Wrap Up

Unfortunately, what has been a phenomenal summer has to come to an end. After finishing up the program I returned home to Hong Kong. While there was not any huge culture shock for me, I realized that I really missed a couple of things that I had taken for granite. For example:

Milk - I went from 2 glasses with every meal at school to 1 carton during my entire two months in Beijing

Tap Water - When it is 2:30am and you wake up thirsty to find you have no more bottled water left. Yeah, that's no fun.

Meat - Big hunks of meat, steak. Pieces of meat that you bite down into and you can chew are just tough to find in China unless you go out of your way. I had steak and twice baked potatoes the first night I got home. Incredible.

Sleep - I have gotten close to 10 hours a night since I have been home and just woke up from a nap. Getting up in Beijing every morning at 6:30 wasn't fun. I need to recover before school starts up again.

Clean(ish) air - While in Beijing, there was no way I was going to be able to run. Even playing basketball was tough because after ten minutes your chest would be hurting and afterwards I always felt sick. Coming back to Hong Kong, where the air has been spectacularly clean, has allowed me to get outside for extended periods again. 

While the summer has reminded me to be thankful for the aforementioned things, there are a few certain things that I picked up in Beijing which will be tough to drop

Fried Egg and Dough Breakfast - Ate it every morning and would continue to do so if the guy selling them lived outside my apartment building. 三个拉的。要菜。谢谢。

Gongbaojiding and Danchaofan Lunch - I ate it almost everyday and while I got sick of it towards the end of the program, would gladly have some more. In a couple weeks. 

Playing basketball with Beijingren - I will miss hearing cries of "fan gui," people hanging around the courts all day to watch, and old Chinese men being automatic from 20 feet out. They really do love basketball in China. Whoever is responsible for that (Nike, cough) has done a great job.

On the whole, my summer in China was a fantastic experience and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Chinese language, culture or just wants to try something different. While it may require you to be outgoing at times, I have yet to meet someone who did not enjoy their time in China. I will definitely be back next year.

Don't be afraid to comment

Seriously, it makes the blog much more interesting if there is more input.

Shanghai

This weekend I took a trip to Shanghai. Fortunately, my future roommate (none other than the venerable Kevin Ho) took me in and gave me a place to sleep. Outside of the cost of the flight, the trip was really incredibly inexpensive and getting out of Beijing was a great way to recharge the batteries.

After arriving in Shanghai, I took the MagLev train into the city. This was really exciting because this train goes fast. I mean, really fast. Like Roadrunner fast. My favorite part was looking out of the train and looking at the cars on the highway going in the same direction as you and whizzing past them. Its only then that you truly realize that you are going 300KPH faster than them.

Another great part of Shanghai was Kevin's apartment. He is in China with the Bulldogs in Shanghai program and seems to be very well taken care of. His apartment had two bedrooms (with queen sized beds), two bathrooms, a full kitchen and a living room. On top of that the apartment complex provides maid and laundry service. The air-conditioning was also incredible. Four units in a relatively small apartment gets things done. I slept in a cool 16c environment which took me nostalgically down a road of remembrance back to my room at home. I can't wait until the cold New Haven winter when I can wake up with snow on the inside of my windowsill.

As for the sighteseeing, the Shanghai Zoo was probably the most fun I had. The zoo has everything. From pelicans to penguins to polar bears to panda bears all areas of the animal kingdom were well represented. However, the best part of the zoo was the way that the guests treated the animals. Save the panda bears (which are basically walking deities in China) people had little respect for the animals and it seemed like the zoo itself had even less. For example, in the rain forest area, visitors walk on a walkway above turtles, alligators and other creatures. Many people would simply drop trash and money into the cages (to make a wish or something). I am not exaggerating when I say that I saw a turtle with 30 kuai in coins on its shell swimming around. He was not too pleased. The zoo seemed to have no maintenance staff and made no effort to stop the people from treating the animals so poorly. What's more is that they sold food to the guests which they use to feed the animals. While this is great and fun and all, it really can't be good for a deer to eat 10 to 20 packets of Ritz crackers a day. It just can't be.

That's all for now.

Coming back down

This week was one of the quieter ones. After having our first final last week, doing our daily work and studying for our weekly test just did not seem like that much work. I really caught up on some much needed sleep this weekend, putting in about 22 hours combined on Friday and Saturday night. I have noticed that I really do need about eight hours of sleep a night for it to be sustainable. Unfortunately, that has yet to happen here on a consistent basis. 

Last night I went for Mexican food. While my initial feeling was that Mexican food in China would taste about as good as Chinese food in Mexico, it was surprisingly delicious. The jury is still out on whether it was the quality of the food or the fact that I had not had so much meat and cheese since arriving here.

This week of classes was probably the best so far. We have begun to learn about real things like the Chinese government and the Chinese economy. This is great because we can actually have intellectual discussions in Chinese and it makes class a little bit more fun when one person does not agree with another on the positive and negative externalities of foreign companies in China. Then again, I think we have one chapter next week titled: Drop your pants and fart. So much for those intellectual discussions.

Thats all for now.

Datong, Pingyao

This past weekend marked the midpoint of our program and we spent it traveling. While one group went to Xi'an, I chose to go to Datong and Pingyao in Shanxi province. 

The trip started with a six hour train ride from Beijing to Datong. The train ride itself was certainly an experience. In China, if the train has sold out all of its seats, you can simply purchase a standing ticket. This means that for the entire duration of the ride, you are on your own two feet. The lucky people will actually sit in the toilet stall when no one is using it. The strangest part about it is that the people who don't have a seat actually pay the full price of the ticket. People in the US just wouldn't be able to stand that. 

Once everyone had boarded the train it was extremely crowded. However, apart from that the train was really quite nice and probably better than any train I had been on in the US. The train on the way back from Datong certainly was. It was very modern and comfortable. The train travelled at about 150 MPH and the ride was exceptionally smooth. 

On the trip we visited a series of caves in Datong, the ancient city of Pingyao and the very impressionable Hanging Monastery. The Hanging Monastery is a monastery which is built about 50m above the ground half in a cliff and half hanging over the side. It was very exciting walking between the different rooms and looking over the side of the monastery at all the people far below you. It is not difficult to imagine how people died in the building process.

One of my favorite aspects of the trip was that it allowed us to get out of Beijing for a little. While I do like the city, it was nice to spend some time in a more rural area and see what China is really like. Living in Beijing you forget how many Chinese people are still impoverished and that China as a whole is still not completely developed. 

The clean air was welcome too.

Duche Du De Lihai

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have had a mountain of trouble trying to get around the Great Firewall. The VPN is currently working so I will take this opportunity to post.

I am really settling into a routine here. I have become very accustomed to living here. While there are some inconveniences, many seem trivial now. For example, last weekend I took a two hour cab ride which should have taken twenty minutes. Stuck in traffic, instead of stressing out, I took the opportunity to talk to the taxi driver. Traffic is just one of those things that you are going to have to deal with if you want to live in Beijing. I am fine with that.

Last week I checked out one of the more modern malls here with some friends. After shopping we noticed that the mall had a Sizzler. While on any other occasion this would not have been much of a topic of conversation none of us had eaten any American food in three weeks prompting us to participate in what became an epic feast. The food was mediocre at best (I found myself eating something call "Tuna Parsley Spaghetti" as a side dish) but like a parched man in the desert, anything would do. After dinner we located a Dairy Queen to finish the night off. We left satisfied. 

That is all for now.

Beijing: Beautiful Again

Since last time the weather has gotten much better. We went to Tiananmen Square on Saturday; the air was perfect the sun was shining. Saturday was the third time I have been to Tiananmen and this time was the most profound. I really appreciated how big it was and the extensiveness of the palace. 

The work has really picked up. We meet everyday with our 'Language Partners' for between an hour and two which really takes away from your time to work. Then again, we only have four hours of class a day.

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to get a game of basketball against the Capital Normal University team. After a slow start, we actually beat them. Because we were playing against the university team, we were allowed to use the gym. A short break from the 100 degree heat was very welcomed.  

The Smog Continues To Worsen...

Today was by far the worst smog I have ever seen. From my hotel window I could see about two blocks in either direction before everything paled to gray. Truly depressing stuff. If that doesn't do it for you, get a load of this. Many of the hotel windows are open because it is cool outside during the afternoon. You could see the smog INSIDE the hotel corridors. Disgusting. Strangely, it isn't smog that is hard to breathe. The gym where I work out has windows that are constantly open and I had no problem there. Then again, it really can't be good for you.

As for the studying, everything is going pretty well. However, I have found that the grading is much harder here than at Yale. The teachers are (I don't want to say nitpicky) strict. If a tiny piece of the character is wrong or there is too big of a gap between parts of the character the entire thing is counted as wrong. I now wonder if the grading was so lenient at Yale to help cope with all of the work.

Jiao zi count: 120

Jiao Zi Count

115

Language Pledge (With Jiao Zi Update)

Today was our first day of the language pledge. It was really tough but I can see the difference in my Chinese after only one day. When you have to speak Chinese, you rack your brain and find very creative ways to say things. It is very rewarding when you can finally get you point across without using any English. I can see why sometimes the language pledge may become a little frustrating. When I was in class today and did not understand some of the grammar, it could not be explained to me in English. I feel this could impede my learning a little bit, but on the whole, the language pledge should be great for my Chinese.

Jiao Zi Count: 60 Jiao Zi. Today we went for dinner to a jiao zi restaurant and I have 2 plates (20 jiao zi). On the way back to the dorms, I just had to get another couple so I got a bag of jiao zi from a different restaurant. The jiao zi are also really inexpensive; 4 kuai for 10 jiao zi. My feast of 30 jiao zi was only 12 kuai ($14 HKD or $2 USD)

Language Pledge Countdown: 2 Hours

At 1:00 today, I sign my language pledge. This will prevent me from speaking English until I leave. It is going to be really tough because I don't know as much Chinese as many of the people here and I have really only learned classroom expressions (contrast that with someone who speaks Chinese at home). I think I will have trouble expressing myself/fleshing out my personality. Then again, it will be phenomenal for my Chinese. 

I just completed my first day of work. It was a lot, but manageable. Meanwhile, Beijing is as dark as ever right now. It is raining, so that has something to do with it, but the pollution must also factor in. The pollution has gotten steadily worse since we arrived and the far away buildings have been shrouded in smog for a while now. 

Mian Bao Che

I just finished class for the day. We have four hours of zhongwen ke without much of a break and it is very mentally draining. However, I have little time to spare. I have homework to do and about 60 han zi to memorize. In my opinion, one of my favorite parts of Chinese is the idioms. We learned mian bao che (which literally translates to "bread loaf car") today. I had never realized that a van looked like a bread loaf. Silly me.

Tomorrow we start our language pledge and I will not be able to speak any English, although I can still email and blog in my native tongue. It is going to be really tough. I really just don't know enough Chinese to flesh out my personality and make friends just speaking Chinese. It will, however, be great for my Chinese. 

I am going to the gym later today. I only mention this because the gym is called Hokay Gym which really makes me laugh. I thought I would pass that on. I might have to have a couple more jiao zi as a post workout meal. They are delicious. 

The air has been a little bit worse today and more of the Beijing I was expecting to see. 

Jiao Zi Update

Total Jiao Zi consumed: 30

I'm completely hooked.

Jiao Zi For Breakfast

I was running a bit short on time today and got about 15 delicious Jiao Zi for 8 kuai. I love this country.

Where is the Smog?

I arrived in Beijing last Friday but struggled to overcome the "great firewall" and get my blog online. However, I am all set up now and ready to go. 

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Beijing is how modern everything is. I have been to Beijing a couple of times in the past, but in the last three years, things have really changed. The first thing I noticed was the air. Coming from Hong Kong, I expected the air to be even worse than at home. So far it hasn't been. The day I arrived was incredibly clear and sunny with seemingly unrestricted visibility. 

While class has not technically started yet, my Chinese is already getting much better. I went to go play basketball the other day on one of the local courts in Beijing. Basketball has really taken off and is really popular in Beijing to an extent that I did not expect. Anyways, playing basketball was great for me because when I got there, I couldn't communicate with most of the people I was playing with. Thus, by observing, I learned to call a foul (and argue "Zhen de ma?"), say the score amoungst other things. I really think this is the best way to learn and will try to get out of the dorms a but more to put myself in more situations like this.

Thats all I've got for now.