Wandering Wonders

Yesterday I went to Summer Palace with two friends, and it was what I had envisioned China looking like. It was so beautiful. I am so glad I went.

Today I am working on reading for another crummy paper. I’m kinda upset because I haven’t heard anyone from back home’s voice, but I realize that that’s my own fault! haha.

A few of my friends are thinking of going to Inner Mongolia this weekend. If it’s not too expensive, I am definitely going! If it is, then I’ll just got to Shanghai. Well, I suppose I need to get back to studying. All work and no play is making Jessica a very dull girl indeed! Haha.

Last night was a night I will remember for a while. (Haha, no I didn’t get kissed! Ick! Lol.) But I did pick up speedonians in a boat in Houhai park. When the night was young, I was very hungry. I was going to eat someone’s face if I didn’t eat soon, so I took plan B and got a foccaccia chicken sandwich from Starbucks instead. Then we four managed to lose the other two on accident, and after searching a bit and playing with the bubble machine outside one of the snazzy bars, we took to the boats.

Once we got in the boat, we decided to make it our mission to pick up speedonians. (Lol. Chinese bathing suits are really funny… they’re not big on trunks here, even the old men!) When Adrianna said “pick up”, I literally thought she meant pick them up out of the water. I was ready! Instead, we just yelled at them in Chinglish until one guy swam and got into our boat. He’s married and has three children. It was really cool because, I promise, he looks like Jackie Chan. We took several photos to prove the legitimacy of this story.

Then we decided this wasn’t enough, oh no… we had to terrorize everyone else. So, we headed toward the bridge and “accidentally” rammed into all the other boats. Granted, it wasn’t that big of a deal because we were only going 5 mph (the fastest it would go!), but still… lol.

After our hour of mayhem was over, we found the other two and headed to Sanlitun, which is a haven for foreigners… i guess. There were more foreigners there than Asians, that’s for sure. We went to this bar called China Doll because it had AC AND dancing (a major feat in that area.)

China Doll was amazing. The beats were cool. The dancing was off the chain… i had sooo much fun. And out followers were really weird! We had this one kid follow us around and dance behind us… for an hour at least. And then this other kid from Australia got all up on Lacey… it was weird. Lacey remained calm, but she was puzzled. Lol! Hahaha! Someone asked for my tele#, and that was it.

BUT dancing with my friends was amazing! We made up so many dances, and I had Madonna’s “Vogue” going. Lol.

Wow… where do I start? If I give you an outline, it’ll sound really shady… telling you I scaled a wall with complete strangers and went down a back alley at night where there were six billiard tables in the street and kebabs galore with guys wearing swim trunks and then later independently and accidently ended up singing karoake in a brothel just isn’t going to cut it. So here’s the dirt:

At first I biked to Tsinghua University (going there for a semester has crossed my mind) to see what the campus was like. The campus was humongous. Then I really, really wanted to go to the Ruins of Yuyuanming, which I recommend because it is untrammeled due to the fact that it was in fact trammeled by the French and British in the 1860s (they ruined the buildings!) The park is humongous, and the lily pads are so beautiful there, and the crickets offer up beasty voices. So I’m enjoying this and I didn’t want to leave, but I knew sunset would hit soon, so I tried to retrace my steps…. but the park is humongous and none of the maps parks were in English. I had a road map, but it recognized the park only as a gelatinous green blob which sprawled around the lakes… and no gates or roads and whatnot.

I tried to find my way back to the original gate I went through in order to get my bike, but when I followed a main road it led me to another gate. The security guard told me to turn around and go the other way, and then alerted someone on his walkie talkie that there was a “Mei guo ren” wandering around aimlessly. I walked in the direction he said, but by this time night had fallen and I felt a little testy. I decided to walk back in the direction of the gate he was at, and if I saw someone I could ask for directions, or get him to call a cab from the gate.

On my way back towards him, I met a couple. The girl spoke English well enough to understand me. I told them I didn’t know how to get out of the park because all the maps I had seen were in Chinese. And she said that she could get me out. She said she lived there.

So we walked towards these small apartments, and ended up climbing a wall to get to this back alley. It was like another world… completely different than anything I have seen in China. It was wonderful. There were sooo many people out in the street! The place was buzzing. There were billiard tables all over the place and men were playing pool. The kebabs were sizzling and the dumplings were beautiful. There were men out, sitting on their blankets, with wares. When I walked a little farther, I could definitely smell excrement. Someone probably went in the street… or maybe it just got put in the street. But that’s pretty common here it seems. Anyhow, it was wonderful, save that little whiff.

They led me to the bus stop, but since I didn’t know how to ride the buses (I can’t read the characters— no pinyin there) they led me to the South Gate. My bike wasn’t there, and it wasn’t my gate either. So I hailed a taxi, and they asked how much for me. All I had was 29 1/2 kuai. My cab fare ended up being 26. I gave all the money I had to him.

When I got back, some of the fellow students asked me if I wanted to go to KTV, the Karaoke club with them. I had my doubts because of what I had read in Chinese Lessons, but I went anyway. Yep. It was a legitimate Karaoke club (the eleven of us were given a large room for 300 kuai) but it was also a legitimate brothel on the second floor. We went, though, because one of our teachers had recommended it to us.

So today I went to rescue my bike, and then rode it back home.

Whew.

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while! I’ve been working on two papers on the Cold War Consensus and thematic elements of U.S.-Sino Relations, which has kept me up until the wee hours of the morning for a few nights. In my policy class, I am a lobbyist for the ADA(American Democratic Association). The bill we are trying to get pushed is about cutting down emissions. Wow. There’s a lot of personality in my class, and let’s just say I’m honestly hoping that a fight doesn’t break out over political stances. I am happy to be a lobbyist.

Anyhow, I’ve done other cool things in the meantime. Just last night I went to the Peking Opera. It’s really cool because it’s definitely more about gymnastics and juggling than it is about singing. Before that, I went to the teahouse. Upon leaving, they gave me a baby Buddha that is supposed to pee out water. Mine doesn’t work, though… unless I am just pouring the water wrong or something. It was so odd… such a nice teahouse for such a quirky gift. Haha.

I’ve done other stuff, but I will tell you when I get home because I am literally exhausted for staying up past three for the last few nights…. remind me to tell you about getting paid and interviewing Chinese students…

Ciao!

Yesterday I biked all the way to Tiananmen Square (45mins-1 hour one way). I thought it significant that I was standing in the very place where the Tiananmen Massacre took place in 1989, but other than that the place is not so significant looking. It’s kind of weird to think that a group of students camped out there for weeks and the troops opened fire on them. I am in awe that the square is open right now, due to the Olympics. It has been interesting to see how much security and policemen are everywhere. It doesn’t scare me, being watched. But that’s because i am foreign and I am not doing anything wrong.

On the way back I went to a free Exhibit. It was about Tibet, and presented a one-sided argument about how much the PRC had done for Tibet, and has virtually raised it out of serfdom and pays 85% of their expenditures. Now I don’t know too much about the Tibet-PRC issue, but it sounded like a little Olympic sucking up was the real motivation for this exhibit…. but I will give them the benefit of a doubt.

After that I went to McDonald’s and bought six McNuggets for only 6 yuan… it was 3 p.m., but this big restaurant was PACKED and there was nowhere to sit!

Gotta run; Ciao!

Drop a line if you know anything about the PRC-Tibet issue OR even the PRC-Taiwan issue.
I’ve been reading a lot of Sino-U.S. documents for my classes, but there are so many opposing views!

So, the day started with a late breakfast. I must tell you this: they are crazy about watermelon, and I have been offered watermelon at almost every meal. I can eat it with breakfast or lunch…. that and boiled peanuts. So weird… you should see me eat salted peanuts with chopsticks! haha

THE GREAT WALL

Anyhow… after breakfast we all hopped on a bus and rode a wee bit over two hours to the Great Wall. The Great Wall was pretty cool, but I was so groggy! Haha. It was really weird being that high up, but then again it kind of felt natural being up there, like it’s just as average and normal as brushing your teeth in the morning. I mainly noticed how crowded it was, and opted to go the way that had less folks (the personal space issue is getting to me here! Haha

There were also vendors there. I don’t like the vendors very much because they start at super high prices just because they know you are American. And then they get mad at you if you insinuate you’re not interested because you know they’re ripping you off. And their “Hu-lo! Hu-lo! Hu-lo!” cries are so loud and abrupt that they’re almost deafening. I don’t want to haggle anymore- I hate the process. I think I am going to go to a gov’t-run store where the prices are set!

Ohh, yeah… if you thought I craved Starbucks at home, you can imagine my surprise when seeing a Starbuck’s at the Great Wall. Ohh, and the Great Wall also has cell phone service, so if you have an important call to make you can do it right there! Haha… so funny to me. It’s almost like we have to box nature up and put artificial goodness around it just to make it appealing and commercial enough to make an extra buck… ehhh… but what do I know?

Some big store

So… we also ate at this really nice place and shopped there as well. I had amazing food, and my favorite… dumplings! I also had a bit of alchie that was really weird because it tasted like sweet vodka. It came with the meal. Ick. But the tea here is fantastic. It’s very light and smooth. You just have to try it to understand… maybe I can bring some home and make it for you, okay, or grow some jasmine for it. Amazing, I’m telling you.

I’m also getting really good at chopsticks! (For me, anyway. I didn’t realize I had been using them until they told me that they even eat peanuts with their chopsticks and don’t use their hands (I was using my hands). It was really a sight to see Professor Tien eating french fries and cake with chopsticks… I am tempted to go into McDonald’s back home and whip out some chopsticks out and rule them like nobody’s business! HA!

One of Ming’s Tombs/Pathway to Tomb

This was kind of a let down. They have found the area where some of the rulers were buried, but their remains/coffins were not there. Replicas of their coffins/caskets are there instead. The way we walked afterwards, however was really gorgeous… there was this beautiful path of willows with 18th century statues of lions, elephants, etc. It was so amazingly pretty…. this was more beautiful to me than even the Great Wall, even though it was extremely simple. I think it’s because less people were there and I was able to breathe it all in.

Then we drove two+ hours back to the school.

After that, and without a shower, Lacey, Naomi, and I decided to bike to Big Pizza for a bite to eat. We had a sweet pizza with chili peppers, cheese, and bacon. After that on the way home, we saw a whole herd of people dancing in the square and decided to go check it out. This was by far one of the best things I’ve done the whole time!

It was really weird… we must have line danced for at least an hour, but they have different ways to line dance! We line danced to Oh Susanna (which was really funny considering where we three girls are from), Hit Me Baby one more Time, and even did the fox trot. We played a game similar to hackey sack where the sack is half sack, and half birdie. We watched them wave banners and dance to the beat of the clashing metal. And we watched the people skate around in circles on the concrete. What an experience!

I should go now, but I have got to tell you what happened yesterday! I will post soon.

Zaijian!

Hey guys!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have made it here safely and whatnot, and also to drop a few lines about what I have been up to… since my pages are blocked.

Last Friday (11th) ten of us from AUM took a limobus from Montgomery to ATL and then flew from ATL to Chicago to Beijing on Saturday/Sunday. Then next thing Monday morning we were taking classes. We all bought 30$ bikes and five of us biked to Hebei park together. I’ve been taking Mandarin and it’s loads of fun. Today I went to the Silk Market and my head was ablsoutely swirling… they’ll literally grab you and tell you to please buy from them. We figured out that their “friend” prices were targeted at us being Americans, so me and a friend of mine told everyone we were from Mexico and haggled in Spanish. She pretended to interpret for me. It is amazing how much lower the prices were that way! Haha! And I had much more confidence in Spanish than I did English. And the vendors, although they seemed to know enough Spanish to understand some of what I was saying, were way less confident. But… I felt sick… too many people and it looked like a suitcase just vomited and there’s bright colors and clothing all over the place. I can buy a “Northface” jacket here for about 15-20 dollars. It sickens me… all this stuff, and so many bodies swarming around and no room.

The other day we went to this other shopping hub right near the metro, and it wasn’t like the Silk Market. They started out cheap, didn’t really try to haggle with you, and certainly didn’t grab you by the arm and refuse to let you leave their stand by trapping you in… like that one woman did to me today before I became Mexican. Haha. Anyway, I thought this place I went to with my friends was a cute hole-in-the-wall store, but when we went in we found out that it was six stories high and pretty much took up a good portion of the block.

I forgot to say this as well… the other night we went to this muslim restaurant (I want to say it was Uighur) and the food was sooo interesting. I am trying to adjust to the food here, but it’s so different. I do like, however, being able to eat boiled peanuts at lunch every day! And I can’t believe I have eaten what I have already…. especially the buffalo tendon or any of the seafood items.

One night we went to this restaurant, and since none of us could speak Mandarin and there was no English menu, I pointed to this guy’s food, and then said, “Excuse me, What?” He got that I was asking what his food was, AMAZINGLY. And all of us ordered that same dish… four people ate and had sodas for only 48 yuan (about seven dollars.)

Ohh, and back to bikes. It’s amazingly flat here… no real hills. I am really looking forward to riding my bike because it’s so relieving and oddly enough I was partly dreading it back in the states. I didn’t want to be that one slow person who wasn’t strong enough to keep up!

The condition of the bikes, however, is debatable. Because of the Olympics, the government is telling all of the street vendors to leave. No one can barter on the streets, so we bought our bikes from this guy in some back alley where all these people were. Needless to say that the bikes are brand new, but are built poorly. One guy’s chain broke, two of my friends’ seats have sunk and they refuse to go back up, someone’s pedal broke, etc. I am hoping mine will be fine. This is not the fault of the vendor, however… a lot of people have a similar quality bike.

Another thing I have noticed is how kind the people are. We asked this one couple today how to get to the bank, and instead of giving us directions, he said, “Is it okay if I just show you?” He and his friend walked with us, stayed with us and translated at the bank, etc… for an hour! And this isn’t uncommon… the Chinese are stereotypically extremely nice.

Ohh, and the bank… there’s only one bank you can change USD into yuans at, and that’s the Bank of China. You have to show your passport and fill out a form. I thought it was funny that at the window they had these buttons you would push to rate your service. We pushed the satisfactory (the best button there was) at least five times in a row. The security guard laughed at us… apparently you’re only supposed to push it once, and he accumulates stars the longer he works there. We thought we needed to push it five times to light up the stars! haha.

I bought a trad’l Chinese dress today. It’s pretty and blue.

Well, I gotta run because I am exhausted. I stayed up past midnight lastnight yakking with two girlfriends and now I am beat!

your heart. your heart. your heart. your heart. your heart.

Forget her.