Halloween in Beijing

While Halloween is certainly known about over here...it is definitely nowhere near the Holiday it is in the U.S.  There is a very small aisle of Halloween stuff you can buy (not the candy) at the Merry Mart and the students celebrate with a Halloween dance...but for the most part it is non-existant.  However, I couldn't resist having a little Halloween this year. 

I started by purchasing a small baking pumpkin at Merry Mart (the big pumpkins you find in the U.S. are nowhere to be found).  Doing the best I could...with the tools I had available (my main tool of choice was a chopstick...lol) this is what I came up with :-)

I was able to save the seeds and toast them in my little toaster oven for a delicious Halloween snack...

And then I finished the night with a couple of Halloween favorites...

Garfield's Halloween and The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...couldn't get any better than that for a Halloween right?

Zaijian,

Gary

Breathing Easy??

On Sunday I woke up and felt as if an elephant had been sitting on my chest all night.  My lungs and upper chest just hurt.  I did a mental checklist of my activities from the previous couple of days.  Get in a massive bar-room brawl?? No.  Be trampled by a heard of stampeding buffalo??  No.  Be out and about for the last two days in Beijing....oh, yes...that must be it. 

One thing that I always heard in the states was 'you can never exaggerate the state of the pollution in Beijing...it will blow you away'.  I hadn't really thought much about it until I woke up feeling like my lungs had been battered and bruised.  Sure, there are REALLY bad days when you can't really see anything in the distance because the smog is so bad...and yeah I recognize the thin layer of 'film' that forms on everything so rapidly here...but I hadn't really put two and two together on how it was affecting my health until today.

I found this picture on somebody else's blog today and I think it does a pretty good job at illustrating the last few days of pollution here.

The crazy thing about these pictures are that they remind me of maybe a photo taken at dusk...or perhaps taken in a thick fog...nope neither is true in this case.  At any rate, feeling it in your lungs really gives you a wake up call to pay more attention to it.  After checking out some local 'pollution monitoring' sites for Beijing I discovered that the levels were at a 'hazardous' rating for those last couple of days where I was walking out and about.  At the very least, now I know to monitor the situation a little better and to stay inside when it gets too bad.  I don't think I'll turn into one of those people who wear masks around all the time (there are quite a few who do that here)...but monitoring the situation couldn't hurt right?  Neither does rain...oh glorious rain...it rained on Sunday...so it is blue skies again :-)

That is all for now, just sharing what was on my mind.

Zaijian,
Gary

PingYao Road Trip

Last weekend my colleagues and I took a roadtrip to Shanxi province and a little town called PingYao.  This town is known for being the best protected town in China as the former Emperor/Mayor/Head Honcho decided to build a huge wall around the entire city.  The plan was to visit this city and stop at a couple of other places of interest along the way.  I didn’t really do a lot of research on the place before heading out…all I knew was that if they were going to pay for us to charter a bus to see a different part of China…I was in! 

We loaded up the bus around 1:00 on Friday afternoon and were on our way.  During the 8 hour trip there I actually got a lot of grading done (wohoo) and had plenty of time to get to know all of the colleagues a little better.  We were also warned that the hotel might not be of ‘good quality’ and to not get our expectations up.  Around 9:00 we pulled into the walled city and the bus let us off on a curb and a huge golf cart met us there to whisk us away to the hotel.  Pulling into the hotel was like pulling onto the set of a movie…this hotel was magnificent!  Poor quality…pshaw!

After checking out the hotel and the rooms (which were about $25 a night) we all met for a huge dinner at the actual hotel that they provided for us.  After a tasty meal of some things that I’d rather not reminisce about (I only asked about the first, intestine, and then decided it was best not to ask any further questions) we were ready to get a small glimpse of the walled city.  We took a brief walk that night to see the towers all lit up and the city at night.  The next day we woke up early for breakfast at the hotel and then headed out early to see more of the city.

I ended up heading out with many of the Chinese speakers in the group and had a great time seeing the sites while also indulging in plenty of the famous street foods and local flair.  There were plenty of great picture opportunities as well…

And…

And many memorable moments.  Patrick was offered a Chinese man’s daughter in marriage…after the man was so impressed with the ‘foreigners’ Chinese skills.  Kelsey was also the subject of many snap and go photos from the Chinese who can’t get over her pink hair…and we saw everything from trained monkeys, to camels, to donkeys with BMW headbands.  Woah…what a day!  After quite a bit of exploring we stopped in to try some of the local dishes.  This city is known for their beef noodles and for their vinegar and a special type of beef that tastes kind of like corned beef.  The noodles left me unimpressed (but really how can you top my homemade turkey noodle soup??) but the other dishes were great!  I also was a huge fan of the pulled ginger taffy. 

After lunch we all met up to head out to the Wang Compound.  A huge complex on the outskirts of the city built for this large family.  The poor bus driver was confused and got lost several times making for a very interesting 2.5 hour ride there…lol.  One of the highlights of the trip here was a special production of the shadow puppet show that they provided just for us (since we missed the last showing). 

After visiting the compound we decided to all go out to a big dinner together.  They put our group in a huge banquet room by ourselves and we took advantage of the opportunity to have some great fun.  Patrick led us in a few rounds of drinking games (well you know tea, coca cola, stuff like that).  The favorites were a game called chi shequa where you pound the table and say chi shequa chi shequa and then there is a combination of things that must be done.  The kicker is that chi shequa translates to ‘eat watermelon’.  While playing the game the fuyan comes in and yells…’we don’t have any watermelon’.  Maybe you had to be there…but it was great fun.

After a good night of rest we set out the next morning to a temple along the way home.  There were many great sites at this table and again some great photo opportunities :-)

Then it was in the bus to start the long trek back home.  About an hour in we soon hit a complete standstill.  Apparently there was a wreck ahead and so traffic was completely stopped for probably an hour and a half, two hours.  The funny thing was to see the Chinese reaction to this.  Before we knew it there were little vendors going up and down the aisles of traffic selling noodles and fruit.  We eventually got going again and made it back home around 10:30.  A long weekend, but definitely worth the road trip.

Zaijian,

Gary

Delivery!!

Today I woke up to a chill in the air and the sound of rain outside.  I love these sorts of days...both in the states and here in Beijing.  In the states it would be the perfect type of weather to make a big batch of white chicken chili and cornbread and watch college football.  Here in Beijing the rain means that the pollution (which has been awful the last 3 days) will improve.  It also means that it will be hard to get anywhere (taxis don't like to accept passengers when it is raining out), and you don't want to be out walking about in the rain here while it is bringing down all of the pollution with it.

With all of this in mind I decided to stay close to home and try to get some comfort foods here so I could stay in and watch a movie (I'm thinking a feel good happy movie like The Smurfs...lol).  My first adventure was off to Central Business District for some fruit for breakfast.  I have gotten into the ritual of having lots of fruit here (and recently lots of vegetables too) and I think that combined with all of the walking is helping my pant size to trim down a bit...we shall truly see when I get home to the states this Christmas for a weigh in...but everything is getting loose which is a good sign :-)

Well with that in mind I was off to buy some fruit.  Two bananas, three oranges, and an apple later I'm at the checkout stand with the hard to understand checkers...bwekjhcxvoiujweklfjilu.  Nope, didn't catch that one today...I'll just give you a ten RMB note and see what happens.  Yep...that worked out...it must have been like 7 kuai.  O.k. now that I'm out and about maybe I'll stop into the little technology store here in CBD.  They recently installed a projector into the conference room that is right next door to all of our little dorm rooms.  So we naturally took this as an invitation to set this up as a movie watching t.v. room.  After a little exploring yesterday we discovered that a USB wasn't going to cut it on the projector and that we might be able to do it with a VGA cord.  With that in mind I stopped in and knew I wasn't going to be able to ask for what I wanted.  But...they had a computer there that a guy was working on.  Perfect.  After a few points to the right spots on the computer, they knew what I was after...and they had it.  Apparently a VGA cord is pronounced 'VGA' in Chinese...good to know.  I'm looking at it and decide it is time to practice some new phrases I've been working on.  'Duo sow kuai'  (How much is it?)  She responds.

Here is the thing about the numbers here.  I know them.  I can count to a thousand or a million...I can count as high as I want.  However...everyone has a slightly different way of putting things together.  Think about in the states when we say $204.  We might say two hundred and four dollars....or two hundred and four...or two oh four....or two zero four...there are a lot of combinations and when they slide them together really quickly it is hard for me to understand.  She says it...I ask her to repeat it and I'm pretty sure she has said the price is 45 kuai.  I mull it over and decide I will pay this price...that isn't too bad for this cord (I really don't know how much a VGA cord should be...so $7 seems reasonable).  I giver her a 100 RMB note and she is confused.  Is it more?  Did I misinterpret?  She grabs the calculator and shows me 15.  I'm thinking...maybe it is 115?  that would be more than I want to pay.  So I take out another 20 and hand it to her...which she takes and gives me the hundred back with another 5.  Oh...it was just 15 kuai.  That is good (very cheap)...I'm just really not sure how what she said means 15...really someday I hope to be good with understanding the different accents and stuff with numbers...I'm just not there yet.  Sometimes I totally understand it...other times...not so much.

After purchasing the cord I walk out and notice the coffee shop is open.  I have never gone in because I've never wanted to try ordering a drink because of the potential disastrous chaos that might ensue.  But my ordering skills are better now.  I think I could try it.  I go in and start looking at what they have.  It is a great little coffee shop (only a 1 minute walk from my room)...lots of nice looking desserts all for about a dollar or less and good smelling coffee.  I go to the front and look at their menu and they have the names of the drinks in English too!  That is good.  I know the Chinese word for coffee...however, I've been discouraged from ordering it because it always is followed by many questions.  Think of all the questions they could ask when you want coffee.  Cream or sugar?  What size?  For here or to go?  Espresso?  Mocha?  Hot?  Cold?  Ugh.  So many questions.  But with English on the menu I'm pretty sure I can do this.  I order an americano.  She asks me a question which I'm pretty sure means hot or cold...luckily they have hot or cold on the menu to so I point to hot.  Then she asks another questions...and I actually totally understand.  She is saying do you want it for here or to go.  I know this one...da bow.  Yes!  Coffee successfully ordered to go!

I got back to my room feeling rather excited.  Several good transactions and a great cup of coffee...so far so good!  Only problem is...I'm still really hungry.  Yes, I have fruit...but on a cold rainy day like this...I really feel like comfort food.  Making soup is out of the question...but...I have heard that you can order pizza to be delivered.  Every since I heard this of course I've wanted to try it out...really for the most part, just to see if I could do it.  So I set out to order a pizza from Papa Johns.  To make a long story short...

I was successful!!  I ordered a pepperoni, canadian bacon, pineapple pizza and had it delivered by a man on a bicycle right to my front door.  Success!!  Now, after discovering the price of such an endeavor I have decided this can only be done for very rare and special occasions.  (Although thinking back...it cost the same as it would in the U.S. to buy it and have it delivered $18.50...that just turns out to be A LOT of money when putting things in terms of normal China prices).  However, it did feel like a good accomplishment for the day.

And...really their pizza tastes like real pizza!  Oh real cheese...how I've missed you :-)

Zaijian,
Gary

Wudaokou

So this week I discovered the greatness of a westerner type of hangout near where I live called Wudaokou.  This is a bustling region in Beijing where expats gather and can experience some of the comforts from home.  My first knowledge of Wudaokou was that it is home to the nearest subway station from our campus.  It is about a 35-40 minute walk from where I live, so definitely manageable if the weather is nice.  Having the subway there is great because the subway can take you to pretty much anywhere else in the city that you would like to go.  However, I hadn't taken much time to explore this little area much myself.

Wednesday came and went and soon enough it was dinner time.  An economics professor here named Claire and her husband John invited me to go with them to Wudaokou for an Italian dinner.  We walked down and it was great to get a little bit of exercise (and work off the upcoming meal).  When we arrived at the restaurant I immediately knew this was going to be a new favorite.  Run by some actual Italians who speak English in the restaurant I knew this could be home to some great Italian food.  We all decided to go for a half portion of their specialty ravioli (I chose a butternut squash one with sage and brown butter sauce) and a slice of their proscutto fungi pizza.  Oh wow...delicious...and not just for Italian food in China.  It was really great Italian food, period.  We each also had a glass of wine and a dessert (I chose tiramisu...and it was delicious...and even was sweet...a rarity in China!).  The total for everyone's meal was about $12...gotta love prices in China.

After dinner they showed me the local DVD store which I hunted for during a past adventure to Wudaokou for seemingly an hour.  I was embarrassed to find that I had literally walked right past it before...however it was easy to miss because you have to walk right through a restaurant to actually get to the DVD shop which is in the back of the restaurant...so I didn't feel so bad.  To my surprise you could get just about any season of U.S. television shows there...and cheap.  All of the new seasons too.  I looked through all of the deals and decided that I would have to wait and decide what I really want and go back again.  Anyone have any ideas?  They had the complete series (i.e. all of the seasons) of things like West Wing, Sopranos, True Blood, everything...so if anyone has a series recommendation...I'd love to hear about it :-)  They also have all sorts of movies.  New movies too.  I wonder if some of them are pirated...but I guess there is no way to tell unless you buy one and try it out.

After our DVD adventure we walked home and it was a great way to end the evening.  At home after work I would typically drive and lightrail home...maybe go out to dinner or make dinner at home, watch some television, maybe visit a friend or too and then go to bed.  I actually really like not having a car here though.  The walking is nice and it is relaxing to end the day like that (we will see if I am still saying this once it starts to get cold :-)

So after my successful venture to Wudaokou I decided the next night...that I should try it out again!  I teach until late on Thursday nights and everyone else has already eaten dinner by the time I get off work.  So I decided that I would just walk myself to Wudaokou and eat at a restaurant I had already tried out previously.  This particular restaurant is a Japanse Curry restaurant and the food is to die for.  I have literally had several dreams of this food since I first tried it during my second week or so here...so I decided it was time to find this place again!  I headed out and before I knew it was at my favorite little spot.  I ordered the dish there that makes my mouth water just thinking about it...a huge breaded pork cutlet with tumeric rice and the best curry sauce that comes in a gravy boat to pour over top of the whole thing.  This time I think my stomach had shrunk because I could only eat about half of it...but no problem...I know how to ask them for to go boxes now so it would make for an awesome lunch (or breakfast) the next day as well.

This place is always interesting because it is a Japanese place in a westerner hangout (Wudaokou) in Beijing, China.  So the crowd around me went something like this:  a table of two chinese women, a table of about 8 foreigners from a local language school...probably 4 french, 2 german, and 2 italian (who were having the most interesting conversation that schools around the world were pulling English programs and instilling Chinese language programs instead...I kind of doubt this, but that is what they were talking about), a table of 4 japanese people speaking in english, and a table of about 3 american students.  Lots of interesting conversations to be heard.  At any rate, my belly was filled so I decided to head out (and perhaps look for dessert...because it really wasn't THAT full).

I was looking down the street to see if there was perhaps a pastry shop nearby when I saw it...and heard it.  American football.  No mistaking it.  I haven't heard or seen American football since moving here and that is one of the things I really miss right now from back in the states.  I approach the direction of the sound and find a little t.v. outside one of the restaurants playing a New England Patriots game...I am immediately drawn in and the people inside immediately spring into action.  Something is said in Chinese and a girl drops what she is doing from the back and runs outside.  'Hello, you like football.  You probably feel at home here.  We have good football food.  Hamburgers, hotdogs, doughnuts...really fresh doughnuts, you should try some.'  O.k.  I have to admit.  BEST marketing ploy ever.  These people at this little shop have this thing DOWN.  That girl who speaks English is worth her weight in gold to this restaurant.  And for what it's worth...she did convince me to buy some doughnuts (dessert...which was fresh and delicious).  I think I'll be back...if nothing else the whole situation just made me smile...and...it couldn't hurt to watch a little more football right?

At any rate, with my doughnuts in hand I decided this would end my adventure in Wudaoku for the evening and I headed home to do a little research.  What I found is that there are a few more places which are known around Beijing for such things as 'Best Burger' and 'Best Pizza'.  I will definitely be back.

Zaijian,
Gary
Lean Chinese:  De-tia...Subway.

Communication Issues...

The last few days I have been REALLY trying hard to communicate with Chinese (not like I wasn't trying before...but maybe before I would be a little more willing to say 'o.k. I'll eat at the cafeteria again today even though I really don't want it...because the alternative is to have to talk...or...'I'm starving and the cafeteria is closed...guess I'll have to go to bed hungry.')  With this new found determination has come some embarrassing moments...and finally last night....a successful one!

So over the weekend I took a road trip to PingYao (blog post on that still to come...I promise).  I went with my colleagues as well as the director of ICB and the coordinator of the Office of International Affairs (this will become important information in just a bit...I promise).  Well, with 17 people on the trip things are inevitably going to move slowly...but at one rest-stop things were just moving at a snails pace.  I was ready to round everybody up and get them on the bus so I said 'Let's Go'.  Then the assistant director here said...Oh Gary you need to say it in Chinese...then everybody will listen (really I am beginning to feel like I am the only one who doesn't speak Chinese in the entire world).  I ask him how to say it and he tells me and in true China fashion I yell it out really loudly.  JoBa!  JoBa!  Sure enough people heard.  Everyone turns and is staring at me...then somebody says 'what?'  And I repeat...JoBa! JoBa!  Everyone is now cracking up and the director is looking at me like I'm crazy.  Then Claire interprets for me.  Gary...you were just yelling at people Bars Bars...everyone thinks you want to go to the bar. 

Whoops!  Apparently it was supposed to be more like a z sound out front...but not a z...just kind of like it...but still close to a j sound...kind of like Tsoba Tsoba instead of JoBa (I figured out later bars is literally JioBa).  I think my ears just don't pick up on the subtle differences between some of these words.  It was a laughable moment for sure...and now I know TWO new words!!  So I can't complain.

Last night I had a much more successful experience.  I teach until late at night so eating dinner is always complicated during the weekdays.  The cafeteria is closed by the time I'm done and there are only so many dishes of Ramen Noodles and Chicken Sandwiches that need no refrigeration that one can indulge in without needing something else.  My dream for sometime has been to be able to go into a restaurant and ask them if I can order something to go.  Order it...and then take it back to my room.  I have been successful at my local pizza restaurant Luigis with a series of hand gestures that I'm sure makes me closely resemble a man being attacked by killer bees.  However...I wasn't willing to try this wild gesticulation at some of the nicer restaurants around.

I told our American foreign exchange student here (Kelcey) about my great longing for take out and she said...'oh well just ask them this  Ke ee da bow ma...or something to that effect'.  What?  This is golden information!  I typed it in my phone just in case I would forget it and set off on my way.  Part of my problem is always getting up the confidence to go through with these inevitably embarrassing encounters.  I almost aborted mission twice...but my stomach was telling me otherwise.  Eventually my feet carried me to a place that we like to call 'The Red Restaurant'.  Pretty much all of the restaurants here have a red sign...but for whatever reason...this one has become a favorite.

I walk in and the place is packed.  The Fuyan looks at me kind of like 'there's no room for you' and I can tell she knows I can't speak Chinese.  So I go up to her and I just blurt out my phrase.  'Ke ee da bow ma'.  She looks at me knowingly and says 'kee ee da bow'.  This was good.  She took out the ma.  This means that she changed it from a question and is confirming...yes, they can do take out.  She understands!!!  She goes over and brings me a menu.  Phew!  To me that was the hard part.  Now I flip to my favorite dish and order it with an easy word 'Jega' which just means 'this one'.  Then I order a bowl of rice that is not on the menu so a little trickier 'ee won me fawn'.  She tells me the price...'arr sure tsss kuai.  24...I understand!  Yes!!!  I pay and wait for my meal.  When it is ready they put it in the to go boxes and put it in a bag.  One small problems...they didn't include chopsticks...wait...I got this...'qkwiza'.  She grabs a pair of chopsticks and puts it in the bag.

I literally almost run out of the store and back to campus.  I don't want there to be any opportunities for me to mess this up.  I just had a smooth transaction completely in Chinese.  I also got everything I wanted and the way I wanted it.  I almost cried.  Then I decided...I must certainly retire from any further Chinese speaking.  This is certainly the way to go out...having a successful experience...yes!!!!  (Sidenote:  I have since come out of retirement...in true Brett Favre style and had a disastrous attempt at a conversation today...but that's o.k...at least now I know that a successful interaction can be had!!)

So overall...I'm feeling much better than a few weeks ago.  I think I'm slowly, finally starting to gain the tiniest subset of skills needed to survive here...and hey...any information I add to my pre-existing knowledge base can only help right?  Hopefully.

Zaijian,
Gary

Food for Thought

When going out to eat I usually have a set of criteria that I like to use.  Recommendations from others, price, proximity to my location, etc.  However, two of the more important have recently become A)  Picture menus and B) English translations.  If a restaurant has one or the other I will most likely try it out...if they have both...even better!  It just helps immensely as it is almost impossible to order without one of those requirements. 

Now, it is certainly understandable that when a restaurant does have English translations they may be a bit off.  Words are often misspelled, words are out of place and sometimes the translation doesn't quite make sense.  No problem.  The effort is greatly appreciated and the English translation is hard for some of these dishes...however on my recent trip to PingYao (blog about the trip to come soon) I found some of the English translations to be too good to not share.

For our appetizer...does anyone have any misbehaved children that they would like to get rid of?  If so, they might be perfect for this dish...

Yep...Fries pull out the rotten child.  Delicious!  If that doesn't suit your fancy...how about this one...

a little Meat Fried Cat Ear perhaps?  Some Forth spongecake made with lard?  If that isn't enough...

How about some cosmetic meat and 'You surface wicker basket lao'.

Oh, these gave us all a good laugh.

Zaijian,
Gary

The Story of a Salad...and a Sink

Today's journey involved my recent exploration into trying to eat healthy in Beijing.  When I first got here I'm going to be honest...I just wanted to eat what was the 'easiest'.  The question on my mind was always, ‘what can I purchase and eat with the least amount of embarrassment, Chinese language interaction, and or cooking preparation in our little rooms without a kitchen, any cooking supplies, or even a proper sink’.  Then I started to venture out into exploring the cuisine Beijing has to offer.  Korean BBQ's, Hot Pots, Jiatza, Restaurants with exciting Chinese dishes.  Once I successfully mastered those I figured it was time to stop eating whatever I wanted and start trying to eat healthier. 
Two weeks ago I started these efforts by switching out coke for diet coke and laying off the delicious ice cream that you can buy anywhere for relatively nothing (well at least reducing the amount of ice cream...every once in awhile you have to give in).  While this effectively cut out all of the sugar in my life I decided it was time to start eating better than the greasy carbohydrate laden cafeteria food and the preservative enriched non-refrigerated sandwiches from the CBD.  First goal…master the accent of the cashier at the fruit store near my house so I could start eating fruits.  After a couple of embarrassing misses…I think I finally have her accent down.  Enough so that I’ve been able to get 3-4 fruits into my diet for the last 5-6 days.  Super success!  Woohoo!  Now comes the hard part-vegetables.

The problem is that the little fruit store does not have vegetables…so for these I would have to venture out to the Merry Mart.  It should be noted that after many great adventures in the Merry Mart, I recently stopped going there…almost altogether.  We discovered that the little stores (CBD) behind where we live are so close and so cheap that unless you need something specialized (like vegetables) there is no need to head all the way over there.  But, I decided that the walk there and back would give me some good exercise…and I really wanted to start getting a few vegetables into my diet as well.
So I set out Monday night on a trek to the Merry Mart with healthy eating in mind.  What I really wanted to get were ingredients to make a good salad.  Eating a salad for lunch would be a great way to get my vegetables right?  Well, the vegetables at the Merry Mart are certainly plentiful…and cheap!  You can get pretty much whatever you want.  I decided on a couple of tomatoes, a red bell pepper, a yellow bell pepper, a little tiny bunch of lettuce, a little bunch of cilantro, and some carrots.  The other thing that you need to keep in mind is that the food here spoils SOOOO quickly.  In the back of my mind I am thinking that even with refrigeration…3 days…tops on this produce.  My last find at the Merry Mart…salad dressing!  I had to search for it but eventually found some in the French foreign food aisle.  It was a Caesar salad dressing that looked delicious (i.e. highly fattening)…but I decided it was essential…and really the goal was to be getting the vegetables into my diet.

I didn’t have time to make the salad Monday night, or last night because I’ve been extremely busy…so today during lunch I knew it was pretty much my last shot.  So I went to my room excited at this possibility.  After carefully washing all the vegetables in my little sink (with bottled water) I started going about trying to dice, slice, and assemble this salad in my little tiny room with my little tiny cutting board and knife.  Well…I managed o.k. using the top of my refrigerator as a table and the little tupperware bowl I bought pre-bundled with a bottle of diet coke a while pack (love the marketing here).  Before I knew it I had a delicious salad.  I never thought my body would crave a salad, but who knows…anything is possible in China.  I was excited about eating a good salad, not buying too many vegetables, being able to construct everything in my tiny little room and was cleaning everything up and putting everything away when it happened.

I had just finished washing off the rest of my red bell pepper to put into the fridge for a snack later and noticed that the sink had filled up with water.  Not a big surprise.   The sinks here do that all the time.  In about two hours or so the water would slowly drain.  So I brought the pepper out to my fridge and was putting it away when I heard ‘WOOOSH’ from the bathroom.  This can’t be good.  I go the bathroom to find that the sink has completely drained itself…all over the floor.  Crud.  How did that happen.  I don’t know.  I turn on the water and it goes right down the drain…until the drain meets the floor and then it all comes out…right onto the floor.  

Salad…success.  Sink…failure.  Shoot.  (Note:  This is not the first time I have had problems with a sink...see Figure 1 for details.

Figure 1

I go and grab a mop from the laundry room and start to try to clean this mess up.  (Note:  Things are DIRTY here.  Somebody got really mad at me for saying that in an earlier post…why?  Everything is just really dirty here.  It is true.  There are just different standards of sanitation…and the mop…was no different).  I do my best to clean the filthy mop and then mop up my floor…using my shower to ring out the mop.  By the end of this process my white tiled shower floor is black and filthy…but at least I’d cleaned up the water from the sink…right?  I go to turn on the shower to try to clean up some of the filth on the shower floor...I let the water run until it is cleaned off pretty well and then go to turn it off.  I reach in and there is a surge of water pressure and kablooie...I am drenched.  I just laughed...muahahahaha.

That’s where my journey ended.  I decided my room was not meant for me tonight so I went to my office…emailed someone about my sink…and finished writing a Calc III exam.  I have faith that they will fix it quickly (Sidenote:  It has been a day and a half...still no fixed sink :-( faith gone in the quick fix). 

But, on a better note.  Enoch and I decided to apply for an apartment.  I guess we are first on the list…so if somebody moves out, we can move out of the guesthouse and have…a kitchen!!!  A glorious kitchen!  Yes, that would be amazing.  Also, the apartments are super nice…so I’m crossing my fingers that this arrangement works out…soon.  Hopefully by the spring semester.  I guess that is all for now.  The moral of the story is this…don’t take things for granted in the States.  It is so easy to eat healthy there compared to here…but I just resisted it for whatever reason many many times. 
O.k. off to try to recharge my phone which has apparently run out of minutes and text messages. 

Zaijian,
Gary 
Learn Chinese:  Ni Hao Arrr (Apparently Beijing slang for 'You are stupid'.)  

Travel Plans

As I've settled into routine life here I have allowed myself to think about traveling.  My first trip...back home!!!  Yes!  I have a plane ticket back home on Dec. 18th.  It will be a very long travel day as I believe I have a 9 hour layover in Denver (Denver friends...don't you think this would be a great opportunity to come see me :-) before my flight eventually will get me to Billings.  I plan on spending the night in Billings and then heading back to eastern Montana with my parents to spend about 10 days there for Christmas.  My plans for eastern Montana...catching up with family...enjoying my mom's home-made pickles and chicken fried steak...and of course...lots of Christmas movies :-)

Then on Dec. 29th I have a flight from Sidney, MT to Denver...wohoo!  I'll be arriving in time to make the wedding reception of a friend on the 31st and hopefully do some good visiting and catching up with all of my friends and family there.  (Sidenote:  Would any friends like to be graced with my presence for a few days while I'm in Denver?  I know you are all dying to say yes...???)  My plans for Denver/Littleton...lots of fellowship, Solid Grounds, La Loma, and hopefully some Settler of Catan...big plans right?

I haven't booked my plane ticket back to Beijing yet...I've been dragging my feet and I'm sure they are going to come any day to my office and club me if I don't send over my requests soon...but I haven't decided exactly how much time I will need in Denver...or how much traveling I want to do when I get back to Beijing.  I'm thinking about perhaps getting back to Beijing around the 10th or so and then doing some travel to Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Japan...any other ideas?  Really...Thailand is at the top of my list.  Hong Kong is high on the list as well...but I could probably do that over a long weekend, so I might hold off on doing that one in January.  If anyone knows of good places in these regions please let me know!

O.k. that's it for now.  It is midterms week and everyone is stressed and busy here.

Zaijian,
Gary 

Slide Carefully

So every morning when I get in the shower to start my day I see this sign...

...and it makes me chuckle a little every single time.  I think it is the picture of the man in the right hand corner.  There are all types of signs like this here that crack me up.  My second favorite is the one in the Merry Mart which reminds customers to 'Carefully Pinch'.  Speaking of the Merry Mart...I just found a store that may be aiming to put it out of business...The Happiness Mart.  I might have to try out the Happiness Mart tomorrow...sounds fun.

Zaijian,
Gary
(Learn Chinese:  Mai Don-the bill...can you tell the Chinese I'm learning is all centered around getting food?)

The Summer Palace and Chinese National Holiday

This first week in October is called Chinese National Holiday.  Everyone in China gets the week off (except the tourist type business owners...like restaurants) and it seems that EVERYONE takes the opportunity to travel with family...all throughout China.  So since Beijing has a lot of great tourist destinations, it was expected to be overwhelmed this week with tourists and visitors.  Nevertheless, we also had the week off...so a perfect opportunity for us to do some sight seeing too, right....???

Well, after my successful trip to watch tennis on Monday night I decided to take my friend Arielle and her visiting friend Lona up on their invitation to join them at the Summer Palace.  I hadn't been yet and I wanted to experience this National Holiday population influx for myself.  We got together and decided to catch a taxi and head out about 10:45 or so.  In no time at all we were at the Summer Palace (and I paid the taxi driver with exact fair!!!!  arr sure leo...26 kuai...yes...I can do this! Well maybe...) and had purchased our all inclusive tickets.  We marched through the gate and were greeted by this...

…about 150,000 of our closest Chinese friends!  In China they have a saying about Beijing which loosely translates in English to ‘Sea of People…Mountain of People’.  Yep…I get that now!  The other thing that could not be avoided today was this…

…yes, that is not fog…or moisture…it is smog.  The smog here can be so thick and absolutely terrible.  It cannot be described or exaggerated.  On days like this if you are out walking around for 4-5 hours, your lungs just HURT and you get a cough and start feeling like you are beginning to get really sick.  I’ve learned that really, it is just the smog.  But, it is a part of life here in Beijing…so you learn to deal with it.

The Summer Palace was created as a summer play place or 'getaway' for the emperors and the empress.  When the Forbidden City was just too confining they would come here to get away from it all.  It really is just unimaginable that this entire lake and the surrounding palace and all the structures were created for just one person or family to live in (for the summer...or a part of the summer).  The structure is absolutely incredible and beautiful.

The people were really overwhelming today and the layout of this palace was not meant to accommodate so many tourists.  Some severe bottlenecks were created and the going was slow and somewhat treacherous (meaning people of this magnitude create chaos...elbowing, shoving, doing whatever they can to push through or push ahead of you.).  Definitely not my type of thing...but we decided to push through (slowly) to the top of the tower.

It was worth it to get a view of all the ships and boats out on the lake during the gorgeous weather.  I also attempted to get some pictures of me at the top...

...but I've run out of American batteries...and my flash was gone after only two pictures with my Chinese one's :-(  This led to a very interesting Chinglish conversation with the man I got to take my picture...I knew what he was trying to say...and I think he knew what I was trying to say too...but there was just no remedy to the bad batteries and lack of flash.

Here we are making our way back down to try to exit.  This was very interesting as the paths are not marked and you never are quite sure if you are headed toward an exit...or a dead end.  But, luckily I have a very good nose for these sorts of things :-)  My directions in China are surprisingly good.  Maybe it is just out of a need for survival but all of you who knew me as directionally challenged in Denver would be quite impressed.  I seem to always be able to find the right routes through and out of places...always seem to be the first to get the taxi...and surprisingly have a knack for finding the bus and subway stations.  This I am attributing to a sheer miracle or sorts...because I would be the last person anyone would ever ask for directions from in Denver.

One last view from the bottom...and we were on our way home.  Another good outing with some good company :-)

Zaijian,

Gary

Learn Chinese- Nong Da (Literally translates to Big School...but when used with Qing Hua Dong Lu (the name of the road that I live off of) is very effective at getting taxi drivers to take me home :-)

A Little Bit of Tennis

Those of you who truly know me are aware that I am perhaps the biggest tennis fan on the face of the Earth.  Now we are not talking about one of those ‘fans’ who watches an occasional Federer or Nadal match and claims to just ‘love’ tennis.  I could never be one of those people who tune in for the Wimbledon finals…and nothing else.  I follow tennis all year round.  Womens and Mens.  Every tournament, every player…I check the new rankings every week and just can’t get enough.  Why is this all important?  Because I’ve never yet been able to get to a professional  tournament.  To go in the U.S. it is just incredibly expensive.  By the time you add up the expenses for plane tickets, hotels, transportation, and the tennis tickets…it just isn’t feasible.  However, things are different here in Beijing…

This week everyone is on vacation for the Chinese National Holiday.  It also coincides with one of the biggest non-grand slam tennis tournaments of the year, The China Open.  The great thing about the China Open is that it is one of the very few events on tour that holds both a WTA (Womens) tournament AND an ATP (Mens) tournament jointly.  I knew it was coming to town…and knew I needed to make it happen to be able to go watch some tennis.  The only potential problems…getting to the venue (with my very limited Chinese), buying tickets, and getting back home…so everything was going to have to work out just right for this to happen.

(Above:  Waiting to go inside to Center Court).

The tournament is being held at the National Tennis Center which is ‘close’ the Olympic Bird's Nest from the 2008 Games.  I found the Chinese characters for National Tennis Center, wrote them down,  and took some faith that I could get to the right place.  The first taxi driver wouldn’t give it a go.  The second didn’t seem to know where the tennis center was, but I said ‘Olympic’ to which he repeated the word and then said something and I said ‘duay’ which means correct.  (Even though I had no idea what he was saying, I knew that he was probably asking if I wanted to go to the Olympic Park…so I said yes and crossed my fingers.

I shut the taxi door and we were off.  I knew we were headed in the right direction…so that was good.  After about 15 minutes I kept seeing signs for the China Open…even better sign.  And then…on the left I see the National Tennis Center (I’ve seen it in pictures and on T.V. before so there was no mistaking it).  I try telling the driver…that one (Naga) and he seems to get it and lets me off.  Phew…I’m here.  One minor miracle down…several more to hope for.  I start walking toward the big tennis stadiums and have no idea where to go.  The first ‘entrance’ I come to has several security guards and is clearly labeled VIP entrance.   MMM….well, I’m not a VIP.  I don’t even have a ticket.  But…I don’t see any other entrance so I just walk right in.  (Sidenote:  I was previously petrified of just walking past all of these Chinese Guards.  But they are everywhere on campus and I’ve noticed they NEVER ask me anything…NEVER.  They only ever smile or laugh at me…that’s it.  So I had confidence that I could just walk right by).  I get closer to the tennis courts…more security, more guards…all Chinese…I walk right by.  I come up to several tennis courts….two more guards…walk right by.  HOLY MOLY!  There’s Bojana Jovanovski practicing her two-handed backhand with her coach!!  I keep walking…WHAT!  Sabine Lisicki are you kidding me!  Drilling forehands to her hitting partner!  I keep going like I know what I’m doing.  And then it happens.  I am standing 5 feet from Ana Ivanovic.  5 feet away.  Well, technically we are separated by the fence on the tennis court she is practicing at…but I’m literally right next to her.  

(Above:  A classic Andy Roddick serve.)

I can’t help it.  I stop.  This is the former women’s world #1.  French Open champion….and perhaps the most beautiful girl in the entire world.  Right there in front of me practicing her serve with her coach Gavin Hopper (super famous coach too).   Slight heart attack…I can’t think…what should I do….I can’t take pictures because that would give me away…I’m in such awe.  But, I force myself forward.  I walk right by (shoulder to shoulder) with Michael Llodra (men’s grand slam doubles champion)…then I realize where I’m at.  I’m not at the VIP entrance.  I’m not at the tournament entrance.  I’m at the PLAYER’S entrance and exit.  There is a full on gym where there’s about 25 players warming up and working out.  There are others coming out…woah there’s Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor…oh and Sabine again she must be done hitting…they are all getting on the same bus.  This must have been a player’s bus taking players and coaches to their hotels.  Now I get it.  I’m white…I’m wearing my black Nike tennis jacket…the guards all thought I was with one of the player’s ‘teams’.  I could stay here all day…just watching players warm-up…seeing them come in and out as they go.  But I know that this isn’t the place to A) take pictures, or B) talk to players…so I know what I must do.  I take one more glimpse around at all of the players and then head back out the same direction which I came.  (Darn tennis etiquette has been instilled deep within me!)

(This is how Andy Roddick spent most of the night...TICKED OFF at the crowd...and himself...he even broke a racquet and got a warning from the chair umpire!)

After awhile I manage my way through and around the venue and come to the ticket stand.  I walk right up and order up the best seat in the house (best seat available to the public that is) for the night session.  And it is a good one.  Andy Roddick versus Kevin Andersen (world #31, big server, potential upset here).  The second match is Petra Kvitova (reigning Wimbledon champion...for those who live under a rock, and perhaps my favorite female tennis player at the moment…she absolutely CRUSHES the ball and I love her style of play) vs. Sofia Arvidsson.  The ticket cost…200 RMB.  That is like $30…woah!  Super cheap! 

(Above:  Handshake after the match)

I had gotten there pretty early so I decided to go right in and explore the venue.  I’m in complete awe of everything going on so I’m slowly taking it all in.  Then I come up to a court…what is going on here…a women’s doubles match!  On a court right in front of everyone walking throughout the venue where you are standing courtside…by just walking by…I can’t believe this…and who is playing?  Oh just Daniela Hantuchova and Aggie Radwanska.  I had to laugh at the people behind me asking who they were.  Are you kidding me!  Daniela and Aggie need no introduction!  They are one of the best women’s doubles teams in the world…AND some of the best women’s singles players in the world.  Aggie just won the huge tournament in Japan right before this one.  And I am standing on the baseline watching them play!  Incredible.  After their first set win I move on.  I come across a set of two courts side by side.  I go right in between.  I turn to my left…oh just Thomas Berdych ten feet away  playing doubles…and to my right?  Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirlenko playing a doubles match.  I’m in heaven.  I can’t even believe this.  Woah!  Watching Azarenka in real life is incredible…standing at the sideline watching her smoke backhands is a sheer thing of beauty.  Kirlenko too (probably the second most beautiful girl in the world…so that doesn’t hurt either)  is on a hot streak lately and just took out Georges in singles play.  She is finding the net at every opportunity and is incredible up there.

I keep moving, here’s a practice court with Tomas Kamke…you can literally go SIT on the court and watch him practice.  Later on a doubles match with Shahar Peer, Duchevina, Voskobieva and Rodionova.  I’m star struck.  Completely and utterly starstruck…and I haven’t even watched the match I came in for yet!!  But now it is getting to that time so I head in to Center Court to take my seat.  I get there and realize that the best seats you can buy are quite incredible…but still quite a difference between these and the matches I was just watching from the baseline.  These matches were fun to watch, but I actually think I prefer just wandering around being so close to the players and watching the doubles from so close.  Roddick comes out in a BAD mood.  He is pouting at everything.  He HATES the asian crowd.  He is yelling at them and pouting and putting his hands on his hips at every opportunity.  I think maybe if he wasn’t in such a foul mood he might play a little better.  At any rate…he is angry, and upset and loses the match in two sets.  It was still incredible to watch as these men both CRUSH the ball.  

Next up, Petra Kvitova.  Most of the crowd has left.  Even though Andy HATED them…all the Chinese LOVE Andy.  Nobody here really knew Petra…so they left.  Kvitova comes out playing her typical brand of tennis…crushing the ball.  It is truly a thing of beauty to see her play this type of game.  Anyone who isn’t a fan of hers should definitely check her game out.  But, when her game is off…it is off.  She is making too many unforced errors and loses the first set in a tiebreak to Arvidsson.  Sofia isn’t doing anything special…but she is making Petra play…and Petra is making too many errors.  She comes back and wins the second set…but alas, the errors get the better of her and she is upset too!  A night of upsets.  

(Above:  One of the women's doubles matches I watched...with Shahar Peer)

After the match I head out and try to get a taxi back.  Ugh.  This was not an easy procedure…but I eventually managed to get home o.k.  What an incredible day.  I can’t believe I just had this opportunity…and took it!  I decided to go back on Wednesday for the day session and just wander around and watch matches all day.  I can’t wait.

Zaijian,

Gary

(Learn Chinese:  EE Won Mei Fan-One bowl of rice…very useful at restaurants :-)