Andrea in China

Summer Palace

2007-09-09T02:19:00.000-07:00

The Summer Palace was literally where the imperial family went during the summers to relax. It is huge, very calming, beautiful, and spacious (I even had space and that is rare in Chinese tourist sites) location far from the city center. When you walk in, the first thing you see is the stone of longevity. I got my picture taken with that stone fore sure! Long life indeed. After that, we went on Kunming lake – we rented two pedal boats for an hour and floated. It was so soothing. We later walked around the Palace admiring the sites and climbed the Tower of Fragrant Buddha. I was a little disappointed because you could not see very far thanks to the wonderful pollution. Nevertheless, the Summer Palace was very beautiful. After spending about three hours walking around we had lunch in THE restaurant were Empress Dowager Cixi would listen to musical and theatrical performances. The theatre is still there, but they converted the adjacent rooms into dining halls. It was a nice Chinese lunch and then we were all tired and went back to the dorms. Luckily, the Summer Palace is an only about15 minutes away from my university so I can go back whenever I want and spend the whole day when the weather is not as hot and hopefully when there is not as much pollution.

Marco Polo Bridge and Peking Man

2007-09-02T10:11:00.003-07:00

On Monday, September 13, the fourteen PKU and Yale Students (7 from each school – 10 girls, 4 boys) along with some teachers went on our first group excursion. In the morning we went to the town of Wanping to see the Marco Polo Bridge. Before the bridge opened, we went to the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. My roommate walked around with me and read and translated for me. We worked together – I learned a lot of new vocabulary. The museum was very interesting. It had pictures, explanations, artifacts, etc. It was the first war museum I had been to in China. Outside the museum the soldiers were singing. Before coming to China, I had never realized the significance and importance of the Japanese invasion of China. I know this is very ignorant of me, but this is interesting for me as I’m learning what type of relations China has with other nations in the world and this war is still very fresh in many Chinese people’s minds. After the museum, we went on the bridge. Marco Polo did not cross this bridge, he simply described it in his diary. Whether or not you believe that Marco Polo came to China is up to you, but you can’t deny that the bridge is a piece of art. There are over five hundred lion sculptures on the bridge. Each lion has a different position and its unique characteristics. Although there is no water under the bridge because of a dam that was constructed, you can try to picture what it would have been like many, many years ago. After the museum and the bridge, we headed off to lunch. Yes, you guessed it – Chinese food. It was fine – rice, vegetables, meat, and the pancake-like things they eat in the north of China that I love. After lunch, we headed to Peking Man Site at Zhoukou dian. This is where in the beginning of the 20th century the Peking Man-was discovered – Homo erectus pekinensis. Once you see the skeleton and sketches, you can still see the traces of ape/animal in him. Through the process of evolution, you can see the human race. I had never heard of Peking, which dates back to 250,000-400,000 years ago. You can see some skeletons of both “humans” and the animal fossils they found at that time in the museum. You can also walk around the caves and hike a little along the mountains. Overall, that Monday was very adventure-filled; I visited three new places.

Peking University

2007-09-02T10:11:00.001-07:00

Peking University (PKU) - not only one of the top universities in China, but also my new home for the next year. For my sophomore year, I've decided to study in this special Yale-PKU Undergraduate Joint-Degree program. I will be taking classes in both English and Chinese, maybe even French. We will have Yale professors teaching us, and we will also have the opportunity to take classes at PKU with the local students. Classes start tomorrow and I still haven't finished picking my classes... everything will be fine (well at least that is what I keep telling myself).
I've been at PKU for about a week now. Last week I moved into Building 42. My building is the residence for all male Master Degree students. However, Yale made special arrangements so on part of the first and the second floors Yale and PKU students can live together. It is two to a room: one Yale student and one PKU student. My roommate is from Shanghai, yay! She is very nice. I've been a little sick with a cough and she sort of acts like a mom. Before she clung to me like glue, but now she is giving me my space and realizing that I can manage Beijing and PKU on my own. I appreciate that because I really like my own space, especially in China where you can barely breathe. My room is much better now after I decorated it with plants, rugs, a chair from Ikea, even a cactus, my things... before it was plain and the bed was just a wooden plank - prison style. I bought a mattress and added my Memory Foam and now I can sleep just fine. My room does not have AC so we have a fan. On my desk you can see a blue lamp - this is not just any lamp - this is THE lamp. The electricity, starting tonight, will be shut off from midnight to six am Sunday through Thursday. I'm so used to doing my homework late at night and working past midnight, I don't know what I will do. I have a rechargeable lamp that will help me survive but this will be an experience. Besides the electricity and the prison-like beds, the rest is just fine. Our bathrooms are modern and western. We have a common room that does have electricity 24 hours a day so I might be going there a lot at night. The common room also has a TV, computers, printers, and a fridge.
Overall impressions of PKU - it is a really beautiful campus. It has a mixture of both modern and traditional architecture. There are few cars on campus, so you mainly see bikes. Ha - you can see me on a bike now as well. I bought a used, dirty-looking bike yesterday with two super locks so hopefully it will not get stolen. Yes, I'm becoming more Chinese by the second. So far okay. I'm feeling a bit homesick because I miss my food, my friends, my family. The time difference is doable, but the food is getting annoying. I have a meal card for the cafeterias on campus (there are a lot of places to eat here - dumplings, noodles, western food, regular Chinese food). The food is fine; I'm just getting tired of it. There is a Carrefour that I can bike and walk to - I buy cereal and western things sometimes, but because we don't have a kitchen it is hard to prepare my own meals. Some days are better than others. Besides the food, which gets me down, the campus is really lively. There are street vendors on campus all the time selling fruit, books, flowers, and things you need in your dorm like lamps, rugs, buckets, etc. The Yale-PKU program is quite special because we live separate from the other international students. I'm trying to get to know them so I have more friends. This week there was an organized trip to IKEA, bless IKEA, I love that place. I met a few new international students, but not enough or well enough to say I made new friends. On the topic of IKEA - those Swedish meatballs tasted better than anything I've had in a long time - yes, Western food makes me very excited these days. Ikea was lots of fun; I think I might make it a weekly field trip just to eat there. I don’t think I made this clear before, PKU is in the suburbs in Beijing. It takes me about 1.5 hours to get into the city (it is so freakingly far - trust me, I tried it yesterday). The metro system is amazing, but I am still far away from the city. It just takes time to get used to it.

So a recap of the main things I wanted to tell you all about: the bike, my dorm, PKU, how far away I'm from the city, I'm homesick and foodsick, and that I will survive. ooo and I met my cousin yesterday so at least I have family here. Everything will work out. Rosh Hashanah is this week so I'll be going to the Jewish Community Center a lot this month (ie, I will be with foreigners, I will eat Western food, and I will be in the city). PKU is new to me, and it will take me some time to figure it out, but I will get there. Plus, it’s quite something living with Chinese students.

Before and After

Official Opening Ceremony Dinner

PKU buildings, library, our common room, a noodles cafeteria, a bunch of Yale and PKU students eating together

Shanghai

2007-08-22T20:42:00.001-07:00

Shanghai – the Paris of the East; my home; the city I love. After my summer program ended, I flew out to Shanghai. The flight was less than two hours and I arrived before noon on Saturday. Immediately I went to visit some family friends for a surprise lunch, yes the Oved’s were quite shocked that I showed up on their doorstep but it was fun seeing them. After that, I went to Liat’s house. Liat is a childhood friend whose house I stayed in for the two weeks I was in town. I already miss her so much. She’s the best. We had way too much fun together! After two months of intense Chinese learning I finally had a break in a place I call home. Needless to say, I rested, slept a lot, and had an amazing time. I caught up on a lot of films including Harry Potter (thank you Liatie for tagging along even if you didn’t want to see it). I went shopping in the markets. I went to see an exhibition on Gaudi (like I mentioned this year is the year of Spain in China, so throughout China there are many exhibitions taking place – I also saw one exhibition in Beijing). I went to the Urban Planning museum where they had a special exhibition on the World Expo which was very red. For the first time ever, I rode the metro in Shanghai, which was nicer and less crowded than the one in Beijing. I visited the Yuyuan Garden, which had a facelift since I moved from Shanghai in 2001. There is even a Haagan Dazs and KFC inside the Garden shopping district. I also went to the Bund – what can I say. This place never ceases to amaze me. I walked along the Bund around 5pm all the way until the end because I was waiting for it to get dark. Finally at around 7pm they started turning on the lights and as I was walking along the bridge where on one side I saw all the European buildings from the 20s and 30s and on the other side of the river I could see modern, developing Pudong, it was just too perfect. If you ever go to Shanghai, you have to go to the Bund or as they call it in Chinese “Waitan.” In addition to just refreshing my memory, I also met with many people. I met my two ayis, which translates to “aunties,” -the two ladies who played a very important role in my life while I was growing up in China. One is Nina, who cooked for my family. Nina has a little girl called Paulina. I visited Nina twice at the house where she is currently working where I ate fantastic food; I also went one Monday afternoon to her house to have lunch with her and her daughter. Paulina and I later played Chinese sticks for a while. My other ayi, Xiao Zhen, took care of Annika and I. Xiao Zhen and I met on Nanjing Xilu where I used live in Shanghai Center and went to have lunch together at a good restaurant called the Spot. It was really nice to see both of my ayis again because they influenced me in many ways: they taught me how to play Chinese poker, they helped me with my Chinese, they helped me with my schoolwork, and they took excellent care of me while my parents were away. I am so grateful that they were a part of my life and I was able to spend some time with them in Shanghai. Every time I go back to Shanghai I always call them, and now that I’ll be in Beijing who knows I might see them sooner than I expected. I also met with Elan Oved and his family, very close family friends. I saw the Ohana’s who are also close family friends. I visited the Jewish community, I didn’t recognize any faces. Expats – always coming and going. I also saw the Johnson’s – well half of them. I spent some time with Isabella, Samuel, Sra. Lucy and Bill Johnson. I also grew up playing with his girls and our families have stayed in touch for years. It was a very heart warming experience to go back to Shanghai, feel at home, and spend some time with the people who made my life in Shanghai so wonderful. Plus I got to meet some new people. I met a lot of Liat’s friends and became close to my two new favorite buddies: Nick and Magnus. Nick will be coming to Beijing in October so I’ll see him soon, and I hope Magnus comes to visit me as well. Nina’s new employers are also extremely kind and had me over twice for dinner. How nice! My two weeks in Shanghai were amazing; it was very difficult to come back to Beijing.

Beijing vs. Shanghai
-If I had to pick, definitely Shanghai!!!
-In Shanghai, you can actually see the sky. Most of the time the sky is blue. Unlike in Beijing, where it is usually gray.
-Shanghainese are well-packaged. They don’t spit on the streets as much, they dress better, and they just seem to be more civilized. Beijing is like Shanghai ten years ago when I first lived in China. Shanghai at that time lacked the “culture” it has now. Shanghai is just a lot more Westernized and as a result the locals have it together better than the chaotic, disgusting, unhygienic Beijing scenes I encounter on a daily basis.
-Shanghainese are nice – I know, I know, many people say the opposite, but to me at least they are. I feel that in Beijing people are actually more arrogant because they know they live in the capital and as a result believe they have a higher status. I feel that in Beijing even if just one tone is off the Beijingers do not want to listen to you or help you. On the other hand, all the Shanghainese are really willing to help and are very impressed that any foreigner can speak Chinese. I guess I’m bias anyway, but I definitely vote for the Shanghainese!
-Shanghai is so rich in culture – don’t get me wrong, Beijing is the cultural center of China BUT if you want to see the interaction and mélange of East and West Shanghai is the place to go. You can visit the Old City, stroll around the Bund, and visit the French concession. While I was wandering I came across these houses/buildings that actually looked French. So being the explorer that I am when it comes to old architecture, I went inside. I wanted to cry. The floor still had the French tiles from the 20’s and 30’s when the houses were built. The staircase still had the same design from when it was originally constructed. I got the same feeling I get when I watch the Titanic – I’m so sad to see the glory, richness of the past gone. The Chinese have no idea of the significance of where they live. Where one family used to live, now live eight Chinese families. They spit on the tiled floor as if where nothing. This one house I went in had four stories of just beautiful wooden carvings and wooden floors. Now on the hallway of each floor there is a mini-kitchen. I was shocked, China, come on, really? Show some respect for history, for culture, for society. It is really hard for me to visit these places because I love architecture and to just see the lack of respect and appreciation the Chinese have for the places they live in, especially an ancient French mansion. I guess you can’t blame them because they don’t know any better, but still how can they do that? I’m glad that these buildings still exist because that’s how I know about Shanghai’s foreign past, but at the same time I also get very upset when I visit.

The End of ACC (my summer program)

2007-08-22T20:41:00.003-07:00

Yes, the end of my program finally arrived on Friday, August 17th. Hooray! I did it; I finished! No more language pledge, no more classes, no more waking up early. The final day was interesting... to say the least. In the morning we took our finals and then I started packing like crazy because I was leaving the next day. We went out to lunch with a friend that was leaving that evening. After lunch I continued packing like crazy - I took one suitcase to Shanghai, but prepare yourself for this: I left one suitcase, one carry on, one huge box, and one plastic container in Beijing. Jimmy, my savior, picked up my boxes and stored them for me while I was going to be in Shanghai. By 4pm, I was all packed up and ready to attend the closing ceremony for ACC. Minor detail, I was giving the closing remarks for level four. I prepared and I did it, but it was really at the last minute in between packing my things. Finally I could relax. After the closing ceremony, where I was given my certificate of completion, we all went to have Peking Duck. It was great. It was my first time in Beijing. You dip the duck in a sauce then roll it up in a "pancake." Delicious! We also had many other dishes: mushrooms, vegetables, fish (which I don't eat in China because all the rivers are polluted), fruit, pork, duck soup, and fried ice cream balls? (it was a sort of dessert dish). After the wonderful meal, people socialized in the dorm. I went to the gym. Yes, I am a hard core work out person. I used my two-month gym membership until the very last day. After that we all went to the Bar Street to dance and have fun for one last time together. The teachers even came out to party. I have to admit, it was weird to go clubbing with them and the dance room would have been less crowded for sure, but at least they enjoyed themselves. They really tried to dance, but I just don’t think Chinese bodies can dance to Shakira (it was funny to watch). I slept probably three hours because I left early for Shanghai the next day...ah Shanghai.
Some last thoughts about ACC...
-I'm glad I did it. At the beginning I was scared of level four (the weekly exams, weekly orals, weekly essays, daily tests), but I'm proud of myself for finishing it
- I feel more comfortable with my Chinese. I can read more, write more, hopefully even speak better with my tones on target
- ACC staff was really supportive and great to work with. Even until the end, they were guiding us. My teacher was correcting my tones on a piece of paper right before I gave the closing remarks
- and just like in a movie review (haha) I do recommend this intense language program for anybody who doesn’t mind being targeted/attacked/made feel really bad about their level of Chinese every five seconds. My tones were really off so I got corrected about twenty times for the same word, a pretty easy word too, but now I can correct myself and I know I improved.

Prince Gong's Garden and Hutongs

2007-08-22T20:41:00.001-07:00

On Friday, August 10, we did not have our weekly test. Instead, we were allowed to explore Beijing. I decided I wanted to go and see the Hutongs, the traditional Beijing homes found in the alleyways. It took us about an hour to get to the Houhai Hutongs, the area where we were visiting. Hutongs are spread throughout Beijing; the ones we visited were near Beihai Park in a pleasant area. I spent about two hours strolling the Hutong area and speaking with one of the locals. This Hutong fieldtrip would be part of my final exam so I had to investigate what it was like to live in these homes. Not all the people who lived in the Hutongs were so eager to talk. After my second try, an elderly lady welcomed me into her home and answered all my questions. The living conditions in the Hutong are very poor. There is a public restroom for about 15 families and there are no showers. It is very crowded and dirty. The lady I spoke to had been living in the same Hutong for about 40 years and was just very unhappy with her life. She told me that meat is too expensive to buy so she only eats rice and vegetables; she has to lock her doors because it is getting very unsafe; there are a lot of people from the country moving into the Hutongs and Beijing people don’t like them; the government repairs the outside appearance of the Hutongs but not the inside (trying to make the city pretty for the foreigners who are coming next year for the Olympic games). One thing that I did not do while I was in the Hutongs was go on a rickshaw ride; there’s always next time. She was just not a happy camper! After spending about two hours strolling the Hutongs, I had lunch in Houhai by the lake and then went to Prince Gong’s Residence. On my way to his residence I signed up to be an Olympic volunteer. Although I already filled the online form, I filled out the paper form – who knows, maybe that will help. They took what seemed a thousand pictures, and then I got a sticker. Cute!

Prince Gong’s Residence
In the mid 19th century, Emperor Xianfeng gave his half brother, Prince Gong, this residence. It is one of the larges private homes in Beijing. Prince Gong is well-known for having negotiated with the British during the second Opium War. Prince Gong agreed to the terms of the Treaty of Tianjin, handed large amounts of silver and part of Kowloon to British Hong Kong. In exchange, the British did not interfere in Beijing and supported the Qing against the Taiping Rebellion. We are actually not allowed into the Prince’s home, but we are allowed to see the garden. The garden is full of winding paths, rockeries (taihu rock structures), water, and buildings. All these elements form part of a traditional Chinese garden. For example, a visit to a Chinese garden should be an engaging and surprising experience. You have to walk around, look through the walls, the windows, the gates, etc. You must actively participate in the “garden experience.” You can also admire the interaction between the solid structures such as the buildings, pavilions, and rocks and the water (huge pond). I was also very excited to visit Prince Gong’s home because in my Art History class I also studied Chinese gardens. It’s always rewarding to see first hand what you’ve studied for months in a text book. One of the garden’s highlights is the theatre almost in the middle of the garden. Although I did not go inside, I was able to sneak in a picture of the ceiling which is beautiful.

Yonghegong Lama Temple - Incredible!!

2007-08-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

One of my family friends, Tiana Kamen, was in town for a few days in Beijing so Jimmy Hu, my new best friend, took us to this place. Jimmy is actually Tiana's family friend, but is soon becoming one of my good friends. He is a local who went to Beijing University where I'll be studying and lives near where I am studying for the summer. Jimmy owns an advertisement company and drives everywhere. He has taken me out a few times to eat and meat his friends (he is actually helping me store my luggage while I go to Beijing). Bottom line, Jimmy is amazing. Jimmy took Tiana and her friend and I to this temple. It is a must see! Count Yin Zhen used to live here until he became emperor Yongzheng and moved to the Forbidden City. His home became the Yonghe Palace, but in 1744 it was converted to a Lama Temple for Mongolian and Tibetan monks. Today, it is known as one of the most famous Tibetan Buddhist complexes outside of Tibet. Many of the sculptures are covered in drapes - to me it just looked like decoration but Tiana (who has been to Tibet and seen similar statues there) told me that the statues are actually covered because they portray sex or murder scenes, so the Chinese cover those sections with drapes. Funny huh, censorship is still around. The Lama temple has many halls with statues which you can walk around and see. The complex is beautiful: the decorations, the incense, the praying, the spirituality of the place. This temple also has the tallest Maitreya Buddha statue carved from a single block of sandalwood (there is a Guinness Book of World Records plaque outside the hall). If anybody comes to visit me in Beijing, I will take them here because the architecture, the statues, the buildings are all so beautiful. Thank you Jimmy for taking us here!

Out and About in Beijing

2007-08-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

I've attached random pictures that I have taken of Beijing. Some are pieces of artwork from the 798 Art district, others are of Chaoyang District where I live now. Three of the images are of Wanfujing (the first ones)- a wide road where no cars can go by and you just walk and shop. Next to it there is a small eating area where I saw they sell starfish and spider-looking things on a stick that you can eat... yummy. When I feel the urge to have diarrhea I'll try it, but for now, I'd rather be safe. One day I wanted to go to the Forbidden City because the weather was beautiful. As soon as I got off the metro and walked around Tian'anmen Square that was about it for me. The weather was too hot. I'm going to wait until the weather cools off to visit the Forbidden City. That day I walked around the Square and the Forbidden City. There is another picture of the National Musuem in Beijing. One Saturday I went to see the exhibition called "From Tiziano to Goya." The Musuem had a special exhibition on Spanish artists that was very beautiful. This is the year of Spain in China so throughout the country there will be special Spanish-related exhibitions taking place.

How to Survive in Beijing

2007-08-04T08:59:00.001-07:00

Being in Beijing can definitely get you down sometimes. You are away from home, family, friends, the convenience of the USA, the cleanliness, the space, the fresh air, the blue sky, etc. There are times when I felt suffocated in Beijing - too much pollution, too many Chinese, too little foreigners, too little of what seems familiar. When this happens I know I need to get out, spend time with people I know, be with foreigners, and eat Western food. It is slowly getting better and I am adjusting to Beijing but when I get down, I find ways to work around those sad moments. Here are some things I've down to cheer me up.
Yale in Beijing - There are so many Yalies in Beijing!
Yale Club in Beijing. I went to their annual summer barbecue and met some of the Yale alum that are now living and working in Beijing. It was great to know that after the summer when most Yalies I know leave, there will still be some new faces to know and network with ;) At the BBQ I met some of my friends from when I was at Yale and we all eat a really good dinner together. After that there was the swimming competition between alums and students. We lost but there is always next year. I might have to start training now.
Yale Friends. I was really surprised by how many Yalies came to Beijing to study or work during the summer. While I was at Yale, I made many Chinese friends, which was great because I met up with them this summer. For instance, I went to the Moscow Restaurant to celebrate Yuefei's Birthday. Then, there was a CUSY (Chinese Undergraduate Students at Yale) dinner at Shinkong TianDi, a very nice, upscale mall. The CUSY members rented the VIP room where we had dinner. Yes, I was the only non-Chinese looking student there, but I had a lot of fun. I saw my old friends and met the new Chinese students who will be starting at Yale in fall. I also went shopping with my best friend Zhang Yue for a day. I went out for sushi with Yuefei. On the weekends when we go out, I meet a lot of friends from other programs who are studying Chinese or other students who are interning in the city. Meeting familiar faces has definitely made me feel more at home in Beijing.
Yale teacher visit. In July two Chinese teachers and other Yale staff toured Asia. My Chinese teacher from Yale came to see all her students and research the programs where we've all been studying. At Yale I was in the Heritage language track, which means I was the only non-Chinese in my class. I was taking Chinese with all Chinese-Americans. My professor was very supportive the whole year. When she came to visit us, I was really glad to see her. She was like our Chinese mother. My professor along with another Chinese teacher and another professor took us out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant near our school. We had such yummy sushi that I went back another day by myself to eat there again.
That's Beijing
My bible in Beijing. That's is a monthly magazine that has different sections on what is going on in Beijing - music and art events, lists of clubs, lists of doctors, lists of spas, and the most important section list of restaurants! I love this magazine. The section on food is divided by the different types of cuisine, so when I'm in the mood for Greek I can look under that section or I can look under Indian or American. There are just so many restaurants. Below the name of the restaurant is a small description of the place and food so I know what to expect. The best part is that many of these restaurants have lunch buffets or set lunches that are not expensive and very tasty. The magazine also helps me finds sights to go and see in Beijing. I wait every month for that magazine to come out.
Explore
The best thing that I've done in Beijing is actually see the city. I do prepare for class, but I don't spend all day in my dorm studying. I usually go out for lunch at one of the restaurants that I've read about in the magazine and then sightsee. Walking is great because it's not only a way of exercising, but you really get to see the city as well. Get out and eat, go out with your friends, explore the city! Beijing is my new home; I'll be living here for a year, so I might as well start liking it by seeing it. Also, when you are feeling tense, I recommend a massage. I’ve gone to Taipan Oriental, which is really close my school for an hour long relaxation massage. What can I say, I guess I’m starting to like Beijing a lot!

Former Foreign Legation Quarter

2007-08-02T03:48:00.001-07:00

Dongjiaomin Xiang - East Diplomatic Alley
After reading about a European area in Beijing in a magazine called That's, I decided I wanted to go and check it out. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time period because I really love "old" architecture. It doesn't matter if it's European or Chinese, I'm just drawn to the old look. I took the metro - yes, indeed I'm a Beijing metro wiz (which is good for you if you come and visit me because we can very easily get around the city) and decided to go on this walking tour/adventure and find all these ancient buildings. It was a very nice stroll - lovely neighborhood really. The map from the magazine was not very clear, but from what I understand I saw the Belgian, Japanese, French, and British legations. I also saw a Church and the French post office. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to go into the buildings (I did happen to befriend the guard of the Japanese legation who was new on the job and he let me walk around. I also saw the inside of what used to be the French post office because it is now a restaurant). However, I wasn't allowed in the other buildings. I did argue with the guards quite a bit about not being allowed. They finally told me to leave because it is government property. In the future, if you ever try to argue with Chinese guards about trying to see property I recommend you never go alone because they do get quite aggressive and mad and you never know what can happen especially if you are alone. For example, I was taking pictures of one of the houses and this huge guy walked over to me and told me to delete the picture immediately. I told him I did, but I actually saved it. Funny story though, when I checked the image later it was all black. The Chinese mafia is scary :( Even the area is really well protected and the security guards are intimidating, it was really beautiful to walk around and just admire the architecture from the outside. Less than a hundred years ago this was the area where all the foreign diplomats lived and congregated. Can you imagine?

Longqing Gorges

2007-07-28T07:25:00.001-07:00

On a Saturday morning at 8:30am we were supposed to load the bus. I set my alarm clock for 8:10 but kept sleeping. I finally woke up at 8:29! Ha, I made it down there at 8:35 and was just on time. I slept the whole three hours it took us to get there because of all the traffic. When we finally arrived we took a walked through the entrance which looked like an amusement park and then took a boat to the part where we could climb and have a view of the landscape. The boat ride was about 20 minutes; it was really beautiful. You might notice that in some of the pictures it looks foggy - like some type of romantic mist. Nope! That's pollution. Even a few hours outside of Beijing you still have that wonderful thing that clogs yours lungs and makes you cough like crazy called pollution... a beautiful thing really. Well, the boat ride was pleasant because the water looked turquoise and clean and I wanted to go swimming. When we finally arrived we had instant noodles and lucky us that we were under a roof eating lunch because it started to pour. We waited it out and the walked around. We actually only had two and a half hours to see the place. I walked around the area with some friends, other students actually bungee jumped. Overall, we spent more time on the bus then in the actual place. It was exhausting. I'm really glad I went though because it was nice to get out of the center of Beijing and see some nature even if it’s polluted. I couldn't see the blue sky but at least I saw the water and the mountains and thought I could breathe somewhat “fresher” air.

Datong

2007-07-22T03:37:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night (7/19) after taking our midterm exam, we went to the train station to go on our weekend excursion to Datong. The fieldtrip marked the end of one semester at ACC (one month is equivalent to one semester of Chinese at college). So at 9:30pm we took the bus to the main train station in Beijing. Like everything else in this city, it looked like both a zoo and flea market. People were sleeping on the floor, people were pushing you, it smelled bad, it was crowded, etc etc. welcome to China! Our train was delayed by an hour so we ended up leaving Beijing at around midnight on Thursday. It took us about 6 hours to get to Datong... here we go the TRAIN: I've ridden on many trains before, but never like this one. It was - gross! Each compartment had 6 beds - two sets of bunk beds on each side. Of course when I drew out of the hat whether I would get top, middle, or bottom, I got top. It was pretty high, I was actually scared of falling but nothing happened. So the train - the Chinese were very thoughtful and provided us with two pillows and a blanket. As soon as I saw the pillows and blanket I thought 1) I'm going to get lice 2) how many people have slept on those things 3) have they ever been washed. I threw them aside and slept directly on top of the mattress.... not comfortable but at least I survived and did not get lice. Six hours later we finally arrived at Datong where the weather was much cooler than in Beijing. When we arrived we went to the hotel to check in, drop off our luggage, and eat breakfast. The rooms were big and comfortable. The breakfast gave me a stomach ache the whole day. Need I say more, six uncomfortable hours on a train and then a breakfast (fried rice, dumplings) that made me sick all day. Yes, it was rough but Datong was worth it. We visited Datong a la Chinese style - take a three hour bus ride to spend one hour at a place. Chinese mentality - As long as you've seen it that's what counts; it doesn't really matter if you spend a lot of time touring. You’ve seen it move on! It was fast, but at least we got to go on a fieldtrip.

Friday (Day one)

Hanging Monastery (悬空寺 Xuankong si)
The monastery was built on the cliff of the Golden Dragon Canyon at the foot of Heng Mountain. It has a history of more than 1400 years. Basically, you are in a monastery hanging off a cliff. You lean over the railing and you see the ground. It's an incredible feeling. I actually felt surprisingly safe despite it being an ancient building and having a ton of people on it. The steps on the stairs had elaborate metal designs. The sculptures inside the monastery were painted in bright colors. The building itself was very pretty and all the small details added up and made this monastery breathtaking.

Heng Mountain (恒山 Hengshan)
I think the best part of climbing this mountain was the view. My friend and I decided to walk up the mountain instead of take the cable cart and every time we stopped we had an amazing view of the landscape - the mountains, a river, and of course the still polluted sky. Once we reached the top there were antique buildings and temples. We walked around them and went inside some of them too.

Wooden Pagoda (应县木塔 Yingxian muta)
One of the highlights of being in China. During the spring semester I took a course on Chinese Modern Art and the World. One of the topics was architecture, and we actually studied this exact pagoda. I studied the floor plans and cross sections of this pagoda in the States, and now I'm actually standing in front of it. It was quite a feeling. This pagoda is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Not a single nails was used in the construction of it, although I saw some nails while I was there (I guess its okay to use them during renovations.) When you walk inside you see a huge Buddha surrounded by paintings. The paintings on the wall are now fading and there is no light in the hall to preserve the images. Then you walk up very narrow stairs and reach the second level (there are nine levels in total but you are only allowed to visit the first and second levels). In the middle of the second level there are more religious sculptures and as you walk around you feel that the whole building is slanted and curving in because of the structure. I loved it, but I was disappointed with the maintenance of the building because one of the wooden doors from the 11th century was just lying on the ground as if it was trash. The pagoda is actually in a monastery complex so there are other buildings surrounding the pagoda. I was thrilled to visit this wooden pagoda!

After all the sight seeing we had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant - on the sticky tables, where flies are flying around, and people spit on the restaurant floor. I had noodles with tomato and egg. It was very yummy and I didn't get sick. Then we all went to bed at around 10 or 11 because we had another adventure filled day Saturday.

Saturday (Day two)

The Yungang Grottoes ( 云冈石窟 Yungang shiku)
What a site! The Yungang Grottoes are the largest Buddha statue complex preserved in China. In AD 460, five grottoes were excavated and within the following 60+ years the immense project was completes. The Buddha statue complex stretched 15 km; now it only stretches 1 km from east to west. Luckily, more than 1100 grottoes (there are 53 major grottoes) with about 51000 statues have been preserved. It was so beautiful. You could go into some of the grottoes and admire the statues in the middle and the carvings on the walls. In other cases, you could only lean on the railings and peak inside. Some of the statues were huge, others were the size of my pinky. It really was impressive.
Huayuan Monastery (华严寺 Huayan si)
We literally spent 15 minutes here. I'm not sure if it was enough, but we saw the main attraction: the main hall. The main hall is the largest Buddhist hall that still exists in China. Inside the hall, there are five huge, gilded, seated Buddha statues on lotus throngs. The surrounding walls have murals; the main hall was very colorful. What shocked me the most was that this place still exists. During the Cultural Revolution many historic places were destroyed, but luckily this one still stands.

Nine Dragon Screen (九龙壁 Jiulong bi)
You said it, it is a screen wall. This screen was built over 600 years ago and remains the largest and oldest glazed screen in China today. Datong is known as the “Home of Dragon Walls.” During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, five dragon screens were built and still stand. The Nine dragon screen was originally a screen wall in front of the gate of the palace of Prince Dai, the thirteenth son of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is 8 meters high and 45.5meters long. The colors are still very fresh, and the dragon figures remind you of the typical and traditional Chinese dragon. I hear Beihai Park in Beijing also has a screen, but it is much smaller.

Overall, the trip was similar to cramming for an exam - you do everything at a very fast pace. I wish we would have had more time to really sightsee. On Saturday we actually only did half a day of sightseeing, which was a waste of the second half of the day because they wanted to give us free time but there is not much to do in Datong so my roommate and I just slept half of the afternoon. We ended up leaving Saturday night at around 11ish and got back to Beijing Sunday morning. ACC wanted to make sure that we had at least one day to prepare for our classes on Monday. Ridiculous, we should have done some sightseeing on Sunday as well. Oh well, at least I got a taste of what it's like to be a Chinese tourists and see some amazing sights.

Yungang Grottoes

Huayuan Monastery

Nine Dragon Screen

Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

Heng Mountain

Hanging Monastery

ps. Every week we have to write an essay. When we got back from Datong I wrote my essay on our fieldtrip. I actually wrote the best essay in level four and they posted what I wrote outside on the bulletin board. I thought that was pretty cool :)

Beijing at the Beginning

2007-07-17T02:25:00.000-07:00

The blog we’ve all been waiting for – including myself. I finally wrote it and hopefully you can see it! I’m having a great time in Beijing so far. I love it here.

ACC (Associated Colleges in China) I thought I’d describe the structure of the program in. In addition to just being amazing, the best part of ACC is its location. I’m about 15 minutes away from the best bar/club district in Beijing…ummm. ACC is associated with Hamilton College and is a very intense, well structured program. We have classes from 8-12 or 1 depending on what time you have your tutorial. I placed into level four (the highest level). Sometimes its tough, but I’m getting a lot out of it. From eight to noon we have da ban ke (or large class) six to seven students go over the lesson with a teacher. We review what the story was about and cover main sentence patterns. Then from 9:10-9:50 we have xiao ban ke (or small class) where about four students go over important sentence patterns with a teacher. Then from 10:10-11:00 we have dui hua ke (or dialogue class) where two students and one teacher debate/discuss the controversial issues regarding the lesson we just read. Then either from 11:10 to noon or from 12:10 to 1pm you have a one-on-one with the teacher. In level four there are 18 students, and 11 teachers. Plus, the teachers are available in the afternoons to answer questions and on weeknights they have office hours. They are really here to help us succeed. So far I feel okay about the program. Even though I feel that I’m not learning that much because all I do is prepare the 100+ words I need to now for the dictation for the next day, I am learning a lot. So far four weeks into the program I’m listening to the news and reading the newspaper. I feel more and more comfortable with the language and you know you know the language when you know the meaning of the work in Chinese but not in English. By the end of the program in August my Chinese will be amazing (fingers crossed). The program is intense, after lunch I usually nap and start my homework. It’s very demanding but you get a lot out it. It’s rewarding to know you can talk about current events and controversial issues in Chinese. So from Monday to Thursday I have class and then on Friday mornings I have a test. After the test, all of fourth grade goes on a field trip. So far we’ve been to two places: 798 and Lu Xun’s home.

Friday Fieldtrips

798 is the artsy district in Beijing. They call it the Soho of Beijing. Basically, the artists took over the factories and transformed the area into their work area and galleries. There are many modern art galleries and furniture galleries. I’m a big art fan so I enjoyed it. There are a lot of exhibitions in 798 so there is always something new to see.

Lu Xun’s house – Lu Xun is a famous Chinese writer. We are actually reading some of his stories in class. Lu Xun lived in different areas in China, but one of his homes was in Beijing. We went to see the Lu Xun museum and then saw his house. It was really interesting to learn about one of China’s most prominent writers and see where he actually lived. You can only see the rooms from outside but you can peak in through the windows and see his desk, bed, and other belongings. You can see a picture of me standing in front of Lu Xun’s house; I’m wearing a red shirt and black pants.

Silk Market

Talk about a bargain! This is a seven story building just full of cheap stuff. On the first floor you can buy shoes, bags and belts – of course all knock offs. Then you can find anything: clothes, traditional Chinese items, rugs, tea, statues, paintings, jewelry, video games, and sun glasses. You name it, they have it. This market is different then the market in Shanghai because it’s an actual building with air conditioning. I’ve been to the market already a few times. Each time I go with my list or else I would probably buy the whole market. You really have to bargain because these people are intense. Some of them push you if you don’t buy their goods or just tell you to get out – not polite at all, but welcome to China.

ACC extracurriculars

Jingshan Park and Tiananmen ACC organizes a lot of activities for us. The first weekend we were here they took us to see Tiananmen Square and Jingshan Park. The park is now a public park, but during the era of the dynasties, it was the emperor’s park. This is the park where one of the emperors committed suicide by hanging himself; the tree is actually still there (kind of spooky). Jingshan Park on the weekends is very lively. There all types of activities going on: dancing, singing, writing calligraphy, playing games, and lots of strollers. I really liked it. If you climb up Prospect Hill you can see the Forbidden City. Unfortunately the pollution problems in Beijing are pretty serious and I couldn’t really see the Forbidden City but it was quiet a hike, good exercise. Pictures: towards the bottom – people jumping, me in front of red walls, a cloudy view of the Forbidden City. You can also see pictures of Tiananmen Square – No, my camera is not dirty, it’s just the Beijing air. If you see I took a picture of this kid with hole in his pants (the kids in China don’t wear diapers – their pants have slits in them so they can just squat). Also side note: the two pictures towards the bottom of a lake are not of Jingshan Park. Those are pictures of Beijing University where I will be studying in the fall.

Lectures and Performances We’ve had a lecture on tea drinking. I tasted all different teas and even though I already know green tea is my favorite, the lecture confirmed it. We had some flower teas that weren’t as good, but at least I tried them. Then last week we had a concert on traditional Chinese music. We heard some the pipa, erhu, yanqin, and guzhen. I attached a picture of the musicians with their instruments. We also had a lady from the Department of US Commerce come and talk to us about US-China economic and trade relations. In addition to telling us facts and statistics she gave us two views about the future of China: great and not so good. Civil war, internal chaos, pollution problems, traffic control, water shortages, etc. OR China as the superpower. It was a really interesting lecture that made me think about the future of China. I'm happy that I'll be in Beijing this year so I can watch the city transform as it hosts next year's Olympic games, but I think after the Olympics will also be an interesting period for China.

Acrobatics Show ACC also arranged for us to see an acrobatic show on Friday, July 13. The music was incredibly tacky but the show was amazing. It does make you wonder how they do it. They rode bicycles, spun plates, juggled balls with their feet… I have to upload pictures.

Chinese Family and Language Partner

I have both a Chinese family and a language partner. My Chinese family is super nice. My “mama” works at the university so in case I need anything she is just one building away. My “baba” is a pediatrician – lucky me. Then I have a younger brother or “didi” who is just brilliant. He is seven years old and can already recite the Declaration of Independence in English by heart. Very impressive. At the same time, it makes you realize how fortunate you are that most of us don’t have parents who force us to memorize important documents at the age of seven. It seems like Chinese children really don’t have a childhood because they don’t go outside and play, instead they stay in their homes memorizing and reciting. When are the Chinese parents going to understand that their children are just kids and need to play instead of memorize speeches all day. It’s incredible that he can recite such documents, but it’s also really sad because he is not the only one. Most Chinese kids are like him and just don’t know what playtime is. I guess both educational systems/methods had their advantages and disadvantages but I’m grateful that I had a lot of playtime when I was younger. Also, I “share” my Chinese family with another ACC student. The other student is Bo Fei; she was here last semester and is super helpful when it comes to eating and going out. She is also like my “jiejie” or Chinese sister. Overall, I really like the concept of having a Chinese Family. On July 8th, Bo Fei and I went to our Chinese family’s home for lunch. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal. The Chinese do like their chicken feet – I’m not sure if I’ll try it but it’s tempting (I included a pix of a chicken head and feet. I bought a chicken breast at the supermarket and below the meat was the head and the feet –gross!). Most meals include chicken feet. After lunch we went to the Capital Museum with the family. The museum was really well done – it’s about the history of Beijing. There are displays on Hutongs (the typical Beijing homes), marriage rituals, bronze vessels, porcelain pieces, and Chinese customs. You can see a picture of me with my Chinese family at the museum. The picture above the picture of my family is the actual museum. I've been to Chinese family's house twice for lunch and towards the end of the program they took us out for hotpot and gave us books. They are really very kind and after ACC I hope to stay in touch with them because I'll still be in Beijing. In addition to a Chinese family I have a language partner who I meet with once a week to practice Chinese. My partner is a graduate student who is studying film/directing and is currently writing TV show scripts. She’s is very nice and helps me with my homework :). ACC requires that we meet with our language partners once a week, but I only ended up meeting with mine two times because of our schedules.

Cooking classes

Brace yourselves – I’m taking cooking classes. Since I was about four, I wanted to be a chef, when I became a teenager my dreams of being a chef stopped. When I was 18 I almost burnt down my house because I put pasta on fire and put bread in the oven on fire. Need I say more? I’m not quite a kitchen person. BUT I’m taking cooking classes every Monday afternoon. It’s going very well – so far I haven’t heard anybody or burned down the building. We cook typical Chinese dishes and then enjoy them. Very yummy! The ironies of life – I’ve never cooked in my life and the first type of food that I learn how to cook is Chinese. Side note regarding food: when I went to Wal-Mart I found an MSG aisle. Yes, everything and I mean everything in China has MSG.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall I know you’re going to say duh, but I have to say the Great Wall is quite GREAT. I’ve been to the Great Wall before but I had forgotten how huge it is. We left at around 8:30am on Saturday and got there at around 10ish. The Great Wall has many different sections – we went to Mutianyu (the touristy wall that is climbable). Once we got to the Wall we walked up the mountain (even though there was a cable cart we walked up the mountain until we reached the Great Wall). It was spectacular. The view of the mountains, the wall that doesn’t seem to have an end, the blue sky, everything!!! The Great Wall is amazing. I want to go again and again… maybe not in the summer though because it was way too hot. I did include pictures of the Great Wall and the picture of me in a yellow tank top is inside one of the guard stations on the Wall.

First few days in Beijing

2007-06-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in Beijing now.. can you believe it? My travel was okay (very long). I flew from Atlanta to Toronto. Then, Toronto to Beijing, which was 13 hours but turned out to be more because our flight was delayed due to the weather in Canada so we had to stay in the plane for another two hours. joy!
Finally when I arrived in Beijing the first thing that hit me was the pollution. I could barely see anything in the distance. I finally arrived at the Capital University of Economics and Business or CUEBin the Chaoyang District (located in the CBD of Beijing) at around 5pm on Wednesday (I left Tuesday at 10am).Wednesday night I unpacked and bought some food. Jet lag hit me pretty hard so I woke up at 3 and 5am. Hopefully it will get better. Thursday was interesting! I had to go to the other side of town to pick up my cell phone at Beijing University where I'll be in the Fall. It's such a gorgeous campus - there is a lake, a water tower (looks like a pagoda), the buildings look like temples, and you can actually see the blue sky and the sun. (Trust me that's huge). It looks foggy all the time at the university I'm studying now. In order to get to the other side of town, I decided to be adventurous and not take a taxi - I took the public bus. It took an hour and a half. I saw a lot of Beijing in an air-conditioned bus (such luxury). Once I got to what I thought was my bus stop, the police man told me I had to go to another place. Another bus - except that this one took me to the Summer Palace. Definitely not the office I was looking for my phone. At the Summer Palace (after taking two buses for the grand total of 4 kuai = over 50 cents) I decided that I had explored enough and would take a taxi to the office. That was a good decision because the office was far away. Finally after about 2 hours of traveling I arrived at the Yale-PKU Joint Undergraduate Degree Office where I picked up my cell phone from Professor Laughlin. Professor Laughlin then showed me the campus (which I love) and we had lunch at a local noodle place that was tasty. After that Cecelia, who is also doing the fall program, also came to pick up her cell so we talked a little while and then I headed back to CUEB - another hour and a half bus ride except that this time I had to stand because all the seats were taken. It was nice and sweaty! Yummy. Finally I came back and we had an orientation session. Some teachers showed us the university facilities and surroundings and then we all went to dinner at a restaurant near by. After that it was definitely early to bed.

A few days before I leave

2007-06-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody. I'm getting ready to leave for China in a few days so I thought I would start a blog. The cool thing to do, right? Being technologically challenged as I am, I thought it would be tricky but it's been pretty easy. Let's keep it that way.