. Everything is in bloom and campus looks exquisite!
Last Saturday, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went down to the Olympic Village. It took us forever to walk from the Metro to the Bird’s Nest, not because the walk was very far, but because so many Chinese tourists wanted to stop and take pictures of us.
The best part about the Olympic Stadium was that “Beijing Yuanying Ni” or “Beijing Welcomes You,” a very popular song in China recorded just for the Olympics, was playing everywhere! I know that I have mentioned this song before in your blog, because it gets stuck in my head all the time!
We were able to actually go inside the Bird’s Nest, which was really cool because we were allowed to go down on the turf field. The group of us sat around chatting and tanning on the green, which was ironic because so many athletes had competed there and meanwhile, we were having a very relaxing day!
I was actually surprised by how small the Bird’s Nest was in person. After watching parts of the Olympics on television, especially the opening ceremonies, I would have thought the stadium, or at least the turf field would have been much bigger. Regardless, it was still very cool to see!
While we were relaxing on the turf field, some inflatable characters of the Beijing Olympic friends mascots came out on to the field and did a choreographed routine, which was pretty funny. The mascots were inflated so big that they frequently kept bumping heads during the routine. The music was also very catchy and cheery.
After we left the Bird’s Nest, we bought kites in the Olympic Park and flew them in front of the Water Cube. I picked out a kite with all of the Olympic mascots on it. It was perfect weather for flying a kite and many of the Chinese tourists also bought kites and were flying them. It was only a matter of time before my kite got tangled. Fortunately, Marie was able to untangle it for me when we got back to Beida and we hung our kites from the ceiling in our room. They look awesome!
Next to the Olympic Village, there is a small amusement park, so when we were done flying kites, we walked over to check it out. We then went back to Beida, grabbed a bite to eat on campus and went out for another fun night on the lake in Hou Hai!
Last Saturday, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went down to the Olympic Village. It took us forever to walk from the Metro to the Bird’s Nest, not because the walk was very far, but because so many Chinese tourists wanted to stop and take pictures of us.
The best part about the Olympic Stadium was that “Beijing Yuanying Ni” or “Beijing Welcomes You,” a very popular song in China recorded just for the Olympics, was playing everywhere! I know that I have mentioned this song before in your blog, because it gets stuck in my head all the time!
We were able to actually go inside the Bird’s Nest, which was really cool because we were allowed to go down on the turf field. The group of us sat around chatting and tanning on the green, which was ironic because so many athletes had competed there and meanwhile, we were having a very relaxing day!
I was actually surprised by how small the Bird’s Nest was in person. After watching parts of the Olympics on television, especially the opening ceremonies, I would have thought the stadium, or at least the turf field would have been much bigger. Regardless, it was still very cool to see!
While we were relaxing on the turf field, some inflatable characters of the Beijing Olympic friends mascots came out on to the field and did a choreographed routine, which was pretty funny. The mascots were inflated so big that they frequently kept bumping heads during the routine. The music was also very catchy and cheery.
After we left the Bird’s Nest, we bought kites in the Olympic Park and flew them in front of the Water Cube. I picked out a kite with all of the Olympic mascots on it. It was perfect weather for flying a kite and many of the Chinese tourists also bought kites and were flying them. It was only a matter of time before my kite got tangled. Fortunately, Marie was able to untangle it for me when we got back to Beida and we hung our kites from the ceiling in our room. They look awesome!
Next to the Olympic Village, there is a small amusement park, so when we were done flying kites, we walked over to check it out. We then went back to Beida, grabbed a bite to eat on campus and went out for another fun night on the lake in Hou Hai!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Cuan Dixia and More
Last weekend we visited the Cuan Dixia Village. Cuan Dixia is a restored 18th century village in the mountains just a few hours outside of Beijing. The village, to this day, is still self-sufficient, which is what makes it such a cool tourist attraction.
The drive to Cuan Dixia reminded me a lot of driving through the mountains in Croatia last summer. The roads were just as winding and steep. Our bus driver was also slightly crazy. On a two-lane road going up the mountain, he would switch lanes into oncoming traffic to pass the slower agricultural trucks in our lane. While we were on the bus, we saw the driver in the car in front of us start vomiting and swerving in the lane. Apparently, a lot of people on our trip between our two buses got carsick as well.
After about two and a half hours, we arrived in Cuan Dixia. The village was a lot smaller than I anticipated it to be. However, there were lots of different trails and paths through the village and the mountains surrounding the village, which we were able to hike while we were there. We were able to hike to a temple above the village. When we were walking on the paths through the village, we saw mostly inns where a decent amount of tourists now spend a night when visiting Cuan Dixia. We also saw many of the villagers going about their daily lives cooking, building things, and making crafts to sell to tourists.
In Cuan Dixia, Brittany and I found a mountain that we wanted to climb. The trail was really obvious at the base of the mountain and actually led us to a small farm where we found some baby goats. They were really cute, but absolutely terrified of Brittany and I. As Brittany and I continued to climb up the mountain, the trail became a little less clear and we began to blaze our own trail. Once we got higher up the mountain, we had the most beautiful view of Cuan Dixia and the other surrounding mountains. It was also a beautiful day for hiking. I wish we could have had a bit more time at Cuan Dixia. We spent more time traveling back and forth from Beijing than we actually spent in the village.
When we got back to Shaoyuan, we all rested up in order to go out and celebrate Gill and Jay’s 21st birthdays. After grabbing dinner at the Medicine House on campus, we jumped on the subway and rode to Hou Hai, a very famous and scenic part of Beijing. Hou Hai is located on a big lake and surrounding the lack are many cafes, bars, and nightclubs. We had a blast going from place to place and hanging out by the lake.
Most of my friends have been really busy with schoolwork this week. Fortunately, I still have a few weeks before I need to start worrying about final papers, although I am still finding it hard to believe that we have just four weeks of class left before our two week end of the semester trip!
My friend, Molly’s parents and their friends are also visiting this week. Yesterday, Molly and I took them to the Silk Market to show them what shopping in China is really like. I left the silk market with two new sets of pearls, a new spring jacket, a pair of shoes, and a wallet. What a fun and successful day!
Later, Molly’s parents took a whole bunch of us out to dinner, which was so nice of them and very delicious! Last week when Jay’s parents were visiting, they took us out to dinner as well. It’s so nice to meet everyone’s parents and I have to admit that I am incredibly jealous that my family will not be coming to visit me in China, however I certainly cannot wait to tell them all about my experiences abroad. I also can’t wait for them to meet all of my friends from China who go to AU!
This morning I woke up at 4:30 AM to see Lee Lee off to prom. I am so glad that I woke up to see her because she looked absolutely stunning and I am sure she will be the prettiest girl at her prom! I think its so cool how modern technology allows me to share these special moments with my family even though I am on the other side of the world. I also had the opportunity to speak to Grandma and Grandpa Bellmore and Grandma and Grandpa Jersey today. I love telling my grandparents all about my study abroad experience and I know that they really miss me!
I am a bit disappointed because I was supposed to go to Qingdao this weekend and now I will be unable to go. Qingdao is a city about 7 hours south of here. It is located on the water and has beautiful beaches, as well as some cool German architecture, and the Tsingtao beer factory. When I tried to buy train tickets, I learned that this weekend is a Chinese holiday and so there are not as many trains running to Qingdao. In Chinese culture, people do not frequently visit the graves of their ancestors. However, on the holiday that will occur this weekend, literally translated to “grave sweeping day,” all of the Chinese people will visit the graves of their deceased relatives. Most businesses will be closed on Monday for this occasion.
A lot of my friends decided to go to Inner Mongolia this weekend to ride camels across the Gobi desert. Because this trip is incredibly expensive and I have already ridden camels through the Sahara in Egypt, I opted not to go. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous in Beijing this weekend, about 70 degrees and sunny, so I hope to do a lot of sightseeing here, which I haven’t done too much of yet. Tonight, I am having dinner with my language partner, Olivia, so that should be a lot of fun.
I will write again soon! I miss everyone at home!
The drive to Cuan Dixia reminded me a lot of driving through the mountains in Croatia last summer. The roads were just as winding and steep. Our bus driver was also slightly crazy. On a two-lane road going up the mountain, he would switch lanes into oncoming traffic to pass the slower agricultural trucks in our lane. While we were on the bus, we saw the driver in the car in front of us start vomiting and swerving in the lane. Apparently, a lot of people on our trip between our two buses got carsick as well.
After about two and a half hours, we arrived in Cuan Dixia. The village was a lot smaller than I anticipated it to be. However, there were lots of different trails and paths through the village and the mountains surrounding the village, which we were able to hike while we were there. We were able to hike to a temple above the village. When we were walking on the paths through the village, we saw mostly inns where a decent amount of tourists now spend a night when visiting Cuan Dixia. We also saw many of the villagers going about their daily lives cooking, building things, and making crafts to sell to tourists.
In Cuan Dixia, Brittany and I found a mountain that we wanted to climb. The trail was really obvious at the base of the mountain and actually led us to a small farm where we found some baby goats. They were really cute, but absolutely terrified of Brittany and I. As Brittany and I continued to climb up the mountain, the trail became a little less clear and we began to blaze our own trail. Once we got higher up the mountain, we had the most beautiful view of Cuan Dixia and the other surrounding mountains. It was also a beautiful day for hiking. I wish we could have had a bit more time at Cuan Dixia. We spent more time traveling back and forth from Beijing than we actually spent in the village.
When we got back to Shaoyuan, we all rested up in order to go out and celebrate Gill and Jay’s 21st birthdays. After grabbing dinner at the Medicine House on campus, we jumped on the subway and rode to Hou Hai, a very famous and scenic part of Beijing. Hou Hai is located on a big lake and surrounding the lack are many cafes, bars, and nightclubs. We had a blast going from place to place and hanging out by the lake.
Most of my friends have been really busy with schoolwork this week. Fortunately, I still have a few weeks before I need to start worrying about final papers, although I am still finding it hard to believe that we have just four weeks of class left before our two week end of the semester trip!
My friend, Molly’s parents and their friends are also visiting this week. Yesterday, Molly and I took them to the Silk Market to show them what shopping in China is really like. I left the silk market with two new sets of pearls, a new spring jacket, a pair of shoes, and a wallet. What a fun and successful day!
Later, Molly’s parents took a whole bunch of us out to dinner, which was so nice of them and very delicious! Last week when Jay’s parents were visiting, they took us out to dinner as well. It’s so nice to meet everyone’s parents and I have to admit that I am incredibly jealous that my family will not be coming to visit me in China, however I certainly cannot wait to tell them all about my experiences abroad. I also can’t wait for them to meet all of my friends from China who go to AU!
This morning I woke up at 4:30 AM to see Lee Lee off to prom. I am so glad that I woke up to see her because she looked absolutely stunning and I am sure she will be the prettiest girl at her prom! I think its so cool how modern technology allows me to share these special moments with my family even though I am on the other side of the world. I also had the opportunity to speak to Grandma and Grandpa Bellmore and Grandma and Grandpa Jersey today. I love telling my grandparents all about my study abroad experience and I know that they really miss me!
I am a bit disappointed because I was supposed to go to Qingdao this weekend and now I will be unable to go. Qingdao is a city about 7 hours south of here. It is located on the water and has beautiful beaches, as well as some cool German architecture, and the Tsingtao beer factory. When I tried to buy train tickets, I learned that this weekend is a Chinese holiday and so there are not as many trains running to Qingdao. In Chinese culture, people do not frequently visit the graves of their ancestors. However, on the holiday that will occur this weekend, literally translated to “grave sweeping day,” all of the Chinese people will visit the graves of their deceased relatives. Most businesses will be closed on Monday for this occasion.
A lot of my friends decided to go to Inner Mongolia this weekend to ride camels across the Gobi desert. Because this trip is incredibly expensive and I have already ridden camels through the Sahara in Egypt, I opted not to go. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous in Beijing this weekend, about 70 degrees and sunny, so I hope to do a lot of sightseeing here, which I haven’t done too much of yet. Tonight, I am having dinner with my language partner, Olivia, so that should be a lot of fun.
I will write again soon! I miss everyone at home!
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