On Friday, we went on a field trip to the Beijing Urban Planning Museum. While normally pretty empty, it was exceptionally crowded that day, as roughly 500 elementary school children were also on a field trip to the museum. As we got ready to leave, they were all lining up by the door, and I quickly realized what a rockstar must feel like: as we walked out, I could feel lots of little eyes staring at the Americans (which was compounded by the fact that I was right next to Alex, the palest 6'4 person you'll ever see). Finally one worked up the courage to say "Hello!" and I said, "Nihao!". It was like a dam broke loose, and all of a sudden there were tons of children yelling Hello at us and waving madly. It was like being an Asian pop star who is marketed to the 8 to 12 year old group. (insert sarcastic reference to Justin Beiber here)
The museum itself was interesting, there was definitely a strong emphasis on the future of Beijing, which will apparently save tons of energy and have hovercraft cars. We thought the future had already arrived when we went to a short screening of a "4-D" film, though it was actually just a 2-D film on 3 panels, so it was like a panorama, and then your seat shifts and bumps as you "ride" in the hovercraft. One of the slogans I liked was the "Shifting from 'made in China' to 'invented in China'", though another was "The World's Crisis - China's Promise", which included massive green energy overhauls by 2020. They also had a huge miniature city of Beijing, which was really cool; you actually got to see the size of the city (the only other time you could see it like that is from the air, but then you have the "crazy bad" levels of pollution). Overall, it was very awe-inspiring, if everything they're advertising actually comes into practice (which it very likely won't, of course). It definitely seems like there's a large scale plan for the city going forward, which I don't know that we have as much of in the US- do we have urban planning museums? It seems like we just get focused on putting band-aids on all of the problems with our cities, as opposed to looking more long term. Maybe that's the problem with a democracy - you're never entirely certain you're going to be there long term. :) Maybe it gets bogged down in city planning committees, or maybe I just haven't noticed because I live in Montana or in an academic bubble most of the time. :)
Showing posts with label anecdotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anecdotes. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Let it Snow, Let it Snow....
All day today, it has felt like it's about to snow. The overcast skies, the slight mistiness in the air - it must have been a sign that surely, snow was on its way. However, feeling and reality can be two very different things, as was the case today. It was not preparing to snow, and it was not "foggy" like weather.com said. No, the air quality was just so bad, they don't even have a word to describe it.
Today, the air quality index measured Beijing's air quality as being above 500 - which doesn't sound too terrible, until you realize the index stops at 500. 301 to 500 is considered "hazardous", with effects on the majority of the population. Last night, the index of Beijing peaked at 525. Two hours ago, it was at 503, which the person writing could only characterize as "crazy bad", which is slightly amusing. The irony of it all is that I got this information from the Beijing Air twitter feed - aka, from a website that is blocked in China. The more I think about it, the wackier this gets. You can't make this stuff up!
Responses to the 500 + readings have been varied. Our TA - who kindly sent out the email informing us of the air quality - "believes that this means it's about to start raining coal", and a classmate said it feels like living in a post-apocalyptic world. I liken it more to going to school in a mythical land where you can't see more than a city block, because everything is engulfed in this misty haze. Another of our classmates kindly posted a link to an article about the health effects of smog on my Facebook wall, and suggested perhaps we should take up smoking cigarettes when we get back to Chicago - it would probably be better for our health. I am kind of curious to know what happens if it spikes even higher - do we leave "crazy bad" territory and go into "OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!1!" territory?
Today, the air quality index measured Beijing's air quality as being above 500 - which doesn't sound too terrible, until you realize the index stops at 500. 301 to 500 is considered "hazardous", with effects on the majority of the population. Last night, the index of Beijing peaked at 525. Two hours ago, it was at 503, which the person writing could only characterize as "crazy bad", which is slightly amusing. The irony of it all is that I got this information from the Beijing Air twitter feed - aka, from a website that is blocked in China. The more I think about it, the wackier this gets. You can't make this stuff up!
Responses to the 500 + readings have been varied. Our TA - who kindly sent out the email informing us of the air quality - "believes that this means it's about to start raining coal", and a classmate said it feels like living in a post-apocalyptic world. I liken it more to going to school in a mythical land where you can't see more than a city block, because everything is engulfed in this misty haze. Another of our classmates kindly posted a link to an article about the health effects of smog on my Facebook wall, and suggested perhaps we should take up smoking cigarettes when we get back to Chicago - it would probably be better for our health. I am kind of curious to know what happens if it spikes even higher - do we leave "crazy bad" territory and go into "OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!1!" territory?
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A Very Icy Weekend
But in the best way possible! Over the weekend, Kie, Sibei, and I went to the Cup of China figure skating competition held here in Beijing every fall. It's part of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, which is a series of six competitions held around the world each fall, where the top international skaters compete for medals and money, but also to qualify for the Grand Prix Final, which is also being held in Beijing this year (I miss it by five days, darnit!)I was really excited to be here for the Cup of China, though- I'd never gone to a major international skating competition before, and with the conversion rate, tickets were really cheap! To go to every event, the cost was $50, and that was for the best seats. Had we wanted to buy the nosebleed student tickets, we could have gone for only $10. To go to the Grand Prix event in the US, Skate America (which is next weekend, I think), would cost $100 for the cheapest seats, so this was quite the deal!
The competition was held at Capital Indoor Gymnasium, which is only about 15 minutes away from Renmin. It's also where the Chinese national skating team practices, and was a location for the Beijing Olympics. (What it hosted, we're not sure - it was kind of a small venue)Walking in, I was surprised by the size - having watched youtube videos from last year's competition held in the same place, I was expecting it to be bigger. All the better to see the skaters, though, and we had seats right behind the judges, which was great. The skating itself was fantastic, but I won't go into massive analysis of it - but one of the US's men and a pairs team were on the podium!
The best part, other than watching the skating, was getting to cheer on the US skaters in a foreign country. Had we been in the US, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, since everyone else would have been screaming just as loud. Here, however, the audience's response to non-Chinese skaters was...lukewarm, at best. Whenever one of our skaters took the ice, we screamed when they were announced, we yelled in unison, "Go!!!!". Several of the skaters looked at us and smiled after hearing their names, and the audience surrounding us tended to look at us, too.
Over in the corner of the arena, we saw a few people waving an American flag, and during one of the breaks went over to say hi. They ended up being the officials and parents with the skaters, which was cool. One of the pairs skater's moms told me, "You have no idea how nice it is to hear an American accent!" and I said, "Oh believe me, I do!". Her daughter ended up winning bronze, and we watched/cheered at the medal ceremony with her. The other parent who was there is the father of Ross Miner, one of our mens skaters. He told us to make sure we made lots of noise, since Ross hates the silence. Having been encouraged to keep screaming our hearts/lungs (?) out, we yelled when Ross was about to get his scores, "We love you Ross!", and he held his hands up in a rock start pose in response. We yelled it for our other mens skater, Brandon, too, but he was busy talking with his coach. After finishing his program and getting changed, Ross came up and said hi and gave us all a hug (He said, "You guys said you love me, we gotta hug it out!). Getting to meet him was a lot of fun, and he stuck around for awhile and talked skating with us.
That was the best part of cheering, getting to see the skater's responses, whether it was actually coming up to say hi or just a smile. That was something that I think is unique to going to a competition abroad as opposed to one in the US - like I said, in the US everyone is screaming. Getting to meet the parents, team doctor (also from Chicago!), and other officials was one of the highlights of the event, and would probably be less likely to happen in the US. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting back to working on my skating tomorrow. :)
Oh, and there was one other person we yelled for while they were waiting for the scores. Mirai Nagasu, our National Silver medalist, is coached by Frank Carroll, who in the sport of figure skating is legend--wait for it--DARY. An absolute god among skaters. So while Mirai was waiting for her score, we yelled, "We love you, Frank!". While he did not respond with a rock star pose, the brief smile on the normally stoic coach's face made my night. :)
The competition was held at Capital Indoor Gymnasium, which is only about 15 minutes away from Renmin. It's also where the Chinese national skating team practices, and was a location for the Beijing Olympics. (What it hosted, we're not sure - it was kind of a small venue)Walking in, I was surprised by the size - having watched youtube videos from last year's competition held in the same place, I was expecting it to be bigger. All the better to see the skaters, though, and we had seats right behind the judges, which was great. The skating itself was fantastic, but I won't go into massive analysis of it - but one of the US's men and a pairs team were on the podium!
The best part, other than watching the skating, was getting to cheer on the US skaters in a foreign country. Had we been in the US, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, since everyone else would have been screaming just as loud. Here, however, the audience's response to non-Chinese skaters was...lukewarm, at best. Whenever one of our skaters took the ice, we screamed when they were announced, we yelled in unison, "Go
Over in the corner of the arena, we saw a few people waving an American flag, and during one of the breaks went over to say hi. They ended up being the officials and parents with the skaters, which was cool. One of the pairs skater's moms told me, "You have no idea how nice it is to hear an American accent!" and I said, "Oh believe me, I do!". Her daughter ended up winning bronze, and we watched/cheered at the medal ceremony with her. The other parent who was there is the father of Ross Miner, one of our mens skaters. He told us to make sure we made lots of noise, since Ross hates the silence. Having been encouraged to keep screaming our hearts/lungs (?) out, we yelled when Ross was about to get his scores, "We love you Ross!", and he held his hands up in a rock start pose in response. We yelled it for our other mens skater, Brandon, too, but he was busy talking with his coach. After finishing his program and getting changed, Ross came up and said hi and gave us all a hug (He said, "You guys said you love me, we gotta hug it out!). Getting to meet him was a lot of fun, and he stuck around for awhile and talked skating with us.
That was the best part of cheering, getting to see the skater's responses, whether it was actually coming up to say hi or just a smile. That was something that I think is unique to going to a competition abroad as opposed to one in the US - like I said, in the US everyone is screaming. Getting to meet the parents, team doctor (also from Chicago!), and other officials was one of the highlights of the event, and would probably be less likely to happen in the US. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting back to working on my skating tomorrow. :)
Oh, and there was one other person we yelled for while they were waiting for the scores. Mirai Nagasu, our National Silver medalist, is coached by Frank Carroll, who in the sport of figure skating is legend--wait for it--DARY. An absolute god among skaters. So while Mirai was waiting for her score, we yelled, "We love you, Frank!". While he did not respond with a rock star pose, the brief smile on the normally stoic coach's face made my night. :)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Pizza and Art
As part of our class this session, we're required to complete "excursion projects" that are meant to get us out and about in the city, rather than just being holed up in a classroom. I decided to do my excursion project on 798, a complex of art galleries in north-eastern-ish Beijing. The 798 galleries are fairly well known, and I had heard of them before and wanted to go visit. But contemporary art isn't really my thing, but I figured if I had to do a project on it, then I would be far more likely to actually go visit. And so, last Sunday, I dragged Kimberley, Louis, and Eddie along with me to the galleries.
798 (or in Chinese, 七八九) is so named after the street which runs through it, shockingly called 798 street. It's an old manufacturing complex, so many of the galleries are in old warehouses and buildings, which was really cool. The complex had a festival like feel - all the galleries had their doors open, and there where street musicians and jewelery makers selling things on the street. There were also quite a few small cafes scattered on corners, many of them selling Western food, which is where the first part of the title comes in. While I was off discovering the deeper meanings of pictures of bamboo burning, Kimberley, Louis, and Eddie had stopped and ordered french fries and pizza at a cafe. I met up with them just as the french fries arrived, and they were delicious (the cafe even had ketchup!). The pizza was equally delicious, but it didn't taste like pizza - just cheese bread with chicken and seasonings. I guess I feel kind of reluctant to eat Western food - after all, I can eat it all the time at home, so there's no reason to eat it here. As much as I can sometimes get tired of Chinese food, I guess I'm trying to keep the experience as realistic as possible.
The art itself was actually really interesting - I went there with a list of things to look for in the art, such as how Chinese traditional painting aspects were incorporated, whether it was a critique of the government, and if there was a disdain towards the new consumerism mentality China has shown. The most prevalent theme I found was a critique of urbanism and consumerism, such as the painting that depicted 'moments' in a life, such as getting married, with a picture of an Audi imposed on the scene. It was kind of random, but for the purposes of my presentation, it's a critique of consumerism. :) The best part of 798 was that it was free, only .40 RMB bus fare to get there. An excellent way to spend an afternoon in Beijing, if you're ever here.
And anecdotally, I also went to China fashion week. In the midst of trying to find where Kimberley had went, I turned a corner and found myself surrounded by a bunch of glamorous people wearing black with nametag credentials. Amidst the suits and insanely fashionable dresses, I felt a little out of place in my UChicago sweatshirt and jeans and quickly turned back around that corner, but now I can say I went to China Fashion Week! :)
798 (or in Chinese, 七八九) is so named after the street which runs through it, shockingly called 798 street. It's an old manufacturing complex, so many of the galleries are in old warehouses and buildings, which was really cool. The complex had a festival like feel - all the galleries had their doors open, and there where street musicians and jewelery makers selling things on the street. There were also quite a few small cafes scattered on corners, many of them selling Western food, which is where the first part of the title comes in. While I was off discovering the deeper meanings of pictures of bamboo burning, Kimberley, Louis, and Eddie had stopped and ordered french fries and pizza at a cafe. I met up with them just as the french fries arrived, and they were delicious (the cafe even had ketchup!). The pizza was equally delicious, but it didn't taste like pizza - just cheese bread with chicken and seasonings. I guess I feel kind of reluctant to eat Western food - after all, I can eat it all the time at home, so there's no reason to eat it here. As much as I can sometimes get tired of Chinese food, I guess I'm trying to keep the experience as realistic as possible.
The art itself was actually really interesting - I went there with a list of things to look for in the art, such as how Chinese traditional painting aspects were incorporated, whether it was a critique of the government, and if there was a disdain towards the new consumerism mentality China has shown. The most prevalent theme I found was a critique of urbanism and consumerism, such as the painting that depicted 'moments' in a life, such as getting married, with a picture of an Audi imposed on the scene. It was kind of random, but for the purposes of my presentation, it's a critique of consumerism. :) The best part of 798 was that it was free, only .40 RMB bus fare to get there. An excellent way to spend an afternoon in Beijing, if you're ever here.
And anecdotally, I also went to China fashion week. In the midst of trying to find where Kimberley had went, I turned a corner and found myself surrounded by a bunch of glamorous people wearing black with nametag credentials. Amidst the suits and insanely fashionable dresses, I felt a little out of place in my UChicago sweatshirt and jeans and quickly turned back around that corner, but now I can say I went to China Fashion Week! :)
Friday, October 29, 2010
The Skating Regulars
A cold rink, with garish lighting from the children's play area above. A 30 minute music CD on repeat, with the 24 minute mark belonging to Shania Twain's "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!". A sheet of ice, scratched with the tracings of hundreds of blades, with pictures of coaches past and present staring down on it. A slight chill in the air, almost unnoticeable with the movement of skaters, circling endless around the too small surface. In this setting, skaters come and other skaters go, but a core group of determined souls skate on forever, circling the rink and then leaving, only to return again, observed by huddled parents and the rink staff. And so I present to you, The Skating Regulars:
Twizzles:
One of the coaches at the rink, with Bieber-like hair that he frequently flicks back from his eyes ever so genteely. So named because, in the course of instructing people how not to fall over, he frequently becomes bored and launches into advanced footwork sequences, generally consisting of a series of super fast turns called "Twizzles". And thus a nickname was born. Not much personality evident from a distance, unless admiring one's posture in the rink glass could be considered a personality.
Crazy Dancing Guy:
Skates to the beat of his own drum. Listens to his MP3 player and "dances to it". His moves are not what would fall under the category of conventional skating movements, but he makes it work. He is a skater's worst nightmare, in that he is simultaneously not terribly in control (too much crazy dancing, I'm afraid) and completely unpredictable, swerving as the music moves him. Combined with his frequent haphazard stops in the middle of the rink to change the song, and you have recipe for potential disaster. No camel spins when he's around!
Figckey Guy
Crazy Dancing Guy's figurative cousin (I've seen his hip wiggling and quasi-Irish jigging to "Don't You Wish Your Girlfriend was Hot Like Me"). So named because he attempts to complete figure skating moves whilst wearing hockey skates, which both hockey skaters and figure skaters will tell you is impossible. Still, he attempts to spin and jump, and has a fairly decent spiral.
Little Boy Blue
Wears a blue silk shirt to practice every day. Also wears black pants and black padded shorts, which combined with his stick skinny legs makes for an interesting silhouette. A good little skater with nice stretch, but unfortunately it seems his father wants him to be a figure skater more than Little Boy Blue himself does. This leads to long discussions at the board as the father tells him what to do, dilly dallying tying the skates, and a wrinkly forehead and teary eyes after missing a couple lutz jumps in a row.
The Erudite
A completely unremarkable skater, one of the many older people who comes to the rink to skate around, practice two foot spins and waltz jumps, and get their daily exercise in. However, her knowledge of the Chinese skating is spectacular, and she is more than happy to discuss the benefits and disadvantages of having a national training program, why a former World Bronze Medalist coaches in a private rink, and to tell you where the national team practices are held and that they are open to the public. A very valuable resource who speaks English.
Twizzles:
One of the coaches at the rink, with Bieber-like hair that he frequently flicks back from his eyes ever so genteely. So named because, in the course of instructing people how not to fall over, he frequently becomes bored and launches into advanced footwork sequences, generally consisting of a series of super fast turns called "Twizzles". And thus a nickname was born. Not much personality evident from a distance, unless admiring one's posture in the rink glass could be considered a personality.
Crazy Dancing Guy:
Skates to the beat of his own drum. Listens to his MP3 player and "dances to it". His moves are not what would fall under the category of conventional skating movements, but he makes it work. He is a skater's worst nightmare, in that he is simultaneously not terribly in control (too much crazy dancing, I'm afraid) and completely unpredictable, swerving as the music moves him. Combined with his frequent haphazard stops in the middle of the rink to change the song, and you have recipe for potential disaster. No camel spins when he's around!
Figckey Guy
Crazy Dancing Guy's figurative cousin (I've seen his hip wiggling and quasi-Irish jigging to "Don't You Wish Your Girlfriend was Hot Like Me"). So named because he attempts to complete figure skating moves whilst wearing hockey skates, which both hockey skaters and figure skaters will tell you is impossible. Still, he attempts to spin and jump, and has a fairly decent spiral.
Little Boy Blue
Wears a blue silk shirt to practice every day. Also wears black pants and black padded shorts, which combined with his stick skinny legs makes for an interesting silhouette. A good little skater with nice stretch, but unfortunately it seems his father wants him to be a figure skater more than Little Boy Blue himself does. This leads to long discussions at the board as the father tells him what to do, dilly dallying tying the skates, and a wrinkly forehead and teary eyes after missing a couple lutz jumps in a row.
The Erudite
A completely unremarkable skater, one of the many older people who comes to the rink to skate around, practice two foot spins and waltz jumps, and get their daily exercise in. However, her knowledge of the Chinese skating is spectacular, and she is more than happy to discuss the benefits and disadvantages of having a national training program, why a former World Bronze Medalist coaches in a private rink, and to tell you where the national team practices are held and that they are open to the public. A very valuable resource who speaks English.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A Few of My Favorite Things
- Watching Winnie the Pooh in Chinese
- Being able to read an entire sign without having to ask someone what a certain character means.
- Field trips to archeological museums
- The pop music that plays over the campus loudspeakers at the end of the day
- Dumplings :)
- The happy-glowy feeling of success when I say something in Mandarin and people actually understand me. (Related: the euphoria of realizing I'm able to survive in a foreign country by myself)
- Being able to read an entire sign without having to ask someone what a certain character means.
- Field trips to archeological museums
- The pop music that plays over the campus loudspeakers at the end of the day
- Dumplings :)
- The happy-glowy feeling of success when I say something in Mandarin and people actually understand me. (Related: the euphoria of realizing I'm able to survive in a foreign country by myself)
Monday, October 25, 2010
A Day in The Life
{In the spirit of starting classes today, I felt a sample day of what classes and life are like for me was in order. Compiled over a series of a few days during our last session}
(Proof that I actually WAS up that early!)
(Renmin's gym and track - the gym was used as a practice facility for the 2008 Olympics!)
7:55 AM- Back in my dorm, I take a quick shower and then get on skype to talk to my family back home in Montana, where it's 6pm. They update me on how many new calves have been born (7 this week!).
8:45 AM- I leave for class, stopping to buy a package of little bread cakes for 1.2 RMB, roughly 18 cents USD. They go great with the (free!) cup of coffee I'll make at the center!
8:57 AM – After walking for five minutes on the streets of Beijing, I take the elevator to the 20th floor and step onto the University of Chicago's campus. The Center in Beijing is brand new and absolutely beautiful - a UChicago oasis in the midst of bustling Beijing. I make myself a (free!) cup of coffee before class starts.
9:00 AM- First class of the day, which is a lecture on early diplomacy in China with Professor Tamara Chin.
(If it looks a little empty, it's because I took the picture before class actually started)
10:30AM- After a ten minute break, we re-convene for our next class, which is a discussion of the lecture and readings for today. We spend a lot of time discussing marriage diplomacy and the role of ritual in diplomacy, as well as on an extended metaphor comparing a kow-tow to a handshake.
(Again, before class started. Excited to discuss the use of Han princesses as diplomatic currency!)
11:30 AM- After class ends, I head with a bunch of other students to the dining hall on campus, which has a lot of different selections. They had plain broccoli once, and it tasted so much like it would at home that I hold my breath hoping they'll have it again. No luck, so instead I get a big bowl of noodles with eggs and tomato sauce for 4 RMB (60 cents!)
12:30PM – After lunch, I head to the bus stop, where I take a 355 bus. Beijing's bus system is insane – they have over 800 different routes, and one day I plan to ride them all, but not today. Instead, I head to the ice rink, housed in Jinyuan Shopping Mall, the world's second largest mall.
1:00PM- I greet the staff at the ice rink, who are getting to know my face pretty well at this point. Skating has proven a great way to meet Beijingers; today, I have a three minute conversation (all in Mandarin!) with a little girl who wants to know if I'm a teacher and where I'm from, and a longer conversation in a mix of Mandarin and English with another skater, discussing the pros and cons of China's national figure skating system (great pairs teams, not-so-great single skaters). She tells me where the national team trains, and that practices are open to the public. I feel a field trip coming on... :)
5:00PM- Back on Renmin's campus, I drop my skating stuff off and check email and Facebook, which although blocked in China, is accessible over my Chicago VPN connection. I begin writing this blog post, and then contemplate doing Chinese homework – ultimately, I decide to put it off until after dinner.(yay procrastination!)
(My room, in a picture taken when I first arrived)
6:15PM – I meet up with a classmate, Kimberly, for dinner in the dining hall. Despite the absence of steamed broccoli, I enjoy my meal of rice with green beans in soy sauce and some kind of meat in some kind of sauce (I opted not to ask) very much. Kimberly recounts her adventures going to get a coat tailor-made for her, and we discuss our plans for the weekend, entertaining the possibility of going to the Beijing Zoo. (They have pandas!)
(Kimberly with another of our classmates - this picture was actually taken at lunch)
7:30PM – After a quick run to the campus convenience store for chocolate milk (better here than at home, I think), I'm back in the dorm. I settle in to do my readings for tomorrow.
8:40 PM- I read the discussion questions for tomorrow online, and post a paragraph on the discussion board for the readings, getting distracted briefly by skating blogs and picture of LOLcats. I finish up my Chinese homework for Thursday, since we have a test and will turn in the week's homework. Not recognizing a couple of characters, I leave a section blank and finish everything else.
9:30 PM- Having finished everything except that section, I head over to Kimberly's room to get help, since she's in 5th year Chinese. She recognizes the characters, and I finish my homework. Watching her paint her nails, we end up talking for awhile about studying Chinese and life in general.
10:45 PM – I head to bed, since we have a class trip to the Great Wall tomorrow morning. One of the best parts of studying abroad is the field trips, and getting to hear your professor say that she'll be holding office hours on the Great Wall. :)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
China is Anti-Smurf
Apparently, anyway. Spotted today on my way to have noodles with tomatoes and eggs for lunch:
A guy wearing a shirt that says, "I am not blue!"
I am uncertain as to whether this is a protest against Avatar and Smurfs, or if this guy is constantly being asked to buy anti depressants and this is his way of telling everyone he doesn't need them. At least the English is correct!
A guy wearing a shirt that says, "I am not blue!"
I am uncertain as to whether this is a protest against Avatar and Smurfs, or if this guy is constantly being asked to buy anti depressants and this is his way of telling everyone he doesn't need them. At least the English is correct!
Friday, October 1, 2010
National Day and Other Observations
Today is National Day, celebrating the 61st anniversary of the country and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. It's odd to me that they don't consider the 1500+ years of China's history prior to the founding of the PRC - while I consider 1949 to just be a government/regime change, they consider it to be a brand new country's founding. Unfortunately, the 61st anniversary did not include major military parades or fireworks, and the Chinese most definitely do not follow the American custom of grilling hamburgers and barbecuing, which made me quite sad as I ate noodles and tomatoes for dinner.
However, in commemoration of the special day, China schools are given the entire next week of off school, and most workers had today off, as well. Slightly defeating the purpose, there are extra classes the week after next to make up for missed classes. Us Chicago students were given the day off, but not next week, though we won't have Chinese class, since our teachers have off (Language teachers are Renmin University faculty). Let loose in a metropolis of 23 million, me and three classmates did what seemed the most logical idea: took ourselves to the Beijing Zoo, called dong wu gong yuan in Chinese, which literally translates to Animal Park. :)
Since it was National Day, the zoo was fairly crowded, although in a city the size of Beijing anything is crowded. I've heard it said about NYC that if you decide to do something, you can be sure at least 100 other people have the same idea; here, I think it's something like 10,000 people have the same idea. The subway line on our way back was absolutely insane, we probably waited in line for 10 minutes just to get into the subway station. Thankfully we were heading out of the city rather than into it, so the train itself wasn't too packed. There was also a stronger police force out because of the day - though why you need four police officers by the lemurs and marmosets, I have no idea. (I guess to avoid any monkey business!)
I've also read that a characteristic of China is a pervasive belief that the rules were meant for other people, something that seemed to be verified today. Like most (all?) zoos, there were signs on every exhibit telling visitors not to feed the animals or throw anything in their cages, but people here did a lot of it. Especially at the monkey exhibit, there were several people throwing peanuts and other food over the divider into the cage - the elder monkey would chase all the younger ones away, and then eat all the nuts himself. At the gorilla habitat, several of the gorillas were handling and seemingly drinking from water bottles. I thought, since three of the gorillas had bottles, that maybe the zookeepers gave the bottles to them to play with. I realized I was mistaken when the person right next to me chucked his iced tea bottle in, too, though a police officer did come over and talk to him. And at the otter exhibit, the otter was putting his paws up on the glass, looking up at us, and then scurrying away and coming back. In order to get his attention, someone poured yogurt on the poor little guy. :( It made me think about how it's kind of funny that we follow the rules in the US without being forced to - a kind of self regulating society (?), where not bothering animals is normal enough that you get yelled/glared at if you do it.
Overall, the zoo was excellent, especially seeing the zebras, gnus, wildebeests, ostriches, and giraffes - I think God had fun when he made Africa! :) I'll likely update later this weekend, too, with some info on classes, maybe the food? Let me know if there's anything you want me to cover, or if you have stylistic suggestions to improve my writing. [criticism is welcome, too!] :)
~Karissa
However, in commemoration of the special day, China schools are given the entire next week of off school, and most workers had today off, as well. Slightly defeating the purpose, there are extra classes the week after next to make up for missed classes. Us Chicago students were given the day off, but not next week, though we won't have Chinese class, since our teachers have off (Language teachers are Renmin University faculty). Let loose in a metropolis of 23 million, me and three classmates did what seemed the most logical idea: took ourselves to the Beijing Zoo, called dong wu gong yuan in Chinese, which literally translates to Animal Park. :)
Since it was National Day, the zoo was fairly crowded, although in a city the size of Beijing anything is crowded. I've heard it said about NYC that if you decide to do something, you can be sure at least 100 other people have the same idea; here, I think it's something like 10,000 people have the same idea. The subway line on our way back was absolutely insane, we probably waited in line for 10 minutes just to get into the subway station. Thankfully we were heading out of the city rather than into it, so the train itself wasn't too packed. There was also a stronger police force out because of the day - though why you need four police officers by the lemurs and marmosets, I have no idea. (I guess to avoid any monkey business!)
I've also read that a characteristic of China is a pervasive belief that the rules were meant for other people, something that seemed to be verified today. Like most (all?) zoos, there were signs on every exhibit telling visitors not to feed the animals or throw anything in their cages, but people here did a lot of it. Especially at the monkey exhibit, there were several people throwing peanuts and other food over the divider into the cage - the elder monkey would chase all the younger ones away, and then eat all the nuts himself. At the gorilla habitat, several of the gorillas were handling and seemingly drinking from water bottles. I thought, since three of the gorillas had bottles, that maybe the zookeepers gave the bottles to them to play with. I realized I was mistaken when the person right next to me chucked his iced tea bottle in, too, though a police officer did come over and talk to him. And at the otter exhibit, the otter was putting his paws up on the glass, looking up at us, and then scurrying away and coming back. In order to get his attention, someone poured yogurt on the poor little guy. :( It made me think about how it's kind of funny that we follow the rules in the US without being forced to - a kind of self regulating society (?), where not bothering animals is normal enough that you get yelled/glared at if you do it.
Overall, the zoo was excellent, especially seeing the zebras, gnus, wildebeests, ostriches, and giraffes - I think God had fun when he made Africa! :) I'll likely update later this weekend, too, with some info on classes, maybe the food? Let me know if there's anything you want me to cover, or if you have stylistic suggestions to improve my writing. [criticism is welcome, too!] :)
~Karissa
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Skating Simon Says
This morning, I went skating, as I often do. (Landing double salchows, for those who care!) I was expecting it to more crowded than usual, since it's mid-autumn festival here, which I believe is a national holiday. (Everyone gets Wednesday - Friday off from work, but then they have to work Saturday and Sunday to make it up, which seems to defeat the purpose?) Fortunately, it wasn't much more crowded than normal; but since there was no school, the average age of those skating dropped significantly.
There were two younger girls skating who were both working on single jumps and basic spins, although I don't think they knew each other. Anyway, about halfway through the session, I began noticing an interesting phenomenon - whenever I worked on a specific element, all of us ended up working on that element, to the extent that at one point, the two girls were actually doing synchronized side by side camel spins . Taking note of this strange coincidence, and realizing that I was likely viewed as the most experienced/most advanced/ most knowledgeable-because-I'm-from-America-and-so-is-Michelle Kwan-and-a-million-gold-medalists, I tested a hypothesis.
I did a sit spin.
They both did sit spins.
I did a loop jump.
They both did loops.
I did a lutz.
They both did lutzes.
It continued on this way for most of the session, until one girl left and the other's coach showed up.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. ;)
There were two younger girls skating who were both working on single jumps and basic spins, although I don't think they knew each other. Anyway, about halfway through the session, I began noticing an interesting phenomenon - whenever I worked on a specific element, all of us ended up working on that element, to the extent that at one point, the two girls were actually doing synchronized side by side camel spins . Taking note of this strange coincidence, and realizing that I was likely viewed as the most experienced/most advanced/ most knowledgeable-because-I'm-from-America-and-so-is-Michelle Kwan-and-a-million-gold-medalists, I tested a hypothesis.
I did a sit spin.
They both did sit spins.
I did a loop jump.
They both did loops.
I did a lutz.
They both did lutzes.
It continued on this way for most of the session, until one girl left and the other's coach showed up.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. ;)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Sorry!
Sorry for the lack of updates, but today and tomorrow is the grand opening of the UChicago Center in Beijing, so I've been swamped helping with that. Updates on Jinan/the opening will be up this weekend- until then, a delightful anecdote:
A lot of Chinese clothing manufacturers make clothing with English on them, because it's considered hip. However, their English abilities (much like my Chinese abilities) leave much to be desired, and the result is often nonsensical to English speakers. One such result, which is apparently pretty popular, since I've seen several around, is as follows:
Purpose
A B C
D E F
What is the most valuable for
A lot of Chinese clothing manufacturers make clothing with English on them, because it's considered hip. However, their English abilities (much like my Chinese abilities) leave much to be desired, and the result is often nonsensical to English speakers. One such result, which is apparently pretty popular, since I've seen several around, is as follows:
Purpose
A B C
D E F
What is the most valuable for
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