Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
So That's Why They Call It the Great Wall... It Is Kinda BIG
When you think of China, what is the first thing that pops into your head?
Maybe it's the infamous Forbidden City, or a jam packed street filled with drifting bicycles and honking cars, but for the longest time, whenever I thought of China I thought of the Great Wall.
We probably first hear about the Great Wall from our history text books. I can remember reading pages and pages about its construction, and who tried to get over it and why. It has always fascinated me and I have always had a strong desire to see it for myself. Well, this Saturday, I did. I not only saw the Great Wall, but I walked, climbed, stumbled, fell, and scrambled over the seemingly endless hills of its crumbling stairs. I spent four hours on Saturday struggling up and down the remains of the less visited and consequently less refurbished section of the Great Wall. It was immensely difficult, especially for a person like myself who is not particularly inclined to going down dozens of dangerously steep steps at a time. Despite the down pours of sweat dripping off of every inch of my body, and the reasonably frequent crab walks down stairs, I had one of the most amazing days of my life. The sun was out and the sky was about as clear as you can hope for in China, and I could see the giant stone structure snaking its way through the jagged hills. It is huge. I could see it stretch for miles and miles into the distance, and was in disbelief that after so much time it could still be standing. There is no way for me to adequately describe the sheer length and distance that the Wall spreads, but if this gives you a better idea, after 4 long hard hours of hiking, we only covered a very small section of the Wall. By the end we were all questioning why the mongouls didn't just give up when they saw the thing. After reaching the end of the hike I thought I would drop dead of exhaustion, but instead my friends and I decided to stay up a little later and explore a little bit more of the city.
We ended up in a little park near our school, however, we soon found out that it was no ordinary park. This park has a section in it called "Fun Land" which includes bumper cars, arcade games, trampolines, and a small roller coaster. Unfortunately, these were all closed for the night, but we have very intent plans to go back and visit soon. Instead we spent 2 hours just playing on the small playground near "Fun Land" and releasing out inner kindergartner. Afterwards, we all admitted we missed recess a lot :).
Sunday was another interesting day in the city. There is one moment that i want to put into special focus. In the morning we went to my baba's friend from middle school's house for a party. We arrived at the apartment and within 3 minutes of sitting down left for a seemingly very nice restaurant. Again, all the Chinese people discussed me like I was an object in the room rather than a functional human being who had a grasp on what they were saying. "Oh, she is here for how long? How many siblings does she have? Does she like China? How does she like Chinese food? Vegetarian, how odd! I thought Americans were supposed to be taller? Do you think she is hungry?" All of the questions were answered by my host family because no one could tell that I understood or could respond to what they were saying. Whenever I would try to interject my own answers I was unheard because of the sheer volume in the room. Instead I sat, listened, and observed the chaos, and as the attention slowly shifted off of me and on to less distinguishable topics I paid very careful attention to what was going on around me. One thing jumped out at me more than anything. Every time food was brought out the entire table (15 people or so) would examine it and prejudge it before eating. If they found it suitable it was quickly gulped up and gone. However, when the waitress brought out a batter fried fish, by which I mean a whole fish with head, eyes and tail still intact, the table went into an uproar. At first I thought it was because of the mutual disgust for the two shiny black eyes looking back at me, but then I realized that wasn't the problem at all. The entire table, with the exception perhaps of my host mom and sister, was shouting at the waitress because the fish had to much batter on it. They were not politely complaining or even asking for a new one, but shouting and pointing with vehement disgust at the thick bits of batter stuck to the fish's sides. I was at a loss as to why it was such a big deal. Every day these people not only deal with, but silently accept the lack of traffic laws, overcrowded buses and general chaos that occurs in Beijing, but when a fish comes out with too much batter all hell breaks loose. But as I watched I perhaps started to understand. The Chinese have no control over bikes, buses or traffic. They can't change some of the inefficient policies in place so they accept them as they are and do not challenge them in the way an American might. But when it comes to a meal, something that they can fix or actually change, they complain because they can.
That was my weekend. A really big wall and an over-battered piece of fish. I'd say it was pretty cool.
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the Day:
Situations By: Jack Johnson
Maybe it's the infamous Forbidden City, or a jam packed street filled with drifting bicycles and honking cars, but for the longest time, whenever I thought of China I thought of the Great Wall.
We probably first hear about the Great Wall from our history text books. I can remember reading pages and pages about its construction, and who tried to get over it and why. It has always fascinated me and I have always had a strong desire to see it for myself. Well, this Saturday, I did. I not only saw the Great Wall, but I walked, climbed, stumbled, fell, and scrambled over the seemingly endless hills of its crumbling stairs. I spent four hours on Saturday struggling up and down the remains of the less visited and consequently less refurbished section of the Great Wall. It was immensely difficult, especially for a person like myself who is not particularly inclined to going down dozens of dangerously steep steps at a time. Despite the down pours of sweat dripping off of every inch of my body, and the reasonably frequent crab walks down stairs, I had one of the most amazing days of my life. The sun was out and the sky was about as clear as you can hope for in China, and I could see the giant stone structure snaking its way through the jagged hills. It is huge. I could see it stretch for miles and miles into the distance, and was in disbelief that after so much time it could still be standing. There is no way for me to adequately describe the sheer length and distance that the Wall spreads, but if this gives you a better idea, after 4 long hard hours of hiking, we only covered a very small section of the Wall. By the end we were all questioning why the mongouls didn't just give up when they saw the thing. After reaching the end of the hike I thought I would drop dead of exhaustion, but instead my friends and I decided to stay up a little later and explore a little bit more of the city.
We ended up in a little park near our school, however, we soon found out that it was no ordinary park. This park has a section in it called "Fun Land" which includes bumper cars, arcade games, trampolines, and a small roller coaster. Unfortunately, these were all closed for the night, but we have very intent plans to go back and visit soon. Instead we spent 2 hours just playing on the small playground near "Fun Land" and releasing out inner kindergartner. Afterwards, we all admitted we missed recess a lot :).
Sunday was another interesting day in the city. There is one moment that i want to put into special focus. In the morning we went to my baba's friend from middle school's house for a party. We arrived at the apartment and within 3 minutes of sitting down left for a seemingly very nice restaurant. Again, all the Chinese people discussed me like I was an object in the room rather than a functional human being who had a grasp on what they were saying. "Oh, she is here for how long? How many siblings does she have? Does she like China? How does she like Chinese food? Vegetarian, how odd! I thought Americans were supposed to be taller? Do you think she is hungry?" All of the questions were answered by my host family because no one could tell that I understood or could respond to what they were saying. Whenever I would try to interject my own answers I was unheard because of the sheer volume in the room. Instead I sat, listened, and observed the chaos, and as the attention slowly shifted off of me and on to less distinguishable topics I paid very careful attention to what was going on around me. One thing jumped out at me more than anything. Every time food was brought out the entire table (15 people or so) would examine it and prejudge it before eating. If they found it suitable it was quickly gulped up and gone. However, when the waitress brought out a batter fried fish, by which I mean a whole fish with head, eyes and tail still intact, the table went into an uproar. At first I thought it was because of the mutual disgust for the two shiny black eyes looking back at me, but then I realized that wasn't the problem at all. The entire table, with the exception perhaps of my host mom and sister, was shouting at the waitress because the fish had to much batter on it. They were not politely complaining or even asking for a new one, but shouting and pointing with vehement disgust at the thick bits of batter stuck to the fish's sides. I was at a loss as to why it was such a big deal. Every day these people not only deal with, but silently accept the lack of traffic laws, overcrowded buses and general chaos that occurs in Beijing, but when a fish comes out with too much batter all hell breaks loose. But as I watched I perhaps started to understand. The Chinese have no control over bikes, buses or traffic. They can't change some of the inefficient policies in place so they accept them as they are and do not challenge them in the way an American might. But when it comes to a meal, something that they can fix or actually change, they complain because they can.
That was my weekend. A really big wall and an over-battered piece of fish. I'd say it was pretty cool.
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the Day:
Situations By: Jack Johnson
Friday, September 19, 2008
2nd Week In
Cool moments happen when you don't expect them too.
It's 5:30 on a Thursday and I'm biking home from school after martial arts class. The traffic is heavy, the sun is too hot and I feel people's heavy stares as they watch a foreigner in a typical Chinese high school uniform struggle to keep her bike upright. I am tired and have a backpack full of work to be done for tomorrow that will surely guarantee another late night. Wearily I pedal until I hit a stop light and wait to cross. As I sit waiting, I notice one particularly interested stare coming my way. I look over and a man, about 60, is smiling over at me, exuding genuinely good vibes. So, I smile back. Then in rapid fire Mandarin with a heavy Beijing accent the man asked me if I went to school around the area (that's what I assumed he said anyway) and I told him about SYA with my fragmented Chinese. The light changed but our conversation did not end. We dodged cars, swerved around people, and avoided other bikes all while chatting in mandarin. After about 3 minutes of this (a long time for me to hold a conversation) we went our separate ways and he wished me good luck. I will never see that man again but he made my day.
That's the kind of thing that makes all this work worth it. I have mountains of homework and everything here adds new stress because of the language barrier and I miss everyone, but when things like the bike conversation happen, none of the other stuff seems very important.
So, here are some of the other interesting things that happened this week. First, early this week I tried my hand at calligraphy. I have always seen the beautifully drawn characters and wished i could recreate them, but as soon as I had the brush in my hand I knew it was not going to be easy. The first issue is that I have horrible handwriting in English and that quality transfers to my Chinese writing thus making my characters look rather ugly and distorted. The second issue is my teacher. He is about 5'4", 65 years old, and is possibly the funniest man I have ever met. He has huge bottle cap lens glasses that magnify his already protuberant eyes, and he wears a little blue french style barrett that bobbles up and down as he gushes about the beauty of the characters. His chinese is impossible to understand because of the thick city accent and he shouts words at us as he tries to correct our simple mistakes. The reason he is a problem is that every time I look at him I laugh so hard that I can't hold my brush straight.
So many little things happen in a day, I find it hard to keep track of them all. I'll just list a couple. Today a lady tried to convince my friend and I to come to her store so she could take pictures to model her clothes which was highly entertaining. Monday I went to the most beautiful park I have ever been to with my family and had an amazing time. Thursday I tried martial arts and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Wednesday I had weird food and got sick. On Tuesday I made friends with my neighbor's dog and now every time I go inside he follows me. Lots of craziness basically.
Tomorrow I am going to the changchang, Great Wall, for a four hour hike. Wish me luck!
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the day:
Hallelujah by: Jeff Buckley
It's 5:30 on a Thursday and I'm biking home from school after martial arts class. The traffic is heavy, the sun is too hot and I feel people's heavy stares as they watch a foreigner in a typical Chinese high school uniform struggle to keep her bike upright. I am tired and have a backpack full of work to be done for tomorrow that will surely guarantee another late night. Wearily I pedal until I hit a stop light and wait to cross. As I sit waiting, I notice one particularly interested stare coming my way. I look over and a man, about 60, is smiling over at me, exuding genuinely good vibes. So, I smile back. Then in rapid fire Mandarin with a heavy Beijing accent the man asked me if I went to school around the area (that's what I assumed he said anyway) and I told him about SYA with my fragmented Chinese. The light changed but our conversation did not end. We dodged cars, swerved around people, and avoided other bikes all while chatting in mandarin. After about 3 minutes of this (a long time for me to hold a conversation) we went our separate ways and he wished me good luck. I will never see that man again but he made my day.
That's the kind of thing that makes all this work worth it. I have mountains of homework and everything here adds new stress because of the language barrier and I miss everyone, but when things like the bike conversation happen, none of the other stuff seems very important.
So, here are some of the other interesting things that happened this week. First, early this week I tried my hand at calligraphy. I have always seen the beautifully drawn characters and wished i could recreate them, but as soon as I had the brush in my hand I knew it was not going to be easy. The first issue is that I have horrible handwriting in English and that quality transfers to my Chinese writing thus making my characters look rather ugly and distorted. The second issue is my teacher. He is about 5'4", 65 years old, and is possibly the funniest man I have ever met. He has huge bottle cap lens glasses that magnify his already protuberant eyes, and he wears a little blue french style barrett that bobbles up and down as he gushes about the beauty of the characters. His chinese is impossible to understand because of the thick city accent and he shouts words at us as he tries to correct our simple mistakes. The reason he is a problem is that every time I look at him I laugh so hard that I can't hold my brush straight.
So many little things happen in a day, I find it hard to keep track of them all. I'll just list a couple. Today a lady tried to convince my friend and I to come to her store so she could take pictures to model her clothes which was highly entertaining. Monday I went to the most beautiful park I have ever been to with my family and had an amazing time. Thursday I tried martial arts and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Wednesday I had weird food and got sick. On Tuesday I made friends with my neighbor's dog and now every time I go inside he follows me. Lots of craziness basically.
Tomorrow I am going to the changchang, Great Wall, for a four hour hike. Wish me luck!
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the day:
Hallelujah by: Jeff Buckley
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Party Animal
Imagine for a moment thanksgiving dinner. There is more food than you thought physically possible for any number of people to consume and too many family members to keep track of. Now imagine its all Chinese food and your family only speaks Chinese.
This is China's Mid-Autumn Festival weekend which basically entails eating until noodles come out of your ears and playing very loud Chinese board games while guzzling down bottles of Chinese beer (not that last part for me). That is basically how I spent my weekend. Yesterday we went out to a GIANT lunch with my nai nai (father's mother) and today we spent the day with my mama's relatives. This whole weekend was one big party and thus I am exhausted. I will explain how the weekend went down.
So first, Friday after school my mama, jie jie and I went to the Olympic park. It is amazing. I have no other words to describe it. Amazing. The bird's nest was huge and the water cube didn't even look real. But my favorite part? The gigantic billboard of Michael Phelps on a wall. Again, amazing. Look forward to some very nice pictures.
Then Saturday morning I got up and my baba and mama took me to go running. We biked to this busy park and they let me run for an hour or so, but the going was very slow. In case you didn't know there are a LOT of people in China and thus there were a LOT of people in the park. So after a very frustrated hour I found them and just wanted to go home. So when instead of heading towards the exit they walked towards a very long set of stairs i was more than just a little bit unhappy. But grudingly i climbed up the 200 odd stairs to find myself facing the biggest statue of buddha I have ever seen. On top of the hill in the park is this temple to Buddha and from it you can see for miles and miles around Beijing. My baba pointed out the forbidden city and I could see the Olympic park way over on the other side. It was stunning and it completely melted all of my frustration.
That afternoon we went to my nainai's hutong (very close to my own) and I can honestly say she is one of the cutest old ladies I have ever met. She must be about 4'9" with a perpetual smile on her face. I couldn't understand a word she said but I liked her all the same. So off our little jia (family) went and we arrived at a restaurant where I can honestly say I had more food put on my plate than at any other time during my life. Delicious, but overwhelming.
Then as if my day could get any crazier my jiejie, Wang Qian, took me to this "shopping mall" called Xidan. It was no shopping mall. It was an intensely overcrowded indoor market from a bargin lover's wildest fantasy. I bought a pair of shoes for the equivalent of about 5 bucks. I bought a jacket for about 8. I bought nail polish for 50 cents. Anything you could possibly want you could find in this place. So after 1 hour in the hectic maze of building we went home. I have never been so tired in my life. I went to bed at 8 and slept straight until 8 the next morning.
At 8 it started all over again. I got up to run, this time on my own to a different park and spent 30 minutes there, half running half side stepping and trying not to run over anyone. I got home and we set off again this time for the other half of the family. After 1.5 hours of traveling we arrived (still within Beijing city limits) and were warmly welcomed by yet another extremely cute old lady along with several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then another huge lunch and many attempts on their part to feed me meat (they didn't understand what vegetarian was). Then more family time with card games and board games I didn't understand. Then after several more hours, dinner and more food than should have been allowed. I kept saying bao le (Im full) but was ignored and they heaped more food onto my plate accompanied with a discussion about how I was too skinny (anyone who knows me knows this is simply NOT true).
Now I am at home. Wiped out. Exhausted. Still have tons of homework to do. But I'm happy.
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the Week
Nude by Radiohead
This is China's Mid-Autumn Festival weekend which basically entails eating until noodles come out of your ears and playing very loud Chinese board games while guzzling down bottles of Chinese beer (not that last part for me). That is basically how I spent my weekend. Yesterday we went out to a GIANT lunch with my nai nai (father's mother) and today we spent the day with my mama's relatives. This whole weekend was one big party and thus I am exhausted. I will explain how the weekend went down.
So first, Friday after school my mama, jie jie and I went to the Olympic park. It is amazing. I have no other words to describe it. Amazing. The bird's nest was huge and the water cube didn't even look real. But my favorite part? The gigantic billboard of Michael Phelps on a wall. Again, amazing. Look forward to some very nice pictures.
Then Saturday morning I got up and my baba and mama took me to go running. We biked to this busy park and they let me run for an hour or so, but the going was very slow. In case you didn't know there are a LOT of people in China and thus there were a LOT of people in the park. So after a very frustrated hour I found them and just wanted to go home. So when instead of heading towards the exit they walked towards a very long set of stairs i was more than just a little bit unhappy. But grudingly i climbed up the 200 odd stairs to find myself facing the biggest statue of buddha I have ever seen. On top of the hill in the park is this temple to Buddha and from it you can see for miles and miles around Beijing. My baba pointed out the forbidden city and I could see the Olympic park way over on the other side. It was stunning and it completely melted all of my frustration.
That afternoon we went to my nainai's hutong (very close to my own) and I can honestly say she is one of the cutest old ladies I have ever met. She must be about 4'9" with a perpetual smile on her face. I couldn't understand a word she said but I liked her all the same. So off our little jia (family) went and we arrived at a restaurant where I can honestly say I had more food put on my plate than at any other time during my life. Delicious, but overwhelming.
Then as if my day could get any crazier my jiejie, Wang Qian, took me to this "shopping mall" called Xidan. It was no shopping mall. It was an intensely overcrowded indoor market from a bargin lover's wildest fantasy. I bought a pair of shoes for the equivalent of about 5 bucks. I bought a jacket for about 8. I bought nail polish for 50 cents. Anything you could possibly want you could find in this place. So after 1 hour in the hectic maze of building we went home. I have never been so tired in my life. I went to bed at 8 and slept straight until 8 the next morning.
At 8 it started all over again. I got up to run, this time on my own to a different park and spent 30 minutes there, half running half side stepping and trying not to run over anyone. I got home and we set off again this time for the other half of the family. After 1.5 hours of traveling we arrived (still within Beijing city limits) and were warmly welcomed by yet another extremely cute old lady along with several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then another huge lunch and many attempts on their part to feed me meat (they didn't understand what vegetarian was). Then more family time with card games and board games I didn't understand. Then after several more hours, dinner and more food than should have been allowed. I kept saying bao le (Im full) but was ignored and they heaped more food onto my plate accompanied with a discussion about how I was too skinny (anyone who knows me knows this is simply NOT true).
Now I am at home. Wiped out. Exhausted. Still have tons of homework to do. But I'm happy.
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the Week
Nude by Radiohead
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Just Like a Little Kid
Have you ever had that feeling where you wake up and just know its going to be a good day? This morning I woke up and the sky was a clear light blue, a first since I have been here, and the rain had stopped after three on and off days. I knew it was going to be good day. So I woke up at 6:30, took my shower (I will explain this situation another time...), and had a breakfast of a moon cake with my baba. My baba has been riding with me to school to make sure I know where I am going on my 5 mile bike ride, but this morning he said, "You go. You know how to." Panic set in and I was very concerned (anyone who is familiar with my sense of direction would be as well). So, as if marching to my death, I put on my shoes and climbed on my bike. My baba helped me get through the narrow "hallway" in our hutong and at the door wished me good luck. I was on my own for the first time in Beijing.
The general chaos of morning traffic did not soothe my worries, and my sense of fear was heightened.
Obviously, because you are hearing from me, you can guess that I did not end up stranded in the streets of Beijing with no way to communicate. I got to school. I didn't make a single wrong turn, and in fact I was 20 minutes early. I, Julia Loughlin, the most directionally challenged person ever, got to school all by myself. I know it may sound juvenile, but figuring out my way to school was so important to me. It was the first real step, or rather pedal, to the independence I desired in coming to China.
In other news, Chinese class started today. We have two Chinese classes in the mornings that follow traditional Chinese school rules. As in, you hand in your homework for the first two classes at 8 o'clock exactly otherwise it is late and will have points docked. Also, absolutely no English is allowed to be spoken, even to ask questions. We have to have our notebooks out, pens ready at every moment to take down the notes, and that isn't when we are answering rapid fire questions in Chinese. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration on the last one. I am in Mandarin 2 and I expected it to be very difficult but it was.... well, pretty easy. They do ask rapid fire questions but I already have learned the vocab. Maybe they are just reviewing and then will launch into the hard stuff, but if it continues like this maybe it won't be so bad.
Today I also encountered my first weird food experience... by accident. My mama made this vegetable stew sort of thing and heaped some on my plate. I ate some of it and then found what I took to be a shrimp. I popped it into my mouth and realized it was no shrimp. I swallowed, unwillingly, and asked what it was... it was sea horse!!!!! Then if the dinner could get any weirder my baba pulled out an object that looked like a cross between a mushroom and a piece of beef. I asked what it was and he told me it was pigs foot! He called it a "beauty food" because it supposedly helps your skin... Yuck!
I also bought a cell phone last night at this unbelievable indoor electronics market. I can't adequately describe it but it was amazing. While my fumu were negotiating the cost of the phone I went to look at school supplies in a nearby booth. As I walked over a young Chinese woman came up to me with a big smile and said, "Ni shi mei guo!!!" (You are American). after I smiled she proceeded to touch my hair to see if it was real and then touched my arm and laughed at the hair on my arm (Chinese women don't have much on their arms). We both laughed at how much I stood out.
So, all in all a good day. I'm finding as each day passes that its the little stuff that makes all the difference. As long as I can see the beauty in the little things around me, I can learn to not dwell on the huge overwhelming aspect of it all.
Until Next Time,
Julia
Song of the Week
Bicycle by: Queen
The general chaos of morning traffic did not soothe my worries, and my sense of fear was heightened.
Obviously, because you are hearing from me, you can guess that I did not end up stranded in the streets of Beijing with no way to communicate. I got to school. I didn't make a single wrong turn, and in fact I was 20 minutes early. I, Julia Loughlin, the most directionally challenged person ever, got to school all by myself. I know it may sound juvenile, but figuring out my way to school was so important to me. It was the first real step, or rather pedal, to the independence I desired in coming to China.
In other news, Chinese class started today. We have two Chinese classes in the mornings that follow traditional Chinese school rules. As in, you hand in your homework for the first two classes at 8 o'clock exactly otherwise it is late and will have points docked. Also, absolutely no English is allowed to be spoken, even to ask questions. We have to have our notebooks out, pens ready at every moment to take down the notes, and that isn't when we are answering rapid fire questions in Chinese. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration on the last one. I am in Mandarin 2 and I expected it to be very difficult but it was.... well, pretty easy. They do ask rapid fire questions but I already have learned the vocab. Maybe they are just reviewing and then will launch into the hard stuff, but if it continues like this maybe it won't be so bad.
Today I also encountered my first weird food experience... by accident. My mama made this vegetable stew sort of thing and heaped some on my plate. I ate some of it and then found what I took to be a shrimp. I popped it into my mouth and realized it was no shrimp. I swallowed, unwillingly, and asked what it was... it was sea horse!!!!! Then if the dinner could get any weirder my baba pulled out an object that looked like a cross between a mushroom and a piece of beef. I asked what it was and he told me it was pigs foot! He called it a "beauty food" because it supposedly helps your skin... Yuck!
I also bought a cell phone last night at this unbelievable indoor electronics market. I can't adequately describe it but it was amazing. While my fumu were negotiating the cost of the phone I went to look at school supplies in a nearby booth. As I walked over a young Chinese woman came up to me with a big smile and said, "Ni shi mei guo!!!" (You are American). after I smiled she proceeded to touch my hair to see if it was real and then touched my arm and laughed at the hair on my arm (Chinese women don't have much on their arms). We both laughed at how much I stood out.
So, all in all a good day. I'm finding as each day passes that its the little stuff that makes all the difference. As long as I can see the beauty in the little things around me, I can learn to not dwell on the huge overwhelming aspect of it all.
Until Next Time,
Julia
Song of the Week
Bicycle by: Queen
Monday, September 8, 2008
Not All Fun and Games
I knew when I signed up for this trip it was going to be hard academically and in terms of missing people back home, but I could never have fully understood the culture shock or how difficult adjusting would be. Everything here is different. On the roads there is a blatant disregard for traffic laws that would put even most NYC cab drivers to shame. While eating half of my food ends up in my lap because of my complete lack of chopstick wielding skills. Everywhere I go people's glances seem to linger, and I know I stand out. Its all a little bit difficult to take in while trying at the same time to master, in just a few months, a language so complex it takes several years for most people to learn. Our teachers keep telling us that every week it gets better and by the time a month rolls around we will all be fine. I hope this is the case.
However, I don't want people to think I don't like it here. Amidst this struggle and anxiety there have been some truly funny moments, most including my host family. Tonight, while we were walking home, I asked my dad what American movies he liked. He first said he liked James Bond, but then something in Chinese I didn't understand. He said something that sounded like " Taaaii- son". And after I gave him another confused face he proceeded to grab his ear and chomp his teeth together like he was chewing. He likes Tyson- the wrestler who bit another man's ear off! We laughed about it for a very long time, and when the laughter died away I realized that all this difficulty is worth it. After that my host mom, who speaks NO english, took my hand and said I was her haizi, child, just like her real daughter Wang Qian. It reminded me of why I came and gave me a boost.
Well, its time for me to go to sleep, I'm exhausted!
Until next time,
Julia aka Wang Yun- the name my host dad gave me. It means lively and nice smelling :)
Song of the Day:
Falling Away With You by Muse
However, I don't want people to think I don't like it here. Amidst this struggle and anxiety there have been some truly funny moments, most including my host family. Tonight, while we were walking home, I asked my dad what American movies he liked. He first said he liked James Bond, but then something in Chinese I didn't understand. He said something that sounded like " Taaaii- son". And after I gave him another confused face he proceeded to grab his ear and chomp his teeth together like he was chewing. He likes Tyson- the wrestler who bit another man's ear off! We laughed about it for a very long time, and when the laughter died away I realized that all this difficulty is worth it. After that my host mom, who speaks NO english, took my hand and said I was her haizi, child, just like her real daughter Wang Qian. It reminded me of why I came and gave me a boost.
Well, its time for me to go to sleep, I'm exhausted!
Until next time,
Julia aka Wang Yun- the name my host dad gave me. It means lively and nice smelling :)
Song of the Day:
Falling Away With You by Muse
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
I have had to pinch myself every couple of minutes today. I am in China. Really in China.
We landed yesterday afternoon after a very long day. It was amazing to watch as our plane descended into the thick layer of smog hovering over Beijing and all of a sudden see the city emerge. I was exhausted, had a head ache, hadn't eaten anything good for 12 hours, but I was in Beijing so nothing else seemed to matter. From the newly constructed airport building that put most American airports to shame, we got on buses to our new school. There we sat through a brief orientation session and got to know a little bit about the city. After that all 54 of us stumbled out of the building, bleary eyed, and were greeted by our new families! My family found me and grabbed my luggage, ignoring my protests, and got a taxi. I was amazed as I watched the city fly by me in a swirl of characters and bright lights.
Then we arrived at our hutong. It is a small but charming little house with 5 or 6 rooms. I unloaded my stuff and then my host mom put delicious and unidentifiable food on the table and proceeded to load my plate. It was very good even though I have NO idea what I ate. After that I passed out on my bed, which is a flat board with a blanket over it that is surprisingly comfortable, and slept.
The morning came and I ate some other equally delicious and unidentifiable food. Then my host parents went to the police station to get my residence permit and took me to a bike shop (I will post pictures from that soon). I now am the proud owner of a pink bike that is an inch or two short for me, but I love it anyway. I then went on my bike to school with my host dad, a good 30 minute ride, and was assaulted from all sides by buses, cars and other bikes. It was terrifying, but I am sure I will get used to it soon. Did I mention I can't find a helmet anywhere...
Afterwards we went to school and my host dad dropped me off. I heard all the tales of the other students first nights in China ranging from taking showers with buckets to living in two story houses. It is a big mix of situations.
In the afternoon we went on a scavenger hunt through our neighborhood in small groups and had to do things ranging from using a public telephone to finding out how much getting your hair washed costs. It was exciting, but incredibly tiring. The heat was slightly oppressive and the cloud of smog seemed to grow denser by the minute. On my way home with my host dad I had a little bit of difficulty staying awake let alone being alert enough to navigate the packed roads. Overall, it was an exhausting but wonderful first day in Beijing.
I miss my family and friends a lot, but I have been so busy that I haven't had time to dwell in it. I hope I don't get too home sick... or physically sick for that matter- one person in our group is already having digestive issues...
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the Day
First Day of My New Life By: Bright Eyes
We landed yesterday afternoon after a very long day. It was amazing to watch as our plane descended into the thick layer of smog hovering over Beijing and all of a sudden see the city emerge. I was exhausted, had a head ache, hadn't eaten anything good for 12 hours, but I was in Beijing so nothing else seemed to matter. From the newly constructed airport building that put most American airports to shame, we got on buses to our new school. There we sat through a brief orientation session and got to know a little bit about the city. After that all 54 of us stumbled out of the building, bleary eyed, and were greeted by our new families! My family found me and grabbed my luggage, ignoring my protests, and got a taxi. I was amazed as I watched the city fly by me in a swirl of characters and bright lights.
Then we arrived at our hutong. It is a small but charming little house with 5 or 6 rooms. I unloaded my stuff and then my host mom put delicious and unidentifiable food on the table and proceeded to load my plate. It was very good even though I have NO idea what I ate. After that I passed out on my bed, which is a flat board with a blanket over it that is surprisingly comfortable, and slept.
The morning came and I ate some other equally delicious and unidentifiable food. Then my host parents went to the police station to get my residence permit and took me to a bike shop (I will post pictures from that soon). I now am the proud owner of a pink bike that is an inch or two short for me, but I love it anyway. I then went on my bike to school with my host dad, a good 30 minute ride, and was assaulted from all sides by buses, cars and other bikes. It was terrifying, but I am sure I will get used to it soon. Did I mention I can't find a helmet anywhere...
Afterwards we went to school and my host dad dropped me off. I heard all the tales of the other students first nights in China ranging from taking showers with buckets to living in two story houses. It is a big mix of situations.
In the afternoon we went on a scavenger hunt through our neighborhood in small groups and had to do things ranging from using a public telephone to finding out how much getting your hair washed costs. It was exciting, but incredibly tiring. The heat was slightly oppressive and the cloud of smog seemed to grow denser by the minute. On my way home with my host dad I had a little bit of difficulty staying awake let alone being alert enough to navigate the packed roads. Overall, it was an exhausting but wonderful first day in Beijing.
I miss my family and friends a lot, but I have been so busy that I haven't had time to dwell in it. I hope I don't get too home sick... or physically sick for that matter- one person in our group is already having digestive issues...
Until next time,
Julia
Song of the Day
First Day of My New Life By: Bright Eyes
Monday, September 1, 2008
Almost There
It's finally here. After 140 odd days of wait I'm leaving. Tomorrow is my last day at home before I leave for California and then onto China. I don't know what to think. I am so ready to leave, it feels like I have been waiting forever, but I'm also sad. I know this is the end of a chapter in my life. I'm going to come home a little different and perhaps the people around me will be a little different as well. I keep reminding myself its the beginning of something wonderful and new.
I do have a bit of exciting news. I found out my host family situation. I have a mama (mother), baba (father) and jiejie (older sister). My sister is a sophomore at the University in Beijing and is home "quite a bit" according to the information sheet I received from SYA. I also found out, when I braved a phone call to my new Chinese family, that she speaks some English. I called and spoke to her for a little while using my limited mandarin vocabulary. She seems very nice and is going to pick me up at the airport of Friday. My host father said something in rapid fire chinese and then handed the phone back over, but even in a different language he sounded friendly.
The whole phone call made me excited and so ready to get there. I just want to be there and skip these painful goodbyes. My friends threw me a lovely going away party but it didn't feel real. I couldn't make myself understand I was saying goodbye for a year, not just a coupe days. It will settle in eventually I'm sure.
I probably won't write again until at least Saturday because I will be disoriented, tired, and overwhelmed, but by then I will be in Beijing. At home. :)
Until then,
Julia
Song of the Day:
Like A Rolling Stone By: Bob Dylan
I do have a bit of exciting news. I found out my host family situation. I have a mama (mother), baba (father) and jiejie (older sister). My sister is a sophomore at the University in Beijing and is home "quite a bit" according to the information sheet I received from SYA. I also found out, when I braved a phone call to my new Chinese family, that she speaks some English. I called and spoke to her for a little while using my limited mandarin vocabulary. She seems very nice and is going to pick me up at the airport of Friday. My host father said something in rapid fire chinese and then handed the phone back over, but even in a different language he sounded friendly.
The whole phone call made me excited and so ready to get there. I just want to be there and skip these painful goodbyes. My friends threw me a lovely going away party but it didn't feel real. I couldn't make myself understand I was saying goodbye for a year, not just a coupe days. It will settle in eventually I'm sure.
I probably won't write again until at least Saturday because I will be disoriented, tired, and overwhelmed, but by then I will be in Beijing. At home. :)
Until then,
Julia
Song of the Day:
Like A Rolling Stone By: Bob Dylan
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